Life-Saving List

My best friend is what I would call a "professional reader". She reads a new book every week (I'm not exaggerating) and she is constantly reading blogs, listening to podcasts, etc. It has always been her thing (literally, since we were very little people). And I wonder why she was always the smart one...?! 😏

She sent me a link from a post of one of her favorite bloggers the other day and thought it might be a fun Thursday blog activity for me! And I agreed (I told you she was the smart one)!

This particular blogger had joined together with fellow bloggers at the halfway point of winter (which happens to be on the first Thursday of February this year) for the last three years and they all shared lists of things that were helping them through the winter blues.

Things that were "saving their lives". Though I love winter, for many, it's just a cold and dreary time. And can be a little depressing! Usually by the time February rolls around, you are ready for Spring and just the feel of the warm sun. Oddly enough in northwest Arkansas, we got just that two days ago with 70 degree temperatures!

So I'm making a list. A list of things that might be small, simple, hell - they may even be petty, BUT they are, to me, ways I stay sane during this time of year. And pretty much all year long.

My list...

1. McDonald's Cokes.
   -- I order it, they put it in my hand, I take my swig and then a deep exhale because life is going to be OK!
   
   
2. Dropping my kids off at school.
   -- This is a 2'fer: Yes, I am sending my kids away for the day which can be glorious but more importantly, it is the smiles on their faces when they are walking into school (Sloane) and I watch her - she is always in her own world because everyone else in our carpool as sprinted inside, but she just takes her time, like she's soaking it in (she's probably not)! And then when I take Reece into his classroom, he walks right in, very rarely gives me a hug or tells me bye beacuse he's already working on a project, or writing his name... too busy for me! I love it.
   
3. Tess's snuggle right before she goes to bed.
    -- This girl knows when it is bedtime and nap time and she is always ready for it! The clue? You walk up to her bed, she snuggles in for a hug for about three seconds, then pushes herself away so she can lay down. I love it. I seriously love it and am savoring it. It's not forever!
   
4. My Dyson Stick Vacuum.
   -- This has been a complete game changer in my household. Before this, I was dragging out my huge vacuum every single day, maybe 3-5 times a day to clean up crumbs, dog hair that was left as Wrigley walked through the house from the garage to the backyard every day in the winter. Now, I unplug this lightweight stick, and attach whichever floor attachment I want to use (carpet or tile/hardwood) and off I go, very quickly vacuuming what I need to, then plug it back in. And that's it. My sister actually said these words to me at Christmas when I asked her when she was getting hers (because she needs one): "Well... I read some negative reviews blah blah blah." The girl is talking to the Vacuum Queen and she actually told me she read reviews when the only review she needs is from moi! And I say it's the greatest invention ever and you all need to go get one ASAP!
   
5. A Clean Car.
   -- A total Allyson thing to say. But over the last few weeks, my car has been as filthy as it has ever been since I have owned it. And I'm NEVER OK with it. But I haven't had extra minutes in the day to go clean it! Until yesterday, when I couldn't take it any longer. Since Wrigley sleeps in the garage in the winter time, our garage floor is just full of dog hair. Even if you can't see it. So when you step in the van, all of that dog hair that you don't see ends up on the carpet floors. And getting dog hair out of car carpet is almost impossible. Hence the hour car cleaning!
   
6. A Hot Bath.
   -- I don't care if you think baths are gross. Because I LOVE them! I really only take them in the winter time and if the bath isn't hot, the point of the bath goes down the drain (pun intended). If I would put my phone away and just relax, it would be even better!
   
7. The Moment When All the Clothes are Washed and Put Away.
   -- This feeling only lasts for an hour usually because clothes just seem to appear in my kid's clothes hampers even if they were never on their bodies.
   
8. A Compliment From my Husband.
   -- The man is a complimenter, yet I am not accepting of them! I don't know why I can't just politely say "Thank you!", but I have to give him a reason for his compliment to be untrue! "You look nice today!" "Oh, well I had to go to the dentist so..." Just say "Thanks, you're right!" and move on, Allyson.
   
9. Peach LipSense.
   -- People, I know you're going to get sick of my constant LipSense talk. But I'm going to talk about it. And I'm going to tell you that my new favorite color is Peach. And if a pretty lip color is going to be on my life-saving list, so be it! :)
   
10. Sitting Down.
    -- I don't know if you all think about how often you sit down during the day, but I think about it often. Because sometimes, it doesn't happen until 8 pm at night. And that is no lie! I don't even think I sit down to eat lunch, I'm usually feeding Tess and trying to find something I can shove in my mouth really quickly. But when I sit down, it usually means my schedule is clear, I have nothing else I need to be doing. And I can park it and enjoy some relaxation. For 30 whole seconds.

Well... I think that's a pretty good list! I mean, could I go on without any of these?

Maybe.

Do I WANT to go on without any of these?

Nope. Not one bit.

And as the Modern Mrs. Darcy said, " Winter is hard, but by pausing at its halfway point to share the things that are helping us through it, we'll lighten the load."

Amen.

What's on your list? I'm excited to hear it -- I'm sure it will put my list to shame!


XXOO,
Allyson

Top Three Fave Movies

I'm not sure what made me think to do this, but I recently have started listening to Harry Connick, Jr., while getting dinner ready via our Echo Dot and man, it just makes things one step happier in our kitchen! I sometimes feel like Emma Stone in 'La La Land' (if you don't understand that association, you need to go see 'La La Land' immediately)!

And while listening to dreamy Harry, Give Me a Wink and a Smile came on last night. Which is on one of my very favorite movies of all time. Which made me think I should do a post on my favorite movies and see what your top three movie picks would be as well!

If you are a fan of blood and guts and gore, or action-packed thrillers, or of guns and loud noises, you will not be a fan of my movie selections because I am 310 percent the exact OPPOSITE of all of those things when it comes to my favorite movies.

I love love.

I love happy.

I love love, happy and the chance that there will be a sequel.

First up...

 I loved these four movies so much that I couldn't decide which was my favorite! Now, I realize they haven't been verified as "classic" status because they are almost all less than 10 years old. But MAN... are these good!

The Family Stone is one that really is probably more of a depressing movie ... but I loved it! I love the family dynamic -- I want my family to be as close as the Stone's and if my kids all end up gay and happy, so be it! :)

The Holiday has such a fantastic ending... and middle... and beginning... it's hard not to love it. If you haven't seen it, go do it now!

Something's Gotta Give had me with the cast, the music, the setting... as did It's Complicated! I want my every day house to be the house from It's Complicated and I want my beach house to be the one from Something's Gotta Give.

Now I just need someone to pony up about 10 million dollars and we are good! I'll invite you all to my houses!

Next...

You will never ever ever be able to ever ever convince me that there is a better movie couple than Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan! I LOVE them. I love them separately, but I love them even more together!

Friends, the early 90s were a mecca for good movies and this one will always be my No. 2 favorite movie. I love the story. I LOVE the music (which is one reason why I love Harry Connick, Jr.). I love Meg Ryan's character I think because she reminds me of my aunt Marcia so very much (as does Diane Keaton -- they are very similar, I sometimes have an internal war over who my aunt Marcia is more like... weird, I know... but if you know my aunt Marcia, think about this and get back to me)!

The ending is the best and I LOVE happy endings!

 And No. 1 is my all-time favorite movie ever in the history of favorite movies is Father of the Bride.

NOT the original (though the original is wonderful and usually I prefer the original over the copycat).

My love for Annie Banks McKenzie and George Banks began way back in 1991. And it continues until this day.

I dreamed of having a wedding just like hers. I wanted pink bridesmaid dresses -- if I recall, my mom sort of turned her nose up at that idea.

So guess who got the gorgeous pink bridesmaid dresses?

Not a real shocker there!

Oh well.

But I would play the soundtrack to this movie over and over and just envision my own wedding and George Ba... I mean dad walking me down the aisle.

So I might not have gotten the pink dresses, but I got the music! You can be danged sure that Pachabel's 'Canon' was being played when the bridesmaids walked down the aisle.

But this movie never fails to make me happy. I know every word to every single scene and there will never be a movie that will top this one for me! I'm excited to share it with my Sloane one day!


So now I'm needing to know what YOUR favorite movies are?! What are some that I need to put on my 'To Watch' list? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Happy Hump Day!

XXOO,
Allyson

16 Years and Then Some...

Once upon a time, in a faraway land (to many, known as Kansas), in a teeny tiny town, lived two young kids.

These two kids were very good friends. One friend had a girlfriend and the other friend probably was never able to take any sort of hint that she wasn't wanted around all the time, so she was around. All the time. She hung out with the friend and girlfriend all the time.

The third-wheel friend also had a boyfriend who told her nonchalantly and in a joking manner that she was probably in love with her friend.

The friend did not like hearing such things because he was just her friend. And would never be anything more. He was Matt, for Gods sake.

Sixteen years later, those two friends have been married for eight years, have three children, a dog, a trampoline and don't remember much from 16 years ago because... well, because life at the moment is madness... but I can tell you that in January of 2001, none of this had ever entered my mind.

Our love story is funny because never during that time when I was the third-wheel friend (yes, that was me!) was I imagining my life with Matt. Because he was my friend. He was nothing more.

Yes, he had an outrageous smile that made your stomach do flips and his hair always seemed wet because he probably managed to let him take gym class four times a day.

Matt was charming in that he could get just about anyone to do what he wanted, just by smiling. Why do you think he sat next to the odd Spanish teacher's desk his junior year? That gal was blushing all class long.

How on earth did we end up together?

Great question.

Here's what I can tell you.

I had a New Year's Eve party with my friends (who Matt still makes fun of - listen, we may not have been as "cool" as Matt and his buddies back in the day, but my friends were good friends and we made our fun... all legal fun) and somehow Matt ended up there (he is a year older than me so why he was at a high school party must show you the deep-down love he had for me - ha). I was trusted to have a sleepover... because seriously, none of my friends and I had any of those lovey dovey feelings for each other, but somehow, my relationship with Matt took a turn that night. And it was from nothing, except flirting, and being mature and throwing carrots at each other (high school, people).

Since he was in college and his break was a little longer, he was around - he was at a basketball game where I hurt my knee (I DID hurt it... I just probably pushed my recovery time a little longer than needed!) and we sat together.

A few weeks later, we are at a movie together - "Save the Last Dance".

And that was it. The full-on love fest began with hand-holding. And then a conversation in the car, with his brother Michael in the backseat asleep, about what was going on, should we be doing this, is Michael going to hate us.

Side note: I love Michael to death and I have since 7th grade. Matt has joked that he thinks I might have married the wrong Clark boy because for all the things Matt doesn't do (or doesn't remember to do), Michael usually does do. My love for that kid though is full-on brother mode and I'm taking applications for for a sweet sister-in-law for myself (or more for Michael... whatever).

Despite it all, we decided we'd give our relationship a shot. And the rest is history.

They let us get a dog.

They let me teach him to ski (that was fun...NOT)!

They actually let us get married.

We have had our bumps along the way... how can you not in 16 years?! I wanted to kill him most days (said by every woman on the planet at some point in their life about a man). He probably wanted me to be less needy (says every man in the universe).

I watched many Newman Jet basketball games in my lifetime!

We tried time apart at the end of college because I was trying to prove a point with him.

I sucked at that and our time apart lasted maybe a week.

Babies.

In the end, I couldn't do life without this person. He came in to my life as a friend 18 years ago, he became my boyfriend two years later and now here we are, 16 years down the road, and I don't think we ever thought this would be our life.

I don't think we ever thought the third-wheel and the kid with the great smile would end up happily ever after.

But that's the fun of living your own story, your own fairy-tale. You get to write it all.


XXOO,
Allyson