What do you want to do today? Oh, let's try to set a world record.

Bright polka dots and pastel stripes totally go together.


Man, what an overachiever. Barely seven weeks old, and the kid has already participated in trying to set a Guinness world record.

And all George had to do was lay there while his mommy changed his diaper. Peeing and pooping optional. So he's lazy to boot.

He's lucky he's cute. That's totally why I keep him around.



On a less facetious note, thank you Wee Willie Winks for hosting the Orlando location for the Great Cloth Diaper Change! It was fun to meet other cloth diapering folks at Lake Eola Park today. We traded our thoughts on different brands, and I tried to get advice on what to do with a long and lean skinny thigh baby (yeah, leaks. They happen. Ick.).

We also learned about some local mommy support groups, and let me tell you, I am all about support right now. This baby stuff is tough, and getting out of the house and chatting with people going through the same things helps to keep me level.

All in all, a fun day. Now I get to brag about my baby being a world record holder. What mom doesn't want to be able to say that?

A flower with your Thai food.

El Hub and I went to lunch at SEA Thai today, and anyone who knows me will not. Find. This. Shocking. Seriously, we go at least twice a week. The staff knows us by sight and brings us our "usual." I would go more often if El Hub and my wallet weren't stopping me. Man, I love SEA Thai. I went from Thai food mild spicy skeptic to hot spicy enthusiast thanks to this restaurant. If you're in the Orlando area, I highly recommend it.

I dragged out my Nikon 55-200mm VR telephoto lens yesterday to challenge myself. The minimum of 55mm has always felt stiflingly close, so forget about kicking it up to 200mm! Plus my 35mm lens is so wonderfully fast that it suits my indoor photography. I didn't have room to do more than 55mm at SEA Thai today with this flower, but I did get a nice DoF by blurring out the wine rack in the background. I didn't like the coloring of the original, so I tweaked it to give it a softer edge.

Taken on a Nikon D40.

Photo originally taken on January 18, 2010 at at SEA Thai in Orlando, Florida.

Photo posted on the same day.

2nd Annual Parramore Kidz Zone College Night.

Last night's second annual Parramore Kidz Zone (PKZ) College Night was fantastic.

During one of our PKZ tours in Parramore, a large group of teens were asked, "How many of you want to go to college? Raise your hand." Every single hand went up.

Those same youth were then asked, "How many of you think you're going to go to college?"

Only a few hands remained in the air.

PKZ is an amazing project. We want to see more of those hands in the air. Last night I think we saw a few more go up.

Click here more information on the City of Orlando's Parramore Kidz Zone project.

Taken on a Nikon D40.

Photo originally taken on January 13, 2010 in the Parramore community of Orlando, Florida.

Photo posted on January 14, 2010.

Sinful Colors' Daddy's Girl (or alternatively titled, I <3 Friday)

Fridays are awesome. It signals the start of the weekend, and a break from work. Well, technically. One of the part-time odd jobs I am working until I find a full-time job in my field is the sort that demands my attention 24 hours a day, as if there is an emergency then I have to answer the call. Luckily, that job is done from home.

Unfortunately, the other one is in an office. Monday through Friday I have to defer to more office-appropriate looks. But come Friday evening...




Sinful Colors' Daddy's Girl.

LOL at my messy manicure. Sorry, I don't bother with orange sticks, so you'll just have to bear with me.

Bam!

I could not get a good picture of this polish. It is a jelly, and even after three coats there were still some spots you could essentially see through in bright outdoor sunlight. Sinful Colors is one of my favorite lines for a variety of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is because the formula is usually really easy to work with. This one was not, unfortunately. But it is still a really fun dark purple color with gold shimmer, and I am not in a mood to be fussy right now so it is all good.

Appropriate for a conservative office job? No way. But perfect for this weekend. Even better, it is a long holiday weekend, so I even get to have some extra wear out of it. Sweet!

Even better, the Sinful Colors line is great for the super frugal at about $2 a pop. I only know of e.l.f. nail polishes that can beat that price. I get my fix of Sinful Colors at my local Wal-greens drugstore where it is $1.99, but you can order them on their website for $2.50.

Finally, Sinful Colors polishes are Toluene, Formaldehyde, Camphor and Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Free. If that is a concern of yours, then this is a great option.

Apparently, they have a shade called "Orlando" #187 - I want it! Orlando pride, woohoo. It looks like a glittery champagne color - too bad they don't have descriptions or larger swatch pictures on their site. I know they do not sell this one at my drugstore, so I will either have to keep an eye out or succumb to placing an order on their website.

Hope you've got great plans this weekend!

The Engagement Story

The Boy and I got engaged on April 17, 2008.

At the time, I was living in our state capitol of Tallahassee working for the state legislature during session. I had been gone from Orlando for almost two months, and was due to move back in a few weeks. We had been talking very casually about marriage on and off for a few months at that point. While I outright told him that I knew I wanted to marry him someday a little bit before I moved to Tallahassee, The Boy had never definitively said to me that he wanted the same. I couldn't speak for what exactly he was thinking except to say that he initiated much talk about babies and living together even before I ever mentioned marriage.

We had been switching weekends in terms of visiting each other while I was living in Tallahassee, and that fateful weekend was my weekend. I arranged to get some time off from the job in order to leave Tallahassee early, and ended up getting into town around 4:30 that day. I knew The Boy wouldn't be due home from work until 6:30 or so. I sent him a text not even directly letting him know that I was there - I just asked if the laundry on his bed was clean or dirty! 15 minutes later, he was home from work.

He was so anxious, it was ridiculously endearing. Usually we just relaxed together for a good long while when I arrived for the weekend because I would get tuckered out from the drive. Plus, we're homebodies anyway. But that afternoon, he asked me if I wanted to go to Starbucks. I must have looked at him like he was crazy because we - me especially - are not Starbucks people. Despite this, I agreed to go along.

He then lived in downtown Orlando, and his apartment was only a few blocks from Starbucks. We were walking in that general direction before we started veering off towards Lake Eola, the jewel of downtown Orlando. I asked if I was just tired or confused about where Starbucks was located, and he said, "No, but I thought we would go to your gazebo first."

My gazebo! I should preface this by stating that I have a thing for gazebos. I have always loved them, and the house I grew up in had one that my grandfather built, so it should be no surprise...

This is where Rob and I first kissed.

He led me to the gazebo, but there was a couple sitting inside. We waited for a bit, looked at the lake, chatted about our weeks, and then I suggested we sit inside the gazebo even though we would have company. We did, and they didn't budge! I was tired, so I ended up rest my head on his shoulder, and I guess maybe that was too cuddly for their tastes because they finally vacated.

Rob and I started kissing a bit and getting mushy, and a homeless guy yelled, "There's a hotel across the street!" We laughed and thanked him. Good old downtown Orlando.

Then Rob told me he loves me, that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, and then pulled a ring box out of his pocket, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I looked at him in shock (he asked me to marry him!), I looked at the ring (there's a ring!), I looked at him (holy moley he asked me to marry him!), and then I said yes. We started hugging and kissing, and Rob eventually had to remind me to take the ring.

The ring is a funny story. He ended up going to a jeweler that I have been going to for years for things like watch and jewelry repair and small gift purchases. She has always been good to me and knows my taste to boot, and Rob ended up going to her. I saw her a few days after the proposal and she told me The Boy spent two hours looking at diamonds and settings before he picked out my ring. She said most guys just go in there, give her a dollar amount, and ask what they can get. But he spent all that time doing something he hates (shopping) in order to get me the perfect ring.

We started talking and I was still squeeing when the homeless guy walked up and asked if he had just witnessed a proposal and when we confirmed it, he offered us his blessing. Then he gave us some private time to ourselves. Eventually he did come back to ask for a few dollars, but neither of us had cash on us. Oops!

We did eventually make it to Starbucks, and then we went back to his apartment where I took a picture of the ring with my phone and sent it to everyone under the sun. We started calling our family to make the announcement, and...

Here we are today, about to get married.

Part of me still cannot believe it. I am so ridiculously happy. We got lucky with one another.