Coming soon to a refrigerator magnet near you...

...when I finally figure out what I want to get.

I can count on one hand (maybe even minus a couple fingers) how many times in my life I've sent Christmas cards.  Why? Well...I have no excuse.  I'm lazy. I love receiving them and I love putting them up all over the door or a wall, but I never remember to send them.  My favorite cards are photo cards - I love seeing how people and/or their kids have grown, aged, or changed over the years.  With as many pictures as I take (TONS), I'm sure all of my future Christmas cards will be photo cards.

Thanks to a sweet giveaway from Shutterfly, I'm actually motivated this year.  I've taken a bunch of pics of Sophie, and checked out their adorable designs - but I'm having a hard time choosing!  For starters, my baby is too freaking cute.  But then Shutterfly has a ton of new, super cute card designs this year too.  I've had great luck with them in the past.  I even made our wedding photobook through there, our Save-the-Date photocard for our wedding and have ordered tons of prints and quite a few enlargements, too.  I've never been disappointed.

If you'd like to write about your favorite Shutterfly products in order to receive 50 free holiday photo cards, click here! 

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge - Week 26: Pets!

I'm going to try out an entry for the I Heart Faces photo challenge for the first time - I have so many pictures of my pets I figure why not!?  There are so many talented people out there so I doubt I'll win, but why not try? So here is a recent favorite that my readers have seen before...

Some more shower pics...

I was so excited to take a bunch of cute pics of babies and my friends...you'd think I'd remember to charge the effing battery, eh?

Here's what I did manage...

More fun with the 50mm...

An orchid in the kitchen.

Raindrops on the windshield.

Blue's eye.

Feeding time.

Wine glasses.

I love this picture...I wish one of them was in focus though.

Buddy...so contemplative.

The most accurate portrayal of their personalities possible in a still photo.

Alexis is a natural farmgirl.

Morpheus and Blue, practicing for their futures in cheese commercials.

50mm f1.8 love.

My super special gift to myself came yesterday and I couldn't wait to play with it a little bit this morning. It will be fabulous once I get to "know" it some more, but my initial feelings are already warm and fuzzy.

Around the yard...



Buddy sniffing the morning air...

27/365. Un. Real.

Have I mentioned how amazing my friends are?  How long have I wanted this?

Yes, folks.  A group of my friends (friends that started out as internet friends!) went in together and bought me the camera that they knew I was never going to buy myself with a baby on the way.  I am still speechless.  And beyond grateful.

I can. not. wait. to play with it and get to know it!  I'm gunna hug it and squeeze it and call it George!

I really can't thank you girls enough.

Pictures, just for fun.

If you read my other post with my Project365 picture, you read that I took a sick day from work today.  We'll call it a mental health day, after an emotionally tiring weekend.  I just needed another day, ya know?

Anyway, I met my friend Sheila for a lunch date at Panera.  It was great to get out and just relax and spend some time with a friend.  After we parted ways, I headed to Gap Maternity and scored 3 tank tops and 3 sweaters for $40!  I'm already growing out of some of my early maternity clothes.  They just aren't covering enough.  I'm pretty confident that the stuff I got will last me the rest of the pregnancy though.

After I got home the sun was thinking about going down and was shining on the church across the street, so I headed out and took some pictures.  I really love them.  None of them are particularly brilliant or make me look like I have mad skillz (yo) or anything, but I think it's the brick and the colors that are doing it for me.

 

 

 

 

Lazy but productive, just like I wanted.

Except for that part where the Packers lost a playoff game in OT.  We won't talk about that.

ANYWAY.

I was feelin' the camera today, so the beginning of my day was documented in pictures...

I started the day early because I woke up to change positions and felt the baby kicking/punching both sides of my belly at the same time...which was making me laugh...which brought  me beyond the point of being able to fall back asleep.  Plus coffee was sounding delicious.  I made a small pot and curled up on the couch in my cozy robe with the kitteh.

And look!  I have a crappy self-portrait to prove it!

Isn't my butt-chin awesome? Blah.

So then I decided I'd finally get off my butt and get on the sweet photo project I am making as a gift for a friend (who might read this so I won't say any more about it).  As I left the house I noticed that our Christmas tree will probably never get recycled or be seen again until around May since it has been completely covered in snow from the plow and shoveling.

While on my little photography project scavenger hunt, I came across this sign for The Chancery...

Dude.  That is a BASKET OF BACON!  For 99 CENTS!  It was like they were begging me to come in - except it was past breakfast hours.  Bummer.  I love The Chancery.  I need to go there more.  And I need to go there for breakfast.  The baby needs bacon, yo.

I wasn't having a lot of luck finding what I was looking for in that area, but I sure as hell was cold.  See the red nose?  See the frozen eyeballs?  See the super awesome hat with ear flaps?  I love that hat.  It is falling apart.  Time for a new hat with ear flaps.

On I went with my hunt for cool...umm...stuff to take pictures of...and found myself across the street from my favorite local movie theater.  This is the place we like to go that serves full meals and has a full bar and will deliver these things to you DURING a movie!  There are also cozy (and likely germ filled!) couches and tables to hang out in.  Love this place.

I've never been to this next place, but I've heard it is delicious.  I just took a picture because I love the name of the place...perfect for a place that opens early and serves coffee.

Finding myself fairly satisfied with what I'd found at this point, I decided to head back home.  The church a few doors down from me was looking particularly nice under the sky, so I wandered over there and too this one, which I really like for some reason...

I was really cold again so I started walking back toward my house and I saw this...

I don't know about you (or if I am just an idiot), but I feel like this sign is telling me that if I don't/can't have kids or my Christmas was lacking...it's Jesus' fault.  Now...I have a feeling what they meant to get at was that "Jesus is the reason for the season" but that sure isn't what it says, no? What do you think?

Then I found myself back home, curled up on the couch right where I started...but with a different kitteh this time.  A sinister, angry looking kitteh.

Doesn't she look like she should be tenting her fingers and saying "Exxxxcellent" like Mr. Burns?  I mean really...do you see the resemblance?

Or maybe The Brain...

Or is it Sonic the Hedgehog?

The rest of the day is not in pictures, but it involved that awful Packers game, laundry, and finally writing out some long overdue thank you cards.  Hope you all had a great weekend!

Jessie who?

Sooo...

How many blogs have I started out that way, anyway? 

Anyway.  I've been kind of gone.  I stopped updating on what piece of fruit you could compare our kid to.  

I plan to start blogging again - in fact it is my half-assy New Year's resolution.  I'm going to do a project called Project365 along with some other friends of mine, so those will be popping up.  I love photography - I'm not awesome but I don't suck, and I want more practice.  I've also been kind of getting away from it a little bit because of how tired and down in the dumps I've been with my job.  This will challenge me to do all of those things. 

I'd also like to periodically write letters to our baby to someday share with her...

Speaking of "her"...I guess it has been awhile.  Yes, Moby is a girl, and her name is Sophie Lora.  The short version of how we got there: we liked the name Sophie (along with 2 others - but she just "felt" like a Sophie) and Lora is after my my mom who is named Lori and her grandma that she was named after - Lora.  Corey also had a grandma Loraine.   

We are also in the process of buying a house - we put an offer in a little over a week ago.  We thought the price was very reasonable, but we still offered a little less.  They countered with a little more, but still under what we thought was reasonable, so we took it.  Our inspection is tomorrow, and if something is totally awful that we don't want to deal with, we can still get out of it.  Otherwise, it is all ours!  More on that another time.  

Anyway, here is how I've changed over the last couple weeks...maybe this will hold you over while I work on getting my sh*t together to start blogging regularly again - it's not New Year's YET...so let me procrastinate a bit more!


23 weeks


22 weeks


21 weeks


19 weeks

12 weeks.