Day 21: My Favorites

 

Day 21: A List of Links to the Favorite Posts in Your Archives

I'm not a brilliant writer, so I don't have too many favorite posts... but I've scrounged up a few from the ol' blog for you! Enjoy!

Being the Wife of an Air Force M.T.I. (a.k.a. Drill Sergeant)

My First Time Doing the Tough Mudder

Misadventures in Marriage Counseling

Trying Crossfit for the First Time

Let's Talk About Tattoos, Baby!

What is your favorite blog post on your blog? Leave me a link in the comments!

Day 20: The Motherhood Melee

    Day 20: Get Real. Share Something You're Struggling With Right Now

I'm struggling with having a baby, but not in the same way some women are. I'm not actively trying for one... I'm trying to figure out if I really want one or not. I'm going to be 32 this year, so I'm approaching that "Wow, you better get on that kid thing" age. At every turn, I'm being asked when the babies are coming. The pressure is officially on.

Honestly, I feel like a defective woman. I might be missing the gene that brings the baby fever, sends pangs to your uterus every time you see baby clothes, and that has made you know since you were a little girl that you always were meant to be a mom... It's the gene that almost every woman I know has, but I don't think I do. 

When I think of having a baby, all I can see are the negatives. I'm going to gain weight (that apparently just gets harder to lose as you get older). I'm going to get terrible stretch marks. My vagina will never be the same. I'm going to have to spend years sleep deprived, covered in barf, and listening to crying and tantrums. My life and its schedule will have to be completely rearranged.... forever. I'm bound to emotionally scar a kid in some way that will require therapy later on in life. What if the baby gets sick? What if it dies? Do I really want to make such a huge physical and emotional investment in something like this?

On the other hand... 

Everyone I know with children would not have it any other way. The lack of sleep, stretch marks, weight gain, etc. all seem to have been worth it. Even as the kids get older and the troubles get more complex, they still find so much joy in their children. Kids do seem to enrich peoples lives, in spite of all the scary/inconvenient things about them. 

So, I have to ask myself... is that kind of joyful experience something I want to miss out on? The thought of living my whole life without experiencing the parent/child relationship is a little depressing. Do I want this whole life that I have to be focused mostly on me? Seems a little selfish, and may eventually get kind of boring. 

Unfortunately, at my age, I don't have much time left to decide. I wish I had more time to figure it out. I'm blessed to have a husband who is patient when it comes to my child-bearing neuroses. Hopefully, one day I will be able to make a decision... I can't sit on the fence forever. Even though I can't hear it, I know my biological clock is ticking.

Day 17, 18, 19 - A Weekend's Worth

   

Blogging every day didn't happen this weekend, thanks to our cable/internet provider and some faulty wiring. We were without internet as of Thursday afternoon, and hopefully it will be back up and running soon. Very inconvenient for a work-from-home professional and an online student. Now, back to business...

Day 17: Favorite Photo of Yourself and Why

This is one of the few photos of me where I look beautiful, peaceful, and not awkward! I know it's a shallow reason... but I just look lovely here.

Day 18:  Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt 

One day (I must have been about five), my brother and I were playing around the corner from our house. My mother called us in for dinner. So, my brother started to run home and I wanted so badly to catch up to him. I sprinted down the sidewalk, and kept my eyes focused on my brother. Not looking where I was going, I ran smack into the back of my dad's purple Honda motorcycle, that happened to be parked on our sidewalk. 

I hit my head on the back of the bike and fell back hard onto the cement. I remember it was a late summer afternoon and the sky was so blue... but I wasn't paying much attention to that. My dad was working as an EMT at the time. He had told us if we were ever hurt and needed help, we should hollar for help. As I laid there on the sidewalk, wind knocked out of me and scared, I began to scream at the top of my lungs, "Someone please help me! I'm hurt and in trouble!" I must have scared the neighbors half to death. My parents ran outside and scooped me up. I remember my dad laying me down on the loveseat in our living room, and checking me to see if I was concussed. 

Turns out, I was fine... hitting the back of the motorcycle just startled me. What can I say? When I was a kid, I had a flair for the dramatic. 

Day 19: A Few of Your Favorite Blogs and What You Love About Them 

J's Everyday Fashion: I love, love, LOVE this blog! I am a total t-shirt and jeans kind of gal (more like sweat pants and workout tops these days), and I have zero sense when it comes to putting together a cute outfit. J takes outfits straight off the runway, and transitions it to an every day look with clothes we regular people can afford.

Photo from J's Everyday Fashion

Ask Your Dad Blog: I discussed Ask Your Dad earlier this month (see the post here). If you're not following him... go do it!

Cartoon courtesy of Ask Your Dad Blog

PaleOMG: This is a Paleo-foodie blog. Not only is Juli hilarious, but also has some of the best paleo recipes on the planet (Hello! Sweet Potato Brownies and Chicken Enchilada Lasagna...)! I follow her site religiously and am always pumped to see all of the uh-may-zing recipes she creates. If you're a Paleo/Primal eater, this blog is a must see!