Monday, May 16, 2011
The Bridal Registry
Ok, it is going on midnight here in The Allen's World...and yes - I have to get up & go to work tomorrow. But my head is still reeling from the last SIX AND ONE HALF hours so I just had to share. This afternoon when I got off work Brittni & I went to do her bridal registry. She asked me to go help her do it, and I thought it'd be fun. Now I would've been fine - just fine - with only going to Wally World. But several people suggested that we'd need to register at at least one other place besides Walmart, because evidently there are people out there that don't step foot in the evil Walmart domain. So we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond. And the lady there INSISTED that we register at least 250 items! It took forever. And we are the kind of people that it bothers...to click on a paper towel holder that costs $25! We were trying to be so careful not to over do it! The girl that was helping us was very bossy! She kept telling us we should choose items in a wide range of prices. Uh hello? Practical people here! Then, it was off to Walmart. It was much more fun & so much easier there to pick things in all kinds of price ranges. And guess what? NO PRESSURE! They just turned us loose with the scanner & said, bring it back when your done. No lists of items we had to check off. No high priced "suggestions". And we picked out a nice variety of things & got it done. When we got home though, we looked on her BB&B registry, and the lady there had insisted she pick at least one set of dishes...they didn't let us see the price. Well Brittni picked a nice, but plain set. It turned out it was $99. And the lady at BB&B set her up for TWELVE SETS!!! And a $200 platter, and a $150 serving bowl. That is over $1500!!! Needless to say, Britt logged right on & removed all those items! She could get 4 sets of dishes she REALLY liked at Walmart, for the price of the one that was ok at BB&B. Not to mention the fact that her & JJ don't need 4 (and certainly not 12) sets of dishes just yet! Anyway....that was kinda our night. I am so exhausted from being on my feet for so long after working all day. And, I didn't mention that David headed to his dad's first thing today, so we got up at 4:30 this morning. So it's time for me to hit the sack....til next time....me
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
In Memory of My Grandma.....
I have so much to say, but just haven't had the heart to say it. We lost my grandma last Thursday. April 28th. At around 5pm. Wednesday, my Aunt Bev called & told me she just wasn't doing good. Something told me I needed to go down there. But David didn't go to work until 11 that night. So you know what I did? I got him up & ready & out the door (he was SO sweet, he even dropped off the water bill for me & picked something up for himself to eat so I didn't have to cook!) and Brittni knew how bad she was, so she met me up by the interstate, and we headed to Fayetteville. Grandma was SO bad, she never knew we were there. They had begun to give her morphine, so she was sleeping & we didn't want to disturb her. But Britt & I got to visit with Bev, and keep her company. It was a somber visit. I just knew Grandma wouldn't be with us much longer. We left late (or early), probably around 2 am or so. I found out later that we barely made it out of Fayetteville before Grandma got worse, and restless again, and Bev called all the kids (my dad, Aunt Barbara & Rolland-Grandma's kids), and told them they needed to come. But she made it through the night. Since I didn't get to sleep until about 3:30 that morning, and had to be at work at 8, I was running on empty. But all that changed when I got a call at work from my dad. He NEVER calls me at work. He just wanted to let me know the hospice nurse had just left, and she said it wouldn't be much longer. He knew I had been there the night before, but also wanted me to know if I wanted to see her one more time, I had better get there. So I left work. My plan was to run by the house & let the dogs out & leave David a note telling him I'd gone to Grandma's. I thought I could be back in time to wake him up for work. But it didn't work out like that. Somehow he knew something was wrong & woke up. And when I started crying & told him what all was going on, he said, let me get my clothes on, I'm coming with you. I just have a feeling I need to go with you. And he did. It was a long heart wrenching afternoon. We were all there with her in the end. All her kids. And her grandkids, with the exception of Ryan. He was on the way back from Little Rock where he'd was trying to get into the Air Force, and he made it shortly after she passed away. Brittni & Jerimiah was there. There was visiting, catching up, and waiting. Quietly waiting. And right around 5:00 pm, my grandma took her last breath. To say that something shifted in my life is an understatement. My grandmother took with her a part of me. All the wonderful things about her I took for granted. Her love, patience, understanding. Her uncanny abililty to know when something wasn't right in my life. I wonder how things will ever be the same again? They won't. There will be no more Christmas Eve's spent at her house, with her passing out handmade quilts, and dishtowels, and potholders & neck warmers that she spent all year making. No more "auctions" to give away things she & Bev accumulated. No more 4th of July parties sitting out with her in her yard watching the neighbors fireworks display. Things will never be the same again, and I wonder if I will ever be. I've just lost my last grandparent.
Visitation was on Sunday. The funeral was Monday. It was a beautiful service. It was cold & rainy & a perfect reflection of my feelings. So many people came to pay their respects. On the way to the cemetary, David said, turn around and look at all the cars. It was amazing, and a true testament to how many lives my grandma impacted.
I've worried about my dad, and my aunt Bev too. She has devoted 100% of her life to taking care of Grandma for so long now, I imagine she doesn't know what to do with herself. My dad told me on the phone other night, I see all these commercials & things in the stores for Mother's day, I don't have a mother anymore. It broke my heart to hear him say that.
I went down to visit Bev last Saturday night-just to see for myself she is doing okay. My dad showed up to sign some papers & stayed for a couple hours. We talked and enjoyed ourselves and I felt a little better about how they are both doing.
And we are all okay, or at least getting there. I hope at some point in my life someone says to me, "You're a lot like your Grandma Purser was"...that'll be a compliment, and something I should strive for for the rest of my life....me
Visitation was on Sunday. The funeral was Monday. It was a beautiful service. It was cold & rainy & a perfect reflection of my feelings. So many people came to pay their respects. On the way to the cemetary, David said, turn around and look at all the cars. It was amazing, and a true testament to how many lives my grandma impacted.
I've worried about my dad, and my aunt Bev too. She has devoted 100% of her life to taking care of Grandma for so long now, I imagine she doesn't know what to do with herself. My dad told me on the phone other night, I see all these commercials & things in the stores for Mother's day, I don't have a mother anymore. It broke my heart to hear him say that.
I went down to visit Bev last Saturday night-just to see for myself she is doing okay. My dad showed up to sign some papers & stayed for a couple hours. We talked and enjoyed ourselves and I felt a little better about how they are both doing.
And we are all okay, or at least getting there. I hope at some point in my life someone says to me, "You're a lot like your Grandma Purser was"...that'll be a compliment, and something I should strive for for the rest of my life....me
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
I'm beginning to see a pattern here.....
So here it is Friday again and I haven't posted anything all week! So it's a Friday re-cap again. I have excuses, let me tell you! For starters, I went down & saw my Grandma & Aunt Bev last Saturday night. Bev had called me Friday afternoon & said Grandma thought she could eat some Mazzio's pizza & a salad, so Saturday when David left for work I headed to Mazzio's & got him & grandma a pizza & went to Fayetteville. She didn't know I was coming, & Bev had already fed her since it WAS after 8 when I got there. But she was SO glad to see me & I am SO glad I made the time & went for a visit.
Eddy, Des & Hunter came up Monday night & the boys cooked the duck they killed this past season. Hunter man is as cute as ever but that baby doesn't call me anything. All he says is Pa pa, pa pa, pa pa! I told David I was starting to get a little jealous. I know he associates me with David because Britt & Des brought him up to my work last Friday & as soon as he saw me he started looking around saying pa pa? pa pa? Too cute! Anyway the kids stayed for dinner & when they left David said...that was really enjoyable, wasn't it? It was so nice.
My yard sale is ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! And I am ready you ask? Of course not! I have about 10 things laid out on the bed in the guest room that needs to be priced. If I don't get it in gear, all I'm going to have is what I picked up from my mom's. And that won't be good. I have full intentions of doing some spring cleaning & getting rid of a bunch of stuff I don't use. All the money I make will be put towards Brittni's wedding, so the more stuff I have, the more money I'll be able to put on her dress.
Speaking of Brittni, she talked me in to going on that diet with her. I am proud to say that as of this morning I have lost 39 lbs! I am one pound away from losing 40 pounds! I would love to be able to tell you how easy it is, but that's just not true, although I have only had about 3 days where I really really wanted to cheat & felt like I was starving.
If you want to keep up with Brittni & HER amazing weight loss, you can visit her blog at http://brittnisgoingdown.blogspot.com. It's just something she created to keep up with her days & weight loss on the HCG diet. I am SO proud of her. She has lost a LOT of weight, and she is keeping it off. She has kinda stalled out right now, but after sixty pounds or so, I would think that's to be expected.
We don't have big plans for Easter this year. Eddy & his little family are going to Des's grandma's or something. Poor Brittni has to work from 7am - 7pm. And of course David will just be getting home from a 12 hour shift. I am kinda sad because I remember all the Easter's in the past, and the traditions that go with them, like going to church, Easter lunch, coloring & hunting Easter eggs. But, if David can get a little sleep, we may go down to his mom's & have Easter dinner with her & Ben. We'll just have to wait & see. Also, I still haven't made Hunter his Easter Basket! But since I won't be able to see him til next week, I have a plan. If I wait to buy stuff for it until Monday, ALL the Easter candy will be on sale & I can get TWICE AS MUCH! HA!
Anyway, it's about time for David to get home, and about time for me to head out to work. So...til next time...me
p.s. Happy Easter ya'll! Remember, Christ is Risen & He is our King!
Eddy, Des & Hunter came up Monday night & the boys cooked the duck they killed this past season. Hunter man is as cute as ever but that baby doesn't call me anything. All he says is Pa pa, pa pa, pa pa! I told David I was starting to get a little jealous. I know he associates me with David because Britt & Des brought him up to my work last Friday & as soon as he saw me he started looking around saying pa pa? pa pa? Too cute! Anyway the kids stayed for dinner & when they left David said...that was really enjoyable, wasn't it? It was so nice.
My yard sale is ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! And I am ready you ask? Of course not! I have about 10 things laid out on the bed in the guest room that needs to be priced. If I don't get it in gear, all I'm going to have is what I picked up from my mom's. And that won't be good. I have full intentions of doing some spring cleaning & getting rid of a bunch of stuff I don't use. All the money I make will be put towards Brittni's wedding, so the more stuff I have, the more money I'll be able to put on her dress.
Speaking of Brittni, she talked me in to going on that diet with her. I am proud to say that as of this morning I have lost 39 lbs! I am one pound away from losing 40 pounds! I would love to be able to tell you how easy it is, but that's just not true, although I have only had about 3 days where I really really wanted to cheat & felt like I was starving.
If you want to keep up with Brittni & HER amazing weight loss, you can visit her blog at http://brittnisgoingdown.blogspot.com. It's just something she created to keep up with her days & weight loss on the HCG diet. I am SO proud of her. She has lost a LOT of weight, and she is keeping it off. She has kinda stalled out right now, but after sixty pounds or so, I would think that's to be expected.
We don't have big plans for Easter this year. Eddy & his little family are going to Des's grandma's or something. Poor Brittni has to work from 7am - 7pm. And of course David will just be getting home from a 12 hour shift. I am kinda sad because I remember all the Easter's in the past, and the traditions that go with them, like going to church, Easter lunch, coloring & hunting Easter eggs. But, if David can get a little sleep, we may go down to his mom's & have Easter dinner with her & Ben. We'll just have to wait & see. Also, I still haven't made Hunter his Easter Basket! But since I won't be able to see him til next week, I have a plan. If I wait to buy stuff for it until Monday, ALL the Easter candy will be on sale & I can get TWICE AS MUCH! HA!
Anyway, it's about time for David to get home, and about time for me to head out to work. So...til next time...me
p.s. Happy Easter ya'll! Remember, Christ is Risen & He is our King!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Finally Friday
It is finally Friday again - yay! This week has actually gone by pretty fast. Work has been crazy. I'm on a different project than sales right now & it is kicking my butt. It's been a long long time since the days flew by like they have this past week. But what is that saying? Idle hands are the devil's workshop? So, I'm thankful to be doing something that is keeping me busy and the calls I am making are GOOD calls. Telling our dealers about a new & improved program coming at the end of this month. They are already signed up in our program, so my job is to tell them about the changes, and KEEP them in. It's still "sales" just with a different spin on it. David's eye surgery went well. They stuck SIX NEEDLES in his eyelid! The only bad news? Last night he realized he has more eyelashes growing in-and that is bad. They said he might have to come back & do it again, I was hoping not, but it looks like he's gonna have to have another one. (This all is because of a horrible wreck he had back at Easter in 1989...the technology back then wasn't nearly as good as it is now, and the plastic surgeon that fixed him up actually kind of messed him up instead). They sent my grandma home on hospice Monday. I talked to my Aunt Bev for a little bit last night & she just is not doing very good. She's really confused about some things, and she will wake my poor aunt up at 3 am to tell her she wants mashed potatoes & gravy. Then she can't eat it after she fixes it for her. My aunt said her favorite "snack" right now is ranch dressing. On what you ask? Nothing! Just ranch dressing! Please pray for both my grandma, and my aunt right now as they go through this. I may have said this before, but I will say it again, God has a special place in heaven for people like my aunt Bev. I think people forget (especially family members & me included) how much stress & pressure is involved being a caretaker for someone you love. The wedding plans have kinda stalled this week. I have a friend that is doing the layout for the invitations, but she needs me & Brittni to find a time to come to her house one evening & just pick everything out so we can get it done. The problem? Finding time to do that with work, Brittni's school, David's schedule...you know....life. Desiree is trying to get a doctors appointment. David came home yesterday & said Eddy called him at 4:30 in the morning (they both work nights still), and said he thought they were having twins! David wasn't sure WHY he thought that, but when I talked to Des she said they were talking about her hormones doubling...and somewhere in there Eddy thought that meant "double babies"! Ha! We had a good laugh over that. I have to remember that when Des was pregnant with Hunter, Eddy wasn't here. He was stationed away from here in the Army. He didn't get to be with his wife & experience all the changes as she got farther along! Des lived with us then. He was away. He has NO idea what he's in for. Bam is testing my patience lately. The last 2 nights he has chewed the cord to our bedroom fan in half!!! While it's plugged in! Yesterday morning David said, I bet he won't do that again, he probably got shocked! Um, he was wrong. I woke up at 3 this morning because something wasn't "right"...it was too quiet and I thought the storm must've knocked out the electric. Nope, BAM had pulled the cord out of the outlet again & chewed in all up! I am SO mad at him! I spanked him & told him no & showed him what he did wrong. But - he is Bam, so I don't know that it helped!
Well, that's about it for now. Ya'll have a good weekend....me
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Dirty Boy
I took Hunter to see my mom on Saturday night. He was fussy on the way out there (it's over an hours drive) so I gave him some chocolate marshmellow eggs to keep him happy. Needless to say, he needed a bath the second I got him out of the truck. I love that baby boy.
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