Technology. Is. Rad.

I got to try out my brand new iPod nano the other night, which has within it a little camera that you can record precious little moments, like the one below. I love that even when we're old and grey and don't remember too much, we'll have these memories on film to remind us of when she was just a little girl....

Santa is borrowing my guest room.

Last night, after much delaying and substituting wine and television for it, I have completed my wrapping of gifts. I was not happy to do it, at all. It seems this task inevitably gets laid on my shoulders year after year. It looks like Christmas threw up in the guest bedroom. After nearly two and a half hours straight of standing upright, with tedious measuring of the paper, cutting it in perfectly straight lines, taping every open crevice, and labeling each package, it was complete. And I am in serious need of a professional back massage. I am happy to be able to say that I finished this before Christmas Eve, but nonetheless.... There's another little elf in the house and next year I'm pretty sure that all the shopping and wrapping will be left in his capable, albeit spoiled, hands.

And, I realize that this will be the last year that I'll be able to openly hold all the schwag in the guest room, in plain sight, so yep, I sure am cherishing it. Because if she's anything like me, she's gonna be really good at finding things. Which means we have to be very creative starting next year.

It Does A Body Good...

Someone's loving the milk. Maybe it's because she's finally handling the cup solo without spilling it all over herself that's bringing that big smile of accomplishment. Maybe it's just because she sees the camera pointed at her face. Either way, it's stinkin' cute.

It's After Ten - Do You Know Where Your Christmas Cards Are?

I know where mine are. Sitting right beside me at this very moment, waiting to be addressed and stamped, and sent off in hopefully a timely manner first thing in the morning. I've never been this late in sending cards since living out here.

Do you ever have a moment where you swear you will never, ever let something go so far as it's nearly forgotten? I had that moment in June of 2006. After settling back in after a week of vacation, unwinding from all the planning and execution of a long distance wedding, it was needless to say I was spent. I didn't want to pick up a pen; I dreaded the stack of blank thank you cards that stared at me every evening I came home from work. It'd been weeks since our big day and I still hadn't done them. Thinking about it gave me writer's cramp, carpel tunnel and I believe a mild case of tendonitis. So I reached out for sympathy, understanding and possibly a "don't worry about it" from my faceless friends on the internet. People I had never met before in real life on a website's bulletin board. I was met with scrutiny and name calling that brought me to shame, ridden with guilt and tears that told me only two things: 1) I needed to stop seeking advice from people who did not know or care about me, because they probably were too busy drowning their sorrows in Haagen Daaz, looking down on me from their soap boxes; and 2) I needed to just get them done.

How does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Here I come, Christmas cards. You might get there later than sooner, but you'll all be in your proper mailboxes before Friday.

Oh, Where To Start.

You must start at the beginning.

The beginning came one May night in 2004, when he asked me for my phone number. It took about a month for me to actually see him again, and his persistence and patience finally paid off with a sushi luncheon that ended with a phone call to my cousin, telling her that I had just had a date with the man I was going to marry. It was not too long after that we knew for certain that this was not just another thing. It was the beginning.

Since the beginning, we've had many firsts and lasts. Our last first date; our last first kiss; our last first "I Love You". We moved to a place where we have grown together, as individuals and as a couple, and our dedication to eachother has proven a solid foundation for the rest of our lives together. We made promises to eachother in front of 180 people, almost two years from the beginning, and with respect, trust, love and loyalty we know those promises will never be in vain.

We've brought life into this world by the grace of God, and she encompasses more of our happiness and joy than we ever thought possible. In the last eighteen months, we've watched the parts of each of us come through in her, and she's truly a brilliant combination of two into one. She is our love personified. We continue to learn with her every day, to see the world as completely new and wonderful, and she brings immeasurable light into our lives.

The beginning is wonderful, because there's so much waiting to happen after it.