Tagged again!

OK, to show what a good sport I am and because it seems like a good thing to do while I'm at work today burning DVDs from a photoshoot, I'm going to answer some more questions about myself. My friend Jen, who I got to know back when I lived in Orlando and was interning at Campus Crusade for Christ, tagged me.

Wow, Jen, I just was thinking about when I flew down for your wedding. A bunch of you all chipped in to buy my ticket and I almost didn't make it back home in time for class (in Cincinnati) due to bad weather and flights being cancelled in Atlanta. I think it was January, wasn't it?

Anyway, on with the questions:

4 jobs I've had:
1. Receptionist at my grandparent's Jeep and marine dealership
2. Natural Wonders (does this store even exist anymore?) sales associate
3. Production artist, designing grocery ads for a national retailer
4. Graphic Designer, my current job, at AGC

4 places I've lived:
1. Malvern, OH
2. Cincinnati, OH
3. Orlando, FL
4. Cleveland, OH

4 movies I watch over and over:
1. Tommy Boy
2. Billy Madison
3. Napoleon Dynamite
4. Sound of Music

4 favorite foods:
1. ice cream
2. pizza
3. dark chocolate
4. coconut

4 favorite tv shows:
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. House
3. Law & Order
4. King of Queens

4 places I'd rather be right now:
1. At home (I'm at work right now)
2. At the beach (oh wait, I need a maternity bathing suit)
3. Buying a maternity bathing suit (so I can go to the beach!)
4. Taking a walk through the park

4 things I wonder about:
1. Will I be a good mommy?
2. Will we be ok financially if I don't want to go back to work at all?
3. If I do my current job part-time, will it work out?
4. Why do I worry when I know God takes care of me every time?

I've Been Tagged?

I guess there are games in the blogosphere where you get "tagged" by someone and have to answer the questions they ask. Evan's cousin, Liz, tagged me and asked me to list 5 things about myself that people may not know. By the way, these questions are always tough for me!!

1. I very much dislike being the center of attention or being put on the spot.

2. I was born on Halloween (Oct. 31). Some people are born the 29th or 30th and say they are born on Halloween. This irritates me. The 31st is the only day of Halloween. It would be like being born on Dec. 23 and saying you were born on Christmas. dumb.

3. I love ice cream.

4. I don't like coffee or coffee-flavored things. Some coffees smell good, but that's it.

5. I enjoy making pottery. We just bought a wheel, so now we can make more cool things (in all my spare time).

We're Having a BOY!

Today was my ultrasound. Evidence was pretty clear that we're having a boy! He is around 11 ounces and developmentally right where he should be. We saw the four chambers of his heart, kidneys, brain, spine, as well as hands and feet. Apparently he wanted some privacy this morning, because he wouldn't move his arms away from his face for very long.

Evan & I decided against the quad test, which tests for down syndrome as well as some other abnormalities. Though the ultrasound is never guaranteed, the Dr. said that the chances of down syndrome dropped by 50% today by what he could see alone. Since we aren't having the blood test done, we'll take that as a good sign that everything is fine. The Dr. said that the nose is now a great indicator of chances for down syndrome. Our baby has a long nose (go figure!) which is a great sign that things are ok.

Now I know everyone is going to start asking about names. We haven't decided yet, and even when we do, I'm not sure we're telling. We have to leave SOME element of surprise, don't we? :o)

Below are a couple snapshots. The first highlights that he is indeed a boy. The second is a 3D image of the baby's face. These aren't quite as clear as the first set, but overall, I think you can distinguish the features.

A potpourri of updates

Since it's been two weeks since my last post, I thought I better get something on here. Like Kris, I didn't want to end up on Sarah Cool's "rarely updated friends" list. :o)

Let's see, not too much has happened since Easter. A few things of possible interest:

1. April 13-15: Evan went to Indianapolis for the STE fraternity conclave. He's still involved and enjoys seeing his brothers. I stayed home and made friends with the couch. I did manage to gather a few friends from church for dinner out and a chick flick at our house.

2. April 14: Decided to get my hair cut. It went from near shoulder length to chin length. I think I make this move just about every Spring. I like my hair shorter. Someone at work said I got the "mom" cut. I'd like to believe that my hair is more stylish than what the comment implied. I think she just meant that it seems all new moms get their hair cut. Who knows.

2. April 18: Went for a check-up to see how me and the little cherub are doing. I gained 2.5 lbs. in the past 5 weeks (which I was pleased with) and my blood pressure was fine too. We listened to the baby's heartbeat again. Last time it took a minute to find it. This time we heard it immediately. It was loud and clear and sounded good. I was relieved to hear it. Since I don't feel sick anymore, I worried that everything was ok in there. Hearing the heartbeat gave me a little peace of mind. I scheduled my next ultrasound for May 7. We should be able to find out what we're having at this appt!

3. This past weekend was beautiful here. Evan & I had a wedding to attend in Norwalk on Saturday. Sunday was church and getting some things done outside. Also, on Saturday, Evan finished painting the nursery and assembled the crib. It's amazing that putting one piece of furniture in the room can make this all seem so real. It's fun to see Evan excited about the baby. You all know him, he's not a real "softy" should we say? He will be fun to watch as a father.

Well, that brings us up-to-date. It's back to work today.
Below, a snapshot of the haircut (just for you, Sarah!).

Gotta love Cleveland: Easter 2007

Welcome to Easter 2007 in Lakewood. I can't really say Cleveland because not all areas of Cleveland got this much snow. Normally the west side doesn't get hit this bad, but thanks to lake effect snow, we got hammered.

This picture was taken Easter morning. Evan's truck hadn't moved since Friday night so you can tell how much snow fell between Friday night and Sunday morning. Unbelievable.

I love Cleveland (hope you're picking up on my sarcasm).

Finally, an upgrade!

After being made fun of several times for my "huge", out-of-date cell phone, I'm getting a new one! I mean, really, my parents have brand new cell phones and don't know how to work them and here I am stuck with a circa 2000-2001 model. Go figure. Above are photos of my old phone and my new one.

But what's also earth-shattering is that Evan is getting a cell phone too! He hates them and has resisted up until now. Basically I told him he had to have one now that we have a little one on the way. Just didn't want to take the chance of me going into labor and not being able to reach him. Also, I always lended mine to him if he was traveling. Now I don't have to share, even though I rarely use mine.

And finally, have a Happy Easter!

Can we say STRESS?

Evan & I think this shirt is great. It's from his favorite movie, Revenge of the Nerds. Booger wears it in the movie.

Yeah, stress just comes with the territory in the design world. Demanding clients, eager account executives, and stressed out designers. That's been my story lately. I welcome the overtime money, but the lack of sleep and crazy stress that is forced on me at work makes it almost not worth the extra cash.

Example, I was told yesterday morning that a 24-page annual report was due to the client today. Annual reports require a significant amount of time organizing all the text, placing photos, and of course making the report look nice and well-designed. I had about 8 hours to complete the task. Sounds like plenty of time right? No. Not when your phone is ringing with clients wanting to discuss projects, emails demanding responses, pressmen calling me for press checks, etc. So, I came in at 6:30am this morning to finish the project that I started yesterday afternoon and got it sent out to the client by 2pm. Now I'm completely exhausted.

After a 10-hour day, I think I'm going to take it easy tonight.