If my heart had wings

This is it...my final day at work. Have you noticed how, no matter what your feelings might be about the beginning or ending of something such as this, there is always that general unexplainable feeling about all of it? Like the first day of school -- from kindergarten all the way to the end...I always had that same sense of strange emotion.

Today, for me, is at once both frightening and freeing. Big life changes always tend to have a sense of scariness, maybe because I am not looking forward to some emotion that could come up that I wasn't expecting. Not sure. The freeing part of it, on the other hand, is an emotional high that has grown throughout the day. What started out as a sort of floating feeling has grown to the point of my feeling as though I might just fly home this afternoon.

I've added Remember the Milk's logo to my sidebar in case anyone is interested in trying it out. I have to give credit to Sarah for being the one who first told others about it on her own blog. Thanks Sarah! I am so excited to try out this new site and really sink my teeth into it, because I have many tiny (and big) projects on the horizon. I've read that 15 minutes spent making a list can save you four hours of wasted time, so just that nugget of knowledge is enough for me to make time even for my resting and exercising -- and then of course the dozens of little projects. (But don't worry, Sarah, I am taking your suggestions quite seriously!)

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions I've received so far -- keep giving me more! At the moment, Casey is finishing up painting our dining room, so that will be a little decorating project. But in the past few days, I have had so, so many ideas running at top speed through my mind that I must get them down on paper -- or at least on my RTM lists!

Friday's Feast

Click on the post title or the link in the sidebar to have a feast of your very own!

Feast Seventy-Eight / Friday, January 27, 2006

Appetizer

Choose one: Popcorn, Pizza, Pretzels, Peanuts, or Pasta.

It would probably be a different answer at different times of the day...right now it's pizza.

Soup

Describe your personality in terms of a particular vehicle.

Um, if I knew cars well enough this might be easier! I would just say I'm a simple car, but very reliable. No really special features like a DVD player, but maybe a CD player at least. It would be decent-looking, but not fancy, and it would have a feisty side to it...you might have to back down every once in a while because it would want to go its own way!

Salad

If you won a shopping spree, from which store would you want it to be?

If I won it today, it would have to be from Motherhood Maternity...I'm probably going there tomorrow for some more maternity clothes.

Main Course

Which television show re-runs do you enjoy watching?

Which ones don't I enjoy watching? Let me try to narrow it down...lately I watch some old Friends, Dharma & Greg, and Little House on the Prairie.

Dessert

If you could look into the future, how far down the road would you like to see? 10 years? 100 years? A million?

Although it's a tempting thing, a big part of me does not want to see anything 'down the road.' I would probably pick a time way after I'm gone, just so I would miss seeing anything happening in my own life. One hundred years is probably what I'd go with, I just don't know if I could handle seeing all the crazy gadgets that will be around then! One of my all-time favorite fun quotes is from the U.S. Patent Office in 1899, when they stated, "Everything that can be invented has been invented." I wish that guy could have had a glimpse of the year 1999!

Homeward bound

Today I will be revealing something that most of you probably already know...so, yes, this is a pretty anti-climactic post. However, it will also be an interactive post of sorts, so stick around!

The big news is that my final day of work in the 'outside world' (ooh, makes it sound scary, doesn't it?) will be this coming Tuesday, January 31. I didn't end the phrase at 'final day of work' because I think we all know that homemakers and stay-at-home moms tend to have their hands quite full of not just work, but WORK. And no paycheck to boot, what a treat! Still, I wouldn't have it any other way, and I feel so blessed that I have this opportunity to stay at home with Miles.

You might have done the math already and noticed that I'm leaving work just a teensy bit before my due date. Okay, I'm leaving almost four months ahead of time. It generally follows from this point on that people will ask, "Why?" and I could go on for a while with the list of reasons and all of that, but today is not the day I will do that. I don't know that I'll ever detail it all, but I might talk about it at some point. It's not that I'm keeping some kind of secret -- it's just a lot of information, and frankly, I don't want to bore you (I don't want to hear any of you smart-alecks saying "Too late!").

Here's where the 'interactive' part of this post comes in -- exciting, isn't it? Okay, if you were me, and you were about to have a four-month break of sorts before your entire world as you know it changed...what might be some things on your to-do list? I do have my own list of projects that I'll be working on, but I could always use a fresh perspective. One new mother recently gave this advice: "Take it from someone who did it the wrong way -- use this time to rest!"

So...item #1 on my list: REST. Now share your list with me!

One size fits all

While recently perusing some online maternity clothing in preparation for visiting the store, I came upon a very cute corduroy dress, so I clicked on the picture for more information and a closer look. Now, I am no fashion guru, and if you are by all means, feel free to laugh at me if I'm missing something...but the first line of the dress description said, and I quote:

"longsleeve 19 wale corduroy shirt dress with inner beauty"

I loved it. I laughed out loud. Please tell me, how does a dress come with inner beauty? I would love to just put on an outfit and suddenly be blessed with inner beauty. Hmm...kind of sounds like 'clothing ourselves with Christ' doesn't it (Romans 13:14)? Anyway, it was just something I had to share. What I'm really wishing is that I could meet the person who types up the descriptions and ask him or her a few questions about that dress...

...then again, it's only available in taupe.

Friday's Feast

Click on the post title or the link in the sidebar to have a feast of your very own!

Feast Seventy-Seven / Friday, January 20, 2006

Appetizer

About how many times per day do you check your email?

I use Yahoo! Messenger, so it tells me every time I have a new message. Makes it so much easier than having to go and check my email every so often...plus it has radio stations!

Soup

If you had the money to collect something really valuable, what would it be?

This is a tough one, because I've never been much of a collector...that I can recall. I do love old, classic books, so that might be something. Although, I did get a nice tattered copy of Emma at a library sale for only four dollars one time, and I love it -- so I guess I don't have to spend lots of money if I just buy old library books!

Salad

Write a sentence using the letters of your favorite beverage. (Example: The egret admires.)

Viewing all niceties includes limited lollygagging and loudness all through the event.

(It's vanilla latte, in case it got too long to read.)

Main Course

If you could be on a game show, which one would you want it to be?

I'll have to go old school on this one and say The Price is Right...Bob Barker cracks me up, and in his old age he has started getting quite impatient with the slower contestants. It's too much fun.

Dessert

Name 3 computer programs or web sites you would hate to be without.

Blogger, Picasa and dotPhoto

In the meantime

Writing a post about waiting has been in my mind for several days now. Funny that I waited a while to write it, but I wanted things to sink in a bit more. And then I got my 'Encouragement For Today' emails, and they were parts 1 and 2 and were titled "Wait Management." Wow.

Many have spoken on the topic of waiting, and the fact that our society has geared us not to wait for anything -- and if we do, it's viewed as a bad thing. Fast food, high-speed internet, speed dating, text-messaging...and the list goes on. Granted, technology has done some amazing things, but I still wonder sometimes how good these things are, don't you?

The main reason I began thinking about waiting is simple: I'm 22 weeks pregnant. Generally, a pregnancy is about 36-40 weeks long. Anyone wonder where I'm going with this? Do you think that God really needs any kind of time to put a human together? I mean, after all, Adam and Eve were created in a day -- more like a moment -- and I'm sure there were no glitches in either of them. So why did God choose nine months? I don't know. All I know is that he had a reason for choosing nine months rather than three or twelve. And I believe that there is a lot about the waiting in all of it that is very important.

Here are some Bible verses (NIV) about waiting:

"If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come." ~ Job 14:14

"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." ~ Psalm 5:3

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." ~ Psalm 27:14

"We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield." ~ Psalm 33:20

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." ~ Psalm 37:7

"I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God." ~ Psalm 38:15

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry." ~ Psalm 40:1

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope." ~ Psalm 130:5

"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." ~ Isaiah 26:8

"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" ~ Psalm 30:18

"But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always." ~Hosea 12:6

"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." ~ Micah 7:7

"But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." ~ Romans 8:25

"It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ..." ~ Titus 2:12-13

"Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life." ~ Jude 1:21

There were many, many more verses that I did not include here. But something tells me that God is trying to tell us something about waiting...that it can be a good thing, a very important thing. How different does that look from our society today? Isn't it a valuable tool that mothers can give their children when they teach them to wait, rather than giving them anything and everything right now? I think so.

I have a very hard time waiting for things, things that I deem 'important,' when really they are just important to me. Two nights ago, I had to get up to go to the bathroom (big surprise!). When I got back to bed, Miles started moving around, I think he had the hiccups...but in that moment I wanted so badly to hold him in my arms. I didn't want to wait another four months for this little boy, I wanted to hold him NOW! But God teaches us so much in the waiting. As much as I dislike waiting for things -- almost all of the time -- I can look back and see how much I have gained, or grown, or learned from that time of waiting.

Thank you, Lord, for making me wait for your precious gifts!

Friday's Feast on Wednesday

Sure I'm late with this, but better late than never, right? Just click on the post title or the link in the sidebar to have a feast of your very own!

Feast Seventy-Six / Friday, January 13, 2006

Appetizer

Name one chore you don't really mind doing.

Washing dishes and loading the dishwasher. For some reason, though, I don't like unloading the dishwasher. Thankfully, Casey feels opposite from myself, so we try to stick to our respective likeable chores.

Soup

How many times have you moved homes in your life?

Twelve. I counted each dormitory move in college as one since I worked in one on and off.

Salad

How old were you when you had your very first kiss?

I was five, he was six. We ran behind the church bus after Sunday morning worship and had this big, embracing kiss. I guess we thought that's how people did that, I don't know. Now, when we're talking about an actual kiss, where you have a boyfriend and all of that...then I was twelve...but it was pretty yucky because we had no idea what we were doing. Not that I had much more of an idea when I was five!

Main Course

What time of day do you usually feel your best?

Hard to say...but I guess if we're going with emotional, mental, physical, etc. I will say it's right after I get home from work and change into comfy clothes...aaahhhhh!

Dessert

Using three words or less, describe your current local weather.

Bright, cool, lingering

There's a story behind it

Lots of big announcements going on here at Trace Talks lately, huh? And although the introduction of Leaning Tripod Photography was lots of fun for me, this little piece of news holds a much greater place in my heart. Some of you have heard the name and the explanation that goes with the name, so please bear with me as I share yet again.

More than a year ago, when plans for trying for a baby were not even in the works, Casey turned to me out of the blue and said, "I really like the name Miles!" My immediate thought was that I loved it too, even though we had been through names and thought we had the perfect name for our first son. But things change. And because thoughts of babies were in my daily thoughts as it was, I decided to come up with a middle name that would complement Miles. One evening, I experimented with putting the first (shortened) names of both grandfathers together, those names being Ken and Rick. I really thought I was quite brilliant for 'inventing' the name Kendrick, but found out shortly afterward that the name already exists. Still, the basic idea was there, and it does include both grandfathers' names, and we loved it!

Three weeks after we learned we're having a boy, Casey and I wrestled with several favorites, but our hearts came back to the name we loved most, and we decided that we'll name our baby boy Miles Kendrick.

Too much fun

Although I may being doing this a tiny bit prematurely, I was just too excited to share my new dotPhoto site where I'll be selling my work! I finished the logo this evening, my back hurting just a bit much, hit a few snags along the way, but Leaning Tripod Photography is basically official. As of now, there is only one album up, which includes ten of my sunset photos...more to come. I have really spent some time on sunsets. They are so wonderfully unique, and I have actually found myself 'chasing' a sunset many, many times. Totally worth it, too. Thanks for looking, even though you may have already seen all of these photos. I have lots more to share in the near future!

Drivers, projects and name stuff

Yesterday I was all ready to get on the blog and rant a bit about drivers and their cell phones. But today it seems as though the steam has gone out of my little tirade, so I'll leave it...for now. Besides, I know that none of you drive with your phone attached to your ear, to the point that you just rooooollllll through the stop sign and have near-wrecks left and right. You're all good drivers, yes? So I don't even have to go any further on the subject, how wonderful!

I'm excited about a new project that I am undertaking involving the selling of my photos online. This will include some of my stuff back to 1998, and all the new stuff as well. Okay, so maybe I'll leave out the ones I consider to be duds, but for the most part whatever is on the photoblog and then some will be online for sale. I am using an online printing company that cuts out the middleman work for photographers, allowing them to also take portraits, upload them, then allow the customers to look at the album privately and order whatever they would like. The prices are decent, especially for the great work they do! (Ask Sarah about them sometime.) Another very exciting thing about this project is that Casey and I have finally upgraded to DSL. No more dial-up for us, hurrah! We only just got the kit yesterday and got the whole thing up and running last night. Let me tell you, if you have been living with dial-up for quite some time, as we were, you really can't get enough of how fast DSL is. Oh, and before you think we're just living it up...we did cancel every bit of our phone service but the actual line itself and we got the most basic DSL they offered, so we're still paying almost exactly the same amount. We have learned about cutting corners!

Anyway, that's been taking up a lot of my thinking lately, and of course baby things. I've had just two people email and ask for the name before I reveal it, but I'm hoping that I can let everyone know by the end of the day tomorrow. So...keep watching!

The name game

Although it may still be a few days or even a week, I just thought I would mention that I will be sharing our baby's name here on the blog fairly soon!

Since I won't be announcing the name on the blog today, make sure you don't accidentally let it slip in the comments if you already know it! Oh...and if you just have to know the name before I share it on the blog, just send an email and I'll be glad to let you know (email link is in the sidebar).

Here he is!

Twenty weeks...this is the halfway point. I wanted to share pictures, but it's hard for me to just take a photo (you're nodding your head right now if you know me well). I thought it appropriate to give the background a blue tint since the bump you see there contains a boy. Thanks for sharing in this journey with me, there's just a bit more to go now!

I need a little humbling every now and then

There's nothing quite like having an entire conversation with someone you don't know all that well only to realize after they leave that the black earphone covering from your iPod is sitting there in your ear.

Let's start the year off with a smile, shall we?

For anyone who thinks that cats are not caring animals, I ask you to read this article.

I'm considering taking a nice, conservative belly photo and posting it here for those of you who just have to see the belly. Remember now, it's a just-shy-of-20-weeks belly (and small from what I've been told), so don't say I didn't warn you if you're disappointed!