Crime Really Can be Funny

Now that we are actually living in Macon and not outside of it, we have become more aware of the high...what's the word I'm looking for...oh yes, crime. Needless, to say, Ben and I were more concerned with cheap then we were with crime. Living in Warner Robins, we lived in such a nice, safe area and, to be honest, we never really thought about having to look at the crime rate in the area we were choosing to live for 3 months. Here are a few facts:

1. Macon had 22 homicides this past year. With a population of 230,000, that is a lot of murders.

2. We live at 1420 Gray Highway. On the radio Monday morning, I was listening the radio and heard about an armed robbery at 1080 Gray Highway. Apparently, Chen's Wok was held up at gun point by a man wearing a rag over his face which begs the question, whatever happened to the trusty old ski mask?

3. Tuesday morning, Ben called me and said he was listening to the radio and heard about a double homicide at the gas station on the corner of Shurling Dr. and Gray Highway where two men were killed, one was just sitting in his car. This gas station is less then 1/2 a mile from our apartment. Ok, this one is not so funny but still a fact.

4. At the gas station right next door to our complex, a man held up the clerk with a pistol and then fled into Glenwood Village Apartments. (Oh, did I mention that is our apartment complex?) My favorite part is that the robber was described as being 20-to 25-year-old black man, between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 3 inches tall, who weighs between 110 and 120 pounds. If I were that store clerk, I bet I could have kicked some serious ass, pistol or no pistol. What's the worst he can do? Shoot my keecap out?

5. The CitiFinancial at 1396 Gray Highway (remember, we are 1420 Gray Highway) was robbed by a man with a silver revolver. The man, who was wearing a bandanna over his nose and mouth, is reported to have told the employees that he “was not a bad person” and that “his children will be thankful,” Awesome. That makes it all better, sir.

6. The Burger King on Gray Highway was robbed. The robbers dropped $240 in quarters while running to their getaway car, a Honda Accord, according to the report.

7. A man with a shotgun tried to rob a convenience store at 1105 Gray Higway. The owner screamed and the gunman ran away heading north. Loves it!

5. While watching a news broadcast they talked about a robbery (not on Gray Highway) and were asking people to identify the suspect that was caught on video surveillance. Here is the description they posted:
Black Male
6'1
185 pounds
Wearing all black
Possibly Cross-Eyed

This description, alone, makes all the crime in Macon soooo worth it.

And in case you are worried about us, don't be. LeRoy lent us a gun so we have our own bad-a shot gun. Nobody messes with a big, mad white woman with a shot gun under her arm.

Anyway, just to update you. We finally closed on our house a month after the closing was supposed to take place. Talk about stress. We have a contract on a beautiful home in Abilene and we are thrilled about moving into it. My mom will be flying into Atlanta on March 24 and then making the 16 hour drive with me and the animals. We close on our house on March 26 (I will be the power of attorney for Ben) and Ben's spring break will be April 6. Ben's dad will fly in to Atlanta, they will get some guys together and pack up all our stuff and then drive the u-haul to Abilene where Ben will be for a week before coming back to Macon for two more weeks and then back to Texas for good.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since today is Valentine's Day, I decided this would be a good post since it's about me and the love of my life. We truly have a wonderful relationship and I am thankful for Ben everyday.
My "aunt-in-law", Sandy, did this on her facebook but I decided to bring it to life on the blog.

Ben

+ Holly

= LOVE


♥ What are your middle names?
Leanne and Edward (Ben Leanne, Holly Edward)

♥ How long have you been together?
Married 3 years in April, together 4 years.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We met several times but it took Ben all those meetings to even remember who I was. On our 3rd "meeting" he finally asked me out.

♥ Who asked who out?
Oh, I think I just answered this above. Ben asked me out.

♥ How old were each of you?
Holly 25, Ben 22

♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most?
Holly's

♥ Do you have any children together?
No human kids yet.

♥ What about pets?
I guess you could call them pets. They are children to us. Chihuahua-Eleanor, 6-toed gray tabby-Fitzgerald, straight from the 'hood gray tabby-Penelope.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Our ghetto apartment.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
No, Ben went to Pflugerville High School and I went to Abilene High School.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
I believe I just answered this above.

♥ Who is smarter?
Ben says him, I say me.

♥ Who is more sensitive?
Ben. Hands down.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Quiznos. I gots to get my sammies fix. Ooohhh-Oohhhh!!


♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
We went to Belize together. Grand Caymen also. Which one is further? Who knows, who cares.


♥ Who has the craziest exes?
Holly. Hands down.

♥ Who has the worse temper?
Neither one of us really has a temper but if I had to say someone, I would say me.

♥ Who does the cooking?
Holly does the cooking. Ben's cuts the tips of his fingers off and burns his stomach with hot oil.

♥ Who is more social?
Holly.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
We are both very clean but I am the actual freak about it.

♥ Who is the more stubborn?
Neither one really. We are both really laid back and one usually gives in when something is really not that important to them. If I HAD to say one of us, I would say me. (Man, I kind of sound like a bitch on this thing!!)

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Neither.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Depends. It's usually around the same time.

♥ Where was your first date?
Abilene, TX. Dinner and movie. Back to his house to hang out and just talk and get to know each other.

♥ Who has the bigger family?
I think me. I have one brother and one sister but they are both married with three kids each. Ben has three brothers and one is married and the others are single.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
Yes. Ben is the flower king! He would send me flowers from Texas to Georgia when he was there all last summer. Randomly, he will just come home with them. Sometimes I tell him to stop spending money on them!! He's awesome.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Usually with my family. It's been hard since we live so far away so this past Christmas we spent it with his family. But usually mine.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Hmmm. We didn't date anyone else after our first date but we were long distance so I guess immediately since we weren't dating anyone else but really probably a month before we actually talked about it and made it official.

♥ Who eats more?
Oh man, this question sucks. Ben eats more but sometimes my plate will be empty WAY before his. I think I COULD eat like him but I definitely restrict myself more.

♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
Ben is not allowed to do the laundry. This kind of goes back to that clean freak question. My in-laws think I am crazy because I have what I call "The System." Everything, down to how the glasses are facing in the kitchen cabinet, are part of "The System." So, when it comes to laundry, I, of course, have a system and Ben is not part of said system. Basically what it really comes down to is that I am so anal about how things are done I don't think Ben should have to deal with it so I just do it, happily, myself. Oh yeah, and one time Ben washed and dried my $150.00 wool-lined Banana Republic pants. Literally, the lining hit my ankles and the wool sat nicely right below my knees...

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Ben, for sure! He just always seem to know how to fix a problem or what short cut to take when spell checking or something like that! I'm good at computers but he is very knowledgeable.

♥Who drives when you are together?
Ben, 95% of the time. Especially when we travel. I have this really bad habit of sleeping when driving long distances. I get soooo tired and literally CANNOT stay awake! I will fight it so hard, (Ben can attest) and my head will be bobbing and weaving and I'll say every few minutes when I jerk my head up "Sorry!! I'm awake! Sorry!!" I just can't help it!!

So, I would love to see this on other's blog. I think these things are interesting and fun to read since you really learn about people and on this very special day, you can talk about your hot lover as well! Leave a comment if you decide to do it so we can all come to your blog home and read about you! Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Tales from the Crypt

Here is the latest news from our home in the ghetto. No seriously, I'm not using that term loosely. We really are in the ghetto and I can prove it.






1. Penelope and Fitzgerald hated this apartment when we first moved here. They would meow constantly and run out the door the minute it opened. They were used to having a doggy door where they could go outside anytime they wanted and they just had room to roam. So, since the closing on our house has STILL not taken place, we decided to move the cats back to the house and just leave the back door open so they could go outside to the backyard. We would go by the house everyday and check on them but last Thursday, Penelope was not there when Ben stopped by. Long story short we freak out because no one had actually been to the house since the morning before and it was now 6:00 in the evening on the next day. If you know Penelope, you know she does not leave the yard. She never goes far when she goes outside and will always come back when one of us shows up. Ben, who is the king of printing up flyers for lost cats (The one of Fitz, shown above, is from a few years ago when he went missing in Dallas), prints some up at LeRoy's house and then we distribute them around the neighborhood. I am crying and generally freaking out when we decide to go a block over and start knocking on doors there. The second house we come to has black plastic bags on the windows and we decide they would not have picked up our cat. As we walk by the house, Ben stops. A car passed by and he says, "I think I heard something but that car passed by so I'm not sure." We call out Penelope's name and we hear something again. We ring the doorbell 5 times over and over again and hear Penelope freaking out crying and screaming at this point but we can't find her. The lady at the house finally decides to open the hood of her car and there is Penelope sitting on the engine, trapped. She was scared and filthy and when I picked her up off the hood, she melted into my arms. Needless to say, the cats are back with us in the ghetto.


2. The same night we are in bed asleep and all of a sudden we hear a loud knock on our neighbor's door. I look (more like squint since I am seriously blind without contacts) at the clock and it's 3:00 a.m. We continue to hear knocking and then voices. All of a sudden, there is a knock at our door. Ben gets up and goes to the door and says "Who is it?" The guy says "It's Brennan." Ben goes "Who is that?" And the guy responds "I'm Moe's friend." Ben says "You have the wrong apartment." and the guys goes away. Now, I watch a lot of A&E so I pretty much stay consumed with The First 48, Cold Case Files, American Justice, basically all those shows where people are living their everyday lives and then they are tragically murdered. So, of course, my first thought is "He wants to murder us!" The next day, I am talking to my friend, Amanda, and telling her about this and she says she thinks the guy was looking for a drug dealer. I think, wow, that's a good idea. Makes more sense then the whole murder plot. I tell Ben about this and he says that was what he thought the guy wanted. I guess I'm the only paranoid one.

3. I was standing outside with Eleanor, talking to one of my service providers for a client, when I see two detectives walk by and go three doors down. A couple of hours later, I see a cop in uniform go to the same guys house.

4. I meet my neighbor next door. He says his name is Mike but he goes by "coach." He says he is glad we are living in this apartment because he has had issues with drug dealers living in this apartment in the past year. He said he told management but they just told him to call the cops (so glad management is worried about their renters). This story also told me that the guy from 3:00 in the morning was, indeed, looking for drugs. Coach also told me that the guy at the end (where the cops frequented today) hates cats and has threatened to kill all the cats if they step foot on his porch. Oh yeah, and Coach told me this all while holding a 6 pack of Amstel Light and a gallon plastic jug of Vodka. I'm just saying.

5. The guy who lives in between "Coach" and the cat killer has skulls hanging from the tree in front of his apartment, above the door, and on the screen door.


6. The "Cat Killer" is apparently some old guy in a motorized wheelchair who likes to wheel and smoke at the same time. He will get that wheelchair going as fast as he can in order to get it up a very small hill next to the steps people with legs use in order to get to the parking lot. He will drag big branches and leaves under that motorized wheelchair as he goes up that hill and doesn't even care. When he goes down the hill, his wheelchair will kind of make a 180 degree turn. I don't really know why. I just know that is what I saw this afternoon.

7. I just saw a roach crawl across the floor.


We are in the process of getting our approval for a mortgage in Abilene. We found a house that we LOVE and hope to put an offer on it tomorrow. As of Saturday, I have a great job and will be moving back to Abilene end of March to start my job April 1. It is basically the same job I have now working with people with developmental disabilities. I am VERY excited about this agency and look forward to getting started. Ben will finish his last class April 29 so he will move out then. It's sad to think about my time here in GA as being over but on to a new chapter. And a new place to live...

The Great Debate: Slanket or Snuggie

I am always cold. My uncle LeRoy got sick of hearing me complain about how cold I was in his house so he did what any good uncle would do, he bought me a snuggie. Some prefer the slanket but I am all about the snuggie.

I think I look like a monk. You may call me Prior Holly.

So cold. But wait, I have a snuggie!

I love to read but it's just so dang dark in here. Good thing I have my free book light that comes with every snuggie purchase.

Beverly Hills Slums

Hello??? Is anyone out there? It has been so long since I posted last I wonder if anyone is still there. I have a good excuse for not posting. You see, we moved. That's right. We sold our house and had to move out end of January so this month was spent packing, locating and renting a short term apartment, moving boxes and furniture to a storage unit and moving everything that wouldn't fit into an apartment one could only describe as "groovy." All this + work (the kind where I am actually paid) = no time to blog.
Picture from our house. Penelope decided the pillow was, in fact, hers.

One last get together at the house. Our friends Amy, Seth, Letson and Laura came over to mourn/celebrate the last week in our wonderful home.


Fine, one serious one.

Eleanor will only be your friend if you have food in your lap.

Ok, here are picture of our new apartment. Don't judge us too hard. We are only white trash for three months.

Before

After

Before

After

Before


After

Before


After (Office/living room/kitchen all in one)

You have to step over the coffee table in order to get to the couch. And no, it's not an illusion. The chair is, indeed, sitting in front of the couch.

Before

After - Our refrigerator would not fit in the storage unit so it is sitting in our kitchen.


It might be hard to see but those spots on this linolium is not dirt, it's stained. Oh, and I also saw two roaches last night; one on the bathroom wall and another on the kitchen counter. EEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!


The apartment is gross but, we didn't have to pay a pet deposit and they gave us a short term lease without making it more expensive like every other apartment place wanted to. On our first night in the apartment the toilet overflowed when someone just went pee. Ben called the maintaince guy and after snaking the toilet, he found a toothbrush that had been flushed. It was so backed up, he had to go get us a brand new toilet. The cats are still living in the house (our closing date was pushed back) because they were obviously unhappy here. It's small and cramped and they would bolt out the door when it opened. They will have to come home tomorrow since we will close this Friday. Poor babies.

After a 3 month hiatus, Ben and I are back in boot camp. I decided it was time to go back when this conversation took place:
Holly: I am so fat.
Ben: You aren't fat. You're...healthy.

And then this conversation.
Holly: I have GOT to lose some weight.
Ben: Well... We BOTH could lose weight. (as if that makes it any better)