"I'm up to my elbows in poop that looks like peanut butter. Can you get a diaper out of my purse?" - Growing up, I never had aspirations of being a mother and even in my early and mid-twenties I was leaning towards not having children. Even after Peter and I were engaged I still wasn't sure I'd ever want to have a baby. It was only in the past three years my mindset started to shift as I started looking at all the idiots around me reproducing and thinking, surely to God, if these riff-raffs can do it, I can do it too. Just kidding!! (Kind of.)

"I'm going to bed" (before 10:00 PM) - I wasn't always such an early bird. For years, I operated under the assumption that it was "lame" to tuck in before midnight for the pre-Freedom 55 crowd, so I'd force myself to stay up late - despite the fact that I cannot sleep past 8:00 AM, no matter how late I'm up the night before. After years of feeling like zombiefied ass in the mornings I finally gave in to the fact that I'm just not meant to be a night owl. Now I've embraced my old-woman ways and it's a wild night if I make it to the double digits.


"I'm running a half-marathon." - In elementary school gym we had to do the dreaded 12-minute run every year and I used to try to come up with elaborate schemes to get out of doing it. The very idea of running for fun was an oxymoron. I believed a person should never run unless he or she was being chased. I can't say when I started enjoying running. There was no lightbulb moment - it definitely happened over time and it definitely sucked in the beginning, but now I like it. It's MY time and I'd go crazy without it.


"I think I'll stay in tonight." - Just like I fought being an early bird, I fought being an occasional introvert, too. For the most part I love being around others, meeting new people, socializing and getting out, but I definitely need downtime to stay home, recharge and enjoy my own company, whether it's reading, writing, crafting, baking...all things I used to consider lame. I get exhausted and frazzled if I don't get some downtime now and then.

"I made ___________ (insert name of baked good/homemade dish here)." - I survived for probably five years on fast food, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Triscuits with microwaved cheese on top. I moved out of one apartment without knowing if the stove worked BECAUSE I HADN'T TURNED IT ON DURING THE ENTIRE LEASE.

I could keep going...but five seems like an appropriate place to stop. Happy Friday, kids!