ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

sometimes i over-analyze things. actually, most of the time i over-analyze things. it can be anything, really. a trip to the grocery store, our monthly budget, a quick remark someone makes to me, a message i believe God wants me to share, how certain events will unfold and what the absolute best way would be to go about them, what people must think of me, and the list goes on. i think and i think and i think. i'm always inside my head. my husband will ask me what i'm thinking about, and honestly? one million things. it would take me a whole day to adequately answer him. in the car, i'm thinking. at home doing my daily mom duties, i'm thinking. always always processing. this is how i get myself into trouble with believing lies. there's a lot going on in my head so if i'm not super careful, lies slip in just as easily as anything else. always analyzing and processing and thinking... must be my  INFP   [introverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving] personality...

i mentioned it last week , that you could call me "crunchy". not in every single area, but there are a lot of things i do [and don't do] that would classify me as such... although for the record, i hate that term . i'd call it "natural" instead. i usually don't talk about this facet of my life because i feel like it's kind of weird, and also i just like to do what i do and not pressure anyone else to do the same. if someone asks, i'm more than excited to talk about it but i rarely bring it up. i buy organic. if it's available organic, i'll buy it. however, i don't buy organic meat, even though i'd tell you that's one of the most important things. i just can't afford it right now. but, overall, if they sell it organic, i buy it organic. i read labels.  some of the things i avoid are: - high fructose corn syrup [mostly because it is made with GMO corn ] - MSG [confusing, because they can call it anything they want on ...

in light of the big announcement on monday , i didn't want to do much serious blogging this week. so i thought, what if i tell you a few fun facts about myself? 1 | i have my bachelor's degree in history from San Diego State. i often look back and wonder how in the world i actually did all that work, while being a wife and working full-time. i don't wish to go back to school anytime soon. or ever. 2 | my husband and i are high school sweethearts. we started dating my sophomore year, his freshman year. we got married a month before my 21st birthday. you can read more in this series , and here and here . 3 | i'm what some people might call "crunchy". even though i hate that term, i call it "natural" instead. this is a post all its own. maybe next week. 4 | i used to work with kids. my very first job was summer camp at a school, and i continued to work at that school until just before i got pregnant with my oldest. i ran after-school daycare an...

if you're new to this series, start here:  part 1   |   part 2   |   part 3   |   part 4 so i don't know about your high school, but we went to a small christian school that's affiliated with a baptist church.  which meant no dancing [secretly a relief for me, right? because if you've been reading, you know i dislike dancing because i'm terrible at it.] you could dance, but the school could not sponsor or put on an event that included dancing. so that meant there was no prom or homecoming dance or sweethearts . so what do the baptist high school students do? we have "banquets". we dress up pretty and take pictures and ride in limos and go eat. for real. that's it. all of you who went to CHS is nodding your heads and giggling a little. luckily [for everyone else who enjoyed it] someone always had an after party  where the dancing happened. but needless-to-say, for girls who didn't have prom,...

if you're new to this series, start with:  [part 1]   and   [ part 2 ]   and   [ part 3 ] his birthday was october 29, not too long after we became "official". another chance to see the whole family. but it was getting easier each time, and besides,  they were some of the nicest people you could ever meet and none of them were shy. i got him a quicksilver t-shirt for his gift. lame. that was the hardest part about it. what do you get someone you've only known for 2 months but he's your boyfriend and you should be able to think of a really awesome gift? that same weekend there was a halloween party. yeah, remember how i said i was socially awkward and hated parties? especially dance parties? it was a dance party. my saving grace? he had broken his shoulder a few weeks earlier and had three pins sticking out and couldn't do much. we went to the party but we didn't have to dance. yay! however. i had no ide...

if you're new to this series, start with:  [part 1]   and    [part 2] i was the kind of girl who had to seem independently happy and confident and completely self-sufficient. but i wasn't really any of those things.  i really needed others' approval, mostly of the male variety. now, don't misunderstand. i wasn't promiscuous, but i just craved  attention from the opposite sex. even if it was just an acknowledgment with a "hi" or a wave or harmless flirtation. that was enough for me. that would keep me happy for days. but i played it cool, and i think that coolness mixed with shyness led people to believe i was strong and confident and unemotional and not very needy. totally untrue. so this intentional pursuit by this really cute boy did a number on me. i allowed myself and my ego to be filled and fed by this boy. i began to create my identity around him, gain my worth from his love and affection,  base my valu...

if you haven't read the first installment, go here... school started in September.  and the very first day of school, i met him. oh great.  now what about my no-dating-this-year-because-boys-are-useless-and-terrible pledge? yeah, that went out the window at first glance & heart flutter. this boy.  this boy was different.  i mean, he lit up every room and every conversation that he walked into.  he was fearless and funny and ridiculously good looking. all 27 pimples and nose-too-big-for-his-face and 140 pounds and 6 feet of him. skinny, pimply... and so captivating [he still is] see what i mean? :) so the no dating resolution went out the window. and we started to talk a lot, and we started to feel those butterflies.  you know the ones. he invited himself to sit with my friends at lunch now that i think about it, we were the popular sophomore girls.  my friends wer...

okay, i know. this would've been a great series for valentine's day, or at least february , right?  well, i was having a baby. and also i didn't have the idea back then, i had it now. i thought it'd be fun to take a little walk down memory lane and write out our "love story", all the way from the very beginning! i will be leaving some parts out, much to the disappointment of my readers who will probably be hoping for every juicy detail and complete transparency. but since my entire family and my husband's entire family reads this blog [and plenty of other people i probably don't even know about] i want to be sensitive and respectful and wise about what i write here. since it's my space, i get to do that. i just want it to be a fun little series of stories. i say all of that above, to remind you that no story is perfect, no relationship is a fairy tale,  and no marriage is a walk in the park. mine certainly has not been. and that...

[i don't...] i don't floss i don't bathe my daughter every day  she's pretty clean, i have to say i don't brush her teeth everyday   mostly because it is such a battle every time  i don't vacuum. ever. luckily my hubby does it  i don't get out much.   most days i stay at home and maybe run some errands,  but rarely do i have play dates scheduled or friends coming to visit.  you could call me a loner. i don't like talking on the phone , especially just to chat  i d on't keep up with friends. new or old, i am terrible at staying in touch, calling, emailing, etc.  i don't take my prenatal vitamins everyday.   at first they made me sick, and now i just forget since i'm not in the habit  i don't finish almost every book i start.  even if it's a really good one  and even when i start with the best of intentions of finishing i don't...

i've always been a good girl. since i can remember, i never really got into trouble, was always compliant, always followed the rules. i was responsible, logical, mature, could be counted on. i think i was naturally this way, but after awhile, and after seeing the negative consequences that could come from doing the opposite, i began to relish the attention i gained from peers and adults. i loved being the good girl. i didn't want to be that naive and silly good girl though. i wanted people to know that i knew about all that bad stuff that was out there , and was choosing to be good because i knew it was more responsible. Source: etsy.com via Aly on Pinterest i began to believe that i could manage people's image of me. i became an "image manager" [not my term, leslie taught me that one]. it was comfortable even though it had me deceived, and i believed it was working. i'm not saying that i wasn't really that responsible person, or that ...