allison in real life

i'm back in texas for thanksgiving. so many wonderful things have already happened, and i've only been here for like..9 hours.

1) my sister laura has a bomb strapped to her chest. pictures later.

2) i had to go into my sister emily's room to get toothpaste this morning, and i cheerfully told her good morning, and she told me to go away.

3) the reason she told me to go away, is because...

i dreamed that my alarm went off, but it didn't. i set it for 7:30, because mom said we were leaving at 8. you'd think that's not serious, you'd think that's a casual suggestion, but you'd be wrong. when mom says we leave at 8, we leave at 8. we kings take our time declarations seriously. we are never late, not even for things it's impossible to be late for...like thanksgiving. anyway, i set my alarm for 7:30. it "went off" so i got up and took a shower and got ready for this fantastic day. my dad strolled into the living room, not at all hurried or frantic (i figured it was 8 by now), and i didn't see my mom or any of my sisters anywhere. i didn't hear them rushing around either. so i angrily asked "why is everyone still in bed? mom said we were leaving at 8!" and he said "why wouldn't they be?" so i looked at the clock...it said 7:22.

i dreamed my alarm went off, and i woke up. my mind literally played a trick on me.

4) i wanted to stop and get some sinus medicine at walmart, but dad felt walgreens was more convenient. they didn't have what i've been taking (tylenol sinus...amazing!), so mom said she had some nyquil at the house i could take just for last night. no argument here! i was sad to discover they still buy it in liquid form, but hey, it's nyquil. we always get along. this morning i needed to heat up something for breakfast (i promise this is connected in a normal way, not in an "allison" kind of way), but they got a new microwave (how dare they change anything in my absence!) the new microwave has no numbers to set the time, just random buttons. so my dad had to help me.

dad: you just have to set the time.
me: there are no numbers!
dad: *twisted a knob*
me: that's ridiculous.
dad: it's high tech.
me: you don't even have nyquil in pill form...don't talk to me about high tech!

5) my mom said my uncle is bringing an "oriental" lady friend to thanksgiving lunch.

6) mom: look what you did to emily.
emily: look at all the blood from the flu shot you gave me!
dad: oh please.
mom: we're just saying, you always brag that you're so good at it.
dad: i don't brag. 90% of the customers i serve tell me that i'm the best at it.

i can't wait for the rest of this day.

happy thanksgiving!

rar.

AND apparently my car accident issues aren't over.

i don't think my praise of God was premature, because He's still in control.

i just really, really want this to be over.

it's so sketchy, and i'm tired of worrying about it.

a product review.

i have a sinus infection. i want to rip my sinus cavities right out of my face.

yesterday i called my dad to tell him my brain hurt, and i wasn't sure if that was normal or not. i call him about medical stuff because he's a pharmacist, not to whine. anyway. he said it was totally normal, which i continue to doubt. but he recommended some sinus medicine for me that i've never taken before.

zyrtec.

i've heard many good things about this product. it improves the quality of life, and works fast, and it's really strong. etcetera.

so you can imagine my disappointment when it did not relieve my pain. in fact, it kept me up all night. i got two hours of sleep. not only did i feel sad because i just spent $15 on a useless product, but i was up all night thinking "i'm in pain. it hurts. and i'm tired. i'm really in pain. i want to go to sleep. help me..."

so if any of you are some of the people that have been known to sing its praises, feel free to buy the rest of it from me. i only used one.

tonight, i run back into the arms of nyquil. it has no healing properties. but i can sleep. i care more about sleeping than i do about the terrible pain all over my face. i need patience to work with little children. i need sleep.

make me an offer.

do i sound grumpy?

i only slept for 2 hours last night. two hours.

my locks.

i gave myself a haircut.

am i 10% more awesome or more insane, in your eyes?

dollar signs

i filled up my gas tank this week for $17.72.

that is delicious. it cost twice that much just a few months ago.

a little less money spent on gas equals a little more money spent on name brand groceries. or fresh fruit! YES! i can afford some fresh fruit now...

also, this is RIDICULOUS. in a bad way. so ridiculous i want to do something violent to keep things balanced in the universe:

throngs

since my car accident(s), i have been overwhelmed with anxiety about all that could go wrong. because it was a very shady situation.

i read Psalm 35 so much that i accidentally memorized parts of it, and kept repeating them over and over, all day long. it's all about God fighting for people who can't fight for themselves.

the other guy's car insurance hasn't called me, and it's been almost 2 weeks now. my dad thinks that means that "it's over." and that they decided the other guy was at fault, so i can rest now.

verse 18 of psalm 35:

I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among throngs of people I will praise you.

i don't know that the short list of people who read this blog can be labeled a "throng" of people, but it's a start. (also, i wish "throng" wasn't a word. it's weird.)

one day when i was really weighed down with stress, i made a list of all the things God had done to protect me and fight for me. some things were before i even knew i needed Him to fight for me. here's the list of things i'm giving Him thanks for publicly:

- no one was injured
- my car was not damaged (just $20 worth of a bumper issue)
- even though my lack of experience kept me from calling the cops and getting all the information i should have, i "somehow" had the sense to get his drivers license number, and license plate number
- even though i was too stupid to write down his insurance policy number, when he showed me the sheet of paper that was his car insurance, my eyes noticed the name of the provider, which is how my insurance tracked down his insurance
- when he was pressuring me to give him money, God prevented me from agreeing to that
- the phone number he gave me was real
- my insurance guy was VERY helpful and comforting when i was worried
- my insurance guy worked very fast. 2 days after the accident, his work was done
- God brought many different Scriptures to my mind to comfort me and remind me that He is in control (psalms 35, 37, 39, and 40; God works all things together for good; God has plans for my future, plans not to harm me (Jer. 29:11); when Daniel was in the lion's den, God shut their mouths; a lot of men and women in Genesis made mistakes or didn't handle things perfectly in their situations, but God protected them, etc.)
- right after the accident, instead of "figuring things out myself" (which is something i looooooove to do), i called my Dad and he told me to call insurance immediately, so i did, and had the claim filed about 20 minutes after the accident
- whenever i was explaining the situation to friends and family, God moved them to share experiences of car accidents they had been in, and how things hadn't gone perfectly, and it was an encouragement to me
- even my insurance guy kept saying things like "I'm on your side" and "there's nothing to worry about"...which was great, but it also reminded me that God says those things to me all through Scripture
- God raised me knowing Scripture so i could be comforted by it at times like this. if i had just become a Christian a week ago or something, i wouldn't have a lifetime of sermons to recall. what a blessing to grow up in a Christian home!
- God has a history of handling things perfectly
- i have great friends and family to hug and call when i'm worried. support systems are totally underrated.

and the list goes on.

today i thought i lost my drivers license. i haven't touched it since i checked into my flight in austin on sunday, so i figured i lost it at the airport. i always just stuff it in my bag when i go through security. it did fall out of my bag. but i just discovered it fell out of my bag in my car, when i got back to nashville...instead of falling out of my bag in the airport or on an airplane.

grace, grace, God's neverending grace!

who is like You, O Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.

and maybe you're thinking "you're making too big a deal out of this." which is probably true, but given the amount of anxiety in my mind for the past couple of weeks...i can't just say "ok, it's all better now. nevermind, God! sorry about all the insanity. i guess i didn't need You after all! i'm so stupid..." and leave it at that.

it's been interesting to see how lame i am. worrying and anxiety is a clear way to see my lack of trust in God. people who trust God aren't burdened like this. but it has been good to read psalm 35 (and other chapters) and realize...David had to have been SERIOUSLY anxious to write anything like this. it's not like the great "heroes" of the faith were free from it either. worrying is bad. but it matters what we do when we're worried, too. do we JUST worry, or do we take it to the Cross? we live in this world, constantly held back by our humanity. sinfulness and brokenness are everywhere. my problem with worrying separates me from God. my relationship with Christ takes me back.

i. hate. winter.

i briefly considered moving to boston, about a year ago. i needed a change. i wanted to get away.

then i remembered that boston is cold.

this was only one of the reasons i decided not to move, but it was the number one reason. i hate being cold. i hate cold weather. i hate winter.

which is why i find it incredibly amusing that my car does too.

my car has a few quirks that are only issues in cold weather.

1) the speakers in the front of my car do not work when it's cold. well, they kind of do. on and off.
2) i have to wait a minute or so after i turn the car off to take the key out of the ignition. only when it's cold. the key will not come out until we sit for a minute.
3) the dashboard lights do not work when it's cold. which makes it harder to drive at night. i can't see what speed i'm going.

how weird is that.

only when it's cold!

this only makes me hate cold weather even more. i completely forget about these things until it's cold.

side note:

this, for once, has nothing to do with me being texan. there are parts of texas that are really cold. it has nothing to do with me being raised in the south.

it has everything to do with cold weather being evil.