I have gorgeous friends. Please meet one of them.

When I was pregnant, I was not a glowing expectant mother. If I 'glowed' at all, it was the result of an ever-present fine sheen of sweat and vomit. Not glowy. No, not at all.

My friend, Brittany, however, is definitely one of the loveliest pregnant women I have ever seen. In a non-pregnant state, she is gorgeous. Pregnant...WOW!...amazingly beautiful.

She was kind enough to help me work on my photo skills one evening, and I got to capture some lovely maternity images. These are a few of my favorites.

(These are her husband's baby booties. I think it's so sweet that his mother kept them and that Brittany has them now for her baby. )

This baby is one lucky girl. She is much anticipated and much loved, and has such intelligent, cool parents. A lucky baby girl, indeed.

See? She's gorgeous, no?

Thanks, Britt, for letting me take these and for being so patient with the weeds and the grass and the bugs. :) I hope you like them. I learned a lot and had so much fun with you and baby D!

5 (good) things!

Thankfully, the hullabaloo that accompanies a four-year-old's birthday party is over (pics to come soon!), and now I am in the post party cleanup, catch-up-on-everything-else stage. The nice thing about this is that it gives me a chance to reflect on what's going on in my life, and to be grateful for the good things. I have a lot, but for tonight, here are a few of those good things.

1. I have the best sister in law ever. No, seriously - E.V.E.R. I can't even begin to count how many times she has kept me from crossing over into insanity, and she did it again this weekend. She helped me pull together all the details of Riley's birthday, and while I was at a work commitment the night before the party, she made three dozen cupcakes for me so I wouldn't be up until 3 am. She's a keeper, I tell ya. Jamie- Thank you for everything you do for me and for Riley. We sure do love you!

Jamie with Karlee and Riley, July 2011

2. Since I'm staying put in my condo for a while, I've decided to make over my bedroom. I've given myself a pretty decent budget (in my opinion), and am going to make it into exactly the space I want it to be. The last time I had a bedroom that was exactly what I wanted was in high school, and I am more excited about this than is actually reasonable. Oh well - I'm allowed, right? I'm getting started this week with some closet deconstruction and reconstruction, then painting a new color and getting new bedding and whatnot. I hope to be done by the time labor day weekend is over.

3. The Girl received a set of different card games for her birthday, and I've spent a good portion of today teaching her to play 'Go Fish' and 'Crazy Eights'. It's so fun to watch her try to strategize her way through these types of games. She's pretty good at Go Fish, Crazy Eights baffles her every time, but the one game she can beat me at every time - Memory Match. Really! She has an amazing photographic memory and can kick my trash every time we play.

Go Fish

4. So far, it seems like all my east coast friends weathered the hurricane safely and with minimal problems. There are a couple I haven't heard from yet, but it seems like they are ok from their facebook and twitter updates. I'm so grateful for their safety, and for the technology that helps us keep tabs on each other quickly and easily.

5. I have some major creative energy going these days. I love how it feels to be in this mode, and to have that mojo carry over into other areas of life. My brain is exploding with a bunch of ideas and I am actually making the time to execute them. It's a good thing, and I've found it is so important in helping me stay open and centered.

What's good in your life tonight?

"To sleep, perchance to dream"

I'm letting Riley sleep in a bit today, because the last few days have seen her up until somewhere between 11:30 pm and 1 am. She just can't seem to get the hang of falling asleep. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. I've tried keeping her on a schedule (doesn't seem to make a difference), trying to take away naps (not really under my control when she is at daycare), giving her melatonin (worked for about a week, then nope), tried to really wear her out so she's exhausted come bedtime (just results in a grouchy, still-not-asleep Riley). I feel so bad for her because her little body needs to rest. I'm now open to suggestions. Anyone? Anyone?

Part of this feels like my fault because she tells me that she wants to go to sleep but her brain keeps telling her to think about things. I so know how this feels. Poor little one, she inherited my overactive mind.

Going to Ground

It's rare for me to get sick, rarer still for me to take time off work to recuperate.
I tend to soldier through until I emerge on the other side.
It's rare for me to spend not just one day, but f-o-u-r, in bed asleep.
I tend to, at the very least, try to keep up with my email or catch up on reading.
It's rare for me to spend the evenings curled up on the couch with Riley, watching movies.
I tend to make sure we stay busy and active.
It's rare for me to not feel guilty about all this rest and downtime.
I tend to berate myself for leisure when I feel like I should be working.

I've spent most of the week at home, recuperating from an unexpected sinus infection (I mean -- seriously, people--it's AUGUST!) and sleeping off the effects of the illness and the antibiotics. Although I'm over the worst of it, I'm still tired and I do hope to regain some of my usual energy soon.

I'm grateful that I had the chance to go to ground this past week, to recover and to restore. I'm grateful that I'm learning that, although hard to do, sometimes I need to care for myself first.

Random Tuesday-ness

Bowl of hearts

A snippet of what's on my mind lately:

*I have what I am certain is a sinus infection. I guess my regular February visitor is making an August appearance this year (Boo!)
*While I am all in favor of the judicious use of antibiotics, I'm hoping that my doctor decides that's just what I need for now. I need to knock this sucker out so I can enjoy the rest of biking season.
*I am so grateful for my Mom and my Sister-in-Law and for their willingness to help me out. What would I do without them? How did I get so lucky?
*I'm in the mood for a bedroom makeover. Nothing major, just some new paint, new bedding and maybe a little bit of work on one of my closets to make it more efficient. Whatever happens in there, it will be some shades of blue. Perhaps I'll call it a birthday present to myself and do it sooner rather than later.
*Riley's birthday party plans are in full swing and we'll be throwing a "princess-themed" bash in a couple of weeks. She's beyond excited. I always swore I wouldn't do the big girlie birthday parties, but I think this one will be a lot of fun for her, and that makes it fun for me.
*It's funny how my perspective on so many things has changed after having a child. She pushes me to lean into the uncomfortable in so many ways that I just didn't expect.
*Are you on Pinterest? I'm a little bit obsessed with it. I love being able to find a categorize great ideas so easily.
*I'm less and less enamored by Facebook and think it's time to get off it completely. My only hangup is that it's the only form of contact I have with a few friends and I don't want to lose that.
*Actually, that last statement is pretty sad. I need to do something about that and connect in person.
*I have started using Twitter and it's fun and way less of a time-suck that FB. Are you on Twitter? Let's connect! You can follow me by clicking the button on my left sidebar.
*Did you notice I'm part of the Blogher publishing network now? I'm super-excited about this and am looking forward to working with such a great group!
*I'm considering making some upgrades to my blog to help showcase some projects I'm working on. I'm not sure what this means yet, exactly, but I think it may mean migrating to another site, or perhaps linking this one somewhere else. Actually, just thinking about this makes my head hurt. I'm going to stop now.
*Less than a month until my annual pilgrimage to Squam Art Workshops. I'm heading to New Jersey first to roadtrip to New Hampshire with the other Amy, and I'm very excited to spend some travel time with her! We can fill hours with phone conversation, but it's not the same as face to face.
*Summer is winding down so quickly, but I can't complain. It's been such a fantastic summer, full of fun and family and friends. I'm trying to soak up what's left and get ready for an amazing autumn.

So what's on your mind lately? How are you enjoying the last few weeks of summer?

Tour of Utah - Stage 4

This afternoon, I spent a few sunny hours enjoying two of my favorite things - bicycles and hot men who shave their legs!

It's the Tour of Utah time, baby!

Besides the bikes and athletic men (which should not be discounted), watching the race also gave me a great chance to practice photographing moving subjects. All of these photos were shot on manual. There were some really terrible shots, but I started to figure it out as the laps counted down. I'm pleased with a few of them.

Good Enough

*hanging out on my roof*

One of my intentions for this year was to create some s-p-a-c-e in my life. Space to play, to spend time with loved ones, to explore new places, to do the things that make me feel whole and complete. Between work, raising a child, and trying to take care of myself, I have a crammed-full life, and yet I have a mind and heart that need a lot of space and time to stay balanced. I simply was not getting that space or time, and it was causing a little bit (ok, a lot) of emotional upheaval.

Lately, though I've noticed just how much space has opened up in my life. It's not that I'm any less busy, or have any fewer obligations. In fact, things have ramped up a bit. My daughter doesn't spend much time with her Dad these days due to his schedule, thus limiting my own schedule, my work is busier than ever, I spend quite a bit of time with friends and family, and I'm actively working on developing new talents and hobbies.

Despite this, I have found that the space I needed has, indeed, opened up, and I can attribute it to some well-considered processes. After spending time making sure that I was solid on what my priorities were, I made three very intentional and much needed changes in how I live my life.

-I spent some serious time, energy, and elbow grease getting organized and on top of things around my house (stuff like decluttering, meal planning, budgeting,etc.) This keeps me from feeling like I'm always playing catch up with housework and grocery shopping and the minutiae of daily life. I thrive on structure, and this type of planning creates inordinate amount of breathing room for me.

- I started saying no to everything that wasn't an absolute YES. I used to think that I should attend every book club to which i was invited, go to every concert that sounded fun, and train for every race or event that came my way. I've realized that I just can't maintain this type of pace, so now I opt out of everything that doesn't just scream my name.

-Finally, I've really worked on adopting the "good enough" approach to life. This is hard for the type A perfectionist in me, but I'm getting better and better at knowing when "good enough" is, indeed, "good enough". (I think that this one thing alone has been the most important change I've made.)

So yeah...I've done exactly one triathlon and no century rides this year. But I've spent several evenings walking around my neighborhood with Riley, enjoying the lovely scenery and people that abound. I still try to eat a very healthy diet, but I plan super simple meals for most evenings and get my foodie fixes on the weekends when I can enjoy the process of cooking healthy, yummy meals. I get plenty of exercise, but if I don't feel like going on a hard run or killer ride, I don't force it. Instead I take a long, rambling walk or do some yoga. I go to bed when I'm tired instead of trying to finish up that 'one last thing'. I put in a solid day at work and then I shut it off and leave it there.

This type of living is not something you achieve and boom! You're done! Like everything else, it's a continual process and it's never going to be perfect. Sure, it often seems like I could be doing more, and in some cases, I wish I could, but right now, life has slowed down to a very enjoyable pace and I'm savoring it. I'm enjoying the evenings spent on the roof, the books I wouldn't normally have time to read and the time I get to watch my daughter learn and grow. These changes are giving me a lot of space and breathing room, and bringing with them a lot of peace and happiness.

My life these days - - it's really, REALLY good.