Today is Working Man's birthday. God bless the Working Man. This year, for his birthday, I'm growing a baby for him. Not really...well, yes really, I am growing a baby but it's not for his birthday. I have a gift for him which he already knows about because he hates surprises. And because he already knows about it, I know I'm going to need to send it back and get him a different one but that's okay. Too bad I didn't tell him about it sooner. Oh well, next year I'll tell him sooner.
Last night, we went out to a nice dinner and tonight...I don't have any plans tonight. That's why I took him out yesterday. Plus, I have to work today. The first time since Thursday. Feels so weird to have so many days off. Last night I had a dream (or nightmare) that everything had changed at work. Our program, our protocols, our procedures...Weird.
Anyway...happy birthday to Working Man. So happy to spend another year with you!
FFR
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
JK Wedding
This Memorial Day weekend, I got the awesome opportunity to be in my best friend Kortnie's wedding. It was an exhausting weekend for all involved but it was, by far, the best wedding I've ever been to. Ok...so it was really cold on the beach and I think every part of the wedding party was blue and so were the guests but, it was still really beautiful out there. I mean, just look at this location!
Working Man before I forked over the camera for the weekend. This was his big shot at showing me just how much he's learned over the few years he's been with me and I've babbled photography at him. You tell me how he did...
Dad is so proud!
Even before make-up and dress and everything, she's radiant! Josh is a lucky, lucky man!
And he waits for his bride.
She waits for her groom. A rare quiet moment in the morning.
I processed this a few ways. I couldn't resist.
It's just stunning.
And the dress...oh it was beautiful!
Working Man before I forked over the camera for the weekend. This was his big shot at showing me just how much he's learned over the few years he's been with me and I've babbled photography at him. You tell me how he did...
On Thursday, we got there just in time for the rehearsal. This was also cold but we were fully clothed. Kortnie totally toughed it out the next day. She refused her shawl for the ceremony. What a tough cookie!
Dad is so proud!
Even before make-up and dress and everything, she's radiant! Josh is a lucky, lucky man!
The ceremony was short and sweet, they had unity sand instead of a unity candle and I really like the way they worded it and put it together. Moms poured a rocky foundation and then they poured their sand in. It was just great, the meaning behind it and everything. Working Man got a few pictures before the ceremony:
And he waits for his bride.
She waits for her groom. A rare quiet moment in the morning.
I processed this a few ways. I couldn't resist.
It's just stunning.
And the dress...oh it was beautiful!
The pictures during the ceremony were few because of where Working Man was sitting but that's ok. There were some great ones anyway.
It looks like she's running for her groom.
And after the wedding, of course, pictures!
Family and wedding party.
Yours truly, the stunning bride, and the flower girls.
So I've learned photographers have tricks to making you smile naturally.
One of them was forcing you to say, "Ha ha ha" over and over.
Try it, you'll start laughing too.
I love that they used daisies.
So my tough cookie of a best friend, climbed on to a huge rock in her slick cowboy boots...but the pictures the photographers got are STUNNING. This was the best we could do from a distance.
Yummy cake!
Beautiful centerpieces and background.
It looks like she's running for her groom.
And after the wedding, of course, pictures!
Family and wedding party.
Yours truly, the stunning bride, and the flower girls.
So I've learned photographers have tricks to making you smile naturally.
One of them was forcing you to say, "Ha ha ha" over and over.
Try it, you'll start laughing too.
Then, blessedly, it was down to the bride and groom. So Working Man got to freeze...I stole his coat. What a chivalrous soul.
I love that they used daisies.
So my tough cookie of a best friend, climbed on to a huge rock in her slick cowboy boots...but the pictures the photographers got are STUNNING. This was the best we could do from a distance.
Then, the reception. On a large paddle-wheel boat. It was the best reception. I don't think anyone will forget it.
Yummy cake!
Beautiful centerpieces and background.
All in all, a great weekend. We did finally warm up at some point. I can't wait to see the pictures of the photographers got. They were a great couple and had great ideas, especially ideas I was hoping they would have. Congratulation Josh and Kortnie! It was a fabulous wedding!
FFR
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Weekly Baby Update: Week 8
Today begins the end of month two. We are 8 weeks along with only 32 more to go. Today baby is the size of a raspberry, about 1/2 and inch long, and still growing every day. As we know, baby's heart beat is 150 beats per minute but it's still impossible to hear it from an external source. Baby is also moving spontaneously this week. Though I won't be able to feel these movements for some time, it's the first time baby has moved on it's own. Fingers and toes are beginning to appear, although webbed, and breathing tubes have developed from baby's throat to baby's premature lungs. Baby's tail is disappearing, which is a relief, and baby's brain is developing pathways.
Symptom-wise, I'm not noticing many this last week. I've been sick with a cold all on my own. As a result, the only side-effect I've noticed is that I can't take anything to make myself feel better. This is terribly inconvenient. I know that a cold is a virus and thus can't be touched by anything other than my own immune system but normal people can take cold medicine and cough medicine to treat symptoms. Thus, I have been congested, coughing, and exhausted with no relief. The best I can do is acetaminophen. Which is good for headaches...but that's about it.
On the plus side, my overarching, constant nausea has subsided. Instead, I just have a nausea to certain smells and foods. But I'm not nauseated all the time, just some of the time. This is a nice change. It's making eating a little bit easier but not much. I can eat fruits more than once but for whatever reason, my stomach has shrunk. I don't eat an amount that's even normal for me. I'm not sure why, I just feel full sooner. However, I'm hungry more often. This is a healthier way to eat, if I could just remember not to put off eating until the "proper" meal time.
8 week belly!
FFR
Symptom-wise, I'm not noticing many this last week. I've been sick with a cold all on my own. As a result, the only side-effect I've noticed is that I can't take anything to make myself feel better. This is terribly inconvenient. I know that a cold is a virus and thus can't be touched by anything other than my own immune system but normal people can take cold medicine and cough medicine to treat symptoms. Thus, I have been congested, coughing, and exhausted with no relief. The best I can do is acetaminophen. Which is good for headaches...but that's about it.
On the plus side, my overarching, constant nausea has subsided. Instead, I just have a nausea to certain smells and foods. But I'm not nauseated all the time, just some of the time. This is a nice change. It's making eating a little bit easier but not much. I can eat fruits more than once but for whatever reason, my stomach has shrunk. I don't eat an amount that's even normal for me. I'm not sure why, I just feel full sooner. However, I'm hungry more often. This is a healthier way to eat, if I could just remember not to put off eating until the "proper" meal time.
8 week belly!
FFR
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Baby's First Pictures
As many of you know, and were probably anxiously waiting, yesterday was our first ultrasound. This was done to make sure baby set up camp in the lake, not on the beach. Aka: Baby is in utero, not in a fallopian tube. There's always that fear in the back of your head because it is possible to have an ectopic pregnancy and that's scary. Yesterday, we saw baby in the lake. Baby set up camp in the right place. Relief. Now there's only a million other things to be concerned with. For now, relief.
I must say, that seeing baby's heart beating away is a very moving thing. It's so tiny but it's working hard already. Right now, baby's skin is parchment thin. It's a wonder baby's heart doesn't just jump right out. Anyway...on to the pictures.
There's baby! We are 10.8mm.
A better view. This is baby and yolk sac. The yolk sac is nourishing baby until the umbilical cord is fully operational. Pretty amazing.
Our doctor confirmed that our due date is January 4th. Too cool.
And finally, baby's heart rate. Baby's heart rate is 150 beats per minute. Healthy and strong and normal.
It was a bit of an emotional day. Confirming our pregnancy and knowing, in just 33 short weeks, we'll have a baby is a dream come true for both of us. 7 Weeks and 3 days.
FFR
I must say, that seeing baby's heart beating away is a very moving thing. It's so tiny but it's working hard already. Right now, baby's skin is parchment thin. It's a wonder baby's heart doesn't just jump right out. Anyway...on to the pictures.
There's baby! We are 10.8mm.
A better view. This is baby and yolk sac. The yolk sac is nourishing baby until the umbilical cord is fully operational. Pretty amazing.
Our doctor confirmed that our due date is January 4th. Too cool.
And finally, baby's heart rate. Baby's heart rate is 150 beats per minute. Healthy and strong and normal.
It was a bit of an emotional day. Confirming our pregnancy and knowing, in just 33 short weeks, we'll have a baby is a dream come true for both of us. 7 Weeks and 3 days.
FFR
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Weekly Baby Update: Week 7
Today starts week 7.This week, baby is 10,000 times the size he/she was at conception. That's amazing, especially when you think about the fact that baby is only the size of a blueberry this week. Baby is growing quickly, especially the brain which has 100 new cells being generated every minute. Baby still has a tail and is still considered an embryo. The tail, an extension of the tailbone, is shrinking but everything else is growing rapidly. Baby has the start of arms and legs and has eyelids which are partially covering baby's eyes. Believer it or not, at this week, baby has some color in his/her eyes. Organ-wise, baby has a liver which is currently making red blood cells until his/her bone marrow forms to take this over. Baby also has a pancreas and appendix, both hemispheres of his/her brain, and baby's intestine has a loop which is part of the umbilical cord and has vessels to deliver oxygen.
My uterus has now doubled in size from where it started, I have 10% more blood than before I was pregnant. This is another reason why pregnant women need to go to the bathroom so often. And yes, I'm still finding myself going to the bathroom rather frequently.
Additionally, I haven't had morning sickness per se. What I've had has been an overall nausea that makes it difficult to find things to eat. I eat something, feel happy with it, then the thought of eating that same thing again, makes me nauseated. For example, last night, I had half and artichoke and two ribs. I ate one rib and by the second one, baby said, "NO!" So I ate one rib, and half an artichoke. Fortunately, baby didn't hate the artichoke, just the rib. The other night, it was the chicken and mushrooms and coleslaw. I ate most of the chicken and mushrooms but baby decided that wasn't yummy either, halfway through. Worse yet, if I get too hungry, I end up feeling more nauseated. Which really does not help.
Baby has also decided black olives are evil. And fresh crab. And not so hot on shrimp either. I'm sure this makes Working Man so happy as he hates seafood. And my mom will be thrilled that I hate olives now...for now...I hope. I really liked olives. Putting them on my fingers...anyway...
I'm still really tired. I wake up tired, go to bed tired, I'm at work tired. My apologies to my co-workers and clients. I'm tired.
I weighed myself a couple days ago and I've lost weight. This isn't abnormal for the first trimester. There are multiple reasons for this. One, usually moms have terrible morning sickness so they aren't digesting as much. I don't have this problem. However, my body is putting a ton of energy into building baby. As such, I've lost four pounds. I'm sure my body will make up for this later.
This week, Working Man and I have our first ultrasound. It's probably too early to hear the heartbeat but I keep hoping. I'm very much looking forward to making sure baby is in the uterus too, and not in a tube. It's a scary thought, that is.
I'm sure you'll see the ultrasound soon enough.
FFR
My uterus has now doubled in size from where it started, I have 10% more blood than before I was pregnant. This is another reason why pregnant women need to go to the bathroom so often. And yes, I'm still finding myself going to the bathroom rather frequently.
Additionally, I haven't had morning sickness per se. What I've had has been an overall nausea that makes it difficult to find things to eat. I eat something, feel happy with it, then the thought of eating that same thing again, makes me nauseated. For example, last night, I had half and artichoke and two ribs. I ate one rib and by the second one, baby said, "NO!" So I ate one rib, and half an artichoke. Fortunately, baby didn't hate the artichoke, just the rib. The other night, it was the chicken and mushrooms and coleslaw. I ate most of the chicken and mushrooms but baby decided that wasn't yummy either, halfway through. Worse yet, if I get too hungry, I end up feeling more nauseated. Which really does not help.
Baby has also decided black olives are evil. And fresh crab. And not so hot on shrimp either. I'm sure this makes Working Man so happy as he hates seafood. And my mom will be thrilled that I hate olives now...for now...I hope. I really liked olives. Putting them on my fingers...anyway...
I'm still really tired. I wake up tired, go to bed tired, I'm at work tired. My apologies to my co-workers and clients. I'm tired.
I weighed myself a couple days ago and I've lost weight. This isn't abnormal for the first trimester. There are multiple reasons for this. One, usually moms have terrible morning sickness so they aren't digesting as much. I don't have this problem. However, my body is putting a ton of energy into building baby. As such, I've lost four pounds. I'm sure my body will make up for this later.
This week, Working Man and I have our first ultrasound. It's probably too early to hear the heartbeat but I keep hoping. I'm very much looking forward to making sure baby is in the uterus too, and not in a tube. It's a scary thought, that is.
I'm sure you'll see the ultrasound soon enough.
FFR
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Weekly Baby Update: Week 6
Today begins week 6. This is the week the majority of books/websites say starts the morning sickness. I've been fortunate not to experience it this morning. Here's to hoping it will never happen. My mom didn't have any morning sickness so I think my chances are pretty decent.
Today, baby is the size of a lentil but the head to bum measurement is only the size of the head of a nail. That's itty bitty! Last week, baby's heart started beating, now it's beating about 80 beats per minute. This week, eyes and ears are starting to form. The jaw and nose are also beginning to form along with the cheeks I can't wait to pinch. Chubby cheeks! Organ-wise, we've got kidneys, liver, and lungs developing. It's amazing how something so small is developing so much already!
Side effects, I'm still constantly tired, I can still smell everything (a fact I'm still not enjoying most of the time, who knew the world smelled so bad?), and I'm still emotional. On the positive side, my trips to the bathroom are not quite as often as they were. For new side effects, my lips are more red it seems to me, possibly more blood flow. This is nice because it looks like I have lipstick...but I don't actually have to wear any. Which I never do anyway, but that's besides the point. Nothing else that I've noticed which is great!
Until next week,
FFR
Today, baby is the size of a lentil but the head to bum measurement is only the size of the head of a nail. That's itty bitty! Last week, baby's heart started beating, now it's beating about 80 beats per minute. This week, eyes and ears are starting to form. The jaw and nose are also beginning to form along with the cheeks I can't wait to pinch. Chubby cheeks! Organ-wise, we've got kidneys, liver, and lungs developing. It's amazing how something so small is developing so much already!
Side effects, I'm still constantly tired, I can still smell everything (a fact I'm still not enjoying most of the time, who knew the world smelled so bad?), and I'm still emotional. On the positive side, my trips to the bathroom are not quite as often as they were. For new side effects, my lips are more red it seems to me, possibly more blood flow. This is nice because it looks like I have lipstick...but I don't actually have to wear any. Which I never do anyway, but that's besides the point. Nothing else that I've noticed which is great!
Until next week,
FFR
Monday, May 9, 2011
LOH Taco Night
On Friday we hosted the Ladies of Harley taco bar at our house. This is pretty much the main reason for why our house has been on such a renovation topsy turvy for the last couple months. Finally it came around and our house was busy!
For those of you who do not know, LOH is for the ladies. Obviously. It's a way to get wives/girlfriends/lady riders involved in something mostly guys are obsessed with. Our LOH leader coordinates rides for the ladies, at a leisurely pace comfortable for everyone.
This is the best shot I could get of most of the vehicles. I don't have a wide enough lens for all of them.
Nice Norm, thanks.
Our LOH leader, Kristie, had her husband bring their son to the taco night.
Aiden though Henry was pretty cool.
Actually, everyone thought Henry was cool.
The donkeys were a fan.
We figured we'd give Aiden a ride around for a bit.
Then another, smaller, type of ride-around.
And at the end of the night, we all played Remember When...Basically, in a list of things, we went around the room, remembering when. Like fads from when you were a kid, the price of gas, your first car...etc.
Overall it was a good night. I don't even know what time everyone left. Eventually I just went to bed. I was too tired to stay awake any longer. I'd love to go back to sleep now. But it's pesky Monday again and I have to go to pesky work. Pesky pesky.
FFR
For those of you who do not know, LOH is for the ladies. Obviously. It's a way to get wives/girlfriends/lady riders involved in something mostly guys are obsessed with. Our LOH leader coordinates rides for the ladies, at a leisurely pace comfortable for everyone.
This is the best shot I could get of most of the vehicles. I don't have a wide enough lens for all of them.
Nice Norm, thanks.
Our LOH leader, Kristie, had her husband bring their son to the taco night.
Aiden though Henry was pretty cool.
Actually, everyone thought Henry was cool.
The donkeys were a fan.
We figured we'd give Aiden a ride around for a bit.
Then another, smaller, type of ride-around.
And at the end of the night, we all played Remember When...Basically, in a list of things, we went around the room, remembering when. Like fads from when you were a kid, the price of gas, your first car...etc.
Overall it was a good night. I don't even know what time everyone left. Eventually I just went to bed. I was too tired to stay awake any longer. I'd love to go back to sleep now. But it's pesky Monday again and I have to go to pesky work. Pesky pesky.
FFR
Thursday, May 5, 2011
'Paca Shearing
Once a year, the alpaca's need to be sheared. When we got them last year, they had just been sheared so this year was the first year we needed to do it. There are several alpaca farms around here and through them we found a shearer local to us. It was an interesting process. I wondered how they were going to do it considering we don't spend time making them like people or anything. They're pretty well untamed.
Anyway, they had a very interesting system for shearing. Extremely efficient.
Here goes Larry.
Shave shave
Look at how dark he is underneath!
And look how much hair he has!
Everybody together now for the tail.
I'm free!
Here's how it works, they put the back feet in loops, then the front feet.
Then using a winch, stretch them out and pull them to the ground.
And we're down.
Shave shave.
And fliiiip
"This is so degrading."
And the tail.
All finished!
They look funny all naked again. But I'm betting they are so much cooler than they were. Better yet, I have a feeling that pond is going to feel a lot cooler too.
FFR
Anyway, they had a very interesting system for shearing. Extremely efficient.
Here goes Larry.
Shave shave
Look at how dark he is underneath!
And look how much hair he has!
Everybody together now for the tail.
I'm free!
Here's how it works, they put the back feet in loops, then the front feet.
Then using a winch, stretch them out and pull them to the ground.
And we're down.
Shave shave.
And fliiiip
"This is so degrading."
And the tail.
All finished!
They look funny all naked again. But I'm betting they are so much cooler than they were. Better yet, I have a feeling that pond is going to feel a lot cooler too.
FFR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)