I'm just keepin' it real, yo.

Right now I am watching Gossip Girl on Netflix. I know every time I turn a show on of this caliber my husband does a completely internal rolling of his eyes and wonders at my mental stability. I don't blame him. His computer is a mere two feet from the TV and so he has no choice but to watch what I unmercifully pick out. I watched all my other first picks like Parks and Rec, Raising Hope, 30 Rock, and various chick flicks. I tried to watch Bones, Jericho, One Tree Hill (the new people bug the crud out of me), and the new Criminal Minds series but none caught my interest. Gossip Girl wasn't even on my list until I saw the Kristen Bell was the voice of Gossip Girl and my interest was piqued. So I am on episode 3 and it's totally a vapid, conceited show that I sort of adore.

This show is the opposite of my existence. They are rich, trust fund kids that live in New York and basically run the place with their silly high school shenanigans. And they have awesome clothes. And they don't eat. Totally opposites.

My life, in comparison to the fake lives of these characters might seem bland. I watch the show and I let myself imagine what I would be like if I had those circumstances. I come away feeling pretty good about myself.

First off, my parents let me have freedom. I was able to choose my college and my friends and I didn't have functions to attend (except church of course).

Second, I hate showering. That's a big problem for that lifestyle. If, one day, I decide I am going to stay in my pajamas all day and veg, then I can. It's alright by me and the rest of the world. No one is following my fashion trends. I don't think. If they are they are being seriously mislead. Although yoga pants from Fred Meyer and a wonder woman t-shirt from Walmart are seriously H-O-T! Combine that with dirty hair and some cookie crumbs and you caught me on a very good day.

Thirdly, I relish the small dreams. I want a nice house with a fenced back yard and my own investment portfolio that I earned and worked for. Work just doesn't compute in this alternate reality.

One thing I do wish with all my heart though is that I could live in New York City. I want to be in the center of all the bustle. I want to walk 16 blocks to get to a fabulous store where I can afford to buy the things inside of it. I want to see famous people and movie sets. I want to eat delicious food that's the price of a kidney or at least one month's rent. Which, is also the price of a fixed rate mortgage for a 3,000 square foot house in Idaho.
The problem with this is that Cody does not, I repeat, DOES NOT want to live there at all. I don't blame him. Memphis is the biggest city we have lived in and it sucks. More on that later.
Another problem is that I don't see myself raising kids their, so the dream would have to be put on hold until said kids are grown. And then I think I would be too old for the New York life, so the urge fizzles back down as fast as it came. And I realize I am happy where I am at in my life.

Alternate Casey would be extremely fabulous though. I would live in a chic little flat with awesome, artsy furniture and crafty finds from flea markets. I would wear hipster glasses and march to work wearing red lisptick and high heels. That's right, alternate Casey can wear heels and pull of red lipstick. My hair would automatically curl in that vintagey way that is so trending right now. The work I would be marching to, with an umbrella of course, is completely interesting and I can say things like "Use this one, instead of that" or "I like the red, it makes her eyes pop". I go to sushi bars to meet my besties for lunch and we compare how awesome and interesting our lives are. I read magazines like Vogue and actually care about what's in them. I then write all of this stuff down in a blog and have 10,000 followers who envy me.

Real world Casey wakes up at 7:25 AM when her husband's (who is devilishly handsome, by the way) alarm goes off. After laying in a warm, soft bed for 15 minutes, my ears tuned to the hallway at the end of which is my son's room. Then I hear the clink of toys and the sipping of a sippy and I wait to hear the inevitable "Mommy?". It's the sweetest sound. Sometimes it's annoying because I am tired and want to sleep until 10 like I trained my body to do my whole life. I still can't get over the look on my childs face every morning when he sees me emerge from my bedroom and into his view. It's like pure glee. He is happy to see me! Mostly because I change his diaper, turn on movies, and give him food and juice. But he loves me for it and repays me with kisses and hugs and nosies and bonks (Bonks are our own endearing tradition).

After said shows are on and foods are had, I am still zombied out and trying to wake up. Atrion usually wants to play with toys or play-doh or legos. So I try to corral him for a bit somewhere while Cody does his work thang. I work on school, paying bills, and browse the internets for awhile. I play Words with friends. Sometimes I get dressed. Sometimes I go grocery shopping or to the park or to visit my sister. Sometimes I get donuts or cupcakes. Mostly, I hang out and do whatever. Our house is almost always clean-ish. There is usually laundry to put away and dishes to wash and crumbs to vacuum but nothing too embarrassing. I get to kiss on my husband give him hugs all day long when he isn't dealing with tenants or maintenance emergencies. He gets to play with Atrion lots and lots throughout the day while I work on tidbits of things.
Atrion usually takes a nap between noon and two. Lately he hasn't. I usually nap while he does because I might be anemic or something and have to get 12 hours of sleep a day.
Four o'clock is an exciting time for us. Daddy is off work! woohoo! Let the party start! He makes dinner or I pick something up. His food is always delicious. Our pact is that if I supply the groceries, he will cook the food. He is luscious, isn't he?

Atrion gets fed, played with, snuggled, read to, prayed with, bathed, brushed, and tucked in usually by 7:00. Now it's our "me" time. Our favorite. I slink over to the couch prop open my laptop while simultaneously turning on the tv. If its Monday I watch the Bachelor, Tuesday is Biggest Loser and Parenthood, Wednesday is a netflix day, Thursday is 30 Rock- Parks and Rec -Grey's Anatomy, Friday is a netflix night. Saturday and Sundays are usually movie night or a reading night. I watch a show while I either play World of Warcraft (my blood elf rogue won't level herself), blog, browse hilarious or crafty sites or do homework. I sometimes get bored of that so I will paint my nails or work on a project. Lately my blog is my project and my stomach hasn't been feeling good, so doing nothing feels great. Also, I play a lot of words with friends. I am not very good at it, but it's fun to get beaten by 100 points or so. Also, everyone else cheats so, there's that.

We are in bed by 10 and usually asleep by 11 because we sometimes get the giggles and chat it up about important things like Star Trek and the fact that Atrion laughs everytime he farts now.

Point of this blog: I choo-choo choose my life. Right here. Right now. Even in crappy Memphis (more on this later, I promise).