Ten things you may not know about me

1. My best friend and I both started drinking coffee at 25. We also both had mono in the 10th grade. We've been through just about everything together, yet she still sends me thank you notes.

2. My husband and I both hate sweet potatoes, to the point that we won't even feed them to our daughter. My uncle guilted me into eating them when I was four and I threw up all over the thanksgiving table.

3. I've competed in cheerleading with a broken tailbone, and also with a dislocated elbow.

4. My first real experience with death was when my Sunday school teacher died of cancer - I was five. My father encouraged me to "go give her a kiss goodbye" and her cheek shocked me. After that I refused to attend funerals for about 10 years, and I'm still really freaked out by death and dead bodies especially.

5. My happy place is a toss-up between Round Pond, Maine, Bean Station, Tennessee or the beach with my best girlfriends and their husbands. I guess the common theme there is that I love to be by the water, even though I refuse any and all water sports.

6. I didn't turn 18 until I had completed nearly a full semester at college, because I never went to preschool and instead started kindergarten when I was four.

7. I've visited seven countries in ten years: Aruba, Bahamas (x2), Spain, Mexico (x2), Italy, England and France.

8. I wasn't allowed to listen to pop music until I was in junior high. We grew up on Christian music and oldies. To this day, I typically listen to one or both of those on long car trips by myself.

9. The first thing I ever cooked was macaroni and cheese from a box at age 8. I forgot to drain the water before adding the cheese. Luckily I've gotten better at following a recipe, because I love to cook.

10. I spend an embarrassing amount of time sitting in my car, drinking a large diet coke from McDonald's and playing Candy Crush while the baby naps. Those moments of silence are surprisingly refreshing.

Recipe: Otto-Inspired Shrimp Tacos

I hate fish tacos. HATE. But I love shrimp tacos and I've been dying to make Whitney's recipe since she posted it. You can find hers here: http://ottospinkelephant.blogspot.com/2012/06/shrimp-tacos.html?m=1 and follow her adorable blog while you're at it.

I was inspired by the avocado & mango sitting on my window sill to do it this way and oh. my. gosh. So delicious! The perfect summer recipe - just grill the shrimp!

Ingredients
1 lb medium raw shrimp, peeled & tails removed
3 tbsp honey
1.5 tbsp habanero hot sauce (you could use any hot sauce you like here but I happened to have / love the habanero)
Black pepper to taste
1/8 cup olive oil
1 avocado, diced into bite size pieces
1 mango, diced into bite size pieces
Lime juice to taste
4 medium tortillas
Sour cream
1 tbsp taco seasoning
Shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh salsa

Directions
Marinate shrimp in honey, hot sauce, olive oil and black pepper
Meanwhile, mix avocado, mango, like juice and black pepper
Mix sour cream with taco seasoning
(You can do all of these things ahead of time; the lime juice will help the avocado keep from browning)
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat
Drain shrimp marinade and pan-fry until pink / opaque and slightly browned on edges
Dish into tortillas; top with cheese, sour cream, salsa & mango / avocado mix

Day 1 as a SAHM

Another post I started months ago and never got around to posting ...

London and I woke up well-rested and happy after a full night's sleep. After quietly nursing and changing the baby, I tiptoed downstairs to make Ben breakfast and take care of the dog. I curled my hair, applied makeup and put on my best dress before Ben even woke up!

Ha ha ha and if you believe that I'll tell you a story about the Easter bunny. Here's what day one REALLY looked like.

London has been sick since Friday night and has been waking up every two hours at night. Needless to say, Ben & I are exhausted. I nursed her at 4am because I couldn't take the crying anymore. Thankfully she went back to sleep from 5-6:45, then woke up fussing. I got her ready for the day, put on yoga pants and brushed my teeth, accepting the fact that clean yoga pants and a ponytail would be as good as I'm gonna get today. We played for a little while until she started rubbing her eyes. Laid her down for a nap; she screamed for twenty minutes (despite me checking on her twice) and then proceeded to scream for an additional 45 minutes after I got her up. When she was finally consoled by the remote, I didn't ask questions.

We shared a pear and a strawberry yogurt for breakfast while I managed to unload & reload the dishwasher and she feed Lucy nilla wafers. She pooped through her leggings. She screamed while I changed her diaper, rubbing her eyes again, and was unable to be consoled by nursing. So, against my better judgement (because what's motherhood if it's not doing everything you swore you wouldn't?!) I rocked & sang her to sleep, tiptoed out of the room and thanked The Lord that she was asleep in her crib.

I started prepping dinner and folding the laundry (that has been sitting in the dryer since Friday morning) when I saw her stirring. God must know I need this, because by some miracle she didn't wake up for another thirty minutes or so.

I called Ben at 2pm asking when he would be home from work, and practiced amazing self control by not opening a beer before 5.

We're both fed, clothed, clean (ish) and happy, so I'm calling today a win. I'm more exhausted than I ever thought possible but happier than I've been in months.