My Real Life

March 3, 2012

Tell ‘Em

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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I believe I’ve mentioned before my undying love for the series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

An excellent show that was a lot deeper than most people gave it credit for.

One of my favorite episodes was the senior prom episode.

Buffy just wanted to go to the prom and be a normal girl.

However, all that slaying gets in the way, Angel breaks up with her so she can have a better life, and so Buffy sends her friends ahead to the prom and takes care of that night’s threat to the world by herself.

Eventually, she changes into her dress and heads to the prom, alone.

They give out the class awards, and after they have all been given out, recurring character, Jonathan, asks if Buffy is there.

He brings her up on stage and gives a speech where he says that whether or not she knows it, the whole class knows that whenever something awful if about to happen in Sunnydale, Buffy is there to save the day.

They give her a special award that they created just for her.

“Class Protector.”

He says, “”We’re proud to say that the Class of ’99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history.”

Love that line.

Anyway, I “Like” Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Facebook, and they put up that quote on Friday as their quote of the day, and it reminded me of this favorite episode.

It just always makes me feel good that, even though she didn’t realize it, she was noticed.

She passed through her days, going to class and saving the world, and outside of her group of Scooby Doo evil-fighters, just figured no one noticed.

But they did.

They should have told her LONG before this.

With every stake of a vampire heart, someone should have been there to say “Thanks, Buffy!” but they, like most of us, just took for granted that she was there, taking care of business.

How often do you say thank you to the people around you?

I don’t mean to your close friends and family.

I mean to the support staff in your life that work behind the scenes.

And I mean taking a moment for a sincere, heartfelt thanks.

Not just a passing “Thanks.”

They guy who pumps your gas (for those of us in NJ), the bagger at the grocery store (whether or not he/she bagged your groceries exactly the way you wanted), the man mopping the floor in your office building, the cab driver who just safely got you to your location.

From now on, I’m going to make a point to thank these people in a way that lets these people know I really mean it.

Because I think too many of us go through our days feeling unnoticed, unappreciated, and unimportant.

And I’d like to let someone know that I notice.

Anyone with me?

March 2, 2012

Five Question AND Frugal Friday

Filed under: Five Question Friday — Amy @ 6:00 am
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1. Where is your favorite vacation spot and why?
I’d have to go anywhere other than the Jersey Shore to have a different vacation spot.
Wait!  I’ve got one!
One summer, we took the kids to North Carolina for a week.  Topsail Island.
It was fantastic.
Quiet, hot, deserted.
Perfect.
2. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
Oh, there are so many.
Must I pick one?
Um…The Vampire Diaries.
Dipping a Hersey bar in a jar of peanut butter.
My awesome yoga pants that have never seen a yoga class, but are well, well-worn.
3. What is your favorite fashion trend right now? Or, in the past?
 Uh, I’ve kind of always been a big fashion don’t, so I’m not even really sure what the fashion trends today are.
And, since that last sentence had the word “always” in it, it’s safe to say I didn’t know much about the fashion trends of any time.
So, I think I’ll just go with yoga pants.
Again.
4. What are your spring break plans?
Not a thing.
I’m hoping to spontaneously do things like the museum, the park, etc.
But, plans?
Spring break isn’t for plans.
5. What baby names do you hate?
Aw, I don’t want to answer that, because, undoubtedly someone who named their baby those names will read the blog and be offended.
I will say that I don’t understand why so many celebrities feel the need to name their children names that aren’t really people names, but they aren’t my kids so I don’t really worry too much about it.
Baby names I love?
Alas, I have no children named Emma, Olivia, Sara, Jack, Sam, or Max.
Those are 6 of my favorite baby names.
Now…as for the Frugal Friday portion of the post…
My friend, Jen, shared this article with me.
I absolutely love stories like this.
I’d love to think we could do this, but I have my doubts.
Happy Friday, everyone!

March 1, 2012

5 Things I Love Today

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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1.  The thought of seeing TItanic in 3D.

This movie is a huge guilty pleasure of mine.

It is so grand and majestic in its cinematography.

I know it is the butt of many jokes, particularly the music, but I don’t care.

I loved it.

So, the thought of seeing it, again, on the big screen, in 3D??? 

Loving it today.

2.  2 Broke Girls

I love this show.

It makes me laugh until I need my inhaler.

It’s not for everyone.

It’s raunchy and completely inappropriate.

And I love it.

3.  These guys:

4.  My closet.

Seriously, I could spend quite a bit of time just hanging out in my closet.

I’ve never had a closet like this, and it was a huge selling point for me when we were looking at houses.

I’ve even got my shorts and t-shirts hanging up in there.

Maybe I’ll put a little desk in there and make it my writing room.

Maybe not.

It fits my shoes, my clothes and my Archie comics.

Seriously, what more could you ask for?

5.  Speaking of my closet, I love my shoes.

And, these days, these are my favorites.

Those little hearts on the side make a neat clacking sound when I walk and they are super-comfortable, even though I’m on my feet all day.

I’d wear them every single day if I could.

Love them.

When Spring gets over its identity crisis and decides it’s here for real, I’ll be loving these again:

But, for now, it’s the boots.

February 29, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

Filed under: Wordless Wednesday — Amy @ 6:00 am
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February 28, 2012

Truthful Tuesday

Filed under: Truthful Tuesday — Amy @ 6:00 am
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Today, I don’t answer any questions.

Today, I just share with you something that I saw online a few weeks ago and inscribed itself in my brain.

On my heart.

Why?

Because I do take on too much, work too hard, expect too much of myself, and am my own worst critic.

And while I keep my head up high and hold it together and put on a good front, there are many, many days when this is how I feel:

And that’s the truth.

February 27, 2012

The View

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am

This is pretty much the view that I have every minute that I am at home.

If I’m not at work, I’m watching this baby tush crawling away from me.

The stairs are usually his destination, and once there, he will go as far up as he can, before he wants to turn around and chat, at which point, I catch him before he plummets to the ground.

This kid, more than the others and probably because of the others, thinks he’s 5.

He pulls himself up and starts to take a step before he remembers he doesn’t know how to walk.

He screams when we give him food in little pieces, because he’s convinced he should be allowed to hold a whole sandwich in his hands and be trusted not to shove the whole thing in his mouth.

And he crawls.

Like lightning.

Everywhere.

Just a baby, and already the kid is always leaving me.

But he always turns around, calls for “Mama!” and comes crawling right back.

Helena, his babysitter (and the other love of his life), quite accurately says he’s like a bulldog, because as he crawls around, he’s dripping drool.

I imagine catching it on film one day and then playing a slow-motion montage of him shaking his head, much like a bulldog, and watching the drool fly everywhere.

That would be the post that would go viral.

I just know it.

Anyway, I can think of a lot of worse ways to spend my time at home than chasing Tiny around the house, with a dishtowel so no one else slips and falls in the drool.

As his tiny tush says in the picture above, Life is Good.

February 26, 2012

Just One More

Filed under: Birthdays — Amy @ 6:00 am
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Okay, so the monkeys are not the only February birthdays we have in this family.

We also sneak in my brother-in-law, my sister-in-law and my mother.

That makes 7 February birthdays in an extended family of 27.

Just about 1/4 of the birthdays for the year in one month.

This year, my Mom turned 70.

And this year, I took a gamble, and decided to surprise her with the surprise party she has always said she would kill us if we threw her.

Because, the lady dosh protest too much, methinks.

Or, in English, (or, at least,  the English most normal people, who don’t go about quoting Hamlet, use), I think she was lying.

So, I played sneaky squirrel, enlisted my Dad’s help with the guest list and addresses and went to work.

I’m not embarrassed to pat myself on the back about this whole shindig.

It is not easy keeping a secret like this from the woman who spends a good part of each day in my house.

She even gets our mail, and I thought our cover was blown when one of the guests RSVP’d by mail instead of by phone.

However, I played it cool and let my inner Meryl Streep shine and fudged my way out of that one.

I have to say, I think it was a success.

Here’s the progression of surprise as she walked in the door.

And, although it will take you seconds to look at this, believe me when I tell you, she made this face and didn’t speak for a good three minutes.

I kinda thought she might be having a stroke or something, at one point.

However, she eventually smiled and enjoyed herself.

And, later, when I asked if she was mad, she answered “Only a little bit.”

So, the final birthday of February was a success, and now…

I rest.

February 25, 2012

Birthday Season Wrap Up

Filed under: Birthdays — Amy @ 6:00 am
Tags: ,

As so, as we come to the end of February, all of my babies are now one year older.

Thought I’d share some of the birthday fun with you, through photos.

Enjoy!

February 24, 2012

Five Question Friday

Filed under: Five Question Friday,Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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1. What’s your favorite way to spend down time (alone or with a significant other)?
Alone, I like to read or write.
With Real Man, I like to hang out and talk, because we rarely have time alone to sit and chat with each other without getting interrupted.
 
2. Are you the kind of person that wants things more as soon as you know you can’t have it?
To some extent, I think everyone is.
I want it, I can’t have it, so I’m upset that I can’t have it which makes it seem like I want it more, whether I do or not.
So, while my gut says “No…I’m not that kind of person,” my guess is that we all are.
 
3. If you were given $1000 to spend on yourself, what would you buy?
This question is harder than you know.
I am phenomenal at spending money on other people.
Especially money that is meant for me.
If I get money for a birthday or for Christmas, whether it is cash or a gift card, you can bet I’ll spend at least half of it on Real Man or the monkeys.
It’s like a sickness.
Probably because I don’t like to shop.
Also, I’ve got pretty much everything I want, so there’s nothing I really need or want.
I guess I’d go to Old Navy and get some clothes, go buy myself some shoes, maybe get an iPhone4, buy a bunch of books, get an iPad3 (assuming this was in the future and not today) and then give the kids my iPad (see, I can work them in somehow), go to a few movies with the monkeys, go to a few movies with Real Man, and for both of those trips, eat all the popcorn we want without worrying that it costs $43 for snacks…
Okay, perhaps I’ve spent more than $1000 here, and perhaps it wouldn’t be as hard as I thought to spend $1000 on myself.
 
4. Do you ever go out to eat by yourself?
I haven’t, and it makes me very sad to see other people eating out by themselves, but, to be honest, I think I would do it.
I ate by myself once.
I went to the mall, about 2 years ago, and got hungry while I was there.
So, I went to the bookstore, bought a book, then went to the Popeye’s at the food court, got some fried chicken fingers, mashed potatoes and a biscuit, found a table and ate and read alone.
It was kind of nice.
Because, (and my friends might argue this point, but it is the absolute truth), I don’t like to talk very much.
 
5. What company would you want to do a blog review for?
Well, I am currently doing blog reviews for Hip Mountain Mama and enjoying it immensely.
However, if it meant I could get a discount on the products, (or get them for free), I’d love to do blog reviews for Apple.
With regards to clothing, I’d like to do blog reviews for Old Navy.
If you were talking food, I’d love to do blog reviews for Hershey or Coca-Cola.
Ah, who am I kidding?  I’d pretty much review anything.
I love to write and I like stuff.

February 23, 2012

Eleven

Filed under: Birthdays — Amy @ 6:00 am
Tags: , ,

Monkey Girl is 11 today.

I strongly urge you to go back and read my post about her from two years ago (found here) because I think I said it well.

And the pictures of her are adorable.

The truth is, I can’t say enough about her.

From the moment the doctor said “Oh my God!  She’s huge!” instead of “It’s a girl!” I’ve been in love with her.

She is an amazing human being.

I love her so much, she makes my heart ache.

Happy Birthday to my precious eleven year old today.

Mama loves you.

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