Livin' Life To The Fullest

Hello??? Is this thing on?????

2011-04-04T15:19:00.001-05:00

I don't have a blog prepared right now, but i imagine i will soon. stay tuned....

It's amazing what a song can teach you...

2010-01-17T21:18:00.004-06:00

So i haven't blogged in quite some time, but to be honest, I haven't really had that much to blog about...well, I have. I just haven't had the time. But last night a song come on the radio that I've heard a thousand times. And last night was the first time I really heard it, and it brought tears to my eyes as I listened to the words. Before I tell you what the song was, let me give you a little recap of what's been going on w/ me here lately.

Over the last year or so, I've been on what you could call a "spiritual rollercoaster". The first half of 2009 was awesome. I felt like my spiritual life was the best it had ever been, and I just knew there was no going back to the unhappy life I lead for so many years. But then something happened...not real sure what...and I started to lose focus. I was still trying to trust God, but I was only trusting Him with things that I knew, or felt, would be part of His plan for me. If I thought His answer for me would be "No", I wouldn't even go to God with it.

God revealed Himself to me on more than one occasion anyway. I would ask for something specific, and He would show me things that I didn't want to see, but needed to see. Things that I knew were wrong, yet I continued to go along with what I wanted to do. Over time, that took a tol on me. I wasn't...I'm not...in the same place I was a year ago, and that's totally my fault.

So last night I was in the car and heard part of an interview w/ the lead singer of a band called "Tenth Avenue North" about a song called "By Your Side". The question was asked what meaning the song had and what message the band hoped to share with it. The lead singer said (and i paraphrase) that basically people tend to move away from God when they know they are doing things in their lives that they shouldn't be doing. But that is actually when God wants us to move closer to Him. So I listened to the words and I just wanted to bust out crying. That is exactly what I do. I feel like I have no right to turn to God when I know I've been doing things I shouldn't be doing. But I was reminded last night that EVERYBODY is a sinner, and NOBODY is perfect & blameless. So I wanted to share the words of that song with you:

By Your Side

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

(Chorus 2x)

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

(Chorus 2x)

It's such a powerful song, and definitely one of my favorites.

On another note: As some of you know, I was living in a very bad part of Hoover all of last year. Now, when I say bad, I'm talkin' rowdy neighbors, drug deals going down across the street, gunshots at all hours of the day and night, and a crazy lady next door that could "feel the electricity coming out of her walls and flowing into her body". Now, when I moved into these apartments, I was not aware of everything that was apparently the "norm". Once I started witnessing the crazyness, I decided that I was not going to get too comfortable there, and I started just looking at houses. I didn't know if I was ready for such a huge decision and change in my life, so I started praying about it. I started looking at houses w/ Carol Lowe (w/ Remax Southern Homes). She was awesome. I can't imagine I was the easiest person to work with, with all of my going back and forth. But she was very patient with me. I also had the pleasure working with Mr. Donald Haynes w/ MortgageBanc. Now, I won't lie...I was a little worried about the whole "home buying process". I had started it the year before but I freaked out about it once the ball got rolling and called off the whole thing. I realize now that it was not in God's timing for me to have a house then. I wasn't ready. I'm glad I waited.

Anyway, so with the help of Mrs. Lowe & Mr. Haynes, I found the perfect house. It came to me in one of those email alerts one day. There were no pictures, but there was something about it that I loved. So I called Mrs. Lowe and she set up a viewing of it that same night. Turns out it went on the market that day and there wasn't even a sign in the yard yet. I fell in love with it as soon as I walked in the door. It had a HUGE kitchen, lots of cabinet & counter space, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, high ceilings, a large living room, and the biggest master bedroom. Oh yeah...and big walk-in closets. So we wrote a contract on it that night...and the rest is history! So I am now living in my very first house that is my very own. I am so very excited and will be posting pictures soon.

I hope you all have a fabulous week!
Loves!

it really has been a while...

2009-06-01T19:38:00.002-05:00

hey guys!
i am so sorry i haven't blogged in a while, but things really have been beyond crazy. when i have more time, i will blog.

in the mean-time, if you remember, please keep my dad in your prayers. he is having another cancer surgery tomorrow on his neck. they will be removing cancer from the right side of his neck as well as his vocal chord. it has also spread to his lungs, but they aren't as concerned about that right now. but please keep him in your prayers.

loves!

is "shopping" for a man really that easy?

2009-03-10T11:02:00.003-05:00

over the weekend, i had the opportunity to go and hang out at A & D's house and spend some time w/ the kids. as always, it was a lot of fun. i had been playing outside w/ them when i came inside to check my email. Bud follows me in and sits in the rocking chair next to the computer. he looks like he's in deep thought, so i just let him think. finally, he looks up at me and asks me "deedeed, do you want to have kids?"...the rest of the conversation went like this:

me: yes Bud, one day i do want to have kids

bud: well you know deedeed, you have to have a husband before you can have kids

me: yes i know that. but right now deedeed doesn't have a husband

bud: we'll just have to find you one then

me: how do you think we should go about doing that?

bud: well, you can find you one on the computer

me: really?

bud: yeah! or you can go to walmart.

me: walmart?

bud: yes, walmart.

me: um. ok. so you think i should go find me a husband at walmart...

bud: yup. how about the next time we come to spend the night, we can just head on up to walmart and look for you a husband.

there was some other dialogue but i can't remember it all. but isn't that just the cutest? if it was really that easy, that would be fabulous!

Valentine's Weekend

2009-02-16T12:56:00.005-06:00

this is has been the funnest weekend. i'm usually opposed to Valentine's Day, but not this year. This year, I've decided to change my outlook. And please don't think i oppose valentine's day b/c i'm single and i have nobody to give me flowers or chocolates. that's not it at all. i just think it's silly devote one single holiday to loving those around you when you really should be doing it all year round.

anyway, friday night, my grandmother, aunt susan & uncle ronnie came into town from louisville, ga. they have been staying at amanda's, so i spent almost all of the weekend down at their house. we've just had the best time telling old embarrassing (and i do mean EMBARRASSING) stories about each other from the past, eating lots of good food, and just loving & fellowshipping with each other. this weekend has been about loving each other and spending quality time as a family since we don't get to see each other very often. {louisville is a little town outside of augusta, and almost all of my family (on both sides) is from there. it's a wonderful place of history and memories.} i've decided to post a few picturest that were taken last night.

this is my aunt susan helping amanda get dinner ready.david decided to give me a silly smile while he was grilling the burgers

steven was wrestling around w/ michael~that's uncle ronny waving at the camera~~and mamaw is waiting patiently at the table for dinner to be ready~

I apologize if my pictures and captions are all over the place.

i'm still trying to learn how to do this. the above picture is all the

kids jumping on the trampoline, and the one to my right is at

the end of the night and Riley was so worn out that he used my

hand as his pillow.

I've been tagged...

2009-01-27T14:03:00.000-06:00

I hope i do this right, but Amanda has "tagged" me about posting a pic. so i am going to follow the directions and then tag someone else...although i don't know many people on here, I'm just going to guess, so bare with me.

the instructions are to go into the 4th folder of your pictures file; pick the 4th picture; explain the picture; then tag 4 more people. so here i go.

in my picture (from left to right) is Jim, our head golf professional at Old Overton. In the middle is his lovely wife Cathy. On the right is the wonderful Roger. He is a member at Old Overton. He and his lovely wife Debbie (not pictured) have a place in Tuscaloosa that they rent all year long just so they have a place to go for Alabama games (football & basketball). They so wonderfully open their home up to anyone who wants to come and hang out (within reason of course). they really are really sweet people!

so now I'm going to tag:

1) rachel z. c. 2) allison c. b. 3) kim s. m. 4) merideth q.

i don't know if all of you ladies read my blog, but just in case you do, you've been tagged!

have a wonderful Wednesday! what a lovely day, huh?

it's been too long...

2009-01-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

it's been a while since i blogged, and i'm pretty sure i won't write a lot tonight. but i felt like i needed to write something since it's been so long.

i just want to say how thankful i am for all that God has blessed me with when i am most undeserving. have you ever just sat back and thought about the love God must feel for us? it overwhelms me sometimes b/c i look back over my life and wonder 'why'. i've made some stupid decisions over my lifetime, and i've done some very dumb things. i think i can honestly say that it is only by the grace of God that i am alive today. so many times i turned my back on the people that mattered most in my life...and yet...today...things are 150% different (in a good way). my life is sooo different, and i can't imagine ever going back to the way things used to be.

as some of you know, i've been attending church of the highlands. i think that if i hadn't gotten involved there when i did, who knows where i'd be today. i'm not saying that it's the church that has changed me. God definitely gets all the credit for that, but being a part of that church has been so awesome. the people are different, the atmostphere is different...everything is different. the first time i went, i was with my mom. we went b/c a friend of hers invited us to go. i won't lie...it scared me a little bit. the music was louder; the worship was different; everything was just different. but i was drawn to it, and i wanted to go back. i knew someone else that went there, so i started going with her (my wonderful friend tammy). she had been going there a lot longer than me, so she knew more people. we joined a small LIFE group together. it was such a great group of women from all walks of life.

i went to a women's weekend retreat that the church had. it was really good, and i was glad i went, but i felt like something was holding me back. i was into it, but not completely. at the end of the 12 wk "semester" of the LIFE group, they had a weekend retreat for all of the LIFE groups. i think they said 55 small groups were represented at that retreat (i think they said they have almost 700). anyway, i totally didn't want to go, or so i thought. there was some major spiritual warfare going on inside of me. my mom told me that obviously there was something that satan didn't want me to experience, so i needed to make it a point to be there. it started on a friday, i registered that thursday (the day before). that friday night was pretty good. i was definitely glad i went. now, i have never really been much of a cryer. but i felt a little tug at the heart strings that friday night, and i might have shed a tear or two b/c of the conviction i was feeling. the next morning (saturday) i got up to take riley outside and i kept hearing this beeping noise. i figured out it was my neighbor's fire alarm. she wasn't home, but the beeping was weird. so i went and looked at my alarm and the type of beeping it was was the alert for carbon monoxide. i went to talk to another neighbor, and of course ms. betty was already on top of that one (she's the old lady neighbor who knows everybody's business). so i went back to my place, got dressed, and prayed that God would protect my home and my babies b/c not even a carbon monoxide leak was going to keep me from going to this retreat.

can i just say that the tears flowed that day and i haven't been able to stop since, lol. i cry at commercials now! i was able to let go of so much anger, shame, bitterness, hurt, resentment, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, and anything else that was weighing me down. it is so refreshing now to know that i don't carry around any of those issues. it's amazing what happens when you lay everything before God's feet. and it's been an incredible ride ever since.

i'm not perfect by any means, and i'm definitely still a work in progress. but i'm so excited to see where my life is headed, b/c i'm absolutely excited about the direction it's taken already.
wow! that ended up being longer than i intended. i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it. Loves! :-)

the ''after christmas'' blog...

2009-01-02T15:48:00.000-06:00

i finally had a little down time at work today, so i decided to take a few minutes and write a short blog.

december was a crazy busy month for me and our family. it seemed like there was always something going on, and we always had somewhere to be. i hope it doesn't sound bad when i say that i'm so glad january is here. things can finally slow down, and i can catch my breath. i hope everyone had a fabulous christmas holiday.

like my sister, i am so thakful that i got to see everyone i was able to see this holiday season...from family to friends we haven't seen in many many years.

i realize this is a short and boring blog, but i must get back to work for now. i'll write more later!

DVR is a wonderful thing...

2008-12-18T12:11:00.001-06:00

I must start off by apologizing for not blogging in quite a long time. i have been scolded about it over the last 2 days, so i thought i'd post something short & sweet today.

i don't want to repeat amanda by retelling the circumstances (you can refer to her blog if you haven't heard anything yet), but please pray for my grandmother. both of them acually. my mamaw dye is not doing well at all. my mom rushed over to GA yesterday to help care for her in her last days. my uncle kenny, aunt debbie, aunt carol, & mamaw's nurse eliza have been taking care of her. please pray for our whole family as this is a rough time right now.

my mamaw bargainnier fell a few weeks back and broke her arm. but she's been doing well, and i am so thankful for that! i love my mamaws!!

on a happier note, i FINALLY got cable in my place. and can i just say that DVR is a wonderful thing. i got spoiled w/ Tivo living w/ christy. i've been w/o it since we moved and have missed many shows. but i am all caught up now. it's so nice too. the other night i got caught up cleaning my place and realized i was missing my shows. but then i remembered i had the dvr and had already programmed my shows in. so i kept on cleaning and then watched my shows later. it was so much better b/c i could fast forward through the commercials. i also get to watching tv in the mornings when i'm getting ready for work. i watch this show called 'third watch'. so when i go get in the shower, i just hit pause and finish watching when i get out! i realize that i'm probably behind the times on the dvr; and i'm sure most of you all have it. but if i could meet the person who invented dvr & tivo, i would kiss them! i got so tired of watching movies before cable that it couldn't have come at a better time. i'm so easy to please, i swear.

i must finish my christmas shopping tonight and i am not looking foward to it. every year i wait until the last minute, and every year i say i'll start earlier next year. i've yet to do that. i'm such a procrastinator.

oh well. i must get back to work now. duty calls, and life at the country club is anything but boring right now.

loves!

Wow...

2008-11-20T15:28:00.000-06:00

Wow...It has been a while since my last post. I guess i should fill you in on all the happenings. Unfortunately this blog will probably be short b/c not much has gone on...

Skootie is in my new place, and aside from Riley harassing her all the time, she's loving it. If i am downstairs and she is upstairs and can't see me, she sits on the steps and just meows. it's not your normal cat meow either. have you ever heard what a cat sounds like when she's in heat? it's that loud obnoxious meow. that's what she does. now, she's fixed, mind you. but she still has that obnoxious meow. so all i have to do is call out to her, or go to her and let her see that i'm still there and she's fine again. maybe that has something to do w/ her being gone for 3 wks. she's much more loving now too, which i love. she wasn't loving me last night though. my mom came over to help finish unpacking boxes (and we are nowhere near being finished! i have a lot of stuff!). anyway, after mom left, i decided i would try and tackle the hair cut. she has a lot of matted hair on her under-side. i can't tell if it's tree sap mixed up in her hair, or oil, or what. but it has to come off. and it's not anything that a normal bath will do. but she DID NOT like me feeling around her belly w/ a pair of scissors. she actually bit me! she never bites me! i'm going to try again tomorrow night or saturday. maybe she'll be in a better mood. but then after the hair cut comes the bath. she's really going to hate me then. wish me luck!

tonight, a group from work is going to cafe dupont. it's this fancy schmancy restaurant down in the loft district of downtown b'ham. of course work is paying for it. that's the only reason i am going. i've only been one other time, and it was also a work dinner. i'm so excited! from what i remember, they have really good food.

i'm getting settled in the new place and i am loving it. everything is coming together so nicely. eventually i'll take pictures and post them. i'm hoping to put up my christmas decorations this weekend.

see, i told you this would be short. i've actually got to get back to work so i can get out of here on time and go to my fancy dinner.

loves!

O HAPPY DAY!!!

2008-11-11T11:29:00.000-06:00

as most of you know, my skootie pootie has been missing since before halloween. well, Amanda called me this morning to tell me that they found her. my heart skipped a beat b/c i felt the news was going to be bad, but amanda said that meghan was looking out the back door and saw her sitting on the back porch and told amanda she was out there. of course amanda got right on the phone and called me. she has her inside now, and when amanda fed her, she went straight for the food. she's lost a bunch of weight, and her hair was matted and dirty on her belly. so i'm going to go get her after work and cut the hair and give her a bath. amanda said that skootie was being so loving and even purring. that's so good to hear b/c she was never much of a purrer. my mom said that maybe God gave skootie a little bit of an attitude adjustment and showed her that life outside the fence isn't always greater.

but i am so happy that she is home. i can't even express how happy i am! :)

It's about time!!

2008-11-10T14:42:00.000-06:00

i haven't blogged in a while, so i felt the need to do so today. for those of you who are wondering, yes, i am finally in my new place. it only took 1 month and 4 days to get in there. i'm not complaining. i am very thankful for my new place. i'm about halfway finished unpacking boxes, and when i'm done, it's going to be so cute! i finally got my gas turned on today too. the last few nights were a little chilly w/ no heat. but fortunately it wasn't too bad. and i was getting up in the mornings and going to my moms to get ready for work & shower. (THANKS MOM!) my DSL gets hooked up wednesday, and then after that i'll move my cable from A's house to my house. so it's all coming along slowly, but it's coming along none-the-less. and i am very excited.

meghan finally decided to give me riley too. we never found skootie pootie, so she didn't get to come to her new home. :-( i was kind of lonely, and riley is the perfect companion. i hate leaving him in his crate all day, but if i don't, he's sure to tear something up. he's good at that, lol. but once i'm home, he is out of the crate and into everything. he's still getting used to the new place, new smells, etc. we've only had one accident, and i think he was just marking the new place w/ his scent. maybe when i get everything unpacked and decorated, i'll get A to help me post some pics. i don't know how to do that yet.

have a great day! loves!

thankful thursday...

2008-10-30T16:42:00.001-05:00

i am thankful that i have such a wonderful mom and sister that took time out of their schedule to come help me look for skootie-pootie. :-)

It's a sad day...

2008-10-29T08:35:00.000-05:00

So my skootie pootie got out again a few days ago...and nobody has seen her since. I am completely devastated. She was my baby. I hope that someone is taking good care of her. I have wondered if she's gone somewhere to die. She is very old, and i've heard that family pets often do that. But still...i haven't seen her in a couple of weeks b/c i haven't been able to go visit her. She probably thinks i abandoned her. She's so old and has no front claws. i hope she's ok. :-( I hope she comes home. it's only a few more days until i'm in my place and then she can have all the peace and quiet she wants.

it's a sad day. :-(

What a beautiful Fall day!

2008-10-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

So i thought i would blog today about the incredible weekend i had. As some of you know, i have been attending the church of the highlands for a few months now. Over the weekend they had a reCREATE women's conference. They focused on renewing your body, mind, & spirit. It was definitely refreshing, and I most definitely learned a lot...not only about God's word, but about myself. This weekend opened the door for me to finally start dealing w/ some issues and insecurities that i have dealt with over the years. I'm very excited to see what happens.

Another thing we learned was about was the power that your words have over other people...and yourself. Ladies, we are all beautiful. It doesn't matter size, shape, color, etc. (And the same goes for men too). But we are all the apple of God's eye. If someone says a negative comment to you, you correct them right away and let them know that they are wrong! And ladies...when you feel like saying something negative about yourself, say something positive instead! Build yourself up instead of tearing yourself down!

My tongue is something that i'm really really having to work on. I have a problem w/ my tongue...not cussing or anything like that, but like gossip and speaking negativity. So i've really been trying to work on that, and i'm making a conscious effort to change.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week!

Loves!

It feels like a Monday...I wish it were Friday...

2008-10-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

Today is such a busy day! I don't understand why!....oh wait, yes i do. i'm working by myself today. S is in Disney World, and A called in sick today. I think i'm getting in a grouchy mood, but i'm trying my hardest not to.

Amanda called me a little while ago and told me that Skootie Pootie got out of the fence, and she has no idea where she is. For those of you who have known me for a while, ya'll know that i have a cat, skootie, that i've had since freshman year of highschool. So i got her in 1991. It is now 2008, and she's still kickin'. So naturally i am worried b/c she's gone. she's my baby! i'm hoping she's in the neighbors weed infestation they call a back yard...hiding in the tall grass. i'm so worried. i hope she comes back home. if my new place were ready, she could be safe inside. but, i am still patiently waiting on them to finish their work. It's going to be really really cute when it is finished, but i just wish they would hurry. I'm so ready to be in there decorating and stuff. oh well. back to work now, i suppose.

My vent for today...

2008-10-15T12:25:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry guys, but I just have to vent for a second.

I have been so disappointed in the reaction from several people here lately when they have found out that Amanda and David are going to have another baby.

Forgive me for asking, but what right do you have to give a negative reaction? You aren't having the baby. You aren't taking on that responsiblity. If God didn't want them to have another baby, Amanda wouldn't be pregnant right now. This wasn't something that God missed. This is something that God allowed. So this will be #4...big deal! People all over this country do it everyday. So why be so negative and judgmental? They aren't living off the government. They aren't financally unstable. What's wrong w/ being happy for them? What's wrong w/ supporting them? Absolutely nothing!

I just think that those of you who haven't been supportive thus far need to take a step back. You know that Amanda would be the first one to offer support and congrats if it was you.

That's all I'm sayin'.

Congratulations are in order!!

2008-10-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS!! to Amanda & David. They went to the doctor yesterday, and she confirmed what we already knew. They are expecting Baby M #4! I am so very excited for them, and can't wait to be an aunt again. And to those of you who might be asking yourselves....no, i will not be moving back in, lol! But I will be helping out alot! So congratulations to them! Love you guys!

P.S. No updates on the apartment thing. I'm going by there tonight and hopefully everything will be finished! I'm hoping to be in this week.

Today is better...

2008-10-06T13:25:00.000-05:00

I woke up feeling better today about the weekend. Mom, Jackie, and I were at the apt last night. we were able to move almost all of my boxes into closets so they were out of the way. Workers will be coming in starting today to fix everything that is wrong and preventing me from staying there yet. if they fix everything, my place will be far more perfect than i could have imagined. so maybe all this bad stuff happening was a blessing in disguise. b/c if the bad stuff hadn't happened, i wouldn't be getting all new everything in my place.

I left out a very important bit of information in my rant of a blog saturday night. I also must thank Amanda and David for everything they did to help me. not only was i going to have to get everything out of storage, but i also had to move a lot of stuff out of their house. They packed up everything of mine for me so all we had to do was load it in cars and on the truck. it was such a huge help b/c that was something i did not want to do. at least in storage, everything was already boxed up. at the house, my stuff was strode everywhere and i wasn't looking forward to it. so they were a huge help, and i greatly appreciate it. love ya'll!

Moving Day!...The worst day ever...

2008-10-04T21:03:00.000-05:00

I got up this morning and actually left the house on time to go pick up my friend chris for moving day! We go get breakfast for us and amanda and the kids. we meet mom and ralph at the house too. the guys load up my stuff there and mom and i load the cars. while there, i discovered that chic-fil-a shorted me on some of my breakfast food. that was disappointing, but amanda and i shared what we had. then, i fixed my yummy cup of coffee just the way i like it...and then i knocked it on the floor. i was very disappointed, and certainly hoping this wasn't a preview as to how my day was about to go. i had mentioned having a peace about moving into this place and how everything had gone smoothly up until the last few days. then chris makes a comment about God having a sense of humor, and how maybe He'd do something to shake things up a bit. we laughed it off....until later.

so we meet my brother at u-haul. we pick up the truck with no problems and caravan to my storage unit. we get everything loaded. the guys did the most beautiful job of packing a u-haul. it was the best i'd ever seen. we finish about 1.5 hrs ahead of schedule. as we are caravaning down 31, my mom calls and says there's a problem w/ the u-haul an to go back there. come to find out, one of the back tires had a big hole in it. so someone had to come fix it...someone NOT from u-haul. weird, i know! anyway, so mom, ralph, and aaron (a coworker) went on to the apt to unload the car and truck. turns out i have to wait an hour or more for this person to come fix the truck. again...i was wondering if anything else was going to happen. i then asked Chris "what were you saying about God's sense of humor?" so we get about 40 min into the waiting, the mechanic guy calls me and asks exactly what's wrong w/ the tire. i told him there was a hole in, and it needed to be replaced. do you know what he said to me? "oh ok. well i'll need to turn back around and go get a new tire". NO DOUBT! even the guys at the u-haul place were amazed at the stupidity of this guy. anyway, he eventually shows up...fixes the tire..and we're on our way. great! the day can still be saved.

Not so much...while waiting for the brightest mechanic ever, my mom calls and said that there was still nothing more done to the townhouse that i was told was going to be done. at this point, i am majorly stressing out. most of you that know me know i am not a cryer. it takes a lot to get the tears flowing. well, they definitely began flowing today. i got a little upset on the way there. but amanda reminded me that all of this bad stuff was happening b/c satan knows i've been so excited about moving into this townhouse. so he's going to do whatever he can to ruin it for me. and i allowed it b/c i took the situation back from God and was trying to handle it myself. BIG MISTAKE! and what a reality check for me. so i had calmed down by the time i got to my place. i forgot to mention that last night, mom and i went over to do some last minute cleaning and line the shelves and drawers, etc. In that process, mom found a HUGE hole under my kitchen sink that lead outside, and that had been stuffed w/carpet and rags...and then covered up w/ contact paper. yep...that's what i said. UNBELIEVABLE!

anyway, back to today. so i go inside and i just started crying again. i was completely at a loss b/c all my stuff was loaded in a truck outside, i'd already paid my money, and NOTHING was how i wanted in my new place. Everyone was telling me how 'i should do this', and 'i should demand that'. i can't remember the last time i felt that overwhelmed. so i had to go outside. i went out and i just completely broke down. ralph (mom's boyfriend) was outside just standing there. i walked towards him and he just put his arm out and gave me a big 'ol hug and assured me everything was going to be ok. that moment was definitely a Godsend. It was like God was telling me that He was there, and everything was going to be ok, and he used ralph to give me a hug.

at that moment, natalie pulled up and asked me if i was ok. natalie works for the complex and i met her earlier this week. really sweet girl. anyway, i unloaded on her. i told her that nothing was right, and how the paint job was shotty, and how there were even holes in the wall. i couldn't help it. i coudln't stop crying and i could hardly talk. she told me she would go get karen. karen is who i've been dealing w/ since Candy (the previous apt mgr) got fired last week (another long story). so karen showed up a few minutes later. for the next 2 hours or more, we went through every inch of that townhouse and i told her everything that was wrong. now, i am not a complainer. i am a people pleaser, and i will keep quiet about something if it means nobody will be mad at me. but when we were done, every line on that check list was filled, and she was making notes in the margin. i gave them a week. and she has promised me that everything will be done. now i have to trust God that He'll take care of everything and i won't have to worry.

so now that i am completely physically and emotionally drained, i am going to bed. i have a feeling that this is going to be the best sleep i've had in a long time.

p.s.- thank you to my brother steven, my friend chris, my coworker aaron, my wonderful mom, and her very sweet friend ralph for everything they did today. i absolutely could not have done this w/o you guys!

Tomorrow's moving day!

2008-10-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

YAY!! Tomorrow is moving day! Let's just hope we can get everything done in one day. Let's also hope they get their stuff together and have finished everything they said they would. I have a feeling i'm going to have to stay on them about some things, or either just take care of it myself. I might do that anyway so it's exactly how i like it.

I just got so embarrassed at work today. A sales rep came in w/ our Asst. Mgr, and N was introducing the rep to S, our accountant. He was a nice looking guy, about my age. Well, when N and the rep left, i mentioned how i thought he was cute to A & S, my co-workers. So we were talking about that, and about a previous conversation i had w/ someone else yesterday. (it all kind of pertained to this one cute sales rep). All of a sudden N goes "Allison, we can hear you. We're standing right out here." I was SOOOOO embarrassed. I thought they had left, when in reality, they were just standing out in the lobby around the corner. Those guys were laughin, and A & S were crying from laughing so hard. I had to go into S's office and shut the door. I thought i was going to die. I get embarrassed way too easily.

I'm going to go crawl under my desk now.

What a day already...

2008-09-30T09:06:00.001-05:00

As many of you might have heard on the radio this morning, there was a bad accident on I-65 North. I pulled up on the accident not long after it had happened as medical personnel were arriving. At first i couldn't see anything b/c of the truck in front of me, but everyone was trying to get in the left lane. As I sat, there was a man next to me on a harley. He was cussing up a storm b/c this car accident was making him late to wherever he was headed. He was acting like everyone was stopped simply b/c they felt like stopping. I really hope that man felt bad once he was able to pass the accident and see the reason he allowed himself to get so bent out of shape.

I also noticed a car in my rear view mirror that was coming up on the right shoulder. This person was so impatient that they moved from the back of traffic up to the front. Well, the emergency vehicles were coming to the accident on the right shoulder, so this inconsiderate impatient driver was blocking the way for a firetruck and some police cars. They had to go into the grass/ditch to keep from hitting this car. I almost wish they would have, or at least would have given him a ticket. It made me so mad.

Anyway, they had those of us close up to pull over on the left shoulder in the grass so that all of the ambulances could get in there and work. Total, there were 3 ambulances, 2 paramedics, 2 fire trucks, about 10 or more police cars, and they also had the vehicular homicide investigative unit on scene. As I sat, I watched everything going on, I watched a screaming child being loaded into the ambulance next to my car. It broke my heart. Then an elderely gentleman got loaded into another ambulance. He looked more scared than injured. They eventually started letting those of us in the grass go and get out of the way. As I was pulling back onto the road, I looked over to my right and saw the cars involved. An economy van had rearended an 18 wheeler. It looked like it hit at a high rate of speed b/c of the damage done to the van. There was also a huge piece of silver material covering the windshield. I'm guessing those were the 2 who perished in the accident. It appeared they went through the windshield. I hope to God that wasn't that screaming boy's parents. I couldn't see if there was anyone else in the van. There was a lot of debris on the ground that had come out of the back of the van and all of the medical personnel were surrounding this van. I couldn't see if another vehicle hit them.

So that is how my day started. I prayed for those involved, and I hope that the ones who were lucky enough to survive would be ok.

My point is this, as you all already know. You never know when your time will come to leave this earth. That very well could have been me this morning, but I had to stop and get gas. I'm not saying that if I hadn't gotten gas, I would have been in that accident. I'm just saying that while I was irritated that I was running late b/c i had to stop for gas, that could have been God's way of protecting me.

I just wanted to say that no matter when my time comes, I just want you all to know that you are all very important to me, and I love you all. :-) I hope you all have a great day.

It's almost time!

2008-09-29T12:47:00.000-05:00

So i went by the townhouse last thursday w/ Jackie (ashley's mom). she noticed that there was a painter inside so we were able to walk through and see the work they had done. the paint looked great! he also told me i was getting all new everything (except appliances of course). he also told me they were installing ceiling fans in both bedrooms. that's really cool b/c those light fixtures they had were waaaay out of date. so that makes me happy. i did notice that the bathroom upstairs was the wrong color. the painter assured me they would paint it the right color the next day. let's pray that they do!

i'm really starting to stress about this moving thing. i feel like i'm not going to have enough man-power to move everything. i've got most everything in storage, but i do have a couple of things still at A & D's house i.e. washer, dryer, tv, chest-o-drawers, clothes, etc. i hope nobody else backs out of helping b/c if they do, i don't know what i'll do.

as some of you know, i've been attending church of the highlands. i really really love it. not only are the church services great, but i started a LIFE group yesterday w/ my friend tammy. it's a ladies bible study group, and we meet on sundays after the service. yesterday was my first time, so i missed the first couple of meetings. but i got so much out of going yesterday. i'm so excited about the next 10 or so weeks of this series. i feel like it's going to be really beneficial for me.

this is going to be an extremely busy week for me, so i must get back to work. please pray that everything goes smoothly this week and that i won't stress! i'm not good w/ stress.

It's a Monday...

2008-09-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

So today's been a pretty good day. I guess i can't complain. But I am feeling a little discouraged.

Amanda and I went by the townhouse yesterday. The door was locked so we couldn't go inside, but from the looks of things through the window...they haven't started any of the repairs or painting yet. AND I MOVE IN NEXT WEEK! So while I'm still trying to trust God w/ the situation, I can't help but get a little worried. I know they can get guys in there and turn a place around in just a few days, but don't you think they're kind of pushing the envelope a little bit? I really don't want to be that tenant, but if I have to be, I will be. I haven't even called about having my utilities put in my name b/c i'm afraid things won't be ready. How far in advance should you call about those things?

Ok, I must get back to work now. I'll be back later.

YAY!

2008-09-18T14:52:00.000-05:00

I finally went and signed my lease yesterday! I am so beyond excited. I went and bought my bedding today and it's so pretty! kudos to Bed, Bath, & Beyond for their sales they are having right now. I got a 22 pc bedding set that included a comforter, blanket, 2 sets of sheets, 4 shams, 3 decorative pillows, a bed skirt, and 2 white terry cloth robes. Amanda picked it out. She has such good taste! With my 20% off coupon it was only $175. I know it's rude to talk money, but you just can't beat that deal! Can you tell I'm excited? I'm kind of getting on my own nerves a little bit, lol. But that's ok. I don't care. Thank you to those of you who have been praying for this situation. There is still 2 wks to go, so please continue praying that they'll do everything they said they'd do.

Have a great day!

Grrrrr! :-(

2008-09-17T09:45:00.001-05:00

So the apartment lady called me yesterday and said that she was sick so could i please come today instead to sign my lease. I know that God's timing is perfect, but I can't help but get just a little discouraged. Everything has run so smoothly up until this little speed bump. I hope this isn't God's way of telling me i shouldn't move in here. i have had no doubts or reservations about moving into this place, so i'm hoping this is just God's way of telling me to wait just a little bit longer. I've already paid my deposit, and i already gave them the paint (the colors i wanted) to paint the walls with. Please just pray that they fix everything they said they would and that their paint job is superb! whoever painted the place before did a horrible job. i'm hoping it was the resident and not the property owner.

It's a beautiful day!

2008-09-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

don't you just love the fall weather? i sure do! it puts me in the best mood. the air is clear! the sun is shining! birds are singing!! ok....sorry....i'm done. anyway, so i go sign my lease today on my new place. please pray that they are fixing everything they said they would before i move in. i would for the ugly side of allison to be seen by these nice people. apparently the people who lived there before me were 3 mos past due on their rent and they moved out in the middle of the night not hesitating to trash the place before they left. so there were several things i wanted fixed and they seemed really happy to oblige. so we'll see! i'll keep you posted!

Good news today!

2008-09-11T15:06:00.001-05:00

Today has been an emotional roller coaster of a day. I got my townhouse! I go and sign the lease today...yes, i am renting. not buying. but i like it better that way. if something needs to be repaired or replaced, someone else is responsible for fixing it. so i am very excited about getting my own place. at the same time, i will miss living w/ Amanda, David, and the kids, even though we have our spats sometimes. I'll enjoy sleeping late on Saturdays, but then once I'm up...then what do i do? so it makes me a little sad at the same time. i told them i could move in Oct. 1. if they have everything finished before then, I'll move in earlier. anybody want to help me move??? LOL!

i haven't been out on my own, all by myself, in several years. so I'm very excited. I'm in a much better place now than i was then in every aspect of my life. so i know I'll be just fine. an added bonus, my mom lives down the street and Ashley Byram's mom is my neighbor! so I'm not really all that alone. me and skootie pootie out on our own. Amanda calls me "the bird that won't leave the nest". well, i guess I'm finally spreading my wings and leaving the nest. i feel like that dixie chicks song "Wide Open Spaces". that should be my theme song. (you'll have to forgive my lack of capitalization sometimes). i've got this nervousness in my stomach. it makes me want to barf sometimes, lol. i don't know why i'm being this way. maybe i'm just really excited? who knows. but i'm excited to see what my future holds. :-)

It's been a while...

2008-09-04T16:12:00.000-05:00

I know it has been a long while since i have blogged, but to be honest, i really haven't had that much to blog about. plus, it's been CRAZY busy here at work, so i haven't had much free time. so i thought that while i had a few minutes, i would write a little something. forgive me if it's not that interesting.

it's been such a crazy week so i'm sitting here at my desk enjoying the peace and quiet. this is the first time this week that i've been able to just sit here and not be bothered. i know i seem to talk a lot about how bored i am at work. please don't think that i do nothing at my job. things can get so crazy here, and if you were to ask my boss, he would tell you that "allison runs this club" or "i'd be lost if she wasn't my assistant". please don't think i'm tooting my own horn here, b/c i'm definitely not. i'm just trying to give you an idea of what i do here.

i am the administrative assitant here. i have 3 managers that i report to directly (one being our GM-we'll call him "C"), and then 4 other department heads that i do stuff for as well. i handle all of the accounts receivable, i help "A" out w/ event planning, and "S" with the accounts payable. every spring/summer, i handle everything for our swim team except for the actual hiring of our swim coaches. those few months are usually my busiest time of the year.

i also do C's personal business. as i type, i am also making travel plans for him next week. i have to book rental cars, plane trips, train trips, restaurant reservations, etc. working here is definitely a learning experience for me.

i must get back to work for now. i started this blog last week and just now finished it. maybe i'll write more later.

Such a "blah" day...

2008-08-26T11:45:00.000-05:00

So i really just cannot get motivated to do any work today. I did a lot of work earlier this morning, but i just ate lunch so i'm ready to nappy down. the weather is perfect for it!

i'm so ready for the weekend. after the last couple of weeks, lounging and watching football is going to be very easy for me to do. i won't feel guilty about being unproductive one bit. i'm housesitting for my dad and judi this weekend so they can go out of town. i always enjoy doing that b/c i can take advantage of the peace & quiet and catch up on my sleep. for those of you who don't know me, i LOVE my sleep. you give me a concrete surface or a nice comfy bed...it doesn't matter...i can sleep anywhere!

Goodness, I'm Bored!

A penny saved is a lesson learned...

2008-08-25T14:11:00.000-05:00

as i sit here at work on this yucky, rainy monday, i've begun to ponder everything that has happened in my life the last week or so.

6 months ago, i sort of began the process of trying to buy a house/townhouse. i never got past the pre-qualification process. don't get me wrong...i got pre-qualified, but like my lovely sister, i don't do well w/ change. i got cold feet and never moved forward. well, then, amanda and david had to go and put their house on the market a few weeks ago thus pushing me along in the moving out process. so a few weeks ago, i started working w/ carole lowe (courtney lowe's mom). through this whole process, she's been very patient w/ my indecisiveness and lack of understanding. she took my mom and me to look at several townhomes. i narrowed my selections down to 4 favorites. we started working the numbers, of course, the first 3 were just out of my price range. so i began to wonder if God was closing doors in the purchasing process. i realize that purchasing a home is a very tedious process, but i never knew just how tedious. then an opportunity presented itself to me, and i began to wonder if maybe it was meant for me to buy right now after all. it is called the "AmeriDream Program". it's where you get the seller to pay 3% closing and 3% down payment a.k.a. 100% financing.

mrs. lowe got me incontact w/ a man who was very helpful and very nice. he explained other things to me that i didn't understand. so i sent him all of my information and got the ball rolling. well, i knew that the government was going to do away w/ this process but i also knew i had until Oct 1 to make a decision and close on a house. plenty of time, right? no problem! well, we then found out that they moved up the date and it was now Aug 29. BIG PROBLEM! i know that nothing is impossible w/ God, but even i knew that finding a house, making and offer, closing, paperwork, etc. was pretty close to impossible to do in 7 days. i've been praying throughout this whole process, but i began praying a whole lot more. i began to feel like maybe it wasn't meant for me to buy right now. but i knew that if i didn't go for it now, i might not get the opportunity again.

well, in talking to my mom, i realized that if God wants me in a house, He will present an opportunity for me in the future. also, in my own house, i don't have the luxury of a husband or another man to fix things for me if something breaks, floods, catches on fire, etc. it's all me....well, i know david would help but he has his own family to take care of. anyway, so i've decided, at this time, not to buy a house. i feel it's the best decision for me right now. i feel like a major burden has been lifted from me. i also am a lot more educated about the process than i was so i know what to expect in the future.

so i am hoping the apartment that i LOVE in vestavia will come available soon. the desire of my heart is to live there, but it's not my will that matters. i will begin looking at other places and hope A & D don't sell their house before i find a place...otherwise i'm homeless!

enjoy the rest of this rainy day!

loves!

Happy Hump Day!

2008-08-20T16:15:00.001-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while and it's b/c i don't really know what to write about. my life just really isn't all that interesting. lol!

we had an awesome time in georgia visiting our family over the weekend. i really do love going there. it's nice to get away for a few days...and i am so blessed to have the extended family that i have. i always miss them when i have to leave. maybe i'll move to georgia....hhmmmm...

anyway, this week has been really busy at work. it's budget time. that means every department is rushing to get their budgets for next year turned in so they can be approved by 'the powers that be'. as you can imagine, it's not a very fun time at the office. we all can get kind of cranky. our poor manager...he works in an office full of women (except nathan) and so when we all get cranky, he just goes in his office and shuts the door.

for those of you that don't know, i work at a country club. i'm about to start my 7th year and i really enjoy it. it's the most beautiful place to work, like anyone else, i have my days where i just want to pack up my stuff and leave and never come back. everyone tells me that i should go and find a job that will pay me what i deserve for all the work i do. but i must say that, for the most part, i like working here. i have 2 ladies that i work with on a full time basis. Amberely and Susan. I get a long great w/ both of them. how many people can say that they get along with everyone they work with? of course, we're women and we get annoyed w/ each other sometimes...but those times are few and far between. susan is the head accountant and amberely is the events planner & membership director. i am the assistant to both of them, and to our club manager. i don't think there's anyting i don't do in this office. i am usually kept pretty busy most of the time. (except right now when it's the end of the day and i've run out of steam).

i'm ready to go home and watch "definitley, maybe" with ryan reynolds. i hope it's a good movie b/c i love him. and i hope it rains all weekend like they are saying. amanda and i love weekends like that b/c we watch all of the 'lord of the rings' movies. so i'm sure we'll have a marathon.

ok, so i've run out of pointless ramblings. maybe i'll write more later.

loves!

Bare with me...

2008-08-15T10:45:00.000-05:00

i'm sitting at my desk eating my lunch (yes, it's only 10:45) and i was thinking what i could write on my blog today. you all will have to bare with me as i am learning about this whole blog thing...especially if i write something so totally stupid.

kudos! to amanda for setting up my page. it's so cute! i can fix up myspace pages all day long, but this blogspot stuff is confusing!

so we are going to georgia today to visit relatives. there is a possibility that we will be seeing relatives that we haven't seen in quite some time. i'm sure i'll get the "so are you married?" or "do you have any kids?" questions at least 10 times. i can't wait for that! seriously though...i'm very excited about this trip. we will be staying w/ our uncle ronnie and aunt susan in louisville, ga., so we will get to spend time w/ dad's side of the family. the reunion is w/ mom's side of the family in augusta. so we'll hopefully get to see everyone this weekend. i wish 2:00 would hurry up and get here. i'm so ready to go! i got to work at 7:20 this morning hoping to be productive and get everything done before i leave. can i just tell you that i've done pretty much nothing of importance since i got here! in case you are wondering, my boss is on vacation in NY this week with his family. so it's nice not having someone looking over my shoulder every now and then. i'm pretty sure i won't be playing tetris today though. i kind of got burnt out on it yesterday.

i've been praying a lot, and trying to decide if i want to buy a house, or just rent an apartment. there are so many pro's and con's to both. it's such a hard decision! my realtor has been sending me houses through email and so far, nothing has jumped out at me. don't get me wrong...there are a lot of really cute townhomes. but i know that if i'm going to buy something, it has to be absolutely perfect. well, today, she sent me one and i just fell in love with it...only it's probably out of my price range..NO DOUBT! so what is a girl to do? i must go ponder, and maybe even get some work done. i might blog again later.

So here goes...

2008-08-14T14:52:00.000-05:00

So, Amanda suggested I start a blog. I wasn't going to at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be a good idea. I'm not that good at expressing my thoughts and feelings unless I do it in writing. So I'll try this for a while and see how it goes.

Sometimes my ideas and opinions are not always shared by others, so if something I say happens to offend you, I am apologizing now. But please keep in mind, these are my thoughts, my ideas, and my feelings.

First off, I must apologize to my sister. She works so hard every single day at home...even harder since they decided to put their house on the market. I've been trying to keep my room clean in case someone calls to come see the house. I was up until 1 am Sunday night cleaning b/c I coudln't sleep. I did good for a couple of days. Well, this morning I didn't clean it up and of course someone calls to come see the house...NO DOUBT! So at this moment, she is cleaning my room for me. I promise Amanda, I'll do a better job of helping you out. I'm sitting at work right now wishing I could be home helping you b/c i'm bored out of my mind here.

I've got 'fall fever'. The weather is nice outside, the temperature isn't too hot, and I'm wishing I was anywhere but here. We're leaving for Georgia tomorrow to visit the relatives and I can't wait. I love visiting my family in Georgia. I don't get to do it nearly as much as I'd like to.

I really should be doing some work right now. I'm just not feeling the motivation. I think there's only so many times you can play tetris before your eyes start crossing.