Nightmare

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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!

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

This blog is a little... strange.

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

"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

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.

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).

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

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

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.

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

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

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.