My favorite comedian in the whole world….Brian Regan!!!!….is coming to Albuquerque this weekend.  Justin and I are going to the Route 66 Casino on Saturday night to see Brian Regan in person.  After all those years of listening to him tell me his gut-busting jokes through my car cd player, I finally get to here them live.  I can’t wait!  I will tell you just how good it is on Sunday!

More big news…..I finally bought a bike!  I had to sell my bike before I came to New Mexico because it was a hard thing to move across country.  It was kind of a good thing though because it was a leisure bike and I’ve been wanting a road bike.  For the past month, I’ve been looking at road bikes trying to find the best deal.  It’s hard when you don’t make much money and road bikes are as expensive as they are.  I looked around everywhere to find the best price for a decent bike and I finally found one.  It’s a Scott Speedster s60.  I got it at a little bike store up the street which made me feel better because they give more personal attention to the people who buy their bikes.  Already I’ve ridden a total of about 55 miles and it’s awesome!!  It’s one of the best buys I’ve made in a long time.  Here’s a picture of it…..

I’m hoping now I can sign up for a small triathlon.  I will keep you posted!

I just realized that I hadn’t written anything in a while, and I really wanted to share my wonderful Halloween experience.  Halloween has never really been my favorite holiday.  After middle school, I never really did anything for Halloween.  As a christian, Halloween always made me a little uneasy, too, but it seems as though a lot of churches provide some kind of festival or party to keep people out of too much trouble.

So, this year I actually had a party to go to…a COSTUME party!  I was so excited.  I always want to dress up, but never have anywhere to go.  I mean seriously..I can’t be walking up to doors as a 22-year old fairy asking for candy.  This year was my chance to dress up for real.  Justin and I got on the costume ideas right away in mid September.  We went to this Halloween store called Spirit and I quickly discovered that if I was going to keep any dignity then I would not be able to buy a pre-made costume for females.  Have you seen those things???  The brand of all the costumes is literally “Leg Avenue”.  You following me here?  I preferred to go to my Halloween party without having dollar bills shoved into my bra.

Therefore, the quest for the perfect homemade costume began.  Justin and I thought of everything, but it just never seemed to be “original” enough.  We finally settled on being “Day and Night” and began the search for the  perfect accessories.  It wasn’t going well and we found ourselves still googling “couple costumes” everyday, until….we found a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.  PERFECT!  How much fun is that?  Well, we thought it was pretty fun, so for the entire month of October we set out to buy the fabric, felt, posterboard, and stuffing to make the costumes.  After hours of labor and a little help from Mrs. Roman, we finished.

We started the night out by going to Justin’s sister’s house for chile and pictures of the kids. 

Then we went to our church’s “Fall Festival”.  This was definitely the highlight of the night.  We arrive, as maybe one of the 5 people out of a couple hundred dressed up.  We’re wearing huge potato costumes and white cartoon hands.  All of a sudden, we are going to get some bottles of water when a crowd of children run up to us wanting to shake our hands, give us high fives, talk to us, and then run away with a sheepish smile.  It was literally out of a Disney Commercial.  It felt like Calvary had paid us to be the cartoon character entertainment for the night.  Not exactly what we were going for, but it ended up being a blast.

After staying at the Fall Festival for a while, we went and picked up our friend Miguel and headed to the Med School Costume Party.  Picture 200 people crammed into a 2 bedroom house.  Crowded, yet oh-so-much fun.  We stayed there for the rest of the night.

All in all, one of the best Halloween’s ever.

p.s. – I also got to dress up for school.  Best work day ever.  The office staff and I all dressed up like 101 dalmations and Leslie, our secretary was our Cruella.  Dun, dun, dun.  She pulled it off very well.  I mean, look at that hair!

I officially attended my first college football game in New Mexico last weekend.  The UNM Lobo’s were playing the Wyoming Cowboys.  This entire experience was an all around confusion in the world of college football for me.  First of all, I’m used to Clemson football games and USC football games.  Both teams are in the ACC and the SEC making for incredibly BIG, action-packed, talent-filled games.  I attended Clemson University so I was used to going to those football games on Saturdays and being one of almost 90,000 people in a square mile.  However if you know me, I am actually a USC football fan.  I know, most people hate me for my inconsistent loyalties, but whatever.

So, now I am trying to learn to root for UNM, a small football team in the Mountain West Conference…..the what?  I’m sorry.  There are conferences other than the SEC and ACC??  huh?

Those were my first thoughts.  I’m not sure I ever really understood that all those smaller teams west of the Miss. had their own little conference.  Anyways, it was all a new experience for me.

So, my second thought was, what’s a Lobo and how do I cheer for something I have no clue what it is?  That’s when I looked it up…..According to Wikipedia (my favorite, unreliable source of information) a Lobo is a comic-book character that was “intended to be an over-the-top parody of Marvel Comics superhero Wolverine”.

So, it’s a wolf!  Not only a wolf, but a comic-book wolf.  That’s pretty cool.  I can get used to that. And not only is it a wolf, but UNM’s colors are red and black!  Although there is nothing that will ever match the beautiful colors of garnet and black (go gamecocks!) red and black will definitely suffice for a couple of years.  I was starting to love the Lobos already.

Saturday night at 7, Justin and I went to the game.  It was cold, raining the whole time, and a complete slaughter.  We would’ve been absolutely miserable if it hadn’t been for the hot chicken fingers, fries, and m&ms we were eating.  But let’s be honest, who has ever been to a football game where the weather was clear, 70 degrees, and slightly breezy.  It just wouldn’t be college football without some bad weather.

All in all, we had a blast!  Still can’t say I’m a Lobo fan, but atleast I get to bust out my USC game-attire.

So, I’m joining a bowling league for teachers this week.  Yes, it may sound like the lamest thing ever, but I assure you it is way cooler than you may think .  Every Thursday a bunch of teachers in ABQ get together to compete in teams of 3 at bowling.  I’ve been hearing a lot about it the past couple of weeks, but didn’t really want to have to pay for anything more….until last week when a couple of teachers who I really like at Chelwood said they needed a third member for their bowling team.  I’m in!!!  So after much excitement over my new commitment to fun, I quickly realized that this could possibly be incredibly mortifying.  You see, ever since I can remember I have bowled “granny style”.  You know…it’s where you hold the ball with both hands, bend over and swing it between your legs and slowly roll it in the general direction of the pins.  I guess I could’ve learned how to bowl like an adult a long time ago, but this granny thing has actually been working for me.

So, in order to not make a fool out of myself on Thursday, I convinced Justin to go bowling with me this past Saturday night to practice my “skills”.  We actually went to the same exact bowling alley where the teacher’s league meets.  We ended up bowling for about an hour and a half (3 games) and this is what happened……

my infamous granny style

the “cool” way to bowl, i guess

So I tried it the cool way, and didn’t do so well

final score after 3 games.  I beat him by almost 100 points!!!  I think I’ll stick with “granny”.

even though I kicked his tail, we still had fun!

and at least I got some good bowling workouts in too!

So, after our fun little bowling escapade, I decided to take my chances on the granny style.  Even if I look ridiculous and they all make fun of me, at least I will maybe get some strikes in there to redeem myself!!!

Updates to come

if you didn’t know this already, plans is my middle name.  i like to plan everything.  my closest friends can attest to this.  everytime my mom and i go on a trip, i literally write a minute by minute itenerary just so we don’t miss anything.  when i’m at school teaching, i usually spend half of my planning period writing out the rest of my day minute by minute.  it’s kind of pathetic. and if i do this for my day to day plans, you can only imagine how much i’ve planned out my entire life.  but anyways, i’ve been going to this women’s bible study at calvary and last night we got on the topic of not making long range plans for your life and trusting that God has a plan that’s incredibly way cooler than any plan you could come up with on your own.  i used to have a good friend tell me all the time that i planned too much and it was going to bite me in the hiny one day, and it did.  and last night it just hit me how true it is that God literally laughs out loud when we start making plans for our life, because he could throw us for a loop at any time.  a year ago i would have NEVER thought i would be in albuquerque, nm right now and i’m guessing that means that in a year from now i may not be where i’m planning on being.  but it’s been refreshing to see that it’s completely OK.  if i’m not exactly where i think i should be at exactly the moment i think i should be there, i’ll probably be just fine.

so this may be boring to some of you, but it was just on my mind after last night, and i thought i’d share.  Ok, talk to ya later!

p.s. – i realize i wrote in lower case for this whole blog, but i’ve had an exhausting day and i just didn’t feel like holding shift down.  sorry if it bugs the crap out of some of you.

I feel like I haven’t written anything in a long time, which is weird because there has actually been a lot going on.  First of all, I finally got a consistent job!  A lot of you know I’ve been subbing in Albuquerque, but sometimes that can be a little scary because you never know if you’ll actually have a job everyday.  So, a job opened up at a really good school in a good part of town for me to be an automatic sub.  That means that every day I will show up at that school regardless of whether they need a sub or not and they will put me somewhere so that I can sub for a class or just help out a teacher.  It’s a really great deal because I get to know the school, staff, students, and I have a consistent job.

Secondly, my mom just came in town for about 5 days, which was AWESOME.  It was so nice to have a familiar face, especially family around.  I got to take three days off of work (ok, I took 4) and we pretty much did everything I want to do in Albuquerque that I never have time or money to do (i.e. shopping, Old Town, grocery shopping haha, hiking, and casino).  Speaking of the casino, I just want everyone to know that my mother will officially be moving to Vegas pretty soon and taking over.  That woman is stinkin’ awesome at gambling.  Haha, maybe not a character trait to brag about, but we sure did have fun.  Quote from Sat. night at the casino “Allison, this is fun!  <whisper> Do you think they’re open on Sunday?”  HAHAHA.  It was too funny.

So, we went a couple of times while she was here and we lost some, then won some, then broke even.  It was up and down the whole time.  But last night mom, Justin, and I went together and all played Roulette at the same table.  We all won around $50!!!  Not too shabby for the last night in town.

Also, while my mom was here, I decided to do my spontaneous hair change again.  A lot of you may remember I cut my hair short last summer.  I HATED it because the cut was just bad and I immediately started growing it out which was even worse because it was in that awkward stage for about a year.  So, it was finally starting to get long again and I decided to cut it again.  Aaah!!  I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to get my hair short just one time where I actually liked it.  I walked into the salon, sat down, and this 40/50-something year old man covered in tattoos with crazy hair walks up to me.  “Allison?  I’m Dave, I’ll be cutting your hair today”.  Aah, I’ve never had a guy cut my hair before and definitely not one covered in tattoos.  I was a little nervous, but let’s be honest…people that age with tattoos working in a nice salon are usually actually pretty good.  So, I got back to his station and turns out……..the man lived in SC for TWELVE years!!!   Are you kidding me?  How perfect is that?  He lived in Irmo and Myrtle Beach, and we ended up talking about the good ol’ south the whole time.  It was so much fun and I actually loved my hair when he was done.  My mom got pictures of the whole thing, so I’ll post them when she emails them to me.

p.s. – Dave is awesome and if you live in Albuquerque, you should go to him!

It feels like I’m finally starting to get comfortable here.  If anyone else wants to visit let me know!!

It’s Miss Grogan, dad gummit!!!   Haha, ok….I had my first job today as a substitute in Albuquerque.  Apparently one of the 1st grade teachers at Emerson El. decided he no longer wanted to work there and quit his job during the third week of the school year.  Now, the automatic sub has taken over his class because she is bilingual and I have taken over the automatic sub’s job for the week (meaning I’m in a different room everyday at the same school).

I was oh-so-excited about having my first paying job, but a little nervous because the assignment didn’t tell me what grade or what teacher I would be subbing for.  It only said “vacant”.  So, I walk in there almost positive that it’s going to be 4th or 5th grade (mainly because I was HOPING it would be 4th or 5th).  The lady at the front desk says “ok, you’ll be subbing for Mrs S today and she is in room yada yada.  Here’s the key”.  I’m like OK and I start to leave when I realize I didn’t know what grade I was teaching.  So I turn around and ask…..”oh, you’ll be with first grade”…SSSSSKKKKKIIIIRRRRT.  what?

Let me explain.  I absolutely love kids.  I mean, I guess you kind of have to in order to be a teacher.  But I am in no way shape or form the “nurturing” kind of teacher, which is required for ages 8 and under.  This is why at Clemson they let you major in Early Childhood Education (K-3) or Elementary Education (2-6), and this is why I chose Elementary Education.  I just don’t have much patience for the younger students who haven’t learned all of the classroom management routines, still need a lot of babysitting, and are very needy.  It doesn’t mesh well with my personality.  Gimme a classroom full of 30 hormonal 5th graders and I’m good to go.  Gimme a classroom full of 20 tiny, “innocent” kindergarteners and I may not last the day.

So, although I was so very thankful to have a paying job today, I am also so very thankful that tomorrow I will be with a new class and hopefully with a new age.

I’m tired.

I don’t know how many of you keep up with long-distance running, but there’s a guy named Ryan Hall who is running the men’s marathon in the olympics for the USA as I’m typing.  He currently holds the North American record for the half marathon when he ran a 59:43 half in Houston, TX on January 14, 2007.  He also has a PR of 2:06:17 for the full marathon when he ran in London in 2008 (that’s 4:49/mile!!!).  Needless to say this guy is an amazing athlete.  But that’s not my favorite part about him.

Justin was looking up videos of Ryan Hall a couple of months ago after he saw him in Boston at the Boston Marathon, and he came across this video.

http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/10/video-of-ryan-hall-training-run-on-godtubecom/

Apparently he is a very outspoken Christ-follower and he’s been using his success as a runner to share his faith and the story/hope of Christ with everyone who will listen.  It’s pretty amazing to see someone as successful and popular as he is publicly acknowledging the power of Christ in his life. I think it can get hard for all of us to solely give glory to God when we are really good at something, and it takes a truly grounded person in the Word to do that.  So, I was just really encouraged to hear that one of the runners I really look up to as an athlete is also someone I can look up to as a brother in Christ.

Anyways, he is running in the Olympic Marathon right now and I think everyone should turn there and cheer him on.  Go USA!!

I’m so bored!  Justin has been in school now for about 3 weeks.  I’m supposed to be substituting in the elementary schools, but school just started last week and apparently not too many teachers take days off the first few weeks of school.  Weird, huh?  So, even though I technically have a job, I have yet to start working and that makes me feel like the laziest, bored out-of-my-mind person in the world.  So, to keep myself busy, I’ve started a new hobby.  Furniture painting!!

It all started when Justin was telling me about this cool idea he had to build himself a stand to put his computer on while he was doing work in his chair.  I knew he didn’t have time to actually go out and make something like that, and since I don’t have a life I decided to take on the project by myself.  So, I went out, bought the wood and became Allison the Carpenter for the day.  It wouldn’t have felt like a true creation by a female if I had just bolted some pieces of wood together, so I decided to paint it! 

Ok, so not the GREATEST thing in the world, but I was addicted!  Hmm….I wonder what else I can paint??  Apparently it can be dangerous not having a job or any friends.  What was once classy wood furniture becomes a playgroud for the crazy girl with a paint brush.

After a few days, though, my need to take a paint-saturated sponge to something had faded….until last weekend.  I had been wanting a desk for a while now, but seeing as how I haven’t been working since I got here, I didn’t really have the money to buy one.  And since, I have no money I decided to go shopping this weekend at Goodwill.  Makes sense, right?  Well, lo and behold, I walk to the back of the store and there is a beautiful desk made out of solid wood just waiting for me to take it home.  Most of the desks in there were priced at around $40, but this one didn’t have a tag on it.  So, I track down the manager and ask her what the price is.  Putting on a desperate face, she looks at me (I think she felt sorry for me), and she prices it at $20….SOLD!!!

Now, I have the desk and it’s wonderful…but let’s be honest.  Wouldn’t it be even MORE wonderful if it was painted like a frickin’ circus?  Of course it would!!

So, what do you think I did yesterday for 5.5 hours?  That’s right, painted my nice lil’ wood desk so that it is bright enough to blind…well, a blind man.  what??  ok, moving on.  Here it is…

Top/Front

Top/Back

Inside

It was so much fun!  I think I’m just gonna start a business with it…So, if you need any wood furniture custom painted, just call me!!  I’ll ship it to you