August 29, 2009

Oh, Baby


Have you ever had a day that was so fantastic, so filled to the brim with fabulousness that you could barely process it all?

I remember at our wedding rehearsal I had my dad walk me down the aisle when things were all wrapped up; nothing was feeling real and I needed a moment to make it all sink in. The entire weekend felt surreal and wonderful and way too amazing to be absorbed as I wanted.

This weekend has been that way a little bit. Bradley and I have known about our pregnancy for nearly seven months, so I've finally gotten the hang of that part. The whole 'baby' element, though, I'm still processing.

So to have a group of my very favorite women on Earth gather to celebrate the impending arrival of baby Mac - well, that left me pretty close to speechless. And absolutely drove home the excitement of having a little boy on the way.

I've spent this weekend, filled with friends trickling in and out of town, in a sort of fog. If I'd really been able to process everything and absorb all of the love and excitement our friends and family were sharing with us, I'd have been in tears from start to finish, no doubt.

I've never seen a baby shower with more thoughtful, lovely details and more excited hostesses. I can't wait to share pictures tomorrow - in the meantime, just know that true friends are irrefutable evidence of God's love. Because surely I could never have done anything to deserve such genuinely giving, supportive, big-hearted women in my life!

"I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don't believe I deserved my friends."
~Walt Whitman

August 25, 2009

This probably says a lot about us...

Until just a moment ago, I was lounging comfortably inside, watching the Rachel Zoe Project and salivating over an amazing hot pink Chanel dress.

I realize that B is awfully quiet, undoubtedly doing something way more fascinating than I am. Blue and I get up to explore and we find him in the garage, building a piece of furniture for baby Mac and humming along to 'Prop Me Up Besides the Jukebox If I Die.'

I adore this man.

At his request, I am hanging out for the moment in his sawdust- and country music-filled shop. Gotta get my B time where I can, I suppose!

Wait 'til y'all see what he's building...

Words of Discouragement?

I just read the Facebook status update of someone who's in the homestretch of her pregnancy - just a few weeks to go. She wrote that she's trying to juggle everything beautifully and keep the big balancing act together.

I'd guess she means her life in general; don't most of us feel that way at some point or another? I honestly didn't presume her status update had anything to do with gestating...

In response, someone left a comment reading, "You think this is one [a balancing act] - just wait!" Gee thanks, friend!

It's always my inclination to leave words of encouragement to people who are admittedly not having the most fabulous day/week/life. Why do anything but try and make things better?

With that in mind, let me heartily thank y'all for not responding similarly to my insomnia whinings...I might have cried out of sheer exhaustion. I got a good night's sleep, though, and am so grateful to have friends who don't say, "Think it's bad now? It's going to get way worse!"

(Ok, ok, she didn't quite say that. But it would have felt that way to me!)

August 24, 2009

Insomnia

....ever had it? Any remedies?

You may not know this about me, but my one true talent in life is sleeping. Day, night, rain, snow, my bed, a guest bed, a hotel bed, a sofa, a large boulder - doesn't matter to me. I've been a champion sleeper since day one and I'd like to believe the four-pound bowling ball I'm carrying around in my tummy will follow in my footsteps.

Last night, however? Total sleep FAIL. Waking, tossing, turning, sighing, getting up, lying down, disturbing our dog's ever-so-peaceful slumber, more getting up, a little frustration, well, you get the idea.

Some would say that at 8 months pregnant this is my body's way of preparing for parenthood. I, however, would like to believe that these final weeks are my last chance to sleep soundly and selfishly.

I was so tired at work today that my body literally hurt. I think it was rejecting the idea of insomnia. So why am I still awake at 9:30 when I've wanted to go to sleep since, well, 1 am?

The obvious answer is that I'm waiting on B to come home and preparing my house for a visit from the brother tomorrow. The more truthful answer is that I'm hoping I'll absolutely exhaust myself and thus guarantee a solid night's sleep. Sounds logical, right?

Cross your fingers and count some sheep for me, girls!

A Virtual Thank You Note

You all know how I feel about thank you notes. (Not to mention unexpected acts of kindness, sweet words and general thoughtfulness in any capacity.)

It's tempting sometimes to maintain a cool front, but being "that girl" who says just what someone needs to hear is a lot more rewarding.

So write the note. Give the squeeze. Share the compliment. Be intentional about it, too - look for new ways to express your gratitude and add a bit of totally selfless sunshine into someone else's (possibly underappreciated, definitely stressed) life.

If you're looking for some ways to do this in the virtual realm, social media guru Chris Brogan recommends the following:

9 Simple Touchpoints of Loyalty
1. Comment on other people’s blogs as often as you can.
2. Reply to people or help them spread the word on Twitter and/or Facebook.
3. Write posts filled with admiration for people you enjoy online, and send links to their work.
4. Connect people with like-minded people before they ask (using LinkedIn or similar).
5. Wish people a happy birthday, or luck with their test, or other related-to-them encouragement.
6. Share job opportunities. You never know who’s looking for more when you’re drowning in too much.
7. Invite people to coffee. Just 20 minutes might really change someone’s day, week, month.
8. Write recommendations on LinkedIn to those whose work you can vouch for. Do it before they ask.
9. Send 10 emails a day to people you’re in danger of falling out of touch with, and make them simple and request-free.

I love that social media has such an impact on our lives; I love even more that people are finding ways to be "that girl" (you know, that sentimental, super-grateful one) and make the online world a more pleasant place to spend our time.

You can read more about Chris' suggestions here.

August 23, 2009

It'd only be fair...



...if health benefits doubled when you chose something healthy, like a banana, over what you really want, like a dozen Reese's peanut butter cups.

Shouldn't we get some kind of extra credit when we're making good choices and fighting back our inner estrogen-fueled demons? Silly sweet tooth...why can't I convince you fruit is just as tasty as a DQ Blizzard?

What I Love about Sundays

  1. Sunday morning service with B. (Baby Mac moves around to let me know he's there, too.)
  2. A long, leisurely lunch now that our Sunday School year has ended; our sweet four-year-old class has moved up to the "big kid" 5k room. We're taking a brief hiatus from teaching and hope to resume next spring. It was so much fun but I'm grateful for a little extra time on Sundays - I think we'll need it these next few months!
  3. The return of our small group! Our church takes the summer off from small group meetings, so I'm excited to catch up with everyone and welcome our newest member. (One of our small group guys got married this summer, so obviously his adorable wife is invited to join the fun.)
  4. Time to cook a real dinner! (For us and for a friend who's recently had a baby.)

  5. A little free time to pick up the house, put on some clean sheets, mentally prepare for the week ahead, catch up on reading...and then just plain relax.
  6. My snuggle partner Blue, who is always willing to help me sit, nap or lounge. Who wants to do yard work or clean bathrooms when you can curl up with your 80-pound lap dog?
  7. Chat time with far-away family and friends.
  8. A new episode of Mad Men!
  9. A work-free, errand-free day with B that includes all of our favorite things - a little sleep, a little worship, a little time with friends and a lot of taking it easy.

Hope your Sunday is wonderful as well!

xo

August 22, 2009

A Public Service Announcement


Things that are not ok:

....telling someone her face is expanding when when she is 17 weeks pregnant. (Or anytime, actually.) This was clearly a while ago - and patently untrue at the time - but if I'm giving a PSA I want to be thorough.

....prefacing anything with, "You probably don't want to hear this, but..."

....squeezing someone's calf to see if she is retaining water.

....asking someone repeatedly if she is "excited...right?" to be having a baby. "I mean, you are. Right?" Especially if you're meeting in a professional capacity about non-excitement-related things.

....slowly, deliberately and obviously checking out a woman's ring finger when she's a wee bit too pregnant to sport her wedding ring any longer. (B was with me at the time but I think he was perceived as my no good K. Fed baby-daddy boyfriend, not my 'til death do us part knight in shining armor husband.)

Things that are very, very lovely:

...telling a patient she is "pulling pregnancy off beautifully." Especially if you are a doctor who had a baby two years ago and is so knowledgeable, thoughtful and helpful that I want to hug your tiny neck. Thanks for taking as much time answering my questions as I spent reading in the waiting room!

...remarking that a baby's lucky to be born into such a wonderful family.

...reacting with surprise at a woman's announcement that she's pregnant. (Extra double bonus points if she's eight months along when she mentions this to you.)

...commenting on your (real or imagined) jealousy at someone else's (real or imagined) pregnancy "glow."

Ok. I'm off my soapbox now. Let's all try to be friendly to everyone. Especially pitiful ladies waddling around Target parking lots in 100-degree weather. Trust me, y'all, I'd wear my sparkly rings if I could!

In the meantime, is it inappropriate for me to throw my arms around someone who pays me a compliment? A thank you note seems way too small because these days, such niceties mean the world!!

Born to Buy Jeans

What girl doesn't have a love/hate relationship with the denim in her closet? Branching out is always hard, finding new styles and designers can be scary - and seeing the total after you've splurged on a new "makes my backside look ridiculously amazing" pair can be even scarier than the dressing room nightmare.

I'm pregnant but I've still bought two pairs of jeans this summer - a fabulous pair of Citizens that has been a remarkable buy and a less-than-perfect pair I am barely pulling out of the closet. I'm already looking forward to slipping back into pre-prego jeans.

With fall (and fall clothes!) nearly upon us, fashion is clearly the hot topic in print and online. If you have so much as a single magazine subscription, my guess is you've seen the ads Gap is bombarding us with to let us know that their Born to Fit premium jeans line has launched.

(Blogger slynnro recently wrote about a giveaway for them here.)

I'm curious - who's tried them? Who's going to? Do we think ads in Vanity Fair, Oprah, Glamour and the like can help Gap compete with the higher end Nordstrom brands?

If I can find and love a pair of great-fitting $55 jeans, girls, please believe I'll be doing it. In the new year, of course. In the meantime, I'm just living through you...

August 21, 2009

Go Tigers!

Clemson's holding strong at #22 on U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges 2010 list! Get excited - and take a peek at President Barker's video message here. (South Carolina is #55 on the list. Just stating facts, people.)

We're just 15 days away from the most exciting 25 seconds in college football, y'all! I may be enjoying this season more from the sofa than the stadium, but I'm still so looking forward to it.

Having a mid-football season baby definitely puts a damper on the tailgating, but I'm already looking forward to Mac's first games next fall. I'll be a bit otherwise occupied, so you and your 82,000 closest friends will just have to cheer a bit louder in my absence.

(And I did tell you his name's Mac, right?)

Crazy (Book) Love


I just bought Crazy Love, a recommendation of Angie Smith's and the focus of her blog's upcoming book club. If you're interested in joining, swing by Bring the Rain to take a peek.

(Or you can let me know and I'll share my copy with you once I'm finished!)

I also grabbed Babywise and The Happiest Baby on the Block while I was Amazon-ing. Don't those saved credit card numbers and shipping addresses just making click-click-clicking your way through checkout the easiest thing ever?

I had J. Crew delete my credit card number from their virtual website memory, but until I delete it from my own, it's way too easy to just tippity-type those sweet sixteen digits and find myself clicking BUY before I know it.

Anyway, that's not what this post was about, was it? Back to books. My sweet friend Heather shared a few great books with me last week in the most delicious FedEx package stacked with novels. First up is The Time Traveler's Wife (saw the movie already, but we'll chat about that later), then two others that look equally enticing.

What's on your reading list these days? Can you tell I'm trying to get super-prepared for Grapenut by stocking up on my reading material? Surely that's all you need to be a good mom, right? (Someone told me that if Jamie Lynn Spears can do this, I can do it. It's almost become a mantra...)

Forgive the pregnancy brain - back to the topic at hand. Will you be buying Crazy Love and reading along with Angie and her "Sundays" this fall?

What's on your nightstand these days? (Book-wise, that is. A glass of water and your trusty tube of Burt's Bees is a given.)

So you CAN write a thank you note too quickly

When I arrived home on Wednesday evening, I noticed a lovely package on our front porch - a baby gift! I was so excited to open it and happily whipped up a little thank you note for the generous couple who sent it our way.

After dropping my note in the mail on Thursday, B and I headed to our exciting hospital excursion last night and got home pretty late. When I woke up this morning, he told me there were two packages we missed on our front porch! (That, by the way, is a great way to get me not to hit the snooze button. I was out of bed in a flash!)

Friends, it was parts two and three of our original gift. Bradley's wonderful brother and his wife had sent us three fabulous items off our baby registry - and now there's a note en route to their home thanking them for exactly one of them.

So now - another thank you note explaining the situation and raving about our newest additions? I tried, girls, but so much for manners!

August 20, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for:
  • The feeling that every song played on the radio this morning was meant just for me.
  • A husband who comes to hospital OB tours, looks at nursery fabric swatches, listens to random facts from baby books and puts his hand out to feel his baby kick - only to have said baby stop moving immediately. (Sneaky little boy!)
  • Friends and family who call, email and write to share sweet wishes.
  • Beautiful new stationery.
  • A sweet baby gift on our doorstep - and therefore a reason to use mybeautiful new stationery.
  • A less than sweltering summer, overall. We are in South Carolina, y'all - I keep telling myself it's been so much worse in previous years.
  • Which leads us to....air conditioning, my very best friend each August - especially this one.
  • A bright pink cardigan that made my Thursday but might not button if I were brave enough to try.
  • A sweet dog waiting for me at home who always reminds me that I'm the highlight of his day.
  • Eight days 'til I get to see some of my very very favorite girls in the whole world - and all under one roof! The 29th can't come soon enough.
  • Twenty four hours 'til the weekend!
"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." ~Marianne Williamson

The Truth about Me

My friends must be the most patient, loving and non-judgmental people on Earth because, let's face it, I'm not always the most normal girl. But what's normal anyway - and how fun is it to be just like everyone else?

  • I can count on one hand the number of times I've played a video game in my life. Just not my thing! I used to be super judgy (I just like saying that) of people who spend hours upon hours in virtual life and video game stupors, but then I realized they probably don't nap, gab or online shop the way I do. So to each his own, hmm?


  • I can no longer wear my wedding rings. This makes me very sad!


  • I love looking at people's pictures on Facebook. I get extremely disappointed when it's been a relatively slow day online and no one has added anything "good."

  • I am a passionate list maker. Lists got me through high school, college, grad school and the crazy months after marriage (thank you notes to write, errands to run). This pregnancy, however? List free. Amazing! And it can only be attributed to God lifting the huge burden of worry that tends to follow my crazy list-making habits. Such a gift!

    It'd be stretching the truth to say I don't have a very easy, flexible, low-key list running in my head. (Classes to take, necessary nursery items, thank you notes, etc.) But I haven't put pen to paper yet - and it isn't keeping me up at night.

    (Well, I don't think it is. Something is, but I think it's more about my achy old lady body than my desire to create lists of lists to check off before our boy arrives.)


  • I'm obsessed with "deals" and online shopping sites like RueLaLa. (If you haven't joined, you need to! It's invite only, but you can join by going to http://www.ruelala.com/invite/annesmithsc.) Seeing something marked down makes it ten times more desirable in my eyes - so much so that it's hard to determine if I'd have bought it at that price originally. Who cares, though? It's a deal!

  • I'm addicted to etiquette and advice columns.

  • I have consumed more water in 2009 than I did in 2006 through 2008 combined. I'm guessing, of course, but you can thank my pretty orange water bottle for my miraculous hydration turn-around.

  • On a related note, the receptionist and I have become particularly good friends lately, seeing that I pass her each of the 10,000 times I head to the ladies' room. Between baby Smith and my hydration habit, I'm spending far more time waddling to the lobby than I'd care to admit!

  • I regularly purchase stationery, shoes and dresses for occasions that haven't happened yet.

  • I could live inside a Pottery Barn catalog.

  • I am well past my teenage years but I still don't miss an episode of Gossip Girl, 90210 or So You Think You Can Dance.

  • I've never watched Dancing with the Stars or American Idol.

  • I'd probably own a cardigan in every color under the sun if J. Crew made it.

  • I was born in England, lived there for half a second and feel total British envy when the Boden catalogs arrive.

  • With a baby on the way, I'm clearly not planning any around-the-world voyages...but I am on the hunt for cute luggage. The key is to find something I love that Bradley will still agree to haul around an airport.

  • I also need boots!! Not ankle boots, as we've already discussed, but some cute, classic, wear with everything fall boots. I try to avoid my favorite stores these days because the temptation to shop is too high (and the likelihood of my wearing these clothes in the next few months is too low) so I'm counting on my most stylish friends and favorite bloggers for pointers!

  • I still can't say "rural" so I avoid it like the plague. You'd be amazed how many synonyms there are!

  • I hate cheese. Yep, that's right. I'll eat a cheese pizza but that's all she wrote. Walking through the cheese section in Whole Foods the other week nearly made me fall over. Yuck. I'd rather get my calcium from ice cream. Totally the same, right?

  • I also avoid salad dressing like the plague, which prevents me from ordering salad in public. You try ordering salad with out cheese or dressing and still looking like a normal person. I'll just have a sandwich, thanks.

  • I haven't worn in heels in months. (Minus a two-hour stint at a wedding last month that I ended up regretting...) I'm looking forward to putting aside my Jack Rogers, wedges and comfy flats and pulling out my heels once cooler weather (and post-baby limbs) reappears.

  • If I had to list my top ten hobbies these days, would reading, napping, sitting, strolling, chatting, online shopping, hanging out, relaxing, patting my belly and looking at fabric swatches even count as actual hobbies? Because I always think they're looking for something more like sky-diving, kayaking, documentary-making or haute cuisine.

  • I'm such a snacker that I keep the equivalent of a mini grocery store at work. Currently I have granola bars, applesauce, a banana, some peanut butter, yogurt, an apple and single servings of frozen peas. Yes, I'm totally serious.

  • I watch reruns of The Office like it's my actual job. And Mad Men. I also love LOST but hate anything else that could be remotely considered sci-fi.

  • I adore Febreze. A clean-smelling house is just as important to me as an actually clean house.

  • If I catch Pride and Prejudice, Steel Magnolias, The Notebook or any other favorite movie on TV, I will watch it for hours - as the DVD sits (nice and commercial-free) just feet away from me. Odd.

  • I have about six books (Pride and Prejudice and Eat, Pray, Love among them) that I reread and underline and sigh over at least annually. If I took that time to dig into new books, though, I think I'd make a serious dent in the stack waiting to be read. (Why do I keep buying books when I've got these stacks waiting for me, btw?)

  • I don't miss Diet Coke nearly as much as I thought I would when we found out we were expecting. I do, however, think I'll really enjoy some champagne and turkey sandwiches (not together, obviously) after October.

  • We're under 60 days away from meeting the newest addition to our crazy little household... Have I told you his name yet? Story to come, I promise!

  • Tonight we're headed to an OB tour at the hospital to learn all about, well, where babies are born. Crossing my fingers it makes me more excited than nervous...

Secrets of an American Twenty-Something

I saw these on Facebook yesterday and even received an email about it, but its true laugh-out-loud, hits-close-to-home qualities did not reveal themselves to me until Mrs. Newlywed blogged about a similar list. (Mine's missing a few, I think...you'll have to take a peek at her blog too.)

You've got to take a look - if only to reassure me that I'm not the only person who relates to these! They're long but worth it...and I've included a few comments because you know I can't help myself!

Random Thoughts from the 25- to 35-year-old Crowd:

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me. (A terrible habit but it's so easy to slip into!)

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. (Ahh yes. I think B can actually see that realization come across my face...it's the worst.)

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed tobe going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in thedirection from which you came, you have to first do something likecheck your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter toyourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That's enough, Nickelback. (It's been enough since 2002, actually. So let's put a lid on it, shall we?)

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn'twork? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we allknow how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft. (I've never been a Nintendo girl, but the concept is so true.)

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the crap was going on when I first saw it. (Dirty Dancing, anyone? I definitely thought Penny had stomach cancer...)

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? (I just put it directly on the bed. The ones in the linen closet can stay, um, arranged as they are.)

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

-I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text. (I don't text & drive, but I'm all about the lip gloss.)

-LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say."

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

-Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

-Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart," all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart."

-How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said? (Twice?)

-Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies."

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

-While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

-MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

-Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

-I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water. (That's one way to wake up - with a faceful of frigid water!)

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty; you can wear them forever.

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. (Who disagrees with this?!)

-Bad decisions make good stories. (Story of my life...a series of awkward actions capped off with a tumble of some sort.)

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do! (I'm not going to lie; I enjoy the occasional Facebook stalk myself!)

-Is it just me or do high school girls get skankier & skankier every year? (Yes! Yes! I shouldn't be able to see cheek if I'm behind you in line at the movie theater, random thirteen-year-old with your DAD.)

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to goaround and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to. (Do you say yes and save whatever changes you may have made? Or say no and remember one millisecond later that you had in fact edited it pretty heavily?)

-"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?' (I pass the remote. Too much pressure.)

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?) but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times andgoes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away? (Passive-aggressive, perhaps?)

-I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste. (I had a terrible hair day last week when I had to help interview several intern candidates. The next day I was home sick; Blue and I got to admire my fabulously bouncy locks all day. Ridiculous waste.)

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes. (I think I'm just too picky...you have to be if you're weeding out your own favorite choices.)

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

-As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it. (Call me clueless, but I'm not ashamed of this one.)

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their carkeys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com andthe link takes me to a video instead of text. (Why do they put video in their top headlines anyhow?)

August 12, 2009

Sportin' A Bootie

It's 100 degrees outside, but the relief of fall weather and the excitement of a new season of fashion seems to be on everyone's minds... I've heard about "the fall bootie" no less than six times today - and I haven't even opened a magazine yet tonight!



I'm not a fan of the ankle boot look - but I can totally see it working for a few of my friends. Thoughts? Have you found any favorites?

I'll be looking for some new (non-ankle) boots...I'd love to hear your suggestions for those.

Any other fall (and post-baby) shoes I can be looking forward to - cute heels to make up for my summer of flats, perhaps?

The happiest of summers

What a long, quiet summer it's been. Things have been indescribably wonderful in our sweet little household these past few months - remarkably simple and very, very quiet. But I'm back with lots to share, so much to catch up on and a great deal of excitement about the next chapter in our lives!

We're just over the two month mark 'til baby Mac gets here; I'm nearly 31 weeks pregnant and October 17 feels like it's right around the corner. Strange how that happens - all of 2009 seems blurry after we found out we were expecting. And now, all of a sudden, football season and the hope of cooler weather seem to be just ahead. (With that, of course, comes baby time... Wow.)

I'm of two minds about this: On the one hand, when people tell me I'm in the home stretch, I feel grateful and comforted. Only nine-ish weeks left, I can hang! On the other hand, when I'm told that there's plenty of time left, I also feel strangely relieved. There's so much to do - how could we get it all done if we were truly in the "home stretch"??

For an anxious gal like myself, this pregnancy has been unbelievably blessed; I can feel that my tendency to worry and make list upon list of things to do has been lifted. I've been able (miraculously) to take things slowly and enjoy each little step along the way - even the stumbling, blurry-eyed visits to the ladies' room in the pitch black darkness each night.

Baby Mac is already such a part of our thought process, our conversations, our daily lives...I can't imagine how amazing it's going to be to meet him and start the lifelong process of getting to know the little boy who's been performing Riverdance jigs in my stomach all these weeks.

We're over the moon and have been (selfishly) indulging in a long, slow summer - something we've been quite intentional about. Anything unenjoyable or unnecessary has been cut out of our weekend schedules. Spending time together whenever possible (crazy work schedules aside) has been the best gift Bradley could have given me as we prepare for a new, undoubtedly hectic season in our marriage.

My sweet friends Liz, Kristen and Erin are hosting a baby shower for me later this month and I can't wait to see them and celebrate! These three ladies haven't been under one roof since our wedding, so it's a fabulous treat to have time with each of them at once.

I'll be back with more tonight - including pictures! - but I wanted to say hello. (I'm writing this Tuesday evening to hopefully figure out how to have it post on Wednesday...hence the "this evening.")

Things I'm excited to chat about with you:
  • Google Maps' street view feature goes to Paris - and makes me relive my summer abroad. Wouldn't that go a little differently now?
  • A new season of Mad Men and The Time Traveler's Wife in one weekend - can I handle it?
  • To read or not to read: Sneak in The Time Traveler's Wife before or after the movie? The pros and cons are many, friends.
  • A birthday, an anniversary and a few summer weddings
  • Nursery progress - and the fabric samples dancing through my head at 3am
  • Who's afraid of having a baby? Not me. Right?
  • The ridiculous pressure that comes with naming your (unborn) bundle o' joy
  • Crazy things people say (and probably shouldn't) to pregnant folk
  • The type-A personality gives way to a go with the flow girl...you're going to be amazed, y'all!
Back soon!

(Also, I'm in need of a blog facelift...who has recommendations??)

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