Tagged.

So I was tagged! Thank you so much Mrs. Guard I truly appreciate it. I have to write 7 quirks or interesting things about myself. I have a feeling it might take me a while to think of some but here it goes!

1) I have to eat small items of food on both sides of my mouth. For instance, if I chew a Skittle on the left side of my mouth I have chew a Skittle on the right side of my mouth as well. And if someone gives me three Skittles, they MUST take one away, give me one more, or I usually just bite it down the middle so I have 2 halves. Weird I know, but true oh so true.

2) I like fountain drinks WAY better than soda in a glass cup or can. It just tastes better in a fountain drink. To me, there IS seriously a difference.

3) When I place a new roll of toilet paper in the bathroom I have to place it in such a way that the paper comes off the top of the roll and not from the bottom. I know...SO weird!

4) For a while I wanted to have 5 girls and have their names be Lacy, Macy, Stacy, Tracy, and Kacy. Hahahaha. Thank God that phase is OVER.

5) I am a half-identical twin. YES. I AM A HALF-IDENTICAL TWIN (or semi-identical). There IS such a thing and I ALWAYS have to explain it so here is a quick definition for you blog readers. A half-identical twin is when one egg drops and splits into two and then those two eggs are fertilized by two different sperm. So we have 50% of the genetic makeup from our mother and different percentages of genetic makeup from our father. My mom calls us her "little mutants."

6) I LOVE SHOES. Not only do I love shoes but I love shoes when they makes that clicking noise. Just something about the sound makes me feel good.

7) This last one is written by my mom: "If you want Alyssa to HEAR what you are saying AND follow through with it, make sure you see that she is looking at you with her baby poop colored eyes and focusing on what you are telling her. You might even want her to repeat your words back to you just so you know she heard what you said." I have a problem with focusing. I can only focus on one thing at a time, especially if I am 1) watching tv, 2) on the phone, talking or texting, and 3) on the computer. My mom says she was like that until she had twins. I hope it doesnt take twins to make me focus.

Now its my turn...I tag Katelin, Shauna, Jocey, Schuyler and Kelly. Have fun!!

FINALLY!!

So I have been having some MAJOR issues with my laptop! I learned from the amazing people who work at the GENIUS BAR that I have a hard drive problem so I will have to fork over the mula and send off my computer for 2+ weeks. I FINALLY got my computer to stay on long enough to back up some files on my external hard drive so now I will have the ability to download some pictures from some major events that happened in the month of October. October was for sure a completely CRAZY month and I have the pictures to show for it! Look forward to FINALLY seeing some new blog posts ASAP!

PS...Kelly is still in Europe and I have been missing her like CRAZY! SEESTER--I miss you and I hope you are having a beyong amazing time in Europe. Have fun in Austria on the "Sound of Music" tour...(Dad and I were reading your blog today and OR COURSE he started singing so I joined him...I know you miss our singing!) I LOVE YOU KEL! Come home soon :)

Hula-hoops!

Our family (thanks to my amazing mother, Jill) has a weighted hula-hoop. Its purpose is to build your core and with that, it kind of hurts when you first try it. Here are some attempts made by some friends recently. Have a good laugh because we did!

This is Josh Simpson trying the hula-hoop...


And now its Nikki Smalley's turn! (sorry Nikki!)

This Should Keep Us All Thinking...

May the Words of My Mouth

When I was in Nepal, there were a couple of days where we had to stay in our hotel rooms because of the danger going on outside. So what my wonderful roommates and I would do was either sleep, journal, read our Bibles, or listen to our iPods. One day I was listening to my iPod and came across this wonderful song called "May the Words of my Mouth" by Tim Hughes. It pretty much became the anthem for my time in Nepal. I also prayed that it would become the goal for my everyday life...

May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart
Bless Your name, bless Your name, Jesus
And the deeds of the day and the truth in my ways
Speak of You, speak of You, Jesus

For this is what I'm glad to do
It's time to live a life of love that pleases You
And I will give my all to You
Surrender everything I have and follow You
I'll follow You

Lord, will You be my vision, Lord, will You be my guide
Be my hope, be my light and the way
And I'll look not for riches, nor praises on earth
Only You'll be the first of my heart

For this is what I'm glad to do
It's time to live a life of love that pleases You
And I will give my all to You
Surrender everything I have and follow You
I'll follow You
I will follow
I will follow
I will follow You

"Lord be my Vision and my Guide"

San Diego...Oh Happy Day!

Yesterday I drove down to my old stomping ground in San Diego for my friends, Alyssa and Matt's, dual birthday party. I have not been back to the Point Loma area since I graduated and I got a chance to see a ton of my friends that I went to school with at PLNU. Before I did anything else, I had to stop by PLNU to drop off some money for my Loveworks trip to Nepal. As I was driving in, I got super giddy and a huge wave of nostalgia hit me big time! I love Point Loma and I truly miss it. I miss the small classrooms, caf lane, my professors, my friends, the caf, and especially chapel. (Never thought I would say that haha!) I can say proudly now that Point Loma definitely helped shape who I am today. It helped mold my way of thinking about the Lord, life in general, and the world, and helped to nurture my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed to have had such great and memorable experiences at PLNU. Then I had the chance to get sushi for dinner with my amazing friend Emilee Peterman. She just returned from studying abroad in Costa Rica so it was a blast to get to catch up with her and see some pictures of her adventures there. Emilee is such an awesome friend and is my encourager. She encourages me in so many ways and I love her and thank her for that. I don't know what I would do without her and I miss her so much now that she is in San Diego and I'm in Orange County. I got to see a ton of people at the birthday party for Alyssa and Matt and so many things have changed, but for the better of course! And today on the way back to Orange County, I got to hang out with my good friend Alex Frenzel. We went to lunch at UTC and then he took me to UCSD to show me where he worked. He introduced me to some of the people he worked with and showed me his "office" and the physics lab where he spent most his time this summer. I always thought he was the smartest guy I know...and I was right, but now I think he is pretty much a genius. (And he is.) So thanks Alex for showing me how much of a genius you are! I had a great time in San Diego and I look forward to visiting down there more often!

The "Golden" Couple

On Sunday, June 29, 2008, one of my good friend Danica Sandberg was married to Chris Golden in Cypress, CA. I was so excited for Danica and Chris! The day was a hot one as the ceremony was held outside. The guest list included a ton of our friends from Point Loma since both Danica and Chris attended college with me, as well as a bunch of church and family friends of mine and Danica's. The reception was so much fun, filled with friends, food, cocktails, and dancing. I had an especially great time since it was the first time that I had graduated from Point Loma that I finally got to see some of my friends! Steve Haskell, Chris' best man, made a great speech and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.. It was a beautiful and perfect day for the "Golden" wedding! Congratulations Danica and Chris! I LOVE YOU BOTH!

Family Time in Texas

Yesterday my family and I returned from a 5 day trip to Texas for our Muir Family Reunion. Reunions are some of my favorite times EVER. These reunions usually occur every 3 years and last for about a week as different families are placed in charge of setting up the reunion for that year. So far in my lifetime I have been to Kentucky, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Michigan, California, Maine, and Texas. There are about 50-60 of us, which makes things VERY interesting. Let's just say things NEVER get boring. Each reunion keeps getting better and better as the years go on. I dont think people can even begin to understand how amazing, loving and accepting my entire family truly is. I cant imagine my life without any of these people and love them to death! Thank you, Heavenly Father, for blessing me with a family as wonderful and unique as they are :)
















I cant wait for the next one in 3 years!!!

Happy Father's Day!

To my amazing Pops:




There are so many things my dad is to me. It would take forever to explain to anyone how amazing he truly is. So I decided to take the creative route and describe him through his name, Christopher.

C-Christ-like. My dad might not go around telling everyone he has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but then again, he doesn't need to; his words and actions prove it. Thank you Pops for being such an amazing example and spiritual leader for me and the rest of the family.
H-Hysterical. He is super funny and I know everyone in the family or even close friends know that he is quite the jokester. He tells jokes, acts silly, and everyone LOVES it! I think its natural to think that a lot of times he is just plain cheesy. Thank you Pops for making me laugh all the time!
R-Realistic. My dad has always encouraged us kids to pursue our goals, but with a realistic spin on it. A lot of times we all get ahead our ourselves and he is kind enough to give us the constructive criticism that we need to become better people and to further ourselves for the future. Thank you Pops for being my #1 cheerleader/critic!
I-Intelligent. Pops is the most intelligent man I know. He constantly surprises me with his wealth of knowledge about everything from sports to music to religion to business and even to pop culture. Thanks Pops for being my "teacher of life."
S-Singer. You might not know it, but Pops is quite the vocalist. He loves to sing! Once we got him an iPod, his music loving and singing skills blossomed. His favorite singers range from Vanessa Carlton to The Doobie Brothers to Julie Andrew in "The Sound of Music" (he knows all the songs...and thinks he is a soprano). Thanks for the earplugs Pops! (Just kidding)
T-Tender. Pops is one of the most loving people. He is there for me whenever I need him and for whatever reason, no questions asked. Thank you Pops for always loving me just the way I am.
O-Outgoing. My dad is always the person at family events to talk to every single kid to see how they are doing and what they are up to these days. He may not admit it, but he loves to be in the spotlight and make people laugh. And I feel like he does it just to make people feel better about themselves. He is also really good with our friends. Yes, he has the ability to embarrass me in front of my friends (and abuses it), but I feel like that is his job. Thanks Pops for being so friendly!
P-Pops. I dont know when my sister and I started calling dad "Pops" but he definitely embraced it and still signs his cards and emails "Love, Pops" Thanks for humoring us and being an amazing Pops!
H-Handsome. Pops is still one good-looking, bitchin' dude (even with a little "salt and pepper" sprinkled here and there). My mom can attest to that ;) Thanks for passing on the good genes Pops!
E-Ethical. In everything that he does, Pops does his BEST to do the right thing. He is a moral and honest businessman, husband, and father, just to name a few. He instilled in all of us kids the morals that were instilled into him growing up. Thanks Pops for being so virtuous.
R-Remarkable. My dad is absolutely incredible. He truly is one of a kind. He continues to shock me with his amazing words, actions, support, love and encouragement. THANK YOU POPS FOR CONTINUING TO BE THE BEST DAD EVER!










I love you Pops!

Nepal

I am doing a TON better with my sleeping pattern. No longer am I falling asleep at 4 or 5am but now around 1am....so much better! Well the reason why my sleeping patterns were all off was because I was in Nepal for 3 1/2 weeks. It was the most amazing trip of a lifetime! I went with my school, Point Loma Nazarene University, which has one of (if not the best) short terms missions trip programs in the US. There were several teams of 10-15 people who went to different countries such as Ukraine, Dominica, Rwanda, India, Dominican Republic, Nepal, Bangladesh, Romania, Congo, Peru, Thailand, and Liberia. I had a team of 15 people, 13 students and 2 leaders. We all got along amazingly well the entire trip and God totally blessed our team. The 3 weeks consisted of building strong relationships with the Nepali people by teaching English classes, doing VBS with the children,team-building with the youth, leading Bible studies with families, preaching sermons in the churches, and encouraging the Nepali Nazarene pastors. .

We also got to go to Hindu and Buddhist temples with the pastors being our tour guides which made things really fun and interesting. Even though they usually try to stay away from the temples, it showed us how much they wanted us to experience Nepal and see all the beautiful temples and history.




I cant even explain to anyone how amazing the Lord is. He is the most important thing in my life and I felt so privileged to go across the world to share with people who my God is to me and to also encourage other believers. I learned A LOT of things on this trip but it was cool how I got to see how big the Lord truly is and how His love, grace, mercy, and power extends to the farthest parts of the world. God has NO bounds. How great is our God.
I praise the Lord for all of the EXTRAORDINARY Nepali youth leaders and pastors we met in our time there. I love them and miss them so much!!













I CANT WAIT TO GO BACK!

INSOMNIA

So ever since I have gotten back from Nepal, I just cannot sleep normal hours. Jet lag is killing me! It is a 13 hour difference between here and Nepal so I usually end up staying up til 4am every morning and then sleeping til 5pm! It is not a good schedule but I really have been trying. I even tried taking sleeping pills. Anyway, my schedule is still pretty off so it just stinks. And I ever so conveniently have been sick ever since I got home which is not fun. This has not been the best homecoming but my family (God bless them) has been trying to make me feel as comfortable as can be. I love my family....but I miss Nepal. Here is to another try at getting somewhat of a good night sleep....

Almost done!

So I just finished my last project EVER of my college career (for right now at least...grad school may be in my near future). It is such a great feeling to be done with school! My last few classes-tennis, math and small group-are tomorrow and then I am done with all my classes. Next week I have one final on Tuesday morning from 10-12 and then I am absolutely positively done with senior year. This year has gone by so fast!!! It is definitely a bittersweet feeling. I even get to pick up my cap and gown tomorrow! Wow. My 4 years at Point Loma have been absolutely amazing and I have had the time of my life!! i will miss my friends but most will be sticking around the Southern California area which will be so great! Today was also my last day of work at the yacht insurance agency. I feel so blessed to have met such great people and to have made such awesome experience....time flies when you are having fun!! Even though this chapter in my life is ending, I am anxious to see what is in store for me in the future....

Happy Birthday to me...and Kelly!

I had the privilege of celebrating my 22nd birthday at our family beach house in Oceanside. It was sooo much fun! I have so many RAD friends that drove from San Diego, Orange County, and LA to hang out and they made it such a special event! This is how the night went...I got there around 2ish with my great friends Kelly, Brian and Schuyler. We made the necessary stops at Costco and BevMo! to buy all the party favors. When we got to the beach house we cleaned it up a little and ordered pizzas and made some appetizers. By then, the people started a comin! We ate dinner and watched some television and played some fun/interesting games! Point Loma people know how to party :) More and mpre people kept coming and my amazing friend Nate graciously brought and set up his dj stuff so we could really get the party started. Everyone broke out dancing...even though some were resistant and it was such a blast!! So thanks to all my amazing friends that made that night so epic!! And some pictures to prove it....