Thanks to Gabriela and Allie, I started my day with some delicious food – oats topped with pumpkin granola and TJs Cranberry Apple Butter.

Followed by my 36 weeks appointment. I have officially reached the 9 months pregnant mark. Insane!

As for the appointment - nothing too exciting to say about that. Things all look healthy. I got a Q-Tip swabbed up in me. He’s still in there, sitting pretty. And refusing to cooperate any time I try to get a quick video of him dancing around in my belly. Stubborn kid. It looks so cool & I want to share! .

After the appointment we did something a little crazy. See Peter acting crazy?

We headed out to the mall area to run a few errands, like Trader Joes. It’s been a long while since I have hit up TJs and I wanted to take advantage. I used to shop here once a week. After having a kid,  the 30 minute trek became too much and I decided I could get by fine at my local Kroger, Publix, Walmart, etc. There’s just something special about Joes.

Plus, you can’t find their fabulous sauces/salsas/etc, treats, and convenience type items at the regular grocer. I miss those items the most. Picking up items to freeze for easy meals after baby B’s arrival was the focus of our shopping excursion.

Some other things inevitably snuck in – like cinnamon almonds, honeycrisp apples, and a spicy peanut sauce.

And wine!!!!!!! This TJs Cabernet will be consumed with family the night I get home from the hospital. Oh! And I do like my hair when I style it myself. Thank goodness!

Where was I? The wine got me all excited. Oh yea. We also took a pit stop to Babies R Us while out. Would you believe that $80 can buy you this much little stuff?

2 swaddle blankets, 2 packs of baby socks, some nipple cream, wipes, and pacifiers. I think the nipple cream was the most expensive, yet worth every penny for a mom planning to breastfeed.

As exciting as I know you find the talk of nipple cream, I do have to say something even more exciting made its way into my day. Behold the yummy of all yummies!

I have been dying to try a gourmet cupcake – more specifically a lemon one. As luck would have it, a gourmet bakery shop opened up right by the TJs. I showed my puppy dog eyes to Peter and lured him into the shop.

I didn’t have to do too much luring though. He saw the caramel toffee cupcake and became weak in the knees. We quickly boxed up the his & hers cupcakes to have for a special dessert tonight. Who cares if I’m making more of my fudge tomorrow and Christmas is two days away? I wanted my cupcake!

And I got it. And I loved it. I will now fall into bed in a sugar coma that will likely continue another few days. And don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Question of the night – What yummies have you been enjoying lately?

Only 24 more hours to enter my Chobani giveaway!

You all are into the Chobani! Keep those entries coming. And HELLO to any new friends who came across the site. I hope you stick around for awhile. We have a good time here. 🙂

In my last “Body After Baby” post, I shared my overall goal of reaching my body’s “happy place”. Feeling physically fit and strong. Feeling healthy because of proper nutrition. Feeling confident because I know I am caring for myself in all ways.

When setting goals, often times we hear the recommendation to use the “SMART” approach: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, & Timely.

While my overall goal is very vague and measured just from my personal thoughts, I still agree with the SMART approach. Goals should be those things, especially realistic. Today, I want to share other goals I have outside of what I will strive for overall next year.

10 Extra Goals on the Path to the One Overall Goal

Complete unassisted pull-ups again. These epitomize strength in my mind.

Squat 135# (the man bar + one big plate on each side). I love, love, love squats. I could easily do this at my happy place for 3 sets of 10. It was fun getting looks from the men in the weight room!

Bench press 100#. Yet another I could easily do at one point. I would also do pushups with a 25 pound plate on my back. What can I say? I adore strength training!

Run a 5K Race. This one really excites me. I was starting to truly enjoy running before I got pregnant. It’s a fitness challenge that has always intrigued me, but I have never embraced out of fear I would stink at it. Who cares if I stink? I want to give it a shot and experience my first race!

New workouts. I would love to try out some new things. Like my first yoga class in a studio, Insanity & TurboFire DVDs, and anything else I may come across.

Stretch, yoga, foam roll OFTEN. It is so easy for me to let flexibility slide. I want to focus on it fully to help with my other fitness related goals.

Cook more and try new recipes. I would love to aim for one new recipe a week. I need to branch out and grow my cooking skills.

Less processed foods & way more veggies. I want to get back to the style of eating I know I feel best with. That includes focusing on those two factors.

More balance with food. Continuing with that idea, I don’t want to become restrictive in any sense. However, I also know I could use more of a balance with carbs, protein, and healthy fats. Also between natural foods and my “treats”. Once these pregnancy sugar cravings lose their hold on me.

Daily prayer & positive affirmation. I want to focus on loving myself. I still pray regularly for God to help me see myself through His eyes. It’s a very powerful thing to remind yourself of and I want to keep that going.

As you can see, I have things related to fitness, healthy eating, and overall emotional well-being. All three are important to me. These are not the definitive list, but just an idea of things I plan on working towards in a more specific nature. I fully believe all of these things will help bring me to the overall place I hope to achieve…and keep me feeling wonderful throughout the process.

Question of the day – What are some goals you hope to work towards?