Faking It.

I was an angel for Halloween. No, that isn't a joke. I went in last night to give out candy and lend a helping hand. One of the stipulations is, we had to wear costumes.

I'm cool with that. The other girl, Tab, wasn't so keen to dress up. For one thing, she's pregnant and there aren't really very many cool costumes for pregnant ladies. Sure, there's the baker costume, with the whole bun in the oven thing, but that's kinda played out, plus we wanted to dress alike, or at least compliment each other. How in the world could I have done that? I so didn't help with the baby thing. Then we were talking and decided to be spies. But the trench coat would've been too hot. I was tempted to get shirts that say F.B.I. and wear shoulder holsters with squirt guns in them, but - we have a serious problem with drugs up here. Now, I'm not saying that people that come in my store are on drugs. I'm not saying they aren't, either. I'm just not willing to take the chance of someone freaking out. There will be too many children there.

Tab came in one day and was like - "What about I be an angel, and you be a devil?" Her mom had picked up some things on clearance last year, and there were angel wings/halo and devil horns/tail. Hmmm. I can see myself doing that, so I told her sure.

She came in a week later with the biggest frown on her face. "Um, Allie? We have a problem." Oh, great. I'm thinking something is wrong, she's sick, the baby's not ok, I mean, anything really, other than what she says next. "Mom has 2 angel outfits, but no devil."

Lovely. Now, most of ya'll who have at least met me will know what I'm about to say is the truth. I'm no angel. I had absolutely no idea how to pull that off. I had wings and a halo, but... being an angel is so much more than that. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it right. So, I enlisted the help of my mother.

I bought a pretty white shirt, a watch/bracelet set, feather earrings and glitter. Then I turned it all over to my mother. She, with all her makeup and her expertise that I never took the time to cultivate, made me beautiful. I'm one of those girls who don't ever really see themselves as beautiful, but when I looked in the mirror last night, I was amazed.



The devil in disguise and the pregnant angel. Struck by lightning in 3...2..

Alright. I'm off for now. I'll post again later with photos of all the little goblins and ghouls from last night. I hope you had as much fun and saw as much awesome as I did.

Love to all,
Allie.

Slight Delay.

Hi everyone. My magic 8 ball was wrong. I'm not going to post the recipe today. Why? Well, I didn't have time to before work because I was trying to find a dentist that is open on Friday so my husband can go get a tooth pulled. Bless his heart, he comes in and has to go straight to the dental chair. Major suckage.

Have you noticed my penchant for making up words? Suckage. Spaztastic. Another example, instead of using the F word, I use truck instead. As in - back the truck up. I'm not kidding. Quick joke. What word beings with the letter f and ends with uck? Hey. I just told you I don't use that word. Acceptable answers are firetruck and fastduck. Thank you, I'll be here all week.

I've been mulling over the advice from Anonymous to try to get into professional writing, and I've decided to give it a whirl. A friend told me earlier today that I needed to pick someone or something local to write about and they would help me get it printed. Yeah. I'm scared spitless. I was at work when he told me that. I was thinking about it there and a woman walked in and I decided it was her that I needed to talk to. I'm not giving anymore details because if it falls through, then I'll have gotten my & your hopes up for nothing. I'm really excited about this, so I'm gonna play it close to the vest for a bit.

Alright. Time for more exciting news. I've lost 37 lbs. Yay me! Since September 26, I've had 513 page hits, with 1 from Lebanon, 2 from Canada, and 3 from Denmark. All I can say is... Holy wow, Batman. I've got the biggest grin on my face.

Well, it's time to go to sleep. I've got to get up early again so I can take my Granny to the Dr's office. If there's anything you'd like to ask, leave it in the comments. To my overseas readers, welcome. And to Anonymous, thanks for the support. Do I know you? If not, how did you hear about my blog? I'm just so curious. Anyway. Good night.

Love to all,
Allie

Comfort.

The weather lately has... sucked. That's being nice. Don't get me wrong. I love rain. I even love storms with thunder and lightning. Once it escalates beyond that, I'm out. On October 25, a tornado hit Ider. For those of you who are not familiar with my area, Ider is the next city over.

Ider High School is my Alma Mater. That school holds a place dear to my heart. When I saw the photos I am posting below, I was devastated. (These photos belong to Melissa Smith/The Times Journal. 10/25/10 Ider Storm Damage for more photos) Yes, it has been over 10 years since I was there last, but that doesn't matter to me. I occasionally go to a football game there even though I don't know anyone playing. I always listen for the scoreboard update the night they are playing to see how my team is doing. Anyway, here goes.

This is the home side bleachers. The little house looking thing is the announcers booth.



A close up of the bleachers.

This just hurt my heart to see. There are more pictures in that link above that show more damage. I am extremely grateful that there weren't any lives lost.

I had no less than 14 voice mails when I woke up that morning. My cell phone is my alarm clock, you see, and I turn the ringer off at night so only the alarm comes through. My mom, my dad, my brother, and several friends were worried enough about me to call. I was fine, of course. I slept through the whole thing. I even slept through my front door being opened by a gust of wind and my living room floor being flooded with water. Let me tell you, that was awesome to stumble into when I got up to let the dogs out.

After I got over the shock of water, I listened to my voice mails. My heart was warm. Every time I get fed up with living in a small town, something happens to make me grateful for it. That's how it is around here. Yes, we are backwards. Yes, we are rednecks. Yes, we get a little crazy about the Alabama/Auburn game. When it all goes downhill however, we have each others' backs. People here give for their neighbors. It doesn't matter how little we have, how poor we are. We will always give what we can to take care of others.

Yesterday I spent my time cleaning and playing therapist. I hadn't made any plans for today. I figured I would wait until today to find out what I was getting into. Why yes. I am a procrastinator, thanks for asking. I'll tell you why tomorrow.



Lovely weather we're having.

This is what awaited me today. Blah. Seriously blah. I whined and pouted for a few minutes while the demon dogs laughed at me. So I kicked them out in it. It kills me. They love the pool, but hate the rain. What gives? While they were outside, I decided to have a me day. I made Cheeseburger Mac with Caramelized Onions. No, it isn't healthy. Yes, it is Teh Awesome. (Yes I am misspelling that on purpose. I did it the other day too. I'll explain eventually.)

I actually took step by step pictures because I do plan on posting it. I'm not sure if it will be tomorrow, but my magic 8 ball says "All Signs Point To Yes!"  Who had one of those? I did. I asked it about every single thing I could think of. Wonder where it went?

Sorry. I get sidetracked easily. My post is titled Comfort because that is what I needed today. So what did I do? I made a big bowl of comfort and piled up with my laptop to catch up on Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods. Then a friend turned me on to something and I became addicted. Best of Craigslist Have you ever been there? You can waste hours on this site. I laughed so hard my sides hurt. A letter to my dead girlfriend made me cry so hard tears actually poured out onto my cheeks. That is a rare occurence for me. I tear up now just thinking about it.

Anyway. I'm going now. But here is a look at what tomorrow will bring. Yeah, the picture is weird. It looks that way to me, anyway. Steam is not conducive to good picture taking, but hey, at that moment, all I cared about was getting the shot and getting that stuff in my belly.

Love to all,
Allie

Blogs and Religion.

I read. Alot. Not just books. Magazines. Forums online. And blogs. Several blogs. At the moment, I'm following 5 blogs religiously.

One of my favorite blogs is by Ree Drummond. You may know her better as The Pioneer Woman. I don't know her, but I love her. She's fantastically funny, an amazing cook and as far as I can tell, she seems to be a wonderful person. She's one of the reasons I finally sucked it up and started my own blog. She owns who she is, what she's about, and her flaws.

Another is Our Best Bites. This site is ran by Sara and Kate. They have some seriously insane recipes there. It is a temptation that a fat girl like myself does not need. They are very down to earth and easy to relate to. Apparently, all bloggers are clumsy in the kitchen.

Then there is The Other Ryan. I learned about him through The Pioneer Woman. Dude has skills. I'm talking serious culinary skills. And some amazing tats and piercings. And he's hawt. Yeah, I know. That seems wrong on so many levels, calling a pastor hawt. Oh wait. I didn't tell you he's a pastor? Why yes. Yes he is. Amazing right? The only pastors/preachers I've had contact with were all very old. And strict. And not very accepting of individuality. (I know this is tripping my dad out right now. That his daughter follows a religious blog... well, religiously.)

That leads me to the topic of religion. Maybe it's because it is Sunday. Maybe because most of the bloggers I follow are religious in some way and they've posted something religious lately. Whatever it is, today I feel... spiritual. I have a hard time defining my religion. I was raised Southern Baptist. Mike was raised Catholic. (Insert funny priest/alter boy joke here.) I never really agreed with Southern Baptist. Or Christianity really. Or maybe it's the Bible.

I just find it hard to belive that God doesn't agree with things He created. There are so many things you can't do, according to the Bible.

A few I agree with. Some, not so much. Honor your mother and father? I get that. Mom had you. They both fed you, clothed you, and took care of you. (Hopefully, anyway. If your parents weren't Teh Awesome like mine, I'm sorry.) No stealing? I get that too. If you didn't earn it, don't touch it. No killing? Yup, I'm totally down with that one.

Somethings I don't agree with. You shall have no other gods before me. Hmmm. I'm not so cool with this one actually. My personal opinion is that everyone has the right to choose the right religion for themselves.

Or what about this one? "Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day." How do we pick which day is holy? How do we know it should be Sunday? And what is up with the slave thing? Weren't all people created equal in the eyes of God? Why didn't he say way back then - "Hey! Knock that off! You don't own that person."? We wouldn't have half the drama we do today about slavery.

And this is one that really throws me. "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." Why? God created homosexuals. According to the Bible, God created everything. So why did he create it, if He didn't want it?

I know that several people will tell me, don't question God. Well too bad. I question Him because of the flawed world He created. Kids that die young? Cancer? Pedophiles? Bigots? Why create these things? They aren't necessary. These evil things are not from Satan. God created them. He also created Satan. Again, if He didn't want these things in this world, why create them?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is in the Bible. Why does God not hold himself accountable to this as well?

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but, this is what's on my mind. All I ask for is respect. These are my beliefs. I'm not saying there is a God, or there is not a God. I won't know that until I'm dead or Jesus really does come back.

Please. Whatever your belief is, be tolerant and respectful of others beliefs.

Love to all
Allie

Early.

My alarm clock went off at 5:15 this morning. Good grief, but it's early. But Mama, I don't wanna go to school! 5 more minutes, please?

I'm not a morning person. I never have been. Except for Christmas when I was little. I think 2:00 am was our personal best. I remember clearly asking Mama to get up, Santa had been there. She told me to go start the coffee. I whined about that. Mama? I'm sorry. I'll be good. I'll make the coffee, I swear. Just let me go back to bed, please?

I know. I'm the adult now. (When did this happen and how do I get off the ride?) I'm awake, barely. I was supposed to be off today, but my boss was so sick, she had to leave work yesterday. Today is grocery day, when we get in everything to price and stock. Joy.

Alright, enough with the negativity. I'm going to finish getting ready and head out for java, asap.

Love to all,
Allie

Work = Blog.

I'm so tired. Isn't that sad? I went in at 11:30 this morning then closed up at 9:30 tonight. In between being slammed and cleaning up, I decided I needed to blog about work. After all, it is part of my life. This post is going to be a bit random. Back and forth but hey, that's me.

Let me start out by saying this... I love my job. Really, I do. I meet new people every day and have several customers that are my favorites. Yes, I admit it. I have favorites.

 Ryan, of course. There is an older gentleman, he reminds me of my Papa Bill. All he wants is a Copenhagen snuff. And then he tells me I'm only sweet when I'm asleep. There's a guy Mom & I both know. We refer to him as Hot Guy. He's entirely too good looking, very sweet, and smells incredibly yummy. There's the lesbian. She flirts shamelessly, even though she knows I am married. Then my junkie. He calls me his dealer. He comes in daily, I believe, to buy at least 1 of the 32 oz. Rockstar energy drinks. (Yuck. For the record, I've not met an energy drink I like.) He's pretty funny. He came in today and told me he was working his way through my blog. He says it's funny. I've heard that a time or two, but I still don't believe it.

Kids. I have a love/hate relationship with them. Most of the time, kids are sweet, cute, and funny. When do I not like them? When their parents aren't making them behaving. Or when they go in the bathroom alone. That scares me. No, I don't want them to make a mess, but I also don't want them to accidentally lock themselves in. Also, when parents send their small children in to pay for gas, I worry because people speed through the parking lot.

Teenagers. Again with the love/hate thing. Sometimes they are funny. Sometimes they are rude. And sometimes they are sweet. I saw a couple standing on the sidewalk sneaking kisses. I'm not sure why they were sneaking kisses, but it was so sweet.

Teenagers lead me to underage tobacco buyers. I don't know how many times I've actually had them show me their id's and knowingly be underage. They kill me. Thinking that a sure smile and confident attitude will get what they want.

And that brings us to... alcohol. How many times have I heard, "No beer? What the?!" Yes, I know, hard to believe, but it's the truth. I hear it like this too. "No  cerveza? Por que?" And yeah, it may be mean, but I just stare blankly at them. (Again, yes, it is mean, but I think if you live here, you should speak the language. That's my opinion.)

Men. Generally speaking, most of them are pretty cool. There are some weird ones. Some rude ones. And some extremely perverted ones. Another of my opinions? Man hands should be rough and calloused. Not all soft and manicured. My favorite guys, (other than the ones listed above, I mean.) are the police officers.

Police officers are so much fun to mess around with. I was on the phone with Mike one day and Patrolman Wigley came in. I said, "Honey, I've gotta go. They're here to arrest me." Mike is all spazzing out and I hang up on him. The officer is shaking with laughter, and Mike calls back. I give Wigley the phone and he answers. "Hello? No, sorry. She's in handcuffs right now." I'm not sure exactly how he pulled that off, because he was trying the entire time not to bust out laughing. Ah, I love to prank my husband. I'm always thinking of something to pull over on him.

I think I'm the equivialent of a bartender. You know how everyone tells their bartender their troubles? I hear everything. Health problems. Their take on religion and politics, which I don't discuss at work. Does anyone out their like Baja Blast Mountain Dew? Supposedly if you mix regular Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist, that's what you get. Someone let me know.

Anyway, I'm bout to pass out. Really quick though, M got his orange belt! Way to go Monkeybutt!

I think he has Auntie A's problem with blinking at the most inoppurtune times.

Love to all,
Allie

What I Done Went and Did Yesterday.

So yesterday. It started out on the right track. I got up, got ready and took my husband to his truck. Sent him out with a kiss and held back the tears until he was gone. You don't cry, cause it just makes it harder on him. It's hard enough for him to let go as it is. If I cry, he'll cry and hold me a little longer cause that's how he is.

After I dropped him off, Mom and I went to pick up my sister-in-law C and take her and the boys to Centre. M was testing for his orange belt in Tae Kwon Do.

This is M breaking his board. He's the 3rd from the back. His teacher, Mr. Mendoza is holding the board. I'm not sure who the first boy is, but the one who didn't break it is also from M's class. I was so worried about him breaking it because you only get 3 tries and you lose points for each extra try you use. As you see, I worried for nothing. He broke his board on the 1st try. It was such a loud snap. I was so proud. Mr. Mendoza came and took over Austin's board. You can hear me cheering for him towards the end. It isn't about one being better than the other. Sure, my nephew is my first priority, but I want them all to pass. He broke it on his last try. Yay, Austin!

He's so smug.

Look at how thick that was.

After that, I was supposed to go spend the weekend at a friends' house, but she got sick, so... I was stuck at home. Or was I? My friend Ryan had invited me to go to Buenavista in Scottsboro with him to listen to his friend, Austin Jennings, play live. So I called him up to see if I was still invited. I was, and he was ecstatic? I believe that is the right word.

We had so much fun last night. I had 2 margaritas. Ryan had 1, half a beer, and a "sup" as he called it, of vodka and redbull. Add in really yummy food and the hilarity of Ryan doing his youtube posts throughout the evening and you can understand how I feel so lucky to have him in my life. That was his first taste of alcohol by the way. Minion # 2?

So anyway, in my tipsy state, I allowed Ryan to video and post me singing along to The Way You Are by Bruno Mars. I love that song. Mike will call and sing it to me sometimes. I was singing that to Ryan last night because he sang Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson to me. That video is also on youtube. I'm only linking the one of me singing. A Gay At The Bar Part 4 Yes. The series was called A Gay At The Bar. There are 8 parts in all.

No. I am not drunk. I blinked. I swear.

We all made it safely home and to our respective beds. I was worried last night. What was I thinking, singing on camera and then putting it on youtube? I thought I'd look like an idiot. Well that may be true, but... I look like an idiot who had an absolute blast with her best friend. In the morning light, with absolutely no hangover, I might mention...I don't regret a thing I did. As a matter of fact, we've made plans to do it again the next weekend I'm off and Austin is playing. Or someone else we want to hear. Austin is really good by the way. He did a cover of Beyonce's Sweet Dreams. After I got over the initial shock, it was pretty good.

Alright. I'm gonna go. I have dishes to do and laundry to finish. Back to my normal everyday routine. For now.

Love to All,
Allie.

Nanoseconds.

Mike is home for a whole ten hours. In otherwords, a nanosecond. I'm not sure how much ya'll know about truck driving, or what their schedules are like. I will explain, to the best of my ability. Say a driver starts at 8:00 am. He can drive for a total of 11 hours, withing a 14 hour period. After that 11/14 hour clock is up, he must be in his sleeper berth for 10 hours. It sounds compilicated, but it's not. So anyway, he's on his way through from Virgina to Texas and it routed him right by the house. He was able to time it so he spends the night here. I've been so happy all day. I'm so glad to have him home. Even if it's only for 10 hours. Guess who else is happy to have him home? The demon dogs.

I love this picture of them. They loved on him for a very long time. They've missed their daddy. I like this in the black and white. Mike prefers the color. What do you think?

Alright. Mike's out of the shower. I'm gonna go spend some time with him while I can.

Love to All,
Allie

Houston, We Have a Problem.

I am exhausted. I had to be up at 6:30 this morning so I could get ready and take my grandmother to the hospital for surgery. Well, I didn't go to sleep until 2:00 am.

Sleep and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it. Need it. Want it all the time, but sleep doesn't want to be anywhere near my bed for the most part. This probably has something to do with the fact that I was so accustomed to being able to roll over and touch my husband. I have nightmares alot, and all he had to do was put his hand on my shoulder and I would snap out of them.

My most recent nightmares have included being stalked by a serial killer and attacked by zombies. (Ok, you can stop laughing so hard now. And clean your screen. You just snorted soda/milk/water on it. Didn't you? Uh huh. I knew it.) It was totally messed up because it started out with me jumping out of the serial killers' car and running through Henagar park. The killer was chasing me and I woke up right before he could grab me again. I fell right back to sleep and automatically was dreaming I was in the scene from the beginning of Dawn of the Dead, where the little girl attacks the husband and wife. I looked over and she screamed at me and then raised her hand. I saw a huge butcher knife in it and I knew she was going to throw it at me, so I just looked at her and said, "No! Drop it!", and she lunged for me. I woke up then, fumbling for my light and screaming. My dogs were licking my face, trying to reassure me that I was ok.

I bring this on myself. I know I do. I'm fascinated with zombies and the supernatural. I'm always reading something or watching a movie. I freak myself out to the point of not being able to sleep without having the lights on. I love the movies Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead. Simon Pegg, the guy that plays Shaun, is extremely funny by the way. Have you seen him in Hot Fuzz? No? Watch it. You'll love it.

Anyway, I know I'm all over the place with this post, but I'm delerious. Like I said, 4.5 hours of sleep just doesn't cut it. So... back to my Granny.

 We got there at 9:00 am and was settled in a day surgery room in about 15 minutes. We already knew she probably wouldn't be taken back until noon or so, depending on how his previous surgeries went. We piled up and watched The Price is Right and The Secret Window. Everything rocks on and they finally come get her at 12:30. By this time, Mama is there with us, and the nurse tells us they'll call us when they start the surgery. About 45 minutes later, Dr. Herberholz walks in. We're a little panicked to see him, and he quickly explains that Granny is ok, but they had to cancel her surgery for the time being. She was fine until they started giving her the knockout gas and then suddenly, her blood pressure went through the roof. The surgery is technically elective right now, but will need to be done soon. As soon as she was in recovery, her stats stabilized and she came back to the room. They fed her and watched her for another hour before releasing her.

She's fne, but I'm worried about her for other reasons now. We had talked about a few things yesterday, and she asked me about them again today. We had the same conversation we did yesterday. I asked her if she remembered chatting about those things, but she doesn't. Mom noticed it too. So has the minion. Minion lives with Granny, and she says that Granny has become more forgetful lately. That scares me. I've seen up close and personal what Alzheimer's and dementia can do. We didn't say anything to her about it today, because she was already stressed enough as it was. I'm off Monday, and I plan to talk to her then. How do you bring that up? How do you say to the woman that has helped raise you for 29 years that you are afraid she's losing her mind/memory?

Continuance of Insanity.

Continuing the theme of insanity in my life, I volunteered to take my grandmother to the hospital for pre-surgery registration. And then to take her to the hospital tomorrow for the actual surgery. It isn't major, they're removing a navel hernia. The doctor, Lawrence Herberholz, is the same guy that did my gall bladder surgery. He's extremely down to earth, very nice, and doesn't treat you as if he only has 5 minutes to give you. I really like him.

I'm not complaining about taking my grandmother anywhere. I don't mind a bit. I remember when I was little, she came to all of my t-ball practices. Sometimes she would practice with us. She would have been around 45 at that time. She makes the best blackberry cobbler on the planet. And fried apple pies. Now you know why I'm fat, right? Anyway, she and I don't always get along, because apparently I get my sarcasm and stubbornness from her, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. I'll keep her as long as I'm allowed.

I'll post again tomorrow to give an update on her and tell you a little about work. Oh, I took this pic to send to Mike. I wanted to share it cause I actually like my smile in this one.

Love to all,
Allie 

Randomness

Going, going, going. All day long. I went for a walk this morning. I've not been able to walk the last 2 days because of a blister on my foot and I've not been feeling well. I think it has something to do with the weather going back and forth between summer and winter. I was running a fever and puking. Alot. I was sniffly and whiney. I hate that. The thing I hate most are the tears. Have you ever had that happen to you? You feel like crud and you're running a fever and the next thing you know, your eyes are leaking. Hate that.

Today, however, I felt good enough to get back into routine. I had gotten to where I was walking 2 miles a day, but I only walked 1 today. I just wanted to ease myself back into it. And I was winded. I was kinda disappointed, but I made myself remember that I had been sick and needed the rest.

I've been kinda bummed for most of the day. Alabama lost to the University of South Carolina. #1 ranked Alabama lost to #19 University of South Carolina. What the truck?!? I know why. Okay, so I don't actually know why, but my opinion is this - Alabama beat the heck out of the FL Gators last weekend, so they were cocky this weekend. Also, South Carolina played their hearts out and we just blew it. Totally. I am so disappointed. Only because Auburn beat South Carolina, so in the back of my mind I'm thinking... Crap. We're gonna lose to Auburn this year. Grrrr. We better not, cause my boss is an Auburn fan and I will so catch hades for it.

I've become addicted to youtube. I mean seriously. I love it. It has videos of everything and everyone. My friend Ryan, has a channel on there. It's so funny. I love it. Here's the link to his channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheRyanhixon2010 He came to see me at work today, so he's on my mind. (Love you Ryan)

Anyway, I'm tired. I'm still a little sick. I feel like blah. So, I'm going to pile up with my demon dogs and watch a movie. Before I go... Congratulations to my nephew M. He broke a board yesterday in Taekwondo class. I'm so proud of him.

Love to all,
Allie

Missing My Mike.

I've not said much about my husband, Mike. I feel like I need to tell you our story. He and I met on the internet. A yahoo chat room to be honest. (I know. I met a guy on the internet.) I was chatting with several friends when an im from him popped up. I somehow misplaced it for 2 whole hours. I replied back because I felt like it was the right thing to do. We got to chatting and hit it off instantly. We liked alot of the same books, music, movies.

So after a month of talking we decide to meet. We have movie night at my place. (Technically, my moms' place. I was living with her at the time.) I answered the door and did something I'll almost regret for the rest of my life. I judged a person on looks alone. I'll never do that again. He just didn't seem my type. Shaggy brown hair, blah brown eyes. I'm telling you, I was mentally mean. He came in and we talked a few minutes. We went back to my living room and put on a movie. I don't even remember now what movie it was. I remember about 15 minutes into it, he bravely put his hand on mine, and we held hands for awhile. Then he slid his arm around my shoulder. The whole time I'm thinking, Oh god. What do I do? How do I back out of this?

He said my name, and I looked at him. He kissed me for the first time, and I had a premonition of us walking down the aisle. Just like that. One kiss is all it took. He ended up sleeping over. *Key word there. Sleeping.* He left at 6 the next morning, and called me that night to arrange another date.

I've never looked back. I've never wanted to. He's the air I breathe. I love him so much my heart aches, and right now, I'm missing him like crazy. My husband is a trucker, you see. Gone 3-6 weeks, home 2-4 days. I talk to him almost daily. We text when he's not driving or sleeping. But it isn't the same as rolling over and looking into his beautiful brown eyes. Or being woken up by him snuggling into me. He is everything right in my world.

He's been gone for 2 weeks and won't be home until the 28th. I'm just pushing through until then. Isn't that what we do in life? Push through the rain, the mud, the muck, just to get to our sunshine, our air, our rainbow?

Love to all,
Allie

Movies, Books, and Flair

 I've turned into a flair addict. For those of you who don't know what flair is, go watch the movie Office Space. Not only will you find out what flair is, you'll also laugh until your sides hurt. Or you cry. Or both. Anyway, my aunt got me addicted to flair on facebook. Everyday, I go through and send her random stuff so I can add flair to my board. Last night, I found the Anita Blake flair. Oh, I was ecstatic. And this morning, I found the Labyrinth flair. There aren't really words to express how happy it made me.











Ok, now then. For those of you who read but have not heard of Anita Blake, she's the X rated version of Twilight, except better. Yes. Twilight was a great series, but it was written with teenagers and young adults in mind. I've always loved who I am, but I want to be Anita Blake. So, if you like vampires, were-beings, and sarcasm, check those books out. Oh, and by the way, the Anita Blake series came way before Twilight.












Labyrinth. I say that word and what comes to mind for you? For me, it will always be David Bowie. (And his ridiculously tight pants.) When I was a little girl, I loved the movie because of the singing and the fantasy of it. Now I watch it and think, Wow. David Bowie looks the same as he did then. And he does. Does that man never age? Is he really the Goblin King? If so, does anyone have a baby brother I can give to him?




I know. I'm so very wrong, but hey, I've never claimed to be right. I'm not. Anyway. I've included links for Anita Blake stuff, Labyrinth, and Office Space. As for me, I'm getting ready for work. It'll be slow and I'll be wishing Jareth or Jean Claude will walk through my door. Preferrably together. With Asher, Micah, and Jason behind them.

Love to All,
Allie

Tweaks

Hi everyone. Just a quick post to let you know I'm tweaking my site. Aunt Tish, I found a thing called reactions. It's at the bottom of the post, near where you comment at. Hope this is what you were looking for. I've added ads to my page. How weird did that sentence sound? I said it in my head and out loud and it still doesn't sound right but that's how I roll roll. (Robin Williams - Weapons of Self Destruction) Alright. I'm off to walk & go to Wal-Mart. Although I should just skip walking, cause I know I'm gonna be there forever.

Love to All,
Allie

Paying For My Raising.

Have you ever heard that term? My mama & daddy has said to me many a time, "Girl, you're gonna pay for your raising." I didn't understand it until about 1:45 this morning. I was all tucked into bed, warm in pajamas, just about to turn out the light, when I hear the Hawaii Five-O theme song. (Text message ringtone.) I flip open my phone and I'm extremely tempted to just roll over and go to sleep because I don't recognize the number and I'm supposed to get up at 7:00 am to go for my 2 mile daily walk. Curiosity killed the cat however, along with my sleep.

It was this evil child. My minion, Connie. We started out calling her my mini-me, because she looks alot like me, except, well... smaller. She's a sweet kid for the most part, trying really hard to grow up too quickly. Me & mama look out for her because of her mother. The minion was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 4. Her mom split, and we just kinda picked up the slack.

So anyway, she's begging me to drive 14 miles to bring her gas money at 2:00 am. Why? Because she's a teenager and made a stupid mistake. I'm still ticked because she knows better than that. She wants to be an adult, but at the same time she doesn't want the actual responsibilities. (Wait. This is starting to bring back memories. Dang.) So I get down there and give her a hard time, because well, that's what a minion's leader is supposed to do. Right? You know, the what were you thinking, do you realize what time it is, some people have to get up early speech. And the whole time, there's a red alert going in the back of my brain - Oh no. Your mother is speaking every time you open your mouth! And she's sassing me just like I did my mama. We eventually got our stuff straight. Lots of raised voices and threats of, "I swear, I'm gonna beat your butt when we get home." (No minions were harmed in the making of this post.)

We make our way over to the gas station, I go in and pay and tell her I'm following her home and so help me, she'd better drive right. As I'm driving along behind her, I'm thinking. Wait a darn minute. I'm not supposed to be doing this. I don't have kids. My kids wouldn't act like this anyway. (Yeah, I know. I'm fooling myself.) I'm thinking, no fair, and then it hits me like a ton of bricks. I'm paying for my raising.

Mom? Dad? I'm sorry. Forgive me for giving you so much hell as a teenager. Thank you for being patient, kind, loving, tough, and all the other things parents with teenagers need. I have a feeling that I'm about to learn those things. No, I don't have a child. I have a minion, and something tells me that's gonna be just as bad.

Love to all,
Allie

Acceptance.

People struggle with acceptance every day. I struggle to be accepted as overweight. (Yes, I'm working on it, but you still would not believe how many people are rude to me on a daily basis.) Other people struggle because of a mental/physical handicap. And then there are people like my friend, Ryan.

I love him. He's so dang sweet, and happy. All the time. This is him visiting me at work. Ryan is very open about who he is and what he likes. He's a very special person to me. Whenever he leaves, he always tells me he loves me. And I tell him I love him too. It never fails though, after he leaves, someone feels the need to say something mean. I've gotten to the point where I'll ask people, "Do you know him? No? Then don't say another word about him, because he's MY friend." Yes, I know. I live & work in a small town in the bible belt. It doesn't matter. I don't care. People need to stop being so judgemental. A few quotes from the bible for those who judge -Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

As for me, I'll just continue to do what I do best. Supporting my friends & family with a smile on my face. I love you Ryan.

Love to ALL,
Allie