Talk, Talk, Talk

So bug has started talking...well in a manner of speaking.

She just non stop babbles & coos. She loves to hear her own voice.

I've been told that means she's going to be a singer...HAA! Not if she's related to me.

But regardless it's insanely adorable.

I'm beginning to think she's part parrot. Anytime she hears a noise or sound she latches on to it like her life depends on it and repeats and repeats and repeats it.

This past week she's been imitating a dinosaur "Ra...Raaaa...RAAAAA" 24/7...Don't believe me?

I managed to catch some of it on Video while mommy and daddy were out shopping.

Sometimes I just want to squeeze her she's so flippin cute. But then I remind myself that a year from now I'll be missing the silent voiceless baby.

I suppose that's what to be expected when you have a girl.

And considering I never shut the eff up I suppose I'm even more screwed.

But for now, I will be enjoying these adorable little ramblings.

Rain Rain...

It is all kinds of nasty outside today. And that's ok because bug is in the world's greatest mood, daddy is here with us and we can enjoy some family time together...and this...lots of this...

I <3 Naps

Beach Day Monday

Blegh.

What a terrible horrible awful day.

Oh my lanta.

I suppose a few pictures from this weekend might help

This Weekend Continued

Saturday Sunset

Alpha Bravo Charlie

I can't think on the spot. Like ever.

Doesn't matter if it's morning, night, I've had my coffee, I've slept a solid 8 hours...I just can't think on my feet.

Well I take calls all day long.

And being on the phone for a living means eventually I need to spell something out...and well as we all know 90% of the letters sound alike "B" "C" "D" "E" "G" "P" "T" "V" "Z" ....ugh.

And we all know there is that Phonetic Alphabet "A as in Alpha" "B as in Bravo" or whatever...except...I don't know it.

I just make sh*t up as I go. "A as in Airplane" "D as in Dragon" ...like my brain just can't think of words fast enough that start with the letter and then when I hesitate ..I get nervous...I stutter and I just frantically throw something out there and hope for the best.

And there are some I just get continually stuck on...like "I"

So I'm all like "I as in.....umm...you know..uhhh...icecream"

Great. Now I sound like an moron and a fat*ss. Cool

The past week I've been saying "U as in Unicorn"....um what?...

And today...well I'd like to blame my sheer ignorance on the fact that it's friday...but lezbehonest...this has been going on for weeks

I definitely said "Y...as in You"

Soon I'll be saying "P as is Pneumonia or Pterodactyl" "K as in Knife"

And don't even get me started on the english language. Whoever made that sh*t up should have been fired. I just..can't deal with how absolutely stupid it is.

Examples:

Which, Witch

Weather, Whether

Too, To, Two

All words that sound the same but are spelt differently. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

But whats worse?

Read, Read

Lead, Lead

Tear, Tear

All words that are spelt exactly the same but pronounced differently. WHAT?!

Why!? Why is that possible?!

And silent letters?! Who was drunk at that meeting when we decided THAT was a good idea.

Don't worry about me...I'll just be over here...losing my mind at how idiotic this language is. Ugh.

Thank heavens it's the weekend.

24 on the 24th

Well the dreaded day has come.

I'm officially an old lady.

24 years old. Wow.

And how did I spend my day you ask?

I was at work.

Yep. Sitting at a desk answering the phone all day pretending like I give a rats a** about what anyone has to say.

And I mean, I've got the I'm-totally-concerned-for-you-and-care-about-your-needs tone-age down pat... but I couldn't help but want to spend the day lounging with bug and boyfriend.

Not even doing anything birthday-ish...just being together all day would have been nice.

But instead I was banging my head against a metaphorical wall praying to the birthday gods that the day would fly by.

And I have to admit, it may not have flown, but I managed to get through the day without punching anyone in the face and that alone is a miracle.

And I suppose it wasn't so bad when coworkers brought me a cake...

...and balloons...and my favorite coffee from crackbucks starbucks....but still.

Now I'm in bed with boyfriend and bumpy asleep beside me, and bug snoring away across the room. And even though it's not much, it's not a gift that comes wrapped, or something with a giant price tag attached...it's these moments that make all the sh*tty ones mean absolutely nothing. And for that I couldn't be happier.

Shots From Yesterday

My best friend Lindsay, as I'm sure you've heard me mention her before...she's the one with the killer Bruschetta Pasta Salad Recipe, well she invited us yesterday to go play at her house for a bit. And Aunty Lindsay's house has the BEST in-ground pool. Except yesterday mother nature decided to laugh in our faces and provide us with one hell of a thunderstorm.

After a couple hours of waiting she must have felt our severe depression emanating from the house so she decided to throw us a break and give us a few hours of sun.

The pool was gorgeous and warm and just what we needed.

Aunty Lindsay's house ALSO has some seriously amazing french doors to the outside which shed some ridiculously awesome light...so naturally I had my camera one me to take a couple ton of pictures.

More to come :)

The Power of Editing

It's honestly amazing how much a little editing can change ANY picture.

So just as an example this is a picture I took long ago on a trip to Aruba (my most favoritest place in the whole universe, Disney World aside). Now this picture was not taken with my DSLR, it was taken with a little run of the mill digital camera about 7 years ago.

This was the picture I took:

I used to think this picture was unbelievable ....Now...7 years later take a little editing to it and Voila:

The colors are richer and far more vibrant.

Now this would be a standard edit for me. I like to make things look spectacular, but not so spectacular they look like they aren't believable or realistic.

Say for example this picture that boyfriend took on the way to work:

Now this picture as nice as it is needs some serious editing. First off, I couldn't stand the street lights and I wanted to boost that color, but this time I wanted to do so in an out-of-this-world fantastic way. Well THIS is the product I got from my cropping and editing:

Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am. Now is this picture realistic? Well maybe not...but look at those COLORS.

This is a picture I took last night of the sun setting because it was this gorgeous red color. Thank heavens for boyfriend because I'm not even sure I would have even noticed it. Here is the original:

This is after a little editing because I was 1. pissed off the picture didn't accurately display truly amazing the colors were and 2. because I edit almost every single picture even if it's just the tiniest bit.

Honestly I'm still not happy with the results but there is definitely a significant difference between the first and second picture.

Here is one of the recent pictures I took of bug Before:

And after:

I always love bringing extra attention to her eyes and smoothing out her skin just a bit and the editing program I use has a filter that has changed my life forever it just adds this dreamy, wonderfully tranquil, soft, perfect-for-babies look. Ugh.

SO that's just a little about what I do, share with me your favorite methods of editing :)

The Hunt

So the house hunt has started.

Boyfriend and I have been waiting for this moment for a verrrrry long time now.

But there is an issue...of course...because if you've been reading my blog for even a little while you'll know NOTHING is ever easy for me.

The biggest issue has been deciding whether to rent or buy.

Shouldn't be that difficult of an issue right?

Wrong...so so wrong.

So allow me to explain what the hell is going on and to anyone who can give me any semblance of advice I will love you forever.

The problem with renting? Well it's just that...it's renting. It's expensive, it will be difficult to save for a house while paying rent, it's smaller than a house (obviously) but the biggest part about it, is it's going to be practically impossible to find a place that will accept a dog AND a baby.

The second you mention you have a dog (nevermind a BIGGISH dog) you may as well have told them you're an effing serial murderer.

First of all, not only is my bumpy EXTREMELY well behaved, she's middle aged, and a golden retriever...one of the most mellow, friendly, loving breeds of dog on earth. Well, apparently my adorable, sleeps-20-hours-a-day fluffball is not rental friendly. And well lezbehonest, I'd rather live on the street then give up my girl so that is just not an option. No way, no how.

And then there's bug. Which means the place would also need to be "lead free", which seriously limits the little to no options even further.

But generally speaking I feel as though renting is always the smarter way to go before purchasing because buying a house is kiiiiinda a big deal.

Well now in regards to purchasing a home... it's a much more permanent option, which given it was in the right location, that definitely would be a non-issue, however it is certainly something to consider. We would need to get qualified and deal with getting approved for a loan, and then on top of that finding a house that is in our price range that isn't in complete and utter disrepair.

And to top it off all four of the houses that I found online and asked the realtor to view were ALL under contract, even though two of them were listed as "newly listed". The websites can't take the time to just put that the sale is pending on the house? For that to happen to me 4 different times...to the only 4 houses I've asked about? Like...what the actual fuck.

So please excuse me whilst I bang my head against the wall and try to sort this crazy out.

I've about lost it (more so than normal).... And could really really use some advice.

If anybody has any advice or expertise it would be very much appreciated.. and in the meantime...i'll be here...just ya know...bangin my head against the wall.

And So It Begins

Passed out asleep beside me this tiny bug has stolen my little black heart.

With each passing day there is something new and I feel like it's happening all so fast.

I swear it felt like it was just last week that we were all trying our hardest to make her smile and now we can't get her to stop. She JUST started laughing all the time (which is probably one of the most amazing things I've ever heard in my life). She's now sitting up (assisted) but sitting up nonetheless. Her little coos and gurgles have turned into full blown baby chatter (and mother of god...she is a talker).

But the last few days or so have been rough for bug. She's been crying way more often then usual and we have been sitting here studying her like a rare artifact.

And we've finally decided we think she is in the very very beginning stages of teething.

Poor bug.

It makes me sad to think there's only so much I can do, and until we know 100% what's causing her to be such a cranky pants I don't want to give her any medicine.

So for now I will hold her close and squish her way too tight and give her all the ice cold tethers she can handle.

But my lanta how quickly all this has happened.

I swear one day I'm just gunna turn around and she's gunna to be walking. Like...totally skip crawling altogether and just start straight up walking.

I know everyone said it would happen FAST but let me be clear, nobody mentioned it happens all at once.

Oy vey, does it happen all out once. But I'm loving every single millisecond of it.

Around the Corner

A lot has been tumbling around lately in this mommy brain of mine.

Lots and lots of restless nights.

And with my birthday lingering around the corner, it's only a reminder of the fact that I'm an old lady now which probably explains all the crazy goin' on.

Ok I know 24 isn't that old but it sure as hell feels like it.

Boyfriend has been driving me BANANAS scheming and planning the last MONTH over my present. I love him so much for caring so much about my gift but I swear I'm at that age now where I'm all set if you just throw me a compliment, make me a cake, and call it a day.

Is that weird?

I've never been one of those..."It's all about me, give me your attention all day, shower me with presents, and ridiculous amounts of food and drink" kinda girls. My birthdays have always just consisted of my closest friends and I spending some time together.

The last 3 years a group of friends and myself have been going to NYC for the day.

It's one of my all time favorite places in the world, yea...it smells and the people are absolutely looney...but there's nothing quite like, new york city, and NOTHING like Times Square. The lights, the noise, the atmosphere...it's addicting.

Now with bug here, things will be very, very different. And to be honest, I'm ok with that.

My life isn't so much about me anymore. I'm no longer a "me"...I'm an "us". I'm part of a family...and THAT is the best birthday present anyone could ask for.

Such Is My Life Continued

Rain. Sucks.

I mean don't get me wrong I'm all about free car washes...but there's also a fine line between a summer shower and an ark-requiring-armageddon down pour.

And THAT is the type of rain I witnessed today.

SO there I was at my house just about to leave for work watching the rain cascade through the sky whilst I mentally abuse myself for even considering making myself look presentable by doing my hair and makeup. Waste of effing time.

When there..before my eyes.. the sky opened up...the clouds spread apart and the rain began to slow. The birds were singing the sun was shining and I laughed maniacally all the way to my car at my invincibility to mother nature and all she feebly threw at me.

As I sat in my car and shut the door, I SWEAR the rain started up again. Like something out of a movie.

So high on my horse I rode to work in the pouring rain and the closer I got to work the more the rain slowed down and again I laughed to myself at how awesome I was.

Until that is...I parked my car.

And mother nature decided to metaphorically spit in my face for ever thinking I had outsmarted her.

Because it poured...and it poured...and it poured.

And I sat in my car insisting with each passing minute that there was a faint possibility that it would stop soon.

Until finally I needed to leave or I would be late to work.

And this wasn't just any rain either...it was that post apocalyptic rain I had been referring to earlier.

And guess who decided to be Comfortable Carol (you like that?) and not wear a bra today.

Yep. This guy right here.

So off I dodged to the door.

But it was a useless attempt for after a mere 10th of a second after I stepped out of the car I was absolutely and disgustingly drenched.

And you know how we women all like to think that we look something like this in the rain:

or this

Well lezbehonest we all look a lot more like this:

or this

So there I am soaking wet, looking like a hot ass mess when what happens?

I ALMOST slip and fall on my ass due to traction-less flip flops and copious amounts of water on the floor. THANK HEAVENS for my coworker behind me who so gallantly caught me before I ate shit and totally wiped out.

This is my life. I'm just here for your entertainment. Please enjoy.