april 13

in a city where parking is limited, people often opt for public transportation or a smaller, more convenient, vehicle to help get them from point a to point b.

vespas are my most favorite of these smaller modes of transportation. and if i only had enough confidence in maneuvering myself thru fast moving traffic with only a helmet to protect me, i might be the proud owner of one.... this PINK one that is named Buddy.

unfortunately, i am too much of a ninny and must just continue to ride around within my imagination on my make believe pink vespa that i look bad-ass on.

april 9

whenever i wear black, i have to lint myself once i walk out of the house to make sure no kitty hair (or the littlest amount possible) comes to work with me.

this morning i noticed a little red thread had rolled itself off of me, onto the lint roller, and into the shape of a heart.

ahhhh, cute... right?

april 7

week 17.

hello baby turnip.

you must definitely be picking up speed in your week to week growth because it seems like my belly is starting to get bigger and bigger every day.

still a few weeks away from finding out what you are... wish i could fast forward.

april 4

it feels good to volunteer. especially when you volunteer for a cause that hits close to home, or in this case, a friend's home. and i feel lucky to have a group of friends who i can support and who support me thru the good, bad, and ugly.


megs and i got up at the crack of dawn this morning (5:30am on a saturday) to head down to kron studios to support dial-for-dollars, benefitting leukemia & lymphoma.


not only was it a memorable morning of funny-had-to-be-there type of incidents, but when we walked out of there after our shift we realized we raised over $1700 between the two of us!!

all that AND we got free donuts too!!!

april 2

quick day-trip to LA for work turned into quite a delightful afternoon.

- got to go with cori to nicole miller to see her try on her wedding dress...she's going to look like a knock-out.

- had a delicious lunch with cori, jess & little baby harley

- topped it off with frozen yogurt from pinkberry...complete with white chocolate curls and all.

...more afternoons should be like this one.

april 1

tonight geenz and i took a field trip (via public transportation) all the way down to mtn. view to hear heather armstrong, blogger of the popular dooce.com, do a reading from her new book... it sucked and then i cried.

i am happy to report that the author is just as witty, random, and funny in person as she is when she writes.

what took me by surprise and frightened me a little is the blog community that follows her. i like heather & think she is a make my belly hurt from laughing kind of writer but i do not classify myself (or gina) as part of the "fan club".

i mean, i love the support & enthusiasm they showed... and one can only wish that they could support a family from the revenue her blog and book have made, but some of these people were W-E-I-R-D. like spend too many hours online, intertwining themselves within interactive communities rather than branching out into the real world kind of weird.

but again, more kudos to heather and her band of weirdos because it was that fan club who just helped her book reach the NYTime's Bestsellers list...nice work.

march 31

week 16.

yep, that's me. my growing tummy, and my very strawberry matching thermal pj's that i adore.

little g is the size of an avocado this week. this makes me very happy because that means i will most likely get to hear keith do a daily interpretation of bear grylls eating an avocado. it makes me laugh every time.

march 30

for those of you who had the pleasure of knowing my grandma, you understand the countless reasons of why i hold her so near and dear to my heart.

today marks the four year anniversary of her leaving us to hang out in heaven, and although there isn't a day that goes by that i don't think of her, it is this day each year that i try to do something in her honor.

my grandma lived around the corner from a marie callendars and would walk over there on a regular basis to have herself a "frisco burger". she called the place mary pie and she ordered her burger with meat & cheese only. she's usually ate half and then opted for some delicious fudge sundae type dessert before walking the block and a half back to her house.

it's weird how just a few bites of this burger made it seem, if even for the moment, that she was here.

march 29

being a bride is tough work because planning a wedding (sans help of an $$$ event planner) takes a lot of heart, organization and dedication.

it is all worth it when the big day arrives and all your hard works pays off in a wondrous togetherness of all your most favorite people in the world.

...another perk is the gifts that appear at showers and your doorstep. here is a peek at the lovely packages that will help transform barret and ashley's house into a home.

march 27

suze and i took a quick trip to the mall today and were busy shuffling through the racks, doing our thing when i looked up and noticed miss sadie james hanging out at the accessories table...clearly doing her own thing.

it's pretty amazing that at 2 1/2 years old a little girl can have her own tastes in style and fashion...and from what i can tell sadie's got a definite eye for hot trends, stacked bangles are a hit!

march 24

week 15.

APPLEbottom jeans, boots with the fuuuuuuuur, the whole club was lookin' at her...

i am not sure why that song came to mind, but you are the size of an apple this week.

the books say you can sense light right now. your daddy LOVES the thought of this, so much so that he wants to conduct an experiment...

he wants to flash a flashlight onto my belly to see if i can feel you squirm away from the light. not sure where you'll squirm to, but the thought of that is kind of funny.

march 23

this is boo! she's a maine-coon (thank you nadine for knowing that!) and is probably one of the raddest gatos that i've ever known.

she's big and furry & a total spaz, but also totally shy around people she doesn't know. she gets spooked by the littlest thing but also likes to act big & tough. she plays fetch, she makes weird noises and sprints around the house, and loves to cuddle come nighttime.

she has a crush on keith. he's not much of a cat lover and chooses to rough-house with her like she's a dog... and she lets him. and whenever he's laying in bed reading a magazine, she loves to walk up and under the magazine so he has to pay attention to her. i caught him in a moment of rare cuddling and couldn't resist snapping a photo.

march 20

i met tara for lunch today and was cracking up at the white paper signs that were posted everywhere in the thai restaurant.

it reads:

the economy is so bad!

save your money!

enjoy free first thai ice tea/ice coffee/hot tea

compliment of the owner

it's a very simple gesture but thai people are among the kindest, most thankful people that i know and i just couldn't get the image of this little thai owner man brainstorming a way to keep his patrons coming in to spend money, but to also give back to them as a thank you for sucking down pad thai in a SO BAD economy. too cute.

...thank you thai restaurant owner.

march 19

i took a walk this morning and stumbled across what might be the longest game of hopscotch that i have ever seen.

this picture doesn't quite do it justice, but if you look into the distance you will notice that the chalk seems to infinitely continue.

i imagined the little ones who must have put hours of effort into creating this masterpiece. i wish i could have been there to see them hard at work and then filled with glee when it was finally complete and the hopscotching could begin.

and of course, i couldn't resist... but phew! was i winded by the end.

march 17

week 14.
hey baby, we made it to the 2nd trimester! nice going.

they say it's smooth sailing from here... until some time in the 3rd trimester when you grow so big that you take over most of my insides and make me really uncomfy.
...but until then let's focus on the great things, like:

- i have more energy
- my eating habits are back under control
- i had to buy new pants because my belly is starting to become a bump
- boobs are growing!

and you're doing great things too! i think you can pee (kinda gross when you think about it) and you can suck your thumb now (pretty damn cute since you're only like 3 1/2 inches long!).

you're rad.

march 14

okay... so CLEARLY i have become a victim of my January 1 post.
it is mid-march and what was a daily moment has slipped to be come more of a some time's moment.

please forgive me.

from here on out, posts will be more intermittent but just as wonderful a time waster as always.

march 13

torture. beautiful, majestic, white fluffy torture.

i missed all but one day of last winter due to my two knee surgeries, and now i am missing this entire winter for the greater good of having a bun in the oven.

i get it, there will always be next winter (trust me, i am counting down the days), but for now just let me have my pity party.

i am in tahoe for a girls weekend away in a ski-in/out house. i can not ride. i can not sit in the lodge and drink the day away. i can not fully indulge in apre ski festivities. i can not sit in the hot tub and relax my muscles after spending all day on the mountain. i am basically useless up here.

after a few tears and a failed attempt to rent snow shoes, i decided that come hell or high water i was going to feel the snow under my feet. so there i went, on my own adventure... walking up the bunny hill past all the flailing beginners, past the chairlift drop-off and up the hill above it. i climbed and i climbed until i was out of breath, then i just sat...watching the people fly by me, and i smiled.

it wasn't my perfect day, but it did the trick. i just needed to feel that aliveness that only a day on the snow brings about.

march 12

spring has not officially sprung, but those cute little tiny flowers that sprout up in patches are blooming!

...and that, along with this ridiculously nice weather we've been having are enough to make me say, "so long winter, helloooooo spring."