wth is in my purse?

I was reading up on/stalking Lindsey (from the Pleated Poppy) over on Kate's blog today.

I kept thinking two things:

1.  She is so dang cute!

2.  Her purse is super organized.

Then I thought it would be fun/terrifying to show you what's in my purse.

Here she is:

She weighs about 100 lbs and has multiple huge rips inside, likely from bearing such an enormous amount of crap.

Here are a few things that I consider for use in emergeny situations.

Miscellaneous toys given to Stevie that end up in my purse for ages and a bottle opener juuuust incase.

Toiletries.

No, I'm not joking and yes this is all really in my purse.

I have eye issues during the Spring in that they swell up like crazy, so all of that eye stuff seems necessary to me.

Rubber bands for my braces (sexy) and floss for my braces (also sexy).

Tissues, hair brush, lotion, chap stick, breath mint, smell good stuff, and a stain remover pen. 

Completely necessary.

Plethora of meds.

Yes, those are diet pills of a sort and no they don't magically make you lose weight.

They do give you tons of energy in a pinch.

Allergy stuff that I try not to take because I know it just makes the following Spring worse.  Plus, the ones in the bottle are expired.

Excedrin bottles that are filled with all kinds of things, none of which are actually Excedrin.

Tums?  These aren't mine.

Now I shall wait for my all natural amiga, Ott, to tell me to stop taking this stuff.

And I will tell her I will.

And the rest of it...

A planner that is still in the month of February, an file with coupons, misc. coupons for free or cheap stuff, pay check stubs, a notebook w/ pen, a heavy-a wallet stuffed with receipts I can assure you I will do nothing with, random papers that include, but are not limited to: info for our white water rafting trip next weekend, requests for transcripts, medical paperwork, and more.

And there you have it.

I promise I am organized in other areas of my life that do not include my purse or closets anywhere in my house.

Now go off and feel better about your cleanliness...

Confessions of a Real Life Mom.

I will never be a morning person.

I get up when I need to, but I sure don't like it.

If I had it my way, I'd sleep until 9-10am every single day. 

They didn't call me 'Snoozin' Susan' when I was younger for nothing.

I've accepted it.  In fact, I'm embracing my love of sleep; I decided that I will go back to lazy Sundays.  'Lazy' is my least favorite word and I will punch anyone who calls me lazy, but I took a nap while Little Steven was napping on Sunday and I feel so refreshed!  Take THAT morning wake up call!

Maybe the giant bags under my eyes will finally disappear.

Here's hopin'!

Let's focus on the positives, shall we?

I've successfully cut down on my caffiene intake, I work out regularly (brag: 80 min. cycling sesh/800 calories burned/23 mi.  BOOYA), and I have stepped up my game in the clothing department - dare I say I look dang cute?  I dare.

So, now that we've established my single flaw (HA!), finish this sentence...

I will never be...

Smilings My Favorite + Awkward & Awesome

Do you even see that picture?!  I just die!  Every time I have a camera, he is ready to smile.  Of course, I love when he smiles in general, but smiling is so contagious.  In pictures, I smile with my mouth shut because I have adult braces; however, in real life, people get the real deal - hardware and all.  It's pretty incredible how much a person's mood can change just by smiling - and how much we can change other people's moods by smiling, too!

I used to work for a hospice company.  I absolutely loved the job itself and am super passionate about the industry; it's the reason I know my calling in life is to be a nurse.  For the most part, I was surrounded by some of the most beautiful people I've ever met, including my Mama, and continue to be so inspired by them.  In contrast, there were a couple of people that rubbed me the wrong way for various reasons.  While I know now that responding back in a negative way was a horrible idea and only cultivated worse feelings, they made it difficult to really enjoy my job and smile.  It occurred to me that I wasn't really proud of the person I was at work in some instances; while I gave and received a lot of encouragement and kindness from the the majority of my coworkers, it bothered me that I wasn't giving and receiving the same encouragement from the minority - specifically two.  So, I decided to move on.  My job now isn't necessarily the most positive working environment, but it allows me to go to school, be a mom, and make money; even if I have my complaints, I'm seriously blessed to have an opportunity to do all of these things and am incredibly grateful for my boss and his kind (albeit, stubborn) heart.  What's not to smile about?

Awkward:

- Snorting.  I snort when I laugh sometimes, which is common knowledge to my friends and family,  but it's always really uncomfortable when a 'new' person experiences the snort.

- Being told by more than one person that Zooey Deschanel's character in The New Girl reminds them of me.  I thought so myself, too, but the realization that everyone else knows me to be that awkward is...awkward.

- My two pack.  I have successfully developed a two pack in my belly, but the part where the other 4 are supposed to go is still a little bit like Jell-O, so it's in a really strange looking stage.

- Giving the neighbors and accidental 'show' this morning in my nighty letting Bella out.  I didn't think anyone would see me!

Awesome:

-GLEE started this week!  While the premiere wasn't all that great, I know it's gonna be a good season.

- The Redskins being 2-0 for the first time in 4 years.  HOLLAA!

- A two pack > A keg.

- Big Steven's cousin had her twins this morning.  Two very big, healthy baby girls!  She's one of the sweetest people I know and has a GIANT heart, so this blessing for her makes me ultra happy.

- Crockpots.  'Nuff Said.

- My Chocolate Banana Muffins.  To be continued...

Going Through Changes.



{source}



Again...

Today is a double post kind of day.  Even if that means breaking the 'blog rules,' it just is.

Last week, I got a call from my boss asking if I'd consider going back into the office part time, so I threw some options around in my head, crunched some numbers, and got back to him with a 'proposal' of sorts.

Without giving too many detes, we've agreed that I will go back to work Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8-2 and work from home Wednesdays and Fridays for the remaining 7 or more hours.  Of course, this came with a generous pay increase because I will have to send Stevie back to Mrs. L for 3 days a week.

The Negatives: Well, the most obvious is that the work from home full time was short-lived.  I will now have to deal with traffic, gas guzzlin', and wear and tear on my car.  I won't be able to do a morning run, which means beatin' the heat in the afternoon at least one day a week.  I have to start packing food for Stevie again which is a challenge because I never know what he'll actually eat.

The Positives: My hours on office days are really reasonable and I will still get home at an awesome time.  I've been worried about Stevie's lack of playmates and direct learning as I have few hours to spend with him during the day; Mrs. L and her MIL do a great job of teaching him and he can now grow even more.  I get to wake up at 6 instead of 5 like I used to when I was in the office!  YAH!  I will shower at a decent time and look nice for a few days out of the week :)

Even though the whole working from home took forever to actually put into action, my boss has been really generous to me.  I think he truly cares about my quality of life and understands the place I'm at right now in my life - stressed, overwhelmed, and broke.  Somewhere along the line, he must've decided that I am an asset to the company and has really put TREMENDOUS effort into making my life easier.

The last week, I've been having a nervous break down about all of it because that's basically what I do when things are disrupted; I don't deal well with changes in routine - working on it.  This morning, I woke up and decided to focus on the good changes rather than the bad and that's gotten me through the day so far without any major upsets.  Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and I have to move on.

Let's see where this road goes...