it's like crazy big.

we bought a couch!

it is HUGE! lol

hubby and i were going to go shopping but we drove past
the mall, it was crazy.

drove past target it was crazy.

drove past menards.... again crazy.

so then brandon says "hey, why don't we go there... there's only 3 cars in the parking lot."

ended up at sofa mart.

we sat in all the couches, chairs, and loveseats we could...

and we bought this.

we have a big living room and i wanted something that kind of hugged the tv.

we chose the lighter color because our living room could use anything to brighten it up.

we will get it in a month.

it also has a 10 year warranty on anything that goes wrong, i like that!


also, we got the most ridiculous super sized bean bag chair... with penguin fabric.

i am so lucky to have a husband who has the same ODD taste that i have LOL

it really is comfy.

i should really get to my list of to do's for the week than tippity type on this thing.

until next time...

there is this lady named karen who walks to hobby lobby every day.
sometimes she doesn't buy anything, sometimes she does.
she is always very friendly.
i made her a pair of mittens for christmas,
she came in wearing them and she said i'm thankful for your friendship this thanksgiving,
as i was checking her out for a greeting card.

olive juice

i went in to this new handmade gift store downtown called the Plaid Peacock, because a friend of mine had things for sale there.... it was so cool!  they mod podged the ceiling with old music sheets, had lots of crocheted hats, rugs, scarves, and lots of really cute hairbows!

they saw a picture of the crocheted cheeseburger i sold on etsy and i told them of my idea for making an a la carte version.  like have stacks of lettuce, pickles, mushrooms, cheese, and you can pick a burger and add what toppings you want.  they loved it.  now i just have to get motivated to finish some stuff! it would be awesome to have my yarn burgers for sale somewhere! lol!

i surpassed 200 listeners on my radio station on blip.fm........... www.blip.fm/himynameisally i am excited about that!

i always "blip" a song of the day.... alot faster than typing out my thoughts.

there are rumors going around my hubby's work that o'neal steel has bought their company.  everyone is pretty sure they are going to announce it at the christmas party.  this is a good thing!  but whatever happens, i am just so proud of brandon.  

it is the start of the christmas retail season at work.  yipee.  i do like all of the extra seasonal help.  there was an older lady who asked me where the vitamins were yesterday.  it was hard not to laugh, but instead i said " i wish we did, i'd take some vitamin c!" lol.

my friend steph and her fiance justin had a heroes and villians party last weekend.  i was cruella deville, i wore makeup,a dress, did my hair and everything.  it was fun!  i think we are going to have a big new years eve party here.  

i am missing my nephew... i want to cuddle and splash him in the tub.  there is not enough time!  i always ask brandon... "so what's the cutoff before i give birth to an alien baby?" our response is always 30.  is that correct?  it is to us.  we will have a baby before then.  i just couldn't go through life without having a little mini-him or mini-me.  

i have alot to be thankful this holiday season, most of all for the loves in my life.  i am very blessed.

new toy!

pre ordered a kindle fire last week!

its amazon's version of the nook color, and we're excited!

i have been wanting a tablet-type device but i've been super picky and not really wanting something
as big as a ipad, i mean, its the size of my laptop, what's the point?

the new amazon kindle fire is a 7" screen, full color, that runs on android so it's totally customizable!

i keep watching the quick tour, nov.15th couldn't come sooner!

Check it out here.

bloop.

stopped by the eagles to renew brandon's membership and my favorite piano player John was there!

he played "for once in my life" and "when i fall in love" i sang and it was amazing!

there's nothing like singing with a live accompaniest!!!!!!!!!!!!

he normally never plays with anyone but it was his birthday and he handed me a mic!

i wish there were more people in the world like him.



brandon and i are going to take a day trip this weekend.

i wanted to go to gay's mills for some apples but the festival was 2 weeks ago.

it will probably be a williamsburg outlet store day.

maybe there are some haunted houses in cedar rapids.


we finished watching season one of parenthood, great show!

and the new season of dexter started sunday, yay!

also, we are going to start watching true blood, heard lots of good things.




"your words in my memory are like music to me"
-william fitzsimmons

wedding

i played piano and sang at a wedding two saturdays ago for my friends ed and brianna delagardelle.

they got married at the immaculate conception catholic church in sumner.

i had prepared some hymns and the unity candle song i had them choose- candle on the water from the disney movie pete's dragon.

so i go to rehearsal the night before the wedding and i meet father jim.

very nice man.  he asks me, do you play and sing, like together?

i say yes, and he shows me this responsorial psalm called this is the day.

i can tell right away that it means a great deal to him, and if i was gonna mess it up i might as well go home.

and i was also informed there was going to be a cello and violin to play the pro and recessional.  yay, less for me!

so the rehearsal went well, and then we went next door to the bed and breakfast that was there.

and had an amazing dinner!  like 5 courses, you can tell brianna's family is very close.  brandon just sat there in awe.... his dad passed, no sisters or brothers, his mom always working.

so wedding day, we get there on time, i know the hymn and we run through it, sounds great!  big relief :)

i actually had fun playing those inspirational songs, i'm such a church music lady in training.... LOL.

then we went to the reception- it was at the legion hall, everything looked beautiful!

we danced and danced, and it was a blast!

a vacation day...

had the best day with mr. mcbride yesterday.  we didn't go out of town we just both had a weekday off.
this never happens.
we went to the beach, ate at our favorite restaurant, golden china, and watched a movie.

i don't have much to write ever in this blog because we keep it simple.  we live, work, love the same way we did when we met 4 years ago.

i dont need fancy, i need the everyday.

i never knew what love was until i met brandon... his love makes me independent, makes me feel free.

thank god for this day and every other.  we are blessed.

the white album.

i have decided that i need to listen to all of the beatles records.  like it or not they were the beginning of pop/rock music.

i decided this a while back and in no particular order i was going to pick up records if i found a deal.

well the first one i picked up was abbey road.  funny this was the first one because come to find out it was their last album together.   

it had some good songs but always i tend to find one winner and constantly play that tune.  on this record that tune was "something in the way she moves."  reminded me of eric clapton's "wonderful tonight."

so then when we were downtown chicago i picked up the white album.  i don't know much about it.  but after just hearing the first part of it, its amazing!   this record was put out before abbey road and you can really tell that they are really sinking into it.  

it was recorded form 65 to 68 but you'd think they had just written it last week.

there was just something so magical about what they put together, that it is sad that they will never get it back.

you can clearly tell in the record that paul is the musical talent, putting together a tune.  george is lead guitar, give him a song, he'll play it and well.  ringo keeps the beat, and it takes you a while to find john, but when you do you know that he is the heart and soul of the band.

my fav of the first disc, "happiness is a warm gun"  absolutely wonderful!

hello, blog.

i had an awesome vacation week last week!  it started on sunday when i got to spend time with my nephew, Jack!  

he is the cutest little man ever!

we had a blast, lots of snuggles, elmo's song, goldfish, shopping, and naps!

everytime i played elmo's song he smiled and tried to grab the computer screen :)

ill update with chicago pics soon!

:)allymcb

12 days!!!!!

12 days? til vacation, baby!

I can't wait to spend time with my nephew Jack, he is growing and changing so much everyday, I want to soak all the new stuff in!

I also can't wait for our trip to Chicago! Brandon isn't much of a traveler but as we were google mapping our routes he muffled "I'm excited" :)

We went to my mom in law's farm in Plainfield for the 4th. It was fun, Brandon grilled, lit off lots of fireworks, and I'm still recovering from all of the bug bites tho, lol.

In August is Brandon's last car payment...... YAY!

John from the band the Texas Tenors was in hob lob today... 5 years ago he was just shopping for a good DVD of Phantom of the Opera at B&N, now he's touring the world singing, living his dream. Good to see him!

I really need to mow and give my car a wash..... but I will probably end up overhauling my Ipod.

We are going to be babysitting my mom in law's english bulldog Hampton, Ham as we call him... for a couple days while they go to a tractor show.

Do you mind my random bits of info? No organization, lol.

Like this one, if you have a floatie with a hole in it, gum does not work as a plug for that hole... i learned the hard way, lol.

here's what i have so far for my chicago ipod playlist

Gucci Gucci by Kreayshawn

Not Over You by Gavin DeGraw

Trust Issues by Drake

Forever by Drake

Without You by Keith Urban

Sweetest Girl by Wyclef Jean

What The Hell by Avril Lavigne

Beautiful Girl by William Fitzsimmons

Deuces by Chris Brown

Swimming by Breathe Owl Breathe

Fly by Nicki Minaj

fall for your type

hello, blog.

i saved myself 100 bucks today and figured out how to add freon (a refrigerant, for the a/c) to my car! very proud of myself, since i know very little about cars.

i think its going to be my new thing, you know learning about fixing cars, and such. it just seems like mechanics these days are really overpriced and why not be more educated and spend less?

i am so excited we are getting a new a/c unit on friday. our old one has been here since the house was built, in around 1979... so thats an old one! they are also moving it to the side of the house because where it is now is right outside the backyard deck doors, blowing out hot air. so now it will be on the side so i can have a grill or plants there, yay! and i was talking to a friend at work and she said that the new ones are so much more efficient and we'll save lots of money on the electric!!! mega yay!

so right now im hanging out in the middle bedroom and there is a wonderful breeze, looks like it might storm. i love the rain.

i had dinner with brandon tonite, we had roco jojo's. he had a burger with peanut butter and chili on it called the "barney" and i had the "elvis" burger with bananas, bacon, and peanut butter. i have to say, it wasn't that great. LOL, but hey, we tried it!

this saturday my brother ben, graduated from uni with a degree in computer science. 1 of maybe 5 total. it was a fun experience, couldn't help but think i should go back...

mother's day i spent at home with brandon playing lego harry potter, we are trying to get 100%. we only get 1 day like this every couple of weeks where we can just stay in our pjs, order pizza, and watch movies and play games. these are my favorite days... sundays.

i just got lego pirates of the caribbean in the mail, off to play some :)

p.s. my cats are growling at something outside, hilarious.

techno kitten adventure

i just saw my uncle on a midwest one bank commercial on the history channel... lol.

i haven't been able to enjoy the amazingly good weather because im stuck inside with a cold :(

brandon said "i want a dog" today.

i said "no" today. lol.

wednesday is my day off this week, i so want to drive down to dsm to see my nephew- oh wait, yea i have a cold still :(

one of my cat's Hannah is sitting on top of the playstation 3, not cool...

im watching home alone 2 for the 1,368th time and crocheting a doily waiting for b to get home.

my old computer applications teacher mr. twigg was convicted last friday of 5 counts of lascivious conduct. pretty weird.

brandon wants to go to WWE Smackdown at the McCloud Center May 30th with a friend. lol.

Ben is doing well, he is just getting over the cold that i caught. he thinks he has gotten the job in moline, ill. just waiting for may 7th to be over.

our 2nd anniversary is june 4th... i think whatever we do we'll have fun. it's hard deciding!

i play this game on the big screen with the speakers blaring, always makes me smile :)

mondays and tuesdays i work 9 to 4 so the nights are my lazy ones, i do enjoy them.

time for some pineapple and more home alone xoxo

ally

march.

haven't blogged in a while thought i would write a bit...

brandon and i got to babysit our new nephew, jack, this weekend.

we had so much fun!

he was such a good baby!

he makes me want to have one...

i am so excited for SPRING!

i want to put daisies in baskets on the windows... let's see if i can get brandon to help :)

my favorite musician william fitzsimmons is playing in iowa city april 30th, and we're going! i'm excited!

um.... what else? im working on crocheting a baby girl dress, it is just too cute to not make... i figure i could sell it on etsy :)

i have been playing my clarinet alot lately, lots of ragtime/polka stuff. playing my guitar alot too... brandon loves when i play, he is so sweet... ill catch him humming songs ive played.

when brandon and i have every other weekend together we basically go nuts and stay up most of the time watching seasons of shows, grabbing late nite iced coffee drinks and eating junk, we have so much fun together! i am so blessed...............................seriously so blessed.

my bestie josie is moving from clinton to waterloo in may, can't wait! she is dating our old roommate caleb, and i will have a walking partner!



other than that, same old.... :)

happy st. pat's day!