Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

Being a woman is hard! It was hard in the 1920's. It was hard in the 1950's. And it's hard today!

I'm tired y'all! Are you tired? Now we all have stuff going on. Husbands, kids, school, work and if we're lucky we get a little us time here and there. 

IF, if. 

We are the family glue! So I envy those of y'all that have kids and work and go to school and have a husband to take care of. Damn! That's a run on sentence of our lives right there! 

How exciting.... right? 

Most of the time I find it very exciting. Making plans with family and friends after working 10 hour shifts. Planning and making breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love cooking for my man. We rarely eat the same thing twice. Christmas tree shopping. Dinner and movie dates. Family dinners. I love this wonderful life! And regardless of all this amazing stuff that I'm very thankful for, I'm tired y'all!!! 

I don't think that writing this blog is going to change my life. I will still be tired and overworked! Or at least that's how I feel, :) And here's an FYI real quick - I will reveal more about myself through social media, mostly through this blog, than you will ever have me tell you from my lips. Good or bad? Tell me what you think! 

Back to being tired. You know what makes the exhaustion worth it? Recognition and appreciation. It's that simple, you lovely husbands! Even though I'm sure not one man is reading this. You know what I'm talking about ladies! For example. I work full time at a job that I strongly dislike! Strongly!!!!! I do this because I'm taking one for the team. My husband goes to school full time and works part time. Now, even though I may not act like it, I wish I liked my job enough that my husband didn't have to work at all. This is finals week and MAN is he cranky! But it's ok. He's almost done. This week, and then next semester, that's what is standing between us and the next chapter of out lives. Then maybe I'll go back to school. Or finally go see the fertility specialist. Or maybe we will take the longest vacation of our lives! Those are all really cool things right!

Being a grown up is so fun! ....................  :) 

As long as I can get 8 hours of sleep! 

Did I mention I was a dreamer ^^ haha

Until Later,

MrsCassieCass

Not Everyone is Going to Like You

I've been struggling with something for a while. For as long as I can remember. Although it may not seem like it, I am one of those people that puts everyone else above themselves.
I don't like sushi, for example. But if for some reason you want sushi and we have planned lunch together, guess what?! Sushi it is.

Does this make me a bad person, or a good person? Well how does sushi define a person right? Some would say that makes me a good friend, so maybe a good all around person right?!

Alright let's come up with another scenario. 

So you need some one to go with you to the doctors to have a tummy tuck. Random right. You've never been happy with your weight (umm, who has??). But I happen to remember a recent conversation where you told me you didn't want to have weight loss surgery. Instead, you wanted to dedicate hard work and commitment, and loose that extra weight the real way! Now, because I'm a good listener, and a good friend, I may try to talk you out of this quick fix. Let us take time to talk through this. Get a better plan of action, and weigh the pros and cons. Literally and metaphorically.

Good person or bad person? There are so many different ways this conversation could go. And so many different arguments for both sides. Is this wrong of me? Or am I doing the right thing?

Guess what guys?! Unfortunately life isn't this black and white. There is never right or wrong. Ok, maybe there is right or wrong. But if for some reason you're like me and you might try to help your friend make a conscientious decision, go ahead and do so.

Now you could receive backlash for your candid thoughts or opinions. Scratch that. You WILL receive backlash or hatred, I know! But I'll tell you what my friend, never, ever sacrifice who you are and what you believe. Let me tell you why.

Not everyone is going to love you, hell, most people don't even like themselves. True. 

(I saw this quote somewhere and own absolutely no rights to the greatness it possess!)

I guess, one of the reasons I began this post, is because this is my life! I am always conflicted. Worried about the person I am, and the person I want to be. Because at 25 I still have a lot to learn, and I do have some growing to do. Shouldn't I be done with all that? Am I the person that I'm going to be at 35, 45 and 55? God I really hope not! And I don't mean that in a bad way! But there are so many things that I haven't experienced and so many things I haven't seen. I like o think that I learn through experiences. Tell me 100 time how to do something, or why I should do something, but until I experience this myself, or learn how said thing affects me, I just can't. Or I won't. More like I won't. I'm very stubborn. But that's neither here nor there, ok!!

So feeling like I'm in the midst of say, a quarter life crisis, I am reaching out! Asking. Please tell me I'm not crazy! Are these little things something you deal with as well. Or do I need to turn myself into the loony bin?

Oh ya. And being a woman. That's for the birds!!

Family

I am going to start my first official blog off with a bang! Before I tell you my life story and all that jazz, let's start with something everyone can relate to. After all, we have the rest of my blogging life to get acquainted with each other.

Family.

There it is. Black in white. Short story. Long story. 

Let's start with the easy stuff. This is where my family starts. Just me and my husband. Josh. Joshua. Sometimes J$ (pronounced Jay Money). Oh how I love that face! 

So there's that. Don't get confused though, this is not my only family! Far from it! I have a large, blended, family. Made up of parents, step parents, and so on and so forth. Seriously, if I took the time to count how many siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents I had, well, let's just say we don't have time for that! How do y'all consider your family? I ask this, and come to this post, because when I was talking about my huge 'blended family' I got a confused face staring back at me. A very well off, intelligent person, with a very confused expression on his face.

One day I was riding with my supervisor at work. I rode around with him in his car from store to store. Needless to say it was a little awkward. So to break the silence I struck up a conversation on family, taking advantage of the time we had and hoping to maybe get to know my supervisor a little better. What I learned wasn't about him, but about me.

My definition of a blended family: A nicer way to say that not may people in my family get married, or stay married to the same person for ever. Kind of scary right. Sad? No. Pathetic? Please. Say anything bad about my family and I will cut you!
Anywho. That's not far from the Webster Definition of blended family. So yes, my family members have all re married.

I am completely unaware of any statistics that involve blended families. I don't care to know honestly because it's how I've lived my whole life! One Big Happy (mostly) Family! And only now, at 25, talking with a grown adult with a wife and children, did I feel like my family wasn't as good as other families.
Hmm. Let me rephrase that.
Ok. Growing up, all through school and the little dating that I did, I was never ever shamed for my step parents or my step siblings. How does that work, that now as an adult, I am being judged for that?? I dare someone to tell me that I can't or don't love my blended family as much as a typical family. Is that even what we call it?

How many brothers and sisters do you have? I have 9. How many children did my Mom and Dad have together? Me and only me. I'm not good with math but that doesn't add up right?! I never lived in the same house as my Mom AND Dad. Yes, I did dream about them finding their way back through me. Who doesn't?

I lived with my Mom and Step Dad. Those 2 brought me 6 siblings. A younger brother that my Mom had before my SD, and they had 2 more kids together. My SD had 3 kids from his previous marriage. So needless to say our house on the weekends was cray cray. It was so much fun because if there was one sibling that you weren't getting along with that day, you had plenty more to choose from! From playing Legos to building snow men and snow forts. Six kids can be really creative!

That's still only 6!! Yes, only. Haha.

My Dad and Step Mom were my other weekend/summer/Holiday family. Yes. No wonder my life is so hectic now, I can't imagine not being somewhere or spending time with all of my family! My Dad was married before me, and before he was with my SM. I have 1 big sister. And I just met her for the first time a couple of years ago. Does that mean that she is any less of my sister than my sister that my Dad and SM had together? Nope. Through all of this I have one thing that maybe not everyone else has, a big heart for my big family! My SM also had a daughter before my Dad. Yes, I include the brothers and sisters that I'm not really related to by blood, because what does that matter?

Here's where everyone disagrees and the controversy begins. Because out of the 13 people I talked about above ^ only half of them have the same blood running through their veins that I have in mine. Some people would say we're not related? That maybe I don't get the same things I am entitled to with each brother and sister because we're 'step-siblings' or 'half-siblings'. Those words are so ugly! I love every single sibling I have!

This 'trend' continues throughout the rest of my family. I have Grandparents and Step Grandparents. Aunts, uncles and cousins galore! And as I've said before, I love every single, crazy weekend and every packed Holiday that comes with this life!

I'm curious though, how many of you have the same crazy big family? How many of you have parents and grandparents that have been together forever?