goodbye sun, hello cold...

we are home

we are tan

we are happy

(full vacation post coming tuesday!)

so long suckas...

we are off to sunny mexico first thing tomorrow morning and will be neglecting the blog until we get back next weekend. so stay tuned for lots of post-vacation pics!

miss us!
team us OUT.

dreaming a little

these are some photos from one of geoff's and my favorite trips to mexico, when we went to cabo san lucas in 2006. was looking through these this evening and got a little wistful about that trip and got even more excited about our trip (IN 3 DAYS!!)... mainly because i get to spend a lot of time in my happy place: me + my camera + the beach.

just a few more reminiscing shots...

love of mine

it describes a passionate love many of us experience.
it describes a treasured enslavement that may be hard to describe sometimes.
a relationship that can be tumultuous and at the same time, pure joy & delight.
this swoon-inducing sonnet was written several years ago (long before i began blogging) by a dear friend of mine, anne. i hope you appreciate it as much as i do.


Coffee
by anne caggiano


you're warm and black, and you got my back.
you're Coffee.


your smell strikes a chord as i spend time with the Lord.
you're my morning Coffee.


you're spanish by descent, but i can't hear your accent.
eres mi cafe.


you greet me from the cup and ask me "sup?"
you're my ghetto Coffee. word.


i drink you after dinner and pretend you make me slimmer,
Dear Coffee.


it just doesn't seem you used to be a bean,
fresh Coffee.


they drink you in egypt, japan, and belize.
you're my friend, Coffee, beverage of world peace.


people who drink tea don't make sense to me,
but you do, Coffee.

the beach is calling...

i almost thought it wouldn't happen.

our schedules are crazy. LOCO. geoff travels a lot, my work project is not finished yet, we are out of town a lot of weekends...
but it is going to happen.

amigos, we are taking a "babymoon", as some might call it.

my husband and i are fleeing the country in search of some warm, sandy quietude and a respite from our crazy lives, hoping to find some time together. just the two of us. enjoying one another and sleeping in as much as possible. because after may 23, 2010, we won't sleep in again (or be alone) for the rest of our earthly lives.

how are we able to do this? you might ask.

wellll.... we are just really blessed, to be honest with you.

for christmas, geoff's aunt carladyne gave us a week of her timeshare for us to go on a vacation - so our hotel is totally covered. and i have mucho points on my business credit card that we were able to cash in to cover our flights - so transportation is totally covered. big costs here, amigos.
thus... on february 21st, we are getting on a plane that will take us to mazatlan, mexico.

we will sunbathe.
we will be lazy.
we will have dinner out on this patio in the evenings:

we will enjoy each other.
we will go to the spa and get massages.
we will walk hand in hand down the streets of old town. and we will enjoy the very best (and my favorite) thing about mexico: their margaritas!! VIVA MARGARITAS!

oops, wait.
well, no margaritas for me. i got a little carried away...
maybe next year, slugger.

i cannot tell you how excited we are. and i don't think it has even really hit me yet. i have been so busy with work (and my pregnant self, really) that i have barely begun to realize that we leave for LA PLAYA! EL MAR! in just ONE WEEK.

we will be staying at el cid marina beach, but all of the el cid resorts in mazatlan (i think there are 4 total) will be our playground during our stay.

so MUCHAS GRACIAS goes out to dear aunt carladyne and i guess my business credit card company for making this dream "babymoon" possible.

cheers to mexico! here we come...

letter from daddy

we have this really cute journal that i am keeping track of my pregnancy in called the belly book. it has sections for each week so i can record how i am feeling, what the baby is doing, my food aversions... things like that. at the end of each trimester, there is a part where you can share your "final thoughts". geoff wrote in it the other night and i wanted to share what this new daddy wrote...

february 9, 2010
WOW...
i forgot how quickly 6 months flies by. engagement & now 1st and 2nd trimester. by the way now that those initial trimesters are over and we're changing the name... we're done "tri-ing", we're "due-ing"... OH OH OH . (here i must insert, for readers that may be wondering, that this is geoff's laugh). that's right, we have entered the "mester" where our future Miss Messer is due to arrive on the scene. man, will we ever be ready when she's ready? nursery, diapers, clothes, crib, name... OH SNAP... a name. what a huge responsibility. it's not like picking out a shirt she doesn't like that she can toss in the back of her closet or a cd she'll return to best buy. this will be a title that helps define who she is and who she will be referred to as for the entirety of her life. (no pressure... breathe man, BREATHE). one false step and we could scar her pshyche forever. example: we thought of the name honor - great name, noble, beautiful - right? that's what we thought until my superdad protective skills kicked in and i reverted back to the junior high locker room where i would overhear scrubby little thugs talking about wanting to get "on her", thus ruling out a seemingly wonderful name with therapy written all over it... WHEW! we have to think of every nickname, initials combination, sound-alike, and slang usage possible. my under armor efforts begin now, "i will protect this house!" which now includes my baby girl. so like i said, "tri-mester"... uh uh... it's "due-mester" and in due time our baby girl, the player to be named later, will join Team Us and whatever room she sleeps in, clothes she wears, diapers she messes, or name she has on her jersey it will all be done with great care.
baby girl, i can't wait to meet you! just know that until then, your momma and i will continue to pray for you daily to be filled with the joy of the lord, consumed with his compassion for others, and health and safety over your life.
i love you!
daddy

why i get excited about gaining 14 pounds

goodbye second trimester!
hello achiness and welcome to uncomfortable-land.
weight gain: 14 pounds so far (gained 5 1/2 since last visit)
tummy: 38 inches (gained 2 inches)

uterus: 25 inches (just in case you wanted to know)

baby moves: i'm not the only one who can feel them anymore... and last night, we could actually see her move!

mental health: mushy & forgetful. and don't even ask me to remember anything. oh and i'm really forgetful lately. on tuesday we had a doctor's appointment for our 25 week checkup. all is well! LL's hearbeat is at a solid 160 - the doc said that was great - and i have gained almost 6 more pounds since the last time i was weighed. i am relishing this time in my life that i get enthusiastic about gaining weight... how weird is that?! i eat the donuts for you, Little Lady.

and you know geoff had to take his 25 week pic at the doctor's office too...

something i am particularly proud of

http://lindsaytodddesign.blogspot.com
i had another "first" this month with my job.
and i think it turned out pretty great...
bear with me as i brag a little.

my mother the assistant

for all of you who are wondering what kind of progress the mahm and i made while she was here last week, you're kind of looking at it. (although this particular pic was taken on a girls weekend trip to eureka springs, arkansas for the jazz festival in 2008 - i just thought it was pertinent.)
we got a lot of organizing done which felt great, but not a lot of move-out-my-client's-stuff progress was made. i thought we would be able to do more but the house is simply not ready yet. although things are organized enough and ready to be loaded into the car the moment the house is ready...
then, and only then, will you see the "after" photos.

isn't she lovely

this weekend i got to hang out with my sister (in-law), sarah, and my niece, hannah in lawrence KS while our boys were in colorado skiing for geoff's birthday. we had a grand time being girls, eating fondue for dessert one night and enjoying lawrence - which is a pretty cool town that i have not really gotten to experience until now.

one of the days i was there, we went to the natural science museum on KU's campus - and in a photo-op posed just for grandma nancy, here is your soon-to-be favorite pic of your first grandchild:

the contest

thanks to all of you who voted for geoff in the louisiana hot sauce commercial contest! at the close of voting on the final day, he was in the lead with the most votes! we don't know yet if he won the contest - the company reviews all of the entries and then we will find out who the overall winner will be. (but seriously, how could they not select geoff's video??? it was by far the best...)
we'll let you know what the outcome is.
thanks again, friends!