i am changed,.....

 covid changed me, you read that right. that's when i changed. i changed my outlook, i changed our routines, i changed our home! i changed a lot of things because it changed me and somehow makes me see the tragedy that occurred in the state of NC last week differently. there is perhaps a little bit of aging in my outlook too, don't get me wrong, but i am forever a different person as the years pass. i am not the same as i was last year and i won't be the same next year, i am certain. but it's these types of life changing events that make you sit up and realize. it. could. all. be. gone. tomorrow. and if you don't realize that, search asheville, boone, saluda NC….they are proof. the things we get up everyday to do on our to do lists, they don't necessarily matter. yes, i am a firm believer in a purpose, when my feet hit the ground every morning i go through my to-do list in my head, BUT it could change any minute of any day and we have to know what is important and what REALLY matters. 

covid changed me by seeing my time, my family and my faith are the reasons to get out of bed! it is not going to a job that annoys you or perhaps even a job you love. it is not to make the next amazon purchase. it is not about the next lavish vacation (that one stings a little-because i love an island view). it is not about any of that and I have never believed that more than seeing people's homes literally floating away. it could be mine, it could be yours. we have to know there are things that are more important than the “things” we are currently living for. 

we live in the house my grandparents built in 1973. we just put in a new driveway, it was the last big piece to our puzzle, it has taken 15 years. but it was completed a month ago and when i saw the pics of the places we have visited, the places we have hiked, the places we have enjoyed– DESTROYED, it could have been us. it could have been that driveway we worked for years trying to pay for. it could have been the hard work my grandfather spent building our home. It could be gone. and if that does not make you stop and think. it should. 

in the midst of this tragedy, it was more than fitting at church sunday there was a speaker-pre planned-about “no more”. his focus was on a budget, not overspending, not living for “things”-right up my alley, although brooks does love to remind i still do overspend (at times), but i promise you, i am changed. covid changed me. “things” are not the important part of life. we must say no more, more often.  

i don't know the right answer to the destruction that is less than 60 miles from us, but i do know those people that survived this gut wrenching tragedy. are changed. i will assume they only want their families and their homes back as they were a week ago. i will assume the things that filled their homes were important, but not as important as the safety net their homes provided with their families intact. 

covid changed me. hurricane helene changed me. are you changed, yet?

much love, alysha 

my 3rd college degree....helping my kid figure out college!

 the road to college has been a road with ups and downs, twists and turns and i am still unsure what the end of the road will be....

i highly recommend that if you have a high school student (freshman year would be best) to start the process of the college search if there is ANY chance they want to attend a college. i feel like we were late to the game and currently the game is in fast forward.

there are so many things to do and i honestly havent found a super helpful resource yet. i truly dont know how students do it without some sort of parental support because at this point i need some support much less bryson doing it alone. maybe i am doing it all wrong and i dont know any better but there are endless steps and so many decisions it is a daunting task. (if you have some tips, please share) 

my 1st tip....take tours, go as early as possibly in case you need to go back and take another look. i feel like we have learned so much on tours. you get to see how it feels, how it looks, and if you know the major you can do a special tour for that too. start tours early! they have been the best part of the process. 

my 2nd tip.....fill out scholarships now....NOW. there are so many, there are so many spam ones, there are SO MANY and i have yet to find decent ones. i could i truly use some assistance with this. i have said to brooks if someone could give me some legit engineering scholarship list we might could figure this out. i am spending a few hours a week searching and its not going well. you find a place and you start reading the criteria and its like you can apply if you are a part of NSAHA union or have a family member in the union or if you live in OH or CA, etc the searching is exhausting. and the ones the school has provided are difficult in you have to print, handwrite, include this and that, etc. start scholarships as a FRESHMAN! also, with scholarships you are doing A LOT of work for a minimal amount..$500-$2500 mostly. there are essays, video clips, a student resume, transcripts, etc required for most and i am finding the time and effort spent aren't even close to equal.

my 3rd tip....if you have saved money its probably not enough. we are looking at $200k for bryson to attend clemson, maybe its just us, but we dont have that sitting in the bank. so if you have a high school student OR even better a newborn start saving a few $100 a month now!

my 4th tip....i think i still agree with this, use common app to apply for schools. it allows you to apply for multiple schools without putting info in over and over. the only reason i question this piece is because if you do the actual schools app process you can then be entered into some scholarships so its hard to say which is the best way...the easiest way is common app. 

my 5th tip....and a tip that we havent completed yet and honestly are unsure when we will. committing. you can get accepted all day long to 10 different schools, but until you commit nothing is done. we dont know the right answer at this point in time. but we need to hurry because once you commit (and pay the fee), you then have to commit to housing (AND PAY THE FEE) $500 later. the fees will nickel and dime you to death. honestly at this point the easy part was applying and i thought 6 months ago that was the hard part. 

my 6th tip....i know people would disagree with me on this, but honestly i am learning the AP, IB, college classes etc aren't beneficial. i think as a society we are selling these programs as helpful and a way to build up schools, but i am not finding that to be. bryson was in AP, that didnt go well, he dropped that sophomore year and has been at mitchell ever since. he will have 32 credit hours and about 9 will be beneficial and transfer. here is why i say this....i am speaking for engineering at clemson bc that is where most of my recent research has been focused. freshman year has 2 classes beyond engineering classes. an arts and a science (1 1st semester and the other 2nd semester). i am not seeing spanish 101, english 101, communications or college algebra. i am seeing classes that are focused on the degree of interest (i guess colleges have wised up to transfer classes and figured out a way to collect more money)....pretty much what he needs is 85% at clemson and not in AP, IB or at mitchell or any other fancy HS program for that matter. there are no more 2 years of undergrad basic.....you start your major freshman year....you can't get that in HS! 

my 7th tip....find some podcasts and listen to how people do it! i have listened to some about to pay nothing for college, not that i have figured it out, but listening to others and what they did or suggest has been helpful to tell me if i am on the right road or need to figure out a new path...

if you have experience in this or have ANY tips to share, please do....it is a long, hard road. we want to make sure we are making the right choice not only for us as a family but for bryson to be as successful as he can be. i have always found that as my kids get older the tasks get harder as a parent and this task is for sure the hardest....we have faced. it is such a life changing decision for us all!!

shoutout to my girl kris for holding my hand along the way...i remember her wise words way back in the summer....its only just beginning, just wait.....and that is so so true! i have found the easiest part is ordering the cap and gown! 

feel free to reach out...

much love, alysha 

post 5 of 6-----vision board progress!

post 5 of 6 for my 2023 vision board...

i'm a tad behind which really annoys my OCD. the week didn't go as i had intended and i ended up sick which is not a norm for me, so i have struggled to recover and accomplish things that should have already been accomplished. 

in this post i wanted to share my progress on my 2023 vision board. 

my word of the year was intentional-i absolutely feel like i lived up to this word. i have caught myself on many occasions seeing that word in the middle of my board and bringing me back to being intentional! i have tried to leave things better than i found them, i have lived in the moment and worked hard at making things intentional. 

grounding-i have failed on this one....it has been harder than i thought it would be, but grounding is something that i feel like i can mentally carryover and continue to work on. 

travel-in my book we have accomplished this. brooks and i traveled to mexico. we have made several little trips-snowboarding, beaches, theme parks, we have accomplished this goal!

calories-i turned this word pretty early on into fasting. i have really enjoyed pushing my body and seeing how often it really doesn't need food. i am thankful that the end of the year is here because i can see myself falling off a little last few weeks of the year, but i am back on and yesterday actually went 23 hours. i promise your body doesn't not need food constantly-promise. 

mileage-i have definitely continued to stick with this word. i do about 90,000-100,000+ steps a week. walking is very important to me and its very important to a healthy life and honestly its simple. move your feet. i do love a good step bet. its an app, check it out, it holds you accountable and you get your money back plus money from those that didn't hit their goals. granted you're not going to get rich, but as long as you stick to your goals you aren't going to lose. 

new car-check! brooks made those dreams come true in may when he had a rollback deliver the car i had been eyeballing for months the week of mothers day!

cleaning biz-my little biz continues to bless me. honestly i tell people i have to go to therapy when i go to clean. its very satisfying for me and the families that i serve are near and dear to me. i enjoy their spaces, i enjoy that things are minimal and i appreciate being able to be in their homes and keeping things maintained for them. at this time. my plate is full, i am very content in what i have! 

enough-i am probably carrying this word over to 2024. i have found myself lots lately especially with christmas gifts not stopping at ENOUGH. i feel like i am always thinking and doing just one more...one more thing, one more minute, one more time. i have not mastered enough! i need to continue to work on enough. 

blog-i am real close to hitting my goals. i will succeed even if a few days late. 

goals-all in all i am happy with the progress that was made in 2023. i very much enjoyed having my vision board on my desk as every time i walked by it caught my eye, often times i can see the board in my head and it pushed to do whatever i needed to do. i guess with this process i have learned that i am very visual person and it helps me to see the goals ahead....

so i have not started my 2024 board yet, but there are thoughts of it in my head----it will be completed soon! 

my final post of 2023 will be my new vision board so stay tuned, it will be soon!

hope you had a wonderful christmas and a happy new year!

much love, alysha