Anybody Want a Peanut?

The Circle of Life..

2011-04-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me how things have a way of finding their way back to you. You lose something you hold dear to your heart. You mourn its loss, even though it's just a thing. You finally come to terms with never seeing it again. Then after a few months, maybe years, it comes back to you. I feel like that is something special.. like the thing you lost is MEANT for you.

For example, back in 2002 ish, I had this great necklace: a cubic zirconium star on a silver chain. I had bought it when my obsession with stars was at its height. I had just gotten my tattoo, and the necklace was the perfect compliment. I wore that necklace every day, no matter what, for about two years. Then, in the fall of 2002, I lost it. I knew I lost it on a visit home from college one weekend, but that was all I knew. I looked and looked, and finally gave up. Fast forward to the next spring, I went home for Easter Break. I was walking from my car towards the house when something shiny caught my eye from the ground. I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized it was my star. All dirty and almost completely covered with mud, but beautiful.

I mentioned in my last blog that I lost my grandmother's ring at my wedding. My grandmother died about 8 years ago, and I had her favorite amethyst and diamond ring. I wore in my wedding ceremony as my something old, to honor her memory. That night, about 4 AM, I woke up out of my deep sleep and realized I had no idea what happened to it. I knew it was gone, without even having to look. But of course I looked. I looked through everything I had with me. We went home and looked through everything brought to the house. I looked in my car. I called my mother and sister in law to make them look through their cars. I called the woman who runs the building where we married. I had the man at the Bed & Breakfast where we'd stayed that night look through his stuff. When I returned from my honeymoon, Carmen and I went back to the wedding place to look through the grass & bushes around the building for an hour. I called Men's Wearhouse to see if it had somehow gotten into Jared's tuxedo pockets.

All of this time.. nothing. Three months of feeling a sense of loss. I know it's just a material possession, and that it doesn't mean much in the real world, but I felt like I was somehow letting my grandmother down.

BUT. Yesterday I was walking around the back of my car. You know that space between the back seats and back windsheild of a car? Where there is always a bunch of dead bugs and no one ever looks? Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a HUGE dead bug back there. I stopped and looked closer.. and there it was. My grandma's ring. Just like it had been there for 3 months. How did I not notice it before? How did I miss it the twenty times I looked through my car?

Doesn't matter. It finally came back to me last night. Like Nana (that's what we called her) was just holding on to it for a while so I would remember her.

But this ring is now even dearer to my heart.

Gift from the past

2011-03-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, as Carmen pointed out in the comment on my last blog, I got married. Though if you're reading this, you probably already know that. But just in case you missed it, the pictures are here.

It was lovely and amazing and I'm still flabbergasted that I was able to pull it off. Not everything went perfect, but that's how these things go. What mattered was that the next morning I woke up a married woman. And I didn't go bridezilla! Jared got drunk.. but survived unscathed. I lost my grandmother's ring at the end of the night. And someone threw up out front. My step-brother hit on EVERY female there, including my married (and pregnant) best friend, my other best friend's wife, and all of Jared's cousins. But that's just the little things that no one will remember. What was great was the dancing, the sweetness, the people, the colors, the pictures, the family. I truly had a great time, and unfortunately it was over before I could blink. The pictures are all I have to remember it by. Someone videotaped, but I havn't received the DVD yet. Since it was a favor, I'll wait patiently.

The honeymoon was more that I could have imagined. The two months afterwards have been even better. Nothing has really changed, except my name. Jared lived with me for 3 years before hand, so this was nothing new.

The next stage in life is moving. We are working on that.. Last night I cleaned out my closet to find stuff for Goodwill. I am giving away about 60 pairs of shoes, and 4 trash bags full of clothes. I also found something odd in my closet: a wrapped Christmas present. I could tell it was one that I had wrapped, I recognized the paper. It was small, and squished under some boxes. I opened it and found a little journal. There was no name attached, not to the paper or written in the journal.

Who could this have been for? I have zero recollection of buying or wrapping this.

Maybe I put it there so that I would forget and find myself a happy little gift in the future...

Ginger Ale

2011-02-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

In an approriate return to the blogging, I was inspired by Gnumoon's list of famous/hot Englishmen, and decided to make my own list.

Not a list of Englishmen, as I find my list would be almost a mirror of Gnumoon's, but my own special kind of list.

Yesterday a coworker sent me a link to wicked rad t-shirt I would get if I wore t-shirts... Here is a picture:

You can order it here.

GINGERS!!

I took some ideas from this shirt, because I like a lot of these people, but I added some. And I took out Lucille Ball because I will always be dissappointed that her hair color wasn't real.

People I didn't include: Julia Roberts & Nicole Kidman: because they're annoying. Carrot Top: don't need to explain this one. Chuck Norris: is he really a ginger?

In my ginger research, I was sad to discover the following people are not actually gingers:

-Alyson Hannigan (still love her though)

-Kate Winslet (I don't know why I thought she was)

And then there's Lindsay Lohan, who repeatedly dyes hers other colors to hide the ginger. Sure, I did it once in high school, but that's what I would call experimentation. Plus, I wanted to see what life was like when people weren't CONSTANTLY STARING AT YOUR HAIR.

Finally, here's my list of my favorite famous gingers:

Bryce Dallas Howard

Molly Ringwald

Laura Prepon

Julianne Moore

Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under, amazing show)

David Caruso (because of the f*ing sunglasses! ha!)

This guy (because he has a SOUL!!)

Tilda Swinton (because she can wear the weirdest shit and get away with it)

Susan Sarandon (because The Client)

Chucky

Conan (because you would all hate me if I left him off)

Gillian Anderson

Prince Harry (because he's so Spicy)

Ronald McDonald

Shaun White (Hot!!)

And my absolute favorite, because of those awesome faces, those Ron Weasley moments, Rupert Grint

Alright, who'd I miss?

Why Carmen and Jon rule.

2010-10-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

My engagement portraits, done by Jon Eckard with help from Carmen.

Well, nevermind, I was going to post the slideshow but I can't figure it out, as I'm internet challenged. Just click on Carmen's name up there^^^ and you should be able to see how much she rules.

p.s. THREE MONTHS!!

That F***ing Cat

2010-08-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

As most of you are aware, I recently started a new job in a city which is an hour from my current home. Commuting sucks, therefore I will be moving to the new city once things fall into place (once Jared finds a new job or once we're married, whichever). As part of this, I have tried to start fixing things up around the house. This weekend my goal was to primer my upstairs bathroom. Four years ago in a drunken stupor I picked out a superdark shade of purple for this tiny bathroom. I suppose I was still in college mode which was why I wanted fun colors. This "fun" color is awful and made my tiny bathroom tinier.  Not only that but I was not good with paint, and got it all over the place. Hence, primer.

I worked on the primering some with Jared on Saturday. Sunday, while he was at work, I finished it up. This is a very laborious, mind-numbing process, especially since I didn't have a roller and was using only a paintbrush. Sunday morning before I got started, I went out to my car to grab my ipod to keep me company.

Cut to four hours later when I finished up. I got dressed in non-paint spattered clothing and was going to head to the gym. I was cleaning up all of the paint stuff and getting ready to go out, which means walking around and closing doors and turning off lights. I noticed I didn't see Meatwad anywhere. So, I pretty much knew the little booger had escaped when I went out to my car four hours earlier. Now, let's remember, I was upstairs, in the little bathroom, listening to music. Easy to miss a missing cat. Meatwad likes to run out the front door sometimes, out of curiosity I suppose, but he usually runs right back in. Not this day.

Since I knew he wasn't in the house, I walked out the front door and looked to my right.   And noticed several people standing in the parking lot, and a police man standing next to the bushes in front of the building.

I just knew it had something to do with my cat.

So I walk over and he says, "Do you have a cat?". Sigh.

Meatwad had been out for hours and had been acting psycho kitty. The neighbors had noticed him in the bushes and tried to get him out of there because he looked ill or something (well his butt is still missing hair from the surgery he had 8 months ago). Anytime anyone got near him, he hissed and pawed at them (tried to scratch). The people freaked out thinking the cat had rabies or was hit by a car, so they called police. Of course. They didn't know it was my cat.

So the policeman tells me that animal control is on the way and that if they get here, they'll take him. If I want to keep my cat, I need to get him inside without being bitten. Apparently, if a cat bites you, even if it is your cat, animal control automatically takes the cat and puts it down.

I tried and tried to get near enough to him to pick him up, but he was not happy.   I grabbed a towel and was going to try that, but no good. I was very upset, thinking he was sick or hit or something. The officer did say that he had walked around earlier, so he wasn't hit, which is good.

My reaction, of course, is to cry like a baby and call Jared to talk through my options. Jared calmed me down some, but didn't really know what to tell me.   After a few more minutes, I decided to try one more time to just call him out of the bushes. Well what do you know, it worked! He jumped up and ran after me to our door and right into the house.   At first, the officer followed me in "just to make sure he doesn't bite" me. But he could see that Meatwad was fine, just needed his momma. Plus, I was still crying (which scares the hell out of men) so he left us be.

So that damn cat was fine.   He was apparently just scared and probably really hot (spoiled a/c cat). But he sure did scare me for a minute. I really thought I was going to have to say goodbye to my beloved butthole of a cat. What most people don't get to see is how sweet he is (usually) to Jared and I. Not thirty minutes after he came back in, Jared was home and he was rubbing all over him with love. Meatwad is just an odd cat, but he's my odd cat.

I love that f***ing cat.

tomorrow

2010-07-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

A year from now, my life will be pretty much completely different.

Tomorrow is my very last day as a GIS Analyst in Hickory. After five and a half years, I am leaving. Why? Well it turns out when your job is based off of contracts, when the contracts run out, you're out of a job. In the beginning of June, I was told that they probably would not be able to pay me any more after September 30th.

Needless to say, I freaked out.

How am I going to pay my bills?

What am I going to do for insurance?

Well, the first thing I did was get online and apply for every GIS (mapping) position in NC that I could find. I think I applied for six jobs that first day.

After a few weeks though, I wasn't hearing anything back and I was running out of positions to apply for. I was checking jobsites several times a day. Then I got a call for a interview! Four days later I went to that interview.

And... I was pretty darn sure I tanked. TANKED. I'm just one of those people that get nervous and my mind goes completely blank when I realize I'm nervous. I was tripping over my words and repeating myself. When they got to the GIS questions part of the interview, I had NO IDEA what the heck they were talking about. But somehow I got through it, and went home. And looked for more jobs.

At some point I was starting to feel a little hopeless, but then there's Carmen. Carmen is a pretty positive person, and she talked to me and told me that if I think positively, things will go positively. So, that's what I did. I started to see the good side of all of this. If I did go on unemployment, I could at least sleep in. Some of my bills I'd be able to defer. I still had my Outback job, so I could possibly still pay my mortgage. I could trade my car in and get something older that I wouldn't have to make payments on. I could put all of my focus on planning my wedding. Things would be okay. And I would find a job.

This positive thinking thing really does help. Carmen is a genius.

So, then I got a call from the people I interviewed with. And a job offer. WHAT? I couldn't believe it, but yes, I got a new job. A better job, really.

And on Monday, I start my new job, and my life will be changing.

In January, I'm getting married. Shortly after we will move to Winston-Salem, and we will have a new house/apartment/condo to live in. We may even get a dog. Next July 22? I will be in a totally different situation.

I will miss my friends in Hickory very dearly, but I will only be an hour away. I will miss my coworkers and that sense of family that I have with them. I will miss Katie and how she knows exactly what to say. I will miss Carmen, and living next door. When something breaks in my house in Winston, I will not be able to run next door and ask them what to do. And I won't have my trivia nights with her... Perhaps we'll set up a weekly dinner in Statesville or something.

Things will be different.

But we will okay. :)

Goings on

2010-04-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! It's my birthday Friday! I'm going to be a stinkin' 28 years old. That's a little too close to 30 for my taste, but I can't change it, so oh well. Jared is taking me to the Merlefest on Sunday for my birthday so I can see the Avett Brothers!! Whee! It's been forever since I've seen them live and I'm just dying for the chance. I just looked back and i haven't seen them since September 2006! Good gravy. That's way too long.

Also, one of my favorite bloggers who lives in San Francisco just did a music blog and included them in her list. Sweet.

Since Friday is my birthday, I'm taking the day off from work (sleep! yay!) and Jared and I are going for our wedding cake tasting. One of my coworker's has a sister-in-law who does wedding cakes and she seems really nice. That will be my birthday cake, unless Jared feels like making one, no pressure. Then, I'm going down to my momma's house for dinner.

This past Saturday was my niece Elora's birthday party. She is nine now and that blows my mind.

When did this precious little angel get so big?

I saw every member of my immediate family on Saturday and I have to say, it was nice. Crazy how that can happen sometimes!

whee!

2010-04-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

Great, so another factor of getting older: Allergies. I've never in my life had allergies like I've had this year. Actually, I've maybe only even noticed an allergy issue maybe once before.

Starting about a week ago, I was getting regular sinus headaches. I took advil, they subsided, I figured it was over. Then over the weekend my nose started running and I got sneezy. Whee!! Yesterday it got to the point where I went home sick. I think I'm on the mend today, and I took some Claritin, which Carmen was nice enough to give me. I guess I'll survive.

Last night I went to another bridal show. It was a really really small show at the spa in Hickory. There was only one vendor of each type (one caterer, one photographer, etc.). I pretty much only went because I knew it'd be small and it was free. Carmen and Jon were the sole photographer booth, so that was another reason I went. Really it was ok, but I think the best benefit I got was talking to Cafe Gouda, who has pretty good catering prices. Oh, and I got a cupcake (bad Allison!).

Nine months!!

stardate: 4/9/10

2010-04-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

So, I added a wedding ticker to the old bloggage. NINE months left! I still have soo much to do.. I'll get there. I guess. I can't wait though. I am looking forward to the wedding, the honeymoon, etc, but I'm also looking forward to going back to having ONE job.

Pretty sad how quickly I've gotten sick of having 2 jobs. It's just shitty having to leave work and go to work. And not having weekends free. But I'm 1/7 of the way to my goal of saving. As soon as I hit it, I'm going to quit. I think. It would be nice to save up extra and pay off some bills, etc. But... No.

For example today I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. But I'm at the office. I can't call in sick to restaurant job due to I'm closing, and I need the money. I can't call in sick to day job cause that just wouldn't be right (not working real job but going to other job). So here I am. Whee!!

But, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Working at Outback is exponentially better than when I worked at the Brush. SOOOO much easier and better.

NINE MONTHS!

The Man, the Myth, the Legend.

2010-03-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I listen to Beck, I'm thinking, 'WTF?'.

And other times, like today, I listen and all I can think is, 'what a flippin' genius'. Beck is a truly amazing artist. It could just be hormones talking.

Beck has been my all time favorite artist since 1994, when I was 12 and heard "Loser" for the first time. I go through some long periods without listening, and then when one of his songs gets shuffled in on my ipod, I have to switch to only Beck for a few days.

I recommend "Debra" from Midnite Vultures. And "Go it Alone" from Guero. Of course, there are a million other brilliant Beck songs.

He really really really needs to come to North Carolina on tour again. I've only seen him once, in 1996, which was the LAST TIME he has played a show in NC. Dork. :)

Oh, and it just occurred to me, Jared really does look like Beck!! I'm the luckiest girl alive!
Jared:

Beck:

Day off

2010-03-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday is my sole "day off" this week. What should I do?
Unfortunately, Jared is working all day :( I am working all day today, which is his sole day off.

Options for day off:

A) NOTHING. This seems to be the one I'm leaning towards, but I have soooo much I need to do.

B) Go shopping. I have no real money (all my Outback money goes to wedding) but I need some new pants, pronto! They are all are too big! :)

C) Go to Gym. Hmmm.. maybe if I get up early *snort*

D) Clean. Ha!

E) Go to Mom's house. She invited me down for girls' night with my nieces (Elora and Madelyn) and her friend Janet. I haven't been down there since Christmas Eve, maybe I need to be doing this.. but..

F) Hang out with Carmen, if she's home. I miss Carmen, having not been able to go to trivia for two weeks now due to working. Maybe I can convince her to go with me to my Mom's house for a few hours Saturday night.

P.S. I created a pseudo-finished wedding website here: HERE!!

Urban Outfitters

2010-03-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

I'm willing to bet the reason this woman looks so downright unhappy is her pants.

I mean, are these supposed to be pretty? I'm no fashionista, obviously. But those are ridiculously ugly. On a whole new level of ugly. I bought an open cardigan from Urban Outfitters that I love so then I went back to look at what's new. I had to pause and go back to this several times to see how horrible they are over and over again. You can oggle the ugly here.

Amazing

2010-03-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

What's amazing? It's amazing how fast our bodies deteriorate.

Last night was first night training as an Outbacker. I have to say, I'm loving it so far. I was supposed to just be following around my trainer all night, but I ended up handling a few tables mostly by myself (I still needed help for some things). The point is, I picked up on it pretty quick and it rules.

Here's the thing though, I worked for 6 hours and when I got home last night my back was KILLING me. And then I woke up around 4 am and my legs were KILLING me. WTF? Am I falling apart already? I'm 27 and I can't handle 6 hours on my feet? I work out 4-5 times a week, I try hard to eat healthy. What is wrong with me? Maybe I just have to get used to it or something, but I don't remember being in this much pain after one night at Sagebrush. Of course, Sagebrush wasn't exactly a lot of work most of the time.

I'm sure if I went back and read my "Brush" (that's what I used to call Sagebrush) related blogs, I would find some complaining in there.

Anywho here's to hoping I get used to it, because I have a loooong way to go before I can afford to get married.

American Idol 10

2010-03-03T06:43:00.000-08:00

I'm in a foul mood right now for some reason. Damn headache. And I couldn't sleep last night due to nightmares. It was a really weird one but I won't go into details because it's just not worth reliving.

I already broke my New Year's Resolution about blogging 8 times a month. Stupid February being all short and stuff. Ah well I'm still trying.

I know no one watches American Idol anymore, but for those of you who do, I'm going to share my pick for the year. I don't really think this person will win, but so far he is my favorite.

Alex Lambert!

No, not Adam Lambert. I'm talking about someone with actual talent, not someone who screams! Also, I love the mullet. I mean, I think he's just growing it so people will remember him, which is fine by me.

I'd share with you a video of him performing last night, but that's a lot of work. Go google it or something.

None of the girls this year really stand out for me except that chick with the gray hair, Lilly Scott. If Alex goes and she stays, I'll vote for her.

Next year when Simon is off the show, I swear it to you I will not be watching.

Guess What Comes Out Friday!!!

2010-03-01T06:38:00.000-08:00

Johnny Depp in 3D!! Or, in other words, Alice in Wonderland! Who's excited? Me.

In other news, I got a part time job. At Outback. I am super excited. I've always loved their food. In college, it was a special treat to make the drive to Blowing Rock for Outback once in a while. It was a tradition for Carmen and I. Anytime our parents came to town, we said "take us to Outback!". My family even took me there for my graduation dinner. And now? I get to work there. And eat with a discount (there AND Carraba's). This is a good thing people! Now, if I can just save up enough to have the lavish, extravagant wedding I dream of.

kitteh and wedding. What else do i blog about?

2010-02-24T06:38:00.000-08:00

moar funny pictures

Meatwad playing around with his tail. He is so weird. When I feed him now, his tail gets really really thick and he acts like he's on acid or something. Jared and I were going to videotape it last night, but we had technical difficulties (he was drunk).

I am going today to look at another place for a possible wedding location. I would really like to hurry up and find a place. Once that's done, I can do everything else, I think!

world.

2010-02-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

We live in a technologically advanced world. We have machines that do all kinds of crazy things. Like fly. And clean. And make us happy. We have machines that make us see better, hear better, hairless and smooth. We have machines that collide atoms. We have machines that go into outer space and send back pictures of far away planets.

My question is: how is it that with all of this technology, no one has created a calorie free, fat free, delicious chocolate snack? WTF is taking so long? Is it because science is a male dominated field? Let's get on the ball people!

In other words, I'm still hungry. I've lost 10 pounds since January 1, but for some reason none this week. :(

stuff v 18.0

2010-02-17T07:10:00.000-08:00

Not feeling like anything is blog worthy lately.

I've been watching American Idol this season and not really connecting with anyone. I guess that's okay since it's a pseudo reality show. And we all know reality shows are the devil.

Meatwad has calmed down since Super Bowl Sunday, except when it's feeding time. At feeding time he FREAKS THE F*CK OUT and his tail gets really really thick (HOW is that possible?) and he practically screams at me. I have to hold him back while I put the food dish on the floor else he gets so excited he knocks it out of my hands and it goes all over the place. And that prescription food isn't cheap (in other words, you're licking it up off the floor, A-hole). And Beefcake, ah, Beefcake. Bcake has been his usual happy-go-lucky self lately, but I fear he may just go crazy one day due to Meatwad's incessant whining. We shall see.

I have a potential wedding venue, but it's in Motown (25 minutes from here) and it's going to be work getting it pretty. But I think I like it. Just have to get Jared to decide. I am, however, going to keep looking. I have a crazy idea which would involve a lot of help from Carmen, and I haven't even run it by her yet. Methinks trivia tonight is a perfect opportunity to bring that up.

Jared got moved back to the Brush in Lenoir (only 30 minutes away instead of the hour commute he did have). I thought this was going to be great for him and I'd see him more. WRONG. He is working so hard and constantly on his feet. He doesn't get the opportunity to eat most days, and he is staying late every time he works. Yesterday he was there for 15 hours. *GRRR*

Life moves from one crappy deal to the next it seems. I just have to keep our heads above water. :)

Meatwad

2010-02-09T08:18:00.001-08:00

Meatwad
Originally uploaded by allygirl520

Demonstrating a cat's love of small spaces? I just thought it was funny that the whole bed was free, but he chose to sit on the pillow.

This is one of those LOL Cat rules, right? IF there is one thing taking up a small space on the bed, your cat will be sitting on it.

Soupa Bowl.

2010-02-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

I had a few people over to my house last night to watch the Super Bowl. We were all cheering for the Saints, so that was a nice ending. Except I don't really remember much of the game. I decided to drink because it was at my house and I hadn't drank in a while. And man, I LOVE being hungover at work. At least, that must be what I was telling myself last night. Why else would I have had that Irish Car Bomb?!

It was a good time until Meatwad escaped and went psycho kitty on everyone. He used to be a sweet kitty when people came to visit. But ever since he got sick, he does not like visitors. Not at all. He hissed, growled, swatted and scared everyone at my party. I tried to keep him shut up in my bedroom so he wouldn't be bothered by everyone, but he wasn't having any of that either. As evidence, here is my hand this morning:

And here is a video that my coworker Emily uploaded. Crazy kitty.

Here are some pics from last night.

There was also some great video of my Jared shotgunning a beer because the Saints won their two-point conversion. I'll have to show you that when I can.

Fall down, go boom.

2010-02-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

I went skiing this past Sunday with my brother, my niece, and my coworker, Emily. We decided to go to Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock, NC. We chose AppSki because it's close to us, it's cheaper, and to me, it's comforting. When I was a student at ASU, I took the ski class offered by the University through AppSki Mountain. I have to say, it was one of the best choices I've made. It was only five classes, and it cost $100 extra, but it was worth it. Learning to ski was a great triumph for me, as I am a)clumsy and b)lazy.

The point is, I was supposed to have a great time on Sunday with my family and friend, but then I had to go and be cheap. I hate the fact that you have to rent skis and boots on top of paying for a lift ticket. So when another coworker offered to loan me her skis, I took her up on it. Bad mistake. See, I tried on the boots at her house, but didn't bother with buckling them. Turns out, when I put them on Sunday, they wouldn't buckle. Would. Not. Buckle. They were still semi-tight, so I skied with them anyways. About 2 hours in I was ready to die from the pain of having non-buckled skis. So, at lunchtime I went and rented boots (only $5.00, whee).

Now, in a normal person's life, this one little fix would have worked, and their day would have returned to normal. But have you met me??? Shit doesn't work for me.

With my fancy rental boots and my borrowed skis, I went back up to the big mountain for a good, long run. About 1/4 of the way down, my skis pop off and I fall. I put them back on and they immediately pop off again. And again. Turns out the boots are smaller than the ones I was wearing earlier. So, I picked up my skis and walked ALLLLL the way back down the mountain. Here's where you say, "well I'm sure you could just get them adjusted in the lodge". Sure, in a normal person's life.

All of the cute little ski lodge boys tried to adjust the ski bindings. Turns out, they are a brand most used out west (where my coworker bought them) and they can not adjust them. So, cute ski lodge boy is generous enough to give me some rental skis. He grabs some that are the same length as the ones I already had.

Again, this right here would fix it for normal people.

The skis I had borrowed from my friend were extra-long skis. I hadn't noticed before because the boots I had borrowed were longer, and then the rental boots didn't work at all. Turns out, extra-long skis are for people who are advanced and want to go faster. Not for people like me, who prefer to glide slowly, back and forth.

In the end, I have realized, it would do me good to stop being a cheap asshole. Next time, I'm just going to rent it all up front. Dammit.

Overall it was still a good time, and a helluva work out.

Here are Emily and I on top of a ski hill:

Can you tell which one is me?

#8 blog for January. Resolution kept.

2010-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

So, I'm hungry. I wish there was a legit over the counter appetite suppressant. Alas, anything you can buy at a store or online is just pure and total crap, or death in a plastic container. But hey, according to the scales at Planet Fitness, I am down 5.5 lbs since January 1. Only 35 more to go! hahahahaha just kidding. No way would I be able to do that.

Wedding:
The place in Morganton that I mentioned in my last post is booked for the wedding date we picked. I think we may just have to be flexible with the date. Hopefully I'm going to tour it next week and talk to the fellow that runs it. If it turns out I must be here then we'll have to change the date. We'll see. I'm also considering changing my colors. I originally picked turquoise and brown, which go together nicely, but I may switch to turquoise and black because people look better in black than brown. Jared doesn't seem to care either way so I guess we'll see how it goes.

Fun:
Jared, his friend Justin, his brother Josh, and I went to a Duke basketball game on Wednesday night. They beat Florida State and we had a fantastic time. Jared has actually gotten me to the point where I somewhat enjoy watching Duke basketball (to a point). But I will NEVER be a fan of NBA.

Here we are at the game:

Here's Coach K and Kyle Singler:

Here's some bball action:

Justin, Josh, and Jared after the game:

This is all possible due to Brad's awesomeness getting us 2 free tickets to the game.

WHEREEEEEEEEEEEEE?????

2010-01-26T12:29:00.000-08:00

I went to a Bridal Show here in Hickory on Sunday and holy bejebus that was crazy. There were a LOT of photographers, a few event planners, a few caterers, a few travel agents, and like 2 venues. I guess by the time most brides go to these things, they have a place picked out already. NOT ME. And neither of the places there could work for us. We are getting married in January. Advantage: better rates. Disadvantage: not too many places to have a ceremony indoors. I am not getting married in a church due to the fact that I wouldn't feel right just getting married in any old church. Jared works all day EVERY Sunday so it's not like we could pick a nice church and start going (we would plan on going after the wedding too...). The venue is the one big thing that has had me worried for a while now. And no, I don't want to push the date back any (I want to get married, darn it!). While the Bridal Show was nice because everything was pretty and I got some good info, I don't think I'll be going to another one.

I asked a coworker if there were any nice places to get married in Morganton, which is twenty minutes from where I live, and he gave me a great idea which I will look into. Carmen says now is the time to pick a place, so that's what my main focus is.

WHEE!!

In other news, the Jason Castro show in Charlotte was awesome!! I got his autograph, got my picture taken with him, AND HE TWEETED ABOUT ME. Yep. That's right.

Stuff

2010-01-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

Tonight I'm going to see Jason Castro live in Charlotte! Whee!! Too bad I'm totally lacking in the energy. I'm hoping he goes on first so that I can get home fairly early. I could really use the sleep.

Tomorrow Katie and Daniel and I are going to Boone to see Appalachian play against Western Carolina in basketball. Should be a good time, especially since we're going to eat the deliciousness at Boone Saloon.

Sunday Carmen and I are going to my first ever Bridal show in Hickory!! I'm super super excited about this because I get to really get into being a bride!! It'll also be good to try out some wedding cake samples. And maybe win a prize? Probably not since I have el terrible luck with that sort of thing, but maybe Carmen's luckier than me.

Here's hoping I still end up getting some rest this weekend!

Stomach Flu

2010-01-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

No, not me, just everyone else in the blogging world. I keep reading about people getting the bug and their whole families. I know there's horribleness going on in Haiti, but I am also concerned for my friends who have the bug. I am trying to be super super super careful at the gym with washing my hands and making sure I don't touch my face.   Of course, I don't get sick very often anyways (my body is failing me in other ways- teeth, toes, etc.).

In other news, both my work phone and personal phone were replaced last week. The work phone was intentional.   The Blackberry 8330 that I was originally given was a certified POS.   I finally got around to going to Verizon and they sent me a replacement, which seems to be a million times better.

On Friday, Jared and I had date night. I remember having my personal phone right before I got in the shower, and then not having it by the time I was sitting in the restaurant. I figured, hey, I left it at home. We went on with our night and went to the movies (Avatar 3D).   When we finally got home around 11:15, I started looking for my phone. And looking, and looking. I called it, and called it, and called it. Then I walked around listening for the beep that means I missed a call. Then I tore my whole house apart looking for it. Then I called the restaurant where we ate, and they said I'd be better off calling in the morning (they don't close til 2 am). Then I drove back to the restaurant to look around the parking lot, which was difficult since the lot was still full. I drove to the movie theater, looked around the lot, and then went in looking in the theater and all under the seats. No Dice. I gave up and went home.

The next morning I looked around the house some more, then called back to the restaurant again and finally, they said they have my phone! Rejoice! Except, when I got there, the screen wasn't working.   Apparently, I didn't do a thorough enough job looking in the parking lot because it appeared to have been run over by a car. *sigh*.

So, I went to Verizon just in case.. And guess what?! Apparently, I bought an extended warranty on this phone! I NEVER do that (too cheap). But good call on my part because they replaced it right then and there for free! Of course, I didn't exactly say "someone ran over it". I merely stated that "the screen stopped working".   The real downside is my microSD card broke, so I lost all of my pictures and videos. But hey, live and learn.

Bonus for the weekend: Got to see my Dad, who came down to see me on Saturday, and got to hang out with a bunch of my friends on Sunday to "watch" football- well, more like talk wedding stuff with Katie!!

FORMSPRING!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-15T11:35:00.000-08:00

Okay I have jumped on the formspring bandwagon. If you would like to ask me any old stupid question, anonymously or not., click here and do it!!

In other news, Jared and I have finally set a wedding date. WHEE! January 22, 2011. Of course, this is tentative and something could come up and change it, but I'm just happy to have something to tell people.

Bridal Wedding Checklist Item#1: DONE.

Item#2: Where?

HO boy.

2010-01-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

It's that (unfortunate for anybody who reads my bog) time of year again... American Idol starts tonight! That show has definitely gone down hill in the past few years, and yet, I have to watch. Why? Dunno. Just do. Of course, I don't like the first few weeks of the show when all they do is make fun of fat people. That's just messed up in my opinion. But then again, I am the one who watches it and makes their ratings go up.

On January 22, I'm going to see Jason Castro in Charlotte at the Evening Muse. He was on American Idol a couple of years ago, and I really loved his style. It should be a fun time, especially since there is a Mellow Mushroom right around the corner! I'm in serious need a Shroom fix.

In February I am seriously (seriously!!) going to look for a part time job again. Gotta save up for a wedding somehow. No, we still haven't set a date. I'm thinking sometime between mid-January and April 30 (my birthday) in 2011. In the meantime, I am on a diet. Whee!! So far (since January 1st) I have lost one pound. This is really not enough progress in 12 days. The plan is to continue like I'm doing until June and then if I need to step it up a notch, I will.

Cold and the haps

2010-01-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night I needed to do some laundry. Of course, I go to turn on my washing machine, and nothing happens. For those of you who've never been to my house, my laundry room is outside, in a separate "room" on my patio. There is a door, and a light, but it is cold out there regardless.

Right away I understood that my laundry pipes were frozen. I called Carmen and borrowed a heat gun from her. For the next hour I was outside blowing heat behind my washing machine, being careful not to melt anything. Eventually, I could tell that the pipes were not frozen anymore, so I turned on my washing machine, which was running, and went inside.

[Cut to 1 hour later]

I went back outside and saw a HUGE puddle of water on my patio. I opened the laundry door and there was water pouring out from udner my washing machine, and soap billowing out of the top, about a foot high. Turns out the drainage pipe from the machine was still frozen. Did I mention that all of this is happening OUTSIDE where it was around 20 degrees? I used the heat gun again for a while, then left a hair dryer running out there for 2 solid hours.

Around 11 pm now, I go outside and turn the machine back on. Water is still only coming out the bottom of the machine, and the tub is not draining. *YAY*

Now, all I can do is wait for this weather to calm down a little and hope upon hope that when that shit unfreezes, the washing machine works properly again. In the meantime, I am stuck washing clothes next door on Carmen's back patio. I hope she doesn't mind.

Here is what I looked like yesterday while GPSn for the first time in months:

Lemons

2010-01-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year's celebration. I know I did:

My friend Brad and his fiancee Laura came out from Durham and we went to the Tap Room, a delicious pub in downtown Hickory. We got home shortly before midnight (just as Jared got home from work :). And to ring in the New Year we watched Jennifer Lopez in her weird outfit. Anywho Happy New Year ya'll.

Resolution

2009-12-31T09:39:00.000-08:00

My New Year's Resolution is to blog more. You can see from my archive list (down on the right side of the blog) that I only blogged 66 times this whole year. That's sad when compared to the year before, when I blogged 162 times. I can not believe twitter turned me blog lazy, after I blogged once about twitter being the death of blogging. After almost 3 years on twitter, I still L.O.V.E it, but sometimes it can seem impersonal.

So I'm going to try very very hard to blog eight times per month. That would give me (hold on, getting out calculator..) ninety-six blogs in 2010. This is still less than 2008, but a vast improvement over 2009.

May your New Year be merry, yo.

Top Ten of 2000s..

2009-12-30T07:31:00.000-08:00

So I'm going to go ahead and jump on the band wagon and blog a top ten list.

It is the end of a decade (but isn't every day the end of a decade?) and to commemorate my young adult years, here is my list of the top ten moments for me from January 1st, 2000 until December 30, 2009. I could wait one more day and see what happens, but I'm motivated now.

#10- Getting to see Barack Obama in Hickory before the NC primaries (April 29th, 2008)

This was the one and only time I've gotten to see a U.S. President, and it was especially cool because I voted for him. And it was the day before my birthday. Yay!

#9- Getting my first real job (Oct. 18th, 2004)
I thought about maybe not having this on the list because it's work and all, but I am pretty proud I was somehow able to land a job where they pay me and I have insurance and benefits and shit. And? I don't have to cook! Moving to Hickory, and thus meeting Jared, was all a direct result of this job. Did I mention that it was the first job I even applied for out of college? I thought I had bombed the interview but somehow my boss liked my completely flustered 'oh crap, did I really just say that?' attitude.

#8- It's a tie between a) Trip to California (August 2004) and b) Vegas (2008).
a)California- This was special to me because I just finished up with my internship (which is #7 on this list!) and was in between college and the real world. It was something I did all by myself, like a grown-up. Sure, I went to see my ex-beau, but that was really just the excuse I needed to do something on my own. I flew across the country, rented a car (under 25, I might add) and drove from LA to Santa Barbara (a major feat) all by myself. It was empowering and something I will never ever forget. My only regret is that I didn't have a nice camera to take pictures with. I had a disposable camera.
b)Vegas- I'm talking about the first time Jared and I went. The second time was nice too, but the first one takes the cake. It was the most fun I've ever had on vacation, and I owe that to Jared.   We had such a blast, you can read all about that here.

#7- Internship with Queen Anne's Revenge Project (Summer 2004)
Hello? Pirates? Blackbeard? When Mark Ramsing called me to tell me I got the internship and that I'd be working in Morehead City doing GIS stuff with their project, I literally almost died. Okay, not literally, but I was on cloud nine. If you don't know, the Queen Anne's Revenge was Blackbeard the Pirate's flagship in 1718. It sank in that year in Beaufort Inlet (between Morehead City, NC and Beaufort, NC). In 1996, a group of researchers (treasure hunters) found the ship.  The NC Department of Cultural Resources put together a special team to excavate the ship (through the Underwater Archaeology Branch). Anywho, that summer of 2004 they wanted a GIS intern to map the channel movements in the inlet to see how dredging has affected the site. So that's what I did. It is probably the coolest thing ever. Really. Here's their website so you can learn a whole more about this ongoing project.
And here's me sitting on a 300 year old cannon that once belonged to Blackbeard:

#6- High School Graduation (May 26th, 2000)
Sure, a lot of people graduate from high school, but I am still damn proud. After 13 years of getting up early, eating crappy lunches, riding the bus, listening to boring teachers, and following way too many rules, I was DONE.   And we graduated in snazzy silver gowns (for the new millenium).

#5- Meeting Jared (February 14th, 2006)
The only reason this isn't higher on the list is that I have a great top four, with number one also involving Jared. Sure, I didn't actually snag the Jayrod until a couple of months later, but I sure did think he was the cuteness that day. He was so quiet, and ... quiet. But I somehow managed to break him out of his magical shell!

#4- Owning a House (well, condo) (March, 2006)
I'm not sure what made me decide to buy a place back in 2006. I mean, I was living with a really cool roommate (Andrea), and in a great location. I think maybe it had something to do with wanting a cat. The point is, stumbling through the process and spending all of my savings was pretty much worth it since now I have a townhouse, but I also learned that I am not good with home repairs.

#3- College Graduation (May 9, 2004) When I was a senior in high school, I made the best decision of my life by choosing to go to Appalachian State University. I only applied for there and UNCGreensboro, since I knew I'd be going the student loan route and at the time, those were the least expensive state schools. I ended up choosing Appalachian for one reason: they have a marching band. Yes, I am that much of a dork. But the point is, I loved every second of my four years living in Boone. The people, the view, the weather, the view, the clean air, the view. It's just still such a fantastic place for me. I know people living there sometimes probably get tired of the weather and I don't blame them for not liking the ice storms and snow that knock out their power. That would totally suck. But I still love Boone, and would give up a lot to be able to live and work there now. Anywho, I'm totally proud of myself for going to class most of the time, for getting mostly good grades, and for doing it in four years (although maybe I should have stayed a little longer..). Oh, and my graduation was on Mother's Day. A bonus for my mom.

#2- The Upset - Appalachian vs. Michigan (Sept 1, 2007)
It was almost three years ago when Katie invited me to go to the Michigan vs. AppState game with her and Jeff and Tracy. None of us thought we had any chance at all of winning, but we knew there'd be a fight. Little did we know we'd be going to the biggest upset ever! The last 26 seconds of that game will be the greastest 26 seconds anyone has ever seen in football. Ever. And up until a week ago, it was the greatest day of my life. Actually, I'm still debating it. I think this may have been the greatest full day ever, and my #1 on this list is the greatest thing ever.

#1- Engagement!! (Christmas 2009)
Yes! The thing every girl dreams about, putting on that ring, and being loved. On Christmas morning, I unwrapped a huge mostly empty box and rifled through all of the tissue paper and finally came to a small box. I opened it and found a most beautiful diamond ring. I said "Yay!" cause I'm a dork. Jared asked the question, and I of course, said yes. Then, came the crying. And shaking. I was shaking so bad I couldn't even take it out of the box. He had to do it for me. It was so sweet. So perfect. And I'm so happy.   Choosing to be with him was the greatest decision I've ever made, and I'm defnitely reaping the benefits. Before you ask, NO, we haven't set a date yet, although I'm pulling for January 2011. I have a lot of planning to do, people.   Here is the ring:

Happy New Year Ya'll!!   I think 2010 will be great! Or at least, it has to be better than 2009, which sucked until Christmas.

Christmas Yo!

2009-12-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

I'm not doing Christmas cards this year, for various reasons. But if I were, this picture would be involved somehow:

(Click to make it bigger)

Dang Twitter.

2009-12-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

Funny how life doesn't really change all that much, but you do. I love twitter, but it's an evil evil service for taking me away from my blog. I just feel so lazy about not using my blog anymore, but twitter is too easy. I don't want to give up on my blog, though. Here's an update..

Meatwad: My kitty got sick in July, then August, September, and late October. When he got sick AGAIN in late November, I gave up and decided he needed the damn expensive surgery. As of now, he's locked in a 3ftx4ft dog crate, with a cone on, and a shaved butt. And his litter box has shredded paper instead of litter. I have to shut it all up in my extra bedroom so that my other cat, Beefcake, will leave him alone. He goes back Tuesday to get his stitches taken out, and has to stay crated until next Thursday.
Here's a picture of him in his crate, going crazy:

And here he is trying to eat:

Poor Meatwad.

I guess you could say that's really the biggest thing going in my life right now. 2009 has kind of sucked money wise. First I had to have a damn porcelain bridge put in my mouth and then the cat cost me 8 million dollars. So that brings me to my next bit of news: I'm going to go back into the part time job business. Yes, in January I will start seeking out a waitressing job. I know a lot of people prefer retail, but I can't do that. All that work and not seeing any profit until payday? And for only like $6.00 an hour? No, thanks. I'm a damn good waitress and I love making tips. Lots of tips. I'd bartend again, but I'm not interested in staying out until 3:00 am on weeknights. My real job is too important for that.

Jared is doing well. We've got a sweet Christmas tree going on at home, with lots of presents. Most of them are for our families. Even though I've been hit a little hard, I still have more than some people which is why I contributed more than usual to my office's Angel Tree family. I think Jared and I are going to do our own next year, as well.

Saturday is a BIG day for all of Appalachian Football Nation. Our team is playing at Montana and it is the LAST playoff game. I'm super excited but wish I could be there. Did you know it would take 36 hours of straight driving to get to Missoula, Montana?

Well if they win, you WILL catch me in Chattanooga next Friday. That's all I have to say about that.

Nightmare

2009-11-11T06:37:00.000-08:00

I had a dream last night that I was pregnant.

With quadruplets.

And I gave birth in a public bathroom.

No, thank you.

I really want to be a mother, sometime in the next five years. But for the love of God, please don't let me have multiples. If I had four, I'd just keep one and give the rest away as Christmas presents to my family. "Here, Mom! Dad, you said you wanted another grandbaby, here's one you can keep!!" And I'm sure I've got a friend who needs a baby. Like, "Katie, here's a little ginger snap for you!"

Sounds like endless fun to me!

The Wad Update

2009-11-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

So, you know what's amazing? The incredible difference a new veterinarian makes. Meatwad has gone to the same vet since I brought him home 3.5 years ago. Things seemed to be okay, but I got a strange instinct that maybe it was time to switch to somewhere else. I mean, he went the three times since July with the same problem (not being able to pee, kidney sand). Each time he went, he was there for almost a week, and when I brought him home it took several weeks before he seemed to be back to normal. I just figured that's how it is. But I decided if he got sick again, I'd try a new Vet, just for kicks. Plus, my vet has a HUGE sign that says "ABSOLUTELY NO CREDIT". And, since Meatwad's three previous vet visits had pretty much wiped out my savings and maxed out my credit card, I knew I would need to find a vet with credit anyways.

So of course, last week, Meatwad got sick again. There is nothing worse than seeing your child in pain (and yes, I know he's a cat, I can't imagine how much worse it will be it is my actual child). On Wednesday I called a new vet which offers care through the CareCredit program. So, I took Meatwad in.

And just two days later, on Friday, I got to bring him home. Sure, this new vet cost a little bit more, but they let me pay it in payments, not all at once. And they gave me some free food. As soon as they brought him out, I stuck my finger in the cat-carrier door to rub him and he was ALL OVER my finger. So loving, which is unlike him. And all Friday night? Sweet, kind, loving. Of course, that could be the kitty Valium.

The point is, he seems to be okay, and back to normal. This is huge to me! I mean, I hope I'm not jinxing anything by writing this, but I think this time he might actually be good for a while! I hope. Anywho I guess I'll find out.

Look at this sweet boy:

Confession Time

2009-10-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Okay. I know this is going to make me into a huge mega-dork (as if you didn't already think that) but I have a new guilty pleasure t.v. show. Make fun all you will, I know it's cheesy and ridiculous and follows all of the emo trends, but I <3 Vampire Diaries. Yep, a CW show.

I don't even like any other shows on that channel. I did love Dawson's Creek back when it was the WB channel, but that's neither here nor there.

Last night's episode was especially awesome because I got to see the one annoying character get killed off in a totally gruesome way (yay!). It's funny, and sweet, and squeeful when the main character, Stefan, is on screen. Sure, the leading lady is a little weird, but I like her because she's not a supermodel.

Anywho I just wanted to share how much of a dork I am. Happy Halloween ya'll!! I'm going as Dr. Acula.

I saw this at the gym the other day and almost fell off the treadmill.

2009-10-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what they were thikning, but here is Genesis "Land of Confusion" video which is one of the top five creepiest things I've ever seen. Ever.

Darn it I was going to embed it, but embadding is disabled and I'm too lazy to look for another version. So click here.

Other creepy things
1: Blair Witch Project (I saw it in the theater the first weekend it came out, so I thought it was real, which is why I consider the creepiest thing I've seen).

2: Paranormal Activity (except for the very very end).

3: The Dark Crystal (I've never actually watched it because the pictures from it creep me out).

4: 3 words: TALKING. BABY. COMMERCIAL.

Saving some green

2009-10-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you know this about me or not, but I'm kind of cheap :). I don't like to spend money on stuff unless I absolutely have to. Of course, I'm no master shopper like PIGS or anything, but when I come across a great deal, I do what I can to make it work for me.

Every year for Christmas I make my family calenders with pictures of my three nieces. Usually I make them on Cafepress.com. However, last week I got an ad in my email for Snapfish (the website I use for picture prints) saying that all calenders were 35% off for the week. So, naturally I went with that. I also usually wait until November to make my calenders, but I somehow pulled it together Friday afternoon.

Here is a snapshot of my ultimate shopping victory:

Men

2009-10-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Times when it is good that I work with mostly men: when I go to a conference and I get my own hotel room (yay, I don't have to clean!!).

Times when it is not good that I work with mostly men: when I stay out of work one day due to wicked bad cramps. I come back the next day to a lot of "feeling better?" "What was wrong?". Not that I have a problem saying "oh, my cramps were killing me!". But I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. So, I just say, "Oh, you know, just generally feeling bad".

Meatwad

2009-10-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

So my cat Meatwad has been in and out of the vet three times since July with the same problem: a blocked up urethra. Basically, he has kidney sand, the kitty equivalent to kidney stones. This means he couldn't pee. That is very bad. It stressed me out a lot and I worried constantly whether or not he would recover properly.

He's been home now for two weeks since his last visit. And he is peeing. But I guess part of his "healing process" is to pee where ever the hell he wants, because he has decided to make my couch his toilet. GRRRRR!!

It has been a goal in my life not to turn out like my mother, in the pet department anyways. She has never NOT had four to five cats wondering in and out of her life. And there's only ONE litter box that she has for them all to use. So they're pretty bad about peeing where ever the hell they want and making her house smell funky. But she tries and at least she spays and neuters any cat that chooses her for an owner.

The point is, though, that I didn't want a stinky house. My brother and his family went to the APP game with me this past Saturday and on their way back down the mountain stopped off at my house on Saturday. And of course, Meatwad had just peed on the couch. A lOT. This was very upsetting to me because of course, my brother made fun of me and called me "mom".

After they left I spent several hours cleaning my house and cursing and yelling at Meatwad. I mean, I love that cat more than anything but come on!! Two litter boxes and God forbid a sink, and you choose the couch? sheesh.

On the bright side, he's peeing. I just hope he gets over this phase soon. I HATE having a stinky house.

Wickedness

2009-10-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

Wow okay so Hey Everyone!

I had a super awesome great time in Vegas, but I don't really have any stories to tell. We didn't win or lose a lot of money. We only got drunk once. We're NOT married or engaged. We didn't see any celebrities. It was 118 degrees one day and an average of around 99 each day we were there. Of course, the day after we left and every day since then has been in the 70s or 80s. I still had a good time but I'm okay with going somewhere else next vacation. I'm thinking a cruise. Where the food is included. Because DAMN, food in Vegas is WAY expensive. We didn't get a chance to go downtown where the food is cheap. We stayed on the strip. I did see more mullets in Vegas than I've seen in a LONG time. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures. You'll just have to settle with my regular, plain old pictures.

here they are (click the picture)

Believe it or not I am still trying to catch up on my sleep over a week later. The cats have been refusing to let me sleep. Meatwad has decided to just start peeing on whatever he wants because the two litterboxes aren't good enough. At least he's peeing, but I wouldn't mind if just went back to peeing in the bathroom sink like before!

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Will someone PLEASE nominate me for "What Not to Wear". I'm feeling very icky about my wardrobe lately.

slow down!

2009-09-23T05:57:00.000-07:00

My God, I'm tired. Life won't slow down, damnit! I'm not used to being busy constantly and for the past month straight and the next month straight I've got almost no time to just relax, baby.

Let's see... the first weekend in September I went to East Carolina vs. Appalachian football game with Katie, Jeff, Tracy, Chad, and Brianne. It was fun even though we lost. Much better than that awful trip to Louisiana last year. We had fun hanging out with ECU tailgaters, eating good food, and just generally had a good time. Pictures from that can be seen by clicking the picture below:

The next weekend was the first Appalachian home game in Boone. The pictures from that game haven't been uploaded to Flickr yet. I hope I'll get time to put them up, along with pictures from my other adventures (see below) before I leave for my big adventure (see below) on Friday. The home game we played against McNeese St (another team from stinking Louisiana) and lost.. big time. Even though we only lost by five points it felt much worse than losing by five points to ECU (like we did the week before). Perhaps because we never had a rallying point. Oh and there was drama in the stands because some older alumni have no sense of humanity. Not all, of course, just the one guy.

Four days after this game, I left for a work conference at Carolina Beach. Now, I love the beach, and I love conferences, but I hate driving. Since I was going to Savannah with Katie and Alisa for the weekend, I had to drive separate from everyone. This is a five hour drive. The way down wasn't so bad..

The conference itself was a blast! From the sunset boat cruise to the Fat Pelican bar, to the Rock Band room party, to the karaoke and the 3 AM dip in the ocean, I had fun. But I did not have sleep. And then on Friday, I drove another five hours from Savannah.

At first, the second five-hour trip was awful. I was *so* tired. I pulled into a rest stop and just kind of wandered around trying to wake up. But then, Katie called and they weren't too far down the road behind me. So, I waited for them and then followed Katie all the way to Savannah. This was a LOT easier since I didn't have to think about anything but keeping with Katie.

Savannah was a lot of fun! We ate a lot of good food, and we went on a haunted pub crawl! You know I love the pub crawls. It was extremely hot, but not too bad inside. And the weather was great. It was Alisa's bachelorette party so we made her wear a sash and tiara and we all wore light up rings and beads! This was all well and good until the pink beads turned all of our necks bright pink! Seriously! See Katie's picture here.

Now. As I mentioned earlier, I hate driving. So let's see, I drove five hours to the beach, then five hours to Savannah. Then, I had to drive home. This was the absolute worst. THE WORST! I was so incredibly tired. I did not have a proper night's sleep in four days! You all know how much I dislike South Carolina. I was so desperately tired, though, that I spent 45 minutes at a rest stop in South Carolina taking a power nap on a picnic bench. That's desperation there. By the time I finally got home, I was one giant ball of stress and unease. It actually made me physically sick to my stomach doing all that driving. I'm just a wimp I guess. But then, my stress multiplied by a million because about an hour after I got home, I realized Meatwad was sick. Again.

My poor kitty has urinary issues (kidney sand) and he spent 6 days at the vet in July.. Now he's back again and hopefully will be coming home today. I hope. This is extra stressful since on Friday morning, we are leaving for Vegas. Yep. Vegas again! I'm so excited but at the same time so worried about my Meatwad!

We'll be there for six days and five nights. This will be a lot of fun, and I'm going to try to relax, but then it's not like life will slow down after that either. With football season and two weddings and Christmas and Jared's birthday, I don't see myself being able to chill out until January.

But I promise, I vow, I will do my best to hold my shit together. All I can ask is that I don't go crazy in the meantime.

Hey, it's funny time

2009-09-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

This blog is a little... strange.

2009-09-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

I would like to start out this blog by saying I'm sorry. I'm sorry to all of my friends, or any of my friends, who feel like I've been kind of.. standoffish the last few months. I don't honestly know if anyone feels like I have been standoffish, but I noticed that I don't see my friends near as much as I did last year or before. The fact is, I haven't really been standoffish, I've just been kind of.. vacant. And I'm not sure of the total reason for this. I'm sane, I think. I'm not desperately unhappy or going through some kind of depression (I think).

Last night I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time trying to figure it out. I stared and I looked at myself in the eyes and asked "what's missing? what is different? who are you?" I just don't seem to have that spark anymore.

At first I thought it must be that I'm getting older. I don't want to go out and party as much because I don't enjoy it as much anymore. I don't like getting trashed and wanting to pass out. I don't like waking up feeling embarrassed of myself for something I did or said. While that part of it is true, I still don't think that's what my problem is.

I think the honest reason for my slump the last few months is because I became so content with just existing. I've spent the last 27 years of my life existing, and being okay with that. I've always thought that looking for meaning to life was kind of pointless. Why not just live life and roll with it?

But what if I do need to find a meaning? What if there was a purpose other than just living, working, loving, and watching tv?

This is what I found when I looked in the mirror last night. I need a purpose, a meaning. I need to find out what it is I can do to be more than just Allison, mapmaker from Hickory.

But what? I'm still searching for that.

I just hope that now I've come to this conclusion, that what I need is more from life, that maybe I can be more of a friend. More of a person. I hope you (all of you) can understand me a little better now. I'm not putting you out. I love you, all of you.

Quote of the Day

2009-08-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

"Sometimes I feel totally manipulated by George Lucas"

A co-worker and I were talking about Star Wars and how Lucas completely ruined the ending of 'Return of the Jedi' by changing Anakin Skywalker to the young, Hayden Christianson version. Not that I don't love Hayden, but come on!

On a non-Star Wars topic, tonight I'm going to China Grove! On a whim, Jared and I are going to see my high school's first football game of the year tonight. I haven't been to a high school football game, let alone MY high school's football game since 1999. When I was a senior. In marching band. That's ten years people. My high school reunion is next year! That seems crazy to me. Gah! I know, I know, I'm comparatively young to some people. But think about this: people born in 1988 are legal to drink alcohol now. 1988!!

Anywho my high school football team has always been terrible but hopefully tonight, since we're playing a smaller school, we'll have good luck.

Go South Rowan Raiders! Woot!

ESPN

2009-08-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing I don't believe in premonitions. Well, I used to before I grew up and realized that crazy dreams are just crazy. Anywho, last night I had a dream that I got fired. This is good because it means I won't get fired anytime soon. I hope. I dunno I mess around on the internet too much sometimes, but I do try to do my job too. Of course, sometimes I just get bored, and do things like this:

This was made from a John Edwards presidential sign found in Lenoir two years ago.

Because silver 9/11 $20 bills aren't tacky enough.

2009-08-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

So, I'm watching tv, all comfy and cozy on my couch one afternoon. I was probably watching Jeopardy, since it's pretty much my favorite tv show right now, because everything else is crap. It's a commercial break. A new commercial starts showing highlights of President Obama's campaign and really American-esque things. Like fireworks. I start to feel all warm and fuzzy inside thinking 'yes, yes I can'. And then, the tagline come on.

"To commemorate the inauguration of our 44th president with a well known American icon, introducing, (cha cha cha chia) Chia Obama".

Really. Honest to God. There's a Chia Obama. You can buy one and see the commercial by going here.

You know, I kind of actually want one of those. For my desk at work. I think I would be much more motivated to do something other than play on the internet... Maybe.

This blog is not about Star Wars (not totally, anyways).

2009-08-13T09:04:00.001-07:00

First of all, I recently saw the movie Fanboyz and I must say, if you're any kind of Star Wars fan, you need to see this. It's reeaaally funny. The best part is the cameo by William Shatner. And Seth Rogan plays two parts that are just hilarious.

This week has been kind of poopy because Jared has had to work a LOT. He's been closing every night, which means he doesn't get home til after my bedtime. I've been terribly lonely without him. Luckily the cats try to keep me company, but they kind of smell bad.

Anywho, on Sunday, he asked me to help him out and bartend at the Brush in Wilkesboro. So I did. And it sucked. Stupid air-conditioning was broke-d. Luckily it wasn't too busy, but man. It just reinforces my disdain for summer.

Alas, today has been pretty pleasant weather wise. It was a glorious, foggy, breezy morning. Ah :)

This weekend is one weekend where I plan to catch up on my ZZZzzzs. I always wake up when Jared comes to bed, however late, just to ask him about his day.

I've worked out three times this week and today, I'm going for four. Hell, if I get too bored on Saturday who knows? Maybe I'll make it five. Woot!

Countdown to ECU game, 25 days

2009-08-11T08:31:00.001-07:00

Coco Hillary!!!
Originally uploaded by allygirl520

My pretend BF, Coco Hillary

Coco Hillary is my favorite player on the App football team. Mostly because of his winning smile. My favorite part of tailgating is when all of the players walk through Stadium Lot and I get to hoot and hollar at them. I usually yell something along the lines of "hey pretty!!" when I see Coco. We'll see if he remembers that from last year.. The Fanfest is August 22 and I'll be there with bells on.

August

2009-08-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

You know why I like August? Because it sounds like "Autumn" and Autumn means "fall" and fall means close to winter.

There are no huge-gantic pressing deadlines.

The first Buccaneers preseason game is August 15th.

August 22nd is Appalachian Football's Fanfest day!

August 27th is my office's Fantasy Football Draft.

(I like football a bit too much, methinks)

I have no dentist appointments until August 31st, which is just a checkup.

I have no plans to drive any further than Boone.

My tomato plant, given to me by the lovely Marie, has produced many a mater and the very first one is almost ready for picking!

Why do you like/dislike August?

Birthdays.

2009-07-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's Brad's 28th birthday! For those of you who don't know, Brad is my other best friend. We've been friends since 10th grade when I was like, totally in lurve with him. Luckily it didn't work out in the love department because instead I gained a friend for life. He lives in Durham, NC now and I get to see him pretty often. But not often enough of course.

It seems strange to me that the older I get, the less involved in my friend's birthdays I become. Not that I'm ignoring them. I just don't go all out like I did in college and high school. Actually, Brad had a party this past weekend in Durham. It was his annual "Fun in the Sun" party which usually just happens to fall right around his birthday. I look forward to this party every year. But, as these things happen, I couldn't go since I was in Florida at my Grandpa's memorial service.

Life seems to be piling things on lately and I'm really doing my best to take things in stride. There hasn't been anything too detrimental, just lots and lots of little things. Like my cat having to be in the vet for several days. He came home last night and I'm not sure whether he's better or not. I wish I could read his mind. And tomorrow? I'm having a tooth removed and then Thursday they're putting in a bridge (temporary for 6 weeks, then permanent).

There's also the whole 'going to Florida in July' thing. I don't know why I am the way I am and I suffer so much in the heat, but I do. It's not just me complaining (although I do that constantly). I seriously get worked up when I'm overly hot and don't have any way to cool down. Floridians are used to it, therefore their air conditioning isn't near as low as it should be. I got almost zero sleep from Wednesday through Saturday. We stayed in a hotel room Friday night, so I thought we'd be cool and I could sleep. Turns out my German aunt, who was staying with us, is a serious snorer.

Thankfully there are good things. With all this dental work, I was given a prescription for Hydrocodone. I've never tried it before but I'm looking forward to being blissfully unaware and unable to worry. Then Saturday I get to go to a party in Greensboro with some of my absolute favorite people.

Next week will be better I think. I'm really not trying to sound all depressed, because I'm not really. I'm just.. living. August will be better for me. Even though it's not any cooler than July, it sounds like it should be, therefore I'll take it. And I don't have any major plans for August (except for App's Fanfest!) so that makes me happy. Too many plans stress me out!

Ach I've been rambling way too much here..

Wiggin Out

2009-07-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Things I'm looking forward to:
1. July 14th, The State (a great sketch comedy show from the 1990's) comes out on DVD.
2. July 15th, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (my favorite Potter book) comes out in theaters.
3. July 25th, my friend Brad is having a big pool party / cookout in Durham.
4. August 1st, Jeff's Bday party.
5. August 22nd, Appalachian's Fanfest.
6. September 5, ASU vs. ECU (the battle of the beards).
7. September 18, Savannah
8. September 25, Las Vegas.
etc.

Things I am not looking forward to:
1. Sometime next week I have to go to Florida, to bury my Grandpa Muhlberg. We weren't close (ever) but he was still Grandpa. More to come on him. P.S. What is with the summertime in Florida thing? 2 years ago Grandma died in July. The funeral was in Florida.
2. On July 22nd, I have to have one of teeth removed. See, I inherited God-awful soft teeth from my Mom. Even though I brush twice a day and floss everyday, I still have terrible teeth. The tooth in question had a root canal several years ago, but before I could go back for the crown, I graduated college and my Dad's insurance wouldn't cover me anymore. Needless to say, it died.
3. On July 23rd, I have a temporary bridge put in where the tooth was and six weeks later a permanent one will be put in.
4. Oh, and I also need 3 more crowns. And like, 9 fillings.

Okay, I may be approaching boo-face status. But I'm trying here. It helps having Jared around to hug. And 2 big fat kitties. Just trying to keep in mind the things I'm looking forward to.

I don't know why

2009-06-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I've been feeling utterly lazy and unsocial lately. On Saturday I had no inclination to do anything but lie on the couch. It has been this way most weeknights too. Wednesdays are trivia night, and I go to those, but that's because I feel that Carmen needs me there. And really? That's the only time I actually get to hang out with Carmen, it seems. And, she's got a new game going on on Thursdays that is pure pop culture. It's a lot of fun. But to keep myself from getting too unlazy, I've decided I am just going to go to one game a week. Should I go to Wednesday night or Thursday night trivia?

Jared and I are trying to read through all of the Harry Potter books before the new movie comes out on July 15th. We are kind of racing each other. I had to rent the 5th book from the library because I only own one copy and after trying to both read the same copy of books 3 and 4 at the same time, we have learned this is difficult.

Also, last Friday night we played Monopoly and I sucked. Bad. We play the 'Here and Now' edition. Much harder to play, I think. I don't really have a strategy, I just use luck. Unfortunately last Friday I was unlucky. But then we had a rematch this past week. Jared was the unlucky one then. He lost, bad. The problem here is that we are both rather competitive when it comes to board/card games. And we both get incredibly pissy when we are losing. We don't act like babies or anything, but we are definitely not the best losers. hehehe. You should see us play Scrabble. Except you won't ever see us play Scrabble. Why? Because he doesn't play by the rules.

One more thing. If you haven't seen it yet, check out this creepy ass picture of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. You've seen an old version of this on my blog, but this new picture is even creepier. If you click on the link you can see the pics of others in the movie too.

I Love Sarcasm, Don't Get Me Wrong...

2009-06-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

So, as part of our deal for Vegas, we got two free show tickets to see any Cirque Du Soleil Show or Disney's The Lion King. Once you got a trip confirmation email, you needed to go to this other website with a confirmation number and from there choose the top three show choices that you wanted to go to. I went to the website and put in the top three choices.

Immediately, I got an email saying that I would get a response within 72 hours saying which show we would be going to. So, I waited. And waited. And waited. Six days later, I had given up on them. So I went back to the website where you make your selection, hoping to find a contact email or phone number to call if you didn't get the email. No email address or phone number. I checked the email they had sent saying I would get a response, but no contact info. Finally, I gave up and decided to call Travelocity to get an answer.

I got through to someone immediately at Travelocity (though of course, I couldn't understand half of what he was saying). After he read off my itinerary (which I already knew, duh), he finally understood what I was asking him. He put me on hold and came back saying he found a phone number for them on Google (teehee) and that he was going to put me on hold again to call them.

Five minutes later, he came back with an answer. Somehow he actually got in touch with someone! We're going to see The Lion King! Woo! He also said I should be getting an email confirmation from them in the next few minutes.

Here's where the sarcasm comes in. After I got off the phone, I got an email from them. Then, an hour later, I got the same email from them. Then, two hours after that, I got another email. Then, yesterday I got five more of the same email.

So, here's the question: were they being sarcastic, saying "here's your stupid email you were so worried about" or were they being stupid?

HTML Code:

What do you think?

Sarcastic
Stupid
Who Cares?

view results

Still beautiful at 46.

2009-06-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday goes out to his majesty, the king of suave, Johnny Depp.

I have to say he's the only man on Earth who makes getting older look good (to me). He seems to actually get more beautiful with age. But then again, I may be a little one-sided.

I am extremely excited for his new movie Public Enemies coming out July 1st. It is rare to get to see him play a serious part. Not that I don't love the silliness (Sleepy Hollow and POTC are two of my favorite movies), but he is also an incredibly good serious actor when he wants to be.

Anywho, happy birthday Johnny.

Big News

2009-06-05T08:12:00.001-07:00

Jared and I have decided to go back to Las Vegas in September. We found an awesome deal on Travelocity. Five nights at New York New York hotel and round trip airfare for less than $500 each. AND we got 2 free show tickets to see The Lion King. Awesome.

You should all join us! September 25th through 30th! I am planning to have the time of my life. Again.

This vacation means two other things have to happen though.

1)I'm going to have to get a temporary part time job again. Spending money is needed. This is painful. Also I have a lot of things coming up on Saturdays so I will not be able to work Saturdays. I'm okay with that, but most restaurants are not (I want tip money, people!). The plan is for me to go out tomorrow and start looking.

2)I'm going on a diet. A mega-mega hardcore diet. Started today. I had a protein shake for breakfast, and I'm taking Alli, which means I can't eat high-fatty foods unless I want to suffer horrific abdominal pains and other embarrassing things. I refuse to let that happen to me, so I think this may work. I already work out 2-3 times a week, so hopefully by September I'll drop a few pounds.

Oh, and no. I don't have any plans of getting married in Vegas.

Dos

2009-06-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm convinced that ABC doesn't like me. It tried to air one of my favorite shows, PUSHING DAISIES, on Saturday night so that no one would realize it was on and no one would watch it. It didn't advertise that it would be showing new episodes, either! It's like they don't want any ratings because then they would have to admit that they were wrong to cancel it. But I fooled them, I still had my DVR set to record new episodes of PUSHING DAISIES. So Sunday afternoon when I was superbored and going through my recordings, I was greatly surprised by a new episode of PUSHING DAISIES! I didn't think they were ever going to air anymore, and there it was! This is fantastic! But apparently, they're only showing 2 more, just to tie up the series. What a shame. This is a superbly great show.

Also, this past weekend I went to Durham to see Brad and went to a Durham Bulls baseball game. It was sooo much fun. Much more exciting than any Hickory Crawdads game I've ever been to. But the best part is, it's right across the street from a MELLOW MUSHROOM. I.love.the.shroom. And, as I previously stated, it is my goal to visit as many Mellow Mushrooms as possible before I die. This makes Shroom #10.

Here's my list:
1.Boone, NC
2.Blowing Rock, NC
3.Asheville, NC
4.Winston Salem, NC
5.Wilmington, NC
6.Columbia, SC
7.Chattanooga, TN
8.Myrtle Beach, SC
9.Baton Rouge, LA
10.Durham, NC

LOTS and LOTS more to go!

Movie

2009-05-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

You know, the wonderful thing about Netflix is you finally get around to watching all of those movies you meant to watch but didn't, or you finally see those movies that everyone else says you have to see.

On the other hand this could be a bad thing. So there's this movie that everyone else on the planet saw and thought was SO funny. I am not really a stupid comedy type of girl. I like girly comedies, but watching a movie like "Scary Movie 4" or "Step-Brothers" has absolutely no appeal to me. Sorry, just not my thing. So of course, I was really apprehensive about seeing "Borat". Everyone saw "Borat". Everyone. Even my Mom. I didn't really want to.. But I finally got around to putting it on my Netflix queue (pronounced "kway" because it's more fun that way).

So last night Jared and I watched "Borat". I should also mention here that I am also not big on comedies that make me feel uncomfortable. Let's just say "Meet the Parents" made me squirm more than laugh.

Needless to say, "Borat" made me squirm. A lot. There were parts of the movie where I laughed. But there were parts that seriously made me want to hurt myself. I can see why people like it. But honestly, I don't think I could ever watch it again. Ever. And please, dear God, don't make me go see "Bruno".

rant.

2009-05-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

You know what I hate?
Ranch Dressing.
Ew.
Why do so many people douse everything it that stinkiness? Don't they realize they are just opening themselves up to horrific diseases (not unlike swine flu) by ingesting that putrid slime?

Good Idea / Bad Idea

2009-05-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

Good Idea:
Spending a great night in the mountains, starting with beer and mellow mushroom:

My friend M. throws a great "throw down". We had tasty burgers, delicious beverages, good conversation (Kate's hair looks like a chicken!) and one adorable puppy dog. I missed out on the dune buggy ride, but there is a promise of "next time". Good. :)
I even stopped drinking in time to avoid a hangover. This is a good idea.

Bad Idea:
Staying up til 1 AM on Sunday night playing online poker. For fake money! I'm sooooo tired and I'm not really allowed to whine since it's my own fault! But hey, out of 27 people in the tournament, I came in first. So there's that.

3 Years!

2009-05-11T06:10:00.000-07:00

Holy vienna sausages Batman!

Yesterday was our 3 year anniversary! That's like, crazy! Sure we hit our bumps along the way. But here we are. Too bad we didn't get to celebrate, it being Mother's Day and all. But we did manage to do some cuddling yesterday. Friday night we stayed in a hotel in Wilkesboro because Jared was working there Friday and Saturday. It was a nice super-micro vacation! Woo.

It's Electric!

2009-05-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

**EDITED** I added another example.

First off, I hate that song (Electric Slide).

Monday night Jared and I met my mother and step-father, Will, in Statesville for my birthday dinner. Sure, it was a little late, but that's how we work in my family. Mom was going to call when she and Will left their home in Kannapolis. Around 4:30 that afternoon, the power at my house had been knocked out when a transformer blew down the street.

I mentioned this to my mom and she kindly pointed out to me that I "sure do have bad luck with power outages". And you know what? Damn, she's right!

Example one: Monday night (see above notes).

Example two: Last year on my birthday when it was out for three hours.

Example three: That god awful trip to LSU.

Example four: Jared and I in Pigeon Forge, when it was out ONLY on our side of the road. We had to eat dinner at 4:30 pm.

Example five: It happens all the time!

I guess I'm just electrically charged!

7 things

2009-05-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

1. I was just bored, and wondering.. Did Jesus have a last name? Or was "Christ" his last name? I mean, isn't that kind of a weird last name? Especially back in the old days? This question may have been answered in the bible, but since I was raised agnostic, I don't know much about that.

2. My birthday was wicked awesome. Jared made me a cake, and Carmen made me a cake. I went to a Crawdads game and had lots of beer! Sure I'm hungover today, but who cares? I got lots of good presents too!

3. My Dad called me last night and I was rather drunk when I talked to him. And I volunteered to drive to see him on Sunday (his birthday) which will suck because it's so far away. But it is his birthday. SO what the hell.

4. My friend Stephen is trying to kill himself by eating a lot of bad things. Hand sanitizer, kitty litter, and vaginal cream are only a small portion of what he's going to maybe eat.

5. American Idol has ceased to suck me in as much as usual this year. Perhaps it's because I was so entranced by Jason Castro last year, that this year nothing compares. Espcially not that screamer Adam Lambert. :P I'm pulling for Kris and Allison.

6. Last weekend I went to Boone with Katie, Daniel, and one of our new employees, Chris. It was great until I got a migrane. Then I fell asleep because I took four advil. So our friend Max (who lives in Boone) decided to be a butt and drew on my arm. All was funny til someone posted a video of it online. A very very very unflattering video.

7. I've been living in Hickory long enough that anywhere I go, it seems, I run into or see someone I know or recognize. I like that feeling. When I was a senior at App, I would see someone I knew EVERY time I went to Wal-Mart. EVERYTIME.

Happy Birthday Willie Nelson!

2009-04-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

And oh yea, Me! The big 27 is finally upon me. It's such an important year. Full of... 27 ness. Ok, I'm thinking nothing big happens in the 27th year of life. But hey, it has to be better than 26. I was actually depressed about being 26 because it's "late 20's". But now I'm over it. I'm actually thinking I'm going to like the person I will be by the time I'm 30. I'm working towards being a really cool chick by then. Maybe even trendy. We'll see.

Plans for this year:
1. Get up to the $1,000 mark in savings.
2. Have some sort of super awesome vacation (may nullify plan #1)
3. Keep up with the world.

Okay, and to celebrate this being my super awesome birthday, here's a treat for everyone:

More evidence that kilts rule.

2009-04-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

Found this picture of my boyfriend in a kilt with his sister and brother. Okay, so he was a kid and therefore not "hot" in his kilt. But he is wearing one none-the-less. Maybe I can get him to wear one now...

Speaking of kilts.. The hot kilted bartender that works at the Tap Room was working the other night.. in pants! Yes, it is true. And let me just say, it's the kilt that was making him hot. *sigh*

Saturday was a looong day.

2009-04-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

It started out good with me making the best french toast ever. Then Jared and I headed on over to the Hickory Hops Festival. Every year, a bunch of us volunteer to work a four hour shift at the festival in exchange for free beer! All day! Usually it's pretty laid back and I am able to still get my drink on while I'm working. Not this year! It was so busy I couldn't sit down! And, some mean old lady made me cry a little (what is it with mean old people making me cry?). Anywho, once I was done, I got my little drink on with my Jared:

Katie, Daniel, and several other friends were there too and we drank the most delicious beer ever (which also happens to be a pirate beer) called "Holy Sheet" by Heavy Seas Brewing Company.
The guy in my picture is the same guy as in the picture on the web page.

Around 6:00 Jared and I decided to go home and nap for a bit. We're old, ya know. Then at 9, I went to karaoke! I wasn't going to go, due to the fact that I was TIRED. But I figured what the hell. It was fun, and thanks to my brilliant Harry Belafonte impression, Beef O' Brady's in Hickory had it's first ever Congo Line. Check out the pics at HKYnights.com.

stuff

2009-04-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

So, who, dear readers, uses Embarq and searches for my blog with the google words "allison's blog hickory, nc"??? Just curious :) I know you're out there, whoever you are.

So Tuesday was my brother's big "going away ceremony" at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC.

Here's why the army sucks: If you are planning a big going away ceremony with 4,000 soldiers, wouldn't you expect there to be at least several people PER soldier at the farewell cememony?

Apparently the army figures that since these guys are in the reserves, they aren't as loved and won't have as many spectators there for them.

We drove all the way to Fayetteville on Tuesday to be at the ceremony to see my brother off to Kuwait/Iraq. We got there around 11:30, the ceremony was to start at 2:00. My brother wanted to go out for lunch. So we all went to lunch and then got back to the Coliseum around 1:30. My sister-in-law dropped my brother off at the door and we all went to find parking. A minute later my sister-in-law calls from her car to my mom and tells us that when Alan got to the entrance of the coliseum, the security guards were turning people away. All civilians. Apparently, the coliseum was at capacity and they had to turn away thousands of people. yay! So instead, my brother chose not to participate in the ceremony. We all drove to Starbucks and hung out for a while and had our own, private goodbye. My dad had driven all the way from West Jefferson, which is like a 6 hour drive. *sigh*

We still managed to have a good time. It's just.. we could have gone to Starbucks in Kannapolis. Which is where my familly lives. It's only an hour from me.

Stupid army.

Pics here:

2 Things.

2009-04-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

First, I hope you all know of the awesomeness of Google Street View on Google Maps. If you don't, I'm sorry.

I waited forever and ever for them to finally Street View Hickory (where I live) and they finally posted it, but my car wasn't at home or work. Boo.

Lately, however, they finally posted pics from Morganton, NC (where I was working once a week for a year). And lo and behold, there's finally a picture of my car! At Morganton city hall! Woohoo!

View Larger Map

If you can't see that link, try clicking here. If that doesn't work, I'm sorry again.

Also, my brother Alan is in the Army National Guard Reserves. Tomorrow he is flying to Kuwait for two weeks, and then to Iraq for nine months. I'm a little scared but I know he's smart and hopefully he'll remember all of his training, etc. My mom and I are going to his Farewell Ceremony at Ft. Bragg tomorrow.

The boy.

2009-04-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

Jared has asked me to blog about him. A full blog dedicated to the Jared. Instead of being all gushy and grossing you out with my droolification, here are 5 things you may or may not know about Jared:

1. Jared is a chocolate FIEND. Especially Reese's peanut butter cups. If it is chocolate, he will eat it until you make him stop. Molten chocolate brownie lava cake with ice cream and syrup makes him weak in the knees.

2. Jared has told me he that if UNC was playing a basketball game against people who had murdered his family, he would still not cheer for Carolina. This hatred runs deep, yall.

3. Jared has disdain for Jessica Simpson and Rachel McAdams. Why? I mean, Jessica Simpson might be a little ditsy, but she's not what I would consider hateable (not like that skank Jennifer Love Hewitt). And Rachel McAdams? She's cute as a button.

4. His favorite movie is "Dumb and Dumber". But then, why guy doesn't love Lloyd and Harry? But he also loves Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code, any and all sports movies, and of course, all those dumb American Pie movies (the original isn't dumb).

5. He once dreamt of being a doctor. He makes an excellent restaurant manager though. And if he were a doctor, we probably wouldn't know each other now. So I'm glad things changed and life moved him my way.

Mush free.

Anniversary

2009-04-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today and this week:

-I have owned my condo for 3 years now. I feel like a superstar for buying a home at 23. Two more years and I'll only have to pay back one of my two first-time home buyer loans. I think I can handle that. I have made a few improvements (I think). I still have a lot of things I would like to do, like replace the carpet downstairs with hardwood floors (and by hardwood I mean laminate). The problem with this is it takes money. And skill with tools. Neither of these do I possess.

-My blog turned four years old on Tuesday. The last year it has suffered I think, but hopefully that's all about to change since I'll be in my office every day now. Whee!

-Meatwad is 3 years old now. :( He's still my baby kitty though. I still see the kitten in him. He still plays, and chases his tail, and gives me the "momma" treatment. He is a boob man. Loves to cuddle and stick his face in my chest. It's kinda weird but I figure maybe he gets it from watching Jared (teehee). Meatwad is my big man.

-Beefcake turned 2 years old a few weeks ago. He is most definitely still a kitten. He's got the biggest, most beautiful eyes. He's a lover. But he also LOVEs to fight with Meatwad. He's an instigator. He has such a crazy meow. He rubs on everything he can reach with his long tail and his big head. He has an underbite. He's my big boy.

Pineapple Express

2009-03-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's another one, as per his own request.

My friend Sam:

Looks a lot like Seth Rogan:

Am I right?

I've discovered that I love something.

2009-03-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

I've noticed lately how often I like to compare people to other people, looks wise. I mean, who they look like. For instance, my annoying psuedo-coworker (the repeater) looks just like Stephen King. There is a Duke basketball player named Jon Scheyer who looks just like Freddie Prinze Jr:

FPJ

Scheyer:

I've been saying this for months, and tonight, I found a forum where someone else made the same comparison.

Anywho, the point is, this is the most fun game ever.

Happenings

2009-03-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Funny, a while back on either twitter or blogger (can't remember which), I noted how I thought Twitter would be the death of the blog. It's totally true. Blogs are dropping like flies as Twitter takes over the world. It just doesn't seem as necessary to write up a whole long blog about your feelings when you can so easily do it in 140 characters or less.

Love: So far so good. Jared and I seem to be working through our issues and things are going quite well. I know it's an unconventional relationship, to take a step back (he's not living with me anymore) but stay together, but so far it seems to be working. I see him pretty much every day. Good stuff.

Work: Aye carumba, am I busy. I bitched and bitched for years about how slow it was at work and now I'm so busy I've had to stay late every day for the past week and probably will this whole week too. We have one more new person coming in on April 1st and I'm hoping once she gets here, it will slow down for me a little. And if not, that's okay too, except I Haven't played spider solitare in like a month!

Party time: Been doing a lot of fun stuff. Carmen is hosting karaoke on Saturday nights, which are a blast. Wednesdays, as always, there is trivia. And there's always the goings on in between that are great.

I have been spending a lot of time outside lately. This would be good for most people. And I pretend it's good for me too. But honestly, sunblock is a pain in the ass and I have to put it on at least twice a day now. :P And, I think the flowers are slowly killing me.

My cats are somehow getting fatter even though I cut back their food. See my flickr page for examples.

I'd also like to say congrats to my friends Alisa and Matt for getting engaged last month!!

A little poll

2009-03-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

"Okay. Would you rather be an alien or a mutant?"

"Or a vampire?"

"Or a vampire."

I would definitely choose to be a mutant. One like Mystique who can change into other people. And I would like the power of inivisibility. Maybe be able to fly too.

What about you?

Today is...

2009-03-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

My youngest niece, Madelyn's fifth birthday. Which makes me feel old, since I graduated college only a few weeks after she was born. Sheesh.

Madelyn is a pistol. She's going to be tall, maybe a little burly, but pretty. And the best thing about her is her amazing personality. And she loves her Aunt Allison.

Still Got It.

2009-03-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

So I got hit on today at the gym. At my gym, there is a little side room that has several pieces of equipment: a thigh machine, a hip machine, and a butt machine. I was sitting on the thigh machine when a pretty boy came and sat next to me on the hip machine. And he started talking to me and I told him I was going to use the machine he was on when he was done. So we were both doing our leg machines in rythym. It was kind of weird. I finished first, and wandered over to the butt machine. I've never been able to figure out the butt machine. Pretty offers to help me. I would have said "no" but I figured he was probably harmless. hehehe.

Pretty boy stood behind me and told me how the butt machine works. Then he told me I was doing a good job, and that I had nice legs. I giggled, finished up, and promptly left the room.

I have a man, thank you.. But it's nice to know I still got it ;)

“Things I sometimes imagine against my will.”

2009-03-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

As copied from Maggie/Mighty Girl,

Here are the things I accidentally imagine or dream:

1. T-Rex is back, and he's after me.

2. I lost my job.

3. I am stuck in a small place, like a kiddie tunnel at a fast food playground.

4. Zombies.. that is all.

5. There is a demon in my home (from watching too much Paranormal State).

6. Being buried alive. With spiders.

7. I am swimming in the ocean, and a shark rubs against me (or dead body).

8. Someone sees me naked. And I'm not even drunk.

9. I am back in college, and I can't make it to class until exam day.

10. All of my teeth have fallen out.

Good Gravy.

2009-03-03T05:50:00.001-08:00

Karaoke. Saturday Nights at Beef O' Brady's. This is how cool you will be if you go.

People really get me.

2009-02-26T10:49:00.001-08:00

An email from my buddy Popcorn Rob:

Subject: Allison's Dream Come True

(click and view large)

Guess who finally learned to stop being an ass?

2009-02-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

Has stopped meowing (for the most part) and waking me up in the morning since I started feeding them at night:

<3 my Meatwad.

People, Places, Things.

2009-02-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

Last week was a LONG, stressful week for me. I worked like regular Monday and Tuesday. Then, Tuesday after work, I headed to McLeansville with Katiebonk where we stayed with Jeff and Tracy. Wednesday morning my coworker Tom picked us up (30 minutes late) and I had to haul ass in a rented Kia in the rain so we could get to pre-conference workshop in Raleigh on time at 9 am. We made it, with several seconds to spare.

Yes, it's conference time again. Usually, work conference are regarded more as "fun" than "work". Not so this time. Usually, I'm free to go to whatever sessions I want and do what I like in my free time. Not so here.

At my office we just got a new big contract, which is good. But as per usual, we are putting things together kind of last minute. And rushed. And disorganized. Which means, my boss made me actually do "Work" at our conference. I had to skip a session so we could "call" people, and I almost got in trouble for skipping another one so I could nap. I'm only one person people! I still managed to have some fun though. I ate at a couple of really delicious restaurants (The Oxford, The Big Easy) and went to an awesome bar (The Flying Saucer) where they had a whooooole lotta beer on tap. Katie and I played in the hot tub, even though it was treacherously hot. I got to hang out with and see a few of my college friends, which is always good. I made a few new friends. I got to see Stephen play Rock Band with some ESRI salesmen. And I ate some delicious food. Okay, for the most part it was fun. But my boss has a bad habit of getting me stressed out over stupid things.

We got back from the conference on Friday night and on Saturday I headed BACk to Durham to see Brad and go to an mc chris concert. That kicked ass, as usual. mc chris is very funny and does a great one-man show. I was standing front and center and he saw me with my phone out and he said "Are you texting!?" into the microphone. I said "NOOOO!" (even though I was). His reply was "Oh, you're twittering? That's ok then". Fun times.

Now it's back to work as usual.

Oh and one more thing. Jared and I are back together, and yes, I'm making the right decision.

Thursday.

2009-02-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

I feel as if I'm revolting against my blog by not utilizing it to it's fullest potential. So hey world! How's it going?

Last weekend I went to the moutains with Carmen, Jon, and Matt we had a blast. I drank lots of wine, ate lots of jello shots, and shot a big gun:

There's also a video of this on my youtube, but I can't link to that from my office, so if you're really concerned about it, go to youtube and do a search for allygirl520's videos. I will be there. I also have a video of Carmen shooting, but it's sideways and I don't know how to rotate it.

This weekend I have no real plans. Well, Friday night I'm going to dinner with Katie, but after that I don't know what's going on.

Next week is a big ass work conference where hopefully I'll have a good time "learning" in Raleigh. Woo!

I am still painting my kitchen, been working on that for a year. The other night I finally put the hardware back on the top set of cabinet doors. Hopefully i'll get around to reattaching them sometime in the next few weeks, and then I can start taking off and painting the bottom set of cabinets. WEe!

Tonight? Bo's karaoke anyone?

Ho Hum.

2009-02-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

Life has been a strange blur lately. For the first time in years, I'm so busy at work that I feel stressed. Which is good. A little stress is good for you. But still, I feel like I need a super long nap, but I'm not sure when I'll get that chance.

I realized the other day that I haven't cried in about 3 weeks. This is amazing to me considering a month ago I wasn't sure I'd ever stop crying. I'm not really sure what is going on with me and men right now, but I'm trying to do what makes me happy. And unfortunately, it might not make everyone else happy. But that's how it is, I guess. I just want to do what makes me feel good.

I thought I was getting sick earlier this week, but my stupid over active immune system didn't allow it. Yes, I want to get a cold. I want to have a good excuse to lay on my couch and be lazy, but I can't find one. I've been trying to work out more lately, but I keep going places and not being able to. Hopefully I'll be able to start staying home on the weekends soon and start really getting a good workout.

Tonight I'm helping Carmen, Jon, and our new friend Grant at a party celebrating the Hickory Art Museum's 60th Anniversary. Carmen and I made 250 jello shots last night for the shindig, and at the party they will be given away for free! Then tomorrow, Carmen, Jon, Matt and I will be headed to Jon's parent's mountain cabin for a little mountain fun. I'm not sure which mountain, but what the hey, it will be fun.

Pretty soon I won't be working outside as much anymore, which means I won't come home looking like this:

2 things that rule

2009-01-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

1) Paranormal State, that spooky show on A&E. This college guy and his friends go around to people's houses who claim they have ghosts, and they help them. Sometimes they show exorcisms. They always have psychics. And the host/main dude? HOTTIE.

Last night I watched three episodes in a row right before bed. Then I woke up at 3 AM and kept hearing noises and scared myself. Fun!

2)The Smoking Gun. Great Website. They have a whole bunch of celebrity mugshots, as well as generally funny mugshots. Here are some of my favorites:
Funny Old Man:

Andre the Giant:

Michael Thompson from Hickory:

Ipod Shuffle

2009-01-26T07:24:00.000-08:00

My friend KariBeri tagged me with this on facebook:

1. Put your iTunes on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Tag at least 10 friends.
6. Anyone tagged has to do the same, because fun pointlessness spreads like a virus.
(It is crazy how a lot of songs will answer the questions!)

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say..
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton (um, i don't know)

How would you describe yourself?
Rastaman Chant - Bob Marley (I guess that means I like to have fun?)

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Transformer - Gnarls Barkley (I guess I like him to change?)

How do you feel today?
I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic at the Disco (I do feel kinda emo today)

What is your life’s purpose?
Star Wars Main Theme - John Williams (I guess I'm just a rebel spy.)

What is your motto?
Ironic - Alanis Morrisette (This could work.)

What do your friends think of you?
Don't Stop Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson (I guess my friends think I shouldn't settle.)

What do you think of your parents?
March of the Pigs - Nine Inch Nails (NOt really, I like my parents.)

What do you think about often?
Dirty Harry - Gorillaz (That sounds kind of dirty..)

What is 2 + 2?
Not an Addict - K's Choice (I love 90's music)

What do you think of your best friend?
I Killed Sally's Lover - The Avett Brothers (I'd help my best friend get rid of a body.)

What do you think of the person you like?
Fixing a Hole - The Beatles (Hmm..)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys (I guess that means I want to drug people? Hmm, I have thought about being a vet!)

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Rhythm of My Heart- Rod Stewart (I love Rod.)

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Ass and Titties - 3 6 Mafia (I'm gonna have to disagree with this one.)

What will they play at your funeral?
Caravan - Van Morrison (I love this song and would really love it to be played at my funeral)

What is your hobby/interest?
Waiting in Vain - Bob Marley (Well there ya go.)

What is your biggest fear?
Viva la Vida -- ColdPlay ( dont get this one either)

What is your biggest secret?
End of the Road - Boys II Men (I'm not really afraid of dying.)

What do you think of your friends?
Seven Seas of Ryhe - Queen (hmm. Beats Me)

What will you put as the title?
Pwom - MC Chris (I don't even know what that word means.)

Hello

2009-01-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to blog about because I'm actually too busy to come up with anything thoughtful, but here are a couple things.

I posted my Savannah pictures that you should all look at:

And also, I just want to say, woohoo!

Savannar.

2009-01-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

So, I know what you're all wondering, how does a 5 hour each way trip to Savannah end up taking 17 hours? Here's the story.

At 1:00 on Friday, I met Tracy and her sister Brianne at Katie's house, where we packed into one car and headed to lunch at the delicious Italy Grill. We officially left for Savannah at 2 pm.

Tracy is prone to car sickness, so she gets to sit up front the whole time (which is fine by me, I prefer riding in the back). Since she is up front, she is to assume the duty of navigator. This is also fine because she has serious eye sight. Eagle eyes.

She asks for the directions, to which Katie replies something like, "they are in the side pocket of the door, the google maps directions". Tracy grabs a handful of folded up directions, and chooses one from the bunch. I notice that the directions she chose were a bit crumpled, but I figured it was because Katie goes to Savannah quite often and reuses her directions.

We drive along, la-di-da, and finally get off the interstate and Tracy announces we should be there within the hour. We drive past a shopping center with a Buckhead Pizza place and Katie says, "I wonder if we're near Buckhead!?". Then there is some confusion as to where to go next and somehow, a lightbulb goes off in Katie's head.

"Do those directions end on MLK Drive?"

Tracy goes to the next page and announces "No, they end on Runhouse Way*".

"Those are the directions to my sister's house in Atlanta!"

It is now when everyone in the car starts asking themselves, 'how far is this from Savannah'? We pulled off into a parking lot and Katie checks her awesome GPS on her phone and gives us the bad news: "Four and a half hours." That's right. FOUR AND A HALF HOURS.

So, after all this, we didn't get to Savannah until about 10:45 pm. Luckily, since we are all girls, none of got upset about it. We still managed to have fun and talk the whole way down. When we got there we settled in for a minute and then went to a bar and had a few good drinks, giving us time to unwind after all that driving/riding. Poor Katie. I don't know that I could take all that driving at once.

Saturday we spent the day having a great time, drinking Wet Willies, bar hopping, walking around River St and the Market. We had a nice dinner at Kevin Barrie's. Then we went out dancing until around 2 am. I danced with a very nice Brazillian boy who had no idea how to speak or understand English. But he was nice and his friend bought us girls testtube shots. Wee!

Sunday, we left at 11:00, all positive and optimistic about how short the drive home would seem after the goofup on the way down. This is foreshadowing.

We have a nice, easy (with the exception of some rain) drive all the way to Rock Hill, when out of nowhere, the traffic stops and people are backing up on I-77. Seriously, reverse lights from the car in front of us. This is because we were right after an exit and people were deciding they should get off the interstate there. We roughed it out though. The thought of reversing on the interstate was not something we wanted to do. After we sat still for a while, Katie turned on the radio. The dj announced that some idiot had hit the Amber Alert sign on the interstate, and that both directions had subsequently been closed. *YAY*. So, we inched along. For 2 hours. At one point we got out to stretch, take pictures, and dance around a little bit.

When we finally inched off I-77 and got around the traffic, we got back on I-77 and made it the rest of the way home without incident. We hadn't planned on stopping again, but since we were stuck for SOOO long, we all had to stop to pee and figured we might as well have dinner.

Thus, our return trip from Savannah took Eight hours. EIGHT.

But alas, we still had fun. We are girls and girls know how to turn even the craziest car trip into a fun time. I'd do it again if I had to.

Pictures to come soon!

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

katie and allison after a lot of dancing

2009-01-16T06:24:00.001-08:00

katie and allison after a lot of dancing
Originally uploaded by allygirl520

This picture was taken in Savannah 1.5 years ago. It was October, and it was nice. Tonight, Katie and I are going back to Savannah along with our friend Tracy and her sister, Brianne. I'm going to have a lot of fun and do a lot of dancing and hopefully not freeze my butt off. Or throw up while I'm on the phone.

Girls weekends really do rule. I need to have one with Carmen sometime!

I'm such a pushover.

2009-01-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

Last year, I made a solemn vow not to watch American Idol anymore since the producers seemed to hate my favorite contestant, Jason Castro.

I swore I was only going to watch again if they allowed my friend Stephen to compete (which, he is awesome and has been shafted every year). I maintained this vow over the summer and fall and into winter. But then, the commercials started. And dammit, I'm a sucker for this stupid show. I guess I'm sucked in again. I blame DVR for making it so easy to record and skip through the crappy parts.

I do, however, wish they could leave out all the bad singers and idiots that are only on camera because the producers want to make fun of them. If they only showed the decent singers, I would like this part a lot more.

Two nights into it I have a few people who I like so far. I can't think of their names though. Maybe once Hollywood week rolls around, I'll be more apt to say who. I've never picked the winner, but I've come close with Blake Lewis (2nd place to Jordin Sparks).

Last night, Jason Castro's little brother Michael auditioned. Okay, so he wasn't great and I fully expect him to not make it to the top 36, but look how cute:

I just want to pinch his little emo cheeks! And come on, I can still call myself a Castronaut if he makes it!

Meatwad Hates Me.

2009-01-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

So, ever since The Ex moved out, Meatwad has made it his personal goal to prevent me from enjoying my newly-single life.

See, on workday mornings, I have a little ritual I like to call "snooze hour". During snooze hour, I spend an hour hitting the snooze button every 9 minutes on my alarm, and getting another blissful 8.5 minutes of sleep in between. This is how I have always woken up. This is the only way to get me up early. Without this method, I'd be late for work every day.

Well, for the past two weeks, Meatwad has decided to mess with my snooze hour. Instead of waiting until I finally arouse and open my bedroom door before he starts bombarding me with good-morning-now-feed-me meows, he has decided he can't wait anymore. As soon as he hears my alarm go off the first time, he stands right outside my door and sticks his fat kitty snout right in the floor-door crack and meows very very very loudly, in an attempt to get me to feed him immediately.

This isn't entirely new. He used to do it a long time ago, too. You know, before The Ex moved in. Then he stopped. No real reason except I guess he figured I was feeding The Ex in there or something. Crazy ass cat.

I have tried a lot of different methods to prevent him from driving me insane. My first unsuccessful method was the watergun. As soon as I would hear him start, I'd jump up and grab the watergun, open the bedroom door, and shoot him a few times until he ran down the stairs. Then I would go back to sleep for 7.5 minutes (instead of 8.5) until my alarm went off again. Unfortunately, this method only serves to piss him off and he gets louder.

The next method I have tried is to lock him up in another room. This method is semi-successful except that it wakes me up more. The first time I did it, I put him in the downstairs bathroom, which means I had to grab him, hike down the stairs, and then back up. And even with a floor of separation, I could still hear him meowing. The next time I did it, I tried the extra bedroom, but I could still hear him.

Why can't cats learn? I don't understand. I don't feed him any earlier when he does this. In fact, I take my sweet time about it now, in an attempt to piss him off in return. To no avail.

*sigh* I'm not sure what to do now. I honestly can't survive like this. I think the only thing left to try is to start feeding them at night. I have a feeling he will still want to be fed in the morning and still meow under my door, but maybe eventually he'll forget.

That, or I could get someone to sleep over every night. But then, that's not going to happen anytime soon. I wonder if removing his voice box would help? :D

weekend update

2009-01-10T18:34:00.001-08:00

Some great things have been happening with me lately.

Thursday night, Carmen, Matt, and I went to see the Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Drip's Coffee House in Hickory. Let's just say, it kicked ass. They were a lot of fun and really put on a great show. It was definitely the most packed I've ever seen Drip's. They were very Avett Brothers, but different, in a good way. They were there own band, and they were great.
Here they are:

So, how did I hear of them? From a new friend. A man. Who lives in Fayetteville. He's pretty nice... :D

Also, I've been going to the gym more lately. Having all this time with nothing to do and no money to spend has really been liberating in the sense that I can do things that I should have been doing all along. Not that I couldn't have been doing that before, but it's just easier now.

I haven't even cried in at least 4 days! Unless you count that episode of Bones I watched where Booth saved Bones and it was sweet.. but .. um..

Woo!

2009-01-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

So, you know how for the past few years, I've been telling everybody about The Avett Brothers, telling everyone who would listen about how amazing they are and how soul clutching they are, and how good it makes me feel to listen to them? You know, that they're THE GREASTEST BAND EVER?!

Well, finally people are taking my hint. First off, two of my twitter friends, Gnumoon and LoveyH (Leila and Michelle), are both Avett fans, without me even introducing them. Secondly, I just looked at the touring page on their website and noticed that, hey!, they are going on tour with Dave Matthews Band. Yes, Dave Matthews. DAVE MATTHEWS!!! If only I could get a ticket to their Charlotte show, I'd be in hog heaven! Of course, DMB tickets usually sell out within minutes, and I'm not planning on getting up early and waiting in line for that, especially since the day the go on sale is the day I'm leaving for Savannah, but I would love to go.

Luckily for me, I've seen them many other times, and would prefer seeing them in smaller venues anyway. Have I mentioned that I kind of know Seth Avett? Sure I have.. I was just making sure you knew that.

Oh, and? WNCW 88.7, which is pretty big radio station around here, mostly listened to by hippies.. er.. I mean, artsy, smart people, held a listener vote and voted The Second Gleam, The Avetts' newest album, as the number album of 2008. For all of the world. Yea, that's right. AWESOME. I would link to the website for the station where it lists the top 100, but my office internet a-hole has blocked the site, even the home page. But you can google it and then when you find the home page, click the 'Top 100' link on the left.

So anywho I met a new friend a couple of weeks ago and professed my love for all things Avett, and he had never heard of them (he lives in Fayetteville). I'm going to send him a CD. In the meantime, he has told me about a band he likes, called the Holy Ghost Tent Revivial. Last night, I finally got around to listening to some of their music on myspace and I am loving them so far! They are like early Avett Brothers, and they even list the Avetts as an influence. This is good stuff.

And how's this for a coincidence? The very week I discover them, they are playing at Drip's Coffee House here in Hickory. It's tommorrow night and I think I'll go. Just to see if they're all that. Thanks for introducing me, Chris.

New Shoes!

2009-01-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

It's too bad both of my football teams crashed and burned this year, but at least I can still get some enjoyment out of football:

This is my fantasy football prize. Why yes, I am going to buy new shoes with that.

Homicidal.

2009-01-05T06:08:00.000-08:00

I may be a little too into the whole "CSI" thing lately.. I started reading a lot of Patricia Cornwell books two years ago, after a suggestion from a friend.

Since then, I have been unable to stop reading crime solving books. I have read all of the Scarpetta books by Patricia Cornwell (with the exception of the new one, which I am several chapters deep in). I have also been reading a lot of Kathy Reichs books, and I read a Marry Higgins Clark book.

There is nothing wrong with reading a good book, but also, I've been watching a lot of CS: Miami, and a lot of Bones (of course, there is more than one reason to watch Bones).

Again, these are seemingly normal activities, right? Well, last night Carmen, Jon, and I watched Zodiac. It was a darn good movie, but... it totally kept me up last night. I laid there in bed for hours going over the story in my head again. I don't know why. The gruesome scenes aren't even the ones I was thinking about. It was the crime solving bits.

When I was young, I used to watch the X-files a lot, which led me to want to be a forensic scientist. Of course, once I realized you had to go to a lot more school for that, I gave up on it.

The point of this all is to say that maybe I should back off on all the homicide stories.

Maybe.

After I finish this book..

And the other two books I borrowed from my mom...

Dumb Poetry I Just Made Up.

2009-01-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

A Friday morning pick-me-up if you will:

(It's a Poem about love)

I love sleep.
Sleep is great.
Sleep is so good
I wish it could date.

I love steak,
it tastes so fine.
I wish I could make it
mine, all mine.

I love my cats,
they make my day.
they're so fat and fluffy,
and they might be gay.

I love football,
but my teams are both done.
Guess I'll cheer for the Panthers.
But in my heart, the Bucs won.

I love my friends,
they've got my back.
When old men make me cry,
They'll call him a f***ing ass.

I love green,
It's cozy and bright.
When I see my green couch,
it's a comfortable sight.

*finger snapping**finger snapping**finger snapping*

Dear 2008.

2008-12-31T11:10:00.000-08:00

Dear 2008,
You suck.

Let's break up. I found a new year (2009, isn't he dreamy?). One who promises to treat me good. One who comes with a hot black man and a fistful of hope. This new year will take me to Savannah, the beach, and who knows, maybe even somewhere far away. This new year will give me money and caress me in all the right ways.

Thanks for trying, 2008, but you were an epic fail.

Peace out,
Allison.

Good things that have happened to me in the past weekish.

2008-12-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

A: I am finally being promoted at my job! Booyah! Now I will be going from being a GIS Technician to a GIS Analyst and you still won't understand what I do. Hopefully in the coming year I will get my professional certification thinggy.

B: I got some really awesome Christmas presents: comfy Bamboo sheets, some nice shirts, earrings, The Dark Knight, Chronicles of Narnia, a ceiling fan, an itrip, an ipod arm band for working out, and lots and lots of fun socks! I love fun socks.

C: Jared is moving out on New Years Day. This is really only positive because now I can thouroughly clean my spare bedroom. And move my desk in there.

D: I've been able to see almost all of my good friends over the past two weeks. My friends rule and have helped me get over my sadness for the most part (alcohol did the rest!)

E: Last night I went with Katie and got a pedicure, the first one since 2000, when I went to prom:

F: My step sister had a baby on Sunday, the first boy born into the family. Of course, she's still a baby herself, but that's besides the point.

G: After four long years of ups and downs and ins and outs, I finally won my office's fantasy football league. Yes, you can call me the supreme fantasy football goddess. With my $150ish winnings, I plan to purchase some nice Gortex boots, so that when I GPS my feet won't get all cold.

I'd like to thank my team, the Stormtroopers, including Jay Cutler, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson, Antonio Bryant, and Cadillac Williams. Thanks for caring, guys!

In Case You Were Wondering..

2008-12-22T05:48:00.000-08:00

I'm doing okay. My amazing friends have been constantly on the ball with keeping me busy. Brad even drove all the way from Durham yesterday to keep me busy for a few hours and then drove all the way home last night.

The truth is I miss him like crazy. But happiness is important. *sigh*

As for Christmas my plans are to spend Christmas Eve with my mom, Christmas Day with my dad, and hopefully relax for the three days off after Christmas. Maybe find an awesome after Christmas sale or something.

I'm going to try really really hard to make it on my own in my condo without a roommate. Why? I'm just too damn picky about cleanliness. If it's my mess, it's okay. But someone else's mess? No thank you.

The one with the inevitable.

2008-12-17T05:26:00.000-08:00

After two and a half good years, Jared and I have finally come to our senses and realized we were not meant for each other. Even though we still care about each other deeply, we are just too different in our opinions and needs.

He is still around for now and I am hoping we can remain friends for a long time.

I'm not really ready to talk about it much, but feel free to comment if you want.

Football again...

2008-12-15T10:33:00.001-08:00

Don't worry, this will probably be my last blog about football until next season. Since my Apps are off until next fall, I've switched gears to the Buccaneers, my NFL team. I was thinking they could go all the way again. They were playing so well for like 10 straight games. And then? At Monday Night Football last week (which I was at) they decided to suck.

And then yesterday they lost to Atlanta Falcons. Thanks, guys! They do this to me every year. They start out ok, do amazing mid to late season, but in the last few games they crap out and suck. I'll be amazed if they get into the playoffs. It might not even be possible at this point. But, hey, at least they've won one Super Bowl before.. unlike some other local team.. This just isn't their year to repeat.

At least my fantasy team is doing okay for now. It is the first week of the playoffs for my fantasy football team. Jared was in the lead out of the whole league, but is probably going to lose tonight. In the first round. To the worst team in the playoffs. I, however, and most likely going to win. yay!