Yep, We're Still Rockin'

I'll bet you thought we fell off the face of the planet, didn't you? Well, we didn't. Not completely at least. There's been a lot going on behind the scenes around here which we just really aren't at liberty to speak about at this time and as a result I, dear friends and family, have not been able to post even remotely regularly; however, I shall try to get back in the habit.

I have quite a few goals for myself in the next few months - I plan to get back into a regular blogging schedule. Not sure what that means right at this moment, but we'll figure it out. We're experiencing something of a new beginning in our family as a result of some of the stuff I can't talk about having transpired. I'll just apologize profusely now for my "teasing." I really don't mean it to be so, but vagueness at the moment is kind of expected and necessary. Should there ever be a time (which I am inclined to say there will not be) that I feel sharing is appropriate, I will, but don't hold your breath!

So, at any rate, I shall be making an effort to post more regularly. I also am quite determined to get myself back up-to-date (which is no small feat, unfortunately) with Nicholas' totsite. Wow, that is going to take some effort...so I may not get it done until Christmas unless I just happen to have some crazy luck. :)

I am, after all, just one big ball of activity. For those who like to keep up with my craziness, I am still helping with Mark's business though I am, thankfully, no longer playing a major role. Accounting-related tasks are mine...everything else has been passed off to a new office manager who I trust implicitly with the success of the business and keeping everyone else in line. Mark is also in a more prominent role with the departure of the previous owner of the business and we're enjoying watching the business grow into a thriving place of health and healing.

In addition to the clinic which has been renamed Springs Family Chiropractic, I am still doing the Scentsy thing. However, that has been moved, to a great extent, to the secondary business slot because at the beginning of May I began a sweet new business with Dove Chocolate Discoveries (tm). I LOVE my new job! Can there be anything better than getting paid to share chocolate (and more specifically, Dove Chocolate!) with the world? I can't think of many....maybe just getting paid to stay home and love on Nicholas. :)

I am still at home with Nicholas as well. He just turned 2 on May 26 if you can believe it. The little tyke is the size of a 4 year old! He is seriously one very tall little man...and he still has his red hair. He is absolutely adorable (not that I'm a little predjudiced, of course). As I write this, he is running through the hallway giggling with glee....so cute! Earlier this evening, he was practicing saying "hiiiiii" and I just really wanted to go get the video camera, but I didn't want to miss anything so no video. Just gotta live in the moment sometimes. :)

Nicholas had a fun birthday party on May 31 (this past Sunday) and did very well in the gift area. Have to admit that I had to be reminded that some of the toys are his and not mine! A popup "play tent" shaped like a school bus, an Elmo that is like a Mr. Potato Head, a Cool Fire Engine, fun puzzles and a weird tribble-like ball as well as always useful gift cards were some of the spoils. Because Nicholas isn't much for opening gifts yet, I have some thank you notes to write. Of course, my dear little boy has made off with the list of gifts and who gave them to him so I now get to prove that my mind is still sharp and can remember such things on its own! :)

To backtrack a little, the chocolate business is quite amusing for me. I now get to feel like someone on the food network everytime I have a party. I get to demonstrate how to make yummy treats and teach entertaining ideas while making people happy. It is way easier to get someone to book a chocolate tasting party, I've learned, than it is to get them to do a candle party. Way easier! I actually served some of our products at Nicholas' birthday party which I should mention we held at Nancy Lewis park here in C/S. A lot less exciting than the zoo for some, but perfect for Nicholas who ran all over the place, enjoyed the swings and managed to get his first mild sunburn. Oops. Thankfully, it was very mild and cooled down quickly.

He's quite a dare devil lately and is getting lots of scrapes and scratches. Kind of annerving for a Mommy, but I'm surviving. Yesterday afternoon was one of the best, he fell down in the kitchen and cut his chin open. Wow. Took Grandma Nina and I close to 10 minutes to calm him down just a little. Thank goodness for the puppy Grandma and Grandpa Allen gave to him!

Speaking of my parents they were able to attend the birthday celebration and also were able to stay with us for a couple of days. That was really nice. Nicholas and I will get to see them again next week when we go down to Lamar where I've scheduled a few little chocolate tasting parties (really need to get a set of invitations out for the party my mother and I are hosting!). I am looking forward to that.

Nicholas is currently seeing a music therapist to help encourage him to vocalize a little more. He isn't talking as much as a kid his age should be apparently, but he certainly is sharp as a tack. He knows what he wants, he knows what we want and when the two are not in congruence, he's pretty frustrated. :) He really seems to enjoy the music sessions whether they'll help him talk more or not. We tend to think he may just be more focused on physical-related stuff. He is certainly all boy and enjoys running, climbing and rough housing. :)

Well, that little boy needs to go to sleep (we're running a bit late tonight since we treated him to some ice cream) so I shall say good-bye and go tuck him in. Hopefully he will fall asleep before I do! Talk to you soon!

It Was Wild!

We had Nicholas' birthday celebration this past weekend at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! The title above says it all - it was one WILD party! :) Nicholas and every one else in attendance thoroughly enjoyed it!

We began our adventure just inside the park where everyone was asked to sign their lives away lest any of the carnivorous animals escape and eat one or more children. Some parents signed while muttering such things as "there are days when I wish a lion would come and eat my child." They were joking...I think. Ha ha!

We then travelled up to the Moose lodge to drop off gifts and cake and ice cream. It was a little odd that they didn't just have someone run the things up I have to admit since, well, we had to turn around and come right back! In this process, we managed to lose my parents so they missed a good deal of the zoo portion of the day, but they got back in time for cake and ice cream...the important stuff you know!

Since I have mentioned the goodies twice now, I think I should give you the skinny on the cake and ice cream we served. They were sooo tasty and I say this not because I made all of them, but because they truly were just yummy, yummy, yummy. And, if you don't believe me, you can ask anyone who attended. ;) I made 3 cakes. One for Nicholas - a mini three-tiered cake with coconut cream frosting and blueberries and raspberries for decorations. And, two for everyone else. One was just like Nicholas' (only just two layers slapped together with frosting and decorated with berries and such) and one has a raspberry filling and a chocolate coating. All three cakes were wheat free (thankfully we do not have to deal with the egg allergy anymore because I tried at first to make them egg free as well...not good) and used coconut flour. I received a lot of compliments even from the zoo staff and that, of course, made me feel all good! The ice cream was also quite tasty - made out of the milk and cream from our little dairy farm we found and some fresh strawberries. We didn't have much left of any of the goodies...except Nicholas' cake, but we'll get there!

So, after dropping off the stuff, we went to enjoy a Meerkat demonstration. Very cool because they knew what was coming when their caretaker came. They were, for lack of a better word, hovering! And then, when they finally got the crickets they were sure were on the way, they were just happy little creatures eating their fill. It was a blast getting to see all of them so active!

After the Meerkats, we headed to the Giraffes where we fed them some crackers. Nicholas wasn't so thrilled with being licked by a big old giraffe tongue, but he had the experience because I made sure to help him hold the cracker so the giraffe could give him a little kiss. I figure after all the slobbery kisses he gives me, I owed him one, right? ;)

We then headed to see the Budgies (parakeets for you non-bird people out there) and on the way our fearless zoo leader, Joy discovered they had a baby Wallaby (a joey of course) out for the little kids to see. She made way for Nicholas and I to get a cute picture with the little guy. I haven't had a chance to review the camera yet (I will...just was working on some other things for his site today) but I'm sure it's adorable! What a special birthday treat! Then we went in to see the birdies. They weren't so keen on coming to say hello, but we enjoyed all the singing anyhow.

Once we were done there, we headed to meet our "animal ambassador" the African Millipede. Pede-y as we'll call him was sleepy. He was pretty much just rolled up and sleeping the whole time. But that's okay...I'm not so excited about bugs and Nicholas could have cared less since it was about that time that he decided he wanted something to drink. Now. So he drank, I touched the nasty bug and then was grateful our other fearless leader, Mallory, offered me some hand sanitizer. And, it was over.

But the party was just beginning...we ventured to the carousel and Nicholas enjoyed his first ride ever on one! At first, he wasn't so sure, I think, but then he decided he loved it! He was kicking and waving and making all sorts of happy noises. It was a blast to watch him so happy. I am so glad we took some video of it!

After the carousel, it was time for cake and ice cream. We got Nicholas set up in his new little attaches to the table hippo chair thingie (which I highly recommend after this experience) and put his cake in front of him, lit the candle, sang happy birthday and I attempted to blow it out. I had to do it three times...guess the lungs were a bit tired after traipsing all over the zoo. I finally succeeded and we waited for the first birthday cake melee that was sure to occur. My son, who apparently takes after his daddy in this area, picked up a blueberry and ate it. Then he picked up a raspberry and ate that. I had to pick a piece of cake off and talk him into trying it. He had a few pieces and played with the frosting, but for the most part, he wanted the fruit. I have to admit I am pretty pleased with this! :) He did get plenty messy (especially since I forgot to put a bib on and then everybody was telling me to just let it go) and I have a rather large raspberry juice stain on his cute "Safari Guide" outfit I bought him. With any luck, Oxyclean will be its match.

We didn't really have a chance to open gifts until we got home and had a BBQ with my parents and a few friends. The little guy really cleaned up in the present category. I have a ton of thank you notes to write for him! He has been having a blast with all of them for the past few days. So, it was, I think a great first birthday celebration overall and now we're already thinking about what we'll do next year. Given how much Nicholas enjoyed his trip to the park on his actual birthday, we're thinking we might just do a little party in the park next year, but we'll see how the year goes and what tickles his fancy!

So that is about it about the party and he and I need to get ready to go walking with his "rent-a-grandma" Nina so I will let you go. I will ask you before I depart to keep my mom in your prayers, though, for healing. She's having surgery in the near future and we're hoping for a speedy recovery.

It's Over. (I Hope)

I have good news and bad news. We'll start with the bad news first - little Nicholas is sick. We picked up something somewhere and despite our best efforts he is now sporting a nice little fever and has tossed his cookies twice. My poor baby! I can now add being vommited on to my list of things I never imagined I could handle with grace. :)

I think the sickies are the result of WAY too much stress for our family. What with moving, trying to getting Mark working and other "stuff" has put a few chinks in our armor. Thankfully, we finally got to check one stressor off our list today - we FINALLY got to close on the business. It is ours! Lord help us....we probably are going to need it!

Yes, Dr. Rocco now has a place to hang his hat. How exciting, huh? Things finally worked out and tomorrow morning he'll begin his quest for chiropractic excellence and bringing wellness to every person he can get his hands on. ;) Please keep us in your prayers.

In other news, we are not yet moved in. We still have a POD sitting in our driveway and we're kind of stuck until we are able to get some help moving the big things out of it. This is tricky since a lot of things we might find useful are hiding behind the big things. But then again, we haven't even had a chance to put a lot of the small PODS contents away so maybe it's better that we can't move more boxes into the garage, eh?

Obviously, being sick has slowed us down somewhat with respect to the "moving in" process, but we have also been playing hooky a bit since we were able. We ventured up to Frisco, Colorado, this past weekend to visit with Mark's cousins Dan and Jimmy. It was so nice to meet them and for Mark to see them again as it had been quite sometime since the three of them were together. They and Julianna, Dan's sweet girlfriend, all enjoyed time with Nicholas and Nicholas just really took to all three of them (Dan will tell you he's the favorite of the three if you ask, though). I have some adorable pictures that I'll be putting up on his site as soon as I can get around to it.

And, that is another piece of good news that came out of the combination of being sick and being in Frisco - I've managed to add a ton of new pictures to Nicholas's website. We are caught up through Christmas with the little guy now except for the professional pictures we took at Christmas time, but we'll get those up very soon as well, I hope. That reminds me that I need to find a good kiddie photographer out here in Colorado as we are approaching Nick's 9 month birthday!

Let's see, other than that, I can't really think of anything important that I haven't mentioned so I suppose I'll be scooting out of here to go heat up some yummy soup that Nick's Auntie Noheilani (she calls him Makana...and I'm starting to pick up the habit!) made to help us all heal up fast. We have to send a big Mahalo (thank you!) to her and Mark's Dad for all their help in getting this business purchase through. :)

Thanksgiving, etc.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday. Nick's first Thanksgiving was quite pleasant...even if he didn't get any turkey! :) He dined on plums, pears and apples instead. I don't think he minded much....

At any rate, we spent our holiday at our friend Jeff's parents' house. It was so nice to actually be around a family again. Not since we've moved here have we been invited anywhere for Thanksgiving so this was a special treat!

It was actually quite interesting to be at another family's house for the holiday and see the differences between their celebration and my family's. I was surprised that there were no sweet potatoes or even mashed potatoes on the menu. Instead they served carrot souffle. The other thing that caught my eye was that they put sausage in their stuffing which I really liked. I may have to see if I can find a similar recipe (or here's an idea - ask them for theirs!).

We brought along a little gluten free dessert to share with everyone and it seemed to go over well. I made a maple pecan cake with coconut flour and then turned it into a trifle with caramel flavored pudding and pecans. It was really quite tasty after it had time to sit and meld...

Other than that, things have been going pretty well. We had someone come look at our house today (which wasn't so fun since it was messy, but oh well) and we also had an adventure in the "locking ourselves out" category which we so often venture into. This was one of the easier times since we just called the realtor and they came and let us in, but it was still frustrating that we missed grabbing keys or a gate opener or something.

We also had lunch at Red Robin today. That was fun especially since my burger was free. If you like Red Robin, you should sign yourself up for their email list because they send you a coupon for a free burger on your birthday. Mine technically isn't until Saturday, but a pre-birthday burger was just fine. :) Other restaurants do similar things (Sweet Tomatoes is one) so if you have a favorite, see if you might benefit from signing up.

So, yes my birthday is quickly approaching and I am really looking forward to it. I already know what my present is. :) We're going up to Napa to tour the historical bed and breakfasts up there and we're going to stay at one of them them, too. The place where we'll be laying our head is called The Inn on Randolph, I believe. We're going to be staying in the Autumn room. I just love staying in bed and breakfast rooms.

I can't possibly wrap this up without mentioning that Nicholas turned 6 months old on Monday. Hard to believe isn't it? He's such a big boy - a real little person now. :) We had pictures taken on Wednesday which hopefully will be done in time for our Christmas cards (which may not go out until January the way things are going!). We should have some really cute shots.

This evening, Nicholas and I tried out the sippy cup again. He really liked it....couldn't stop smiling. Naturally, he ended up with more liquid on his person than in his belly, but that is okay. Speaking of liquids, tonight we did what will hopefully be his last formula treatment allergy-wise. It seems to have really helped with his gas problems. He still has attacks but they are much better than before. If this one is all cleared, we'll be heading on to the rest of the basic fifteen treatments for him and then we'll start treating individual foods. He's creating quite a list of things his body isn't fond of (though he seems to like pretty much everything!).

Well, dinner is done (Mark was a sweetie and cooked tonight) and so I'm off for some sustenance. Enjoy your weekend!

Photos!

We're enjoying a visit with Mark's parents at the moment, but I had time to upload new photos to Nicholas' site including a nice selection of the professional photos we took in early July with my friend Lucie. They turned out so awesome. I seriously am having one heck of a time trying to figure out which ones we should have printed. I guess that's the problem with having a cutie pie as a baby! If you don't have the login information for the site, let me know via email and I'll get it to you.

Other than that, we had a pretty uneventful week other than the visit from Mark's parents and his brother Michael. Our days have been rather calm with most of the festivities centering around eating beef. We've made a small dent in the cow, but we still have plenty for people who'd like to come over for dinner!

I guess I did, however, go for my first voodoo treatment for my allergies. I don't think it was successful because I was supposed to avoid eggs (no problem), chicken (no problem) and feathers (a problem). I wasn't supposed to go within 5 feet of these things and darned if I didn't forget about the fact that all the feather things in our house were quickly thrown out on the porch and go out there to turn on the grill. *sigh* I hope I'm wrong but I'm having some seriously unpleasant allergy reactions... I guess we'll see how we do the second time around.

That's about it for updates this week. I hope you're doing well!

A Troubling Tale of....

Gas. It's back. Poor little Nicholas!

We were thinking the little guy was having gas just because he was crying for more food, but alas, it doesn't seem to be so. He's spent the last couple of days in periods of misery trying his best to get the bubbles out! We're thinking we may take another break from his current formula to see if that would help. We really just want the little guy to feel great!

Otherwise, our big adventure for this week took us to Santa Clara for pictures with a photographer friend of mine - Lucie of Lucie XYZ Photography. She is in the middle of wedding season and busy as a bee can be so we'll not get the final product for some time, but we know it will be worth waiting for. She took some great shots of all of us...we can't wait to see them!

Of course, there was lots of fun to be had during the photo shoot thanks to Nicholas. He managed to "shower" both Mommy and Daddy (only Lucie was spared!) and never fell asleep for the sleepy time photos. That's okay, though...we have quite a few of him wriggling on a towel showing Miss Lucie how he's been practicing so he can crawl soon. These should be quite priceless.

Other than that, this marks the last week of Mark's last school break. On Monday morning he'll begin his final quarter at Life West. It is kind of crazy to think he's almost finished!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Mark's first Daddy's Day! How exciting, eh?!

We started celebrating yesterday with a trip to Red Lobster for lunch and the purchase of a new trash can (really, we needed one and it's a really neato trash can - yeah, we know all you other dad's are jealous out there!). We made up for the lackluster shopping of yesterday with a gift befitting a new daddy - a VCR/DVR combo that Mark's been wanting for quite some time at Best Buy. We also made a little stop by the baby store and got a few more nipples for bottles and some more burp clothes (not that they did much good when I forgot to put one over my shoulder and Nick let loose - he was a little upset about a slight delay and lunch which led to more volatility in his digestive track).

Other than Father's Day festivities, we do have some updates on the whole weight gain and infection fiascos we've been dealing with. We seem to have brought Nicholas back to his birth weight and perhaps beyond. We'll find out for sure on Thursday at his next doctor visit.

Finally, with respect to my infection, we've beat it and now we're just trying to not get another one. This is fun (not!) to say the least. Mark's mom has the extreme pleasure of sticking long q-tips down each of the "holes" to ensure they stay open. We've been doing this for a bit over a week now and things seem to be healing up...despite the fact that they hurt something awful when I move around too much (and yet, that's part of what I need to do to heal properly).

I still take tons of pictures, but haven't really had the motivation (or time) to put any up on his site...I will try to soon. I got a couple of really cute ones of him and Mark today!

Hope you're all doing well...

T-7 & More Mother’s Day Surprises!

Still no sign of anything. We’ll have our check in with the doctor tomorrow morning after our ultrasound to see how big of a little boy we are looking at having. I say, let’s stick to a nice average 7lbs and some ounces. Let’s go easy on mom, here. And, as for you Mr. doctor...find something! anything! Um, but not so much that it looks like sprout will arrive during those blackout dates. Daddy still has that test to pass!

So, I already mentioned my little gifties from Mark for Mother’s Day, but wait! There’s more. :) I think I mentioned I was supposed to go to dinner at Mimi’s Cafe with a couple of my friends in his class. Oooh, they’re sneaky these chiropractic students and I love it! My friend Laelle came to pick me up and take me to the restaurant where I discovered that a group of friends had gathered to celebrate the sprout’s arrival with a little surprise baby shower. They rock. :) I can definitely say that on my first Mother’s Day I felt very appreciated and loved...and I didn’t even have my baby boy to join in the festivities yet! He’ll just have to be a delayed present. :)

So, we had a yummy dinner (and I misbehaved and ate the muffin and the carrot bread!! It was worth the resulting allergic reaction, I assure you) and then it was time for presents! Everyone was so thoughtful and generous and got the little sprout lots of nifty things that he needs for bathtime, bedtime, dinner time, etc. It was fun seeing all the neat things they found and I am anxious to try them out. So a big thanks goes out to all the girlies (and of course to Mark!) for making me feel special on my first Mommy’s Day!

9 Months!

Where has the time gone? Before I know it, little sprout is going to be a teenager (a well-behaved little angel of a teenager, of course - hee hee!) if time keeps going at this break neck speed.

As far as updates, nothing too new in the way of the pregnancy. I'm still having back issues, but the chiropractic care I'm receiving seems to be helping keep me in a state where I can at least tolerate things.

We didn't really do too much baby shopping this week either. For the most part, we have most of the really important stuff. There are a few "wants" that we may still invest in, but until we have some real life experience come our way, we figure we have a good start. Thus, most of the purchases this weekend were for yours truly. :) However, I did start a little blankie for the sprout which should be quite lovely when finished....

We picked up some slippers and a nightie and robe that I can wear in the hospital during/after delivery. The robe and slippers are for sure before. The nightie - well, we'll have to see if it still fits in a few more weeks (that belly of mine is g-r-o-w-i-n-g it seems - pictures will be forthcoming...) and we also have to take into account that I'm going to be hooked up to an IV. Either way, it should get some use. Finally, to save me a lot of time and trouble, we invested in a little MP3 player for me to put my favorite music on since music can really effect my mood. So, I now how a cute little pink MP3 player that holds plenty of music to keep me moving and grooving. I'm going to give it a bit of a trial run here at work today (if my right ear stops being stupid and feeling all stopped up).

Other than that, we packed my hospital bag and started brainstorming some ideas of food to bring to the hospital for me. Since I'm allergic to so many things, we figure we better have a pretty decent stash on hand to ensure that when I'm done helping sprout make his grand entrance I don't turn into an angry (and very hungry ogre - you may or may not know that I'm not the most pleasant individual to be around when I'm starving). So, I have to do a little preparatory baking/cooking over the next two weeks for that. I packed everything I should need and then some (including my favorite surgery buddy - a stuffed mouse whose been through all of my major surgeries with me!) and several movies to keep myself amused as well. I decided to go for cute and not too hard to follow so the doctors and nurses who get to come visit me will be amused by two Legally Blonde movies and Bring It On (I figure some cheerleading in the birthing room could be a good thing!).

Other than that, yesterday was my parents' 30th anniversary! Happy day mom and dad!

It's Raining Again!

Welcome to the Bay Area. Just as I started to pen this post, it started pouring...no wonder I was able to sleep in this morning! I always have the roughest time staying in bed when the sun is out. I may take advantage of this weather and crawl back in since I might even be able to get back to sleep now that I've eaten breakfast!

Despite the rain, today should be a pretty decent day here. I don't have anything planned really. I might put our car seat base in so that (hopefully) I can make it sometime this week or next to have one of the checkpoints give me the thumbs up or needs improvement sign.

As far as a thumbs up, Mark got a big one yesterday! He has been waiting for the results of the clinic exit exam he took at his school about a week or so ago and they finally came in! I'm happy to report that our boy passed! Yea! Three cheers for Marky Mark! This means that once he gets his numbers in at the clinic, he can decrease his time there to make more time for spending with the little fish (or should I say kickboxer now - ouch!) that lives in my tummy! At any rate, it is very exciting. Now he only has one more "big" exam to go...that would be the one that our dear sprout is not going to interrupt. :) Mark's attending a review course all this week to ensure that he's ready for that big test, but passing his school's exam is actually a big booster in that area - it's been said that if you can pass the school's exam, the board exams are a little easier. We're not buying it, but it's a nice thought anyhow!

In other Mark news, he's been looking into offices and what not for when he is a bonafide doctor. He's been talking to a lot of docs in Denver and Colorado Springs since we think we'd like to move back to Colorado. Yesterday he was able to talk to a doctor who has a place on North Carefree and Powers and is looking for someone to share office space with (this is apparently the newest trend). I thought it was funny that this is in the same general area that we lived when we moved.

Other than that, I can tell you that coming up this week is sure to be full of fun and blogging fodder. We have my company's after tax season party on Monday, our OB checkup and two introductory pediatrician appointments on Tuesday (a day off for me!) and who knows what the rest of the week will hold besides my parents' anniversary on April 22 - Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Here's to (wow!) 30 years!

A Real Weekend...

This was a great weekend since it was the first in several where I got two days off! We made good use of our time especially since it is the last that Mark will really be able to "hang out" much since he'll be reviewing for those board exams that dear sprout is not going to interupt. We have faith.

Speaking of which, we've sort of come to the conclusion that we'll probably let him choose when he's ready to come out rather than inducing labor. The ultimate decision will be made as we get closer, but for now I'm (and I'm pretty much the one who'll be making the decision since I'm the one with the test anxiety...go figure) really wanting to have a surprise. I don't want to miss out on the whole "honey! I think it's time!" experience...and again, our little sprout is a good boy so I know he'll cooperate and not interupt daddy's test. Please?

So anyhow, we made good use of our weekend. We had lunch at Red Lobster yesterday...it's lobsterfest time! :) And, then we did some grocery and other errands at the shopping center next door. We sure were reminded how grumpy people in this part of the world can be during this experience, too. I'll spare you the details.

Once we made it home, I engaged in many nesting activities such as getting baby's crib ready to go (including making a cute bed skirt so we can store stuff underneath it) and washing all his cute little clothes which I simply can not wait to dress him up in. I was never much into the whole doll thing when I was a little girl, but I may make up for it with my little boy! :) I sure am anxious for him to come out and play, but I'm also just enjoying having him kick my innards...even when it hurts it still makes me smile. :)

I do have to admit I'm getting rather uncomfortable and I do think I'll be ready when he's ready to grace us with his presence. It's kind of funny since most people who see me seem to think that since I'm not utterly huge (of course, most of these people didn't see me when I was a skinny minnie either) I must be feeling grand. Not so...I definitely have all the challenges that come with those last few months of pregnancy. The only thing I have on a lot of those ladies is my live in massage therapist and chiropractor...yet again I am thrilled with the man I've chosen to spend my life with! :) Now if only he could help me stay asleep...

This morning we attended Easter services at church and enjoyed seeing all of the people we haven't since tax season started up. They all are anxious to hear when the little sprout has arrived. I think they were a bit disappointed to learn that we'll be having him baptized in Colorado, though.

After church we came home and finished up the laundry and then had a visit from our friends Penny and Brent who brought us lots and lots of neat baby stuff. From clothing (primarily for 12 months and older which we haven't really started to accumlate) to crib mobiles and a Peg Perego high chair, they treated us to some great "loot" for our coming addition. We're especially excited about the co-sleeper that they've passed along. This will be so helpful in baby's first months so that I can nurse him without too much fuss. We just need to reorganize our bedroom a little to make room for it to be by my side of the bed.

The last bit of excitement is we had pizza for dinner and I tried out a new rice flour crust recipe that performed beautifully. I think we've found a winner and my whining about not being able to have pizza has come to a full stop (except for the part where I can't just go out and grab a pizza which may persist!). ;)

So, all in all, it was a great weekend filled with stuff to make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I'm glad we're finally to this point...I'm not sure how much longer I was going to be able to keep up with those 6 day work weeks. Tomorrow is the last official week of tax seaon and our 34th week of pregnancy...very exciting stuff. Our next doctor appointment is on the 17th (a day off for me!) and so until then we may not have too much excitement but we'll keep you posted if we do!

Nine Days...

As opposed to nine months of course. I'm actually, if you're counting about ready to move into week 22 of my little experience with pregnancy. The past couple of weeks haven't been too awful on that front. My biggest complaint is that I'm just so darn tired so often.

At any rate, this has been quite the whirlwind of a week plus to be sure. Lots and lots of things are going on....some wonderfully pleasant and others, well, not so much. I guess that's just life, though, huh?

So, first up, I don't think I mentioned in my last post that my dreams of an office to myself were crushed. It totally stunk finding out that I was going to be put in a cubicle while a younger person who was promoted to senior auditor shortly after I started but who's been with the company longer would be getting the office that I'd been told would probably be mine. It was a bummer especially since the audit staff is out of the office so much, but whatever. I was able, at least, to talk them into letting me stay where I am so I am still sharing an office with another lady who is nice but gets on my nerves often...at least it's only for a few more months.

Tax season is upon us and my work load has increased quite a bit which means I'll definitely not be posting super regularly, but I'm still shooting for once a week here if there is something worth posting about. We have an "issue" with doing our taxes currently which just isn't fun at all either (I'm trying to get all the "bad" news out first so we can dwell more on good news later!). That would be that my computer has died. My hard disk is fried and so now I have signed my life away - or at least up to $1600 (no, I didn't back it up....I was in the process believe it or not when the stupid thing finally said it gave up) to send said hard disk to a restoration company that will hopefully rescue countless pictures of importance (thankfully most of our pictures through 2005 are on a disk somewhere), family recipes (though this is suspect because I'm not sure exactly where I put these for storage and I have a funny feeling they're going to be missed - sigh - glad a lot of them got posted to our recipe exchange site), every business file I ever created for my wedding business and most importantly, our financial data (!) for the past couple/few years. This alone is worth that $1600 price tag...and more. The thought of having to recreate those records makes me shudder. I think maybe I'll back my computer up a little more often once I get it back. That is a bit of good news - we did have a service plan so the dead hard disk will be replaced free of charge.

So, I think that about covers all the not-so-pleasant items on the docket...let's move on shall we?

Mark's parents came for their "parting" visit on Friday, Jan. 5. It was nice to have them around again. His dad busied himself with various minor repairs around the house which seem to have been successful with the exception of the caulking which I redid yesterday since a good portion of it had come off...probably because we needed to use the shower prior to the 36 hour period you're supposed to wait was up. My "redo" isn't nearly as nice as his job was since I've never done it before, but it looks "good enough" as Mark would say and it's getting it's 36 hours of dry time since we had notice of it so it should be fine (though I'm cringing today that I can't get a shower in...grr!).

The rest of us did a lot of galavanting (per Mark's terminology) last weekend including visiting Babies R Us to finish up our registry which we're thrilled to have done because now we know what it is that we want for our little guy. The simple knowledge that we don't have to pour over strollers and car seats and what have you anymore makes me one happy camper. The tricky part now is that we just have to start buying the stuff....we figure we'll do a little at a time.

And, I've already started! I actually bought baby's first article of clothing this past week at Old Navy. They had the cutest little sleeper with owls and mushrooms (why these go together I'm not sure in case you wonder as Mark did) that I picked up for around $4. I also had another little whirl at baby clothes shopping at Babies R Us this past Friday where they had a lot on clearance with an additional 30% off. I found about 10 pieces (most are separate tops and bottoms since Pat (Mark's mom) clued me into the fact that separate tops and bottoms mean quicker diaper changes. I spent a little over $40 so I am feeling pretty psyched about the experience. Most of the clothes I bought are for when the sprout is a bit older (in 3/6 mo. and 6/9 mo.). We kind of have a feeling our little guy is going to waste no time growing and so we're not planning to invest in a lot of newborn clothing...

In addition to finishing up the registry, we also went to a store called Lullabye Lane and found a crib that we really like. It's made by a company called Munire who comes highly recommended and converts into a toddler bed and a full size bed when the time comes. We are still contemplating whether or not we want to wait to get it until after we move just so it doesn't get banged up in the process.

In other furniture news, we actually have purchased a dresser for baby! We found one at Ikea last night (after Mark's neurology class which was nearby) for $59...on sale from $150. It is pine (an easily dinged and damaged wood) so we may not keep it forever but we couldn't pass it up the great deal especially given the fact that this chest of drawers has a fold out changing table on top of it. It is basically perfect. We were glad we found it, but if not, there was a suitable $30 changing cart that we were going to get to make due with. So now I have something to put together....

And, let's see, it's sort of related to furniture so for those of you who know about the Consumer Reports car seat study, we have done our homework and will be getting a seat that passed the tests. We originally had chosen the Graco Safe Seat which we were going to combine with a little stroller attachment to use until the baby outgrew his infant car seat at which time we were planning on moving to a Peg Perrego stroller and a convertible car seat. Since the Peg Perrego car seat seems to have passed the tests as long as safety belts rather than the LATCH system are used to secure it (and we're not even sure our car has the LATCH system) we're just going to go for that seat with the Centro stroller and we'll be just fine.

And, finally, we hit another milestone on Friday with respect to our little one - I felt him move! Since then, I've picked up the weird little feelings of his synchronized swimming moves off and on. He was especially active this morning after my breakfast of oatmeal waffles with blueberry sauce (yum!) - apparently I wasn't the only one who really liked them. ;)

I hope you all have a nice week. I am now off to finish taking down what little bit of Christmas decor I haven't yet while Mark is at his second day of Neurology study stuff (I think I get the better deal here, but he actually enjoys this a lot). I also get to go for groceries, do laundry and try to relax since tomorrow is sure to be a taxing (ha ha ha - CPA humor rears its ugly head!) day. :)

Christmas Recap...

It's almost been a week since Christmas (time flies when you're having fun!) so I guess I better get you all updated on how it went! :)

I think it is safe to say we had a very nice Christmas this year...filled with surprises and only the occasional snafu. I had the day off the Friday before and so I started preparing for guests on Christmas Day. Somehow, as is often the case, I forgot we were only having a few people over and prepared enough food for about 20 people. :)

Due to the stormy weather in Denver (which seems to be somewhat reincarnated), we had the pleasure of having Mark's parents come stay and celebrate the holiday with us beginning early Saturday morning. While they were here, we busied ourselves with home improvement projects such as replacing our kitchen sink. It is now quite nice and a big improvement over the original 20 year old faucet. I guess we won't get to enjoy a replay of my pulling the faucet handle off here...which is fine. I did that in Colorado once and it was about as much fun as pulling off the one in the bathroom. :) We also ordered closet doors for our hallway which hopefully will arrive soon. We've not had doors in our hall closet since we moved in and I am ready for that to be taken care of!

On Sunday evening, Mark's mom joined Mark and I for Christmas Eve services at church. We had a nice time watching the nativity pageant the children put on and celebrating the birth of Jesus. It was really neat having Mark's mom there with us...and we all were thinking that maybe next year our little on could be playing baby Jesus...though it is probably a long shot since we'll be relocating and such. :)

That evening, Mark and I opened one gift each...kind of a tradition we're carrying over from both of our families. He received a game called "Would You Rather..." that should probably amuse us when we have a chance to play it! As for me, I received a very nice fondue set from Williams Sonoma which will also provide plenty of amusement. In fact, it started early by providing amusement on Christmas day since Mark figured that since WS had displayed it with a candle as the fuel supply he didn't buy a sterno. :) It was quite a timely gift since we were planning on fondue for Christmas dinner!

On Christmas morning, we made oatmeal waffles and then went to see what other fun things were under the tree. Mark enjoyed his gifts which included another game, some clothing items and gift certificates for movie rentals and theater tickets (Rocky Balboa is the first movie we'll probably see with those!). Many of his gifts were centered around a theme of our getting to spend more time together and remembering to be husband and wife instead of just mom and dad when our little one comes along. The "superstar" gift that tied these all together was a date jar which has a bunch of different date ideas for us to draw on when we need some inspiration. Many are things we can do here at home for little $$ and with a baby or little child near by...Mark really loved this gift!

As for me, I received some CDs for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra that we saw in concert, the Harry Potter book I need to read before the next one comes out and other nifty things. One of my favorite gifts was a choo choo train bundt pan that I had wanted but didn't get from Williams Sonoma. Since we have a little boy on the way, I think I know what his 1st birthday cake is going to be! :)

We also had some fun gifts for Mark's parents. Since we'd sent most of their gifts to Colorado, many of what they opened on Christmas were re-gifts that we thought they would enjoy....hopefully we were right. Their big "planned" surprise was the digital camera that we recently replaced. They were very happy with that once they figured out that we hadn't went out and spent a ton on a new one. :)

Christmas afternoon was a big party with the addition of our friends Kai and Tina from Sweden to our little family. They treated us to goodies from their homeland and we al enjoyed chatting and eating. Since I was pretty worn out by the time all the festivities were over, it was a good thing we had leftovers...which we're still working on. Hee hee!

As for the past week, there wasn't too much in the way of excitement. We did have a little visit with our Obstetrician and gave him a copy of the birth plan we've written up which he seemed to think would be okay even though it was very "chiropratic" oriented...I doubt he expected anything less! :)

Yesterday, since I was out at noon from work, we met up with a couple of friends - Lydia and Jeff and had a nice lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. Then we went to Target and set up a baby registry. We're planning to do one more at Babies R Us this weekend and then we should be finished with that process. We found lots of little things that we think will be quite helpful in making our little one's first year or so quite pleasant...and of course we found quite a few fun toys that we can't wait (oh, wait I mean, the baby - ha! ha!) can't wait to play with. :)

In just a bit I'll finally (with any luck) get the last ultrasound pictures up for you all...until then, we wish you a super Happy New Year! :) On New Year's Day, we'll be 1/2 way to the sprout's delivery day!

Christmastime Is Here!

We've been busy bees here at our house...and it shows!

Our weekend was great...especially since I got to leave work at noon on Wednesday. This gave me the opportunity to go to the Cingular Wireless store and switch us over to a Cingular plan (we are some of those hold out "former ATT Wireless" customers) so that Mark can use his new fangled contraption of a phone. I got that taken care of and, in the process, got myself a newer phone, too...with, I'm happy to say, a few less bells and whistles than dear Mr. Mark's phone. It seems that they would try to keep things simple for people with visual impairments, but whatever. At any rate, despite a few "issues" with converting our accounts, everything was up and running by Wednesday night.

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving and we enjoyed a nice quiet day at home. I fixed us a nice allergy free (with the exception of yams which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole if I weren't allergic to them!) meal of turkey, mashed turnips and gravy, grape salad (which I may have to make again soon), spinach and artichoke dip, broccoli with cheese sauce and a couple of desserts to enjoy. We're still eating some of the leftovers, of course. Everything was really good, but man was I tired after all that slaving in the kitchen. I was almost too pooped to even want to eat the spoils of my hard work. I guess I never really realized how much energy I expend when I cook a holiday feast. Point noted and we may be having grilled cheese sandwiches on Christmas (I'm kidding!). I'm not sure what we'll have, but it may be significantly less time intensive than a full holiday spread...we shall see.

So, anyhow, after we finished eating and cleaning up after "hurricane MeLissa" (a category 5 storm in the kitchen this time around per Mark), I decided the time to move our living room around was at hand. Um, yeah, I did say I was tired, but for some reason the mere unsightly look of two separate work areas finally took its toll and I just couldn't stand it any longer...not to mention that I am just not one of those people who does well doing nothing. This drove my parents crazy I'm sure when I was home sick as a child...

When all was said and done, Mark and my work stations are in the same area of the front room...behind the couch and, for the most part, they are organized...the parts that aren't are hidden by the couch. :) I am loving the new layout!

On Friday, we jumped right into holiday preparations which is normal for us. I have a little rule that the house needs to be Christmas-i-fied by my birthday and as you can see from that little counter on the side bar, we are quickly approaching said day! We got most of the stuff up and out yesterday and finished up the rest of it today minus the greeting card display that I usually do in the entry way. I am just not sure I'm ready to expend the amount of energy that usually takes to make it look lovely...so we may just let it go this year.

Last night, we had a little visit from some new friends, Sara and Dan. Sara and I met in a rather odd way...she called to sell me some advertising in a bridal publication. We just seemed to really hit things off over the phone and we've been trying to get together ever since. She and her husband were great company for a nice Hawaiian dinner and then a little game of Disney Trivial Pursuit which we chose after discovering that, for the most part, our selection of games isn't exactly the best now that Mark can't see what's going on. I think we might make a trip to buy a couple of games soon...any suggestions on things we might be able to enjoy together?

So, as I mentioned today, it was still go, go, go as I finished up decorating our Christmas tree (which we really must upgrade either next year or the year after - it's getting very difficult to find empty branches for ornaments!) and the banister for the entry way. When Mark came home from the clinic, we tackled the guest room which had become a "catch all" and just really needed some TLC. Thankfully, I'd started that project last week and so there was plenty to do but it wasn't impossible to finish by the end of the day. As part of the process, I went through and cleared out a lot of wedding-business related stuff. I've kind of decided that if I do continue on here in California with my business I really prefer to just do a very minimalist day-of package. I have one more bridal show to do in February and this will be the slant I take. I plan to revise my website to reflect this as well at some point, but as of yet, the motivation to do so hasn't quite hit me! :)

We hope you all had a lovely holiday and have a wonderful Chirstmas season (or other holiday) ahead of you! Perhaps I'll try to get some pictures of our house as decorated up sooner or later. Until then, let us be the first to wish you a very
Merry Christmas!

Just a heads up that tomorrow we may have more pictures to show...I have an appointment with my regular OB/GYN. I'm sure you can guess that if I have anything to show and tell, you'll be the first to know!

Miscellaneous Topics of Interest - A Very Long Post!

So, I didn't get around to posting about the true after-effects of the doughnuts the other day. Let's just say that it wasn't so much of a victory. They made me pretty sick after all...I just can't win for losing, can I?

My theory is that the oil temperature on the recipe was a bit low and so instead of just frying in the oil, the lovely little doughnuts became saturated with the stuff. It was two days of pure unpleasantness as my stomach just didn't seem to want to give up on making me feel just wretched. In the end, I actually threw the whole batch in the trash, but that wasn't before I tried to wick some of the oil out of the little buggers...after I'd went through about 3 rounds of sopping paper towels, I decided it was a lost cause. C'est la vie.

I'm tempted to try this doughnut experiment again (with an oil temperature of about 25 degrees higher or so), but I have to admit I'm a wee bit scared about that! But, we can't let the doughnuts win, can we? If they work out maybe I'll feature some little donut puffs at our Christmas party this year...which I think we're going to have but I really need to work on plotting it out if so! :) I'm guessing that will be a task for today.

In other bittersweet news, Mark's grandmother has passed away. It happened a few days ago. We're sad that she won't be able to meet her great grandchild in person, but we know she will be here watching over all of us. She is already greatly missed - she was a very special lady who had a fabulous life. :)

For today, besides contemplating the Christmas party, other tasks will include looking through the book of Hawaiian names that Mark wants me to check out. I figure since he's pretty much told me that I can choose our little one's name (I do plan on bringing him into the process so that I'm not making a unilateral decision - I don't feel that's exactly right!) the least I can do is consider the names in Hawaiian that I like to add to the list of names that have been pulled out of a couple of online baby name sites. I have about 9 each of male and female names at this point which I really like. Mark thought most of them were good as well so we have a start.

As for using a Hawaiian name (probably as the middle name of our little one), I'm not sure I'm excited about it. There are sooo many names that have special meaning to me, but other than one particular Hawaiian name (okay two if you count Mark's middle name, but for the most part we've decided we're not going to name our children after ourselves), none of them really have special meaning for me so far. I also just have an issue with picking names that will be misprounounced, mispelled or butchered and since I can't pronounce most of the names, I have to admit I'm a bit worried! With a name like MeLissa, you can probably guess why...it's abnormal and pretty much everyone I come in contact with has to be gently told that the L is not a mis-spelling. Then we have to go through the whole "so how do you pronounce that?" game. Is is Me - Lissa, Melissa, Ma Lisa, what? I love my name, but the drama that comes with it is sometimes frustrating so I'm kind of trying to shield our little one. :) We'll see what transpires as I make my way through the book...

A related name game consideration at this time is whether or not we should be only considering names which start with an 'M.' Surprisingly, there are quite a few people who seem to think this is the way to go. I can understand the concept, but well, I'm not sold on it. That is not to say that there are no 'M' names in the lists of boys and girls names I'm considering. I have 3 girl's and 1 boy's name that do begin with the fabulous letter. But I'm not a fan of limiting myself and there are a ton of non-M names that I love. Besides that, I remember how silly I thought it was that one of the families I grew up with had everyone in their family with the same first letter in their name....and I don't want to have to roll my eyes at myself. ;) I'm sure we'll figure it all out in the end...

And, now for the part everybody really wants to read and see...the update about our latest visit to the doctor. Naturally, we have more pictures. :) I'm assuming that just like me you've not grown tired of seeing how much the little guy/gal is changing in even a short amount of time. If you are tired of it, please just keep that little fact to yourself! You'll get a bit of a break, I think, for a couple of weeks since our next appointment with the doctor isn't for another four weeks. In two weeks, I get to go get a nuchal translucency scan and a first trimester blood test (which, thankfully, involves a finger prick - yea!). These two tests are used to detect Down syndrome. They tell by measuring the fetus's neck length at week twelve and then checking the blood for certain qualities. It's pretty cool in general.

Speaking of screenings, we're probably not going to pre-screen for aniridia (the eye condition Mark has). A year or so ago, we did discuss the possibility with the genetic counselling department at Stanford. We also discussed the possibility of actually having eggs and sperm combined by the geneticists to ensure that our baby wouldn't have the condition (they can detect the gene when as few as 8 cells are present). We ultimately decided against both of these routes and are leaving matters in God's hands. If our child is born with aniridia, we will ensure that they have the best medical care possible and that they grow up in an environment where they learn that they can accomplish whatever it is they set their mind to. I figure that just having Mark as their daddy will make that pretty clear!

So, aside from all this screen stuff, we watched the little baby on the ultrasound. As you see from the pictures I've posted, he/she is looking more and more like a little human every day. The doctor said he/she looked like a little monkey yesterday - rightly so. He/she (have I mentioned lately that I'm anxious to know where we have a he or she coming so I can stop writing both genders?) was squirming and rolling around the whole time - it was pretty cute. The doctor did actually try to get a glimpse at the baby's sex, but it was still a bit too early to tell and our little sweet pea apparently also got mommy's modesty and just wasn't letting anybody have a look. ;)

Well, as usual, I can't seem to get the pictures to upload - curse you Blogger. I'll try again later....

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

Well, after giving everything a good amount of thought and after giving the larger firm I was interviewing with the opportunity to make me an offer, the offer from S&s ended up being the offer I couldn't refuse. I now am slated to start working in their office on November 1. How exciting!

Even better news is I did breech the pregnancy info with them and they are already coming up with viable alternatives so that I can still support us and be at home most of the week with our little one. What will probably happen after the sweet pea is born is that I'll work 3 days per week and have 4 days off total. This makes me feel sooo much better. I was just really upset the past few weeks over not being able to be a stay at home mom. It seriously was tearing me up. Although this is not the perfect situation, it is so much better than the alternative of working 5 days per week and having someone else raise our child. So, with that and all the other wonderful things that come with this firm, I am very pleased with my decision and they are also tickled pink that I'm coming aboard. :)

In other news, please keep Mark's grandmother in your prayers. She's currently in the hospital and not doing the best. She's lived a wonderful life and is tired, but we'd love for her to be here as long as possible. She is truly a special lady.

Finally, to end on a more upbeat note, I suppose I should tell you that our little soiree on Saturday night went beautifully. Mark even received a couple of offers for assistance as far as finding someone to work with once he graduates in Colorado Springs. We are thrilled about this. My dress earned me a few compliments and we made quite a handsome couple.

It's Been a While, Hasn't It?

Wow - it's been more than 2 weeks since I've provided an update! Does that tell you how busy we've been here in the Rocco household?

At any rate, let's see if I can bring you back up to speed on all that's transpired over the past couple of weeks (the good stuff, of course!). But before I do, I think I owe you a few things like pictures. But, of course, the photo feature on blogger is giving me grief again so we'll resort to the easier to upload quickly (and so you'll get more pictures in the end anyhow!). Go here for pictures of my new hair do which are included in wedding pictures from Jackie and Jason's day, pictures of my lemons of which I am terribly proud (and they're way bigger than in that picture, a picture of Mark at his clinic entrance ceremony and pictures of my recent booths. Unfortunately, you don't get to see the final rose booth yet because I spaced bringing my camera with me to the show, but hopefully one of the people who took some for me will come through....

So - onto the recap. We left you with details that we were going to have a party for Mark after all. It was a fun time! I made a yummy (yes, I did eat a piece - and I paid for it for days!) spice cake with maple frosting. YUM. For such short notice we had a pretty decent turn out and everyone was so sweet and brought Mark a little card or gift. Very thoughtful indeed. This all happened on Friday night (Sept. 8).

Now earlier that day, I had a pretty thrilling experience (in the good kind of thrilling way). I now have a way to get flowers at wholesale for my clients. If you looked at the pictures from my shows, you've seen some of my work. That's about as good as it gets folks. I can do simple arrangements.

At any rate, earlier that day, I bought about 200 roses (which was thrilling in and of itself!). Unfortunately, as we well know, every rose has thorns (or at least they do when you buy them wholesale). So, I had the pleasure of dethorning all 200! It actually went pretty well once I figured out how to use the dethorning tool I bought. The roses were a big hit at the show, too...especially for the 7 people who signed up for appointments to discuss their event with me. Very cool! These 7 people actually represent 10 events. My first meeting with one is this coming Thursday and I'm very excited because the bride I'm meeting is a total sweetheart! Hopefully everything will work out better than they have with another bride I've been talking to.

She's in Germany right now (as is her fiance) with the AF, but is getting married in ND. Her budget, was, I thought enough to accommodate my services, but after doing some checking, it became clear that it simply wouldn't work out. I told her I would try to work something out with her, but I haven't heard back. I took about a week to play with numbers and see if I could make things go, but to no avail. C'est la vie. On another bummer note, the bride I was supposed to meet on Mark's birthday ended up being a no-show. I haven't heard from her either....I may follow up again, but I don't want to be too pesky.

On the night of Mark's birthday we went to a Talent and Treasure auction at our church. Last I heard, about $9000 was raised that night. We played our part with the gift certificates we offered. Mine was won by a dear lady whom I adore. She and her husband are contemplating what they'd like to do with their certificate - whether to use it to plan a party or a vow renewal. Either will be a blast! :) We're not sure who won Mark's certs yet.

We didn't end up winning anything in the auction, but we only bid on one thing and another lady really wanted it so that's cool. We truly didn't need to be spending $$ anyhow...but it was for a 2 night stay at the Embassy Suites in So. Tahoe and we thought it might be a nice little getaway during his break. As things are shaping up, we might not have been able to go then anyhow!

On Sunday was the first of three bridal shows in a row for me. I have 10 possible events from this show to discuss over the next few months with people. Very exciting stuff...especially since every one of these people actually wants to hear from me. It's nice to call and find someone receptive on the other end!

On Monday, Mark's dad and brother celebrated their birthdays (kind of a bummer to be born on 9-11, but hopefully they had good days despite the tragic things that happened a few years ago). I did a little tax work on this day to earn a little $$ and then later that evening had a nice little meeting with a pianist who is trying to increase his wedding and event business. We met at Red Lobster and had a great discussion and I'm now the proud owner of his newest CD. On our way out, I grabbed some dinner for Mark and I - belated birthday fare. He enjoyed his for lunch the next day since I was a little tardy in getting home.

On Tuesday, I attended the networking meeting I've been helping plan. It was a fun time meeting other bridal consultants in the area...even if I did get lost on the way there. The precious (the GPS system I use) sometimes takes you to old locations. *sigh*

Then, on Wednesday night, Mark and I attended both a new member reception and a mixer for the Chamber of Commerce. Mark's luck is always the best. They were having drawings and one was for a cute little Bank of the West bear...he won! I was so happy. Not two seconds before had I said "oh, I want one." So, I now have little Cali the bear in my possession. Some people said I should have wished bigger, but they obviously don't know about my obsession with stuffed animals...

The mixer was great otherwise, though, too. I met a photographer from here in town whom I'm actually meeting today to see if we can work together. It should be a great meeting, I think.

Then, of course Thursday, Friday and Saturday were spent doing last minute preparations for my next bridal faire at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. That one went very well also. Everyone adored the mum arrangements I did. In fact, one person told me she now has a new appreciation for just how stunning they can be. I'm glad it was such an outpouring because they took longer than the roses. The biggest compliments I got, though, were from brides who thought at first that I was a florist. Does it get any better? The final talley on this show was another 6 people to speak to about wedding services. It looks like a majority of people are looking for day-of coordination and some are looking for dates earlier next year so that is nice since I'll be able to continue marketing to brides who want summer weddings.

And, now we're finally to this week. Mark has been studying for finals (another quarter is just about done!) and I've been trying to send out a lot of emails to people who attended these past two fairs. We did go to a little function for teachers on Monday as well...

So, as you can see, we've been busy beavers here and that is why you haven't heard from us. I have one more show this weekend and then, hopefully, things will slow down enough that I can catch my breath, but not so much that I'm lacking in things to do. I don't see that every happening again with my little business venture...and since it doesn't feel like I'm actually working, that's just fine with me! :)

Hope everything is going well in your respective locations!

Congratulations Jackie and Jason!

We just returned last night from visiting Maui - another lighting fast weekend trip. We had a nice time as always and a lot of fun at our friends' wedding.

They were married Saturday evening at the beach by the Maui Sunset...it was lovely of course. I even helped out a little here and there.

We didn't really have time to go to the beach or to relax, to be honest, but it was nice to see all of our friends and to celebrate J&J's marriage which has been a long time coming! :)

I'll post pictures once I find time to do so...and then everyone can see my new hair do as well.

So, quick recap - Friday we arrived in the morning and to our surprise Mark's dad was waiting for us. There was apparently some confusion over whether we were going to rent a car or what not. I suppose we should have called when we made the reservation but I've been pretty busy lately and little things that aren't work-related seem to slip my mind easily (like forgetting that I'd given Mark's shoes to his dad...at the wedding - we spent a good amount of time calling around looking for those!).

We had lunch with his parents and then headed over to rent Mark's tux. I made a nice connection at the tux shop and will be referring my destination Maui clients there. They're also going to pass my info along to those who might wish to be married in SF. Once we had Mark's tux we rushed home for a quick shower and then really rushed to get out the door when we discovered (at about 4:30) that rehearsal was at 5...

Stayed at the rehearsal location for a good little bit conversing with various friends and the bride and groom's family members. Then went to visit our friend Keola who has, unfortunately, experienced the loss of his mother recently. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Saturday we spent running a few errands and then getting ready and attending the wedding. Fun was had by all and I have some new great contacts and a new tasty drink as well. :) New contacts include the president of the Maui Wedding Association who owns the catering company as well as a DJ services, table, linen and and tabletop company, etc. Also, I met a couple from the Bay Area (Sacramento and Manteca areas I believe) who just got engaged. They're looking to plan a nice luau reception which hopefully I'll be able to be a part of. As for the drink - when Shirley Temple isn't in the house, a nice mix of sprite and strawberry daiquiri mix does the trick! :)

Sunday we spent running around trying to find Mark's medications (which I'll have to refill today along with getting one of my own). Then we headed out for our flight...and oh what a fligh it was.

There was this little girl who screamed the entire time minus maybe 1/2 an hour. This was before we left the airport to after we landed. I was doing my best not to take Mark's can and whap her upside the head. Seriously. Sounds bad, I know, but I think it's safe to say 80% of the passengers on the plane agreed with me.

So, this week, I am going to keep up with my business stuff...especially calling people about my services (and sending email communications as well). I'm also going to look into maybe doing a little bit of tax prep services just to help us sustain ourselves a bit longer while I'm working on brining my business to life. We thank everyone for their prayers as we do our best to make everything work out! :)

Mark, on the other hand will be taking tests and working in the clinic...it's pretty much the same story every week for him. :)

And, finally, on the island of Maui there is much celebrating today as a very sweet lady turns another year older - Happy Birthday Mom Rocco! :)

Imagine That - The Pitch Is Good!

Well, I apparently have impressed enough people with my pitch. Unless things go utterly crazy with the voting in the next few days, it looks like I will actually be moving on to round two in the "pitch-off." How exciting, huh? And, nerve wracking...I gotta get to practicing my new pitch. At least it is written.

So, yesterday I had a bit of a disappointment, but that whole elevator pitch thing mellowed it out. It turns out that the BNI group I wanted to join doesn't want me. Boo hoo hoo. Or perhaps the more appropriate response is "eh, whatever." It appears that they like me but that they prefer people who have at least a year's experience with their business. I don't have this, of course, but I'd think that with the rest of my background they might have made an exception. Ah well...you win some, you lose some (look at that closely and you might get what made me chuckle ever so slightly when I wrote it). ;)

They're trying to set me up with a few other groups to meet and see if they'd work for me. These groups are all composed of people who haven't been in business very long. I'm not sure what I think about that. It seems that if they aren't established, much like me, they may not be bringing the clients to my door that I'm looking for. So, I'm going to go, but I'm kind of sceptical about what I'm planning to do in the end.

In other business news, I am now caught up with my calls from the Santa Clara show. Dearest Mark put some of his 24 hour Fitness call skills to work and ripped through the list. Way to be! :) That leaves me free to start calling brides from Pleasanton tomorrow evening.

Finally, it looks like I will have an ad in print very soon. I have just signed on with The Wedding Guide to have my ad printed in a number of regional directories. It was pretty affordable and should give me good exposure. Beginning shortly, I will start receiving leads from this source as well. I am hopeful that it will be worth my while...we'll soon see! I did go ahead and pay extra for a preferred listing on the website as well so I'll be prominently displayed...

And, now, onto non-business news...

We had a nice little visit from Mark's brother this evening. He was down from Tahoe for training for his new job. He's working as a mortgage broker for BWC Mortgage. We ventured over to the Hawaiian restaurant for some tasty kalua pig and conversation. It was an enjoyable time...

Other than that, we went to church this past weekend. Mark dragged me, to be honest (isn't that a funny piece of imagery). He apparently knows that I need it in my life to function best. He's right. I do. I felt so much better after going, though, to be honest, I was just trying my best not to cry through the whole service. We're going through a pretty scary time here with all the changes that are taking place and I'm a wee bit fragile at times. I guess I'm allowed...

As much as I hate to relate going to church to business (I guess it's still part of God's plan, but it seems out of place to me), it was good to go for that too. Not only did the readings and the sermon give me renewed hope that the Lord will provide for us, our outing provided the opportunity for me to speak to our priest, Fr. Rob, about my services, especially the newlywed financial planning, and how I'd really like to meet with clergy members to tell them more about it and maybe even improve it. I'd also like to maybe see if they can direct me to a few of their newlywed parishoners because I'd love to have a couple of couples to go through the process with to work out any bugs. I'm actually thinking, too, that I may check about offering this as a series of group classes in addition to the couple + me format. I think it could make it more affordable for those just getting started (because I could reduce my fees) and also, I believe it would allow me to help more people than I might be able to now. I think it would also make this portion of the business a great franchising opportunity.

I can't really think of anything else. I need to start working on bath salt bundles or other goodies for my next bridal show which is in about a month. I also need to arrange for a booth sign for a couple of them. It's an exciting time here and hopefully all my hard work and effort will pay off very soon! Please keep us in your prayers - we need all that we can get! Oh, and if you're into crafty stuff and want to volunteer to help with the gifties for the show, just give me a call...I can always use a bit of help!

Weekly Recap....

This was a busy week around here! Mark had tons of tests and I had lots of phone calls to make and even a couple of meetings!

My favorite "meeting," though was Thursday night. On that night, Brides Magazine/Brides.com had a launch party for their new Northern California magazine which I'm actually contemplating advertising in. My friend Lucie, a photographer who's work will be sprinkled on my website (www.winsomeevents.com) very soon, and I went to the city to see what it was all about. It was a great party with lots of goodies - alcohol (and Shirley Temples for me!), chocolate fountains, Sherri's Berries, and lots of vendors who LOVED me! :)

Not to brag, but networking with top notch vendors is easy when you have those six little letters behind your name (you know, MBA, CPA!). I even had one man who had heard about me from someone else apparently chase me down and ask "Are you the wedding consultant?" Turns out he owns a nice little establishment perfect for intimate weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners and the like. And, then of course, there were all the photographers that I met through Lucie, etc., etc.

My favorite "hook up" of the evening, though, happened over the berries. I happened to go for a smackeral at the same time as one of the New York ad executives. She and I chatted for several minutes about my services, especially the newlywed financial planning services which were such a hit, and we also talked about maybe setting up a little something with the Association of Bridal Consultants networking group which I am a co-director of. I told her that I'd be more than happy to provide quotes or whatever they needed if they ever did have articles on budgeting or finances in their magazines (Brides, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride). Now we'll just see if they take me up on the offer. :)

My other activity this week was phoning all the brides who entered to win the bride's emergency kit at the last wedding faire I participated in. I have had some positive responses from a couple of people so I'm pretty happy about things over all. Tomorrow, I have another show and will add to the list of people I need to follow up with hopefully.

For that show, I am doing things a little different. I have made up some yummy jasmine bath salt favors which I plan to give to brides who kindly fill out a little survey I've created on wedding planning. I figure it is a great way to show them some *love* and get some help with marketing plans, etc. I'm still going to have a Bride's Emergency Kit to give away as well.

Final bit of excitement for my business - I finished my trademark application today. I need to call and make a couple of corrections and forward a copy of my mark to the filing firm as well as a brochure I use and possibly a screen shot of my website once we have it dressed and ready to go which should be very soon. Very exciting stuff.

As for Mark, as usual, he's studying like a madman. What is unusual is that he rarely comes home before 8 p.m. because he has to work in the clinic on his patients now. It's kind of a bummer. Since he's also in a review class for his next board exam (in November, I think), I hardly see him. I'm fortunate that I have lots to keep me busy with my business and what not. I can't imagine not seeing him very much and having nothing to occupy my time with!

Oh, we also got our tickets purchased for our friends' Jason and Jackie's wedding. It will be taking place on August 26 in Maui. Exciting stuff...and perhaps an opportunity if Jackie needs some help on the wedding day for me to get a little more experience. :) If not, at least I'll get to enjoy a beautiful wedding with two sweet people who are finally taking the plunge!

I think that is about it for now. I need to get back to finishing stuff up for the bridal show. I have to run to the store to finish up an Emergency kit and I need to go get some clipboards for the survey I'm going to have people fill out. I haven't decided if I really want to deal with printing it at Kinko's or not. I may just print it on our computer. It sure seems like it would be easier given the fiascos that run rampant in that place!

Until next time then!