Moving Sucks?

Nothing witty in that title...nope! Moving does suck. And unfortunately, I or should I say we, have become very close to the subject over the past 3 years. I even said the other day, Emma (our littlest duckling) has lived in 3 homes in her life.....well folks...she's 3 so you do the math. So yes, we are very familiar with this topic - MOVING! See for us its always a pack a little here and pack a litle there in the weeks prior to moving day for for the most part we "crash-pack" the day before. Oh yes friends, its so much funner that way. NOT! But its how we do it in the Allen house.

So why 3 moves in 3 years you ask? Well let me tell you. There was 2 1/2 lovely years in our original home that we hand picked from the rental ads. This lovely beast came well equipped with a pool, spa and perfect landscaping. This was the home where it all started. Our lives were now his, hers and ...well...."ours" was on the way. We found out we were pregenant the week we moved in. We considered buying this house. It did have everything we wanted you know. BUT......our instincts kicked in and so did the fact that we were planning a wedding and having a baby so why throw another big deed in the mix. So we passed. THANKG GOD we did! What would have cost us $630,000 would turn out to be worth $340,000 just 2 years later. Morale of that story my friends? Follow your instincts !

So enter economic spiral. Yes...this house was too much to take on at this point. And with a not-so-toddler-friendly-pool right off the back sliding doors? It was time to find a home that had no chance of our most recent pride and joy becoming a victim to. Good thing...because she learned how to open doors
THAT WEEK! Oh yes......that leads us to house #2.

So house number 2. Well, apparently 2700 square feet wasn't enough that we now needed 3300 square feet. We were paying less however if you can beleive that. This house was on a cute little cul-de-sac with a walking trail that ran next to it. It was big and it was beautiful and it was apparently a haven for black widows and brentwood beetles. OH MY GAWD!!!! Where do these valley critters come from. Oh yeah...it's the valley....duh! We had no idea until we sprayed the place and you could see these things scatter. (yes my friends another reason why I just couldn't fall in love this this town). Now see, back to our little one opening doors. As we unpacked on that second day of moving in, a neighbor knocks on our door. As I thought to myself "wow they have a welcome committee here", I opened the door to greet our new neighbors only to have her ask me "do you have a little girl?" Confused we ran outside only to see little Emma in all her glory coming around the corner with another neighbor. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? How in the world did this happen. Yes folks, lesson #1 in Your Toddler Can Open Doors. Can't let that happen again. Oh but just wait.

Now we are all moved in, kids rooms look cute as a button, the "room under the stairs" is now a playroom big enough to accomodate a preschool class and the energy is just beaming. Well see...the energy did "beam" you know. Our PG&E bills now surpassed our car payments each month. OUCH! Thats right, lets play a little game called How-Much-Does-It-Take-To-Heat/Cool-Your-House. Well...actually lets not. Thats a painful memory. So skip ahead a couple of weeks. The house is quiet, Daddy is playing his new favorite game Call of Duty and I am probably cleaning something (cuz thats what I do). See at this point the house is too quiet. "Where's Emma" I ask. "Isn't she upstairs?" is the husbands response. Well....we checked rooms, all 5 of them, we checked kitchen cabinets, we checked the "playroom" ...NO EMMA! I have never felt so much panic in my life. No one could have come into the house and taken her, to my knowledge there were no alien abductions in that neighborhood in previous months, so what in the world happended to her. The front door was closed tight and the back door was locked. So we decided to look outside. Now see we lived on a cul-de-sac where is should be bustling with kids on their bikes and grown ups mowing the lawns (which I seemed to have forgotten that you don't see that all that often in HOA neighborhoods..its done for them) and there was nobody outside. All I could hear was the Indy 500 going on in my head...my thoughts were racing. I saw another set of neighbors across the street down 3 houses sitting on their porch. Yes I remember the exact placement, you would too if you were a little OCD and your kid was missing. I asked the neighbors if they saw a little girl and "oh you mean this one?" Oh my god.....REALLY?! Lesson # 2 in Your Toddler Can Open Doors AND Get To Know Your Neighbors. Scary thing is that they found Emma coming back into the cul-de-sac from the walking path and thought she was from another neighborhood and called the cops. Do you think I felt like a bad parent? Well....lets just say I felt like CPS would be making the next house call.

So 3300 square feet was too big after all. We needed to downsize - EVERYTHING! Especially our utility bills. So enter house #3. I call it the "temporary". We knew only one year here and back to pleasanton. And here we are....packing day. Tomorrow is moving day and I am exhausted and excited. Its time to end commuting as we have known it for 4 years. Its time for a fresh start.

The force is strong with this one!

I call her the dating Ninja. The Obie One Canobie for all single girls. Her one jedi mind trick could have taken down the entire Sex and the City empire if she had revealed her secrets only a couple of years sooner. If she were around and single at the same time I was she would have changed my whole single life as I knew it. Now....for the sake of the many hearts that may have already been broken and the many minds still yet to be played, I will not reveal the real name of this Femme Fatale at large. But lets just say she has a small following of single females that are stealth enough to taint the single males world without them them even knowing what hit them.

The story begins in a wine bar in where me and 2 other of my lovely lady friends K and T decided to catch up on the happenings since our D.R. Horton days. Our trio consisted of one being happily married, one being recently introduced to the divorced/single-mommy world and one being...oh lets just say my once "partner-in-crime-still-living-the-single-life" gal pal. We discussed everything from "remember when....?" to "That one still had a girlfriend when I was dating him" to "When in the world did we become cougars" and everything in between.

I passed around the joys of marrying a co-worker; there were the 2 bottles of Silver Oak that "sealed the deal", romps on the hood of the Vette, only 89 days until co-habitation and 11 months we welcomed our little bundle of joy. That montage covered only the first year. Then there was T who has only recently found herself thrown into the joys of single-hood after years in less than blissful marriage, raising two beautiful boys and starting her own business. She had a story to tell. One that would be all to understood in this group of girls. She....in her late 30's gulping down the word "cougar" was dating...well thats the PG-13 term for it...a younger guy. Oh how that had a familiarity to us all that was more than bittersweet. See dating a younger guy has its pros; we technically have the upper hand because we see their games before they are played (remember we wrote that book in OUR 20's), we have the ability to mold their minds like playdoh..oh..and those 20 something girls have nothing on what we can do in bed. But on the flip side, these are boys we are dealing with. We must navigate their immaturity and their constant Shutes and Ladders mentality. We must always be on the defense, waiting for their next attack because we all know the playing field is ever changing. So this rico-suave seems to be the poster child for this topic. Clearly there was a magnetic appeal that he had to T and what was being offered on the menu looked pretty appealing. But there would be strings attached even when the words "no strings attached" were spoken. This guy clearly wanted her and a little bit of vice-versa. But the inevitable was about to happen. He would start playing his games and she would get a little tangled in them. So enters K........

She has some advise that would rock this whole topic, turn this whole game upside down. She was about to share the most simplest, gotta-beleive-it-to-see-it, fail proof strategy that was passed down from Sensei herself. SO here goes;

K to T (sharing what she has learned and even successfully executed) " SO text "him" the following - "On my way...keep your pants on until i get there"............ hit SEND!

Now we wait to see how long it takes this guy with his man-brain-assisting-response to.......well..respond. Now mind you, this guy, as with most, "picks and chooses" when he wants to respond to her on the more regular basis. So get this....before the phone hits the table....message still in virtual que...the response comes in.

His response: "Was this meant for me?"

Now we wait the excruciating 5-8 minutes for a reposne (I say excruciating for him really..his man brain is awake now).

T's response: "LOL.....thats wht I get for drving and textng" (oh and mistype a few words for authenticity).

Try it...see what happens and report back to me! Simple...Effective!


Trust me..he did respond after that and the secret...DON'T RESPOND TO HIM! The mind missle has been detinated..seed had been planted. He now thinks he no longer holds the upper hand.....I mean...He's not the only guy you are thinking about right?! Now it's his turn to spend his days wondering what YOU are doing. and really...does it matter what we are doing? We're girls...We've got game......We've got your number.

What's on your Bucket List

I was watching Oprah the other day and was intrigued by the 4 young guests from Canada and their reason for appearing on her show. This group of young men, started their own "bucket list" not on any premise that they were embarking on the final years of their lives but merely to seek out and live their lives to the fullest.

"Relying on goodwill, guts and gumption Duncan, Ben, Dave and Jonnie travel the globe in a purple transit bus to complete a list of ‘100 things to do before you die’ and to help and encourage others to go after their own lists."

Their show, The Buried Life which airs on MTV, was inspired from the 1852 poem written by Matthew Arnold. A poem which expresses "A thirst to spend our fire and restless force, In tracking out our true, original course", inspired this dynamic foursome to travel across the United States (#25 on their list) and fulfill not only their own dreams but others as well. For each item that they check off their own list, they will help a stranger accomplish a goal of their own. This is truly not only an inspiration to accomplish ones own personal goals to live "out loud" but a testament to paying it forward as well. It is about uncovering day-to-day trials that "bury our lives" and learning to evaluate our own dreams.

The List, includes simple things like #7 plant a tree and #52 go on a blind date and my personal favorite #29 scream at the top of your lungs (oh I am so adding this to my list). There are also a few items that take gumption and determination like #1 open the six o'clock news, #68 swim with sharks (now that one gives me the heebie jeebies - I'll personally pass on that one) and #95 play ball with president Obama (which by the way they accomplished). They actually posted in their blog "The Complete, Unofficial Guide to Playing Basketball With the President" that they put that one down because it "was the most impossible thing that (we) could think of". That standalone phrase sais it all. Life is about embarking upon the simplest things that we take for granted as well as challenging ourselves to our most impossible dreams.

We all get wrapped up in the monotony of our daily lives and the what we are "supposed to do's". For many of us we are chasing the 5 and 10 year goals that we set for ourselves some time ago and focusing only on how to get there. And for many of us those 5/10 year "plans" include the generic "own my first home", "get married and "start a family". I'll bet my measly savings account that a small percentage have actually tapped into their authentic selves and added things like "splash in the biggest puddle I can find with my kids on a rainy day" or "interview my favorite author (whoever that may be at the time)" or even simply "knit a scarf". We rarely tap into our own souls until we are either at a crossroads or rock bottom.  Why wait until the universe hands us the inevitable? Why aren't we rethinking our life goals to include what our spirits are telling us we want to experience and not just what we think we should be experiencing. Food for thought right?!.

So what is your "Life List"? Have you accomplished the items on your 5/10 year plan? Have you ever thought about revisiting that list and making a few alterations? I say now is the best time to do that. I am going to challenge myself and start a list. I challenge you start your own list and start living out loud!

(the start of...) MY LIFE LIST

1. Marry my soulmate

2. Make a six figure salary (working on this one again)

3. Go back to school

4. Take my family to Hawaii
5. Publish an article
6. Purchase a home in the mountains
7. Be a part of something bigger than myself (i.e. help others in need, give back to a charity)
8. Go on a cruise
9. Grow my own garden
10. Live in a house with a window seat
11. Learn to read music
12. Learn to meditate...I mean really meditate (OOOMMMMMM)
13. Sit down and have a heart-to-heart with my brother Ian
14. Swim with dolphins
15. Go whale watching


(Oh my gosh this really makes you think...) Stay tuned..........

What to do on a rainy day

What to do on a rainy day. Rainy days are often given to us as a hall pass to do nothing. Staying in your pajamas all day has never been so excepted than on rainy days. Grazing on comfort foods until you are so full you need to take a nap is a little luxury given to us only on rainy days. Renting movies that you refused to pay $10.00 for in the theater are usually first on the list. And hey, where do you think all of those crafty moms out there first discovered there talents. You guessed it....on a rainy day.

So what to do on a rainy day. I am reading books to my 3 year old. I am watching her dance around in her favorite princess nightgown (that by the way...has seen better days). I am watching her tuck in almost every stuffed animal she has into blankets and lay them all over the house, because they are not exempt from rainy day luxuries either. I am contemplating if I want to bake cupcakes that I so desperately want but so desperately DON'T need. I am finding comfort and peace in vacumming every nook and cranny in the house because, well thats what I do on rainy days.

What to do on a rainy day!

Mommy...this one's for you.

I am grabbing the essence of this before my baby hits her teen years and writes a different story about me. Before I realize that I need to start saving pennies, not for a rainy day or for an ivy league college but for the co-payments on her therapy sessions for the abuse that she will most certainly convince herself of that I put her through. Thats inevitable right?! She WILL despise me one day..I am most certain of it.



But wait...maybe there is some hope on the horizon after all.



As she put her pencil to her notebook, there was nothing but silence from the backseat as we made our 1,385,264th drive through Vasco's neverending 2 lane road. She had already written about becoming the most famous, most "rediculously" rich, sought after "creator" of the one and only Rainbow Caramel Fudge Ice Cream that "everyone from around the world would just go nuts for one cup of this ice cream" and about her "Robot Creation" that would do everything for her, so I could only imagine what would come next. (yes I realize that was a run on sentence...SUE ME). So 5, 4th grader paragraphs later, there it was. The Ode of all Ode's.







............MY MOM...........



My mom is kind, sweet, caring and loving. She helps me out with my problems whenever I'm feeling really sad or just a little blue.



Whenever she picks me up from school or daycare she picks me up on time, everytime. (she even punctuated it correctly..ohhhhh i am so proud right now). She's always being so close with me when we are having a conversation(s). (yes she really did do the (s) thing) Also she always takes care of me all of the time. She is always there for me.



She is a smart, responsible, funny and helarious person. (seriously..I did not pay her $$ for this one) She would always be fun by taking me to fun places.



She is the bestest mom ever. No other mom can beat her, ever. (I know...really?!) She rocks off my socks. (you hear it here first people)



She always folds my laundry, but of course I still help her because she is my mom. Sometimes when I am very good, she will either take me somewhere cool or fun. OR, she would get me or give me something.



She is just so amazing to me. Everything she does is amazing and I just love it. Also, she is always turning up the good songs in the car or in the house so I can have fun and dance or when she is cooking me something.



She has another daughter named Emma, she's my sister and she is about two or three feet and she has light-white skin. She has curly, dark red hair and crystal clear blue eyes. (yes I now I make them beautiful). She is so adorable and funny.



And the rest about my mom is that she is about 5ft4 and she has almost dirty blonde hair. (WHEW..thank you baby for not GUESSING mommy's weight...kisses). She even has beautiful eyes and a cute smile. I love her more than chocolate or anything else. The End.



Now explain to me how you don't cherish this moment. How you don't thank your lucky stars that God placed this little morsel of wonderment into your life. This little spiral notebook, one page, Ode to her mommy made for the most perfect moment in a not so perfect world. Thank you Brianna for being mommy's Morsel of Wonderment.

DOH......Busted!

So I am officially "One of those people". I am only admitting it because I got caught. Yes Red Handed. And there was no way to play it off. So this is how it played out....

So it was the first time in 3 days that I actually ventured out of the house. My other half had been in his 2 day - 20 hour mortgage corporate licensing class (Oh joy doesn't that sound like super fun) and I was nursing a sick 2 and half year old who has, during this time, has shared her germs with me (cough-cough). So I decided it was time to throw on some sweats, a grungy t-shirt and throw my hair in a messy bun (oh and don't be fooled..its not the cute messy bun that all the 20 somethings seem to pull off..oh no...I really mean messy) and head out to one of my favorite grocery establishments - Trader Joe's. I know...I mention its one of my favorites and yet I still don't dress up for it. Shows my dedication right? Imagine how my husband feels since this is my usual attire these days.

So I am there for a few things. The husband is craving warm organic tomato soup (MMMM our favorite) with shaved parm and garlic croutons along with a grilled sourdough havarti and honey sandwich (a little plug for my culinary skills hee-hee). So since I am there, I do have a few other items on the list that need to make it into my basket. So as I glide down the coffee / tea aisle (yes I glide...at least that is how I felt it was going down) and past the sample station I decided on some cough and cold tea to take home and enjoy since I am currently banned from Nyquil until the little one sleeps through the night (yes I am aware that she is almost 3 but she has a tendancy to wander into our bed 27 days out of the month). Pleased with my selection, I made it through the frozen section, popped a few items in the basket and headed over to the chip / breakfast / baking aisle (that covers quite a bit of items don't ya think?). Now see for the past 2 aisles I had been contemplating the tea that was staring back at me like it just wasn't quite sure it was going to hold up its end of the bargain. I was having that ping pong conversation in my head that takes place almost every time I buy something that's NOT on the list (Karma do you really need this? Well I really think I do..it sounds so comforting before I go to bed. Yeah..but don't you already have similar tea in the cupboard at home? Probably but its not that same..I need this one). Lets just say the tea didn't stand a chance in the end. So as I shimmied down the chip / breakfast / baking aisle (see I glided down the coffee / tea aisle its only fair that I now shimmy - sais me). And this is where it happened. As I picked up the bag of jumbo sourdough garlic croutons I made the swap. I put the box of tea in its place.....no one would notice...I was so sly..that kind of tit for tat motion that pretty much makes it past the average human eye.

Then.....SWIPE!!!!!!!! That NOT SO AVERAGE Trader Joe's employee that was not accounted for in my perfect swap scenario quickly grabbed that box of tea before it could settle into a new home near the vanilla extract and no pudge brownie mix and before I could make a clean get away. No words were exchanged. I knew his intention...he was headed to put the tea back in its original, correct resting place. I caught him in my peripheral vision and he turned and walked away like a Traders Joe's Batman probably cursing me and my messy bun. He totally threw off my swagger though. I was mortified. Only because I got caught.

So now my real dilemma...make it through checkout without him opening up a new register and yelling "Maam..I'll take you over here if you're ready".

Continuation of the Status Quo?

So today's Tarot reads:

"Death ReversedTransformation held back or delayed. Inability to let go of something or someone. Change averted. A continuation of the status quo. Old energy keeps things stagnant for a while longer. Relationship or job remains unchanged. Stuck. Desire to keep things the way they are at cost of new possibilities. Intimidated by future influences. Timidity. Not the time to trust your own feelings. Something else will be revealed. Wait for it."

If I was a true horoscope, tarot, 1-800 psychic hotline believer I would probably base the rest of my day on this cryptic message....but I'm not. Oh no...I'm level headed and optimistic. But you still have to wonder why I have a scrolling tarot reader on my facebook page to remind me of my cosmic intertwinings each day. Because apparently I need a daily computer generated "this is your fate" slap in the face. But seriously, it's all in fun but you have to sometimes wonder why some days it just seems so on point.

So this is how I am taking today's message. I am a true believer that we are our own creators. No not the big picture sort of creator (that's way bigger than us) but our daily script. We are the writers. Do you ever wonder how some people seem to have "all the luck" and others just seem to attract all of the bad luck those "lucky" ones deferred? My belief and my experiences allow me to understand these phenomenons. We are constantly surrounded by and creating energy. Energy that will ultimately manifest itself. So we must choose, by our thoughts and words, how that energy will be manifested. It's amazing how by simply shifting the course of our thoughts, allowing yourself to feel that shift, changes can take place almost instantly. It's so simple actually that our pessimism becomes instantly stimulated and knocks at our door. And how often are we answering?

I am going to take my computer generated message and take it as a wake up call actually. In actuality it is pretty accurate today. I am stuck in "status quo" lately. I can see changes on the horizon but I am having a hard time feeling it. I am in fact writing my script with stagnant energy. I have completley mistrusted my own feelings lately and let me tell you....I am allowing for some really unwanted manifestations to take place. Well I am truly ready for great things to happen. Or should I say continue to happen as they are already in progress, I just need to answer a different door and accept the offerings.