Still Kicking

Today is the ol' bloggity blog's birthday. I'm celebrating with a big piece of cake.

2 years in and the blog is still kicking. Just for fun, I created a little poll to see why you visit this space on the interwebs.

Why do you read this blog?

• I think your posts are funny/witty/relevant to my life
• I am in your family/I know you in real life
• I have been reading for awhile and feel attached
• I think a lot of your posts are lame, but I've been reading for awhile and can't cut the cord
• I honestly don't know
• Furry chicken

Acepolls

More polls: smslån poker trend watch Phonera

No worries, I'm not thinking about pulling the plug or anything. As long as it's fun and I have something to post, the Bloggity Blog will live on! It's been great to have a creative outlet and place to share our happenings. Sometimes I read old posts and think, "what the heck was I thinking?" and other times I think, "that was brilliant and I am really awesome at blogging!"

Thanks for reading, whatever the reason! Happy birthday, blog!

Working On It

I've been neglecting this blog lately. Partly because I have been busy saying our goodbyes to family, but mostly because life has pretty much fledged a full on attack on us. Our townhouse got flooded by a busted pipe last month and the insurance companies have been horrible to work with. Some of the moving expenses we originally thought would be covered by JD's employer turned out to be our responsibility. Penelope got sick and had to spend 2 days in the hospital. Unexpected bills have piled up. And on and on. Oh yeah, and I have had 2 little kids to take care of all by myself. It has been exhausting, emotionally (and financially) exhausting.

Most days start out pretty normal, but by 10 am I am faced with another bad news phone call/tantrum throwing toddler/simultaneous crying baby and toddler and I start to lose it. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to throw in the towel on the day and go back to bed. But I don't. I can't, can I? Pretty sure having kids makes that a non-option, darn it. I usually just scream a little, cry a little, and feel sorry for myself a little. It helps. A little.

Life is hard right now, but I have realized that it's probably always going to be hard in some way. The girls' simultaneous crying may end one day, but it will be replaced with fights over clothes and other things I imagine sisters to fight over. Busted pipes and ruined hardwood floors will get replaced, but insurance adjusters aren't going to make it an easy process. There's little I can do to avoid life's punches, they're going to come.

What I do have control over is my reaction to it all. I can react negatively (note the little bit of screaming, crying, and feeling sorry for myself above), or I can react in a way that honors God and shows my family that I can handle the pressure. I want to get good at the latter. I want to handle life's trials with grace and barely any tears. Some tears are okay. Crying is a really good stress reliever. I'm working on it. One screaming, crying, bad day at a time.

A Really Great Story About Something

I have a really great story to tell. A few actually. They are witty and thought provoking, smart and hilarious. The only problem is I can't remember them. Everyday I think of the perfect blog post to write, but when I get a chance to sit down and write it, I decide to take a nap instead. Then I wake up and nurse a baby, play with a toddler, cook for a husband, and try to stay awake until bedtime. When I get another chance to write it, I decide to take a nap again. The cycle just continues with me thinking of awesome blogs to write, but deciding to nap instead. And in the rare moments that I feel rested enough to skip the sacred nap, I can't remember the awesome, witty, thought provoking story I was going to write. Sigh. 


That is what has happened with this post. I have been wracking my brain for the past hour trying to remember all of the interesting stories I wanted to share, but I can't remember a darn thing. Not a single, tiny snippet of a story that I once thought to be interesting enough to share with you all. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Plus I'm really tired and want to crawl into bed so my brain is not functioning at maximum capacity right now. Can I just ramble instead? Yes? Good.

I think I am starting to get the hang of having 2 kids. Penelope is sleeping more at night and I am happy to report that approximately 2 nights in the last 3.5 weeks have yielded 7+ hours of uninterrupted sleep for me. That means I wake up feeling semi refreshed and rested. I still require an afternoon nap everyday though. On the few days that I have opted to skip the nap, I have really, really regretted it. Nursing zaps me. Plus naps are freaking awesome. They really are.

It has only been 3.5 weeks since Penelope surged into this world from my loins, but it feels like she has always been with us. The other night, JD asked me if I remembered when it was just us and Beatrice. I had to think about it for a good minute and, I kind of don't remember. Penelope fits right in our little family so perfectly, it's hard to remember life without her. She is the sweetest, cutest, cuddliest little baby ever. I love her.

Because I can't remember the point of this post and feel as though I could ramble on forever, I'm going to wrap this up with some photos from Penelope's newborn session. I figure it is a fine way to end a post about nothing. Plus you get to see some beautiful pictures of a precious newborn. Plus plus I really want to go to bed. Until next week when I decide to stay up late to write about nothing again, enjoy these photos of our little family.

Some Updates

JD is not 100% okay with this blog. He is fine with the silly ramblings I write and the self-deprecating humor, but when it comes to sharing information about our family, it makes him uncomfortable. We watch a lot of Dateline and 48 Hours Mystery so we automatically think of worst case scenarios for almost every scenario we find ourselves in. He imagines perverts checking out our pictures and stalkers hijacking our personal info with each new entry. I really have to censor what I post on here to keep him comfy and maintain a little bit of our privacy. 

I get this face when he feels that I have over-shared.

But not divulging everything is really hard. I'm a sharer. I like sharing our life, I like sharing my feelings. Of course there are certain boundaries I will never cross as a blogger (like writing about marital relations or posting the cutest naked hiney pics of my toddler), but there is a certain level of intimacy we share as a blogging community that makes it difficult to not talk/write to you all like we're old friends. People "know" us and want to know about our lives. I get emails and Facebook messages from readers wanting more info (hopefully) because they care and not because they are psychos. Psychos, kindly click the red X in the corner of your computer screen and never come back, thank you. Some degree of opening up is expected when you put yourself out there in blog land. I am trying to find the balance in that. Bear with me. And I'm totally in trouble for posting that picture of angry JD up there. Big trouble. 

The Move

We are on track to move in 5 more weeks, however there is a small possibility that we may be delayed a few weeks. This has made planning our move impossible. We don't know when we will be moving so we can't schedule the movers, plan the nursery, or buy my plane ticket. Not knowing when to move is only the beginning of the fun. We cannot select our new insurance until JD starts his job and without a concrete start date, we can't select doctors. I have no idea where I am having this baby or who will be assisting me. We are at a complete stand still. Sounds wonderful, huh?

The House

After nearly 6 months on the market with tons of activity and no offers, we decided to rent. 3 days after I placed the ad, we had 2 qualified applicants fighting over our place. We selected tenants and they are moving in August. I met them yesterday and they are awesome. We hugged. I feel a huge sense of peace about renting and having these tenants take care of our place for the next few years. I am stoked. 

The Baby

I have no idea where to have Penelope. With the insurance fiasco, we will be starting over with new coverage once JD begins his new job. That means we have to meet all of our deductibles anew. If we go in 5 weeks, I will be 35 weeks pregnant. If we are delayed, I will be further than that. We are debating whether or not it will be best for me to stay behind and have her here with plenty of help from family or me go on to California with JD and have her out there. Either way, it is going to be expensive and cost us a bazillion dollars. I have absolutely no peace with either scenario, not because of the finances, but because I want to be with JD. But I also want to be with our family. I want it all, okay. Beatrice will go wherever I go, of course.

The Bright Side

This move has been the biggest lesson in patience and waiting on God. We have absolutely no control at this point. We cannot make even the smallest of decisions because we don't have all of the information. All we know is that this season of our lives is moving forward as if it were being powered by something bigger than us. Some might say that would be the government, but I like to believe it is God. We have been praying that God open the right doors for us and make the crooked paths straight. While it is kind of scary, it is pretty liberating to just sit back and let God make the next move for us. I am nervous and excited, but ultimately have a hope that cannot be shaken that my God has plans to prosper us and make a way where there seems to be no way. 

That about sums most of it up. We have been busy doing the things that we can, like changing banks and insurance companies to national branches. We have been spending lots of time with family and we have been doing our best to imagine ourselves completely settled and ready for Penelope, wherever we are. 

Beatrice has been up to a lot too these days, but she deserves her own post. It has to do with tractors and skinny dipping and peepeeing on the potty. Can you hardly wait?

Happy Birthday, Bloggity Blog

A year ago today, I wrote this very lame post. I didn't really know what direction I wanted to take this blog (still kind of don't), but I wanted to write about the random nonsense that creeps into my mind along with some meaningful stuff too. I hope that I have accomplished that. In a year, I have grown from zero followers to 150 (woohoo!), I have encouraged others and been encouraged, I have admitted some weaknesses that made me feel vulnerable, I have gotten personal, I have met new friends, I have offended the mean internet lady,  and I hope I have made you laugh. This blog continues to be a creative outlet for me to not only share my thoughts, but also hone my writing. Thank you for reading and commenting and being apart of this little corner of the internet. Cheers!

To celebrate, I took the blog to the beach. It's having a lovely time. See for yourself. The blog really knows how to kick up its feet and relax.

Blog Stuff

On Wednesday, the blog was featured on a great blogging community site called SITS. It links up over 8000 fellow bloggers and encourages each other to comment and support other blogs you might not ever link up with. It was kind of overwhelming the amount of visitors and comments I received. It was really cool and made me so glad to be apart of a community of bloggers that are thoughtful and interested in things that others have to say. I have about 25 new followers from my feature day alone so I thought I better do a little intro for the new folks. Welcome new folks!

If you're like me, when you find a new blog that you like, you get stuck for hours hitting the older posts button at the bottom of the page because you want to "get to know" that blogger by reading everything they ever wrote. While most of what I have written is semi-interesting (I hope), some of it is not. So I added a new tab at the top called Best of Aly for those who want to read some of the older posts, but only the good ones. These posts are my favorites for one reason or another but be sure to check it out for some interesting/funny/ridiculous reads.

Hopefully you have all figured out the language of this blog. I am sarcastic. I am funny. More funny-random than funny-haha I've been told. I really hope no one has walked away feeling offended or angered by what they have read. I do not hate the cat. My child doesn't eat an actual prisoner's diet. I don't really think boys are gross (see post below). I use sarcasm and my unique sense of humor to write about issues that bother/interest/perplex/happen to me. I don't make up stuff about our life, but I do embellish stories with humor and sarcasm. The general rule for reading my writing is if it seems ridiculous, it probably should not be taken literally. I am exaggerating my feelings and using humor to write about it. I have found that most people who read and like my blog like my sense of humor - that's why they stay around. But there have been a few comments from new folks that think I am a terrible person for the way that I write. I think they may have missed the humor and sarcasm. I definitely don't mean to offend anyone by what I write, but you should also know that I may write some things that you don't agree with. I think about all of this when I write, but ultimately I write for myself with my readers in mind. You may not agree with it all, but please don't take it all very seriously. If it's outrageous, it's meant to be funny.

That's about it. I'm so thrilled to have new readers and I hope you like what you read here. Check out the Best Of Aly section to catch up on what I've been up to for the last year. Thanks for following me and supporting the blog!

Here's the Deal

So by now, most of you have probably been wondering why this blog has had such high levels of suckage lately. Stop being polite. Even I know it has sucked. I have lost 5 followers in the last 3 weeks. That's a lot when you only have a hundred or so. There are many reasons for the suckage actually. The holidays really wiped me out. We were busy and rushing around with family. There's been the stress of keeping our place clean and tidy for real estate showings. We have had 3 so far in the last week so we are hopeful that we will get an offer soon. And honestly, I haven't felt all that creative lately. Oh and then there's this.

I'm pregnant with baby #2. My loins beareth fruit. Hooray, yay!!!! Phew. That feels like a 100 lbs has been lifted off of my shoulders. That has been the hardest secret to keep from my bloggy world. I hate keeping secrets because it kind of feels like lying. So, I have barely written anything. And all of the stuff I come up with  to write has to do with pregnancy so I have just been laying low, hoping not to lose anymore of you.

How did this happen, you ask? Well, other than the obvious (brown chicken brown cow), we had a moment in October where we thought we might be pregnant. When we weren't, we decided that we really wanted to be. So we did what we had to do to make it happen. Again and again and again and again and again. And a month later, I took that picture up there early in the morning. We are thrilled and can't wait to make Beatrice a big sister.

Go pop a cork and celebrate for me. It will be approximately 29 more weeks before I will be popping any corks or celebrating in that fashion. Yay for babies!!

Pretty Please With A Cherry On Top

A few weeks ago, I was apart of an online discussion about why bloggers blog. The general consensus was that bloggers like attention, therefore they shamelessly divulge every detail of their lives for their readers to get wrapped up in. The other theory was that bloggers are narcissistic. They think the happenings of their lives are less mundane than the rest of us so they write about it hoping the readers pick up on their superiority and awesomeness. And some bloggers just like to write.

I have a different theory. 

Blogging is not just about what happens on this site. Blogging is a community of real people connecting over the things in life that touch us, speak to us, encourage us and entertain us, all made possible by the awesomeness of the internet. For me, blogging has been about making real connections with real people who happen to have spectacular blogs. And who happen to think mine is pretty cool too. I get excited and inspired when I see a new post in my Google Reader from someone I "know" online. I think anyone who has followed a blog and gotten to "know" the blogger can relate. There is something profound about revealing bits of yourself to people who may never meet you in real life and in return, they care about you and what happens in your life. It's like they are along for the journey, even if it is a vicarious jaunt. 

I blog because I love making the connections and because sometimes I have something to say. And I like the way words make their way out of my head and onto the screen. That being said, I have a favor to ask. In the six months I've been blogging, I have never asked anything of you.....until now. 

The blog is listed on Top Baby Blogs and every time someone clicks the blinky square to the right (and below), my blog goes higher on the list. I don't win anything but more exposure and a higher place on the list of amazing blogs. And I have been holding steady at 90ish followers for months now and breaking 100 is a personal goal of mine so if you're a regular reader but not following, do a sister a favor and follow! So if it's not too much to ask, click the blinky link thingy and vote for me. I'd be much obliged. Spread the love! And after you vote for me, check out the other talented writers, narcissists and attention hounds. Just don't vote for them. I kid, I kid. 

Sparkly

Every now and then, I catch the crafty fever and cannot crochet/make stuff enough. That is what happened to me this week. I have been working on new patterns and fulfilling new orders. It is so fun, but I have neglected some things, the blog included. I am going to make a tab up there under the header to display the things I have made and things that are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Here are a few of my latest creations.

Diaper cover:

Bomber hat:

Newsboy cap:

There are several other winter hat designs and an afghan for Beatrice's birthday that I am working on too. Needless to say, there is a lot of yarn around here. I've decided with Christmas around the corner, (3 months from tomorrow) I am gearing up to mass produce my little hats and things to make some extra cash. And the first thing I'm gonna buy are these. To match Beatrice's first pair of shoes bought this week.

Happy Friday!

Blog

Like the new background? I'm still searching for "the look" of the blog. It's a little girly, a little dramatic and hopefully easy on the eyes. Just like me. Hehe. I've watched a bazillion tutorials on how to customize blog stuff but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to center the header. Anyone know?

The blog has been a work in progress for a while. For at least a year, I have felt like I should write. I have a degree in English Literature and spent many years writing. Writing papers, writing fiction, writing reviews, writing letters, writing ads. I had an opportunity to write for a monthly publication a few years back but didn't feel qualified and passed it up. Dumb, dumb move. This blog has become a way for me to polish my rusty writing skills.

I have always enjoyed writing. When I was a kid, I wrote and illustrated stories all of the time. I even bound 1 of my books by sewing up the cardboard back with yarn and covered it with floral fabric and ribbon. Most of my stories were about Native Americans living on the shore who ate abalone. I think I just liked the word abalone. Still do actually. I knew I loved literature but never knew I could devote my college years studying it. A great advisor suggested that I invest my time in college studying what I loved instead of learning a trade.....actually, this advice seems kind of stupid now that I think of it. I studied, I learned, and I wrote.

Then I graduated and had nothing left to read or write about. Let me rephrase: I had nothing left required to read or write about. I felt empty and useless. I had a great job and was pretty fulfilled at it but I didn't have the excitement and the pressure of having 3 huge papers to complete over a weekend. You know you're a nerd when research papers tickle your fancy. I tried to make every job assignment that required writing like a homework project and write my heart out over notices to vacate or internet advertisements. It wasn't quite the same.

Somewhere along the way, I gave up a dream of writing anything. I stopped thinking up witty emails and I quit editing my Facebook bio to sound just like me. The most creative writing I was doing was on greeting cards. My mom gets the best notes from me in cards. I'm her creative child. And then I started the blog. I love having a project and an outlet for the words arranging and rearranging themselves in my head. And I love getting new followers/readers. It keeps the pressure on high for me to know that people other than my friends are reading. Sometimes knowing that my husband is reading makes me completely self-conscious. I just want him to think I'm smart. What if he thinks the blog is dumb? Oh I couldn't deal with that. 


So I have the blog now. I don't really know what my focus is or where it is going. I hope to inspire and encourage, but mostly I just write. Some of the topics are not interesting. Some of the formatting is wonky and drives me CRAZY. But I love having the readers and comments and opportunity to hone my skill. And until I find the perfect background and figure out how to center the darn header, my writing will have to be enough to represent the "feel" of the blog.