Update!!!! Some of our Holiday Season

Well, Mom this is for you. New pictures.
Our Holiday was great. i didn't have to work Christmas Eve. Andy, Drew and Daisy all came over on Christmas Eve to have a big Sleep over. It was perfect. Dad was there, Poe and Farrah, Kate, Dave....A nice big family Christmas. what a real nice suprise.
It was so fun to watch Drew open up her GYNORMOUS stocking. Wish you were there mom!

this picture is hysterical. The expressions of everyones faces....Andy and Dave look like they are about to get into some kind of argument while K8 with a mouth full of Monkey Bread is attempting to "break it up" while Dad and Drew are just having a good time playing Jenga. Too funny.

Greatest Dad Ever!

puppies and Christmas and lots of kisses

K8 Being quite dramatic

Nothing better than sisters

Still trying to figure out who is cuter, but I'm gonna have to say Andy

Self timer + two dogs = hard picture to take.... this is us trying to take pictures for the christmas card.

Our little Babooushka.....Daisy.

My newest love Affair....Who Knew?

Life sure is strange. I finally found the love of my life and it turns out I met him 23 years ago. Go figure.

I was going to put some more pictures up but it seems the only pictures we have taken have been at the beach and CLEARLY I look much better in my mind than I do on film so...... needless to say there will not be any pictures going up. And as a matter of fact, i'm going to the gym right now.

My new love affair

So, I have a new love affair and it's with Miss Poe....the Camp Anderson Mascot. I absolutely adore her and just can't stand it. Her mom and dad go away for a few days in a couple of weeks and we get to have a weekend play date--just Poe and I. Maybe I'll be daring enough to take her to the Dog Beach.... Hmmm. Doubt it, it'll just be more like alot of walks, new toys and I'll probably spoil her rotten with people food. When K8 and Dave come back Poe will be eating her food at the dinner table. They'll walk in and we'll both be sitting at the table with a plate of lasagna and her food bowl will be filled with wine....I'll let her drink for me. Anyway, she is just a great dog and her personality is just so sweet it makes you sick. I bought her a lady bug toy and she loves it and it makes me feel like a proud parent when ever I see her with it. Maybe one day I'll get her a sister...a dark weim.... but like k8 said by then Poe will be a cranky old lady and will be annoyed with the young whipper-snapper. Oh well....figured I should write something on this so Mom could have something new to read....

Nothin Doin...

Summer is here in Naples and it is quiet and hot. Not much to say really just figured I should put something new on this thing. I work. That is about it. And I'm fine with that. That is why I made "The Move" so I could work my butt off for a year to stop the rapid downward spiral that is/was my finacial situation. I'm working at Pazzo's on 5th to shmooze with the Old Naples wealth and the well-to-do snowbirds then I get my dash of locals at Pelican Larry's. So, focus on making the creditors happy....not to mention a little personal pow-wow is long overdue.So nothing exciting. Just the everyday things of life.

JOB HUNTING IS FOR THE BIRDS!

Well, as it goes I am on the quest once more for the perfect job, actually right now I'll take the next job I'm offered. The process of finding a job is a frustrating, monotonous, disheartening and tedious affair. I would much rather be at the beach or reading or running a marathon, anything! It's almost been a month since I have been here and so far I have landed a job that won't have consistent work until late July. Perfect. Now I'm getting tension and stress headaches.
On a lighter note......uuh....er...hmmm..aaah...there's got to be something...er...
I'm thinking of cosmetology school, which costs 11,000 beans which means I will have to take out a loan which will add to the debt that I am trying to pay off....hence the whole idea of me moving here.
Ahh...I'm not very optimistic at the moment...guess I'll go work out to relieve some of this stress.
But at least I get to look at pretty homes like this while I marinate in stress and tension headaches to remind me of the wealth I will never obtain....
WAIT! Let's re-phrase that, let's re-direct that energy to ..remind me of the wealth that is only waiting for me to take. That's better, or even the wealth I deserve to have, that's more like it. DESERVE!
anyway, while I dream let me hop in my snazzy alero with the "government issue" black rims i.e. no hubcaps and jet on over to the gym where I am using my dad's membership and then come home and eat my sister's food.
Geeze!

It's not so bad down here....

Made the move...

It has been quite some time since I have updated this thing. Much has gone on in the life of Al and I haven't had the time to really take a breather. As of June 1st I am officially a Floridian again... well according to the DMV I still reside in St. Louis but that will change eventually. I'm staying with my wonderful and accommodating sister and brother-in-law who are gracious enough to let me free-load off of them for awhile. Until I tap into my money-making niche. It is certainly a strange sensation to be living back in my home town after 10 years. It still hasn't really sunk in yet, I still have the hazy feeling that this is still a vaccation and soon enough I will hopping on an airplane to head back to the Lou. And when I can't find something the first thought that races through my head is "crap I left that back home" rather than "that must be in storage... I wonder what box it's in" There has been a drastic and at times a little overwhelming amount of change that has gone on in my life in the past year and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any time soon. Change is good. Change in needed, it's all in how you choose to direct your path of change.

more pics from Orlando!

I like this pic.

Here ya go Sis..

Being sick sucks!

Yep, that's right. Being sick sucks. I have not felt good for about 3 days....headache and sore throat and just a general lack of energy for anything ( i think that might be a little bit of depression, but who's really paying attention) Here I was just hoping I had a small sore throat and a bit of vitamin C and some rest should kick it in the butt. AHAHA! No I had to go and look in my throat to see a bunch of white spots. yea! My sister who has a very severe case of tonselitis has the same thing. I was really glad to hear that. It seems our beloved nephew....my Godson.... spread his pink eye germs into our throats. Great. So.... I have done nothing for the past few days except watch T.V and eat peanut butter and crackers. ( I am having a strange craving for them) Lots of CSI. It's on all the time. Well.... it's about 11:00 and I am feeling tired so I'm going to go lay on my bed...that is in my living room and watch some more CSI: there's a marathon coming on!

In yet another airport

Here in Chicago they have Wi-Fi so my 3 hour connection won't be so boring. I only have one more hour left. Yipee. How much trash can one girl read and I don't think I should really drink another cup of coffee. There has to be some health complications from the only thing in your belly is about 8 pots of coffee and grapes. (maybe that is an exaggeration...) So I have been gone for a week with work. I go home for two days. Get my bed delivered!!!!! Drive to Indy come home, Katie comes into town and then we fly to Michigan for 5 days. Damn! Can't a girl get a brake but I'm looking foward to a few days with the kids and Sam and Kelli. Katie gets to do some fun stuff when she is here like go to the doctor with me, take an exciting to Cingular. Whoo Hoo! maybe we'll paint my bedroom....just kidding. Well, I think I'll go get another cup of coffee.

WORKIN ON THE ROAD

WELL,My job has taken a turn for the....different, for lack of a better word. I now work with Clarie and travel around setting up displays for Trade Shows. It is by no means glamorous but it is pretty easy work and I do get to travel all over the country. Not too bad. It pays well and it is far better than what I was doing before with many more opportunites available. As far as AND1 goes Winter tour is 99.9 % going to happen and summer tour is a given. Once we find out about Winter Tour we can start working on the advancement... but not until Claire and I get back from Australia! Once we get the word with Winter Tour I will be full time with Claire. Which will be nice.
Australia will be three weeks of November that I cannot wait for. We are going to stop off in New Zealand for a few days and before we head out from L.A. we are going to this island in Mexico that a few of Claire's friends own. So yeah. that will be cool. Anyway. Hadn't written much lately. I am in D.C. now getting ready to go do some work soon. Once I get some more pictures, I'll post them.

HMMMM?

BIG BABY!

Baby Shaq lookin goofy

Summer Camp is over... for now

80'S NIGHT IN D.C.! FUN TIMES!
THE GREATEST BAR..... SLIMS IN THE WONDERFUL CITY OF RALEIGH
KATIE & I AT THE DOLPHIN
COACH BURT, SHANE, SPYDA, PHARMACIST, BIZ & MAIN EVENT AT THE FIRST PITCH AT A MARLIN'S GAME.
ME, NILES, WILL AND CLAIRE AND THE CLEVELANDER IN MIAMI....pre jumping in the pool.
ME, SPECIAL FX & SPRINGS.... TWO OF THE LAST CONTEST PLAYERS
CLAIRE AND BABY SHAQ AT HELL'S KITCHEN IN NORFOLK
NORFOLK.... FUN TIME SHOOTIN UP CHICAGO
Well...my summer on the road is over. It was an amazing expierence and am thankful for the chance to have been a part of it.
I'm just going to put up some more pictures. Actually right now I am in San Francisco with Claire. She has given me another job that involves traveling....It is the setting up the displays for trade shows. Last night we went to a Giants game and today was a day off... not a bad job at all. So here are some more memories of the tour and when I get back the the Lou I will right some more.

Atlanta

Well, we are on our way to MIAMI!!! Yes! Beaches and palm trees! Fru-fru drinks by the pool or perhaps a Cabana on the beach.... oh yeah and some work. I haven't written much lately, I thought I would put some pictures up first so I didn't get the BADGERING from the little one. Cleveland.... Dad came up one day for Cleveland. He drove down to Cleveland from Detroit. It was really good to see him. We went out to lunch and then walked around Cleveland for 5 hours. It was a nice day and I enjoyed it. We went to a steamboat museum, the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, got some ice cream (in typical dad fashion), then jus walked around. I was so tired that night that we just went out to dinner and then off to bed. We all had had a late-night pool party at the hotel in Cleveland. It wasn't a party according to the hotel security. Oops!
Louisville.... Louisville was a bunch of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Big wigs... it was a disatster. It is taking the Street out of Street Ball.... as Adam Stafford said.. it should be called Corporate Ball. Unfortunatly they have let the Sponsors dictate the run of the game and it sucks for all of us. Anyway...When we were in Atlanta a few of us headed out to a Mideval Times Dinner Theater. FABULOUS! It was so dumb it was wonderful. You even got to eat with you hands. Perfect. I strongly suggest going at least once in your life. The game... I don't know I don't ever get to see the game.
Anyway.... That is about it. I have got to go do some work.

More Pictures from Cleveland

Pictures from Cleveland

Detroit

Well, we are in Cleveland after a three day stay in Detroit. I was able to spend some time with Sam, Kelli and the kids and loved it. I did my laundry at their house and now all my clothes have that great smell that I love so much. I had lunch with them on Tuesday and then was able to spend some time at the house on Wednesday. We ordered pizza and hung out. Of course it wouldn't have been a normal trip to my brothers if there wasn't some kind of project going on. I helped stuffed some invitations for Grace's "girls only" pool party... which again were the cutest invitations! Kelli always has the cutest things for Grace. I love being at their house and just hanging out. It was really nice to be there and just sit and make fun of televsion shows. I had a really good visit. The next night Sam and Kelli were able to come to the game. And what a game they saw. It was a very good game, our first overtime on the Tour. AND1 finally pulled through in the last seconds with a few points extra. Detroit gave them a run for their money. I don't care who the people are if you are playing a sport in Detroit they will root for the home town NO MATTER WHAT and I think that that gave the AND1 players more incentive to win. All in all it was a great game. I was able to show Sam and Kelli backstage into my world. It was really fun.
Katie... can't wait for you guys to come up!
Anyway... more picutres to come and now it is time to do some work.

Just a few more memories

Here are a few to keep you happy!

TIRED OF K8'S COMPLAINTS

Well.... after much badgering again here are some random pictures from previous cities.... Katie I will get the ones from Chicago soon.

WORKING ON THE ROAD

Yep, this is me hard at work on our bus.
Well, we are in the fabulous town of Indianapolis. It's not a bad city at all. One thing I have noticed on our travels is that there is always at least one to three dirty people sitting infront of a coffee shop. I never spend any time in downtown St. Louis because there isn't anything to do downtown so I don't ever see that. It is everywhere and it is what it is. Well, I am really tired and have to get up early.
I'll keep in touch. I miss and love you all.

HOME OF LAVERNE & SHIRLEY

Yes, we are in Milwaukee. Haven't really done much sight seeing here. We are not in town for long and it has been filled with work. I do have to remind myself that I am not on vaccation and that this is a job. It can be hard to do. It is a clean and pretty down town. A few of us went out to grab a bite to eat down by the waterfront. It's like Chicago, there is a big canal running through the middle of downtown. The smell reminded me of the dock during the canoe races, gross yet strangley comforting. There are seagulls in Milwaukee. I was not aware of that.
I see that my sister already has here Thanksgiving day plans taken care of. What's on the agenda for CHristmas little one?
Well, not much to report. I have got lots of work to do.
Hearing all this talk about Poe really makes me miss my dog.

The Twin Cities

Here we are in the TWIN CITIES, not a bad town. It's kind of dirty, the people for the most part look like they don't believe in showers, all the waitress's are horrible and slow and everything is expensive. so that is how I feel about it. What ever curiousity I may have had deep down for Minneapolis is gone. Go figure. we were in Kansas City a few days ago. We had a good time there. Kansas City is a pretty cool town. It feels very cozy. We go to Indainapolis tomorrow night. Then off to Chicago and then to Detroit. I'm excited to see Sam & Kelli and the kids, mom I'm sorry you won't be there. But maybe you will still be in North Carolina when we get there if your back doesn't get better.
Last night was the 4th. Not too many of us were to concered about watching fireworks, we heard them and that was good enough for most of us except for Megan who was hell-bent on getting somewhere to catch a glimpse of the fireworks. It was more enjoyable watching her walk all around town trying to find the perfect spot. I hope all of you had an enjoyable 4th of July!
All is still going well. We have an early morning lobby call so I am off to do a little bit of work and then it is off to bed. I will keep you all posted.