Oh, I love the TV show Friends. Remember the episode with the New Year’s Resolutions and Ross wanting to do something new everyday. The scene of him in the bathroom in those leather pants with the baby powder always makes me laugh. I HAD to include a clip from it – even if it is poor quality.

Well, today I took Ross’ advice and tried a bunch of new things. I like to get one big dose of new instead of spreading it out to one a day. You know…because I’m wild like that. 😉

This morning, I woke up to some strange feelings in my stomach. At first, I groggily thought the body aches from yesterday finally manifested themselves into some form of illness. Not the case at all. You know what it was? BABY! Rolling about in my stomach. I have thought I felt baby a few times before but this morning was undisputable. The feeling reminds me of being tickled, just from the inside out. I could feel him (since I’m sure it’s a boy) moving from one side of my stomach to the other. What a fabulous way to start the morning!

In other new news…I signed up for something new to me, but old to many of you. I finally joined FoodBuzz. I’m not really certain what kept me from doing so sooner, but now I’m part of the community. I really have very little clue what to do with it, how to find people, what types of things to add, or anything else related to the site. So if you have any advice or guidance for a newbie, hit me up in the comments section.

More new came to my day with a visit to a pool I've never been to for playgroup time. We met up at a local pool which boasted its own toddler play area AND a water slide. Awesome! Makenzie & I had plenty of fun splashing around. Splashing around and chasing after her served nicely as my workout for the day too. Every bit of activity counts. You don’t always have to complete a formal workout. I knew there would be no time for one today, so my pool activity suited me very well.

I also discovered a new found sense of confidence. Perhaps it stems from all the Operation Beautiful talk or seeing Caitlin on the Today show . Maybe it is simply from my own personal growth and what God is working in me right now to share here soon and the learning that comes with it. Whatever it is, I felt more beautiful in a bathing suit today than I think I ever have. Even with more cellulite than normal thanks to pregnancy. I’m not perfect, but I’m beautiful. I have to believe that to be a positive role model for Makenzie. And she deserves it. After all, she changed my life for the better. Which is why my 30 Days of Insight letter is to her.

Dear Miss M,

Thank you for being you. From the moment I knew you existed inside of me, you sparked a change in my life. Before, my life revolved around thoughts of food, workouts, looking better, and being the girl others wanted to be. I may not have admitted it. I may have hidden behind veils of deceit.You tore those down. It was you who taught me that my body had more worth than simply how it looked. It was you that showed me beauty is in the heart - how much love you have for someone or something – instead of in the mirror. It was you who forced me to respect my body with a balanced diet and adequate exercise, not too much or too little of anything. It was you who brought me to my knees and turned me to prayer to begin to love myself again. That journey shaped me in so many ways and I may never have ventured on it if not for you.

After your birth you continued to teach me. You exemplified what it means to love life. Simply and fully. You help me to laugh every day. Stay positive and be content with being me. Nothing else required. Your eyes show me my worth and what I can bring to the world. You gave me everything. I pray you never stop being you. And that I never lose the precious gifts you have given me. I love you baby girl.

Love, Mama

Okay, okay. We must move back to the standard stuff if I don’t want to short circuit the laptop with my tears. For lunch, leftovers sounded perfect. I needed a quick fix meal. Last night, I made a different take on my favorite chicken enchiladas. I followed the recipe but used beef instead of chicken…and added some extra peppers + onions to the filling for flavor and crunch. I still prefer the chicken, but these satisfied my Mexican tooth. With some fruit on the side for the sweet tooth.

Now, I must say goodbye. Around 10 pm we will head out on our driving adventure from GA to Philly for my friend’s wedding. I’m trying to focus on being able to wear my new dresses and see an old friend marry the woman of his dreams. I think that is more positive than focusing on the new acts of driving overnight and leaving my baby girl behind for 4 days and 4 nights. 🙁 I’m going to miss her!!! Too bad she can’t read yet. Because I will be blogging. So I will see you all tomorrow to let you know if I survived!

• What is your favorite TV show of all time?
• Who would you write a thank you letter to for helping change your life for the better?

Ever heard the term crazy busy? I’m living it right now. My eyeballs died last night and my butt lost all feeling as I sat in front of the computer reading page after page of editorial guidelines. I am about to sink back into that black hole to crank out some writing that I have to submit before Wednesday and continue to affiliate myself with the necessary info. It’s all part of the process.

After such a sedentary night last night, my life needed action this morning. Enter the best spin class I’ve been to in awhile. A perfect instructor, a dash of motivation, and the glorious feeling of movement combined to form a successful workout. If I could bottle that feeling, I could sell it for millions I tell you. Then we continued action for the day with a free Gymboree class.

Movement feels good I tell you. And more of it will be able to come because Hallelujah…we have A/C!!! Which means I don’t have to avoid activity in my own house. It only took 9 months to commit to signing our lives away, but I can forget that when the sweet breeze of coolness flows across my body. I don’t know how I survived in GA heat as long as I did.

Today I experienced a bit of a life lesson reminder. I was running really late (in my mind) to meet up with my friend and totally frazzled by it. I was in the car driving like a mad woman and ugly grunts and comments kept emerging from my mouth. Suddenly, a song came on the radio to awaken me from my ridonkulousness. Ahem. That is 100% a word.

I don’t remember the song, but it made me slow down. Awareness enveloped me. Some things simply aren’t worth the energy to fret over. If something that seems insurmountable or overly important now won’t make a bit of difference or be remembered another month or two from now, give it up. Let it go. The “will it matter in X amount of time” question keeps me grounded and has done so many times. I am prone to stress and anxiety (and depression) thanks to some lovely family genes, but with awareness I will always persevere in those battles. It only takes time to think, removed from the emotion, to put it all in perspective.

On a lighter note, I am welcoming an old love back in my life tonight. Tofu! Don’t act surprised. I know I have been featuring some of my special eats in the form of Mexican food and ice-cream on the blog, but this chick is still noshing the healthy stuff all the time. I just don’t post everything I eat on a daily basis. Enter my Baked Tofu Broccoli Slaw.

This time with minor adjustments like the ones I noted in the original post. I can’t wait to see what the changes do for the recipe.  I think I look forward to leftovers for lunch the rest of the week even more. Perhaps it will help me be yen-like and take a breather.

• Do you get stressed easily over silly things? How do you get over it?
• What is your favorite way to move your body?
• Are you watching The Bachelorette tonight? Or, if viewing on Tuesday, did you watch it???