Order

The new year. 1-1. It marks so much for so many people. I have been asking friends and family about what a new year means to them and I got a lot of one word responses. "fresh" "clear" "hope" "beginnings" "ends" and the one that shocked me the most is "promise." It got me thinking about my own feelings for a new year and the first thing I thought of for 2013 is "order."

Not chronological order (I just taught that concept to my students before our break) but security. I am in need of a major overhaul in a couple of areas in my life. I wrote down 3 areas that I want order in and why? Here is what I came up with in no particular order.

1. Selling the abyss that is my old house. It's baggage, I don't like having baggage, and I am in the need for my OWN space. I can't get there until this is taken care of but also... I am over playing "victim" in this situation. I am the kind of person as many of my close peeps know that if I do something, I do it. 110%. This situation... I haven't been as aggressive as I should have been. Guess what? That ended today and hopefully in the next week. I put my helmet on for battle. :)

2. Finances. O.M.G. Every flipping year I say the following words, "I will get out of debt." Then, I find some cute necklace or go on a Target tangent and I say.."next paycheck." That also ended today. I opened up a few accounts to pay off silly debt and I am working on my impulse. :/ "working" is a relative term. Note to self, stay off Etsy for a while... In all seriousness, I told myself a long time ago that "I will never be financially dependent on another person again." I am going to get there. This year!

3. Insecurity. The bain of my existence. I have been really insecure lately and I am not sure what the heck is triggering this reaction? I have always struggled with feeling "good enough" "attractive enough" "smart enough". Just.. enough. I need to get off the whiny pants train and be happy with what I have and what I do. It is what it is...

So there you have it. I, Meredith C. Mooney, in order to have order in my life, must work on these 3 areas and the rest will just fall into place. Right?

Happy New Year Loves.

xoxo-mere

*ps. my next blog will be a contest to see how long it takes before I go to Target and hand them the magic $96.*

This is Me Challenge

I saw this on Pinterest and I pinned it and didn't give it much thought. I have been thinking about my life and reflecting with the New Year and I was trying to come up with goals (I refuse to call them resolutions because they usually fail). The thing about goal setting (to me) is that you have to look at who you are and what you want to change or improve upon in the next weeks, months, year, etc.

I came back across this pin. I clicked on the link and started looking at the questions. Some of them were easy and I felt like I was filling out an old AIM(Instant Messenger for you fetus') survey from HS. lol Others.. Not so easy. So, here you go. This is me. I would love to see those of you who blog or have kiddos do this because I think it would be a great memory and conversation.

*I also apologize for spelling errors. This took me for-freaking-ever.*

Here we go..
Your birth and family:  
*What is your full name and how did you get that name?  Do you have any nicknames? Meredith Craig Mooney (My Grandmother's middle name and GGrandmothers Maiden Name) Mere, Mimi, and now Boozus (don't ask)
*What are your parent's full names and birth dates and places? Both of my parents are from Louisville. William Joseph Mooney, Jr. 12-13-61 and Jayne Marie Greenwell Mooney 1-3-62
*What is the date of your birth? 8-23-82  Where were you born?  Baptist East Hospital in Louisville
What are some of the circumstances of your birth? I was 2 weeks late and when my Mom went into labor my Dad went awol in the Navy. Also, my Dr. delivered me in golf cleats. My maternal grandfather passed in May of 82 and was a large, bald, red-faced, man. They called me Junie (his nickname) and it was even more relevant I was him reincarnated when I started talking...
*What are your sibling's full names and birth dates? Ryan Joseph Mooney 2-17-89
*How was your relationship with your siblings and parents? I literally cannot put into words how lucky I am to have the family I have been given. My childhood was amazing. My brother got on my nerves but I grew to appreciate him as I got older. My teen years were rough with my Mom and I am convinced I will be in huge trouble if I ever have a daughter. (paybacks... sorry mommy)
*What are some lessons you learned from you parents? My work ethic, loyalty, and tenaciousness. 
*How did you help in your home? I was *supposed* to take the garbage cans around, dishes, keep room clean, and clean basement. Thank God for my Grandma! ;)

  
Growing up, early years: 
*Where did you grow up? I grew up in Hikes Point/Jtown in the house where my parents live today.Describe it. Brick ranch style house in a neighborhood full of crazy but sweet boys who I loved very much and were great friends. 
*What was your earliest memory? Building a snow man with my Dad when I was four and driving around in my Paw Paw's car. (Random)
*What games did you play as a child? We had a pool in our backyard so we would play jail break, bass and minnows, marco/polo (taco/bell).. We played basketball a lot, Uno, and woofle ball.
*Where did you go to school? Guttermuth Elementary (K), Sts. Simon and Jude (1st), St. Martha (2-8), Mercy Academy, UofL, IUS, and Spalding.
*Who were your friends? Christine, Scott, Shawn, Steven, Amy, Angela, Alex, Michael, Jill, Marie, Jamie, Carol, and Susan.
*Who were your favorite teachers and why? This is an ironic question since she just recently passed.. My 3rd grade Teacher, Mrs. Eckert. She was tough, fair, and kind. She challenged me. I needed that at the time..



Growing up, teenage years:
*What activities did you participate in?  I was in cheerleading, chorus, NHS,  Student Council, Service Projects, too freaking many to list. Look at my year book. LOL
*How did you learn how to drive?  hahahahaha this is hilarious. My Mom and it was awful. She enrolled me in drivers ed after two lessons in JTOWN Kmarts parking lot. What kind of car did you have? 1999 Mazda Protege (remember Buffy, Jamie??)
*Who were your friends?  Jill, Marie, Erin, Jamie, Christine. Top 5 of the era.
*Did you have a girl/boy friend? Yes, unfortunately 7 years later.. I did.Talk about him/her (if your spouse is okay with it!). Rather not..
*What did you like/dislike about school? I liked not caring what I looked like at school (all-girls), Mercy girls are the best girls, and I liked the atmosphere at Mercy. Hated typical stuff. Gossip, petty crap, homework.
*What was your first paid job? Carlton Cards
*What were your chores at home?Watch/pick up my brother, dishes, laundry.


College years:
*Did you attend college or a trade school of some sort? Yes. College
*How did you choose what you wanted to be when you grew up? I have always wanted to be a Teacher and it took a long time to get here.
*What did you think was the hardest thing about your chosen profession at that time?  I had an unsupportive person in my life. Did it turn out that way? No. Not during this time in my life...
*What dumb things did you do during those years? Settled and lowered my standards, gained weight, and didn't stand up for myself.
*What good things did you do? I always put others before myself.
*Did you live on your own? Yes, for a little while. How well prepared were you for that? I liked it and like most things in my life, I just sort of did it..
*What life lessons did you learn? The lessons I learned didn't really hit me until years later. I learned that I am a lot smarter and stronger than I thought, I am fun, I am fierce, and you can't keep me down too long.
*What choices did you make that affect where you are now? LOL... I could right a novel on this one. 


Work:
*What jobs have you had?  Oh sweet Baby Jesus.. Another Novel. The card store, Laura Ashley, Loft, The Chopping Block Day Spa and Salon, Preschool Teacher, Learning House, Kaplan, Photographer, and now the BEST job, Teacher!
*What did you like/dislike about each job? Really? I don't have enough time.
*Who were your bosses?  I will list my favorite. Becca Ramey Did you like them/get along? Yes, she was a great mentor.
*How did you get along with your co-workers? Learning House and Temple introduced me to some wonderful people!
*Which was your favorite job? Teacher and Photographer, duh.
*How many years until you retire? 25...
*Do you have any big plans for your retirement?  Travel with my sweet husband (if I have one) or my much younger boyfriend. ;)



Marriage:
*How did you meet your spouse?  Was it love at first sight or did it take some time? Pass.
*How long did you date before you got engaged?  How long was your engagement? Pass.*How did you get engaged?  (The story.) Pass.*Who did most of the wedding plans?  Who helped? Pass.*Who were your bridesmaids/best men? Jill Impellizzeri (my bff)
*Describe the details of your wedding:  It was beautiful. End of story. 
the colors, the cake, the decorations, etc.
*Where did your wedding take place?  Pass.Who performed the ceremony?  Do you remember any words of advice given? I WILL answer this one because it is hilarious and I should have listened. My Dad said two things to be 2 mins before walking me down the isle.. 1. We can sneak out and no one will ever know. 2. You will always be a Mooney.
*Who attended your wedding? Pass.*Where did you go on your honeymoon?  Pass.Pass.What adventures did you have?


Children: Not Applicable....
*Give your children's full names, birth dates and places.
*How did you choose their names?
*What were the circumstances of each child's birth?
*What are some funny things that each child does/did or says/said?
*What do you love most about each child?  What are their strengths and weaknesses?
*What are your children involved in?
*How do you spend your time with your children?
*What are your favorite family activities?

Sleep:
*How many hours do you like to sleep at night? As much as possible.
*Do you take naps? No, it screws me up later.
*Do you like a lot, or few blankets and pillows? A lot of both.
*Can you sleep anywhere, or does it have to be in your own bed?  I love my bed and someone else's. :)
*What are your favorite conditions for a good-night's sleep? I have learned I like noise but dark.  


Food:
*What are your favorite foods? Cheese, carbs, and ethnic foods.
*What are your favorite desserts? I am not a big chocolate fan so I like raspberry flavor, carrot cake, strawberry, fresh fruit desserts.
*Do you like to cook or bake?  This is tough but I love to bake. What are your favorites to make? Cakes, cheesecake bars, I could go on. Carrot cake is my favorite cake.
*Do you have any food allergies? Nope.
*What are some foods you have a hard time saying "no" to? Cheese, Beer, Pasta, Wine, Sushi, Rum, Mexican Food, and tequilla. ;)
*What foods do you HAVE to have name brand? Peanut butter, cheese, Pretty much everything. I am a snob. Which can you do generic? Not much. Again, I am a food snob.
*Do you try to eat healthy? Yes.
*Do you prefer eating out?  No, I really like to cook and miss having my own kitchen..


Health:
*How is your overall health? Pretty good for the most part.
*Have you had any surgeries? Yes.(If yes, give details.) None of your business. Although, if they were plastic surgery related I would tell you. There would be no shame in my game. 
*Have you had any broken bones?  Yes, thumb, knee cap.(If yes, give details.)
*Do you have allergies? (If yes, give details.) Small ones..
*What are you doing to keep healthy now? I work out, try to watch what I eat, and run, run, run.


Around the World:
*What major world events have happened in your lifetime? Berlin Wall came down, Iraq Wars, 9-11, War on Terror, geez.. the more I think about it is a lot of sad stuff.. Moving on..
*Has it affected who you are now? Most definitely
*Who was the President when you were born? The great "Ronnie" Reagan. Who is it now? Obama..
*What natural disasters have you been in? Tornado, Hurricane, Blizzard, Earthquake.


Politics:
*Are you involved in politics?  Not as much as when I was younger. How so? I vote. lol
*Are you a specific politic party? I am a Republican but I tend to be a little more middle of the road as I get older.
*How do you choose who to vote for? The two E's. Education and Economy.
*Are you happy with the Government? Nope..
*What would you change if you could? Education funding and testing.Also, I would like to keep  social issues out of politics. I am very fiscally conservative, not morally.


Nature:
*Where is your favorite place to go to get away from it all? It sounds crazy and no one knows this but I drive out to this farm out in Taylorsville with my camera. I just sit on a fence and I never take a picture. I also like to run outdoors.
*What outdoor activities do you like to participate in? Running.
*What are some of your favorite outdoor memories? Running the mini in under 2 hours. Boom.


Traveling:
*Where in the world have you been? Chicago, Nashville, Las Vegas, Indy, Florida. SAD.
*Where was your favorite vacation?  Florida as a child and teen. Not sure on adult..(As a child, as a teenager, as an adult, etc.)
*Where would your dream vacation be? Greece 
*How do you like to travel?  I don't know because I never do..


Miscellaneous:

*What is the most daring thing you've done? Walk into my house on 8-7-10, start Grad school, rebuild my life.
*What is the stupidest thing you've done? Get married and quit School of Ed in my undergrad.
*What is your most embarrassing moment? Legends Bar with Jessica Klein. Hands down. 
*What choices in life would you like to have a redo on? Getting married, college life, and health choices in my early 20's.
*What is your general attitude toward life? I wear my heart on my sleeve. I love hard, I fight hard, and for the first time, I am truly living. True story.


Personality:
*What kind of personality do you have?  I am outgoing when I get to know you but I am very guarded. 
*How has your personality changed over the years? I have become a lot stronger, I have less of a BS tolerance, and I am happier.  What made it change? Getting my life back.
*How well do you associate with others? I am kind of a big deal. People LOVE me.
*What makes you nervous/happy/angry/surprised/scared/etc? I am happiest around those I love, my friends, family, bf. I get nervous with confrontation. I am surprised by generosity and selflessness. I get angry with liars and tools. 


Hobbies:
*What are your current hobbies? Photography and Blogging
*What hobbies have you had in the past? Not many.. Shopping. LOL
*How often do you get to do your hobbies? Pretty much whenever I want.
*What hobbies do you wish you could start? Learning to play the guitar.


Death:
*What would you like to do before you die? Be a Mom. Corny.. I know. If that isn't in the cards for me I would like to be a Principal, retire, and travel. I want to leave footprints everywhere. (Bucket list)
*What are your beliefs about death? I believe in Heaven.
*Are you scared to die? Yes.
*How would you like to go? In my sleep.
*What are your final wishes? I haven't really thought about this.. I just started living.
*What are your wishes for your funeral and burial? This is depressing. I want Russ Smith to give my eulogy. :)
*What would you like people to say about you when you're gone? I don't know? You would have to ask them. 

Grinch.com

Hello Everyone! I hope you all are staying dry in this crazy weather. I am laying in my bed and listening to rain. It's quiet, calm, and comfortable in my room. I am alone with my thoughts. Sometimes, that is a good thing, I guess? I realized I had not blogged in quite a long time so I threw this post together.

Not to say that I had not written posts the past 2 weeks or so... I deleted (at last count) 8. They just lacked sensibility. They were all a jumbled mess of randomness and then I thought to myself, "My brain has been that way a lot lately." Makes sense to me.

So, I decided while Christmas shopping today, to write about my true feelings about Christmas and why a girl who once LOVED (I mean Crazy Target Lady) this "Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Now, kind of.. okay.. dreads it.

Tomorrow, 9 years ago tomorrow I lost my best friend. My Grandmother who lived with me from age 5 to 21. She did everything for me and gave me the best advice. I am telling you in all honesty that there is not a day that goes by that I do not think about and miss her so much my stomach flips. She was strong, even though she was physically frail, she was kind, she was hilarious (I know, I am funny but she took the cake), and was my rock. If I ever had a problem, she was there to fix it or make the hard choices easier. December 10, 2003 was a blur and that is probably a very good thing. It was also Christmas time. With that said, we had every single holiday at my Parent's house. Now, it's just us and while that is wonderful, I miss that era of my life where we had so much fun, and woke up to find her with her cup of coffee and exhausted grin on her face as we tore through our gifts.  I have some unresolved issues with some recent life changes and how she would have thought I handled certain things but I can only hope she is proud, shaking her head, and saying "Meredith Craig, you worry too much pretty girl."

I also get the "what ifs" really bad this time of year. I think whenever the year is about to end you take a  reevalutative (yes, I created a word, Mr. Webster) stance about your life and I am sort of falling into that  a little bit. I have had some down right shittastic Christmas' in my past. My personal favorite involves 25 mins in a church parking lot to exchange gifts. Then, returning said Tiffany Bracelet to find out it had been re-gifted. Winning. ;) Plus, running into your ex's baby momma at the Mall isn't too fun, either. (Yes, I said it. It actually happened and No, I did not do anything stupid.) ;)

Here's the deal. What's past is past. Gotta put it behind me and say "Done. On to bigger and better." I realize that a. My Grandma would be cursing my negative attitude under her breath or wanting to smack the taste out of my mouth. b. Is a combination of a. and the fact that WHO CARES? c. Live for today. I re-read this post and I hated it's tone. I mean, who am I kidding? If that is the worst things about the holidays I need to smack myself around and get it together. So, in the spirit of all that is Meredith. I made a list (For real. Instagram proof below) of what I like  okay, love about Christmas.

1.Shopping. I mean, really? I have an excuse to shop all day, any day, multiple days.
2. Sparkly clothes.
3. Real Christmas Trees. I like their smell.
4. Babies. I love babies about 6-9 months old at Christmas time. I think it's the fact they look like mini-Santas.
5. People's Christmas tree photo posts on FB. I like seeing the variety and traditions.
6. Old traditions (baby cokes in our family)
7. New traditions :)
8. Shopping for a man. Shopping for a man I love.
9. Thinking about when I have my own house what it will look like. Pottery Barn will not be able to keep it's stock up to date.
10. Baking

and who can forget Smiling! It's my favorite. :)

That wasn't so hard. So, I am going to be less of a Grinch as of 8:30 pm on 12-9-12. Hold me to it.

Have a good week. Teachers, Winter Break is 8 schools days away!!!!!!!!!

xoxo-mere

High 5 for Friday! Thankful Edition

I have been trying my darndest to keep up with my High 5 for Friday posts and I told myself I would NOT forget the day after Thanksgiving! I mean, come on, it's the most Thankful week of the year. Although I try to count my blessings everyday, this year I can safely say that I am very blessed, indeed. Here is my Top 5.

1. 5 DAYS OFF OF SCHOOL. I mean, love my career and kids, but sister needed some "alone time".

2. My cousin Lauren. I got to spend some well needed cousin bonding time with her this weekend. Complete with a mall trip, mani/pedis, and a dinner that was full of laughter and advice. I cannot believe she is asking me about boys and college stuff. I want this back (see pic below) but I am very proud of the woman she is becoming.

3. Starbucks red cups. They are just so darn cute.

4. Sparkle in my clothes. Although my Mom is the "Queen of Bling, " I am loving Ann Taylor Loft's Holiday collection. My wallet.. Not so much.

http://www.loft.com/loft/cat/LOFT-ZHidden/LOFT-sparkle-and-lace-111912/cat610106?supCat=catl00002&loc=hpp2&icid=hpp2_lace_111912

5. Spending my Thanksgiving with my sweet guy, his family, my family. Perfection. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful week and holiday full of good food, stories, photos, and fun!

xoxo-mere

So Much to Say..

I had wrote out a couple of posts this week and with as insanely busy as I have been, I deleted all of them because not one post was worth reading or publishing. I think it is funny because as hard as it has been to produce a decent blog post, I sure have had a lot on my mind to talk about these days.

I can safely say that I am officially proud of myself for a few reasons. (in no particular order)

1. I am "officially" on break with photography. As far as a zillion sessions every weekend goes. I was starting to get burnt out and with as much as I love my camera, sweet babies, and my clients. Sister needs to breathe. I am thankful for a Photographer friend or two to take referrals for the winter while I focus on my 23 babies more than I normally do.. Which is a lot! Not to say that I will not do a random session here or there or take my friend-niece and nephew photos. ;)

2. I am glad to have a few coworkers that I have opened up to recently about life, love, and the insanity that is a first year Teacher. It is really important to have people you can go to when you feel yourself about to lose your ever-loving mind. I wouldn't say I have a ton of people I trust but a close few and they know who they are and they mean the world to me. I spent an hour after school last Friday opening up to a couple of Teachers and they were really great to me and it was just nice to be able to speak and reflect about how far I have come the past few years.

3. This one is the hardest for me to open up about and I probably won't say much about it because there are some things I just want to keep to myself but remember a few posts back about how I didn't think I had ever been in true love? Well, let's just say.. That has changed. I feel like a 17 year old. End of story.

Goodnight!

xoxo-Mere

High 5 for Friday.. Two days later.

This week is brought to you by "cray". I now say this all the time, much to the dismay of my bf. LOL In all seriousness, I am just going to stop saying "I have been so busy" because my life is "50 shades of cray." (Meredith Trademark)

So, here are my Top 5 Favorite things of the week. In no particular order.



1. Very Jane. http://veryjane.com/. This site has amazing deals for great prices. I suggest looking at the shipping date because it can take a while to get your items. Once I get some stuff I ordered a few weeks ago. I can't wait!

2. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate at Starbucks. LOOOOVE it.

3. Making plans. Enough said.

4. Feeling like a can of busted biscuits and my skinny jeans feeling too big. :)

5. Seeing everyone's 30 days of Thankful posts on Facebook and not knowing where to begin, myself. I have a lot to be thankful for these days. ;)

Flashback.. 2008

I tend to keep things to myself (believe it or not from someone who blogs). I was in my Parents kitchen talking politics with my Momma and I blurted this out... "This very night in 2008 I was experiencing the worst night of my life." She looked at me puzzled. "What do you mean?" I instantly got red faced and that little sinking feeling came over me. "Oh, nothing.. I was just coming home from Vegas and I was a mess..." To which I knew I had already said too much. I find myself saying more and more things about what I went through before and a lot of it I suppressed for fear of being judged. She looked at me and was like... "Spill it."

Picture it.. Las Vegas, 2008 (Golden Girls Style)..
I was on an Anniversary trip in a pathetic "last ditch" effort to win my (you insert favorite euphemism for him) love and affection back. I cried in a hot tub the night before in a Penthouse Suite in the Bellagio and drank a whole bottle of champagne. "How did I get here?" "What is going on?" "What did I do?" "Where do I go from here?" "How do I pretend that I am okay?" (cue sappy falling apart music). Fast forward to horrible plane ride home, fetal position crying, and lots of turbulence. Then, I also came home to find who I voted for did not win (sorry, those of you who know and love me, know who I voted for).

Four years later...
I woke up and had the day off from Teaching, a career I never would have gotten into if I was still in that previous state of mind, got dressed in clothes that fit me nicely because we all know what I used to look like, lol, voted, got a mani/pedi, look some photos (yeah started a business), and just did what I wanted to do... This all may seem trivial or overly dramatic but to this very day I cannot wrap my head around my past. I also think this is being accelerated by the fact that I have made a very difficult choice to surround myself with amazing people. I am being treated so incredibly well and made to feel special for the first time in my entire life, I have friends that are kind and fun, and my family.. Well, they have stood the test of time. It is funny because it almost seems like a bad Lifetime Movie when I think about it and as I recall that fateful night, I feel nothing but pride. Which, at the time, was the exact opposite of what I was thinking, feeling, and being subjected to in the moment.

The point of this post is that change is inevitable. Especially on the night of a major event like the Election of the President of the United States. I also want to stress that 4 years flies by.. bad or less than desirable times fly by, and there is no such thing as "the worst time of your life" lasting your whole life. I know several people who read this that need to hear that right now. Please know that whatever is hurting your heart, causing you grief, or breaking you down, will, indeed, pass. It can be 4 hrs, 4 days, 4 months, or 4 years, but it will pass. If..You will it to pass.

I am amazed at how different my life is and how I am forgetting more and more about all the B.S., drama, and hurt I was subjected to before I got a backbone. I say it a lot and especially more so recently. I am starting to forget. Every once an a while, it will creep back in and settle for a little bit. I will get the "I am not good enough's" or "RUUUNNN away! You aren't deserving." thoughts but they are few and far between. You know, I almost welcome them now because it's an interesting fight and test. So far, I am winning.

So if you are a "NoBAMA" or "GoBAMA". Change is upon us but the sun will still rise tomorrow (Jason trademark). You just gotta keep moving and that is what I plan on doing.

xoxo-mere