The first “official” Love Thursday at ShutterSisters is today and I was determined to participate. At first - I was planning some sort of lovely mother/daughter moment to photograph. Something special between the two of us. Then, I went grocery shopping. And grabbed a box of Oreo Cakesters off the end cap because my pregnant mind went, “Oooohhhh…heaven in a box! Must have!”

I came (I accidentally typed “cake” the first time - hee!) home and took one bite and decided I could die happy at that moment. I had found the most perfect food. Of course, I’m pregnant, so that will change tomorrow. But at that moment? Perfect food. As I went in for the second bite a little voice said, “I want a cookie, Mommy.” I debated for a moment between hiding the cookie and distracting her with Elmo, or just sharing it. It was a painful debate in my soul because those cookies were damn good and I had already decided I would hide them from the rest of the family before they got home.

However - I took the higher road and decided to share. Like a big girl. And as my daughter ate the entire thing before my eyes I thought, THIS is love.

So, I’m pregnant. Right? And I’m hungry - often. Actually, I think about food all the time. Not necessarily because I’m hungry, but because I’m craving food. It’s like, I get these crazy cravings - but for nothing specific. I’ve never dealt with severe cravings with any of my pregnancies, but this time? I dream about food. BUT - it’s like my pregnant self is on the quest for some sort of dream food and all my body wants to do is try new things at the grocery store, searching for the foods that will satisfy my cravings.

The worst is breakfast. I wake up every morning either starving, or just wanting FOOD FOOD FOOD. (Which, I’m learning, is not the same thing.) But - I can not find the breakfast food my pregnant body likes. I’ve made egg sandwiches and oatmeal. I’ve bought poptarts and yogurt. I even bought donuts and….eh…they didn’t do it either. So, I find myself going grocery shopping and just wandering down the aisles (especially the breakfast aisles) looking for cereals or other items that spark my craving interest.

It’s really insane. And also? Bugging the shit out of me. It’s like my mind has taken a turn and I’m in some sort of quest mode…but there’s nothing even remotely noble about it. I mean - I’m obsessing about FOOD. It’s all I think about…ALL THE TIME.

So - you know where this is going, right? Make me drool. Tell me what you eat for breakfast. If it’s something I can simply buy off the shelves and then go home and eat, you get bonus points. If I can eat it in the store while I shop? Even better.

If you’ll recall, many moons ago I vowed to keep up with my e-mail. I have long since failed at that vow. I think I stuck to it for about three hours. Or maybe four. It wasn’t that long. However, I finally achieved the impossible last night…I emptied my inbox.

Of course - this was necessary as I realized this week that I am still having problems after accidentally spamming my entire inbox one day last summer. See, Gmail is smart, if you spam something, it remembers it. It took me several days to realize I was not getting emails and even longer to figure out why. When I had tried to archive a bunch of mail using the “check all” function, I accidentally spammed it. So, if you sent me an email or made a comment on my blog for that month prior, your email address was flagged as spam in my account. And sometimes, it still flags comments in general since I spammed so many that day. Gmail is still very suspicious about my blog URL.

I thought I had fixed most of those issues, but I found out yesterday some were still flagged as spam from that fateful day. So, I decided I needed to clean out my inbox PRONTO so that I could publicly announce, “If you sent me an email, expecting a response, and did not get one. Please RESEND IT.” My inbox is officially cleaned out, so anything that did not get a response, might have gotten spammed. If sent any emails to me in the last several weeks months and expected a response, but did not get one, I’m going to assume your email was spammed. If the issue still needs attention, please email me again. If it does not, I’d like to know anyway so I can make sure your email address isn’t flagged. I’m going to spend the rest of the week pouring over my spam folder looking for “good” emails.

Heath Ledger is dead. I’ve crushed on him since that movie Knight’s Tale which I have seen no less than nine hundred times. 10 Things I Hate About You was viewed almost as much, but I preferred him as a blonde. I’ve seen all of his movies and swooned over his interviews. More importantly - he was a Dad. To a baby girl around NikkiZ’s age. I probably shouldn’t be this sad over someone I don’t know, but some celebrities you follow for so long you begin to feel as though you know them. This is one of those times. So sad.

I just wanted to show you my fancy Valentine streamers that NikkiZ and I made today. My husband will probably roll his eyes and immediately demand I get an office job when he comes home and sees them hanging from the fireplace. But still - CRAFTY! And the only supplies I had to buy I got at the Dollar Store - Where Everything Is A Dollar! I am so proud of them that I’m thinking by Valentine’s Day they may be draped over every surface in my home. And my husband will be living with his parents to escape my glue-stick madness.