I have a confession. I am a sucker for cutesy, all-about-me type of posts. I have officially been sucked in to the ABCs post that I originally saw Gabriella do. I have no shame.

A = Age: 12. Just checking if you tuned out already. In truth – late 20s but cannot wait to be 30. I always wish I was older.

B = Bed size: King, baby!

C = Chore you dislike: MOPPING!!! I will not do it. I make Peter mop. Also, I hate putting away dishes. It seems like a never-ending chore.

D = Dogs: Roxy. A pit/lab mix. Yet, somehow, she is the laziest, wussiest dog I know.

E= Essential start to your day: Nursing Baby B. I love snuggling him.

F = Favorite color: Bright green! Although you would think a cool blue based on my blog, huh? Bright green just doesn’t look too good on screen. 😉

G = Gold or silver: Silver. Although I do love this cross necklace my mom handed down to me from my uncle that has both.

H = Height: 5’5″

I = Instruments you play(ed): Ha! The most musical thing I do is fart.

J = Job title: Cook. Chauffer. Teacher. Maid. Personal Assistant. Professional planner and organizer. AKA – mommy!

K = Kids: Pretty sure you know the answer to this one…

L = Live: Metro Atlanta area

M = Mom’s name: Superwoman. Or her day name is Lisa.

N = Nicknames: Technically Tina is a nickname as my full name is Christina. I prefer Tina, though. I think Mommy is my only other nickname. No wait. In college, friends called me Tinabell.

O = Overnight hospital stays: All for the kids! Both deliveries were overnight stays, of course. Then, when Makenzie stopped breathing and we had to go to the ER on my birthday two years ago. That was fun. Or more accurately, the most miserable four nights of my life. Oh…and that time I was hit by a car.

P = Pet peeves: Rude people. I just don’t get it. Also, when you call someone back immediately after missing the call…but there’s no answer!

Q = Quote from a movie: I only know quotes from the best TV show of all time. So – “You’re so pretty” from FRIENDS because it’s only one of my favorite sayings ever.

R = Righty or lefty: Righty

S = Siblings: One brother. One sister. Both younger. Both goofy. Both awesome!

T = Time you wake up: Which time? 2 am? 5 am? 6:30 am? I wish I was kidding.

U = Underwear: Black leather with spikes. Once again…checking your attention span.

V = Vegetables you don’t like: Asparagus and okra!!! Blechety blech blech blech.

W = What makes you run late: You try getting out the door with a toddler and an infant on time! Yea, that’s what I thought.

X = X-rays you’ve had: My hand/arm when hit by the car. I think that’s it.

Y = Yummy food you make: Enchiladas. I make a mean enchilada. Since I pre-write my posts, its very likely I’m eating an enchilada as this publishes in fact.

Z = Zoo animal favorites: Penguins. They’re cute and funny.

Question(s) of the Evening – Height? Icky veggie? Essential start to your day?

Numerous times, you all credit me with honesty. I have to come clean again with some thoughts I have experienced over the past few days. Writing gives me clarity and two posts I have recently written did just that. First, I wrote a guest post (check it out) for Chelsey’s blog. Then, I wrote yesterday’s post about 20 Things To Keep In Mind. Both of those had me questioning my current approach to blogging.

Before moving on, please note that I’m not segueing into an announcement of “I’m not blogging anymore”. Not by any means. I truly feel called to share myself in this crazy thing called blogging. I love blogging. I do not hesitate for a moment to call it a passion of mine. However, that passion can take a negative spin sometimes and I recently realized it had done so for me.

I will say it outright. I have goals for this blog. It provides a wonderful creative outlet and the flexibility to do something I love. It suits me perfectly right now as an adult outlet while staying at home and as a way to bring in a little extra side money for our family. I cannot deny my hopes that when the time comes for me to return to work in a few years, I can involve blogging in some way. By no means do I expect my blog to become my full-time income (& likely wouldn’t want it to). I still wouldn’t mind it working well alongside whatever other path I choose to take (personal training? wellness coaching? writing?).

However, in reaching that possible goal, I do not ever want to lose sight of why I blog. I fear I had started to do that. I emphasized developing my blog over the aspects of blogging that bring me true joy. I reflected. And reflected some more.

Why do I blog?

I feel an immense purpose in telling my story. With time, I knew the things I had experienced had some meaning. They weren’t simply to make me stronger or learn some important lessons. They did those things, most definitely. But I have no doubt in my mind that I lived through the depression, hurt, binges, self-hatred, tough relationships, and more to tell my story. God has a plan and something in my gut tells me this is part of it for me.

Nothing matters more than loving others. The innumerable connections and relationships possible through blogging matter to me. I don’t want to get so caught up in my own blog that I can’t make those true connections and friendships important in the blogging world.

I believe in being real. I share 100% openly and honestly about all things body image, balance, motherhood, fitness, weight loss, fears, etc because I think we too often put pressure on ourselves that is not realistic. Heck. It’s what I’m currently experiencing with blogging and something I believe not talked about nearly enough. I want to show the truth in all ways, so we can learn more to uplift one another in struggles and not hide behind false fronts.

And lastly, its fun! Its a great way to learn more about myself, share anecdotes of my family, capture life, and experience new things. I don’t want to lose the fun aspect!

Those are the reasons I blog and those are the things I do not want to forget. What does that mean? For myself personally, It means taking off the self-imposed pressure. It means keeping blogging a hobby and pleasurable pastime and trusting God to develop it as a part of my life in His own way.

And for FFF? The main difference you will notice is that I may blog less often (1x/day) so I can keep my focus on what I care about most in blogging. I hope I can more genuinely reflect why I blog, my mission and purpose in blogging, and who I am as a person – a busy mom/wife/friend working towards personal goals and loving life – in every post.

Who cares what it does to page views? Who cares if its not the standard for blogs trying to grow and develop? Who cares if it makes me slightly nervous as to how that will affect the styling of my posts and if they become too long for you to want to read? All I care about is that I stick to my reasons for blogging. I follow my gut. I do what I know is right. I continue to have fun so it remains a passion. Whatever path that ends up leading down…so be it. I will have blogged with purpose, dedication, and compassion. Yea…so be it.

With all of that being said, if you like what FFF stands for, I would be honored to have you nominate me for Women’s Health Magazines “Blogs We Love”. Pretty please?? 🙂 Just click HERE and take a short moment to enter my site.

Question of the Day – Why do you blog? Have you ever lost sight of that? What caused you to do so and how do you keep focused?