I don't know why

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...

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

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!

**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

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

"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...

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.

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.”

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.

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

People really get me.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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..

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.

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...

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!

Geekdom.

As a big fan of both Star Wars and The Princess Bride, I can't help but share the funny, from ICANHASFORCE:

a survey, copied from Carmen, because they're easy.

-1. My eye color: Brown with a hint of red.
2. Favorite car: DMC Delorean.
3. Right-handed or left-handed: Right, Leftys are weird :D
4. Shoes you wore today: My Target platform work loafers.
5. My fears: Being lonely.
6. Goal you would like to achieve this year: Getting what I want.
7. Thoughts first waking up: What would be the worst that would happen if I just slept a little longer?
8. My bedtime: usually midnightish.
9. Pepsi or Coke: Coke
10. Single or Group Dates: Single dates with my baby.
11. Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
12. Do you smoke: Nah.
13. Do you sing: I try, but I have an awful voice
14. Have you been in love: Yes. Of course.
15. Do you want to get married: One day.
16. Do you get along with your parents: My parents are pretty awesome. Most of the time.
17. Do you play a musical instrument: At one time I played the piano, the clarient, the trumpet and the guitar. but now I just play the GPS unit.
18. In the past month have you smoked: I don't recall that happenning.
19: Favorite candy bar: Snickers.. or 5th Avenue
20: In the past month have you gone on a date: Yes, quite a few, but all with the same person.
21. All-time favorite sports team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and ASU Mountaineers.
22. Ideal girlfriend/boyfriend: Someone who thinks I'm their world.
23. My best friend(s): Carmen, Brad, Katie.
24. Do you believe in love at first sight: No, that’s just lust.
25. Favorite clothing brand: clothes that fit
26. Dream vacation: hawaii
27. My favorite singer: Beck, Avett Brothers
28. My favorite movie: Pirates of the Carribean
29. Have you ever fired a gun: I fired my brothers pistol once, that was fun!
30: Do you like answering these questions: I don't really want to blog a real blog because I don't want to be a debbie downer.
31. Do you like yourself: In a way.
32. I am addicted to… talking and thinking.
33. Favorite drink: Vodka and Cranberry.
34. Do you have a crush on anyone: Yep.
35. Are you ticklish: Yes. Don't tickle me. I HATE it.
36: Favorite ice cream flavor: Chunky Monkey
37. Define yourself in 3 words… Passionate, Mellow, Thoughtful
38. Do you believe in God: I want to.
39: Favorite day of the week: Saturday
40. Heads or tails: Tails
41. Favorite author: Patricia Cornwell, J.K. Rowling, Kathy Reichs.
42. What magazines do you read: Not really a magazine reader...
43. Sweet or sour: Sweet
44. Favorite chewing gum brand: Five gum. It lasts for freakin ever!
45. My hair color: Red, and curly.
46. Height: 5′ 3″
47. My heritage: German, English, perhaps Irish
48. My weakness: Impatience, Disorganization, Laziness.
49. My perfect pizza: Pep. and Green Peppers, Papa Johns Pizza.
50: My most overused phrase on IM: I don't really IM.
51. My best physical feature: My hair and eyes.
52. Do you get motion sickness: Not very often.
53. McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds
54. Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Tea makes me vomit.
55.Cappuccino or Coffee: Mochachino
56. Do you swear: By the moon and the stars in the sky.
57. Do you want to go to college: I wouldn't mind going back.
58. Do you think you’re attractive: Yes, occasionally. More so now than ever before.
59. Do you like thunderstorms: Yes, they make me sleepy.
60. In the past month have you drunk alcohol: Past 24 hours?
61. In the past month have you been on drugs: Nothing illegal.
62. Favorite cartoon as a child: Animaniacs
63. Favorite sport: Football!
64. In the past month have you been on stage: No, since karaoke doesn't happen anymore :(
65. Ever been beaten up: Nope, but I've been hit
66. How you want to die: In a horrible car wreck.
67. Number of piercings: 4 in one ear, three in the other, I used to have my eyebrow, tongue, and nose.
68. Favorite color: Green!!!
69:Favorite food dish: Green Bean Casserole, Mashed potatoes.
70. My parents are… Divorced and remarried.
71. Do you have children: Not yet.
72. Do you have pets: 2 fat cats.
73. My favorite music genre: 90's rock.
74. My favorite season: Fall. It used to be winter until this winter.
75. Silver or Gold: Silver
76. Who was the last person that called you: Jared.
77: Are you a good driver: I'm alright now, but in high school and college I was terrible.
78. Would you rather be rich or famous: Famous
79. When I’m sad or down, I prefer to… ball up on the couch.
80. What is your phone’s current ringtone: App State's fight song, I need to change that til next year thogugh.
81. The longest you’ve gone without sleeping: I haven't really slept properly for 3 weeks now.
82. What would you do with a million dollars: pay off my student loans.
83. What makes you laugh: Jared's sillly faces.
84. Your favorite book: Shades of Gray.
85. Most embarrassing moment: Can't remember.
86: Favorite item that you currently own: Laptop.
87: Have you ever moved: about 20 times.
88. Kisses or hugs: Why choose?
89. Are you a very emotional person: I base a lot on emotions, much more so now than ever before.
90: Do you think anyone else will repost this? No.

Football and Life

So the last few weeks I've not been interested in blogging because I've either been busy or depressed. Luckily for you I'm never depressed for too long and I don't think I need therapy. Who knows. My office has is part of an Employee Assistance Network so if I ever get desperate for counseling, that's an option. But alas, usually I can talk myself out of these funks.

The past few weekends have been all about App football and not sleeping. The App games have been great, with the exception of the harrowing COLD. It seems the older I get the more I get over that "Loving the cold" thing that I've been all about for 26 years. Perhaps the Florida in me is coming back out. I still hate being hot, but now I hate being cold too.

Yes, my beloved Mountaineers lost their playoff game on Saturday ending their 4 year run of awesomeness. But seriously? THREE National Championships in a row is a huge big deal and something that will be hard for anybody to touch. I can produce a lot of theories as to why we lost this game on Saturday, but really, it was just time. Time for a break from being the best. Nobody can be the best all the time. And while we're all still sad about it, I'm just glad I don't have to drive to Chattanooga again. And I'm glad that I didn't jump the gun like my boss and buy 18 tickets to the championship game (which he now has to try to sell). Next season we will TOTALLY be back and we will dominate and we will beat ECU in September. I hope. :D

Tonight Jared and I are going to the Monday Night Football game at the Panthers Stadium to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hopefully shut down the Panthers. The last two years have seen two dirty injuries to my Bucs coming from the Panthers. I'm hoping tonight isn't a repeat.

This weekend I plan on doing NOTHING other than going to see Carmen's play: "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".

Beefcake napping under the tree,

Beefcake napping under the tree,
Originally uploaded by allygirl520

As you can see, I have gotten around to putting up the tree with Jared's help. All we need now are presents to put under it.

Sludge

So, I am slowly but most probably assuredly climbing out of the massive hole of funk-titude that I've been in for the past week.5. Now don't go trying to pull me out by the hair or anything, I have to climb out myself. I've still got two feet stuck in the mud, but my arms are free to flail about.

*whee!

emotion

Rather than apologize for being a bad blogger or talk about how un-awesome my week last was (and still is) I'll just point you to this fun little site that I look at every once in a while for a little laugh:

Eric Conveys An Emotion

Stupid Christmas.

So I was GPSn' on Tuesday,,,

When I came across this creepy little thing in the woods:


Why is this so creepy?

The Mad Hotness

Last night I totally had a good idea for a blog. Since I had already blogged earlier yesterday, I decided to save it for today. But alas, Carmen beat me to it. But just in case you don't read Carmen's blog or haven't yet... here's a really awesome picture of Johnny Depp in his new role as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie:



I can't stop sneezing.. Thinking all of this outdoor time lately might not be so good.

Yep, Football.

Why is everything I want to do scheduled for a day when I already have something to do? Let's see.. Oct 4th was Jared's birthday AND ASU's homecoming game. Then, the 27th was a big ASU game, and Brad's costume party, but I was already going to Florida with the family. This past Saturday I was in Boone for another football game, but my mom called me the day before to tell me they were having a family cookout Saturday night with my brothers, nieces, and old friends from the past.

This coming Saturday my Sister in law is having a birthday party/going away party for my brother, who will soon be shipping out to Iraq. But Jared and I already planned on going to Cullowhee to see the last regular season Appalachian game. And we already paid $60 for the tickets. *sigh* Why must people schedule things for Saturdays in football season?

The game this past weekend was one of the few most miserable games I've ever been to. It was windy, rainy, snowy, sleety, and freezing arse cold. At least Joan and David were kind enough to let me sit with them and share a blanket so I didn't have to sit on the grassy hill. And since we won, I guess it was worth it.

I love the football. Yesterday, my Buccaneers almost lost to the Vikings, bleh. But they came back in the second half and rallied a barely-win. Now, if only the Panthers would lose a game or two so the Bucs could catch up!

Things I have Yet to do.

I have a library book due today, but I've only read 8 chapters. I hope the Hickory Public Library doesn't overcharge on their late fees, because I'm going to finish it.

This weekend is the last regular season foosball game for my Apps, and I'm being non-conformal and driving up the morning of and coming home after the game. Mostly because I'm poor but also because Jared and I have a date planned for Saturday night. This is also good because it means I won't allow myself to get stupid drunk and the people in front of us in the stadium won't have to think, again, 'who is that stupid drunk redhead?'. Look at that, I just used three punctuation marks in a row.

Last weekend was superborama because I got to do several cool things, including meeting Katiebonk's sister, who is way cool, and her cute family. I hung out with Andrea all day Saturday, which always makes me happy! We went to a chili festival and ate a whole lotta chili, including some strange concoctions like chocolatey chili (not so good).

After the chili-fest we went to IKEA which is wicked awesome. That's the biggest store I've ever been in I do believe. I bought nothing but candles, but could have left with a houseful.

Katie and Daniel met us in downtown Atlanta soon afterwards and had a blast with Andrea, Chad, and Newman (that Mike guy) at the bars. I think really this was great but I absolutely loved riding the MARTA (the Atlanta train) for some reason.

I am tired but alas, it was worth it for this:

(Seen on the sidewalk in Atlanta, Cabbagetown)

and this:

Hitting the ATL

This weekend I'm going to Atlanta to see my old roommate, Andrea! Katie, Daniel and I are headed there for the weekend. Andrea rules.

Today was my boss's birthday lunch and we went to the Hickory Tavern where I had to pay $13.00 for an overrated salad and soup and diet coke. This restaurant is on my short list restaurants that I just don't like to eat at. Either they're A) too expensive, B) overrated or C) nasty.

My list for Hickory includes:
-Hickory Tavern (A & B)
-Chili's (B & C)
-Buffalo Wild Wings (B & C)
-Iron Thunder Saloon (C)

Does anyone else have a list of places they just hate going?

Confessions of a GPSer

You know what bothers me?

The fact that no matter how hard I try, I can not open a manhole. I can not even budge those heavy metal lids. This one little thing that is really a small part of my outside/GPS job is the one little thing that makes me feel inferior as a female.

Sure, sometimes I like to play the dainty girl card, but only when it's trivial things that I really can do, but would rather watch a pretty boy do (like get things off the top shelf, or carry the heavy laundry basket upstairs).

I like being a woman, and I like being the fairer of the sexes, but I really wish that being inferior in that one way wasn't something that causes worry on the job.

Ah well. At least I see fun things whilst GPSn:




And this:

Uh.. Oops.

Well nevermind on the NaBloPoMo thing. I forgot to blog yesterday! On the second day! I guess I wasn't meant to be a great blogger.

Oh well!

I had to get up really early today and drive Jared to work since his car is broken. Hopefully we can get it fixed tomorrow on his day off. I guess we'll see.

On the plus side, Granite Falls, which is a town halfway between Hickory (where we live) and Lenoir (where he works), for some reason always has the cheapest gas around. I got gas this morning for $2.02! That's awesome for North Carolina. Apparently all the surrounding states have gas a LOT cheaper than us. I don't know though.

Tomorrow's the big day (election day!) and I'm soooooo excited for all the political commercials and such to be over with! No more pressure! I hope.

NaBloPoMo

It's National Blog Posting Month again.

Should I try for it? Last year I wrote a blog every day about all of the different things I collect. I don't have any ideas for a theme this time.. And I'm not sure if I can handle it again, but I'll give it a try.

Last night was ASU's whooping of Wofford, and it just happened to be Halloween. It was an amazing football game considering this was the one team in our conference that was supposed to be better than us. It felt darn good to come away with a 70 to 24 win. Of course, I was feeling no pain anyways.

Here's an example of what went down in the tailgating time:


Then we all went back to the hotel and tried to sleep. Well, after standing up for 9 hours straight, my legs hurt like hell and I did not sleep a wink. Boo.

I was supposed to go to Jeff & Tracy's house for an awesome costume party tonight. But since I'm so sleepy, I chose not to go. Plus, Jared's car has decided to break, so he needs mine to get to work in the morning.

I hope I can go to the next party.