whee!

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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!!!

 

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

 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?????

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

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

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!!!!!!!!!!!

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.

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.