In Love

I'm kinda falling in love with being pregnant. I always thought I'd hate being pregnant and that I'd just want it all to hurry up so I could hang with my awesome kid... but now I feel completely different.

I'm loving this.

The leg cramps, 10 trips to the bathroom at night and constant fatigue are absolutely worth it, especially when I feel my son rolling around in there and my sour mood turns to absolute, pure joy. I don't think I've ever felt like this about anything. It's an amazing feeling.

Next week we go to see my OBGYN for a check up and two weeks from that we get to see the baby again, in the ultrasound appointment that we were supposed to find out the gender. I suppose it'll just reaffirm what we already know.

Tomorrow we get the keys to our new house. Life is good.

I'm A Published Artist!

The book my photo is published in came in the mail yesterday:


It's such a pretty book, I feel proud to be included among so many amazing photographers. I'm now a published artist and it feels good. Granted, I have to share a page with someone else and there's 125 other photographers... but it still feels good. I'm happy they sent me my comp copy before it was available to the public.

It will be available for purchase on amazon.com mid-October. Buy a copy!

Devistation

Do you know what it's like to loose all of your images as a photographer? Every. Single. Edited. Photo you have taken in the last three years? Well, it feels like your world has crumbled. I know it could be worse, but try telling that to someone in a desperate panic-driven fury who can't see straight because they're crying so hard. I didn't know what to do with myself last night. I paced and then cried in my bed, paced some more and cried again.

Granted, I'm hormonal. But I guarantee I would have reacted the same if I hadn't been pregnant. And today? I'm numb. I don't know what to do with myself. I know how to prevent this from happening again, but that isn't going to bring back my precious images.

I decided to use an external hard drive as my main hub for storing my Lightroom catalogs. I did this to save room on my iMac's hard drive. And now for some reason, I can't access my catalogs on the external, which is the only place they're stored. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have continued to manage my catalog on the iMac and use the external only for back-up. What a shitty way to realize you've made a bad decision.

I will call Apple support tonight after work. Hopefully, by some grace of God, they can recover some of them in a second library or something. Keep your fingers crossed.

And It Begins...

I just felt Cooper move for the first time! I thought I had maybe felt him before, but this was for sure him. It was incredible, like a little flutter inside. I was told it would feel like butterflies and that's exactly how it felt. Amazing. I hope I feel it again soon. I do understand that eventually this will get more intense and will be keeping me up at night. That's totally OK with me.

Here's Cooper's most recent photo. The thing that looks like a warlock nose is actually his hand.

We finally got the place we'd been hoping for and it's right next to Auntie Tara and Uncle Nino. Cooper will have his own nursery room now and we will have an extra room for an office/art studio. So exciting. I feel like we are the luckiest couple in the world right now. I love my three boys so much, it's overwhelming.

Musik, Muzak, Music

I'm going to see Arcade Fire and Band of Horses in the next month, both at the Greek Theater which is an incredible venue. Two of my favorite bands in two weeks and I am fortunate enough to not be the size of a condo when I see them. PERFECT.

Arcade Fire:

Band of Horses:

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I've wanted to be a mommy for as long as I can remember. I am filled with elation and still can't believe it's happening after all the health issues I've had. There's so many emotions and feelings and it's crazy to me how much I already eat, breathe and sleep according to this pregnancy's needs... and he's not even here yet. I feel like I'm past the "is-she-pregnant-or-is-that-a-beer-belly?" phase. My bump is rounder and cuter every day and I have no issues with the weight I've gained (so far at least).


I'm starting to finally feel a little better, now that the first trimester from hell has finally passed. The dizziness, constant fatigue, nausea and horrible anxiety spells are gone, for the most part. I still have random little moments where I feel odd, but usually I feel great.


The baby's name is Cooper Radley Alliger. His nursery is going to be decorated in a spaceship and robot theme. I decided to paint him a picture, which I will be starting this week. I just got the canvass and am pretty stoked. Cooper got his first pair of shoes from his Aunt Tara on Saturday, checkered Vans. They are precious. We are all registered at Target and now just need to move out of our cramped little one bedroom and into a place big enough for our growing family.

I can't wait!

A Much Needed Vacation.

The Boy and I are leaving for Minnesota in two days and I'm stoked. I really haven't even been thinking about my irrational flying phobia since I'm just so happy to get the fuck out of here.

I have never truly needed to get away from my job as much as I do now. Not even my job so much as one particular, horrible, disgusting coworker. It will be nice to have my feet up, in the wilderness of Minnesota, with a nice cold lemonade while not having to worry about if me and my unborn child are going to freeze from her air conditioner. This will also me a nice time for the Boy and I to spend some time together, since life has been so non-stop since we found out we're having a bebe. It is actually our first vacation together in the almost-three-years we've been together.

We will be staying in a resort I've stayed with my family in before. We have a row of cabins for a week, right on a beautiful lake in the Minnesota wilderness. I will be taking many photos!

Sadly, Bucko will not be going with us. He will be staying with his Auntie Tara and Uncle Nino, and also with his Grandparents (the Boy's parent's). He will be so spoiled that he probably won't even notice we're gone. He will turn into a piece of Pupperonni.

Bruschetta

In all the commotion that has surrounded the last two months, I forgot to follow up with you all on my bruschetta!! I found out later that day I was pregnant and life has been a whirlwind of insanity since then.

I am happy to say it was delicious. I will use a little less garlic clove next time, but besides that it was a hit. Much of that is due to my favorite Semifreddi's employee, who delivered fresh Semifreddi's loafs that were baked that morning (they were still warm).

Another recipe to add to the secret Alie-recipe-vault!