Your photography is a record of your living, for anyone who really sees ~ Paul Strand

Hello from Henry

2010-08-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, we've been busy with getting to know our little Henry. I have taken about a million photos of Henry meeting all of his new friends and family, doing new things (like taking his first walk) and even his first "real" photo shoot.

It's hard to believe he's over a week old. I can see already that time is going to go too quickly.

I'm not going to post something from everyday tonight but will leave you with this, which is my current favorite photo of him:

Update: He's Here!

2010-08-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well, seems my last photo of the day (with the baby countdown) was posted just in time....

August 15th: Just the two of us...

We took this picture in the house just before we headed to the hospital because my water had broken.

Monday, August 16th, 2010: Introducing...

Henry James Seavers
5:45pm
7 pounds 6 ounces
19 3/4 inches long

8/17/2010: First Day

We spent the day at the hospital and had lots of visitors to meet our little Henry. Here is a photo of him at the start of his day.

8/18/2010: Welcome Home, Henry!

8-14-2010

2010-08-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Counting down....

Yikes!

:-)

8-12 and 8-13

2010-08-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

8-12-2010: DCI!

Drum Corps International, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is like major league marching band. Take everything you might know about your local high school marching a band and multiply it by a million. It's intense and an amazing testament of what young people can do when they commit to something greater than themselves. It's a pretty insane product they put out, especially by the end of the season, which is right now.

I went to the local movie theater that was hosting a simulcast of Quarterfinals. I went by myself, which I did not mind, but ended up sitting with a former professor/friend of mine who was also there by himself.

The shows were amazing and it was a great way to spend the evening.

I only had my handheld digital and the lighting was bad but here is the signage outside the theater:

If you aren't familiar with DCI, I recommend the following YouTube videos of shows to help you to better understand:

-The Cavaliers are always visually ridiculous. This show isn't my favorite but gives you a good visual idea of how complex and precise (and difficult!) their moves are.

-The Cadets 2002 show is probably a good one for the "DCI beginner" since it's some familiar music and a good theme. The show was "An American Revival" and the timing was perfect for the first season post-9/11. This isn't the whole show but it has my favorite part at the 6:30 mark. It still gets me all choked up to watch it, remembering how emotional everyone was because of what the country had gone through that year.

-For you band geeks, one of my very favorite shows is the 1997 Cadets show. I mean, you can't go wrong with a little Sparke.

-Like what you see? YouTube is full of show videos to amuse you for hours.

8-13-2010: Hail to the Redskins!

I'm not a huge NFL fan (college basketball is my sport of choice) but enjoy watching games and grew up watching the Redskins. They are playing their pre-season opener tonight so I took out my authentic/"vintage" Jay Schroeder jersey. My parents and I all had these jerseys since it is our last name and he even pronounces it the same way!

Sidenote: I was chatting with a student today about the Skins and, once again, enjoyed being able to talk sports. If I had to make a list of the top five things I like about myself, one of them is that I can talk knowledgably about many sports. It's helped me build relationships with people in different offices on campus, connect with some students and just generally brings enjoyment in interactions. So, a shoutout and thank you to my jock mom for raising me that way. (No offense to my dad...but mom's the jock in the family!)

8-10 and 8-11

2010-08-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

8-10-2010: Artsy

We got new tissues for the house and I really like the pattern on the boxes. I played around in Photoshop with the photo I took to make it look a little more like art than the side of a tissue box.

8-11-2010: Ready for Company

I managed to get quite a bit done on the house this evening. I'm wondering if this is marking the start of nesting....yikes! Here is a shot from the hallway into the guest room. We get to welcome a guest next week....Eddie's sister Ellen!

8-9-10

2010-08-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

I didn't do so well last week with updating the blog with house pictures so I snapped this of our stove so I could show some more of the house but also to say that Baby Seavers is still cooking. We had an appointment today and were told that he was still hanging in and doing some growing. The doctor told us to do some walking this week before our next appointment to see if we can get things moving towards getting started. Crazy!

8-8-2010: Lucky Baby

2010-08-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

I got to spend a really fun afternoon with friends to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Seavers. Games, food, friends...can't beat that! Kathleen and Trici found the most adorable argyle onesie toothpicks for the cupcakes. Loved them!

I also wanted to share the artistic talents of Krystal, a CNU hall director. She and I "traded" skills earlier this year when I photographed her RA staff. She painted this in return and I just love it!!

(She's done some really cool stuff for other friends too and has just launched a website.)

I feel so thankful to have such generous and wonderful friends and coworkers. Baby Seavers is a lucky little boy and he's not even here yet. We can't wait to meet him and to have him meet all of you!

August 5, 6, 7

2010-08-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

August 5: Movin' On Up

The cable guy came out today to move the input location of our cable in the living room so that we can use our new TV. It's so big and pretty!

August 6: Dukes!

Co-worker, friend and loyal blog reader Julie gave Baby Leroy his first JMU shirt and the most adorable teeny tiny JMU booties. I can't wait for him to wear them to show off his Dukes pride from an early age!

August 7: Progress

Eddie and I made some more progress in getting the house decorated. Here is a shot of some of the Devils things we put up in the living room:

Holy Cow!

2010-08-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Only four more weeks!

Love and Home

2010-08-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in New Jersey/Connecticut celebrating the marriage of Eddie's sister Karen and her now-husband Mike. It was a really great weekend spent with family and friends.

7-30-2010: Imagination

For this entry you'll need to use your imagination to picture a photograph of the exterior of a restaurant with yellow stucco walls, a patio with umbrellas lit by lanterns. This is the photo I took of the rehearsal dinner location...the photo that I accidentally erased the next morning. LAME!

7-31-2010: Hitched!

Karen and Mike's wedding was an awesome event. It was a beautiful day that was enjoyed by all. I snapped this before the reception started. Congrats to the happy couple!

8-1-2010: With this ring...

Karen asked me to shoot some artsy wedding band shots the day after the wedding. I did these with her bouquet, which was beautiful. I kind of like the end result.

8-2-2010: Home Sweet Home

This week I'm going to feature photos of different parts of our new house. This is our piggy that lives in our kitchen!

8-3-2010: Nursery

Since I'm featuring home shots this week I wanted to continue with a photo from the nursery. Eddie put up the mobile last week and I love it. It's hard to believe that we're only (theoretically) 4 weeks and 1 day away from our due date!

Finally updating!

2010-07-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a very busy week....as you saw from my short photo-less update, Eddie and I moved into a house last week. We were very thankful to have family that spent a lot of time and energy to help us out. I was especially thankful since I was feeling pretty useless since I can't lift or bend really.

Here's what we've been up to in the last week:

7-22-2010: Cleanin' Time!

The fridge at work is G-R-O-S-S! We usually do a giant cleaning when we finally reach the point when we are disgusted to the point of not wanting to use it anymore. (People don't understand the concept of being responsible fridge users in our offices.) Loyal blog reader Louise was the cleaner this time, complete with a plastic apron and gloves....and she needed them. YUCK!

7-23-2010: Movin' Out

Here is the living room of our apartment on Friday night during the process of moving out.

7-24-2010: Shower Time

We had everything moved into the house from the apartment by Saturday at lunchtime, thanks to our families helping out. That evening we enjoyed a GREAT evening spent at our baby shower, organized by Katie. It was a really fun event. We are truly lucky to have such wonderful family and friends. Here is a shot of the tasty (and adorable) cake from the shower:

7-25-2010: Getting there...

My parents came back up on Sunday afternoon to help us hang up our eighty million pictures. Here is a shot down our hallway of photos we have taken. I really like the grouping and the way it turned out.

7-26-2010: A piece of the happiest place on earth...

One of the areas in our guest/music/office room has three Disney photographs and our collection of Disney figurines. I love the way it turned out.

7-27-2010: Our Neighbors

We have empty lots on either side of the house but past one of those lots is a small cemetery. Eddie and I took a quick walk down to check it out. The graves look really old but they really aren't that old...just not well taken care of. I liked that someone planted a flowering plant in the rotting stump of a tree.

7-28-2010: Handyman Eddie

Eddie and I got a new TV to go in our new living room (flat screen plasma...we are finally upgrading) and so had to get a new TV stand. We found one we liked at Target and assembled it in the living room. Here is Eddie working on the stand.

7-29-2010: Flip!

Our Flip Camera came in the mail yesterday. I can't wait to start to use it, especially when the baby arrives!

Greetings from the New House

2010-07-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

Don't worry...we're still alive and well here! It's been a whirlwind few days getting things packed and moved into the new house. I'll post the blog update tomorrow.

7-21-2010

2010-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

In a really quick turn of a few different events, it turns out that Eddie and I will be moving into a University-owned house this weekend! We found out yesterday at lunch and are really excited. Eddie bought some graph paper, measured out the rooms in the new place and our furniture and then created a little scale version of our rooms to work on where we want to put everything. I think we've come up with a good plan for the rooms and it will help our "helping hands" as we make the move.

I would imagine that some of the next few photos will be of us making progress as we move into the house and get settled.

7-20-2010

2010-07-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

Seems to be a baby themed week so far...

Tonight Eddie and I had a tour of the Maternity Floor at the hospital where we will deliver. We were surprised at how big the labor and delivery rooms are. Big enough for a party almost! I snapped this at the end of our tour of the nursery on the floor.

7-19-2010

2010-07-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Eddie and I had the first of four Childbirth Preparation Classes this evening. There are 7 other couples and all on their first child. 4 girls, 3 boys and one surprise baby. I would imagine the following three classes will be more useful...tonight's class was mainly introduction and pretty basic stuff.

Here is my future coach Eddie acting surprised by the book we got at class:

7-18-2010

2010-07-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

More progress in the organization of our apartment was made this weekend. The shelf I put together earlier in the week was moved into the correct room and I moved the kid's books that we have to the cubby I have designated for books. I can't wait to read them to the little guy!

7-16 & 7-17

2010-07-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

7-16-2010: Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

Eddie and I attended a conference at the University of Richmond during the day on Friday. Because Eddie was playing in a kickball tournament in DC starting at 8am the next morning we decided it wouldn't be worth driving back home only to have to get up at 4am to head back the same way. We ended up getting a pretty good deal on a hotel in Arlington for the night. I snapped this with my pocket camera after we returned from dinner. I played around on Photoshop to make it a little more interesting.

7-17-2010: Kickball!

The kickball tournament in DC was a lot of fun, even just as a spectator. The team Eddie played on won two out of their three morning games, which qualified them to move on to the next round. They ended up losing their next game, which meant they were done (single elimination format for the afternoon).

BONUS:
We were both sad to miss Hannah's second birthday yesterday so we drove down to have dinner and cake with Tim, Amanda and Hannah. It's hard to believe she's already two! She's getting to be quite the talker and, despite her Yankees outfit, is a super-cutie. Since she's been a subject in my photoblog a few times I figured she deserved her own Happy Birthday bonus entry!

7-15-2010: Progress

2010-07-15T19:37:00.001-07:00

We have been trying to get our office/music/guest room converted over to a guest/music/baby room. We got a nice organizer/shelving unit earlier this week and I put it together tonight. I also managed to get a lot of the baby stuff organized along with it. The shelf won't live in the location where it appears in this photo but I was proud of my assembly skills so it's the photo of the day:

7-14-2010

2010-07-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

I woke up feeling sick this morning and spent the day in bed and on the couch. I'm feeling mostly better now and am thankful that work is now calm enough for me to feel okay about missing a day.

I didn't take any photos today but wanted to post this:

I'm watching the ESPY awards (sports awards, put on by ESPN) tonight and was reminded of the amazing speech that Jimmy Valvano gave at the 1993 ESPY awards. If you have never watched this, or even if you have, it is worth taking a few minutes out of your day to watch. What an amazing man.

Jimmy Valvano ESPY Speech

Chino | MySpace Video

7-13-2010: Hi Ho Cherry-O

2010-07-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

Cherries have been on sale at Harris Teeter this week and we have taken advantage. And by we, I mean me....Eddie doesn't care for cherries. They have been a delicious snack to have around the apartment.

They got me thinking about a game I used to play with my parents when I was little called "Hi Ho Cherry-O. It had these small plastic cherries that you had to collect in your basket by spinning a spinner or something like that. You had to get a certain amount of cherries before the other players. I was curious to see if they still made the game, thinking they might not considering the cherries were pretty blatant choking hazards. I wikipedia-ed the game and found out they still make it but it was updated in 2008 to make it a cooperative game (vs. competitive). LAME!

7/11 and 7/12

2010-07-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

7/11/2010: Surprise!

The Seavers family threw a surprise baby shower for Eddie and I on Sunday. Well, it was a surprise to me. It was a really fun afternoon spent with family and friends. We are really lucky to have such great people in our lives.

7/12/2010: Toby the Turtle

Our friend Meredith attended the Baby Shower on Sunday and presented us with a wonderful handmade crocheted/knitted turtle. She said she watched a lot of West Wing while making him so we named him Toby after Toby Ziegler, one of the characters from the show. I have a feeling he will be a childhood favorite of Leroy. He's quite the cute little turtle!

Friday and Saturday Update

2010-07-10T19:41:00.001-07:00

7-9-2010: Finally...The Infamous Chatham Fog!

Eddie and I have seen Chatham As games for six summers now and had never seen the infamous "Fifth Inning Fog" that sometimes rolls into Veterans Field and interrupts games. Well, we got to see it! It actually came in and out during most of the game, which was actually kind of cool (I guess not so cool for the outfielders).

7-10-2010: Softball

Eddie and I were back in New Jersey today and got to watch Ellen play in three softball games today. It's always so much fun to watch her play. I'm going to miss not being able to follow her college games anymore since she is graduating from college in December after she student teaches.

This photo is nothing special (other than the fact that Ellen is batting)...just a shot from my seat. I spent the day enjoying the games (vs. taking lots of photos).

If you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air...

2010-07-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

7-6-2010: Back In Chatham

This is the fifth summer that Eddie and I have travelled up to Cape Cod for a “summer holiday”. Each summer we have gone to Chatham to watch their baseball team play. (The Cape has a summer league for college students. The players live with families, work jobs in the towns where they play, and some get picked up by major league teams because of their summer performances on the Cape.) Here is an action shot from the game:

7-7-2010: Sunrise

Our bed and breakfast did not have air conditioning (something we didn’t think to ask about when we were booking it). Our room had no breeze even with multiple windows on multiple walls open. (It was right across the street from the beach and was facing the wrong way to catch that breeze.) Needless to say, we were miserable. The room was an oven. We resorted to sleeping with wet towels on us to make it possible to catch just a few hours of sleep.
Once the sun started coming up, we were both awake again and decided to escape the heat with a walk on the beach. It was about 5:30am and was empty and beautiful, just about the only “plus” to being awake that early. We went for a long walk and I snapped some nice pictures of the sunrise (below) and some of the many gorgeous hydrangea flowers that dotted the road as we walked back to the bed and breakfast.

Note: We ended up leaving the Bed and Breakfast to find lodging with AC. It was a bummer to lose some money but completely worth it to be able to actually relax, sleep and enjoy our well-earned vacation.

7-8-2010: Ca-Ching, Ca-Ching

Happy Fourth Anniversary to us!

We enjoyed a very laid back day that consisted of a trip to a flea market in the parking lot of the Drive-In theater, reading, pizza for lunch, and a trip to Brewster for a baseball game (not our usual location or teams but still enjoyable). We were planning on going to an acapella concert in Brewster for the evening but found out tickets weren’t free so we opted to head back towards our motel via the Orleans baseball game. We then grabbed some snacks from the local grocery store and headed back to watch the big Lebron announcement. All in all, it was a very nice and relaxing day, which we both needed and enjoyed.

The photo for today is from the Brewster General Store. It was a really neat old fashioned general store with all sorts of items as well as a lot of authentic old pieces, like this cash register.

7-5-2010: Ridgewood Fireworks

2010-07-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

Today felt more like the Fourth of July with the big Ridgwood parade this morning and fireworks display tonight. The Seavers house faces both the parade route and the fireworks (literally across the street) so it was nice to be able to do both without having to go anywhere! The fireworks were awesome tonight:

7-4-2010: "I can't dance. I have to watch the pie."

2010-07-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

One of the parks in Ridgewood hosted a Revoluntionary War encampment of reenactors for the 4th today. Ellen and I walked over at noon, which was the time that the paper listed for the musket demonstrations. However, we ended up seeing a pretty awkward demonstration of colonial dancing. We were amused and it was a fun way to spend a little bit of time. Our favorite part was when Ye Olde Dancing Announcer/Emcee was trying to gather all of the colonial dancers and one of Ye Old Dancing Reenactors said that he couldn't dance because he had to "watch the pie." (They were cooking some pie over a fire.)

I snapped this shot of two of the women tending to the food on the fire.

Ridgewood's parade and fireworks are tomorrow so we'll continue with some patriotism then. Happy Birthday, America!

7-3-2010: Baby Chris

2010-07-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Now that I have successfully survived freshman orientation I think it's time I start getting serious about my photo blog again.

Eddie and I are up in New Jersey for the Fourth of July weekend. We got to visit with some friends this afternoon, including Baby Chris who is just a month old. I snapped this of Chris and his dad right before he went into the pool for a little dip. He is a super-cutie!

Wednesday Update

2010-06-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

As you probably have noticed, I haven't been posting daily. Work has been crazy busy with freshman orientation so between that and our normal active schedule....and oh yeah, being 7 month pregnant, taking a photo of the day has been put on the back burner.

I would, however, like to continue to share photographs as I take them and hopefully pick back up with a photo of the day once things have calmed down after orientation...especially once the baby gets here. It will be fun to watch him grow!

Over the weekend we went to see a Drum Corps International Show. I had been looking forward to it for months and really enjoyed it. Here are two shots that I enjoy from the evening:

6/16/2010: WAKA Wednesday

2010-06-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

To continue my WAKA Wednesday theme, I give you "Joe's Epic Sliding: Week 2"

6-12-2010

2010-06-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of taking the summer orientation leaders (along with colleague Katie) to a ropes course for their training. The course had both a low-ropes and a high-ropes component. It was really fun to watch them learn to work together and to challenge themselves, especially with the high ropes elements. I was amazed to see how much everyone pushed themselves, even if they had a fear of heights.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day:

6-9-2010 WAKA Wednesday

2010-06-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

Another exciting night of kickball action. (I still can't wait to get back out on the field of play!) Today's Photo is of Joe's epic (and completely unnecessary) slide into home.

6-8-2010

2010-06-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Eddie and I walked to Rita's Italian Ice this evening for a tasty treat. I brought my camera along in hopes of capturing something interesting. Nothing much going on caught my eye. Eddie suggested the Warwick Restaurant sign since it's a local landmark. He also liked how half of the sign was dimmer than the other half.

Fun Times!

2010-06-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

I flew up to New Jersey this weekend and saw this out of the plane:

(Usually we fly on the other side of Manhattan so I missed out on some nice city shots since I had picked my seat based on our usual flight pattern. But I still saw the Statue of Liberty and the Mets' stadium.)

While in New Jersey we celebrated Karen's pending nuptials with a bridal shower. It was a really fun event. I impressed myself by putting together this tomato/mozzarella platter. I may need to recreate it for some summer social event.

This morning we got to see the baby at the doctor's office. He looked much more like a baby this time and less like a skeleton. It was really neat to see him and feel him at the same time. He didn't really cooperate to get a full face shot so we only got to see half. (I have labeled the photo since it's sometimes hard to figure out what exactly you are looking at.)

6/3/2010: Navel Gazing

2010-06-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

I've enjoyed a quiet evening at home and I am being amused by Leroy (our placeholder nickname for the baby) moving around and making my stomach morph. I've lately noticed that my belly button is starting to flatten out too so I figured it might make an amusing photo of the day today since it's my current view as I relax.

6/2/2010: WAKA Wednesday

2010-06-02T19:59:00.001-07:00

The Jagernauts Adult Kickball team are having what the WAKA Peninsula League newsletter called a "Cinderella Season". It's been fun to hang out and watch them, though I am looking forward to getting back on the field of competition after Baby Seavers arrives. The game was pretty short tonight so I didn't take a bunch of photos. This is of first baseman Mike catching the ball for an out.

6/1/2010: Stormy Weather

2010-06-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Eddie and I headed up to Williamsburg after work to meet up with friend Heather. We meet at a NY Pizza/Deli place monthly for dinner and Scrabble. While our Scrabble wasn't stellar tonight it was good to catch up with Heather again and to plan future fun.

While we were at dinner it stormed a little but the sun had come out by the time we were done. I snapped this of the post-storm sky and a tree across the street from the restaurant.

Back In the Saddle Again

2010-05-31T19:13:00.001-07:00

Allrighty...I've been a slacker when it comes to actually taking photos and then posting them to this blog. I'm done being a bum and am going to get back on the regular daily schedule once more. Thank you for hanging in there and continuing to check back.

5/30/10: Hannah Grace continues to grow and to amaze...she is practically a little lady now! We got to hang out with her a little bit on Saturday and shared bathtime with her. This is Hannah post-bath in her froggy towel.

5/31/10: Eddie's sister Ellen has been visiting and it's been fun to have her around. This morning she played her first game of lawn darts while we were visiting with my parents. Too bad people are too safety paranoid these days to continue to manufacture lawn darts because they are super fun. Ellen did pretty well, as you can see in this photo of her celebrating her double-bullseye!

Sad Balloon

2010-05-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

It is a sad week in the apartment....my birthday balloon from Amie has finally lost it's oomph....after a little over seven months! I was kind of hoping that it would make it for the baby's birthday but over the last few days it has sunk to the ground. It's been a good balloon and quite impressive that it lasted so long.

Farewell balloon!

Picklestache

2010-05-24T20:31:00.001-07:00

I'm not quite sure why but my college roommates and I have had some odd fascination with mustaches. Tonight we were at a Tides baseball game and Sarah had a pickle with her hamburger. Naturally, there was only one thing to do with it...

Owen Robert

2010-05-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

Note to readers: Thank you for your patience as I was figuring out what was going on with not being able to upload photos. During that time I must admit that I took a break from taking photos every day. After over a year of taking photos everyday on top of being tired from work/being pregnant, it was nice to take that break. I know I have a lot of loyal readers out there so the blog will continue but there may be days that I don't post simply because there isn't anything particularly photo-worthy to note.

This weekend Eddie and I paid a visit to Amy and Dan and their new little guy Owen. It was a lot of fun to get away for the weekend and to spend time with them. Owen is just 5 weeks old and a little sweetheart. It got me looking forward even more to getting to meet our own little guy in a few months.

During our visit I got to harass Owen with my camera. I took a bunch of photos and had a few decent ones come out. Here are a few of my favorites:

Baby Bump!

2010-05-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Allrighty...two nights in a row...I may actually recommit to this blog now.

I didn't take this photo but thought you might enjoy seeing the baby bump. It looks a lot bigger in real life and in close-up pictures, I promise.

We're back??

2010-05-18T18:24:00.001-07:00

I managed to get a photo to upload after trying a combination of many suggestions I found in a message board through Google. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will continue to let me update!

I've missed so many posts in the last few weeks but will leave you with one of my favorites...I snapped this on Blue Lagoon Island in the Bahamas while Eddie and I were on our short cruise almost two weeks ago.
I'm hoping that I can get things going again here. Thank you for all of your patience, readers!

ARGH

2010-05-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

Still not able to get photos to upload. I updated some settings on my internet and switched over to Firefox and it let me upload one photo (a random one that I clicked on just to try...of course) and now it won't let me again. I'll keep fiddling so I can get back to this...I miss posting!

Frustration

2010-05-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

For some reason I was able to upload ONE photograph but since then have been unable. I'm not quite sure what is wrong and have tried to troubleshoot, read other troubleshooting blogs and webboards. Argh!

Eddie and I are heading out on a mini-cruise (was supposed to be a longer Alaska cruise later in the month but I will be "too pregnant" to go per the Carnival pregnancy policy). We'll be back on Monday and maybe the blog page will be fixed.

Thank you for your patience. I miss posting as much as you miss reading!

Aaaaand we're back....kind of.

2010-05-02T10:25:00.001-07:00

Thank you you all for your patience as my blog issues persisted. I finally found a useful help site since blogger doesn't let you actually contact anyone! I thought it was fixed but it only let me upload one photo for now...lame.

29/395: Having Some Fun

I shot some headshots of the summer orientation "Crew Leaders." We did some normal shots but I also had them do some fun shots as well. This is Bryan who is my campus stalker....but in a good way. I manage to see him more than I see most students...good thing I like him. :-) (Not sure if he reads this blog or not....Hi Bryan!)

30/396: 12 Inches

I've been growing my hair out for quite some time now and finally got it cut to donate. They ended up cutting 12 inches. I'll be sending it off to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. I'm enjoying my new hair cut!

31/397: Guest Photographer

Eddie had the good camera with him in New York City with the field trip he was chaperoning so his Friday photo is far better than mine...he snapped this beautiful shot from the Circle Line boat tour of NYC.

32/398: Quality Meats

I spent Saturday in NYC with Meredith and Eleni. They are of Eddie's friends from High School that I have been lucky enough to inherit. I really like spending time with them and loved the day we spent together on Saturday in the city...tasty lunch, time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, amazing dinner at Quality Meats and then seeing Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) in the revival of La Cage Aux Folles. A great city day!

33/399: Happy Birthday, Pop Pop!

The family managed to surprise loyal blog reader PopPop with a dinner party at Aldo's for his 21st birthday. (I won't disclose his actual age here...haha) He was really surprised and it was really nice to have so many family members all together to celebrate him. I'm very fortunate to have inherited Eddie's family too....I really do love them.

34/400: Retro Monday

I've been feeling less than inspired with the blog lately so I am going to use this week to feature photos I've taken in the past that I really enjoy in the hopes of getting reinspired.

This first retro shot is a portrait of friend Reggie. He's a really talented individual with talents ranging from graphic design to rapping. I did a photoshoot with him a long time ago and I had a really good time with it. This is one of my favorites from the shoot.

35/401: Retro Tuesday

The second retro shot is of my mom, her sisters and her mother in a corn field by my parent's house. I did a mini-shoot with them when they were together in November of 2008. It was a fun afternoon.

36/402: Retro Wednesday

My third retro shot is one I captured at the beautiful wedding of Tarah and Sam. I saw Tarah today so I thought it was appropriate to use this one today. I'd like to say that I capture images like this all of the time but this was really just a fluke of settings and timing.

37/403: Retro Thursday

This photo never fails to make me smile because it really captures the personality of Amy and Dan. They've been in my thoughts recently as they just had a little boy named Owen. :-) I am so happy for them and can't wait to meet him!

Still not uploading...

2010-04-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the photos still aren't uploading for some odd reason so I'm sitting on the text for all of the entries. So for those of you with vivid imaginations...here is the entry sans photos. I'm hoping this gets fixed soon so I can do an actual update!

29/395: Having Some Fun

I shot some headshots of the summer orientation "Crew Leaders." We did some normal shots but I also had them do some fun shots as well. This is Bryan who is my campus stalker....but in a good way. I manage to see him more than I see most students...good thing I like him. :-) (Not sure if he reads this blog or not....Hi Bryan!)

30/396: 12 Inches

I've been growing my hair out for quite some time now and finally got it cut to donate. They ended up cutting 12 inches. I'll be sending it off to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. I'm enjoying my new hair cut!

31/397: Guest Photographer

Eddie had the good camera with him in New York City with the field trip he was chaperoning so his Friday photo is far better than mine...he snapped this beautiful shot from the Circle Line boat tour of NYC.

32/398: Quality Meats

I spent Saturday in NYC with Meredith and Eleni. They are of Eddie's friends from High School that I have been lucky enough to inherit. I really like spending time with them and loved the day we spent together on Saturday in the city...tasty lunch, time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, amazing dinner at Quality Meats and then seeing Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) in the revival of La Cage Aux Folles. A great city day!

33/399: Happy Birthday, Pop Pop!

The family managed to surprise loyal blog reader PopPop with a dinner party at Aldo's for his 21st birthday. (I won't disclose his actual age here...haha) He was really surprised and it was really nice to have so many family members all together to celebrate him. I'm very fortunate to have inherited Eddie's family too....I really do love them.

34/400: Retro Monday

I've been feeling less than inspired with the blog lately so I am going to use this week to feature photos I've taken in the past that I really enjoy in the hopes of getting reinspired.

This first retro shot is a portrait of friend Reggie. He's a really talented individual with talents ranging from graphic design to rapping. I did a photoshoot with him a long time ago and I had a really good time with it. This is one of my favorites from the shoot.

35/401: Retro Tuesday

The second retro shot is of my mom, her sisters and her mother in a corn field by my parent's house. I did a mini-shoot with them when they were together in November of 2008. It was a fun afternoon.

36/402: Retro Wednesday

My third retro shot is one I captured at the beautiful wedding of Tarah and Sam. I saw Tarah today so I thought it was appropriate to use this one today. I'd like to say that I capture images like this all of the time but this was really just a fluke of settings and timing.

37/403: Retro Thursday

This photo never fails to make me smile because it really captures the personality of Amy and Dan. They've been in my thoughts recently as they just had a little boy named Owen. :-) I am so happy for them and can't wait to meet him!

Update

2010-04-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have the last week's update ready but the photos aren't loading for some reason. I will keep trying but I wanted to post just because it's been a week.

Thanks for your patience, loyal readers!

Note to Readers

2010-04-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy week here and I am very much looking forward to a weekend away. I'll be heading up to Jersey/NYC for the weekend so I'll do a big Wednesday-Monday recap on Monday.

Have a good weekend everyone!

28/394: Simple Gifts

2010-04-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

I had a long and challenging day at work today but was struck by the new blog of Deanna, one of our Orientation Student Directors and blog reader. She has started a photoblog of her own to capture "life's little wonders" around her. It got me thinking at the end of my long day about some of the simple things in life that I really enjoy. One of those things is having a pen that writes nicely. There are a few other people I know (including some blog readers...you know who you are...JOCELYN) that feel the same way about a good pen, especially in the office. We sometimes have to hide our good pens since they are such a hot commodity!

27/393: Playing with My Food

2010-04-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

I usually just buy the generic "Easy Mac" at Harris Teeter but this week Kraft was on sale for less than the generic.....AND the pasta are in the shapes of animals!

Weekend Update

2010-04-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

24/390: Nighty Night

I stayed home while Eddie went to watch hockey on Friday night. The work week had been pretty long and I just wanted to relax. I fell asleep during Jeopardy and woke up two hours later...clearly I needed the rest! I set up the camera on the armrest of the couch and snapped this later in the evening after I work up a little.

25/391: PhotoField Trip

I have known Susan for a number of years now. She was an RA on campus and has been a student worker in our office this year. She is a phenomenal student and I have really enjoyed getting to know her better this year. She is graduating this May and will be attending Princeton Theological Seminary (yes, THAT Princeton) in the fall. Though I will miss her in the office I am looking forward to hearing about her adventures.

Susan and I headed out to a local park on Saturday for a PhotoFieldTrip. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to get out and enjoy nature.

26/392: Deals for Leroy

Eddie and I have taken to calling the baby "Leroy" ever since Katie joked about us naming him Leroy Jethro after the main character Gibbs on the TV Show NCIS.

We stopped in at Babys R Us this afternoon with our coupon and reusable bag that got us 25% off baby clothes. We scoured the clearance racks and ended up with outstanding deals. Here is the spread of all seven items we ended up with for $6.14!

2010-04-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

23/389: Jagernauts Back In Action

Sadly I am unable to play kickball this season but I am excited to be a fan to support the team. The opening game of the season ended with a tie game but against one of the league's top teams.

24/390: Halfway There!

Technically I'm cheating because Eddie took this but I wanted to post this to mark the halfway mark of the pregnancy. It feels like it's been forever but it has also gone quickly at the same time.

Photos don't really do the baby bump justice...it's there!

22/388: Piggy!

2010-04-13T17:24:00.001-07:00

I got this pig cookie at the end of the work day. I told my dad about it on the phone and he reminded me of a joke and suggested this as a photo of the day:

The joke:

A tourist on a farm asked the farmer why one pig had a wooden leg.

The farmer said, "That pig is the bravest pig I ever saw."

"So why does he have a wooden leg?" the tourist asked.

"One night, our house caught on fire, and he came inside and woke us all up."

The tourist asked again, "So, why does that pig have a wooden leg?"

"You can't eat a pig that brave all at once!"

Weekend Update

2010-04-12T19:32:00.001-07:00

19/385: Already Driving...

We got to spend some fun time with the Rossettini family on Saturday. It was a beautiful day so we took some time to hang out in their backyard. Little Hannah is getting so big already and is a recent new owner of a sporty car!

20/386: Fun With Santoro

I got a chance to spend a little time with the RA (Resident Assistant) staff of one of our residence halls. Their Hall Director Krystal asked that I take some photos of them as a staff. They are a really fun group of students. I snapped some photos of smaller groups that I really liked but thought this group shot was fun too since they were good sports about getting up in the tree.

21/387: What's In A Name

Since Eddie and I are still without a name for our kiddo (I know it's only been four days since we found out it's a boy) I'm on the lookout for names. I'm borrowing a family geneaology book that traces the lineage of the Stark family, which is on my dad's side. The book is really awesome compilation of history starting with ancestors in the mid-1400s. My favorite part of the stories are in the 1700s when the family came over to the colonies. John Stark, of "Live Free or Die" fame, falls in this period and there are a lot of interesting stories. I love the little notes by some of the names including Thomas Jefferson Cameron. SHE was given the name before she was born and her "stubborn, Scotch father refused to chang it when the child proved to be a girl." They called her "Jeffie."

Once the book hits the kids born around 1900 I lose interest. Old stories are much better than the newer ones....i.e. falling off a horse on Long Island beats graduating from Syracuse with a degree in System Engineering.

18/384: The Search Begins...

2010-04-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

Of course the only name Eddie and I had decided on was for a little girl so we're in the search for a name for our little boy. A friend from work loaned us a baby name book that is separated into many categories...including this one:

17/383: It's a...

2010-04-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the doctor and got to see quite a bit of our little one. We got to see femurs and ulnas, four heart chambers and......we got to find out that we will be having a little boy!

Big Update!

2010-04-07T19:04:00.001-07:00

I've been delinquent in updating but I have the photos for each day....here we go:

13/379: Easter Time!

Each year CNU's Residence Hall Association hosts an Easter Egg Hunt. Eddie and I have gone almost every year that we have been here and always enjoy it. This year there were tons of kiddos and also this:

14/380: Last Minute Adventure

A friend from college (and avid Duke fan AND blog reader....Hi Julie!) posted on her Facebook that she might be taking a trip to the Duke vs. Butler NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in Indianapolis....but she needed someone to go with her. It got me thinking about going....long story short, Julie couldn't go but Kathleen and I decided at 10:00pm on Sunday that we'd drive up. This is a quick shot of my bags and cooler ready to go.

15/381: One Shining Moment

I could take up a million entries talking about how amazing it was to be at the Championship Game. Instead, I'll post this picture as it really sums up why I love Coach K and the Duke Boys so much.

16/382: My BFF MKB

I am lucky enough to have my best friend live close enough to where we can see each other pretty regularly. She came up tonight for kickball practice (she's taking my place on the team this season...hehe) and stayed for dinner. She's also spending the night and coming with us to the doctor for the grand gender unveiling of the baby. I snapped this of her with her new Duke shirt, fresh from Indy.

12/378: Little Monkey

2010-04-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at this outfit at Kohl's since before we even knew for sure that we were pregnant. We finally bought it tonight and will know on Thursday (if the baby cooperates) if it will be a boy or girl wearing it.

11/376: Carmaleta

2010-04-01T17:24:00.001-07:00

After work today I had the pleasure of getting to practice my portrait skills with Carmaleta. She is a senior here at CNU that does graphic art work for our offices. She is also engaged to one of the clarinet players from the marching band here. She was very easy-going and fun to work with....and even climbed up on one of the lions at the Lion's Bridge! I can't wait to edit the rest of her portraits.

10/375: T.J.

2010-03-31T18:08:00.001-07:00

Tonight Katie and I went to the Ferguson Center on campus to see Thomas Jefferson. Clearly it was not ACTUAL Thomas Jefferson (that would have been AMAZING) but it was one of, if not THE leading first-person historical interpreter of Thomas Jefferson. I saw Clay Jenkinson a few years ago on campus and loved him. I got really excited when I saw he was coming back to campus and wasted no time inviting Katie. She is my kindred spirit history nerd so I knew she'd enjoy it.

Mr. Jenkinson came out "as" Thomas Jefferson, spoke to the audience for a while about his presidency, books, etc. and then entertained questions. He did a great job, was interesting, made us laugh and made us want to learn Greek so we could read the original Homer.

Sadly cameras weren't allowed during the presentation and he took his wig off so we couldn't get the second month of our Katie and Beth Meet the President's calendar taken care of. (We met Lincoln a few summers ago.) I did, however, snap this of a tree branch with the Ferguson Center in the background. Hurray for Spring!

9/374: Post-Its

2010-03-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

This is my view of the couch for most of this evening...trying to get some work things to work. *fingers crossed*

8/373: Dancing with the CNU Stars

2010-03-29T17:29:00.001-07:00

One of the things I enjoy about working on a college campus is getting to be involved in some fun programs. Tonight I sat as a guest judge for "Dancing with the CNU Stars" competition. It was an event set up much like the actual TV show with a Ballroom Dance Society club member being paired with a staff/fraternity/sorority/club representative. It was a lot of fun and, although I was nervous about having to make commentary in front of a crowd, I feel like I wasn't a completely incompetent judge!

And in case you are wondering, yes that is a person in a bear costume. The bear was the representative from our Alpha Phi sorority chapter. The bear danced a very energetic polka!

6/371 & 7/372: Weekend

2010-03-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night a group of friends went to Luckie's a new dueling piano place in Hampton. As many of you know I was a long-time fan of Crocodile Rocks, the dueling piano place that used to be in Norfolk. I had very high expectations for the piano players and the place in general because I loved Croc Rocks so much. I must say that Luckie's was a great time and I look forward to going back again.

Today I got to enjoy watching friends play some kickball AND soak up some sun. It was another nice day here and it was nice to be outside. At the kickball fields I noticed a large bird's nest on the top of one of the light poles. The bird was initially in the nest but then it flew away. I kept an eye out and snapped some shots when it was returning to the next with some food. Based on my basic ornithological knowledge and then some follow up internet research I think this is an osprey. (If you know different, please let me know.)

5/370: Tale as old as time...

2010-03-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight Eddie and I met up with some friends to see the Tallwood High School production of "Beauty and the Beast" the musical. Tim conducted the pit and Katie was rocking it out on horn. The show was pretty good...once I changed my ear/eyes from Broadway perspective. The highlight for me was the girl dressed as a GIANT whisk in the Be Our Guest number. Amazing.

I snapped this quickly at the end of the show of the pit:

4/369: Genus: Narcissus

2010-03-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally had a few nice days in a row. The buds on the trees are popping and the daffodils on campus have popped up and bloomed. I enjoyed seeing the daffodils today and went out behind our building after work to snap this.

3/368: Fridge

2010-03-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

Eddie and I have put together quite the collection of photos and such on our fridge. I don't really pay much attention to it on a day to day basis but it caught my eye tonight and thought it might be fun for a mini-scavenger hunt for you loyal readers out there.

For those of you with a keen eye you might spot:
-Dolly Parton
-The magnet from the apartment complex I lived in at JMU
-A JMU football ticket stub
-Matt and Sarah's wedding Save the Date magnet
-Two baby Hannahs
-Two pictures of Eddie and I with the Easter Bunny

2/367: Tiptoe....

2010-03-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

Kathleen brought tulips to the apartment as a suprise before Eddie's marathon with a nice note thanking me for supporting them. Truthfully I'm thankful for Kathleen because she's been a great support for Eddie. They make a good team and I am also glad she's there to be a support for Eddie's running. (At 5:30am being able to turn over in bed while another person heads out to run 10 miles in the cold with my husband is a nice thing!) I am very proud of both of them as they really stuck to their guns, powered through some very cold training mornings and accomplished their goal on Sunday.

The tulips she brought over are beautiful and I knew they would be a photo of the day at some point this week.

1/366: Photography Club

2010-03-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

First photo of the second Project 365...so technically Photo 366. I feel like I should do something different this time around but I think the format works for what I want to do and I can try new themes and methods throughout the next year (i.e. shooting in manual for a week, trying new Photoshop techniques, etc.).

Tonight we had a CNU Photography Club meeting. (I am the staff advisor.) At the end they played a hilarious game that involved teams of two having to pass tissues between a person laying on the floor with a straw and a person in a chair with a party horn. I'll have to remember this activity for future social gatherings/parties because it was pretty funny. I didn't know they had this planned so I had to run up to the office to borrow the office camera to snap this:

365: Much to celebrate

2010-03-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Well....I did it! I have officially completed my Project365. It has been well worth the time and effort. I have loved documenting the events of my life from the very mundane to the lifechanging. In going back through the last year I feel very lucky to have had such amazing opportunities to travel, to grow in my job position, to spend time with so many wonderful friends and to have a great husband to support me.

Speaking of my husband....today he ran his second marathon! I was out of the state at a conference when he had his first marathon so I was so proud to be able to be there today to support him. Today was also a big day for Kathleen (Eddie's faithful running partner, who I am forever thankful for because she is the one up with Eddie before sunrise for long runs) and Dan (work friend) also completed their first marathons.

And as my Photo#365 I present this shot of Eddie with Riley (Kathleen's niece who loves her Eddie!) after the race today.

Oh, and for all of you faithful readers out there...I think I am going to continue with my PhotoBlog. I have found such satisfaction in sharing a snapshot of each day of this year. I know that the next year is going to bring even more changes and I look forward to sharing them with you. Thanks for reading!

363 & 364

2010-03-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

363: Eddie and I headed down to my parents' house after work on Friday to watch the Duke basketball game and put Eddie closer to VA Beach for his big race weekend. I snapped this last night before heading to bed. It's a photograph of grandfather (Mom's dad) who I never met. My parents have his photo up with some of his Army items.

364: It was a gorgeous day here in Moyock. Mom, Dad and I sat out on the deck to play a few rounds of Upwords. It's a really fun game and especially enjoyable when played outside on one of the first nice weekends of the year!

359-362

2010-03-18T16:54:00.001-07:00

I have had a series of late nights this week that have kept me from posting my photos but I have been keeping up with actually taking them!

359: Sugar and Spice

Nothing that inspiring about my day this day but I was eating some gumdrops and thought they'd make a good subject for the day given their colors and the sugar texture.

360: For a Cause...

Last week our state's attorney general issued a memo to institutions of higher education regarding the place (or rather, the inappropriateness) of sexual orientation in the non-discrimination policies. The CNU students put together a rally this week to voice the student opinion about keeping the policy alive on our campus so that our LGBT community can remain safe. I was proud that a rally actually happened on campus...it would have been nice to have had more people attend but it was good that something happened!

361: Luck Of the Irish

Carbon Leaf is an AMAZING Irish-inspired rock band from Virginia. I've seen them quite a few times but last night's concert was, by far, the best. Any band with a lead singer that rocks some serious pennywhistle solos is okay by me! I didn't do much edits to this photo other than cropping it since we were in the back of the venue. I really like the lighting and shadows on the stage.

362: The Madness!

This is the third year that I have organized a NCAA Men's Basketball Bracket Competition for our department. This year we have 19 staffers participating. I love "grading" the brackets as games are played and seeing how everyone is doing. What a fun time of year!

Late Nights

2010-03-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

It's been a little nutso in my work world this week so taking power naps and relaxing before late night meetings have taken precedence over posting my photos....I do have photos for the last two days but updating will need to wait.

358: Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Iccceeee Creeeeeeeeeeeeam!

2010-03-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

My subject heading is a reference (a vague one) to The Music Man when Professor Harold Hill gets the School Board members to become a barbershop quartet. Classic.

I got some ice cream (well, frozen custard) from Rita's down the street this afternoon. I managed to take a break from eating it long enough to take a photo of it. Delicious!

357: Rikkers!

2010-03-13T19:27:00.001-08:00

A good friend from JMU, Scott, was in town for a band event this weekend so a group of us went out to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. We had a great time and laughed a lot. This is a photoshopped photo of Scott's martini and his glasses.

356: Elphaba!

2010-03-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

It's a rainy and windy evening so I have enjoyed just laying on the couch and taking it easy. I'm not feeling super today (headache,a little bit of a sore throat, just generally tired from a crazy week at work) so it was a welcome quiet night.

Katie got me a fantastic Wicked (The Musical) pop-up book for Christmas and one of my favorite pages is this one:

355: March Madness!

2010-03-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

My favorite time of the year is almost here! March Madness! I am very excited to get the brackets going and to start following the games!

354: Na na na na na na na na, Na na na na na na na na....

2010-03-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

....BATMAN!

The highlight of my day today was being told by a student that there was a dead bat under a sofa in the building where I work. I crouched down and sure enough, there it was! We got one of the floor supervisors to come with a broom and dustpan to remove it. I snapped this shot with my wonderful student worker Susan's cell phone since I didn't have a camera with me. I photoshopped it the best I could from a really dark cell phone photo but it was just too ridiculous to pass up for a Photo of the Day.

In case you need some assistance "seeing" the bat:

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

2010-03-09T18:45:00.001-08:00

Greetings loyal readers. Thank you for your patience as I enjoyed a long weekend away in Florida. It was really nice to get away, see Eddie's family, watch Ellen play softball and enjoy some Disney. Here are my shots from the last five days:

349: Welcome To Orlando!

This fountain is in the middle of the atrium of the Orlando airport. There is a semi-Hidden Mickey in this shot. :-)

350: Experiments in Spectromagic

When I was in Atlanta the hotel had a series of four photographs taken of city scenes (traffic, buildings, etc) that were out of focus. I really liked the effect and tried taking some during the Magic Kingdom Spectromagic parade. I am pleased with the outcomes. Here is one of them:

351: Up, Up and Away...

We have been going to Florida at this time of year for Eddie's sister's softball tournaments for a few years now and each year we notice hot air balloons in the morning. This year the house was located near the flight path of the balloons so we got a great view of them each morning. It was really beautiful. I shot this from our bedroom window:

352: Practically Perfect In Every Way

I've never been a princess kind of girl but I AM a Mary Poppins girl. I, at the age of 28, get really excited when I see her in the Disney parades. I was pleased to spot her on the "Characters In Flight" balloon in Downtown Disney. (We didn't ride this balloon...$16 is a little steep if you ask me!)

353: S-C-R-A-B-B-L-E

Eddie and I met up with Heather in Williamsburg at our usual restaurant for dinner and Scrabble. We had a great time enjoying good food, good music, good Scrabble and our youth (we were very young compared to most of the other people there). I forgot to get a photo when we were at the restaurant to I took this when we got home.

Note for readers

2010-03-05T21:39:00.000-08:00

We are in Florida this weekend (yay!!!) and just got settled. Since it's late tonight and we will probably have another late night tomorrow night I may not updated until Sunday. Thank you for your patience and have a great weekend!

348: A come from behind (almost) victory

2010-03-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

Trivia night tonight was quite fun as we battled to tie for first. We didn't win the Rock/Paper/Scissors battle to officially come in first but we were proud of our performance.

I was tired tonight and so didn't try too terribly hard for my photo so here is Karen's mug from tonight taken with my pocket digital...obviously played with in Photoshop.

347: Big News

2010-03-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we didn't win the lottery last night but we do have other exciting news...

Eddie and I are really happy to announce that we are expecting our first child at the beginning of September! It's been hard to keep this a secret for so long! So far I've had some of the normal pregnancy fun with nausea and fatigue but with the start of the second trimester I'm already feeling better.

We get a weekly email with updates about what is going on with the baby in terms of development and size. This week the baby is the size of a lemon, hence this Photo of the Day.

346: fingers crossed

2010-03-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

The MegaMillions lottery is up past $100 million so Eddie and I are playing tonight. Here's to hoping for a little luck!

345: Squished!

2010-03-01T18:58:00.001-08:00

I have been a collector of pressed pennies/coins for quite some time now. It's a fun thing to collect because of the simple fun of finding the machines and only having to spend 51 cents for a souvenir. It's also fun because now I have friends that will see machines where they are visiting and bring me one.

Fun Facts about Beth's Pressed Coin Collection:
-The collection consists of 277 pressed pennies, 6 pressed quarters, 4 pressed dimes, 3 pressed nickels and 2 pressed euros.
-The first pressed penny was from the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee.
-The pressed coin from the furthest away is the pressed euro Beth's grandmother brought her from Italy with a portrait of The Pope on it.
-One of the most random pressed pennies in the collection is from Baltimore and has Frank Zappa on it.
-The funniest place Beth ever got a pressed penny (although she watched someone else actually crank it...*cough* Mother-In-Law *cough*) was in front of an adult video store in New York City.

341, 342, 343, & 344: Much Needed Escape

2010-02-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

I apologize for not giving you loyal readers any warning that I'd be away from posting for a few days. I had a mini-vacation with three college friends to Atlanta. On Thursday Night, Katie and I drove to Charlotte to Amy's house for the night. I was excited to get to see Amy and Dan's future son's nursery. I snapped this of the corner of the window treatment. So cute.

Katie, Amy and I got up bright and early on Friday morning and headed south to Atlanta to meet up with Logan, who flew in from Chicago. We checked into the Hotel Palomar, which was absolutely hip, trendy and really swanky. (Logan won the stay in a raffle.) Once we got settled in we headed out to explore Atlanta. One of our stops was the World of Coca-Cola. (Sidenote: The admission fee was $15. I don't think it was worth it. It felt like a giant ad for Coke rather than a look into the history, the process, etc. of their products.) As part of admission we each got a little bottle of coke. They did look kind of neat coming off the conveyor belt.

On Saturday we went to the Georgia Aquarium, which was abosolutely worth the cost of admission. We had a blast seeing all of the exhibits and learning new things. (I love that I have friends that enjoy that!) One of my favorite parts of the aquarium was the jellyfish tank. I spent quite some time by it with my camera trying to get some good shots. I'm pleased with a few of them and hope to maybe enlarge some of them. This is one of my favorites:

(This is without edits...the colors and lighting were like that, which is what made the exhibit so awesome.)

Sadly this morning we had to get up and head back north. I snapped this out of our hotel room as we were getting ready to leave.

I didn't realize how much I needed this little time away. It felt good to just be relaxed with friends, laugh until I cry, eat delicious food and see new places. I am so lucky to be able to take advantage of such weekends!

340: Looking forward to...

2010-02-24T20:26:00.001-08:00

First of all, I want to say a special hello to blog reader BFB (Big Furry Bully) who asked if I had updated yet tonight. Here you go!

I am very much looking forward to...

...road trip to Charlotte/Atlanta with three of my favorites this weekend
...taking my camera on said road trip for a change of photo-scenery
...hanging out with the Seavers peeps in Florida next weekend
...watching Eddie's sister play softball in Florida
...going to Magic Kingdom for the day

In honor of the last item, here are some Mickey-shaped crackers we got at the Disney store in NYC over winter break.

339: 500

2010-02-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to the CNU basketball games with some coworkers and their families. The CNU women continued their undefeated season and the CNU Men's coach celebrated his 500th career win. This photo is taken after the men's game when they presented the coach with a #500 jersey and let him give a speech to the crowd. It was pretty neat. Eddie is in Williamsburg for a conference with the SLR so I snapped this with my pocket digital. I was pretty impressed with how the shot came out considering the arena lights were out.

338: Good Hair

2010-02-22T20:01:00.001-08:00

I have said it numerous times before but I'll say it again...I really enjoy the opportunities for learning that I get to have for free (or very inexpensive). Tonight I went to a showing of Chris Rock's documentary "Good Hair." It was a really fascinating and funny look at the hair culture within the African-American community. After the documentary some of my Student Affairs colleagues led a discussion with a panel and with the audience members. I am really fortunate to be able to learn new things in this kind of way.

I snapped this with my pocket digital during the discussion portion of the evening.

337: Ah, Sun!

2010-02-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

The sun was out today and it was in the 50s, which was amazing. Eddie and "the Katies" had a kickball doubleheader today. It felt so good to be outside in the sun. After the doubleheader (including a win!), Eddie and Katie L. had to ref a game. One of the teams in that game is the team of local broadcaster LaSalle Blanks. He has been pretty involved in local kickball for a while and I believe his team even went to the Las Vegas national kickball championships. LaSalle is the gentleman in the black pants with the white stripes. In addition to getting a creeper shot of LaSalle for Katie B. I wanted to show that the sun was actually out today!

336: Breakfast for Dinner

2010-02-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

Eddie and I have been talking about having breakfast for dinner for a few nights now so we finally did it. Delicious addition to Olympic Curling!

335: Future Duke Star (Ignore his Carolina Blue Jersey today)

2010-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

My good friend Jocelyn's son, Dalon, is a 7th grader and is a great basketball player. I have been telling her for a few years that Dalon is, under no circumstances, allowed to go to UNC for college. She always says he'll go where they offer him money....I am really hoping it's not UNC because if that's the case I will only go to one of his home games each season....the game vs. Duke. Yes, I understand he's only 7th grade and he may not even want to play ball in college but a girl can dream, right?

Eddie and I went to Dalon's game tonight and it was a lot of fun. It's neat to see the kids really starting to understand the concepts of the game, setting up plays and not being ball hogs and such. I really enjoyed myself and am looking forward to going to Jocelyn's daughter's basketball game tomorrow afternoon! I would imagine she'll be my photo of the day then.

334: Give a Day. Get a Day.

2010-02-18T20:08:00.001-08:00

Eddie and I took off work this afternoon to volunteer at the Peninsula Food Bank. We signed up to do the service as part of Disney's "Give a Day. Get a Day" program. We were originally supposed to help out with stuffing backpacks that are given to young school kids to take home over the weekend that contain nutritious food and snacks. (Our area has many children that only eat the school meals and so the weekends are a time when they might not get to eat.) The backpacks had already been stuffed when we got there so we worked to put together large food orders from churches that distribute meals weekly. We worked with two Foodbank employees and another family (Mom, Dad and twin 7-year old boys) that was also participating in the Disney program. The orders were HUGE and had to be stacked on multiple palettes. Some of the food items were cases of canned pork, spaghetti sauce, powdered milk and soup. Once we put these orders together and then helped with an assembly line that put together take home bags that were full of a variety of food items (cereal, applesauce, rice, etc.).

My thoughts as a result of this experience:
1) I am very thankful for what I have.
2) This thankfulness turned into guilt for volunteering in order to get Disney tickets when the people who utilize this facility do not have the means to feed themselves or their families.
3) I should volunteer more often.

333: Ugly Monkey Lamp

2010-02-17T19:28:00.001-08:00

I have had my Ugly Monkey Lamp since college. I honestly had forgotten about him until tonight when I was looking for a subject for my photo of the day and saw him nestled on the shelf behind photographs.

332: Bamboo Sitting

2010-02-16T18:43:00.001-08:00

I am bamboo sitting for my parents who are away in Florida for their annual trek south for part of the winter. I'm still feeling pretty uninspired artistically so I literally took this photo from my spot on the couch where I have been all night watching the Olympics.

331: Manual Challenge Day 7

2010-02-15T19:22:00.001-08:00

The Manual Challenge hasn't been as successful as I had hoped it would be only because I didn't really put much effort forth in the blog this week. I'm hoping this week is better.

This photo just about sums up how the day was...

330: Manual Challenge Day 6

2010-02-14T18:38:00.001-08:00

Today I watched Eddie and the two Katies play some kickball. This is Katie B's first season playing kickball and she rocked it out today. I felt like a proud parent as she bunted and made her way around to third!

328 & 329: Manual Challenge/Cheating Day

2010-02-13T19:45:00.000-08:00

328: Opening Ceremonies

Every year when my parents go to Florida for 6 weeks I host a get-together at their house. It has, historically, been a ridiculously fun time and this year was no exception, especially with the addition of Olympic Opening Ceremonies. We had quite the spread of food and really enjoyed the ceremony coverage.

329: Cheating a bit...

Eddie and I headed up to Norfolk to watching the Admirals take on the Lowell Devils with Matt and Sarah. It was a really fun night despite the Devils losing. I didn't bring my "good" camera with me because I didn't want to chance having to walk all of the way back to the car if the bag-searchers wouldn't let me in with it. I just had my small digital, which doesn't have manual options so I'll have to add a day to my week of my Manual Challenge. (I still followed the "no post-processing" rule though.)

327: Manual Challenge Day 4

2010-02-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

Tonight's manual shot was a challenge due to the extremely low lighting in the Weekend Pub since I couldn't fix levels with Photoshop. The shot is of cheesecake, obviously, that Eddie ordered as a snack during Trivia. We tied for second tonight and won Rock, Papers, Scissors to procure the $10 2nd Place Gift Certificate.

326: Manual Challenge Day 3

2010-02-10T19:55:00.001-08:00

One of my bosses gave Eddie and I his two tickets for the CNU basketball doubleheader tonight. I really enjoy going to the games, especially the Men's Games because I have had interactions with many of the players through being in the Student Affairs office. I snapped this of Josh as he was waiting to come in. I happened to get a player dribbling through the frame as a blur. Not a great shot but the best I got with all of the manual settings through the fast pace and odd lighting of the gym....especially without allowing myself to do fixes with Photoshop on the back end.

325: Manual Challenge: Day 2

2010-02-09T19:25:00.001-08:00

Well, Day 2 of my "Shoot Completely in Manual" is complete. Tonight's photo is an homage to the 14 bags of Goldfish Eddie and I collected over the last week. Thanks to an internet coupon and a Harris Teeter coupon each bag only cost two cents! That's right, folks...at the end of the week we ended up paying 28 cents for all of those Goldfish!

324: 7 Day Challenge

2010-02-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight CNU's Photography Club hosted Mark Warren, a photographer that I met while assisting the main photographer at a friend's wedding earlier this year. Mark was very helpful to me the day of the wedding and shared a lot of his insight and experience with me. I mentioned him to the Photography Club and they wasted no time getting him to come in to speak to the club.

I was newly inspired to better myself as a photographer as a result of this session. I am challenging myself to, for the next seven days, shooting only in manual for my Photos of the Day and not doing any post-processing in Photoshop. This, as Mark said, will challenge me to think before I shoot and work hard to get the correct settings. I anticipate a few of the shots not being all that great but this week is about learning.

Here is Day One of the Seven Day Challenge: Flowers From My Husband

322 & 323: Weekend Fun

2010-02-07T19:48:00.001-08:00

This weekend was full of fun events including a cupcake themed birthday party for a 2-year old, CNU's Captains' Ball (semi-formal dance for the students), the Mu Nu Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi's Beta Class First Degree and the Super Bowl.

322: Emily's Eye

The Captains' Ball theme was Night Out in the Big Cities and in the Rio Room there was a face painter. This photograph is of Emily, a CNU student, that got her eye painted and feathered. I like this shot a lot because of the expression on her face and in her eyes, as well as the actual art of the eye painting.

323: Mu Nu

I know that I have written here before but I am very glad to have the opportunity to support the brothers of CNU's Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi. They are always good for a laugh and truly have grown as individuals and as a brotherhood since I met some of them almost four years ago. I snapped this of Jen and her new little brother Zack this afternoon at their event. Jen is ridiculously crafty and made these shirts for them. Love it!