Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllll.

I think it's inevitable to start off a new year with some sort of goal setting. Whether they're actually resolutions or flights of fancy, we all would like to think that the first day of the first month of the new year offers a clean slate.

I myself am not immune to this and in fact am a part of a goal setting group. When I found out I was pregnant with Monkey, I joined an amazing Facebook group filled with amazing women who were due around the same time. One of its off shoots was a group devoted strictly to motivating whomever joined to do their best, set goals in place and encourage each other when there were highs and lows. Recently, we've been talking about what we want to accomplish in this next year and admittedly, at first, I struggled.

Since having Monkey, I feel like a complete idiot most of the time. Mommy brain is, for lack of a better term, a bitch. I forget things, repeat myself, get sidetracked easily, all things that would've drive my pre-pregnancy self crazy. I suppose this is one of God's ways of pointing and laughing and still teaching me a lesson. Thanks for that.

I was able to finally put down some ideas and I thought I'd share them here. Putting your goals in writing is half the battle. It doesn't mean you'll actually achieve them, but you do have a higher chance.

1) Run away. Run every chance I get. Run here. Run there. Just run. I'm never so truly centered as when I am running. I even found some mommy friends to do virtual runs with me since I work weekends and will most likely be out this racing season.

2) Cook. I did not realize how cathartic cooking is for me until a few weeks ago when I was able to cook every day of the week. It was almost zen like. My soul feels better when I get to feed my family. Watching Monkey wolf down home cooking was extremely rewarding. Plus I need fodder for my Friday food posts.

3) It's all about me...when it comes to my blog. For so long I tried to figure out how to make my blog become this mega hit, with guest posts from the likes of Gwyneth and any Food Network star. And it felt as fake as it was. So now I blog with my original intent: just to write. I've loved writing since I was a little girl. One of the first jobs I ever said I wanted was a journalist. Sadly, you have to do a lot of writing in college to become a journalist and ironically, I hate formal writing. I can do it and do it well, I just don't want to. So wah.

There are probably other goals that I'm forgetting like saving more and spending less. Those have more do with my family and feel a little too personal to put out there. But these three are just about me and what I need for myself, which I'm learning is just as valuable as the wife-me or the mom-me. The me-me is the one that makes sure all the other me's are functioning on a somewhat human level. The me-me thinks I need more coffee.

How about you? What are your goals for you-you? Who's climbing Mt Everest this year or painting the next Sistine Chapel?

New and Improved

Husband's grandfather passed away last week. It was easily one of the hardest things we've dealt with in our young marriage. It's hard to come up with something to say to someone you love more than your right foot when they're hurting so badly. I ended up not saying much, but we have done a lot of shopping lately. Even men need retail therapy.

Along with losing Poppa, we've also made some changes around the apartment, namely in our spare bedroom. I have started stalking become obsessed with Jen at iheartorganizing. Gotten lots of great ideas as well as some motivation for our work spaces.

When Husband came home from his trip, he also brought me back a computer that one of his best friends, The Teddy Bear, wasn't using anymore. I have sort of monopolized Husband's laptop since the unfortunate demise of my beloved MacBook, so he didn't waste any time getting it all set for me to use. Now that we each had our own laptop, the living room coffee table was feeling a bit crowded and I was beginning to notice the beginnings of Internitis. It's a virus that causes you to ignore others whilst you wile away hours at a time on some type of Internet connecting device which ends up leaving you void of human contact and wondering when your spouse grew a gotee. So, I made a declaration: once the office was up and running, NO MORE ELECTRONICS IN THE LIVING ROOM. The exception being our cell phones since we don't have a home phone but even then, you better not be ignoring my rant about my day because you're too busying flinging canaries at those of a porcine nature. Oh and my Kindle, because that's actually mentally stimulating, which I need during Husband's Monday night soap opera aka WWE Raw.

Fast forward and now we each have our own work areas in what I like to refer to as "The Office." Husband has his space, complete with his "Don't Tread on Me" flag and I have mine, complete with, well white walls for now (it's only been a week give me a break).

Mandie likes the new office too.

As well as a new place to waste brain cells at communicate with all of you, I have finally put this page up on Facebook. I've wrestled with this for some time, not because I have issues with the site that will be single handedly responsible for the take down of human kind by space invading zombie vampires but because it felt like I wasn't significant enough to warrant a page on Facebook. But then I remembered that significance is my middle name and went ahead and did it (significance is not my middle name and for those of you about to name your child, remember there are people like me out in the world that will openly mock said child for whatever poor name choice you choose to make) . Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think.

Before I go, I just wanted to thank everyone for their support during my first Crazy Cooking Challenge. If you're interested to know what the winning entry was, here's the link. I got four votes, which means that someone other than the Paternal Unit liked what they read (Maternal Unit would've voted, but she has to share a computer with the world's stingiest computer partner). I appreciate so much that you take the time to visit my little internet abode. Warms my cold little heart. Ttfn!