We are approaching a crossroads (again) and have begun discussions of future and goals. I know, we just did this how many years ago?

Well, lots has happen since we got ourselves all figured out and now it seem we need to start figuring out things again.

The thing is, it is crazy how easy it is to go through life day to day not fully understanding your ultimate goals/ hearts desires. I realized this when N and I began a dialogue about what was next for us.

Apparently after reaching many of our goals we’ve just sorted rested on our laurels and have been coasting through for a while not really thinking much about our next steps.

Sure, it’s way easier to just take it day by day and not look to far ahead. Especially after feverishly planning and working your butt off for so many years, but without knowing (and being able to define) your goals & priorities it’s pretty hard to devise a game-plan for the immediate future that will help you to reach those goals and fulfill those priorities. Doh! Time to get cracking again.

Since I am gonna pressure N to list his top 5 I figured it was only fair to make my own list too. Here is what I came up with for my priorities:

1. Raise my child in the best way possible.
2. Spend time with family and savor the moments.
3. Financial stability & comfort.
4. Self sufficiency, sustainability & reducing environmental footprint.
5. Lead a more healthy lifestyle.

The top three were easy but the bottom two required some thought. I wrote them in the order they came to me too. I would like to put healthy lifestyle further up on the list but I would be lying if I moved it up. I am lazy and when finances or energy is depleted I do eat like crap and treat my body badly, it is the honest truth.

Another thing I noticed once my list was complete is my lack of goals that relate to my own fulfillment. Notice how I am not concerned with growing myself in any way… The self sufficiency is a hobby so it kind of is about just me, I guess. I worry that not focusing on myself might leave me in a bad place later but my heart is in giving my all to the family I’ve longed for and finally have.

I feel like we are headed to moving our health and environmental footprint above the financial stability part in terms of being willing to forgo the cheapo crap foods and spend more money and even time acquiring safer, healthier better for us foods. Like the grass-fed, free range meat share we committed to and our switch to hormone free milk. We also beefed up our garden tons this year and have been enjoying much organic, self-grown produce.

Jotting down my top 5 priorities list really does bring fourth some interesting observations. I think there are many positive ways I could revise the list to turn out my goals and get me focused and heading the right direction.

I know I need to find a balance between motherhood and me, so I don’t lose myself. N and I need to make an effort to be a couple as well as parents. I really need to work harder at NOT taking the easy way out when it comes to my health and nutrition…

There are so many things I’d like to be doing differently but I won’t make the goals unless I am sure I am ready to commit to them 100%. It’s gonna take some pondering and weighing, I am one step in the right direction though.

Now to compare my list with N’s and see how we can mesh the two so that we are on track as a family.

So, what does your list look like? Care to share here or in a post on your own blog?

Haven’t shared a strange search terms post in a while. Been getting lots of perverted lookie-loos, lol. I’ve sprinkled this edition with some odd tidbits of knowledge to intrigue or to just educated those perverted lookie-loos. Enjoy!

how many nipples do babies have at birth
-> Um, usually just the two if you are talking human babies. Did you know the Tailless Tenrec is the mammal with the most nipples? Tailless Tenrec babies are born with 24 nipples. What is a Tailless Tenerec you ask?

nipples: the next big thing
-> You know big nipples make for an easier and clearer landing for baby especially if you are in to letting newborn baby perform the “Breast Crawl”.

men blood blisters breast
-> If someone pinched it or was sucking it you probably do have a nipple blister my friend. To pop or not to pop? Personally I am a popper. Grab that sewing needle, sterilize it, pop that baby and squeeze. But don’t leave the needle on the counter for your dumb cat to swallow like I did.

before and after nursing nipples
-> I took a poll on twitter. It’s true nipples do change after nursing! Responses were:

Yeah, they were pretty flat before. I had an oversupply and my first baby used to yank wicked hard at the breast. Now they protrude.

very much!

yep! They are huge!

yes, unfortunately, they got bigger, will they go back to normal?

hear nipple woman
-> Yeah, I searched this term and came up with lots of stuff I’d rather not share here on the blog. I am sure there is someone out there referred to as “nipple woman” that you could listen to. I’d rather not find out anymore about that though. Besides could Nipple Woman actually have anything to share that I’d want to hear?

fun open Christmas gifts with gloves on?
-> Yep, I’ve heard of people opening gifts with gloves on, kind of a fun- make people laugh idea. Even better us to try wrapping the gifts with gloves on. Speaking of gloves, did you know they make gloves for texting and using various other touch screen devices? Yep, you can be warm and use those electronics, Score!

Welcome to The Dating Profiles Meme . This meme is based on a feature from WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser.

Either you have used sites such as Match.com or Yahoo Personals or you’ve read them right? Well The Dating Profiles Meme scours those on-line dating sites, weekly so we can to respond to them.

Well, I am a tad lat on this one but better late than never right? This is my first attempt, here it goes:

The Dating Profiles Meme: Hard Times

1. Why is this so hard?

Probably because you are a bit creepy and are trying way to hard.

2. Walk with me.

Why so you can get me out in the forest and bash my head in or try to molest me?

3. My software is state of the art.

Ha, ha! If you have to say that then I know you are wrong. I call that “my penis is going to fall off” syndrome.

4. Can’t believe I did this.

Your girlfriend can’t believe it either buddy!

5. Life is an adventure or nothing.

What the hell does that mean? Either you are way in to drama (aka. adventure) or you are severely depressed.

6. Looking for someone to get to no.

You should look for a book on English grammar and educate yourself a tad more. Brains are attractive.

7. I am absolutely terrible at this!!

Which is why you should just stop trying.

8. Anything is possible, right?

Well I guess so but given your morbid demeanor I am gonna guess it wont.

9. It’s your last day to live, live it.

Um, yeah. Live it and quit hanging around dating sites feeling all lonely.

10. I enjoy text messages.

Because you lack people skills?

Ahem, I guess N is right I’ve still got some anger and bitterness in me these days as a result of some work drama. LOL. The Dating Profiles Meme was a perfect way to get it all out without making someone want to murder themselves. Ha!

Okay, I stole this from TapThatMom and am just now getting around to posting it…

Have you seen the last person you texted naked?
Um, nope he is my boss at the high school. That would be wrong, big time.

Could you go out in public looking like you do now?
In undies a nursing top and with my hair in a towel? Yep, sure could. Never will but could so do it.

Last person you were on the phone with for more than 20 minutes, when?
My mom of course.

Have you ever thought about getting your lip pierced?
Um, never. I thought tongue rings were hot on guys for a while and I pierced my belly button with a safety pin in middle school.

Who will you be sleeping with tonight?
My self! We are in a hotel with 2 full beds (so small)… N’s in one, me in the other and E in her pack n play.

Is there a girl or boy you would do anything for?
Yeah, several.

Would you rather be in a relationship or play the field?
Ha, a relationship of course. Dating sucks!

What woke you up this morning?
N getting dressed.

Who’s hoodie did you wear last?
Um, mine… Like back when I was preggo. It was this knit hoodie, so comfortable! No hoodies for me now. Gotta have access to the girls and hoodies don’t allow for that

Would you date someone if they asked you right now?
Nah.

Where were you when you heard Michael Jackson died?
I was just recovering from the birth of Everly at The Farm and my step dad texted my mom so she could tell me.

Would you ever get a tattoo with someone’s name on it?
Nope.

If you get a chance to move somewhere, where would you move?
Um, Tennessee, Washington, Oregon, the Carolinas… Pretty much anywhere.

Are you mad at anyone?
Yeah, some backstabbing people.

Have you ever been called a tease?
Actually no… That’s not good huh?

Is it possible to be single and happy?
Yes.

Do you trust people easily?
At first but once trust is broken that is usually it.

Do you want to see somebody right now?
Not really.

Are you trying to avoid liking somebody at the moment?
No…

Are you afraid of losing the last person you talked to?
Yeah, loss sucks no matter who it is.

Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed?
N

Are you happy with the choices you’ve made?
Of course, wouldn’t change a thing.

Have you jumped in a pool with all your clothes on?
No, been pushed thrown though.

Is it okay to kiss people if you’re single?
Yeah, even when you aren’t single it can be okay.

Have you ever in anyway been betrayed by someone you trust?
Oh yeah, way to often that I should.

Would you rather date someone older than you or younger?
I married an old man ;-P

Do you remember who you liked on New Years?
N

Have you ever been around a person who was high?
Yeah.

Are promises important to you?
Some of them.

Would you ever consider living with anyone on your top friends?
Yeah, and I have and still do.

Did anything “cute” happen in this week?
Yeah, E just giggled for me. First time ever!

Have you had sex in the last two weeks?
… No. What? I just recently had a baby and a 4th degree tear!

Have you ever copied someone else’s homework?
Yeah…

Do you wash your hair in the shower?
Yeah but it’s usually in the bath. I like baths better. I don’t wash it every day though.

What year where you born in?
1982

How much cash do you have at the moment?
Me? None… N has it all. Like $60

Do you get along with girls?
Yeah, some of them.

What’s on your mind right now?
Sherbet ice cream and backstabbing people.

What color is your hair?
Depends…

Do you like your name?
Yeah. As a kid I wanted to be named Tiffany though.

Do you tend to fall for people easily?
Not at all.

Is the last person you kissed mad at you?
No.

Does a kiss make you feel better?
No.

Have you ever run over an animal?
A dead one? Yep. I’ve not killed one though.

Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
Oh yeah.

Do you like ice-cream?
Yes, it is yum!!

What are you listening to right now?
Miss Congeniality on the TV.

Was it a boy or a girl to text you first today?
A girl, a backstabbing one.

Who last called you baby?
Nobody… Just “babe”.

What’s the last thing you “aw”ed at?
Everly of course.

Ever felt like you’re not good enough?
No, I’ve felt like people think I am not though.

Will you talk to the person you like tonight?
Yeah, why wouldn’t I?

Do you think you’re wasting your time on the person you like?
Um, no..?

If you could change something you’ve done would you?
No.

I was just tagged over at Auguries of Innocence as a recipient of this award and wanted to pass it along to several of the bloggers I’ve discovered via twitter. I don’t always manage to comment on the blogs I read but I am reading and making the rounds I am just lurking.

The rules of this award are:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I am slowly making the transition to mommy blogger and have been loving all my mommy blogger twitter buddies (I don’t have 15 though), they make me feel like I am not alone in this mommyhood thing. I’ve learned lots from them!

• thinkPink
• Motherhood & Me
• All Things Mama
• Mama Notes
• Paisley and Pretties
• Giving Back to Nature
• A Whole Lot Of Nothing
• Our Life Upstate

These days it seems as all I have to talk about is Everly. Today she was on the play mat and wanted to see the TV better so she rolled on to her side and was chillin’ there watching the TV. It was kind of cute.

Which reminds me, I read this post over on mom logic that made me feel guilty about all the baby photos I’ve been sharing. I know many of you like to see her updates here on the blog since we are so far away from everyone.

At the same time I am sure some of you are sick of the photos right? I am trying to post more than just baby updates and whatnot, I just eat drink and sleep baby these days… and she is pretty darn cute, admit it!

Oh, so I am hearing that my RSS feed is wonky for some people. If you arrived here via a subscription will you please let me know how you are subscribed and if you are still getting update alerts since the blog makeover? Thanks.

I am pretty excited and still doing some theme tweaking but the new look is coming shortly, stay tuned!

Way back in January I thought it would be fun to participate in another blog interview meme. This one was started over at: http://maggiesmind.blogspot.com and I got in on the action via Hotfessional’s post offering to interview some peeps. I knew it would be a good meme to save and schedule for posting while I am away having Tater so I sat on it for about six months and am finally posting it now.

Here are her five questions for me and my answers to them:

1-What is the very favorite piece of clothing you ever had? Hmm, this one is hard because my clothing rotation right now is pretty slim due to the pregnancy. I love my wedding dress very much and can’t wait to wear it to our wedding some day. Oh and I LOVE my 2 brightly colored tube tops. Hopefully I’ll love my new Old Navy Tankini I just ordered for my post pregnancy body. It’s been ages since I’ve bought a new swimsuit!

2-If you could have dinner with one Prime Minister/President who would it be? President Obama, I would love to talk with him about the economy and the state of health care in this country. I would tell him all about midwives and prenatal care. He would hate me probably.

3-What did you want to be named when you were younger?  (Like 7-ish?) Tiffany. For some reason I thought it was a fun name and that with a fun name I could be more popular and fun… Now days I think differently and most of the Tiffanys I’ve known were… Ahem, fun in a loose sort of way. Not exactly what I was aiming for. Kind of like having the name Bambi or something. Now I am way over it and perfectly okay with my given name.

4-What’s your favorite smell? I love the sent of cinnamon, for some reason it is so cozy and comforting to me. Those cinnamon pine cones that come around in the fall/ winter are heaven! Cinnamon candles, cinnamon breath. Love it all!

5-If you found out that you were reincarnated in your current life, who would you have been in your prior life?  You know, one of my grandmas thinks she was Cleopatria in a past life and we always laugh about this… She is all crazy when she talks about this and we all just smile let her go on and on about it. I don’t really relate to past famous people in the way she (and many others) do… I was probably an animal or something in a past life, like a Tiger.

Okay so now it is your turn! Want to be part of it? All you have to do is follow these instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” I’ll interview the first 3 commenters requesting an interview.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions (once I get back from having Tater of course). I get to pick the questions and I won’t be too crazy about them.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions I’ve asked.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Teeni awarded me the Honest Scrap Award sometime ago. The idea is that I am supposed to tell you ten honest things about me and then tag seven victims/ friends to do the same on their own blog.

So, my 10 honest things are:
1. I have a very tiny tattoo that my little brother gave me one thanksgiving. It is the smallest one in history I think!
2. I’ve only ever lived in 2 states, Arizona and now Indiana.
3. I am the oldest and have 2 younger brothers.
4. My mom had me, waited 5 years, had my brother, waited 5 more years then had my youngest brother. How is that for perfect spacing?
5. I died my hair green in 6th grade to win a contest. I love contests!
6. N and I were legally married (on Halloween 2009) but we plan to have a wedding in Arizona once Tater is born.
7. I have a nice mole type freckle in my left armpit, so does my mom. We share many of the same freckle markings. Strange huh? This armpit freckle/ mole is hard to shave around without cutting the darn thing off, luckily since my mom has one too she showed me the shaving tricks at a young age so I am good. 8. Speaking of shaving, I wasn’t allowed to shave my legs until I was in middle school and I had some long ass blond leg hairs that everyone teased me about. Heidi do you remember this?
9. I am an organ donor and have told N that being buried in a burlap sack under an unmarked tree 100% natural is fine by me.
10. In reality I’ll probably be cremated though since unmarked graves are illegal and all. Cremation is fine by me.

The 7 people I am tagging are:

1. Krystal @ Tapthatmom’s Blog
2. Becky @ Girl Scout Dropout
3. Ree @ Hotfessional
4. Maiden53
5. Karen @ Fab Grandma
6. Donna B. @ Opining Online
7. Mitzi @ Magnolia

Janelle from Junk Food 4 The Soul gave me the Zombie Chicken Award! (she got it from Delmer) This award is described as being given to:

“The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the Zombie Chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…”

Well, what an honor to receive this award. My favorite thing about it is how the description makes me laugh! So, lets see I would pass this on to:

1. Witchypoo @ Psychicgeek
2. Megan @ Femme Reflections
3. Heidi @ This is my life
4. Veronica @ Someday We Will Sleep
5. Hyphen Mama @ Mommy Needs 5 Minutes

Here is another Weekly Winners post, all photos were captured using my new Kodak Cd-1013 Digital Camera.

This is the crappy food photo edition. Behold my first attempt at making Mac and Cheese from scratch, easy enough right?

I knew something was terribly wrong when the macaroni was practically disintegrated after just a few minutes of cooking but I drained it and proceeded to make the recipe anyway. Here is how it looked when plated up:

N took the first bite and didn’t say anything, he just seasoned the stuff and kept eating. When I took my first bite I practically vomited in my mouth.

The recipe wasn’t bad and the cheesy part was good as was the asparagus that was mixed in.

The problem was the wheat pasta that was no longer pasta. It was more like a wheat mush. Could the issue have been that the pasta was a Big Lots $.25 special? Perhaps it is because it was a product of Mexico?

Either way it was clear to me after one bite that we could NOT eat any of the meal so I grabbed the plates up because N was still trying to be polite by eating the mush and not vomiting… I tried to come up with a quick plan B for dinner.

Luckily we had some frozen burritos in the freezer that we could nuke and enjoy.

Too bad we had to discover some three day old chocolate chip pancakes still chillin’ in the microwave when we went to nuke the burritos.

What? We don’t microwave very often and I never store food in there, unlike some people…

We felt bad about all the wasted food with the botched Mac and Cheese so just for good measure we offered it up to the animals as a “treat”. Usually they jump at the chance for some people food.

When the cats turn their noses up at it you know it is totally bad news…So yeah.

I can make all sorts of complicated things from scratch but Mac and Cheese, not so much. I blame the pasta! Someday I’ll attempt it again with better pasta, but not for a long time. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

Blog lurkers are known as those folks who visit, read and then run. They are either too shy to say anything, they are blog stalkers who don’t want you to know they are reading or they simply have nothing to say about what you’ve just talked about cause it was a boring post.

Delurking Day 2009 was 1/12/09 but I missed it in my excitement over birthing at The Farm and all. Thanks to Hotfessional and Juggling Life I learned of delurking day much like how N and I realized we were being legally married on halloween, too little to late.

Anywho, the idea of delurking day is to get blog readers who don’t comment to fess up and leave a comment below so we know they are around here and in the loop.

Some of you are related to me, some of you see me in person from time to time or know me form the past, some of you have never met me face to face but have built a bond through blogging. Either way you are sharing in my life by being a regular reader of my blog and that is important to me. Now I am calling you out and challenging you to speak up and delurk just for this one day.

This blog gets anywhere from 200- 300 hits per day (except for Christmas Day) and an average of 5-18 comments per day. That means quite a few people are lurking, like more than 100 of you!

If you are reading this post expose yourself! Simply post a comment below saying hello, you don’t have to have a blog to comment, just type your name, email address (don’t worry it wont be publicly displayed) and your comment. Lets see how many lurkers come out of the wood work today…

Also, Donna B. tagged me for a meme this week:

On her blog she said it was “a very non-important meme. (Is that redundant?) Cassandra at Villainous Company calls it a crappy meme, but I’ll not go there.”

The rules are as follows:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

And now my 6 not important tidbits of info for you:

1. I have a nice mole type freckle in my left armpit, so does my mom. We share many of the same freckle markings. Strange huh? This armpit freckle/ mole is hard to shave around without cutting the darn thing off, luckily since my mom has one too she showed me the shaving tricks at a young age so I am good.
2. Speaking of shaving, I wasn’t allowed to shave my legs until I was in middle school and I had some long ass blond leg hairs that everyone teased me about. Heidi do you remember this?
3. All through middle school and even high school I would have a package of powdered doughnuts (or chocolate if they were out of powdered) and a soda for my lunch. I would also have a soda and a giant warm cookie everyday for breakfast throughout high school. Right now I am craving powdered doughnuts but have none, I’ll settle for a bag of warm microwave popcorn instead. There is a glimpse of what I’ll eat when I don’t actively try to have a healthy diet.
4. I dated a guy for 4 years back in high school, we broke up because he wanted to “experiment” and all that jazz. I am pretty sure he is still experimenting… with penis… Nice huh? Luckily I met N shortly after the breakup with the gay guy and the rest is history…
5. I hate when my foods mix on my plate. The contaminating of flavor really bugs me. N likes to eat several things at once like a bite of meat mixed with some veggies. I think it ruins the flavor of each individual items when you combine them, unless you are supposed to combine them like in shepherds pie or something.
6. I am a SAHM- to be and my daytime TV consists of Desperate Housewives. I am not caught up to the current season so I am watching like 2 recorded episodes a day to get caught up eventually. I DO NOT like soaps at all and can’t stand talk shows or reality shows (except The Bad Girls Club)… I am not much of TV fan, why do we pay $70.00 a month for satellite again?

Okay so there you have it my 6 not important tidbits of info for you to chew on. I am tagging: Heidi, Becky, Janelle, Krystal, Connie, N and Witchypoo. Now that I just shared all that info you need to delurk okay? Lets see if we can get the comment count on this post to exceede 20 comments!