By process of elimination, we’ve determined that baby loves:

• Nectarines
• Stuffed green olives
• Sunflower seeds
• Meat, any variety
• Cream cheese, or anything onto which you can put cream cheese, or anything into which cream cheese goes (cheesecake being the primary suspect). This one may just be mum wanting an excuse to sit down with a spoon and have it out with a package of Philly. The temptation is strong and the will is so very weak.

And baby does not so much care for:

• Chinese food
• Chocolate in candy form (Ice cream, however, is acceptable.) If it weren’t a physical impossibility given the situation, I’d consider a maternity test.
• Vegetables

All bets are off as to what this kid will make me eat. Prior to this, I’d never much cared for meat, save for the occasional burger, but now… well, let’s just say last weekend I tore into a barbeque chicken drumstick like it was the last piece of chicken on earth and I hadn’t eaten for six weeks. It was messy and heavenly in a deliciously barbaric way, that drumstick.

Despite the fact that baby seems to have inherited my love of ice cream (has anyone found the “ice cream” gene yet? I swear, it’s there… check over by the “big ass” gene), I’ve only gained half a pound, which I’m told is good for someone my size. I don’t have much baby belly to speak of yet, although something tells me it’s growing, because I can’t suck it in like I used to. But I’m pretty sure the majority of my belly is still good old-fashioned food-baby belly… no help from the ice cream, of course.

I’m also taking two different yoga classes starting this week… I had my first beginner’s course today, and I’ll start pre-natal yoga next Wednesday. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I am not the only fat girl in the beginner’s course, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one who thinks Downward Facing Dog is the pose of the devil. “Hello, heartburn! Hadn’t seen you in a while! Wonder why I can still taste my breakfast? Hmm, could have something to do with all this butt-in-the-air business….”

I can’t honestly say I have an opinion of yoga yet, given my limited experience includes today’s class and a semester-long course I basically slept through in high school. So far the running theme seems to be learning to get comfortable in semi-unnatural positions. Oh, and breathing–lots of breathing–although I still don’t quite get that part, as during most of today’s class I found myself thinking, “Wait, you mean I’m supposed to be able to breathe in this position?!? Eurgh!” *cue collapse onto yoga mat*

I kid, I kid. The class was a lot of fun, and the instructor is very aware of different body types and how one can modify certain positions such that they get the benefit of a yoga workout without the back strain. All in all, I felt surprisingly comfortable–or at least as comfortable as one can be while stretching, bending, flexing, and pointing one’s arse skyward.

So yes, other than the icky humid weather, this summer is shaping up nicely. I’ve been on hiatus from photography stuff, at least until I work up the energy to attempt another shoot–although I have a fun idea in mind, and Danielle has offered to help me, so that may happen sooner rather than later. To be honest, I welcome the down time… I appreciate it more now, knowing the hard work that’s coming up. At the end of the day, one full-time job is enough, and I just want to relax while I still can.

Hey look! A shop update! Yay!

I have some photos from the dollfood series that came back from a consignment contract… this means two good things for you: first, I have 8×12’s of most of the new photos on hand, so those prints will ship the next day (Sunday obviously being the exception, and this is assuming I don’t get a sudden influx of orders for the same prints–that would be nice, but has never happened, so!). And second, the prints cost less than they did on consignment! Yay!

I’m in the process of putting the series up right now, so go see!

Also, it appears I’ve been named ThisNext’s “Expert Maven” for all things handmade. I’m not sure why (I’ve been neglecting ThisNext recently, alongside most of my other regular Internet endeavors) but now I have to live up to my title, don’t I? And thanks to baby fever, I have a new excuse to window shop and recommend more handmade products!

New posts coming soon. I’m currently experiencing an unexplained revival of first trimester ickiness. Let’s hope it’s short-lived. 7 p.m. is a perfectly appropriate bedtime for an adult, yes? I thought so.

Hello! I’m tired, and I appear to have contracted a vicious form of heartburn from hell. How one manages to get heartburn from a bland dinner of toast and milk, I’ll never know, but I’m 99% sure that those of you reading this blog don’t want to hear about all my bodily functions gone awry. So let me talk about something else that’s gone awry: Housework, or a lack thereof.

Up until an hour or so ago, there was a pile of laundry at the foot of our stairs that was large enough to rival the Washington Monument. It had been sitting there blocking the door to the coat closet for, oh, about a week. Any time I wanted to get up or down the stairs, I’d have to do this strange semi-acrobatic swinging leap over the gargantuan pile of shirts, towels, and bedsheets. This morning made for a particularly fun stunt, as I tried to both clear Laundry Mountain AND navigate around the fresh pile of cat vomit on the second stair riser–thanks, Nala! At least she didn’t vomit in the clothes, right?

But back to the laundry. Need a clean shirt? Here’s a shovel, start digging. There’s a reason we don’t buy clothes that wrinkle easily. Frankly, I’m just proud of myself for doing that much laundry–getting it up three flights of stairs from the basement to the bedroom is the icing on the cake. Let’s just say I was leaving it there because I wanted to admire my handiwork, acrobatic leaps and all.

Or how about this: until recently, our kitchen had come to resemble the scene of a natural disaster. Dishes, dishes, dishes–overflowing from the sink, onto the counters, the oven, and basically every available surface except, you know, in the cupboards where they belong. For a while I was forced to prepare my morning toast while holding the toaster in one hand and the butter knife in the other. I wish I could say the dishes in question were as clean as the laundry, but then I’d be lying. No, these dishes were far from clean. The kitchen had begun to smell like an old wet towel, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we were growing some alien species of mold in the sink.

Next on the list, we have the eight giant bags of bottles laying on the back porch, waiting patiently for someone to take them to the recycling center. I’m pretty sure the homeowner’s association wouldn’t approve. And I won’t tell you where the garbage bag of old cat litter currently resides (certainly not in the garbage can, there’s no room left, hah-hah), because then you’d never come to my house and sit down on our one lonely plastic porch chair. *ahem*

This basically sums up the condition of our lives right now. Chaotic. Somewhat uncomfortable. A bit smelly. But what I’m coming to realize is, this is a situation we’re going to find ourselves in more and more often in the coming months, years, and probably even decades. I need to become OK with that, or else I’ll drive myself crazy trying to fight it. Life is messy.

So here’s to airing our dirty laundry, even when it’s clean. Surely I’m not the only person whose home is not the pristine vision of perfection that I (scramble to) make it out to be when company (or Mom–hi Mom!) comes to visit. And I can only hope that when our baby is born, DHS doesn’t catch wind of this entry and come knocking on our door when we’re in the midst of Laundry Mountain and Alien Sink Mold: The Sequel.

Thankfully I speak in the past tense, because my wonderful husband tackled both the kitchen and the laundry pile while I was enjoying my evening walk. But I document it here to prove a point! Although now the raging heartburn and exhaustion has made me forget what my point might have been… maybe I didn’t have one, except to say, “Hi. See why I’m not blogging much? Forgive me.”

I can’t keep this secret any longer, dear Internets. Here goes:

My new super-awesome project is not so much my project as it is a collaboration between Mr. Tim and myself. And it’s not so much a project as it is a lifetime commitment.

It’s the reason I can barf up the spaghetti I had for lunch and not three seconds later think, “Ooh, I want a Rice Krispies treat,” or, “I could really go for something deep fat fried and smothered in cheese.” It’s the reason I’ve totally neglected this blog over the last few weeks, because I don’t want to do anything but sleep.

Yes, it’s that kind of project… one of the baby-makin’ variety. It’s exhausting, overwhelming, and all-consuming… it goes without saying that T & I are thrilled, scared, and all other manner of emotions typically associated with new parents-to-be.

Without going into detail about my medical history, I didn’t think I could conceive, so obviously this was a huge surprise. I woke up a few weeks ago feeling sick, and a little voice in the back of my head said, “maybe you should take a test….” So I did, and when the results came up, I didn’t believe it. I believe my exact words to my husband were, “Umm, WHY ARE THERE TWO LINES HERE?” Being the wonderful man that he is, he just grinned. A second test proved the first one correct, and it took a trip to my doctor and a third test to convince me that I was, indeed, pregnant.

Holy shit.

The last few weeks have been a fog of morning sickness, exhaustion, and elation. These days, my typical train of thought looks something like this: BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY HOLY SHIT BABY.

I was going to wait to say anything here until I had a better ultrasound picture, but I just couldn’t wait, so you’ll have to look at the pee stick instead. I’m due December 26th… 11 weeks along and counting!

Where the hell have I been, right? Blog? Whatsablog?

I am hard at work on a new and exciting project that I would just love to reveal, but alas, it must wait a little while yet. Of course, this means all I want to talk about is said new and exciting project. Conundrum! (I love that word, conundrum!) Patience is not one of my greater virtues, so in the meantime, Tim gets to listen to me yammer on about this and that and the other. Lucky boy!

I haven’t worked on a photo shoot in so long, I’m starting to feel itchy. We’re already into May (!) and I haven’t made a dent in the 2008 portfolio yet. Ouch. So! I need to get working on some ideas. I have new props and dresses and things from my earlier thrifty endeavors, and the weather is perfect for outdoor shoots, so it’s just a matter of setting things up.

I’m also days (weeks) behind on my blog reading, writing, and commenting. But I thought I’d peek in here to say that all is well and I am still here. What’s new with you?