Happy Birthday Donny Sue

I met Donneta Sue (then Aguilar, now Smallwood) on March 24th, 1980. It was the day she gave birth to me. Today she turned 51 but could easily pass for 40 :) My mom and I have had an up and down relationship but since about 1995 it's been on the up and up. She is a hard working, caring, funny woman and I know she would do anything she could for me. Even though I don't look a whole lot like my mom, I'd like to think I inherited some of her awesomeness. She's never afraid to get on the dance floor and she loves a good corona. My mom speaks with honesty and sincerity and can be counted on by friends and family. Join me in celebrating my mama's birthday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Maya turned 30 this month. We first met during Summer Bridge at UCSD and remained tight throughout the years. Our friendship began like many preschoolers begin theirs; I had never been away from my tiny town of Fillmore and cried as my mom and grandma dropped me off in a new place, far from home. Maya didn't want me to feel sad so she invited me to the dinning hall with her and reassured me that it would be okay. She even taught me how to ride the city buses. In my defense, we can walk from one side of town to the other around Fillmore.

Maya, thank you for always being honest and vulnerable with me. I'm glad I can be an extension of your conscience :) You're my dawg.

It's also Thanksgiving, so here a few things I'm thankful for this year:

*FAMILY*Finishing my Master's (with honors)*Discovering the sport and art of jiu jitsu*FRIENDS*good music*pumpkin flavored treats*sleep*Laughter*my apartment*great co-workers*SCRIPTURE*going to church consistently*journaling a bit more*scrap booking* random TEXT MESSAGES*feeling butterflies in my stomach*following blogs*my car*more confidence to pursue my dreams*my crock pot*ETHAN LEE DRAKE (and his parents, of course)*therapy*Yankees winning the World Series*DISNEYLAND*In-N-Out*trying new foods*So You Think You Can Dance*and soon, being done with my personal statement!

I'm a Champ

This isn't the best picture ever...but look at those trophies. I competed in a Grappling X tournament this weekend here in San Diego. I took first in the no-gi and gi divisions and got my first submission in a tournament. It definitely was a confidence boost and I'm looking forward to more tournaments next year.

Trent's Tribute

Trent turned thirty. TTL2 is not only hilarious (you should watch him at Comedy Sportz), but he's also a very honest, insightful, and challenging friend. We first met at Hume where I think his team schooled my team in Yhatzee and we became friends as we worked in ministry at a church that shall not be named. Some of my favorite moments with Trent have occurred while watching TV (particularly 24. "I have special delivery"), playing games ("Happy New Year! Can I get some freakin' wheat?"), or just driving around Chatsworth (there are lots of cats behind the Denny's on Mason and Devonshire). We don't need a whole lot to entertain us, but it is always fun going to Disneyland with him. He has a huge heart for the Lord and it's obvious in his work with students, passion for Uganda, and in the messages he preaches. It was always fun running youth events or doing camps with him and I miss seeing him on a daily basis. He's probably the only person I would spend an hour on the phone with on a regular basis, that boy can talk. Or it's more like, he finds humor in keeping me on the phone late at night when I'm complaining about how little sleep I'll be getting because of him. Oh, and it's really fun to turn his name into a bad word. Whatever, TRENT. I like his nickname for me and I'm glad I help fulfill his quota of Mexican friends.

Trent, you are a ridiculously awesome man and I'm blessed to call you friend. I'm sorry I wasn't there to accept your pomegranate smoothie.

Tribute to Peter Strong

My friend Peter and I met at Hume Lake when we both moved into the Joshua Wilderness Institute and we've hung around each other ever since. I'm lucky because he's one of the funniest, most genuine guys I've been blessed to have in my life. He got married this weekend to Elena, the love of his life. I'm so glad too, she's absolutely perfect for him.

Here's one of my favorite Peter Strong stories:

It was a cold, snowy, Hume Lake grunting day. Grunting days were horrible in the winter because we had to walk up and down the Joshua "hell" hill (as Heather Nunn named it) and it got so icy. Peter was done with his assignment down the hill and was trying to get a hold of someone at the building. He called what he thought was the Joshua building but it was really Todd, the video guy's house. Todd's wife's name is Eliza and when she answered the phone, Peter thought she said, "Alyssa." Peter then said to Eliza, "Listen woman, get someone to come down here and pick me up...NOW!" She had no idea who was on the phone but Peter soon realized he wasn't talking to the person he thought he was. Being the nice guy he is, he apologized and explained he thought he was calling the Joshua building. When he finally trekked back up to the building his face wasn't just red from the cold, he was so embarrassed for harassing a staff member's wife. Oh, classic Peter.

My Champions

For, in the baseball world, that’s what the Yankees are. They are the nemesis to most, the nuisance to others, the toast of the town and the source of frustration. They may have bought this championship, and they may do it again. The people change and so do the bosses and even the Bosses. The Yankees don’t and won’t come up with some new identity because theirs is so patently obvious.

“I’ll put it in perspective,” Jeter said. “Read that sign right there.”

Champions, it said. Now and forever. (Read the full article here)

It's November...

I feel like a crazy person this week. I keep misplacing or losing things, feeling irritated and unmotivated. I've asked myself, "What the heck am I doing? Thinking? Feeling?" a lot lately. I miss CBB. I miss having a place where I could be Alyssa and have someone genuinely listen to me. I miss JWI and those feelings of being inspired. I feel like I'm aiming too high right now. How the heck does someone do that? I guess I'm just totally unsure about this doctorate thing and feel pressured to produce a magical personal statement that will convince some admissions people and professors that I'm worthy of their time and resources. Maybe that's it...I feel like I'm always having to prove myself. It's my craziness, I know this. Today I'm super thankful I have a Father in heaven who loves me. I'm thankful I have a savior who doesn't require me to prove myself. I'm thankful I have the Holy Spirit to nudge me along the rough path. Today I'm super thankful for the body of believers and for the new people that have been placed in my life.

Happy Halloween

I should've done this for Halloween.

SD Debut

I know I dropped a bomb on some of you (okay, Marisa at least) when I said there was no more gym crush. Now there's no more tournament. I knew I had two weddings in November but thought they were in the middle of month, turns out they're at the beginning. Oh well, the SD debut will just have to be postponed.

On another note: God is good and even though I feel like there are a lot of things that could be stressing me out right now, I'm at ease with a lot of ambiguity in my life. And for me, that's a huge growth spurt.