I'm MOVING!

That's right. I'm moving.

Let's call Spring a fresh start for the life of Alyssa, and therefore, for Life of bLyss as well.

Here's a sneaky sneak preview of my brand spankin' new Wordpress domain:

sneaky, sneaky, sir.

But that's all you're gettin', because I want it to be a nice unveiling when the site is ready.

Blogger's just leaving a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to bugs, layouts, comments, subscriptions, etc.

A fresh start. 

It's what I'm planning; it's what I'm grabbing; it's where I'll succeed.

"I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness."

Courage is about doing what you're afraid to do.
There can be no courage unless you're scared.

"One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in, and where you want to go."

Be who you are and say what you feel.
Because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

"It takes chances to make changes." 


And a few of my all-time personal favorites...

this has been on my fridge for the past 5 years.

"no one can give you courage; no one can thicken your skin"

"maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. maybe they're supposed to run wild until they find someone just as wild to run with."

And edited to add from Lisa's post today,

I'm totally a thief, Lisa. Forgive me.
But this is perfect.

'Cause after all, this little girl (and her scrunchies) is counting on me to do her proud.

Dear God,

I don't know what your plan is, but I've finally realized I need to put all my faith in you.

Bring it. I trust ya.

Love, Alyssa

Inspiration

A suggestion by my sister.
Reinforcement from one of my closest friends, Anastasia.
Inspiration from Julie and her amazing blogging skills.
A slight affinity for writing, sharing, and everything computer-related.

What do you get when all of these are mashed together?

A BLOG!

The title: my life, with a little spin on my favorite nickname, Lyssa.  Lyss --> bLyss?

Ta-da!

Ever since my friend Julie (a different Julie than the one above, believe it or not!) stumbled upon Julie's blog, pbfingers.com, and declared she's just like me, I've been following the thing ever since.  It's kind of a strange - Julie (Julie the blogger... wow, this could get confusing) and I are both excercise-aholics, run half marathons, have a love for food and the strange gene that makes us bottomless pits, and have a full appreciation for documenting our lives and buying from Etsy.

I digress.

Anyway, after my sister suggested using a blog to document my half marathon training, I realized how great it would be to keep in touch with my family and friends.  I have loved ones in Northern VA, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida... what better way to keep them all up to speed on what's going on in Virginia Beach?

In this blog, I hope to cover my adventures in my new life in Virginia Beach post-college.  My endeavors may include workout and running recaps/tips/ideas, recipes, and simple updates on mah life.

To begin, a little teaser:


I LOVE my new job as an Electronic Media Specialist in a wonderful private school.  I even get to assistant coach JV field hockey in the fall!

I know you're jealous of my school picture.

My boyfriend, James, is such a smartypants.  He passed the VA Bar exam and is now trying real big boy cases! In court!

My lawyer "courts" me.

I am still working on my little fledgling business, bLyss Designs.  I have so much fun hand painting personalized wine glasses, beer mugs, and other glasses. (The holidays are coming up... hint hint! Click that link to get to my online site!)

It's saying... "order a personalized glass from meeee!"

It's been just over a year since our little Emma passed, and I'm salivating over the idea of getting a new friend.  Does losing your puppy ever get any easier? :-\

best. doggy. ever.

There you go - the first post of bLyss.  More to come soooon! ;)