Life in the Slow Lane

A picture of myself on this day is not what you will be getting. It's 6am, I'm in pjs, so it ain't happening. Five good things that have happened since I started : 1. I started my new full-time job, which is bringing much relief to me, my boys, and my bills. 2. My older son transitioned successfully to a new school, which has had me in a panic for months. 3. Halloween candy has hit the shelves. Hello mini Kit-Kats. 4. Not that I didn't realize if before, but I realize even more now how fortunate I am to have found someone great to walk along this crazy life path with. 5.4 is enough for me, I don't like to over do!  It's nice to be done with this '30' day challenge, back to regularly scheduled blogging!

Can I wish for more wishes? I'm guessing probably not.  1. I wish for my boys to live a happy, healthy life. A fun, laughter filled life. I think I've done a good job setting them up for that. 2. I wish to be around long enough to complete my bucket list . 3. I wish for this blog challenge to end. Hee hee. Yell at me next time I say I want to do one of these 30 day thingies.

Ahhhhahhahha!!!! So much stress, can't even really talk about....blood pressure rises as I do. Dumb drivers suck.

Ha. Not a city. A small town. A town so small, I have to drive a half an hour just to get anything I need other than food or gas. But, most of you that live in more populated areas, can't say you are blessed with views like this. 'Nuff said.

*Sigh*. I have a million things I can but won't say about this topic. I already had a wedding a while back. I did it the way I thought it should be done at the time. It wasn't about the gifts, it wasn't about the food, the music, the crazy sides of each family. It was just about the bride and groom. Understated, easy. Beautiful church, simple dress, quick ceremony. Then it was right to a plane (a missed plane, but that's a story for another day), and a week on the beach. No reception, no hectic planning for everyone else to enjoy our special day. Fast forward a ton of years, and that wedding is in my past life. I don't regret the way I did it, but I do regret two simple pieces. A dance and a cake. At the time they would have been parts of a celebration that didn't exist, and I had convinced myself I didn't need them. Of all girls, I love cake more than many things in life, and I love to dance, so I'm just not sure how that happened. At this point in tim...

I did a post like this LONG AGO , but I know I've added/deleted many songs since. So here we go! 1. Rolling in the Deep, Adele 2. Nothing, The Script 3. Mississippi Queen, Mountain 4. Goodbye Stranger, Supertramp 5. You & Me, Dave Matthews Band 6. Stuck on You, Sugarland 7. Forget You (unedited version), Cee Lo Green 8. Pour Some Sugar on Me, Def Leppard 9. I Do, Colbie Caillat 10. I Wish, Skee-Lo How's that for an eclectic list? lol.

In the words of one of the wisest book characters I've ever been fond of... "There comes a time in every one's life when we must decide between what is right and what is easy, and what is easy is not always right." ~ Albus Dumbledore Sure, I've learned tons throughout my life, both in and out of school. But I feel more and more these days, that you really don't learn anything until you are at least 30. You think you are learning, or sometimes already know everything, but looking back on my 20s, I can say pretty confidently that I didn't know shit about life. Career wise I knew how to do my job well(don't worry my all grown up students that I know read this lol), but as far as the meat and potatoes content of life goes, I was clueless.  Now, as I've jump-started my life this past year, I've come to find out that it's the hard decisions that truly make a difference in life. The ones that you know will make a huge impact, in both positive an...

The question should ask, 'what's NOT in your purse?' I feel like I'm on my way to the Let's Make a Deal game show, at the end where Monty Hall says, "I'll give you $100 if you have a hard boiled egg in your purse." Or whatever he might choose. When you're a new mom, you have diaper bag overload. C'mon ladies, you remember. You had everything under the sun in there, and if I remember correctly, I had a list in one of my baby books of what you should have in there! Diapers, wipes, food, drink, the staples. But then you had money, medicine, bandaids, clothes, toys, etc. I giggle to myself when I see younger moms with the bags now, knowing you never use most of the 'just in case' stuff you pack! Why am I talking about diaper bags? Well, I'm going to let you in on a secret here. I, Mama, have not always been a handbag nutjob. Before kids and being required to go out with some sort of bag, I actually NEVER carried a purse. Gasp! Ack! Tr...

Allison. That's me. I love my name. I love the spelling and the way it sounds. Allison Maria was a good choice on my parents' part. Growing up my friends called me Al. They still do. I don't mind. My dad was part of the reason I was named Allison, as he is Al. And that's part of the reason my boy was named Alex, and we call him Al(or usually A-Rod). I digress. Al was a fine nickname for the tomboy that I was. And it just stuck. My sister used to call me Alvin, but eventually it shortened to Al. In college I have a few friends that called me 'short stack', 'short stuff' or again Al. All fine by me. Nowadays I am still Al, but also Mama. That's fine too. There's one nickname that is always associated with my name, Ali. Do not call me Ali. I cringe if someone calls me Ali. I just don't like it. Only one exception to that rule, my mom. She named me, so she can call me anything she wants. And it's cute coming from my cute mom. And that'...

I don't really miss stuff. It's just stuff, and can always be replaced(well, except my sister's stuffed animal Chipper, may he rest in peace).  I do however, miss people. Today, I miss my kids. A ton. Since they were born, I've never ever been away from them for this long. It's a funny thing. I can pull my hair out and complain any day of the week with them home, but after a day or two of them gone, I can't stand not complaining. I know it's a great thing for moms to get a break every now and then, because as Dr. Phil has told us, if we don't take care of ourselves, we can't take care of them. But a week is a long time. L....o....n....g.... :(

I may be far from home, but my taste buds are always thinking about Frankie & Johnny's . Y.U.M. 'Nuff said.

Right now, 6:30am sitting in a hotel room, I'm looking forward to going home tomorrow night. But that's just an every day item on my mind, just wanting to sleep in my own bed. Sleep, ha. But something I'm looking forward to is taking my boys on their first real vacation. They've never seen the ocean. Haven't been on a plane yet. Beg me to go to Florida. I keep putting them off, knowing the younger they are, the more difficult a trip with one mama and two boys will be. I'm thinking next summer will be the time. Finally. I can't promise there will be a plane involved, but I'll be ready to take them on our first destination vacation. That part of their baby books is still blank. I was saving it for the right time :)

Whew, some of these are too big and/or vague for a short blog post. I can start by telling you I love my house. After 8 years since we built it, I now call it a home. I am continually on a quest to fix, tweak, update, and neaten every room, and it is all (slowly) coming together. The outside of the house has transformed beautifully this summer, and by next year at this time, I'm pretty sure all projects will be done! That all being said, my dream house is not a cape cod style home in a rural development. I instantly think land. Acreage. At least 5 acres. No, 10. And I want the house in the middle, towards the back of the property. Gravel driveway from the main road, paved for the 100 feet or so closest to the house. No shortage of beautiful trees and shrubs around the property. A pond or two large enough for fishing and paddle boats. The home itself should be a sprawling ranch. When I was younger, I'd say I wanted a big colonial. But as I get older wiser, I realize the impor...

Feeling a sense of accomplishment to me, is the same as feeling satisfied. So today, the moment that first came to my mind when I was truly satisfied, is when I completed grad school. I decided to go to grad school right after I got out of college. Many of my friends decided to take a break before starting their Master's, but thanks to my forceful helpful dad, I made the decision to start right away. I wound up getting a full scholarship for the whole program at a school close to home, and moved back into my pretty pink bedroom at my parents' house.  But while I worked on my Master's, I worked on campus, then got my first(awesome) teaching job, and prepared to get married. A busy girl to say the least, but I truly enjoyed that time in my life. I got married in April of that year, and completed my Master's in May. Looking back and knowing where I am in life now, I'm not sure I'd be able to juggle everything as well as I did back then. I'm glad I did it in ...

This is a quick, easy post. My hair is WAY longer now, I've gained WAY too much weight, and I'm a WAY smarter, strong woman. 'Nuff said.

This is a tough one for me. I feel like most of the goals I've set for myself over the years have been reached. I did the college/grad school thing, I have a career doing what I love, I have two awesome kids, and a beautiful home to call my own. So for right now, I'd like to just continue doing what I'm doing, be more successful at my job, and continue to raise kind, strong-willed boys. I talk to my students all the time about short and long term goals. Even though some of them are 17 or 18 years old, they just can't deal with long term goals. It's too much pressure. It's too far away. It seems unrealistic. So we focus on the short term, more accessible goals. The ones that they can reach and succeed at. Sounds like an easy plan for some of us grown-ups too! I just sat here and tried to think for a few minutes of what other goals I'd like to have or set for myself. I can't really think of any. Perhaps that's a good thing, a sign that I'm f...

Here's a few I choose from on a daily basis. There's plenty more, but this is what I could grab quick enough for a group photo:

Yes, you caught me. I intentionally skipped a day. But with good reason! Yesterday(Sunday) was such a relaxing, lovely day, I didn't even want to touch the computer. And, I really didn't have enough content to make a worth reading post for the topic anyway. But tv? I can write a book about it! There's so much I watch, but right now I am madly in love with Nurse Jackie. My sister watched it and loved it, then bought my mom the dvd sets. I borrowed them, and they just sat on my dresser collecting dust for the longest time. One night I had nothing left on tivo, so I popped in disc one of season one. OH MY GOSH, I was hooked from the first episode. It's a half hour show, which for someone jumpy and impatient like me is perfect. Short, sweet, wild, and to the point. Each episode keeps me on my toes, and makes me look forward to the next. I finished all three seasons in a three day span, and now cannot wait to see what is in store for Jackie in season four!! If you haven...