Secret Revealed!

Most everyone who reads this (hello Mom, Heather, Jackie) already knows but just in case someone else happens to be here who doesn't have Facebook or Twitter or who doesn't see me in person regularly... I'm pregnant!

I've actually been blogging secretly about it since the day I found out, but I was storing those elsewhere until the secret was officially revealed. Instead of keeping a fourth blog, I've just imported all those entries to this blog. You can in the future find them by the label "Sweet Baby James" below, or you can click HERE to see all the ones I have written thus far.

If you do nothing else, you have got to go to this post and watch the videos of the reveals to our families. Particularly Ben's mom, who wins the award for most awesome reaction ever. Turn your speakers down, there's lots of screaming.

They've all to this point been written as letters to baby. I may keep doing that or might switch on and off between that and my regular style. I also promise to keep blogging about things other than pregnancy and babies.

But not right now, because now I am crafting like a madwoman to get stuff done for a craft fair this Sunday. I got it in my head that this was totally doable, if I made about two baby books a day until Sunday. Yesterday I only did one, so today production must increase by 150%. Or something like that; we all know math is not my strong suit.

Off to craft!

Hyperbole and a Half

Do you need to laugh? I mean really just laugh so hard that your stomach hurts and your eyes start watering? To laugh so loud and so much that people come down the hall into your office so they can find out what is so freaking funny?

Here.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

You're welcome.

It's all hilarious, but be sure not to miss the posts This Is Why I'll Never Be An Adult as well as one of my favorites, Dog.

(Special thanks to Heather, who was the first one to show me this magical site. I'll forever be indebted to you, dear!)

101 Things

Remember when I wanted to do 101 things in 1001 days? Yeah, neither did I. It's been over a year since I updated or paid it any attention.

I revisited the old blog on this, the 992nd day, and gave it one final update.

Check it out here.

My Apologies

I have to apologize to you fine people for a couple things. First, it has been way too long since I blogged. Every time I sat down to write something I either a) realized I was late for work or b) found I didn't really have anything to say. Both of those things are still true right now, but I am sorry anyway! I did post an awesome video that they played at church on Easter, but that's kind of a cheat way to blog.

My second apology is that for a long, long time, my blog has been seriously ugly. Plain and boring. However, despite what people might think due to my fondness for online social media, I'm not really all that technologically savvy. I don't really know how to make my blog look awesome, and I don't even know if Blogger is the best blogging platform to be using. Still, no excuse for a fugly old blog that even I don't like looking at. So I'm trying a downloaded template that I kind of liked. We'll see if it makes the cut after a few days. If you like/dislike it or have any other suggestions I'm happy to hear them!

I hope everyone had an awesome, blessed Easter and I promise to try to do more regular blogging in the future. I do have an inspiring topic, as BASEBALL starts again today!!! Wooo!!!

Time & Time-Travel

So far one of my favorite things about being unemployed has been all the time I seem to have! Time to sleep, time to eat, time to exercise, time to craft and scrap and be a friend. Time to clean and organize, that's been a big blessing! But apparently one thing I haven't had time to do is blog! I feel like I haven't been here in forever... my apologies, dear readers. All six or seven of you!

I'm working on something exciting, which is my own scrapping venture. I hope to have some of my stuff ready and in an online store at Etsy.com soon. If you need something to do while you wait, I suggest going to Etsy.com and just browsing, because oh. my. gosh. It's amazing and you could spend weeks there and still find adorable things to see!

Speaking of time, something else I'm excited about is the trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife, which I just found online today. I knew the movie was coming out, and I love Rachel McAdams and knew I'd want to see it, so I got the book and read it a couple months ago. The premise is (and I'm not really giving anything away here, you find out this part on the first page) that Claire and Henry are in love... and Henry inexplicably can time travel. It isn't something he can control; he just slips back and forth without warning. The story is about their relationship and how they survive their extraordinary circumstances. It was a good read, very inventive with lovely prose. I think the movie, at least from this trailer, looks like it will be faithful to the novel, and I can't wait to see it when it comes out in August!

Blogging Fail

Sorry it has been far too long since I have blogged about anything, and a really long time since I blogged about baking. Just, you know, life happened. More specifically GMA Music Week and the Dove Awards, our two biggest events at work, happened and I was there from beginning to end! I want to blog about that, I have two baking blogs to post (including my experience with my new/old breadmachine), I have pictures from home and scrapbooking stuff and I joined a gym - all sorts of good blogging material and just no time to post!

Actually, that's not entirely true. I've had a little time to post. But every time I sit down I only want to post about one thing: baseball.

Call it my own version of spring fever, but I've got baseball on the brain. You probably thought my last post got it out of my system, but no! My team keeps winning, my favorite players keep being awesome, and ESPN keeps running Baseball Tonight. I even went on Comcast's website to figure out if there was any way I could order just Fox Sports Midwest (answer: no) so I could watch all the Cardinals games.

"I love baseball this much!"

In fact, I have another baseball blog in the works right now. For those of you who could give a rat's fanny about baseball and my drooling over it, don't worry. I'm throwing you a bone with an entry on Banana Nut Bread. Just have to add the recipe and I will try and post tonight!

Blogger Roll Call: Just Because I Like It

The remaining three blogs in my Blogger Roll Call series don't have any unifying theme other than I just plain like 'em. So without further ado:

Pioneer Woman

The Pioneer Woman is, in a word, awesome. Her site is one part recipes, one part photos and tips for amateur photographers, one part romance novel, and one part mom blog. It's all deliriously random, real, and wonderful. Ree (the PW herself) blogs about her life living on a farm with her brood of children and animals, and her stories are funny, moving snapshots of American life. Be sure to read all the chapters of "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels," the real-life romance of how she met and married her cowboy husband. When I'm feeling cooped up with city life I imagine that I too could be the witty, chic, and warm Pioneer Woman.

Inkdryer Design

Chris is a designer we've worked with at GMA for a couple years now. He's incredibly talented and if you're into design or art or interesting things to look at, his blog is a fun read. He posts fascinating finds sure to inspire your inner artist. Go check it out!

Toothpaste for Dinner

I know I've blogged about them before, but it bears repeating: this daily web comic is the weirdest and funniest thing I follow. I'll be forever grateful to my friend Rachel who introduced me to the site a few years ago by posting this gem on her own blog:

Blogger Roll Call: User-Found Funnies

This little group of blogs falls in the same line as great sites like Found and PostSecret (which isn't in my favorites because while I find it incredibly fascinating it is very often horribly sad) where the content is made up entirely of user-submitted items. Each one is very specific but wonderfully hilarious in its own way. WARNING! The first two sites usually have some R-rated language so just be advised.

Passive-Aggressive Notes
This site collects and comments on passive-aggressive (or just plain aggressive) notes left from roommates, in offices, by strangers, via Facebook... you name it. You'll be surprised how politely enraged someone can sound on a post-it note!

Postcards from Yo Momma
The girls who run this blog collect emails and IMs submitted by the children of funny moms around the world. Moms confused by technology, moms sharing too much information, moms dropping unsubtle hints about behavior, clothes, jobs, kids... They are adorable, random, and HILARIOUS. One of my all-time favorites was from a mom asking her daughter how to unfriend someone on Facebook... specifically, her own husband. And I am confessing, right now, here it goes... Mom, I might have submitted our Kanye-related conversation to this blog. And it might have gotten selected and published. Anonymously, of course!

The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks
This might be a blog only an English major could love, but hopefully you'll find it as funny as I do. The title pretty much sums it up - she collects photos of signs from around the world with incorrectly used quotation marks. You'd think most people would know what quotes are used for. But you'd be wrong. So, so wrong.

Blogger Roll Call: Pop Culture

I really love reading about pop culture and celebrity goings-ons... I know it's kind of stupid but the topic just makes for some seriously funny blogs. Here are a few of my favorite:

Go Fug Yourself
These two girls mercilessly and hilariously go after the fashion faux-pas of the world's red-carpet-walkers. They have a few pet peeves - leggings as pants, formal shorts, incorrectly hemmed trousers - but can find something to "fug" in just about any outfit. And their ingenious tirades have seriously inspired my own comedic writing.

Stuff White People Like
Before you get your panties in a twist over the title of this blog, please remember it is meant to be satire. The author, Christian, has a razor-sharp wit and keeps coming up with culturally relevant things that white people really seem to love. Maybe the next item on his list should be "White People Love the blog 'Stuff White People Like'."

Best Week Ever
You may be familiar with the similarly-titled tv show on VH1. This is the blog version, and it is magnificent. A pop-culture lover's dream, resplendent with multiple postings a day on internet oddities, musings on music, movies, and tv, and a healthy dose of celebrity mockery. Each of the three editors has their own style - I'm partial to Sara's willingness to post awful pictures of herself and Michelle's made-up-on-the-fly slang and word shortening.

Blogger Roll Call: Friends!

Merry Almost Christmas, everybody! Okay, so today's edition of Blogger Roll Call features a couple of my friends' blogs. No particular unifying feature except I love all these people and they have interesting things to say!


Kali's "Diary of an Oreo Lover" Blog - Kali is my coworker, and she usually has funny stories about her goofy husband or her family adventures, and some sweet and thought-provoking posts about faith too.

Lila's "Nooks & Crannies" Blog - Lila is a dear friend and as of this past weekend, a nurse! Woo! She has some awesome nursing stories on her blog. If you ever wanted to know about evacuating babies from a NICU in pocket-covered vests, she's your girl.

Bethany's "Stars Hollow Texas" Blog - Bethany used to work with me and then she up and moved off to Dallas. She's been using this blog to keep us all posted on her new life in Texas, including being forced into sports fandom, getting her car broken into, and introducing her office to recycling.

Rachel's "Thoughts Meandering" Blog - Rachel doesn't update as often as she should (hint hint girl) but when she does it is awesome. Her posts of the Twilight trailers were largely responsible for me finally caving and reading the books. And the rest, as they say, is history.


Thanks girls for all the great reading! By the way, if any of the rest of you out there have a blog and you want me to read it, I totally will! Just leave the address in the comments.

Blogger Roll Call: Cupcakes & Cake Wrecks

Since the holidays are upon us and I might not be able to write my normal lengthy and thought-provoking (ha) blogs, I thought I'd start a little series which I am titling Blogger Roll Call. This is where I will give a little highlight of one of the blogs I follow and enjoy, and maybe in doing so some of you will discover you want to read them too! I keep a list which you can reference to the right of all these blogs but perhaps they need a little more explanation to get you interested.

So without further ado, I present the first edition of Blogger Roll Call, featuring Cake Wrecks and Cupcakes Take the Cake! I lumped these two together because they both deal with delicious baked goods, albeit in two very different ways.

Cupcakes Take the Cake celebrates the delicious beauty of cupcakes. The pictures on this blog are amazing - these cupcakes are literally tiny visual masterpieces.

These cupcake-lovin' ladies also post recipes and links to fancy cupcakeries all over the country. Before I read this blog, I would never have dreamed it was possible to create a vegan cupcake. I mean, I'll probably never actually do this, seeing as how things I love includes milk, eggs, and butter, but still. Good to know!

Cake Wrecks, as the name might imply, takes things in a whole new direction. Six days of the week, she posts submitted "wrecks" - professionally made cakes that are hideously ugly, poorly done, or have hilariously mangled inscriptions.

It is almost too good to be true that such monstrosities exist. BUT THEY DO. On Sundays, she provides a little break from the insanity and showcases "Sunday Sweets" - beautiful and cream of the crop custom cakes made by inventive and artistic bakers.

Both of these are a fun and delightful read, especially if you love baking and sweet treats as much as I do!

100th Post! 100 Things I Like...

This is my 100th post on this blog! Little did I know all those years ago that I would be having this much fun sharing all my random thoughts with the world... or at least with my mom and the five other people who regularly read this blog.

I decided I would do a post about 100 random things I like... in no order, no rhyme or reason... These are not my top 100 things, or an exhaustive list of things I like. I just typed out everything as it came to me, and sometimes saying one thing I liked made me think of something else. Also I did some linking in case you like these things too.

Now on to the list!

1. Sleeping with lots of pillows
2. Baby name books
3. Libraries
4. Popcorn at the movie theater
5. Writing blogs
6. Shel Silverstein
7. Swimming
8. Artisan & Craft fairs
9. Leggings
10. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
11. Red airheads
12. Getting stupid-excited about the Twilight movie
13. Kristin Wiig on SNL
14. Driving
15. Chubby cheeks on babies
16. Scalding-hot showers
17. Really bright red fall trees
18. Taking pictures
19. Target
20. Shredding papers
21. Guinea pigs
22. The music of Leeland, especially "Sound of Melodies"
23. Watching figure skating
24. My graphic designers I work with
25. Cookies & Cream icecream from Braum's
26. Snow
27. The really snarky writing on Gossip Girl
28. Exclamation points
29. Writing and receiving real letters
30. When Heather calls at 9 pm and asks if I want to go to Sonic
31. The movie "Can't Hardly Wait"
32. Estee Lauder's Beautiful Sheer & Ralph Lauren Romance perfumes
33. Garth Brooks
34. Hugging my dad after I haven't seen him in a long time
35. Acoustic guitar driven music
36. Celebrity gossip
37. Scruffy and how cute he is
38. The St. Louis Zoo
39. LOST
40. Daydreaming of working for a really cool company like Google or Pixar
41. T-shirts with pockets
42. Fresh flowers
43. Calvin & Hobbes
44. Knowing all the words to Kanye West's "Golddigger"
45. Re-reading books I love
46. The words to hymns
47. Michaelangelo's Pieta
48. Holidays
49. Having parties at my house
50. 1 John 3:1
51. Horses
52. Going to art museums and remembering all the art history I learned
53. Apples with peanut butter
54. My momma
55. Traveling to new places
56. Being barefoot
57. Getting a haircut
58. Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Panera
59. Baz Luhrmann movies
60. The city of Chicago
61. Cello
62. Being goofy with Ben
63. Scrapbooking
64. Shopping for scrapbooking stuff
65. Potatoes
66. Children's books
67. Going to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game in Busch Stadium
68. Headbands
69. Cute flat shoes
70. Quoting shows and movies I love
71. Steve Carell
72. Purple irises
73. My red purse
74. When kids say funny things
75. French fries from Kriegers with extra seasoning
76. Mountains
77. Doing laundry
78. Being "outdoorsy" through kayaking
79. When people have a funny laugh
80. Office supplies
81. My friend Rob & his family
82. Jason Mraz
83. Watching college football
84. Finding people on Facebook and looking at their pictures
85. When Jesus heals the little girl in Mark 5
86. The smell of outside in the spring
87. Milk
88. When my whole family is together at Christmas
89. Wearing jeans
90. Nicknames
91. Reading in the bathroom
92. Chips and cheese dip
93. Falling asleep to rain and thunder
94. Mark Rothko's color field paintings
95. Looking at beautiful wedding pictures
96. The X-Files
97. Getting a pedicure
98. Needtobreathe
99. Natural lighting
100. Taking naps

Fun With Lists

Hey everyone, I started a "101 in 1001" list, and I'm tracking the progress I make at http://amys101in1001.blogspot.com. Check it out! For more on the idea, here is where it originated: http://www.triplux.com/dayzero/

As soon as I finish the lists, I'll also have a page for the 101 books to read and 101 movies to watch.

Other blog...

Hey, I have a few new blogs at my myspace page, here. One is my Emmy fashion wrap-up, and the other is one of those stupid survey things. I couldn't help it. I must tell people about my life and believe they will find it fascinating.

Also, please go immediately to my friend Heather's page and read her delightful blog about our favorite Cardinal, catcher Yadier Molina.

And don't worry, I'm not abandoning this blog. I'll be back!

A New Venture

Hey everyone! I wanted to let you all know that I have started a website for all the stuff I make, which I am starting to sell as custom made projects. So take a look here, at Sweet Things. If you are interested, you know where to find me!

Also, if I have ever made something for you, chances are I was not forward thinking enough to take a picture of it for my archives... soooo shoot me an email and we'll get in touch!

Music in the Rockies

Hey all, just so you know while I am gone I am writing a blog about my time at Music in the Rockies for my work's MySpace page. Check it out here: www.myspace.com/gospelmusicassociation.

There are pics too!

Miss you all and see you when I return.

Amy J