All my dreams have come true.

...and that's the preview you get.

:)

If you've been following me, I think you know my good news already!

yeeeeeeeeep!!

Fresh Foods Mission.

Cue the music. I'm a woman on a mission.

and it looks a little somethin' like this!

Here's the scene: I just graduated college in May. I'm a busy, busy girl. I'm typically out of the house before 7:30 a.m. and not back until 8:00 a.m. I'm frugal.

All of this adds up to a freezer of meals for a week that looks a little somethin' like this:

frozen meals galore!

Frozen meals: they're easy, they're quick, and they're varied. I generally can't eat the same thing over and over, and frozen meals provide a simple way to ensure I can change up my meals.

...sorta.

Going into the new year, I racked my brain for a resolution that could challenge me. A quick peek into my freezer lit that lightbulb right up!

I'm going to cook my meals. I'm going to steer clear of these processed foods. I'm going to buy ingredients that make me excited to cook my own meals.

I love cooking. It's just hard to summon up the energy at 8 p.m. to cook for just myself after a long day of work and the gym. So there's my challenge.

See that shopping cart above? That's just the beginning. Fresh veggies and meats and condiments. Ingredients to make ma'self some real food and health-ify my dinners. 

...Plus a can of SpaghettiOs, because they just looked awesome. Hey, theyre plus calcium. 

And I was completely out of peanut butter, which is an emergency in my house (did you know I was supposed to go on The Rachel Ray Show for my little peanut butter addiction? They called me to fly me out, but I was sadly on a cruise for Spring Break).

isn't the very top of the peanut butter jar the absolute best?

Soon to come are my adventures and recipes of my first few homemade meals. And they're yuuumy!

The Creepy "New White Pages"

Thanks to a heads up from my friend Dana, I learned of a pretty creepy new website which allows users to search for a name and find your home address.

The website, Spokeo.com, gathers information from "hundreds of online and offline sources, including but not limited to: phone directories, social networks, marketing surveys, mailing lists, government censuses, real estate listings, and business websites."

The tagline reads, "Not your grandma's phonebook."

Well, yeah, and grandma's not a stalking serial killer.

When one navigates to the homepage of Spokeo, anyone can enter your first and last name and view dozens of results, depending on how common the name is. It may include your address, pictures, phone number(s), household income, profession, household members, and more.

And, if the user pays money, they can view a FULL report, which can include "e-mail address, exact age, estimated income, credit score, social profile, photos, videos, hobbies, lifestyle, and more!"

The kicker? My name isn't all that common, and I had four correct address listings. I had two listings for my parent's address in North Carolina and one from the address in New Jersey where I grew up, each under my full name, Alyssa, and my nickname, Aly. It said I was in my early 20's, it included my parents, and my dad's annual income level.

Fortunately, Dana provided me with the tips to remove my listing. Honestly, if someone doesn't know your address and can't ask you, there's probably a really good reason.

So here's the debate: I'm one for new technology, new gadgets, and new concepts (I am an electronic media specialist), but this one really creeped me out. Yes, I think it's great that we can search for almost anything online "with just a click of a button, but this one goes too far. What happened to protection from identity theft and serial killers?

Okay, maybe I've been watching a little too many Criminal Minds reruns. But still.

I do strongly suggest everyone to search yourself and remove your listing(s). It takes two seconds, so hop to it.

To remove your spokeo.com listing:
1. In spokeo.com's search bar, type your first and last name (do another search with any nicknames, too).

2. Click on the accurate result and copy that URL.

3. Click on the "privacy" link at the bottom of the page.

4. Paste that URL and enter your e-mail address.

5. From there, you'll receive an e-mail in a minute providing a removal link. Click that, and you're gone from Spokeo.

Ta-da! You're welcome! 

What do you think? Is this a cool new way to get your friend's addresses, or is this a total security risk and an invasion of privacy?


Coming soon... my new eating challenge. ;)

P.S. Who has noticed my brand new page, "The Blogroll" in the upper right corner? Here, I've linked a few of my favorite followers and followees who also have blogs. Check these chickies out!

P.P.S. Meghan at Sunshine 'n Spice is having a nice little giveaway of "Perfect Bars." Go enter!

Simple Math.

Math was never my strongest suit, but this equation is probably the easiest I've encountered in my 23 years.

-

=

I don't know how much longer I can wait.

Gotcha!

Remember my post about the critters in ma attic?

I was hearing serious noises upstairs in my new house. I thought I had a raccoon, a ghost, or a not-so-friendly homeless man wreaking havoc above my head.

Thank you, Mr. Exterminator, for changing the population to (hopefully) 0.

my squirrely friend is quickly regretting his decision to shack up with me.

His triumphant finds? One dead rat (the trap got him, R.I.P.), and one pesky little squirrel. These guys are to blame for the noises I've been hearing in the morning, afternoon, and in the middle of the night.

It's good to know I'm not going crazy, right?

Now I can watch Criminal Minds before bed without the freak outs over a possible serial killer in my attic. I'm a newbie to this show, and I can't get enough of the millions of reruns.

Speaking of addicting TV shows, is anybody else getting a kick out of Brad Womack's return to The Bachelor? My mom watched his previous season, and I only saw the very end, but I'm already tired of the declarations of how he has changed, etc. We get it, Brad, and good luck with those crazy pizza-breath nutjobs. I think I'd take the real live vampire first.

Brad wants his own man version of Twilight.

I wanna know what ya'll think!

bLyssful THANK yous!

I have to thank Julie for the bLyss Designs shoutout she gave me on my birthday this past Saturday on her blog. She must have known I needed some more traffic to the bLyss etsy site. ;)

Julie's Wine-O glass. and I still have one for sale!

While I'm at it, I should thank all my great friends who have been helping me make this business finally successful. After all of my Christmas orders, I'm finally out of the red and making money on my wine glasses! It's amazing how accomplished it can make you feel when you can turn a hobby into a moneymaker.

Jill's beer mugs with the Irish flag

THANK YOU, THANK YOU to my etsy buyers, Kristie, Anastasia, Chelsea, Jill, Alyssa, Amy, Momma, Maggie, Michelle, Lisa-Marie, Maria, and Lauren. And anyone I may have forgotten. Ya'll are AWESOME!

this one was for Salisbury's veterinarian, Rebecca!

(and Maria, Mich, Chels, Alyssa, and Amy - yours are coming soon, promise!)

the beach glass.. see the sandy bottom? :)

Remember, most of my designs I don't even put on etsy. The site has been more of an exemplary site for my buyers, who for the most part request personalized designs with special colors. I'll try almost anything... I've even made a pink John Deere tractor beer mug for somebody!

monogrammed glass

Annnd, now debuting, bLyss CANDY dishes!

for his birthday, my dad asked for a Sno Caps candy dish.
I fashioned it like the candy box.

gooo terrapins! I was pretty proud of my Maryland "M" on the base of this one.

Apologies for the incredibly cruddy quality of these photos. I still can't find my camera, and as you can tell by my pictures these past few weeks, I'm lost without it.  :(

one zebra for sale!

So here's another sales pitch - they make awesome gifts, I do martini glasses, wine glasses, beer glasses and mugs, margarita glasses (if I can find them in stores), candy dishes and anything I can find in glass. Keep that business comin', 'cause I'd love to make something for you!

Is 23 old yet?

At what age does one officially become "old?"

happy birthday "two" you, baby lyssa. it's two bad your bangs aren't straight.

I was feeling pretty young today when I got a birthday blessing by the birthday fairy at school. This gem of a lady visits the school every month to "bless" each child for the month of their birthday.

birthday fairy blessing, hoo-rah! I even got to hold the wand.

With my 23rd birthday tomorrow, I'm kind of still feeling like I'm never going to be old. I'm going to be that old lady who still cures boredom with the Disney Channel, has a stupid excitement over bulk candy stores and ice cream, still thinks Jesse McCartney is dreamy, and loves to bust a move on the dance flo'. I do share a birthday with Elvis, after all.

let's face it. we'll be doing this 'till we're old and gray.

It's so funny how turning 21 is what everyone looks forward to with so much anticipation... and then, it's downhill from there, right? Sadly, running around declaring, "I'm twenty-threeee!" isn't near as cool as screaming "I'm twenty-ONNNEEEE" all day at the top of your lungs.

that "2-1" made an appearance all night long.

It's also a lot harder to hold up the 2-3 in the right order than it is when you turn 2-2.

foreeever yooouunnggg..

Let's face it, I'm never growing up. ;)

Does this mean I have to take down my coveted 22nd birthday card my good friend, Abby, made me? It's been on display in my room for a year now...

the birthday card that keeps on giving... Abby's so talented.

I'm off to Lake Gaston after work for a birthday weekend with my wonderful friends, John and Cynthia. I can't waiiiit!

Wine tastings, funny movies, and lots of corny games are in my near birthday future.

And probably not a birthday puppy. ;) I'm still holding onto my dreams!

what a surprise! A puppy?! I never even asked for one of those!

Next time I post, I'll be "twenty-threeeeee!"

Critters In Mah Attic

As a lot of you know, I've been hearing interesting noises coming from my attic since moving into my new little house.

Before I moved in, the house was vacant for a number of months, so it wasn't a big surprise to find the house pretty dirty. My parents and I did the best we could to clean up the place before moving everything in.

And theeeen, I started to hear banging above my head.  I had never been in the attic, so I was pretty weirded out. I could hear things being moved, I could hear little thumps, and I could hear pounding.

After a few days of this, my dad put a humane large animal trap up there.  I kept hearing noises and was hoping whatever it was up there got trapped, but when dad came to check it a week or so later, nothing was in the trap.

empty, empty trap. nobody in my attic likes the apple with peanut butter as much as I do?

This is the point where I get a little creeped. Whyyy am I hearing noises? Is there a bearded homeless man living in my attic? Is there a ghost? Oh, help.

I decided I either needed and exterminator or a ghostbusters. Duh-duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh...duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh...

"I ain't afraid'a no ghosts."

are you in my attic?

The straw that broke the camel's back (and the reason for my calling the exterminator) was the  poop   early birthday present someone left me in my hallway on Tuesday.

not the kind of birthday gift I had in mind

After looking at the poopies in my hallway yesterday, he told me I must have rats.

Glorious.

After checking out the attic and the holes in my roof leading into the house, he determined that I not only have rats playing my attic, but squirrels as well.

go get'cha own house, suckaaa

Yet another reason this girl needs a puppy! ;) After all the traps around my house/attic right now, I', willing to bet the squirrels are looking more like this...

you're gonna wish you never invaded my attic.