Family Reunion.

I am going to tell you something that will probably make you think less of me. I hate most of Mike's family.

 I can't stand his grandmother, Peggy. She is a conniving, scheming, lying user. She can't handle the fact that my husband turns to me with problems, instead of her. When Mike explicitly told her not to bring his mother to our wedding, she did anyway. The whole time Debbie clung to Mike as a mistress instead of a mother. I have photos. I didn't say anything that day. Not that night, but a few weeks later. He was as upset as I.

His mother, Debbie, is a crack whore who left her sons in the care of friends, family, and lovers, then left them for months at a time when she was using. I remember one story of her more steady boyfriend, Larry, saving the money to buy the boys a computer for Christmas. At that time, computers were extremely expensive, and the one he'd picked out was $1500.00. One morning, Debbie took the money and left the boys with Larry. No note, no goodbye, nada.

His Uncle, Josh, is actually younger than Mike by a month. He had a wife, Sabrina, and two kids, Hunter and Haley. We were staying the week with them. Sabrina and Mike were at work, Josh and I were home with the kids. Hunter was 2, and Haley 10 months. Hunter was eating a bowl of cereal and Haley was following him around. Hunter needed to go potty, so he set the bowl down in the middle of the coffee table and took off. I went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Josh came in from smoking outside. Haley had pulled up on the coffee table, and swiped the bowl of cereal into the floor. Josh freaked out, screaming at Hunter and pulled him from the bathroom and threw him into puddle on the floor. He rubbed his nose in it like he was a puppy that had an accident. He threw a towel at him and kept screaming at him to clean up his mess. Haley was wailing so I took her to her room and gave her a few toys. I went back to the living room and at this point, Josh had Hunter up by the throat, against a wall. I stayed back and tried to reason with him, but I couldn't. So, I walked back to our bedroom and called 911. After I hung up, I heard Hunter scream, then there was a thump, and then nothing. I ran back to the living room and he was just laying there, so quiet. Josh had thrown him against the wall. At that point, the cops got there. One thing I can say for Gadsden P.D. is they respond with a quickness. Josh was taken to jail, Mike and I were given temporary custody of the kids, and Mike's family decided he needed to get me under control because apparently, it was all my fault. According to his family, you don't go to the police, family will handle it.

After that, I wasn't welcome. Mike was, just not me. So, we stayed away. Mike wouldn't go without me. That was 6 years ago. We were informed right before Christmas that his great grandmother, Emma, wasn't doing very well and that he needed to go see her. Between the recent snow and money problems, we weren't able to go until yesterday.

It was holy hell for me. I was ignored for the most part. When my presence was acknowledged, it was with snide comments about keeping Mike away for so long and why I haven't had kids yet. Why was I depriving them of grandchildren? I'm frustrated because Mike won't see it. He was too busy with seeing his niece, and cousins. They made sure their comments were out of his range of hearing. I hate sounding like I know I do.

Mike kept the visit short, because he could read my signals. He knew that I was nervous about going. Afraid of the reaction I would cause. He took me out afterwards, but that story is for another moment in time.

Love to all,
Allie

A Little Better.

Alright, so I'm over the virus. We found out that is what it was for sure. We had dinner over at Zach & Jessica's house. While we were there, I spent the majority of the time hanging with their 10 month old son, Gabriel.

Here we are, chilling, after he puked on me. And I'm talking hard-core, projectile vomit. It was so bad that I had to put on a pair of pajama bottoms that belonged to Jess. Poor girl felt so bad too. She said he'd been puking all that morning, but the pediatrician put it down to formula incompatibility since there wasn't a fever.

Strangely enough, he didn't want his mom. He wanted me. So... I held him, played with him, and rocked him to sleep. Dirty Work by Halestorm put him right out. We had the PS3 playing their audio files and that came across. I'd been singing all the others too him, so... I sang that one, too.

Zach was all, you sang Dirty Work to my son? That's so wrong on so many levels. The song is about a younger guy and an older woman. I love the song, but didn't really think about the meaning of it. Heck, I was just singing the kid to sleep. He wasn't upset, it was just, twisted.

So anyway, the night rocks on and we head home. The next night is when I got sick. Mike texted Zach, and wouldn't you know it, he and Jess are sick, too. I'm so grateful it was only a 24 hour virus. Of course, Mike got sick too. His wasn't as bad as mine, thankfully.

We are both better now. I had to work tonight, and it suuuuuucked. I have to work tomorrow night, too, and I'm sure it will suck just as hard.

Oh. It's snowing again. I'm beginning to really dislike that stuff. We're supposed to have more Monday night, I think? And some of the old-timers are prediciting a blizzard. I don't like them, either. I want the beach right now. Is it September yet?

Love to all,
Allie

Where did it go?

I blinked, and it's a new year. Seriously? I swear, it seems as if the days are flying by and I don't like it at all. When I was a kid, it seems like the summer holiday lasted forever. Now, it's like two weeks and we're done. Alright, rant over. About that anyway.

Did ya'll have a good Christmas and New Year? I did. We celebrated Christmas on New Year's day at Daddy's house. We traded names this year for a present swap, and ended up helping my brother out by getting the gifts for his family too. That was a whole lot of fun. We had to buy gifts for my brother, Brandon, my step-brother, Jeffrey, my brother-in-law, Nick, and my sister-in-law, Chrystal. I barely know Jeffrey, Nick, and Chrystal, for the simple fact that we never spend any time together. Isn't that sad?

After walking around Wal-Mart for 20 minutes without a clue, we picked up bead bracelet sets for the twins, Cadie & Clara. My nephews had gotten their names. I thought about how much the girls would probably enjoy that, and that set me to thinking... shouldn't I get the adults something they'll enjoy? So over to the Lego sets. I picked up a Halo Warthog set for Brandon, he loves to put them together with his boys. While we were checking the game section, Mike picked up a poker set for Jeffrey. (Mike remembered that he'd gotten someone lottery tickets last year.) Then it was over to sporting goods for fly-fishing lures for Nick. I picked up a manicure/pedicure set for Chrystal because I had no idea what to do there. I suck at buying gifts for girls. I really do.

The dinner was really good, I spent most of it holding Jeffrey & Chrystal's son, Carter. He's so precious. It was hard for me, too. I keep thinking, I'm almost thirty, and I don't have any kids. It makes my heart ache. I keep my head up and smile, though, because really, there isn't anything else to do.

Brandon, Nick, and Jeffrey loved their gifts. Brandon and Nick were a sure thing, but Jeffrey was kinda worrying me. He told Mike that he'd been needing some playing cards, he'd had to borrow some the other night. So, happy happy joy joy there.

Mike got gift cards to Gamestop and Books-a-Million. I got a gift card to Torrid, fleece blankets, and some really lovely picture frames from my step-sister, April. She can pick out awesome girl gifts. I'm so jealous.

Afterwards, we played a game called Catch Phrase. Have you ever played that game? It was hilarious, we were playing guys against girls, and the guys won 2 out of 3 games. Only because Nick and Jeffrey were stretching it out and trying to pass it off at the last minute. I wish you could have seen Daddy. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. He's never been the most descriptive person in the world, but he sure tried hard. The longer we played, the better he got.

After we left there, we went down to Brandon and Christina's house for a New Year's celebration. That however, is a story for tomorrow.

Love to all,
Allie

Baby It's Cold Outside.

Baby, it's cold outside... Do you know that song? I am currently piled up in my bed, with the demon dogs, watching Eclipse. (Ok, so I'm technically watching it again and blogging. Bite me.) All I am going to say about the movie is this. Son, I am dissapoint. If you don't understand that, go to Internet Meme Database. Which is not to be confused with IMDB. I love both of those sites.

Speaking of things that I love.... some of you know that I am a huge movie person/nut/whatever. I try really hard to stay on top of movies and when they are coming out, so that way when Mike is home, we can go do something without actually having to do any research. Let me tell you, it is all about making his life easier.

I don't mean that in a sexist or bad way, it's just that.. When he gets home, he doesn't really want to make any decisions. He just wants to eat good food, relax with me and the demon dogs, and decompress.  And who can blame him? With a week like the recent one, he needs some downtime. In the last 3 days, his windshield has cracked all the way across due to extremely low temperatures, and a newbie backed his truck too close to Mike, ripping off the mirror and damaging paint. So, yeah, I'd say my honey deserves to relax.

Back to the movies. (Sorry ya'll. I tend to be random and ramble back and forth.) I've seen a few that are looking pretty good, according to previews anyway, so I'm going to post a link to the video with a brief description. All you have to do is click the link and it will take you straight to the website that plays it. (Website is IMDB. I trust it. That's all I can say about that.) I tend to like lots of action. Oh ha ha, smarties. I'll throw in a chick flick or two if I can find any that I want to back.

I want you to remember something. Movies are entertainment. They are not the be all, end all of the world. They are simply here to take us somewhere else, be it the future, the past, space, or somewhere not yet created in our minds. They are meant to make us laugh, cry, jump out of our skin in horror, and think. I hope you like my choices.

Cowboys and Aliens This one is for my dad. A strange mash-up of the two things he loves... Cowboys and aliens. It looks like it will be good. I know, I know. Alot of you are probably thinking... Uh, no. Give it a chance. Harrison Ford for the acting and Daniel Craig for the eye candy.

Battle: Los Angeles I'm kinda diggin the feel of this one. Marines vs Aliens in L.A. We always knew it would get hit first. Lots of action. Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, Michelle Rodriguez, and Ne-Yo are the top names.

I Am Number Four Timothy Oliphant is the only name I know in this one so far. An extraordinary teenager is on the run from the government/his creators/bad guys? It doesn't really say, but again it looks interesting.

The Mechanic Mmmm. Jason Statham. That man is hotness defined. Gorgeous hazel eyes. Serious hard body. And of course, the accent. Drool. (Sorry Daddy.) He is an assassin, determined to take out the upper management who decided his mentor was no longer needed. The only catch? He has said mentor's son, played by Ben Foster, along for the ride. Yes. It promises to be exactly like his other movies. Lots of martial arts, lots of killing, and perhaps, if the movie gods decide to throw me a frickin bone, another striptease. (Sorry again, Daddy.)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon This is a teaser trailer, not much info, but some people might want to know about it.

Beastly Despite the name, this is actually a love story. It's a modern take on Beauty and the Beast. Only recognizable names are Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate Olsen. (My husband loves to tell me there is a special place in Hades for me, between The Olsen Twins and Marilyn Manson. Me, myself, and I, would love to converse with Marilyn Manson.) And also, Alex Pettyfer, the male lead in this movie, also happens to be Number Four, from above. I didn't realize it until I was doing some research on this one.

Mars Needs Moms Animated movie. Title says it all, really. A little boy doesn't like the fact that his mother makes him eat his broccoli, do his homework, and is generally, a mom. He learns exactly how much he needs and loves her when Martians invade and take her away.

Tomorrow, When the War Began This movie actually came out on September 2, 2010. I'm including it because it looks like one of those that will make you think. I remember seeing the preview way back when and thinking... hmmm, this could be good. This is actually an Austrailian Indie flick. It just drew me in.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm sure there are tons more out there, these just jumped out at me. Now, as for that video, that's me. Yeah, I know. Totally not what you expected, right? Oh well. Me and the demon dogs out in the snow for some fun. Enjoy.

Love to All,
Allie

Drugs Are Bad, M'kay?

Thursday started out like any other normal night at work. I should've known things were going to get weird when a clearing company showed up and pumped $953.30 of off road diesel. That is a whole lot of fuel.

For those of you who don't know, on road and off road diesel are the exact same thing, except for the fact that off road has a dye in it. Anyway, off road fuel is usually 30 cents cheaper per gallon than on road. I think the most I've ever sold was like $75.00 because whoever it is (DOT?) that checks it will give you a hefty fine if they catch you running it in your regular on road/tagged diesel vehicle.

Anyway, when I came in, they'd already been there 30 minutes and me and my assistant manager were both kinda what the heck about it. The truck had been parked kinda funny, so we couldn't see the name of the company, truck number, nada. So... I get the brilliant idea to go check the trash can out by the pumps. I made conversation with the guys who were pumping and I checked it out. It was a 1000 gallon tank in the back of a box truck. What can I say? I'm a paranoid freak like that. (This becomes evident later that night.)

So anyway, the night rocks on and I'm dusting when one of our regular customers comes in. She and I chat all the time. She'd just finished paying when another regular pulls up to the pump. She automatically backs away from the door and asks me if it was a certain kind of car. I confirmed it and she said, "That's my cousin. He and I have bad blood. Watch this, I'm gonna fix him." I distinctly remember telling her not to start any trouble up there.

About 30 minutes goes by and the guy finally comes into the store, followed by my mom and two police officers. (That time is completely normal. I've had folks stand outside and talk for an hour before coming in to pay.) I've seen the cops before and they ask me if I know who is driving the car on pump 1. I shook my head no and the guy that had walked in pipes up with, "It's mine." (Oh, yeah... I'm thinking. I swear, every single time I see his car, I wonder whose it is because it has TN tags on it.) They ask him to step outside and he said that he would after he paid for his stuff.

My Mom's eyebrows couldn't get any higher on her forehead, at least I don't think so. We were both tripping hard. Another thing you might not know. Anytime there are cops in a gas station parking lot, everyone and their brother shows up. Everybody must know what is going on... Right that moment.

So in between customers, we watched as they talked to him. (The whole time they're conversing, he's eating a Caramello and drinking a Mountain Dew. I kid you not.) Then, we watched as they put him up against the back of the car, frisked and cuffed him. Out of his pockets, they pull bags of pills. Oh Em Gee, I was tripping. One officer stood with him between his car and the police car, while the other started searching the car. Out of the car came more stuff. Several bags of pills and what I'm thinking was marijuana. Needles, rolling papers, and other paraphernalia.

At this point, I was tripping hard. This guy was a regular. Always extremely sweet. Never rude. Total flirt. I always thought he was a stoner. That's his business. I never once thought he was anything else. And then... they pulled three shotguns and two pistols out of his trunk. I dropped the F bomb then. Mom didn't even look at me when I did it either. She was in shock too.

The police put him in the back of one of the cruisers and then came in to talk to me. They said they needed to talk to me. I figured it was just because I was on duty or whatever. WRONG. They said that I was the one who called it in. What The Truck? I remember hearing Mom gasp and her head swiveled a full 90 degrees in a nanosecond. I'm flipping out, oh no I did not call you. I know my voice was rising and I was panicking.

Apparently, his cousin that didn't like him had stepped into the bathroom and called the police. She claimed that he was out here selling drugs to kids while pumping gas. When they asked who she was, she replied, "I'm the lady at the gas station."

Now there is a reason I am panicking. In July of 1991, my Great Uncle Ronald, was kidnapped from Collinsville Trade Day. This happened in plain sight of Ronald's son Christopher (10 at the time) and my brother B. (12 at the time)

Uncle Ronald hauled produce from Florida to Alabama. He had also hauled some other, non legal things between states. Well, he got caught. Then he did the worst thing he could ever do. He turned snitch for the feds. Someone was dirty and leaked it to the people he had told on. (Happy Holler, anybody? Local people will get that.)

My uncle had a partner, Hollywood. (Don't ask, I have no clue where he got that nickname.) Hollywood took B & Chris to get a drink? I'm not sure. On their way back, they saw Uncle Ronald being shoved into a car while being hit in the head with a ball peen hammer. His body was later found in Wills Creek. He had been beaten and severely mutilated before they finally shot him.

What does his story have to do with mine? I learned my lesson from him. You do not snitch. The area in which I live is know for drugs. Sand Mountain Slim Fast - aka Meth. Happy Holler. There are just things you don't run your mouth about and that is one of them.

So when I found out chick had snitched and used me as her cover, I went on the defensive. The video from our store has been pulled and it shows I did not touch a phone at the time the call was made. I also let it be known to his family that I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Then I called a few.. um let's say acquaintances and put the word out on the street that I knew who the real snitch is. Ya'll may find that harsh, wrong, whatever.

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a dang. I refuse to die for someone else's stupidity. I will not put my mother through what my family has already been through. Personally, I like my life. I'd kinda like to stick around a few more birthdays. (Today, btw, is my 29th birthday)

The moral of this story? Mr. Mackey said it best. Drugs are bad, m'kay? Bonus points if you said it in his voice.

Love to all,
Allie

Hiding Out.

I've been laying low for awhile. I usually try to post every other day or so, but there's been alot going on. I worked 33 hours in 3 days, which I'm totally cool with. I just feel so drained. For the last two days, I've laid low, piled up in my bed catching up on the tv shows I've been queuing on Hulu.

I love that website. Since I work nights, I'm not always able to catch the shows I'm addicted to. I have lots of addictions. Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Blue Bloods, Family Guy, the list goes on. Usually when I come home from work, I eat dinner, I play with the dogs, then I pass out. So... on my first day off, I start laundry then I grab my laptop and vegetate.

Do other grown people do this? I mean, seriously? Know what I did last night? I picked up a pizza and a six pack of Bud Light. (Wait. Are you shocked? Yes. I drink.)

I've had alot on my mind lately. Remember I was worried about my Grandma? Well, I talked with her about a week or so ago. She and I had a conversation with her doctor, and he took her very seriously. He scheduled several tests, including a MRI. Thankfully, it came back good. He also scheduled a test to check for Carotid Artery Stenosis which can cause a stroke, which can cause memory loss. It shows she has some blockage. So.. good news and bad news.

Remember my Minion? She was rushed to the hospital today. Why? Because she is completely irresponsible with herself. She is diabetic, but she refuses to take care of herself. She won't eat healthy. She will not take her insulin shots like she needs to. For example, today. She came home from school early because she wasn't feeling well. Her sugar was so high, it wouldn't register on the EMT's glucose monitor. How did that happen you wonder? Let's see. The most likely culprit? The canister of chocolate frosting in her book bag. When the ambulance finally got there, she had already started turning purple and was losing sight. When they got to the hospital and checked her glucose it was over 1200. TWELVE HUNDRED! I'm so mad right now. I'm torn between banging my head against a brick wall and taking a belt to her butt. Yes, I know. Violence never solves anything.

Anyway, I'm tired, I'm frustrated, and I'm worried. I'm going to sleep and hopefully in the morning I'll wake up and I'll find out I won the lottery. Wait. I don't play the lottery. Dang. Oh well. Night All

Love to all,
Allie

Darkness

My mother, during our conversation.

Alright. So what I'm going to be talking about is domestic violence. How it starts, escalates, and how it ultimately ends. I originally started working on this project because of someone who lost her daughter to domestic violence. At this moment, that is put on the back burner. She's just not ready to talk, and I completely understand. So that leaves me with all this work, and nothing to run with. Or does it?

A lot of people sweep this issue under the rug. It doesn't happen because they aren't personally involved. Maybe it does happen to them, but they are too scared, or don't know how to speak up. Some block it out because they don't want to remember it.

Well, this blog is about me, so... I guess this is where I step up to the plate. I grew up in a domestic violence situation. In my mother's own words, they were volatile. I remember hurtful words, broken dishes, busted walls, and shattered windshields. I will say this for my parents, they never hit each other in front of us. It was mostly a verbal thing.

So, I went shopping. I bought a voice recorder. And then... I sat down with Mama, Daddy, and my brother B individually, and recorded our conversations. It dang near killed me. It was so emotionally charged. It was so hard to hear things from Mama about Daddy, and to hear things from Dad about Mom. It was pretty easy to talk to B. He's like me, he remembered the screaming, harsh words, and shattered windshields. Like me, he also remembers that they never hit each other in front of us.

Let me just pause here to clarify my relationships with my family. Mama is my very best friend. She has been since my first breath. I've always been my Daddy's girl. I've had conversations with them that most people don't have with their parents. I know things about their relationship and them that very few do.

I started out with Mama. The first question I asked her was, "How did you meet Dad?" She told me about the fact that she and Dad's sister Pat were best friends, and they had met through her. "How did he ask you to marry him?" She couldn't quite remember the wording, but, she remembers it went to the effect of, "I love you, and I want to marry you and the kid." (My brother B, is technically my half brother. He was born in December of 1978 and my parents were married in February of 1979.)

"Who threw the first punch?" That was one of the hardest questions to ask. We talked about how often they fought. It wasn't a daily thing. It wasn't an all the time thing. Their verbal altercations didn't always turn physical. I remember one point in the conversation, Mama told me, "Your Daddy is not a monster." At that moment, I couldn't agree with her.

How can you sit there and tell me that someone who had locked her in the closet, left bruises on her, and shattered a baby's glass bottle against the wall, is not a monster? I asked her that question. She said, "We were monsters together. We were toxic to each other. Twisted and wrong. I antagonized him so much. I couldn't let him walk away." And that made me look at her in a whole new light.

I walked away from that conversation shaken and sick. Hearing those words about my father... it didn't break me, but it hurt. I had a hard time sleeping last night.

I talked to Daddy today. I had to. If I was going to do this right, I had to include his thoughts and memories. I sat him down and told him that I was planning a piece on domestic violence, and that it was going to be about our family. Dad was a little defensive to start with. I think he was afraid that I put the blame solely on him. After I explained that Mama accepted her share of the blame, that she admitted to antagonizing him, he opened up more.

He admitted to locking Mama in a closet. I'm not telling the story that led up to it, but the gist is, they were fighting, and he was trying to walk away, but she wouldn't let him. He was extremely upset. She stayed in his face, so he put her in the closet. "I couldn't make her leave me alone, so I put her in the closet. I sat down against the door so she couldn't get out, and I cried. I cried because of what she'd done to me." I'm not condoning what he did, and there is absolutely no excuse for hurting someone else, but after hearing what he said, I understand.

I closed the conversations by asking them, "What is your favorite memory from being married to each other?" Strangely enough, both of their memories revolve around me.

Dad's favorite memory was when B was standing up in his crib and was looking at the corner of the ceiling and said, "You're not gonna take my Daddy from me." About a month later, they found out Mama was pregnant with me.

Mama's favorite memory is when she was delivering me, Dad was standing by her side. The doctor looked up and said, "There's the head." Dad looked up and said, "What is it?" Mom says the doctor kinda smirked and said, "It's a head, I'm not sure yet." When I was finally out, the doctor looked up and said, "It's a girl." Mom said that Daddy got this look of wonder on his face and was jumping up and down and yelling, "We did it! We had a girl!"

My parents divorced in 1994. Mom remarried 3 months later to a man named Greg. Along with him, I got my awesome stepbrother D and my best girl Mamy. Greg died in 1996 in a motorcycle accident. Dad remarried in 1999 to a woman named Jeanne. They divorced not even 2 years later due to the fact that they were total opposites. Mom remarried again in2006 to Mike. (We have 18 million Mike's in my family. It's tons of fun during the holidays.) I got 2 more step siblings that are pretty good. Daddy remarried in April of last year to a lady named Rita. And now, 2 more steps. All in all, I have 4 brothers, and 3 sisters. To me, half and step don't really count. Family is all that matters.

Some days I wish my parents were still together. I know that will never happen. That saying... You can't go home, I think it pertains to this. Wanting to be a child again, being tucked in by your parents, kissed and loved, knowing the monsters aren't under the bed. They are happy. They are at least cordial, if not down right friendly at family functions that bring them together.

And now... me. I am emotionally drained. As I wrote this post, I listened to the conversations I had with Mama, Dad, and B over and over again. In some ways, I wish I could figure out how to post them on here, but then again, I'm afraid some people would hear them and think horrible things about my parents.

They were young, kids really, when they got married. They were learning together, how to be the grown ups. There were several stressors in their life. Two children at an early age, very little money, and not really sure what they were doing. They've grown into wonderful people. My mother is my role model, along with my dad. I look at them and see the strongest people in the world. I love them, and I am extremely grateful to them.

Domestic violence isn't something that can be swept under the rug. It will not go away if you ignore it. Mom & Dad were both lucky that it never turned deadly, because it can. This isn't the last I'll be talking about this.

If you or someone you know is in a violent situation, please, please, please. Get help. It is hard to walk away from all you've ever known, but you can. 1-800-799-SAFE(7233) or http://www.thehotline.org/

You may be asking... Allie, why are you posting your details? Well, if all the gory details that come out save 1 life, it's worth it. If one person reads this and gets out, it doesn't matter what I go through.

Love to all,
Allie

Goblins and Ghouls

I know, I know. It's a little late, right? Well, all I can say is I'm sorry. Things have been a bit hectic lately, but really... Would life be any fun any other way? No. No it wouldn't. So, without further ado, photos from Halloween 2010. Warning: Cuteness may overload your brain.

I dub this Mace to the Face. No seriously, I'm not macing her. She's pregnant thankyouverymuch. It's just glitter.



This makes me think of Angels Among Us by Alabama. I have no clue why.




Alfalfa and a Punk Rocker. Isn't Alfalfa just so cute in his seriousness? Love it.





Baby Butterfly





Bat Girl. I have the Batman theme stuck in my head now.







Hard to call him Batman. More like Batbaby.




Birdman and The Good Witch. Not really, but she's a sweet person and I just can't call her a witch. By the way, that's Hot Guy That Smells Good. His name is Pete I found out.



My nephews. M is the tall one. S is the short one. They are both creeptastic.



So far, the only clown I can stand. (By the way - huge fear of clowns. I has it.) The cuteness is getting to me.



A cute witch.



Death and the Devil? Devil and her minion? All I know for sure is, girlie has the expression down.



Awwww! It's a baby Ewok. He better hide cause....



Darth Vader is here! Along with Jason. Check the princess in the back. She's like "Gimme my candy already. Dang!"



Jason was popular. He kept showing up. Creeped me out too. Can you hear the music?



My moms' friend Sherrys' grandkids. Why yes. I was raised in the South. What tipped you off?



Lady Gaga stopped by. I totally took this pic by accident. I'd taken one and Ryan was posing so I totally had to get this.



Preteen Mario. I said, "I'm sorry, Mario, but your Princess is in another castle." Kid comes back with, "Aw man. Can I at least have candy?" Yeah. He got extra candy. Such a sweet boy.



Luigi and The Princess came in not minutes later. When I informed them that they had just missed Mario, their faces lit up. I love the innocence of kids.



Monkey See, Monkey Do.





Mortal



Kombat



What do a pirate, a princess, and a creepy guy from Scream have in common? I'm not sure. You tell me.



A hippie, a happy Frakenstein, and... I'm not sure. A soldier from Halo, maybe? I don't care, but I love the look on his face. It's kinda half amused, half exasperated. Very good manners, though.

My sister Mames, holding Spiderson JonJon and my sister in law Jen, holding my niece Bacon the Witch.





Nemesis





Tinkerbell and the Punk Pirate. Check the hot pink skull n bones.



Fairy Princess



Killing me with the cuteness. Such a sweet baby puppy.



Purple Princess. I love her facial expression.



A much prettier Queen of Hearts than Helena Bonham Carter.



All I can hear is... "Rawr, I'm a lion!"



Roll Tide Baby! I love his face. Just so sweet.



Scooby Dooby Doo. Where are you? I loved that cartoon as a kid. Who am I kidding? I still love it.

Scream. Louder. Nope. Still can't hear you.

Snoopy.

Soldier Boy

Super Baby

Thomas the Train

Wild Witchy West

My Unc was a zombie. His grandson was.. a ninja? (Unc is short for uncle. I've called him that forevah.)




Alright. I hope your brain didn't explode from the cuteness. I hope you didn't have a heart attack from the scariness. I'm going to bed now. Night everyone.

Love to all,

Allie

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.

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.

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