ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

i've been wanting to show you theses photos for awhile... loving her new PJs: and if that doesn't clue you in, maybe this will: of course, this will probably do the trick: due february 8th. excited :) [oh, and i'm doing a 27% off promo in honor of my 27th birthday coming up. use code BDAY27 at checkout. yay!]

yep! i'll be at blog sugar :) and i'm so glad i decided to buy that ticket! i wrote this post  back in march when i was wondering whether i should come. allow me to quote the best part for you: i feel like i would be trying to break into the popular girls' group. like i shouldn't really be there. i mean, no one invited me, so who do i think i am, just showing up? i don't usually put myself out there like that.  i know, i'm laying bear my insecurities for all of you to see. i should just register already, right? and get over myself? and i think i bought my ticket, like, the next day. it's true though, i still have those insecurities but i'm learning more and more that this blogging community is made up of people just like me . there are shy girls and introverts and gals that don't usually "go for it". they may be quiet in "real life" but God is teaching them and they share it with the world using a platform that's easier...

well, it's sort of funny that i'm posting this. remember how i wrote about this just a few weeks ago? how i had been singing the solo for "revelation song" for awhile, and then our director had someone else sing it? and how that was totally okay with me? well, for whatever reason, we sang it again this past sunday and he had me do the solo :) of course, i did as i was told. and of course i loved singing it again. someone a few weeks ago suggested that i post an actual video of me singing, instead of just photos... so i'm obliging. ** this post is newly updated since our services now on vimeo! yay! the video is embedded right here on the page... you can either watch the whole thing or you can scroll to about 17:00 minutes The New Covenant - June 26, 2011 from  Shadow Mountain Community Church on Vimeo . p.s. my dress = $15 at Ross. i have 2 more in the same style but different pattern. isn't it perfect for church singing? 

i guess you've noticed that i haven't been around much? well, i'm letting myself take a break [or at least slow down a little] and be okay with it. i've been on vacation and been catching up on laundry and taking lots of naps  [more on that later this week]. but, i managed to edit some really old photos, to show you a couple yummy ideas: first up, smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese. [and capers and onions]. this is one of my all-time favorite meals. you have to like raw fish, of course, but honestly i could eat this every day. cut up some bagels, spread cream cheese, top with salmon and capers and onions if you like the extra pop of flavor. and then of course homemade microwaved popcorn. barely any calories, and so yummy. i love that i know all the ingredients that go into this. did you know that regular microwaved popcorn that you buy in the pouches is one of the worst foods you can possibly eat? true story. so here's a just-as-simple, but sooo-much-be...

just wanted to let you know that i've added two new prints to the shop . this time they're 10x8. i've gotten quite a few requests for some horizontally-oriented designs, so here they are!  i'm loving the stripes on this one. i think i might do stripes more often:  or no stripes is equally as pretty:  and also, a few more colors for the "oaks of righteousness" with the oak tree: head over to the shop to buy . remember, they're "print it yourself". you can either print at home on cardstock or you can send to costco or wherever you get photos printed (they look great on photo paper, believe me). scrapbookpictures.com is another option. really outdated and hard-to-navigate website, but they get the job done!

i meant to post this awhile ago, but was rushing out of town and forgot about it. oops!  june 12th was our sixth wedding anniversary. i feel too young to be celebrating six years, but that's what happens when you meet in high school at 15, get engaged at 19 and married at 20... you celebrate six years when you're only 26. both my husband and i will now admit that 20 was too young to get married. there were a lot of things we could've avoided had we waited. but we thought we knew better and got married anyway... two years of college left to go, nowhere to live, no legitimate jobs, but  very generous parents. as crazy and naive as we were, and as much of a rollercoaster as it's been: i would choose him all over again today hands down, no hesitation. after six years, we know that marriage comes down to good old fashioned commitment. our commitment has been tested and tried, and today it is stronger than ever. it has not been shaken, even through the fire. by Go...

have you ever done an inductive Bible study? i'm assuming that's what this is, when you take a book of the Bible and simply read it, to study it for yourself. not consulting commentaries or other authors. so i'm going through Philippians that way right now, along with hundreds of other women doing the " maximize your mornings " challenge that i told you about. what i love about it is that God is able to teach me Himself, through His spirit. don't get me wrong, i looove me some Beth Moore [that's obvious if you've read my blog for very long], and have learned so much from Bible teachers. but to learn exactly what God would have me learn that day, straight from His Word and through His spirit? that's priceless if you ask me. take Philippians 1:12-18 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else t...

gosh this is long... oops! a few months ago i had an opportunity to live out what i say i believe when it comes to worship. musical worship. [because that's not the only kind of worship, you know?] if you hadn't picked up on it already, i am a singer and i sing in my church's choir/praise team. if you have read this post from awhile back , you know why i sing. and you know that i know it's not about me. but that's easy to say and to believe when you get to sing lots of solos and get lots of compliments from people, right? even though it's not about me, you still want to see some photos of me singing, right? what's a blog post without photos? do you know "revelation song"? it's my all time favorite. from revelation 4 and 5, it is John's vision of heaven. just breathtaking [the passages in revelation, AND the song]. for the last few years, i would sing the solo for that song, anytime we would sing it in church. one morning about si...

you guys, we literally had the most fun ever this past saturday night! my husband's close friend was having an engagement party. we were planning to go to dinner and then swing into the party a few hours late, thinking it would be no big deal. around 5:30 my husband gets a call, asking if we're coming. he explains that we're just leaving for dinner and we'll be there a little bit late. the groom, on the other end of the phone says: "we're surprising everyone and getting married in 25 minutes. get here" what? i mean seriously, they have to be the coolest people we know. if not for all the other wonderful qualities they each have, mostly because they're doing a surprise wedding. who does that?!? they actually held up the ceremony for us. he called his bride as she was making her way down the walk to the ceremony site and said, "wait, stop. joel's not here yet!" so we ran up just as her dad was announcing the surprise and she was walkin...

** you may have read this over on Leslie's blog last week. I just wanted to have record of it here, in my own space... It was last  Thursday  and I was downstairs having my morning quiet time. I had been praying for about 30 minutes and God was revealing some pretty earth shattering things to me. There was pride that I hadn't recognized and some impure motives in a few situations I was involved in. God was shining light into so much darkness I hadn't even known was there... Needless to say, I had a really wonderful time of confession and repentance, all before 6:30 AM.  I felt completely alive and filled with His goodness and mercy, ready to face whatever the day would bring.  I looked up at the clock and realized I needed to iron my husband's pants ;)  So I went upstairs and he was just waking up. I got his pants on the ironing table and noticed a tear in the pocket. Still groggy, he remembered that yes, he'd ripped them the other day... so he c...

this week i haven't spent much time writing, as you can tell. only one post and it was quite un-insightful at that. i've spent lots of time reading, though. following along with the Compassion bloggers as they took their trip to the Philippines and wrote about it every day. and also lots of other stuff. two fridays ago, left you with a few posts that i had loved during the week, and today i'll do the same [maybe this will be a new Friday thing? we'll see...] 1) i highlighted her last week, and she's back again. Serena Woods  "The Mirror Is a Liar" . its about grace, and pride, and our desperate attempt to make ourselves worthy even though we never will be. not without Christ. 2) Katy writes about "Tornadoes and Such" . about God's sovereignty in it all. so good. 3) Emily's  "How Stickers Can Change The World" . you could read all the posts from all the Compassion bloggers in the Philippines right now, sure. and i...