Talky Tuesday.

1. You guys. I have some issues when it comes to throwing birthday parties for my kids. BIG ISSUES. Just ask the pile of party stuff sitting in the corner of my office. Amazon loves me. So does Etsy.

The mailman, probably not so much.

2. I made some new Pinterest recipes this weekend. Three were successful. One bombed. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I mean that literally. I should probably stop venturing with things that require lots of butter and sweetened condensed milk. Especially since I'm on Weight Watchers.

3. Speaking of Weight Watchers, I have an announcement. I've been working out. Regularly. For over two months.

I'll give you a second to climb back on your chair.

4. Nate and I have decided to paint and redecorate our bedroom. And by Nate and I, I mean I. Nate couldn't care less about the color of our room, but I am tired of brown. I am not a brown kinda gal. (Really, it's not even brown, it's a lovely golden tan color. But, still. Not me.) Still playing around with color palettes in my head, but whatever it is will likely involve a cheerful pop of yellow.

5. I love pops of yellow. In fact, I am lusting after some pops of yellow for myself as we speak. Now, if only I could find a yellow and white striped t-shirt...

6. You know what used to be good, then wasn't, then kind of is again? Grey's Anatomy. I know this because I have been simultaneously watching old and new episodes. I got hooked on reruns while I was on maternity leave, and now I'm re-watching the entire series on my Kindle while I pump at work. There have been some serious highs and lows to that show (read: seasons 4-5), but when it's good it's really good. And even the bad episodes beat staring at a blank wall for 20 minutes every three hours.

7. Keeping a clean house with two kids is a losing battle. Every night after dinner I clean up the kitchen, hand wash what seems like an endless amount of bottles and pump parts and pacifiers, and then walk around the first floor picking stuff up. I don't even know what all this stuff is, but it's everywhere. Cars, burp cloths, diapers, wipes, cups, bowls, papers, shoes, snacks, rattles, socks, blankets, bears, sweatshirts, action figures...arghhhh. I spend so much time picking up my house that I have no time to clean it. So I finally hired someone to come do it for me. But she doesn't start until May 11, which seems like an eternity when you're living with dust bunnies comparable in size to your 50lb dog. So I guess I'll just keep picking stuff up. Or maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just leave it on the floor in an attempt to cover up (or, at the very least, distract from) the dust bunnies.

8. New music obsession: James Morrison. Yum. Good writing music.

9. New food obsession: Honey goat cheese. And Litehouse Pear Gorgonzola salad dressing. Slap both of those things on a pile of spinach, add some walnuts, craisins, and sliced pears, and you've got yourself a darned good salad. You're welcome.

10. New TV obsession: Friday Night Lights. I got a text from Heidi a few weeks ago saying she was obsessed with it (I believe the direct quote was "I really, really want it to be real."). Coincidentally, I had the first disc on hand from Netflix, so Nate and I started watching it that night. It's good. Really good. And I hate football, so when I recommend a show about football you should probably watch it.

11. New restaurant obsession: Butcher and the Boar. We went out last Friday night with the Vuongs and ate ourselves into food comas. All you need to know is this: They have lobster grilled cheese. Oh, and wood grilled oysters. And double cut berkshire pork chops with maple, blueberry and pecan relish. And smoked beef long ribs. And gingersnap banana pudding.

And that's only half of what we ordered. Like I said: food coma.

12. Thankfully, we made a full recovery and I was able to work off about 1/100th of what we ate at the gym the next day.

I do that now, you know.

Friday, Friday, Friday, OHHHHH.

For some reason I always sing Rebecca Black's Friday to the tune of Justin Beiber's Baby.

And this concludes the portion of today's blog post where I embarrass myself.

I hope.

Things I love today:

1. Amy Grant's Better Than a Hallelujah.

2. The Band Perry's If I Die Young.

Note: I've been listening to a lot of audiobooks in my car lately (I'm on the 10th Janet Evanovich book) so I rarely have the radio on. Maybe the rest of you have been aware of those two songs for months (years?), I have no idea. I may be horribly dated, but at least I finally got the the part of the Stephanie Plum series where she gets it on with Ranger,* and that's been a long time coming. And since most of you have no idea what I'm talking about, I will just say that he is HOT and and leave it at that.

3. Leftover coffee in the coffee pot at home. I never used to drink coffee, but right now I need it to survive. And I am so happy when there's some leftover from the day before because I don't have to chill it — it can go right into my ice-filled reusable tumbler. Obviously I don't have any sort of trained coffee-drinking palate, and I'm guessing that is a completely gross and unacceptable practice. But that's okay. I'll drink mine and you'll drink yours and we'll all be happy and caffeinated and productive.

4. Rio. Nate and I watched this movie with Calvin last night and we were totally and completely delighted by it. So cute. I laughed a lot. Especially at all the Minnesota references, none of which hold weight ("cheese and sprinkles" is not really a thing, sorry). Highly recommended for the little ones. Or the big ones, if you're immature like we are.

Things I never thought I'd want to buy but do:

1. A minivan. Apologies to all my friends who have not yet gotten on board with the swagger wagon, but it's going to happen. Soon. Being cool** is just not as important to me as storage space and doors that open on their own. I understand if you're no longer willing to ride with me, but just know that I'm going to be mighty annoyed if I have to open my own door when getting in your car.

2. Uggs. (Ughs.) Last year, out of desperation and due to copious amounts of snow, I bought a pair of Target knock offs. And oh my heavens were they ever comfy and warm. They were also a cheap piece of crap and fell apart about a month in. In preparation for another long Minnesota winter (and the very real possibility none of my shoes will fit me in the last month of pregnancy), I am going to start scoping out real ones. I still think they're ugly as sin, but let's all reference the footnote from my #1 and remember that I don't care about shallow things like looks.***

3. Jeggings. I've succumbed. To maternity jeggings, no less. There's really nothing more to say except I probably look like a lumpy carrot and, well, so be it.

Things I always knew I wanted to buy and still want to:

1. Baby girl clothing. You guys, I have a problem. A big one. And that problem is my income to spending ratio when it comes to tiny dresses and striped leggings. Is there a 529 savings account for clothing? There should be. I'd max that sucker out.

Things I should probably stop doing:

1. Eating for two.

2. Shopping for baby girl clothing.

3. Watching Toddlers and Tiaras when Nate's not home. And probably TLC in general. Train. Wreck. However, if you haven't seen this parody with Tom Hanks, it's worth a watch.

Have a great weekend, lovelies!

*Don't worry, my mom already knows I listen to smut in the car. And she agrees with me...Ranger is HOT.
**Who am I kidding? Being cool has never been top priority for me. Lazy ALWAYS wins.
***Okay, fine. I do. Stop picking apart my blog post.