Almost. But not quite.

I tried to cheat and get a head start on my 2009 to do list, but the universe Metro Community College wouldn't let me just yet. I found a couple one day and one month classes at Metro that I wanted to take but enrollment isn't open yet. I have to wait until January 14th.

I did another little photo session with my friend's nephew last weekend. I'm hoping to get those pictures up tonight or tomorrow. Or Friday. It's a four day weekend. There's lots of time to get things done.

Speaking of taking pictures of peoples' kids...

Sissy's baby should be here any day now. That is going to be awesome. I was offering to photograph the actual birth in all it's terrifying glory, but in the event that she has a c-section I don't want to be anywhere near her hospital room. I just watched a c-section birth on National Geographic a few days ago and it was pretty alarming. Let me tell you something, pregnant chicks are tough cookies. I can't even get an IV without crying and here this woman was laying awake on a table with someone's arms in her gut. The lady on NatGeo kept pulling the little partition down so she could see what the doctor was doing. I was screaming, "PUT IT BACK UP!" at her the whole time. Oh, and she gave birth to twins so I got to see the freakfest twice.

And when I say "freakfest" I obviously mean "beautiful miracle."

Know where I wish I was right now?

Anywhere but the office.

How about on vacation?

During the winter months it's always nice to visit somewhere that's warmer than the place you just left. Last winter we went to San Francisco. (Then again on our honeymoon.)






The year before that we went to Memphis and New Orleans. We drove! It was snowing when we left Omaha but by the time we got down to NOLA, Matt and I were wearing shorts and t-shirts.



Anyone else notice that Matt and I are standing in the same positions in both pictures?





Technically those two trips weren't "vacations." At least they weren't for Matt. He had to go to those places for work. Poor baby. I tagged along to get a break from winter and work. This year though, he's going to South Bend, Indiana. Not exactly warm and sunny I wouldn't think. Maybe I'll sit this winter trip out...

It's like a blog high-five!

This makes me happy, because really, what bride woman doesn't want to be admired by strangers?

Matt and Christine get Hitched on Rocknrollbride.com

Duchess of Carnegie

This woman is my new hero:

cnn.com - Duchess of Carnegie, 96, refuses to leave home

I love that she thinks she's worth $10 million. She is the living embodiment of brass balls.

Binge and Purge

It's about to be the beginning of a new year and I'm once again feeling the need to purge my life of the unnecessary. This year though, It's a dangerous combo of Spring cleaning and reading the book Eat, Pray, Love. That book is moving me to make changes in my life. I'm ready to make some emotional and spiritual (for lack of a better word) changes. (I'll blog about that later though. I have page 95 earmarked for a blog entry.)

But before I can make changes in my emotional life, I feel like my home and physical surroundings need to be cleaned out. For starters, my closet(s) and dresser drawers. I can't even begin to tell you how much junk is shoved away in those places. I did about two weeks worth of laundry yesterday and it astonished me to see all of my shirts folded up in one place. It was outrageous. I have about two drawers full of shirts. Some of those need to go. I'm really sentimental when it comes to certain items like shoes and dresses. I keep my nice shoes forever. I have a pair of magenta patent leather pumps that I bought about six years ago. The last time I wore them was August of 2005 (yes, I remember) but there's no way I would get rid of them. Same with dresses. I have a closet full of vintagey, pretty dresses that I would never part with. They just feel too special to get rid of. To me those things aren't clutter.

But two full drawers of t-shirts? Two full drawers of cheap cotton? Come on. That's stupid. Jeans that don't zip anymore? Why would I torture myself that way? Those need to go too.

The kitchen is also packed full of junk that needs to be cleaned out. We essentially have two of everything as a result of getting married. Obviously, only one set needs to stay. Four months have gone by and we still haven't cleaned out the kitchen. We just shoved everything into the giant cubby hole in the dining room. That cubby is a blessing and a curse.

Blessing = Storing bulk toilet paper from Sam's and a deep fryer.

Curse = Storing everything else on Earth in there too.

Luckily, or unluckily rather, my sis has a friend who is going though an unfortunate divorce and we are going to give her a lot of our extra stuff. See, purging the house and stocking my karmic cache. Plus, it gives me a deadline to actually get this stuff done.

And that my friends brings us to the office.



It's actually gotten worse since I took that picture. And there is no one to blame but myself for it. It doesn't need to be cleaned out, it just needs to be cleaned. For some reason my offices are the one area of my life that are always messy. I'll chalk it up to the creative nature of my job.

2008 Recap

In lieu of a real blog post I'm doing this. You should do it too...


1.) Where did you ring in 2008?
Omaha Playhouse, hanging out during Rave On

2.) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Engaged

3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Took a few classes at Metro, nothing too interesting

4.) How did you earn your keep?
Web Monkey

5.) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Technically yes, but only because that's where my doctor's office is.

6.) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Nope!

7.) Did you know anybody who got married?
Who didn't get married? Mike and Jen, Ryan and Tammy, Jay and Alicia, I'm sure there's more.

8.) Did you know anybody who passed away?
No one that I knew personally.

9.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
Only on Facebook.

10.) Did you move anywhere?
Matt and I moved into our first house.

11.) What sporting events did you go to?
I don't think I went to any. We thought about going to an Oakland A's game but didn't make it.

12.) What concerts/shows did you go to?
The Boss, Police, LOVE, Kings of Leon, The Raconteurs, Elvis Costello, countless Moses Prey and Y&T shows.

13.) Are you registered to vote?
Yes, I am.

14.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on [last time you were supposed to vote]?
Why, yes I did.

15.) Where do you live now?
Omaha, my own house.

16.) Describe your birthday.
I was given my very first surprise party at Espana. I got drunk. It was fun.

17.) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2008?
I went to Las Vegas and witnessed the more incredible thing imaginable.

18.) What is one thing you regret from this year?
Nothing really. I guess I would regret not using my time a little more wisely at some points.

19.) What do you want for Christmas?
I didn't want much but ended up getting a lot.

20.) Any new additions to your family?
I gained an entire family.

21.) What was your best month?
September! Got married, hung out with lots of friends and family, went to San Fran for a week.

22.) What from pop culture will you remember that happened in 2008.
The hype that was The Dark Knight, how politics became pop culture.

23.) How do you plan to ring in 2009?
Once again at the Omaha Playhouse. And for the next three years I'm afraid...

24.) What has been your favourite moment?
Getting married, running a 1/2 marathon with Kate, seeing my sissy pregnant

25.) What’s something you learned about yourself?
I learned that there is something I want to spend my life doing after all.

26.) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
I did most of my drinking with family members, Eric, Jen and Mike, Kate...

27.) Made new friends?
Jen and Mike!

28.) New best friend?
They're all the best.

29.) Favourite Night Out?
Every night on our honeymoon was awesome. We walked around the city, ate at great restaurants, drank at cool bars.

Merry Day After Christmas!

Matt and I woke up pretty early today and went post-Christmas present shopping. We agreed to get each other a PS3 for Christmas and waited until after the big day so we could hopefully cash in with some gift cards. This year the big winner was Target with $105 in gift cards so we went there and spent it all at once. Plus some.



I also got Matt a couple of video games he wanted and he got me some nerd movies on Blue Ray. Clockwork Orange, Pan's Labyrinth, Planet Earth and March of the Penguins.

Total. Nerd.

Don't think I didn't want the Lord of the Rings trilogy too. It's not out yet though.

Blue Ray will blow your mind. That business is outrageous. The Planet Earth series alone is worth investing in the system.

I have been antsy and bored all day today - despite the PS3. It was beautiful outside for the first time in a couple of weeks. An astonishing 57°!!! I think it gave me a little spring fever - not a good thing to have in December.

And to all a good night.

Merry Christmas!

Our big Christmas celebration was last night. We had an early dinner with my family and then went to my husband's family's get-together later on. My family was laid back, quiet, only one kid around to open gifts. His family was loud, wrapping paper flying everywhere, kids screaming. You wouldn't want it any other way though, would you?

My mom's family came to Omaha this year so we got to spend our first Christmas with our little cousin Kyle. (He is the only cousin that my sister and I have, and he is four). My family always has a traditional dinner of Swedish meatballs and Swedish potato sausage. I'm not a huge fan of the potato sausage (it smells funny), but the meatballs are something I look forward to year round. My dad makes them and in my opinion they are the best meatballs on the planet. They're so good that one of the secret ingredients might be crack.

Then on to Matt's brother's house... Here hubs and his brothers with (most of) their kids:



This Christmas was wonderful. Having such a large family to celebrate the holidays with definitely makes a difference. I love being able to see all my nieces' and nephews' happy little faces while they tear through Christmas presents. It was a flurry of wrapping paper and screaming. Next year we'll have three more in the mix, for a grand total of eight. Yowza!

One of my favorite gifts I received this year was a bunch of Wilton baking goodies. I got a cookie press and a bake and carry set.



One of my favorite gifts that I gave this year was a photo collage that I made for a couple of the McG's.



Ya, ya. I totally stole that idea from several places. But in the spirit of the recession I decided to save some bucks and make it myself. It was also good practice with the macro lens.

After all the kids were bribed into going to bed we broke out the traditional bottle of Jameson. The family tradition is that everyone takes turns toasting to their worst memory of the year and takes a pull off the bottle. After it's gone around the room, it starts over again and everyone toasts to their best memory. This year we decided to start the tradition of finishing the bottle before the toasting was over. What a great tradition especially considering there was only seven of us doing the toasting. Who doesn't love waking up on Christmas morning with a whiskey hangover? We took a warmup pull, did our two toasts, and then went around the room again for an "honorable mention" toast. I was lit up like the tree by the time we were done.

Today we went back to my parents' for the big extended family lunch. It was chaotic. We didn't help the situation any by bringing our dog with us. For the record, I called first to make sure it was okay but the phone was busy and no one had their cell phones on. Matt and I left a little early to come home and nap and watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, one of the best holiday movies ever made. My list of top Christmas movies are:

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
2. Scrooged
3. A Christmas Story
4. Home Alone
5. Mickey's Christmas Carol

Now we're having cocktails and watching movies we got as gifts. I think a leftover sandwich is also in my near future.

Pet Sounds.

Beach Boys. Pet Sounds. Masterpiece.

Everyone should own this album.

See, I don't only like The Beatles.

Cold, Changing Tires

Once again, it's freaking cold in Omaha. It's -5° with something like a -19° windchill today. It's so cold that our snow beast of a dog doesn't even like going outside. In comparison, it's -24° at the North Pole right now.

Yesterday was cold too. You know how I know it was cold? Because I had to change a flat tire in it. Okay, so I didn't change the flat tire, my dad did. But I stood next to him and held things for him. Matt got a flat tire on his way to his show yesterday and ended up completely shredding the tire because it was so cold. The car was in no way drivable so I picked up Matt and took him to the theater, then had my dad meet me back at the car to fix the tire. Now, before you judge me for not knowing how to change a tire - I totally know how. But I don't have the strength to loosen the lugs. Even if I had been able to loosen the lugs, I still would have had to call my dad because the wheel was frozen to the car. It took the addition of my uncle and a dead blow hammer to get the wheel off. Two hours after we started, the spare was finally on.

I think we owe my dad and uncle a little something extra for Christmas this year...

Miracle in a Jar

I have some crazy sensitive skin. Ever since I was a little kid I've had problems with it. I get rashes, hives, eczema, skin so dry it cracks. It's quite sexy. Winter is the worst time of year for it. My hands suffer the worst. No matter how much lotion I put on them, they're still dry and chapped.

Growing up we always had this stuff called "bag balm" that worked wonders. If you're not familiar with it, bag balm is exactly what it sounds like. It's a balm that was originally made for cow utters. My dad grew up on a farm so everyone in our family knows about the miraculous properties of bag balm. It works on dry skin and small cuts and scrapes on both people and animals. It's sort of like hardcore Neosporin that you can use on the dog. Well, it works extremely well on dry hands. I put some on last night and within ten minutes my skin was soft and smooth.



I would recommend everyone who lives in a dry, blistery climate pick some up. The only places I've found it at are Target and Walgreens. But I'm sure places like CVS and your local feed and grain store sell it too.

I think it's worth mentioning that the bag balm my sister and I grew up with is nothing like the bag balm pictured above. The kind we're used to comes mysteriously out of a Vaseline jar. It's also an uneven shade of brown and smells like an old folks home. I think it was left over from when my dad's family sold the farm in the 1960s. I guess it's also worth mentioning that the stuff keeps for 40 plus years.

But on a positive note...

I got my photography blog started! I'm trying to recruit some folks to sign up for free photo sessions with me so I can get some more portfolio work and experience. I'm looking for kids, families, couples, seniors, pets. Pretty much anyone.

Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested!

christinemcguigan.blogspot.com

Snow days don't exist anymore...

Great way to start off your Friday: Scraping 1/4 inch of ice off the car

It took nearly twenty minutes for Matt and me to scrape enough ice off my car to make it drivable. Ice storms are a nightmare. I pretty much just put the car in neutral and slid to the office this morning. Today was definitely a day that was meant to be spent at home in bed with the DVR and a cup of coffee.

A Few Goals for 2009

Some things I'm going to work on in 2009:

1. Save money for a new car and a nice vacation. Possibly to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. (Vacation idea stolen from Jeff and Brandon.)

2. Run another 1/2 marathon (beating my previous time) and generally shape up. Ultimately, I'd like to run a half every year. I've done it for the last two. It's really one of the easier goals to stick to - barring any unforeseen baby making accidents. Working out in general though, like sit-ups and toning, I have little patience for. I've always had freakishly toned arms (medical professionals have even told me so) but the rest of me is a little on the squishy side. I know that I am a rather thin girl, but there is no muscle in there. It's all jelly. I'd like to even that out a bit.

3.a. Finish a nice variety of portfolio sittings and start charging for photo sessions by March. This is one of the most important goals for me. I really have high hopes about starting a photography career. I'm tired of being unhappy with my professional life. I've had a recent surge in my desire to make this happen. I think it's where my life is taking me.

3.b. Take at least two photography courses. Obviously, this is something that is important and will come in handy. I have no real photography education. Everything I know about taking good photographs I learned from art composition classes. I have no real training when it comes to the technical aspects of photography like aperture settings and white balances. A prodigy I am not, so I should probably get on this one ASAP.

3.c. Photograph a wedding. I need to find some very understanding couple who will let me photograph their wedding knowing full well that I might completely eff it up. Are you that guy or girl? Give me a call! Honestly though, I want to be able to do this by the end of 2009. I'd love to find an OBB girl on a budget in the Omaha area and be able to give her a virtually free wedding photo session. Then it would warm my brain and my heart!

4. Fix up the outside of the house. Replace the windows, paint, white wash, landscape, buy a rake. All that kind of stuff.

5. Release myself from the evil clutches of hair dye. This may or may not work out. I'm sort of hooked on being a red head. However I'm very much not hooked on giving some girl $60 every 10 weeks to color my hair. Yes, 10 weeks. I make that shit last.

Can't think of a title.

I found out this morning that a friend's son was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer that usually effects kids and young adults. It makes me feel sick that her and her son have to go through this. His treatment starts in a few days and is going to be very aggressive.

A friend of mine died from ES a couple years ago so it sort of hits home. I've read a lot about it since she was diagnosed and I started involving myself in some cancer organizations. Since there's little that I can do for either of them, I'm going to help by telling the (few) people who read my blog about some of my favored organizations. Knowledge is power, right?

So, here we go:

CureSearch.org
Help CureSearch reach the day when every child with cancer can be guaranteed a cure. Their motto pretty much says it all. They work to gain support for pediatric cancer research. They have a great support page with ways you can help them that don't necessarily involve monetary donations. You can write a letter to Congress for example. They also have a gift shop with items designed by kids. They have some cute stuff that would make for great gifts.

National Marrow Donor Program
"When you become a bone marrow donor, you join the global movement of more than 13 million donors who stand ready to give someone a future." A couple years ago I had myself added to the national marrow donor database. You can fill out an application and order a testing kit from their website. Once you receive your kit, you swab the inside of your cheek and mail it back. It's that easy. You must be between the ages of 18 and 60 to join. You can have yourself removed from the database at any time. There is a cost incurred for the kit and testing.

Team In Training
TNT is the world's first, best and largest charity sports training program - and the only one to offer a full complement of exciting, sports training options. TNT is a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I ran a marathon with TNT in 2007 and raised over $1500 for the LLS. TNT raised over $71 million alone in 2008. The potential impact that this program can have on your life is unmeasurable. I still tear up to this day when I think about my experience with them. Not only did I help raise money, but I pushed my mind and body further than I ever thought possible and I made some lasting friendships along the way. I hope to participate again within the next couple years. The training/fundraising program is a huge commitment but you've got to play big to win big.

Cold. Effing cold.

What the hell is up with this wind chill? The temperature is -5° right now, but the wind chill is -25°. I'm sorry, negative what now? Cat and I were talking and she said that instead of reading -5°, the digital thermostat in cars should just say FING COLD.

Speaking of cold in the car, we need to get a garage door opener installed so we can use our garage for more than box storage. I have never, in all my years of driving, had the luxury of parking my car in a garage and I think it's about high time I change that.

My friend Kate who is from Red Deer, Alberta doesn't think it's so bad. Of course it snows in July where she's from so her opinion on these matters can't be really be trusted.

Day-O-Photos

Today, I took nearly 500 pictures. Wow.

I narrowed the first batch of 250 down to the best 20. Seriously, 250 down to 20. I guess that's why I take 250 at a time. So maybe, just maybe, half a dozen or so will be good. That doesn't make me a bad photographer, I swear...










These two girls were a dream to photograph. They were so cool. Little Girl wanted to play in the dirt and her mom let her. She said, "Okay, go ahead." What a great mom! She wasn't worried about her kid getting dirty for pictures. I love that.

I'll weed through the second batch tomorrow. Right now it's pizza and beer time.

Oh Boy.

A few moments ago I was thinking to myself how nice it was to be relaxing at home on a Friday night. It's not pathetic because I'm married, so obviously I'm lovable. And I'm not lonely, because again, I'm married. And I had the option of going out tonight anyways but I chose to pass on it.

And then I realized that I was watching trash TV, drinking wine and licking out the inside of a frosting container. Seriously.

What about this isn't pathetic again? I forget...

I did get some work done tonight! I also got two more orders for robot scarves. Robots plus scarves equals a big hit apparently!

Good Old Days

I was listening to a few older gentlemen at work reminisce about the good old days of Omaha. The old drive-ins, the bread store that was run by Italians (real Italians), Charlie Manson. Say what?

I work for a youth services organization and apparently Charles Manson was sent here in 1957 but he was screened out during an initial psychological evaluation and was never admitted to the program. Good call on that one...

The conversation made me wonder what I'm going to miss when I'm 65. What from today, or from my childhood, won't exist forty years from now. Are people going to think I'm an old fart when I tell them that when I was little we didn't have cable TV, the internet, cell phones, MP3s? Or are those things not even going to exist anymore? The world is already freaking me out in a, "Big Brother Is Watching You," kind of way. I can't even imagine how much worse it's going to get. My dream is to one day open a restaurant that does not have TVs propped up in every corner. Can you imagine what a novelty that will be in another decade? It seems like ever since 9/11 every restaurant in America (except for the really, really fancy ones) has installed TVs. No one wants to be less than six yards away from breaking news. The last McDonald's I went into had a huge flat screen TV on one wall and everyone in the dining area was pointed at it. How sad is that? I long for a time gone by where going out to eat, even going to McDonald's, was an event cherished by American families.

I also long to return to a time and place where it would be chic for me to vacuum the house in a cocktail dress and apron, holding a martini in one hand. I seriously want that. I want to put on my wedding dress and this really cute vintage apron I have and get someone come to my house and photograph me vacuuming in it while drinking a seriously dirty, salty martini. How campy and fun would that be? But that's neither here nor there.

Now that I'm married and potentially going to be introducing more humans into this world, I want life to return to the simple times of drive-ins, real Italians and pre-cult Charlie Manson.

Things I'm Loving Tonight

Cheesy Chex Mix...

Diet Coke (what else is new)...

Real Simple Magazine...

Family Guy...

Feeling a sense of accomplishment...

Ringo...

Robot Love

I mailed off a few scarves this morning to a co-op store in Des Moines. It felt good to cross that one off my list. I sent this one, this one and this one:



I didn't realize what I terrible picture I took until just now. It's too late to retake it though. It's in a box somewhere between here and Iowa.

Photographic Proof That I Really Did Get Married!

We finally got our wedding pics back! Here are a few. There is a whole folder of them over on my Flickr stream.



I created my own button stems and then had local wedding vendor/artist Princess Lasertron make felt stems. The bridesgals had similar bouquets too.



We found this awesome tent at a golf course and rented it for the entire day at a ridiculously cheap price. We had both the ceremony and reception here and saved ourselves a ton of money. We also saved our guests from driving to two separate places.



How excited am I?



Our cutting cake was decorated like the Yellow Submarine cartoon. It was a surprise to Matt from me. The cake was unbelievable. It was chocolate with peanut butter mousse.



Our first dance was to, "Something" by The Beatles.

Wedding Pics!

After nearly three months, we finally get to pick up our wedding pictures today!

Ringo

Little Ringo misplaced his blue squeaky stuffed bone a couple weeks ago. Everyday when I came home from work he would tear around the house looking for it. He temporarily made due with a rawhide bone we gave him. This dog doesn't chew on rawhides, he just carries them around like a prize. He sleeps with them too.

I finally gave up hope that we would ever find the squeaky bone. I'd looked all over the house for it. So, last night while I was at Target I bought him a new squeaky bone. It's exactly the same as the last one, except the new one is green. I gave it to him when I got home and he went crazy. He ran laps around the kitchen squeaking the hell out of that bone.

I was laying in bed later on watching TV when Ringo ran into the room, launched onto the bed and dropped a squeaky bone by my feet. Not a new, clean, green one. A dirty, smelly, blue one. He somehow found the old one no less than three hours after I replaced it.

That dog is a jerk.

Stressful Weekends, Stressless Weeks?

This weekend was pretty unrelaxing. Yesterday was spent within close proximity to a bathroom and I passed out at 9pm. Today was spent working. Unsuccessfully. I was trying to take photos of jewelry for a friend's website and it didn't go well. I spent three hours photographing it and none of the pictures turned out great. Then, I ran over to Cat's house, ranted about my afternoon, painted some mountains and left.

Since I'd only spent $5 on Friday night and $10 on Saturday, I felt like I deserved a weekend trip to Target on the way home to stress spend. Target is definitely a weakness. I bought two Christmas presents (very good of me) a $20 dress for myself and a magazine. (Oops. Whatever.)

Not only did I stress spend, but I stress cooked and ate a very comforting dinner of mac and cheese. I did health it up a bit by adding corn and spinach to it. And then I brought it back down with sour cream and shredded cheese. But there was still spinach in it. That definitely counts for something.

New Toys

Finally, today I have both my camera and my health and therefore have the energy and ability to sit at a computer and share pictures and type coherently. Matt and I have both been sick this week. The awful, "makes you wish you'd just go ahead and die already" stomach flu type sickness. I had plans yesterday with two different people to take some Christmas pictures and I didn't want to cancel since it's so close to the holidays. I made it through both without incident, but I did leave the first one in a hurry because I thought I was going to puke all over their Christmas tree.

The second was a little more casual. I just went out with my friend Jen and we took some pictures around downtown Omaha. We're both working on improving out photog skills so we just bummed around for a couple of hours. She helped me find things for a Christmas photo project I'm working on as a gift. More on that later... I also wanted to try out a new lens that my sister got me as "payment" for being her mural painter and upcoming baby photographer. I'm not really qualified for either, but she seems to think I'll do ok.

The lens is a super wide angle lens and it was tricky to figure it out. It doesn't work that great when you just shoot things straight on. I had to play with it a little. It's really awesome though. Here are a couple of pics from my first time out with it:





That's it for now. I'm going to go relish in my ability to drink coffee and eat pizza.

The Wheels on the Bus

I did something this morning that I haven't done since the second grade.

I waited for a school bus to pick me up in the morning.

Isn't that weird? It sort of amazes me that no matter how old you are, you're never too old to have to ride a school bus.

You know, I'm more than happy to ride city buses. There's a sort of dignity in taking a city bus. There is no dignity in taking a school bus, however. Not after the age of twelve anyways.

I work for a non-profit that provides long term residential care for youths that are pulled out of their homes for behavioral/legal reasons. It's a very well known organization. You can probably guess what it is. Well, this morning politicians from all over the state as well as executives from other non-profits came to our headquarters for a meeting regarding Nebraska's Safe Haven crisis. As a result, they closed off the parking lot to us little people so the higher-ups have a place to park. So, we had to park at a football field across campus and ride a school bus to the office.

I felt like I was seven again. Standing in the cold, bundled up waiting for the bus. Except this time I had an iPod and coffee and my dad wasn't yelling at me from the front porch to zip up my coat.

Baby Shower

I forgot to post the pictures from Cat's shower last week. It turned out very cute and very un-babyish. Her and I are not "OOOH and AHHH" girly girls. Traditional showers are torturish.

I made her a blanket cake in lieu of a diaper cake. Diaper cakes are a sin in this family. I wouldn't be caught dead carrying one. I also repurposed some flowers I had made.



I also made a couple streamers out of train pictures I printed off.



And then there were the mangled cake bites I made with my mom.

Only 16 Work Days Until Christmas!

I left my camera at my brother and sister-in-law's house on Thanksgiving. I should have known that it would get misplaced in the shuffle of the day. As a result, all weekend I felt like I had lost a limb. We put up our tree, but I couldn't take a picture of it. I finished a scarf, but I couldn't take a picture of it. It snowed, Ringo was being cute, I went to another baby shower... No camera. Sigh... I have to get it back this week because I have a couple photo sessions with friends this weekend. My call to subjects turned up about five people who were interested in getting some Christmas pictures. I was really pleased!

I had no desire to go Black Friday shopping in the stores, and after the incident at Wal-Mart I will never partake in it again. But I did have to fight to keep my credit card buried in a basket in my office. It was very tempting to pull it out and click click click on some internet sales. Unfortunately, I've memorized the number on my debit card so that one is even harder not to use. It was a pretty stupid thing to do. Unless I'm ordering a pizza. Then it's the smartest thing I've ever done. I held up pretty well and only bought Christmas decorations, gift for my nieces and nephews and groceries. It was a record minimum spending for a four day weekend in my house.