Grateful!!

Our prayers have been answered!! I was told tonight at work that they're keeping me as a permanent employee past the holiday season. Hooray!! I wanted to cry with relief when they told me. When they asked me to come into the office- I knew it was the moment of truth. Either good or bad. I kept saying, "thank you so much!!" and they said, "don't be silly-you deserve it!" There aren't any pay increases, and the hours will remain about the same (I've been averaging 29-36 hours a week). We're just so grateful that I was chosen to be a permanent employee. We, well I, was stressing really bad. Hoping that I'd made a good enough impression to be kept on. Its next to impossible to find a job in this state, and I'm so very grateful for the one I have. =]

Well?

Did Santa bring you everything you wanted? =]

Hope you all had a nice christmas. We did. A small one, but still very enjoyable. I got Clint the Armani Code cologne he'd been wanting. An Arizona Cardinals sweatshirt. A Cardinals wallet. (let me tell you, it physically hurt to buy anything Cardinals-and I almost cried. No joke!!). Um, OH! And the Bourne trilogy. He loves the movies. Myself? Never seen them? I know, I know. If I had the time, I'd sit in front of the TV and watch all three right now, I swear it =] He got me the coolest little (portable!) scrapbooking organizing case. A protector case for my scrapbooking paper. A shoe box FULL of scrapbooking stickers and embellishments. I got the first season of Bones on DVD (obsessed with the show!!). He got me an MP3 player! =] Oh. and I got an Arizona Cardinals camping chair. Hardi-har-har. His family has a great sense of humor, and they think its funny to buy me Cardinals stuff for my birthday and for Christmas. Actually, it is hysterical. And I just handed the chair to Clint and said, "here-I got you a camping chair." Hahaha! I'll sit in it...I'm not THAT much of a hater. But I tell you, I won't be happy. =P I swear he's getting U of A stuff for his birthday. (and when I say that-I'm totally kidding. Because I value this life I've been given. And Uncle Joey and Grandpa Gross will swiftly take that life away if I even LOOK at U of A stuff. Ok, ok. Maybe not THAT extreme. But they WILL sharpen their hunting knives with it. No joke) His mom got us a totally cool waffle maker that I'm so excited to use. Its one of those ones that flips after you've closed it. Eh-I'm easily amused. My parents gave Clint Kung Foo Panda and The Dark Knight on DVD. I got toys! Wall*E and Eve from the movie Wall*E. And I love them. I play with them all the time. Telling you, I'm obsessed. 24 years old and still getting toys. It'll never end! And I hope it doesn't! =]

SO that was our Christmas. We opened gifts here with his siblings, then went to Grandma & Grandpa Gross' house for Christmas lunch/dinner at 1. Went to my parents after that. Had a very quiet, very nice Christmas. Now, I get to go to work. Ick! Clint worked last night, and he said when they opened the doors at 6 am...it was a zoo. Goody. He said people were walking out with 3 or 4 carts of stuff. Hmm. I won't be doing that. Can't really afford it. Since we just had Christmas and all.

Family Pictures

So a few weeks ago we did family pictures. I'm long overdue on getting them up. But here you are! Enjoy =]

The Entire Family =] Just the Kiddos

The Chambers =]

The Farnsworths

The McLaws' <3

It took me like, 20 minutes to figure out how to upload these. Now that I've figured it out, maybe there will be more pictures in the blog! =]

50 Girly Questions...

I snagged this off of a blog that I've been reading. Don't even know the lovely young lady, but she's SO funny! I love reading her blog. =]

1. what is your name? Alicia Marie

2. what color is your bra? white


3. Do you straighten your hair everyday? nope...don't really care that much. I probably should. I look better when I do hahaha

4. Do you worry about the size of your boobs? sometimes, I worry that they'll end up causing back problems. laugh it up. say I'm "blessed". w/e

5. Are you the typical girl who's addicted to gossip?: nope, I'll listen to it, but I don't live for it

6. What's your favorite girly magazine?: Cosmo

7. Best junk food? um...tortilla chips =]

8. Would you kill for chocolate? I've thought about it. HAHAHA =P jk

9. Do you go to lunch with girls a lot? not really. just Natalie and/or Laural on occasion

10. Jeans or skirts?: hate skirts. love jeans

11.Do you wear clothes/shoes/jewelry that's uncomfortable? nope! I don't really care what other people think. I won't wear something just to look cute.

12. Did you ever spend all day/night getting pretty for a guy? not anymore. I admit that I did when Clint and I first started dating. I think I took all day getting ready for our first date =P

13. Did you ever cry during a romantic movie? I admit that I do!

14. Would you leave the house without makeup on?: almost every day. people are surprised when I DO wear makeup.

15. What's the biggest turn on about guys?: funny guys. I love a guy who can make me laugh =]

16. What about the biggest turn off? controlling guys

18. On a scale of 1-10, how fun is shopping?: um can I do -10?? I HATE IT!! I find what I want online, then I do a beeline through the store to get it. Now, sometimes I do get in the mood to browse. But its rare

19. Are you a girly-girl, tomboy, or in the middle? I'd say in the middle

20. Do you think lipgloss is the best?: I like it. I own lots. Usually, I'm wearing chapstick though

22. Do you freak out if you miss your favorite show? nope. that's what the internet is for

23. Do you obsess over your looks? not at all

24. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?: about 10 minutes. LOL!

26. Accessories make the outfit; true or false: I'm sure they do...I just don't care enough to accessorize.

28. What kind of guys do you like? tall, cute and funny =] basically, Clint ♥

29. Is pink truely the best color in the entire universe? NO!!!

30. Lip gloss a must? not really, but I like it

32. Do you have a bf?? nope...a husband!

33. mountains or ocean? mountains

34. Do you take the chance on Halloween to dress like a whore? no, I don't dress up for halloween

35. Ever dressed like a whore to impress a guy?: um, no!

36. Do you often wish there was something you could change? yeah, who doesn't??

37.Has a guy ever given you something on valentines day? a little stuffed monkey one year (we were broke lol) and flowers last year

38. Gold or silver?:Silver, white gold

39. The guy that you like/LOVE/whatever, what is his name? Clint McLaws

41. Do you dress up too much for holidays? nope!

43. Do you write alot of mushy love poems? nope. i'd rather be watching football

44. Do you consider yourself to be fashionable? eh, not really lol

45. On a scale of 1-10, how much do guys confuse you? only like a 2. i understand guys way better than I understand girls

46. Guys that cry during movies: sweet or weird? sweet

47. Do you worry or fuss about your clothes? nope!

48. Do you wear make-up? every once in a while

49. What makeup product could you NOT live without?? mascara. I look more awake when I'm wearing it

50. what age do you want to get married? um, i got married at 23 =]

A conspiracy...

So last night, while I was feeling like the worst furbaby "mama" ever, Clint suggested that we brainstorm ways to keep the cats indoors. I told him that this wasn't fair to him, and insisted that they would remain outdoor cats. UNLESS it were to rain. Then I would bring them inside, for the duration of said rain. That would just be cruel, right? Well, I'm convinced these kitties heard me. Guess what? Its raining! and where are the cats, you ask? In my room. Nice, right? And they're just LOVING it. Of course they are. Now I've gotta start the whole "weening" process again. Some other day. When its dry. =P

Furbabies...and other stuff =]

So, we've discovered that Clint is allergic to my two kitty cats whom I love dearly. But, I love my husband more (sorry kitties). So, I had to move the kitties outdoors so that Clint could sleep. He can't breathe around them, and they like to snuggle. As I sit here writing this, I can hear Tinkerbell outside crying because she's out there and I'm in here. =[ Sad day! She's breaking my heart. Baxter is ok being outside. He doesn't mind it that much. I think he may have been an outdoor cat when I adopted him from the pound. But little Tinkerbell...I adopted her at the age of 8 weeks. She's always been an indoor kitty. I know that they will adapt, and that I need to just leave them outside, and stop going outside to cuddle with them. Isn't it funny how kitties, perhaps all animals, are like babies?? I've heard that when trying to get babies to adapt to new customs, sometimes you need to "ignore" their cries because if you keep cuddling them, they won't adapt. So I sit here instead watching "Click" and trying to ignore their cries. I know they'll be fine. =]

Work is getting crazier and crazier as Christmas approaches. Which is to be expected, I suppose. I know that some people don't get paid until right before...but everyone?? Haha--I finished mine two weeks ago. Clint and I decided this year to shop only for each other and our parents. We just couldn't afford to include everyone that we'dve liked to. Maybe next year. Kinda depends on the economic status =P

So Clint did his yearly damage. He was walking at work a few weeks ago. Simply walking. He stepped down weird, and now has a stress fracture in his right foot. Yuck, right? Especially when we have no health insurance. Thank goodness Dr. McKay is really cool and adjusts costs to suit our budget. He's [supposed] to be in a big, clunky walking boot for awhile, to let it heal. He wears it when he's at work. But that's about it. I can't convince him to wear it anywhere else. Oh well...I was just as bad when my foot was broken last year, so I suppose I can't blame him.

In other health news, my tendonitis is flaring up really bad right now. Being a cashier will do that. I try to remember to take some ibuprofen before starting my shift to curb the pain, but I forgot today. Right hand is KILLING me. Not much that can be done for it though. Just take anti-inflamitories (that's not even spelled right lol) and wear a brace to support it.

UM...I don't think there's much else going on in our lives. We're really boring, I swear it. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas! I'm sure we will =]

Working on "Black Friday"...

Or Blitz Friday, as Wal Mart likes to call it. Interesting. Let me just begin by saying that I was scheduled to work at 5. I had to get gas, so I left home early. Ended up getting to work around 4:30 am. The parking lot was PACKED. and we don't exactly have a small parking lot. So I parked, grabbed my water and cough drops (i'm fighting off a cold) and headed inside. I walk in the doors, and all I see is wall to wall people. Easily, 400 people crowded in just for electronics and toys. I mean, I saw little old ladies hanging on to a pallet of Dora dolls for dear life! Now, I've never been one to even go CLOSE to a retail store on this day. I mean, I've worked on Black Friday. But let me tell you that working at a drug store does NOT even compare. It took me 10 minutes to get from the front of the store to the back, where I could clock in. And people are VISCIOUS!! I kept having to flash my nametag because people were getting mad and accusing me of trying to get ahead in line. I get to the back and I hear a supervisor calling out that all cashiers must clock in IMMEDIATELY and report to the registers. Apparently, they weren't expecting a crowd this big. However, my store prepared and hired about 70 extra people for the holidays. The moment 5 am hit, and the sales started, the volume in the store raised considerably. You could HEAR people running for the registers. I looked up and had 50 people in my line within minutes. However, we were all moving fairly quickly. Really, the wait wasn't bad for people waiting. I think we had every register open. All 30 of them. There was a wait, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I was told repeatedly that I had a great attitude. I had to though. If I'd shown up really cranky and ready to have a bad day, it would have been horrible. But I showed up, determined to have fun with it. I told several people that I was grateful for the crowds. As long as people shop, I have a job! =] And the day passed really quickly. =]

We did have a couple of incidents: one lady was pushed into another ladies cart. Pushed lady turned around and sincerely apologized, and Cart Lady reeled back and punched her in the face! Goodness!! Around 10 am, we got the terrifying page: Code Adam. Missing child. Doors are sealed off and no one is allowed in or out of the building. And all available associates search. I happened to be at lunch, so I didn't join, at first. (Wal Mart considers it working off the clock). But when they couldn't find him, EVERYONE joined in the search. Strangely, the mother wasn't that concerned. About 45 heartbreaking minutes later, she suddenly remembered that she'd left the boy at home with his father. Ugh. Apparently, she wasn't "all there". I'm just glad the boy is safe.

When I got off at two, Laural and I went to the swap meet and she bought me an early christmas present: a pair of Crocs. My poor feet hurt so badly at the end of my shift that I often leave fighting tears. I don't have appropriate shoes, first of all. And I do need to get used to standing again. But I immediately changed into my Crocs and felt a little better. I'm curious to see if wearing them at work will aleviate my feet pain at all. I've talked to people who've said it will, and some who've said it won't. After the swap meet, we stopped by the house so that I could change into comfy clothes and drop off the car. We then went to Chandler mall. I got one of Clint's christmas gifts there, one at Wal Mart. I can't say what they are, because even though he teases me for "blogging", he checks this thing every once in a while =P

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. And if you were brave enough to take on the "black friday" crowds, I hope you had luck! =]