Sandy & Snowy

Halloween was canceled, or rather, rescheduled (?) but that was the least of New Jerseys problems this past week. We were hit pretty badly with a hurricane called Sandy, also known to the media as ‘Frankenstorm’. Seeing so many of the places that have always played major roles in my life, just washed away, is truly sickening. After Hurricane Irene last August, I don’t think many of us in NJ took the warning about Sandy seriously. Boy, were we wrong. There has been so much devastation down the shore - the place that is my home. Thankfully, my family and I are okay, and our homes damage didn’t extent a few fallen trees. However, that is not the case for most in the Jersey Shore. If you can, please donate to Hurricane Sandy relief through the Red Cross - even if all you have to offer is a dollar. Your donation will certainly help repair the homes and lives of many, and will mean the world to all New Jersey residents.

Anyhow, we’re now being hit with a snow storm. Snow is one of my favorite things, but being stuck in the dark is not, and as my electricity is currently flashing, I think it’s time to wrap up this post.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you are all safe!

Much love,
Alyjah

Halloweenie

Hi lovelies! I’m so excited for Halloween (even though i don’t know yet what to be!!!) I’m even having a little get together with scary movies and plenty of goodies.

This past month, I’ve been working at a haunted maze called Nightmare at Gravity Hill. It’s been so much fun! As its the last weekend of October, we’ll be closing down for the season this upcoming Sunday. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being part of such an awesome trail, and I hope to be back next year!

I’ve had the pleasure of playing the part of the zombie/ghost bride!

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And these are some of the cookies I’m going to take a stab at making for my little Halloween bash!!

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I’ll be making some cupcakes as well with cute cupcake holders bought at Michaels, and I’m also making goody bags of candy! All of my baked goods will be gluten free, and the decorating portion will all be with Wilton products!

Apple

Hi loves!

I really wanted to write up a brief review on the service at Apple.

Recently, my iPad 2, which I got this past Christmas from my daddy (thank you daddy!), had started acting very strange. After using it for a few minutes, especially when I opened safari, the iPad would start ‘ghost’ typing, and opening apps, and freezing. It was super frustrating!

I wiped my iPad, which really sucked because of all the photos I lost. However, after a short while of use, the random typing and app-opening and closing started up again. After that, my dad did some more research and found that going into the device’s settings and disabling one of the options (I think it was voice control) could solve the problem. I must say, I was pretty pissed that my dad didn’t try that option before erasing all of my info buuuuttttt, I was happy that this setting change made my iPad work!

…for a little over a week, that is.

Finally, I was so fed up, that I took the iPad to Apple. After a while of using the iPad in front of one of the Apple employees, the iPad decided to behave…I swear that thing must’ve been possessed!!

But the worker believed me, and understood that it took a while of use before the iPad would start acting up. So, regardless of me not having AppleCare, I was given a brand new IPad 2 to replace my faulty one, absolutely free of charge!!

In all of my experiences with Apple products, I’ve rarely had an issue, but on the occasion that there is an issue, Apple takes full responsibility and makes sure their customers are well taken care of!

Anyhow, I hope this wins over any Apple skeptics lol and I just had to share my excitement (:

-Alyjah

Road Trip

Hi loves! I’m writing this from my phone, so I can’t add all of the photos I took, however, they can be found on my instagram! (daintydaisy_)

Anyhow, this past week, I went on a road trip with my mom to Virginia to visit family. Pumping your own gas is awfully confusing when you’re born & raised in New Jersey lol But we made the (very long) journey successfully. Having enjoyed the beautiful scenery of trees and nature, and the company of goofy horses, I moved from Virginia over to West Virginia. Let me say, I navigate through foreign territory excellently! My mom got us lost a dozen times, but my directional skills guided us to our destination :p After looking through old pictures with an aunt in West Virginia, my cousin gave us a tour through Washington DC, where I had never been before! My cousin used to work there, so, for better lack of words, he knew his shit. I learned some awesome history of America that I previously didn’t know, and had the opportunity to appreciate some BEAUTIFUL architecture. After DC, we all went over to a gorgeous restaurant on the water, where I had delicious French fries, and crab, and talked about Sacha Baron Cohen. We ended the night getting homemade ice cream (I indulged on a cup of scrumptious pistachio ice cream), and headed off to sleep. Thursday morning, we woke up bright and early, and started towards home.

I’ve had a great week, but am EXHAUSTED, and especially sick of driving for the moment :p

-Alyjah

New Diet & Fitness Plan

Hello lovelies! As mentioned in a recent blog post, I have decided to lead a more healthy lifestyle, when it comes to my eating habits and activeness. I’m proud to say I have stuck to my word! After deciding to eat healthy and hit the gym, I was made aware of a gluten intolerance, so I’ve had to cut out my beloved bread, my precious pizza, my magical mac & cheese… However this allergy has made dieting incredibly easier, now that my motivation isn’t only looking fit and sexy, but my actual health. In result of hours spent researching, I had read up on some scary effects of not leading a gluten-free diet when you indeed do have an intolerance. I came to the decision that I’d rather not have stomach cancer, than eat a cupcake or slice of mouthwatering buffalo chicken pizza; which brings me to my next topic - I can still indulge in pizza and pasta and the likes! There are plenty of gluten substitutes that allow me to still enjoy the delicious snacks and meals that I always have. 

Here are some of my favorites! 

Bobs Red Mill sells gluten-free mixes and ingredients of all sorts! 

My favorite fries (Chick Fil a Waffle Fries)  are gluten-free! And this delicious Chick Fil a  Salad is as well

Chargrilled Chicken & Fruit Salad

A lot of Restaurants have Gluten-free menus, some of which include:

• Longhorn
• Applebee’s
• Bonefish Grill
• Ruby Tuesday
• Most Frozen Yogurt chains
• And many more! 

Another awesome thing about organic gluten-free foods, is that they’re low in calories and fat! 

I’ve been eating a lot of fruits, salad, eggs, and some meat as well. I feel great and healthy, less bloated and lethargic, and haven’t experienced any of the bad stomach aches I consistently got before I went gluten-free. I’ve been avoiding all fatty foods, as well as foods high in sodium and sugar. 

Note: Only cut gluten out of your diet if you have an actual gluten intolerance 

Last but not least, here are some of my favorite machines to use at the gym!! 

I always have a nice cold water bottle with me when I’m working out, and always where my sweat off band, which I wrap around my stomach, and wear underneath my shirt. It absorbs sweat, and stimulates more sweating, which helps get rid of water weight! 

Thanks for reading! 

Stay healthy,

Alyjah 

* Fourth of July *

Hi guys, hi!! This fourth of July, I performed some covers and originals at To Be Continued book store, and it was fabulous! The setting was very intimate, and the audience was a pleasure, I’m so happy to have played for them. 

Here are some photos! 

My heart melts for this next picture; it’s just too cute!! You can see me playing guitar and singing, right between my parents watching from the audience <3 

The book store was kind enough to film the whole performance for me and my fans, so be sure to visit the To Be Continued book store Facebook page, to see the clips! 

Hope everyone saw some killer fireworks!

Much love,

Alyjah

Hi loves! I’m in awe  that I am even capable of exerting enough energy to even type. Today I went kayaking for…wait for it….

Five and a half hours!!

Boy, am I exhausted! I did this same trip last year, with my best friend, her little sister, her dad, and a bunch of family friends. Of course, my arms get tired and achey while I’m in the actual process of rowing, but a good hour or two afterwards, it hits me. Seriously - it hits me, out of nowhere, BAM, hurts like a bitch! 

Either way, I had a ton of fun, and the pain is totally worth it. Not to mention, as you’ll most likely be seeing in future blog posts, I’m venturing on the journey of weight loss! I’ve gained a lot of weight this past year, and am undeniably ashamed/embarrassed; so I’m going to do something about it! Intense workouts and healthy foods, here I come! I plan to look great, feel great, and ultimately, be content with and proud of my appearance. I’ve found that if I don’t look well, I don’t feel well, and vise versa. I’m super excited to start shedding a few pounds, and seeing results, and will definitely keep my followers up to date about my progress. I need to stick to this, so I need plenty of support and encouragement! 

Anyhow, here are some pictures of today <3 

Isn’t this beautiful?! Probably my favorite part of the trip, and I really looked forward to it from last year.

That would be me in my kayak :P

I love this picture I got of Priscilla.

At the end of the trip, we always jump of the bridge at the final stop. If you look super closely, you’ll see a wee little blob falling…that would be me! 

Alright, time to go moan and whine about how badly my arms hurt :P

- Alyjah

Casual Ranting from Alyjah

Hey dolls. I’m kind of flabbergasted right now about something, and the best outlet I have for my anger (in this situation) is blogging.

So, yesterday, I went to Six Flags in New Jersey, with my best friend, Priscilla, to see another artists signed to my manager perform - her name is Katlyn Nichol, and once you’ve seen her sing, it’s safe to say you’ve witnessed more ‘pipes’ than a plumber has! - Anyhow, I’ve always known that the greatest part of Great Adventure is the ridiculous entrance fee. But boy, oh boy, was I shocked by the exact prices I was faced with!

Upon arriving at the park, I immediately had to pay $22 for parking. Now, luckily, I already had one ticket to enter the park, but there were two people in this scenario, so another ticket did have to be purchased. $66 to enter the park! Entering the park, alone, Priscilla and I had already ran out of the cash we previously set aside to last us the entire day. Meanwhile, I had to pull out my debit card just to pay the remaining three bucks of the park ticket!

Now, in case you didn’t know, you are prohibited from bringing food and/or drinks into the Six Flags theme park. Being the hot, hot day that it was, refreshments were a must. In purchasing a sprite, water bottle, and salad, I had dropped $16 and change. Being in the park from 2ish until around 7:30, of course we were bound to get hungry again. Hot day plus a craving for food, we figured ice cream would be a fairly cheap, reasonable purchase. WRONG. A vanilla cone was $7.00, so, in total, ice cream cost us a good 14 singles.

All in all, going on no more than two rides, and showing support at a concert for a friend, we spent around $118.

If Great Adventure is intended to be a nice, affordable day-cation for families and teens, then Six Flags has failed tremendously! Just imagine how expensive a day for a family of four would be, when two girls spent over one hundred dollars. Ridiculous!

Now that I’ve set my rage free, I’d like to end this post by saying all of my darling readers should most definitely give Katlyn Nichol a listen. She’s going to be huge, so all you hipsters, get your butts on YouTube, and become a fan before she’s a household name!

Thanks for reading,

xx Alyjah