A little about me...

I started this blog originally without intending to make it public. I had done blogging as a teenager and into my early twenties via LiveJournal and for a brief stint on MySpace... while they were both public forums my audience was limited to friends and friends once-removed for the most part. Blogging has gotten so much bigger since then and this community is huge and more than a little intimidating. One of the things about going live with this blog that worried me was the truly public format. I'm usually a relatively private person. I have opinions about everything and I voice them often but the majority of personal subjects tend to stay close to home.
Until now.
Even if I were to attempt to limit the scope of this blog, no doubt it would develop a life of it's own just like the others before it. I looked back at the posts I wrote when I figured very few people would be allowed to read it and realized that I didn't want to edit them just because I had committed to multiplying that number indefinitely. So to limit posts after that didn't really make sense either. This blog has been public for about a month now and I've already gotten more support and a bigger following than I expected. I'm completely happy with my decision to open up and share our lives with you and I look forward to the friendships that have yet to be formed. So for everyone who doesn't know me in real life, here are a few things about me:
-I'm 31 but I still feel 25. I've felt 25 since I was 15.
-I live with my beautiful baby girl, who was the inspiration for this whole project, and my best friend in a city I love more than anywhere else I have ever been (and I've been all over the country.)
-No, Aurora's 'father' is not in the picture. Mutual decision? Sort of. More about that in future posts I'm sure.
-I am determined to do the best I can at everything I attempt. I want to do everything better than the majority of people who have done it before me. If I am going to do something I am unfamiliar with, I research and ask questions and use my instincts and common sense to be sure I do it right. Parenting is my latest challenge and I am approaching it no differently...
-I love reading, writing and anything and everything creative and artistic.
-I am always honest and often super opinionated. This has gotten me into a few less-than-civil 'conversations'. If I have an opinion about something it is virtually impossible to make me back down. That being said, I will always admit when I am wrong. Having opinions and being pigheaded are two very separate things.
-I'm not one of those people who says 'I want my kid to have everything I didn't'. It's not true. I want her to have everything I DID. I have nothing but fond memories of my childhood (it was the decade between ten and twenty that got a little dicey). I always felt loved and cared for and I can only hope that one day my little girl will be able to say the same.
-I love food and anything relating to it. I used to work in restaurants but the kitchen atmosphere was a real soul crusher and kept me from enjoying cooking in my personal life. So I quit. Now I'm back to cooking, baking, scouring farmer's markets, writing and adapting recipes, trying every new thing I can find... One of my main goals in parenting is being sure that Aura develops a healthy relationship with food. Does this mean food posts in the future? Probably!
-When I was growing up my mother was always home with me. We did everything together. It was a luxury that most kids don't have these days and I'm committed to making sure that Aurora does. There may be a few days here and there when she'll have to be watched while I work, but I don't want that to be the norm for her. Truth be told, I'm still not sure how I'm going to accomplish this, but I'm willing to do the work and fight for it.
-Music is terribly important to me. 'Some people believe in god, I believe in music. While other's pray, I turn up the radio.' I'm surprised and a little bummed about the source of that quote (a 30 Seconds to Mars video?!!?) but I couldn't have said it better myself.
-I love being outside and just the smell of the ocean makes all of my hair stand on end... in the best way possible. Nothing feels more perfect to me than the sun on my shoulders and the wind in my hair, except maybe my little bean's breath on my cheek. Combine all three and I have no need for heaven, I am already there...

So that's it. Me in a nutshell. I look forward to getting to know all of you as well!

New to First Comes Baby?

A few quick things... first of all, nice to meet you!! This is my first sincere attempt at blogging in about 8 years or so. I used to be quite the LiveJournal addict and had a pretty solid following and made some great friends. I'm so glad I have all of those memories in print and some of those friendships are still going strong to this day. It's strange to look back at your life or your writing in particular and see how far you've evolved as a person. Some of the things that meant the world to me then are just foggy memories today and events that seemed devastating to the 18yr old me would just roll off 31yr old me's shoulders. I thought briefly about paying to change the name of my old blog (name change was definitely a MUST!) and just picking up where I left off but I guess life ran away with me and I've definitely outgrown it. So on to this new chapter (and blog) of my life and new friendships that will hopefully be going strong years from now.
I actually started this blog about a year ago when I discovered I was pregnant with my perfect little peanut but insecurity about this huge blogger community kept me from going live with it until a couple months ago. But I'm so glad I did!
It seems that my commitment to diving headfirst into this mommyblogging community has started to pay off! In just the last three days I not only went from a meager 5 followers to more than 20 but I'm also in the top 50 over at TopBabyBlogs! This has already led me to a small ongoing freelance gig that I can add to my growing list of stay at home work that I can do to support me and the bean. I really couldn't be happier about the support I've gotten so far, not to mention the amazing comments! I mean, I know my kid is cute... but it's always good to hear that other people agree!
Anyway, thanks for following and helping me feel comfortable with this new endeavor!! I look forward to reading your blogs and getting to know each of you!
<3
~Angela

**UPDATE- I've decided to set this up as a welcome page of sorts for people who are new to my blog.
So... welcome!
Here's a few links so you can catch up if you'd like!
About me.
About the name.
My views on 'The great mommy wars'.

What's in a name?

First comes love,
Then comes marriage,
Then comes baby in a baby carriage!

The strangest things pop into my head sometimes. When I found out I was pregnant, that little rhyme was stuck in my head for about a week. Well I am living proof that it doesn't always work that way. For me it's First Comes Baby!!
I had a good idea early on that the whole love and marriage bit wasn't really for me. I've always had a pretty grim outlook on the whole subject. While other little girls were plotting their future dream weddings, I had my head buried in books, covered in headphones or bent over my trusty notebook or sketchpad. Was I ever lonely? Well, yes and no I suppose, but I've never really felt that way. I've had a few relationships, even a few people I've loved. Was I 'In Love'? I don't really know, so that tells me that I probably wasn't.
However, somehow I still managed to skip from the K-I-SS-I-N-G part to the baby in a baby carriage part. Pretty tricky, eh?
Was it planned? Well no.
Could I have planned any better if I had wanted to? Probably not.
I've never necessarily been a huge believer in destiny or fate but I'll tell you, everything about this pregnancy came together in a strange and oddly perfect way. I had a large apartment with an extra room, I had some money saved and was making enough that I'd be able to continue saving. I didn't work long hours and it was low stress so I was able to work until a week before my due date. My best friend moved in so I was able to share the rent but also have someone I trusted in the house. My friends were pregnant or having babies which meant hand me downs and playdates. The list goes on...
So, an ill advised fling with a friend and ten months later my whole life is topsy turvy.
First Comes Baby...

Now that she's here it has taken on a second meaning. My life is forever changed. Being selfish is no longer an option. She will always come first. 

Forever.

First Comes Baby...

Sometimes (insert favorite cliche sports metaphor here) ...life throws you a curveball, perhaps? I don't know, I couldn't care less about sports or cliches. What I'm trying to say is, things definitely don't always go as planned. However, when I look at this amazing life I've created I really wouldn't have it any other way...