Because I love you

Because I love all of you so much, I had to tell you about some great giveaways in the blog world right now. Simple Mom writes a fabulous blog with tips for living a more simple life. She blogs about living green, spirituality, being debt-free, etc. and this week she's been posting several giveaways each day! Several of the giveaways from the beginning of the week end today so hurry over and enter. I won a knife sharpener from her blog a few months ago and I REALLY hope I win one of the posts from this week, there is some great stuff! Go enter now (click back through all of her posts from this week) and hopefully I'll be back later with another more interesting post. Just had to share the opportunity for free stuff with you all :)

These are a few of my favorite things

I received wonderful gifts at the baby shower, I can honestly say that no one "went rogue" and got me anything I didn't love! Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, there's always at least one person at every shower that goes way off the registry and buys something weird or some terrible looking clothes but apparently my friends all have wonderful taste! Anyway, I got several very necessary things I was really hoping for like the travel system, highchair, and jumperoo. I also got some fabulous things that aren't so necessary but they sure are fun! These are a few of my favorites ...

Isn't this the most delicious little pettiskirt you've ever seen!?! I could hardly contain myself when I opened this gift from Lindsay (who else would buy Addison something so wonderfully impractical?!) I can't wait for all of the photo shoots we're going to do with this adorable little thing ...


I love the monogrammed gifts! It's so exciting to see her name as I put things away in the nursery.


My grandmother (the famous Betty) gave us this beautiful hand smocked dress. I hope it's not too big to use as her "going home" outfit. I adore this!


This "lovie" is the softest thing ever. And those pink baby leggings! My sister picked those out (along with a gajillion other great gifts) and I think we'll have to do a photo shoot in those as well!


I saw this beautiful dress in Baby Gap this Spring and fell in love with all of the embroidery. I could not justify buying it at the time but luckily my mom & sister went back and got it. I hope it fits at Christmas time!


My friend Amy told me about the Sleep Sheep and apparently this magical little sheep is very popular among new parents. It attaches to the crib, stroller, etc. and has several soothing sounds such as waves, rain, etc. To be honest - I kind of want to sleep with it by my own bed!


And how could I forget the contents of that lovely blue box! L's mom gave us this keepsake Tiffany piggy bank. I have a deep appreciation for non-essential keepsakes such as silver spoons, piggy banks, and monogrammed goodies ...


I told you it was baby week around here! I do have a good Betty story coming though :)

More baby shower goodness

Here are a few more pics from the most wonderful baby shower ever!

The amazing hostesses and wonderful friends - Amy, me & Lindsay


My sister, grandmother (the famous Betty!), mom and me.


My sister went crazy on the baby gifts. She has been sending dresses and presents for months and at the shower she gave us a huge basket of goodies, along with our high chair. She's already spoiling her niece and she's not even here yet.



Good things come in blue boxes ...


I had a hard time finding something to wear at first, most maternity dresses don't really fit yet and I wanted something new that was pretty and figure flattering. I found this dress at Banana Republic when we were in Miami the weekend before the shower and even though I don't usually wear bright yellow it worked out perfectly and even better, it was on sale!

Martha Stewart would be proud

Last weekend was my baby shower and it was a shower that Martha Stewart would have been proud of. Every detail was coordinated to the colors and theme, from the beautiful custom invitations, to the food, flowers, and favors. I am very lucky to have friends with a talent for entertaining! The day was extra special because my mom and sister came down and we spent the afternoon afterwards hanging up tiny dresses, putting away gifts, and setting up the nursery (pictures coming on Friday). Many of my favorite people were in attendance and I got some really wonderful gifts. Since this post is dedicated to the shower itself, I'll have to post later this week about some of the favorite gifts we've received for the baby. I'm thinking this might be a "baby week" on the blog so if that subject is not of interest to you, tune in next week for non-baby related updates (although I might throw in a good Crazy Betty story for good measure) :) Here are a few pictures from the fabulous party ...

The cake was from this wonderful bakery, top tier was lemon and the bottom was banana (delicious!)


Favors included pink Jelly Bellys in glass bottles, rose shaped mini-pound cakes made by my grandmother, and rose scented sachets.


There were lots of roses in honor of Addison Rose ...


We had a lovely brunch with bellinis and mimosas (for the guests, not me) and the menu included cinnamin french toast with carmelized banana, eggs benedict florentine, and fresh fruit.


The tables were all a little bit different, each with antique milk glass vases and beautiful flowers. The shower was held at this restaurant (also a wonderful place for dinner!)


Tomorrow I'll post a few more pics! I told you I was back on the blog :)

It's about time ...

It's about time for an update! I can't believe how long I've been going between posts, for so long I was blogging almost daily and I really want to get back to that because I enjoy it so much. I also really need to catch back up on everyone else's blogs - I might have to just mark all as read on my Google reader and start fresh this week though. I have been in a marathon these past few weeks and the end is in sight. So much has happened in just the past week - the most wonderful baby shower ever, setting up the nursery, seeing my family, saying goodbye to one of my best friends as she left to move to Virginia (tears) ... it's been a whirlwind to say the least. We were supposed to wind down all of the activity this weekend but who are we kidding?! Instead we decided to come to my parents house for a little R&R (a result of me getting VERY sad when my mom and sister left last Sunday) and next weekend the in-laws are coming for a quick visit. The good news is that despite all of the traveling, we really have gotten a lot done and once I get back and finish steam cleaning everything in sight, I think I can relax. LOL. As soon as I typed that I remembered about a dozen other things I want to work on. Well, tomorrow I'll post some pics from the baby shower and when we get back home I am going to try to take pics of the nursery and post those. I am also trying to finally get my photography website up, or at least post some photos from the Dallas trip. Oh! And I have a newborn photo shoot this week and another one coming up right after. Did I say relax?!?! Well, I'm almost 32 weeks along so like it or not I'll be forced to slow down and focus on a very small person who I know will be demanding my attention very soon. For now, I'm back to the blog ...

Until tomorrow, here are some pics from last weekend

I ate the duck

I have had another busy week but now it's over and my mom & sister will be here in a few hours. I am beyond excited! One of the evening events I had to attend for work this week was a dinner for a ladies group. I was invited to speak and of course had to stay for dinner and endless chatter afterwards. They gave me three choices of entrees -chicken, beef or salmon. I requested the chicken. Everyone at my table was served and they forgot mine so the ladies kindly waited for me before everyone began eating. While we were waiting they discussed how wonderful the food always was and how they just could not understand why some people have caused a big fuss in the past when the clubhouse runs out of one of the options. And then my plate arrived. It was not chicken. It was a very large serving of duck. "Oh my, I guess they ran out - I hope that's okay dear," said the woman next to me. Well, the last thing I wanted to do was follow their conversation about complainers by being one myself, so I smiled politely and said it would be fine. But I don't like duck. In fact, I don't really eat any meat that maintains the shape on my plate that it was when it was alive. This includes Cornish hen (shudder), fish, and even chicken freaks me out sometimes. And I'm pregnant, so anything I didn't like before seems to now be magnified by 10. It was horrible - there was a layer of fat across the top, it wasn't cooked very well and was very chewy. To make matters worse, I kept thinking about quacking (seriously) and the baby ducks I had seen last week when I went for a walk. It was all I could do not to gag on the first bite. Thank the lord I had some bread left and was able to wash it down between bites of bread and water. I ate enough to be polite and then just told everyone how small my appetite was these days. I am still traumatized by that poor duck. I am picture the taste, texture and appearance at this very moment. If you come to my house for dinner, you can be sure duck will NOT be on the menu. ever.

Baby Care 101

Last night we had one of our classes at the hospital, this one was called "Baby Care Basics." Overall, it was very informative and interesting - they told you what was normal during the first few weeks, talked about various things the baby might do or experience, etc. There were a few parts I wish I would have had my camera for though. First of all, at the beginning of the class they give you a plastic baby and tell you that you have to treat it as if it is real for the entire 3 hour class. The couple that was expecting twins couldn't even switch off to give the other a break because they had two! Well, the plastic baby was no big deal for the most part, we just felt silly as we swaddled it and pretended to give a baby massage but everyone else was doing it so at least we all looked silly. The part that really got me was towards the end the instructor started making a horrible crying sound and we had to go through the whole soothing process, swaddling, shushing, bouncing, etc. Uncommon Husband looked like he was doing some kind of crazy dance, I almost died laughing at him until it was my turn to look like a crazy person. The bad part was that the instructor kept doing the crying thing, she was demonstrating that sometimes they won't stop crying no matter what you do. The sound started to make me feel absolutely insane. I know this was just a 5 minute preview of what might actually happen but honestly, it scared me to death because all I wanted was for her to stop - it was unnerving! I am praying that Miss Addison won't have many of those episodes ... If you're reading this and think that is a naive wish then please just let me remain ignorant on this one!

Did you seriously just ask me that?

This week has been full of questions I just love (dripping sarcasm). Here's an example for you ...

Mr. No Manners: Are you going to have a baby or is your shirt just blousy?
Uncommon Blonde: Yes, I'm going to have a baby.
Mr. No Manners: When?
Uncommon Blonde: In July.
Mr. No Manners: Wow, you're not very big. Are your sure the baby is healthy? Have you talked to your doctor about that?
Uncommon Blonde: Yes she's fine, everyone carries differently and I have been fortunate so far.
Mr. No Manners: Well how much weight have you gained?

I have been asked that question no less than 4 times this week (and 3 times it was by women so it's not that they don't know better). Seriously?! What makes people think that's okay? Regardless of whether or not I look 7 months pregnant I am still self-conscious about gaining weight and don't feel like sharing that information with ANYONE. Besides, I feel like in the last week I have definitely started looking more pregnant and it's an adjustment. I knew it was coming but it's still weird when it starts to happen in a much more noticeable way. So, just in case you decide to ask me that lovely question, my new answer is "72 pounds" - I'm looking forward to seeing how people react to that one.

You can have it all

You can have it all, but sometimes you can't have it all right now. These words of advice are resonating with me this week. I feel like I am on The Amazing Race this month with all of the activities, trips and other things going on around me. I have so much I want to get accomplished in ALL areas of my life that I literally need to stop and remember that everything can't happen right now. I got back from Dallas ready to charge into some new photography projects, only to find myself discouraged because there were things waiting to pull me in other directions. We are headed to Miami tomorrow to visit friends so my weekends are even booked right now. I am posting this more to reinforce the message to myself than to actually share anything of interest to you. I can have it all ... I just have to be patient.

In other news, apparently we can all breath a sigh of relief because the media has decided we aren't going to die from the swine flu (duh). I guess now it's safe to show Betty my pictures from the workshop in Texas ...

Oh. My. Gosh.

This has been an incredible weekend! The workshop started with this quote that I absolutely love -

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

- Marianne Williamson

My head is spinning with ideas and information, it's all a little bit overwhelming but what a wonderful weekend I've had. I have never met someone more inspiring and motivating than Cheryl Muhr. She radiates with love and support for everyone around her. I learned a lot and have a lot to think about when it comes to my next step in the world of photography and the path for my life overall. More than anything though, I feel like this weekend was a gift that I want to unwrap over and over again.


Me with Cheryl and Amy (who I have been blog stalking for a year now, I LOVE her work)


The paparazzi ... every model we tried to shoot had this to look back at, it was fun but kind of hard to get a good shot with so many other people to contend with;)

In the big "D"

We flew into the big "D" (Dallas) this afternoon and I have declared a ban on watching the news. We came here fully confident that we'll be safe and healthy, and while I am still sure everything will be fine, watching the updates in Swine Flu make me want jump into a tub of hand sanitizer. At this point we're already here, I'm attending my dream photography workshop tomorrow and ignorance is bliss.

Everyone knows I love traveling and take great pride in my research and planning skills. This trip is so different from the norm - I literally got on the plane with no knowledge about the city we were traveling to. I have worked like a maniac this week and feel like I barely made it out alive (I worked until almost 10 last night)It's weird being here and having no background info but honestly it's good. No big agenda of places to go (I'm not so sure Dallas has a lot of attractions anyway), all I have to do is unwind and learn about photography. Downtown is nice, lots of old buildings and Neiman Marcus is just down the street but so far, that's all I know!

Anyway, aside from all of that I have to say I feel like it's my first day of school all over again. I have no idea why I'm nervous about the workshop but I am. I keep thinking "What if everyone else is a pro photographer and I look like a silly amateur?" or "Will they like me?" It's ridiculous! We have a mixer tonight and hopefully I'll meet everyone and feel much better in a few hours ... wish me luck!