Sunday in the Sun.

Yesterday, my husband and I went to Garretson, South Dakota, to meet up with my dad, my sisters, and one of my brothers. Also in the mix were my dad's girlfriend, and my cousins Chris, Tarah, and Bradley. There were a couple of Chris's friends there too. And three dogs, Wendell (mine), Bruno, and Jax. The last two were much bigger than Wendell, but he loved them.

It was freaking hot. Almost intolerably so (although, not everyone agreed, and I was told it probably had a lot to do with the pregnancy thing) and humid.

My dad, who I am pretty sure I get my sense of humor from, at least in part, made a really lame joke about it. "Since we're all family here, I suppose we could call it relative humidity." Yeah, we all laughed. Haha. It was pretty clever.

Anyway, despite the ridiculous heat and my feeling "like dying" for most of the day, it was a lot of fun. We started at Split Rock park, and my dad grilled. People swam, and floated on the rafts, and we all sat around and bantered, as we usually do. It was a good time.

Allison, my sister, found a four leaf clover! Lucky lady!

Then, we made a quick swing by Devil's Gulch, where Jesse James jumped the gorge on a horse many, many years ago. I hadn't been there since I was little. I remember it being much cooler, but apparently people don't keep up with the upkeep anymore.

Then we met my cousins' father and went to Palisades state park. The boys climbed rocks (which is impressive, really), and we took some photos. A bunch of people went swimming, and Tarah, Samantha (my other sister) and I lounged under a tree, and laughed a lot.

It was a pretty good day!

A Hairy Deal.

Call it whining, or call it just being truthful, the bulk of this entry will probably come off in a negative way, even though I don't actually intend for it to.

I've always, okay, I'm already being dramatic...

I've been totally self-conscious since puberty. Yeah, I know, most teenagers are, and most probably hold onto it somewhat into adulthood. I know I'm not alone in that.

I have always been terrified that I was "part male." Why? Because I have really hairy arms (no, I don't sport other "junk" down below). I have also started putting on weight since puberty, and hated that too, and was always terrified that everyone was staring at me and judging me for being a freak. I still do, truthfully.

I learned last year that these traits that I loathe can most likely be attributed to Poly-Cystic Ovarian Sydrome, which I was told I had. While it brought some comfort, it did not bring any solace to my fear of people staring, judging, and my hatred to see these things about myself.

I finally started "showing" now, while pregnant, and feel like people aren't just looking at me as if I'm extra fat. So, that takes that away for a while, and you can bet, when I'm done being pregnant, I'm going to be working at losing weight again (which I was successfully doing up until pregnancy).

But I'm still always afraid that I'm the freak with the gorilla arms. My husband will attest to this. And now with celebrities like the "pregnant male" I'm just even more self-conscious that people are judging and snickering about it as I sport a baby belly and hairy arms.

I hate summer a little bit for this reason, every year. This year will probably be no different.


I'm in a wedding next Friday, for my best friend, as her Maid of Honor. It's funny, I know I'll look pretty all dolled up in my beautiul dress, with pretty hair. And I know her family has known me since 1991 and they all accept me and love me (or at least I like to think so) for who I am, but there are going to be people there who have never met me, and I just squirm in my shoes thinking about the stares I might get.

But, as always, I sport my proud, happy face and try to pretend I'm not self-conscious in the least.


Anyway, I don't want to end this in a negative fashion, because that's just lame.

So... a Maid of Honor speech! Ack! I haven't written one. I doubt I will. I'll probably just babble on and on and on and on and on and on.... or say something about how Michelle and I have known each other since the beginning of time, more or less, and I love her, and I'm happy for them, and you know, the usual. Maybe I'll shoot for a laugh or two. We'll see.

And I need to break in my shoes!

I'm so excited for this wedding. I haven't been excited for a wedding this much since my own (which of course, was more exciting to me, but that's because it was mine, and I know D&M don't judge me for that)! It's going to be absolutely beautiful, and I do love that it's on a Friday.

Jake will be in the congregation, but hopefully he'll get a good picture or two that I can show ya'll after it's done with.


Oh yeah, and I broke my laptop screen, with my Hercules fingers. But really, I did, with my pointer and my thumb. So I am using my new roommate's computer (Tarah, my cousin, is moving into the basement) for now, and won't be on as much as usual.

Peace.

I used the new camera today.

Jake and I purchased a brand new, Canon 50D on Saturday, half an hour before the wedding we were booked to shoot. (Luckily, the system is pretty similar to the 30D which we own, so Jake figured it out with little effort and the photos turned out magnificently). I hadn't really touched it since we bought it... which is sad, because I love photography.

Anyway, since the sun finally came out today, I decided to take 50 to Terrace park for a short rendezvous, and attempt a few HDR photography sets. I need to give the 50 a nickname. 30 too, now that I think about it.

Let me tell you what, when your camera weighs as much as a small dog, it's hard to hold it perfectly still. I didn't think to bring the tripod. I did attempt to fold myself up with my knees to my chest to rest the camera between them... but that didn't work so well. Very uncomfortable. Who would have thought, right? Haha.

Anyway, you can see the attempts on facebook. CLICK HERE.

He Wants to Etch-A-Sketch my Head.

I have had a headache, off and on, all day, every day, a week ago today... for sure, not to mention randomly before that. I tried tylenol, which is what I was told I could take, and drinking a lot of water, and it just wasn't helping. So, I gave in and called the doctor (after the urging of many friends), in attempt to solve the problem.

Jake, in attempt to be helpful, told me "I would love to etch-a-sketch your head." I laughed so hard. He meant it to mean he wished he could erase my headache, but it sounded like an insult more than anything.

It was a frustrating and long day as I waited to hear what they wanted, if they wanted me to come in maybe, and check my blood pressure or iron... and then waiting to hear what they wanted to do about it.

They suggested a few things:

* VICODIN (how about, hey, I'm pregnant and that scares me (and yes, they know I'm pregnant))

* Excedrin, but if that doesn't work, maybe Vicodin anyway

I was really... shocked, nonetheless, by the Vicodin thing.

Anyway, beyond pain killers, they suggested I take it easy, rest more (which seems funny because I'm tired all the time, but apparently they say it could just be my body's way of telling me I'm pushing too much), relax and de-stress as much as possible, and if all else fails, cool showers, so we'll see.

Moving on. Jake had flowers sent to me for my first Mother's Day ever! I mean, granted ourbaby is not born yet, but I guess it still counts. They hadn't bloomed by yesterday morning, and I made a joke about them being fortune flowers and telling me I was going to be a bad mother. We both got a great laugh out of that, and Jake informed me I am the funniest person he's ever met.

We visited his mother yesterday, as well as his best friend, and I learned a little about HDR photography, so when my headache isn't bugging me as much, I'm going to try that out a little more. My first and somewhat lame attempt can be seen here. It is my mother's day flowers on top of Wendell's dog dish. Yeah, like I said, kind of lame. But I am not feeling well (I was home sick today).

We had a wedding on Saturday, for a friend that I work with. It was a blast. I wasn't feeling well at all (headache and such) but Jake did a fantastic job running the show. I kept things in check and took pictures of stuff (like I love to do), and now it is my job to proof and edit all the photos. You can see a few of the previews that I did on Sunday morning, by clicking here.

A Few Topics.

I'm super tired (yes, it's only 9pm, but I got up early and uh... am tired all the time), so this will probably be kind of scattered.

Yesterday, or wait... Monday. Wow. Monday, I received notice that a friend (of mine, newly, of some family members, most definitely) who has been battling a stage 3 brain tumor since last year, had a bleed into his brain and was given a very short time to live. He's been moved to a hospice in his home town, where it is assumed he will spend the remaining days of his life.

I haven't known him long. I met him in June of last year, and really enjoyed it! He was dating my cousin at the time, and he came with them from Washington to visit and meet the entire family! He really is a charming fellow with a great sense of humor. I was able to spend time with him again over Thanksgiving last year, in Washington, but even by then, the treatments were affecting his body. He was, is, still a vibrant spirit determined not to let it get the best of him. I have admired him boundlessly since knowing him. Truly.

It breaks my heart to know that this life will come to an end too soon, much sooner than even doctors estimated. As much as it saddens me, I cannot even fathom how much it affects those who know him best, have known him longer, and love him so deeply. My heart breaks and tears flow from my eyes when I imagine their pain. And yet, I am so inspired by his strength through these days.

If you pray, say a prayer for my friend, his family and friends, and everyone who knows him or has been touched by him. Pray for peace and comfort for them all.

And now to change the subject, so you don't leave the blog completely depressed, and because I do have other things to say...

Jake and I had an appointment for the "first trimester screening" this morning at the hospital, where they did an ultrasound and blood work to gauge the possibility that our child may have genetic illnesses. While we don't actually know the result, we both feel very positive about it.

It was wonderful to see our little "Horseradish" again! I would have to say, and yes, I know it may be arguable, that our little one is starting to really look cute! We were able to watch baby moving hands and legs, and almost sucking one thumb. Ah! It was wonderful. And we already have a printout of the profile, where you can see baby's nose, mouth, the works! I took a photo of it with my cell phone and it's now my cell phone background image. I can't seem to stop opening it and looking at it. And for the record, we're in the second trimester, officially!

Though, I do find it odd that I've lost a few pounds, but definitely look like I've gained some. Haha. Ah well.

I've been slacking hardcore with photography, and we have a wedding we are shooting this weekend. Jake is going to be doing most of the work, because the bridal party is pretty large, and I'm uncomfortable managing large amount of adults. Children is one thing, but adults? Yeah, no thanks.

And we finally booked our hotel room for my best friend's wedding at the end of the month! One day left before the block hold was let up, thank goodness I remembered to get that done.

Okay, I think that's all I've got. Peace.