The results are in!

I have a lot of work to do as this is my last day before my Alaskan cruise, but had to just share the news with you all! I'll tell you more about our reactions later! Wheeeee! "I guess but we both want to have babies while it's still cool. I already have all the names picked out. If it's a girl, Bookcase or Sandstorm or maybe Hat, but that's more of a boy's name." - Carrie, 30 Rock

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow

Tomorrow morning is our big ultrasound! Wheeeee! I think my head is going to explode with anticipation! Shortly after I found out I was pregnant, I ran across an ad for Small Paul, the children's clothing line from Paul Frank. I saw this little boy in the ad and thought, "If we have a boy, maybe he'll look like this, but with darker eyes!!!" Then, recently a co-worker called me over to her desk. "Nanette, I think the Gap stole your baby for their ad!" (I think our little girl would be a little lighter than her because even *my* skin wasn't that olive when I was her age.) Such cuties, both of them! I'm really starting to feel Em Dash moving these days. I described the feeling to Brent as being similar to an eye twitch, but inside my belly. And it's so much easier to hear Em Dash's heartbeat with the doppler now, too. You have less than 24 hours to enter the contest if you haven't already! Oh, and p.s. about my previous post - although it didn't come across in my writing, I thought the whole stuck-on-the-balcony incident was freakin' hilaroius myself, during and after. "Do you know what they're doing in there right now? They're watching Claire's ultrasound video. And I swear to god, even the baby looks bored." - Marshall, How I Met Your Mother

Damsel in distress

Last night was my last night in Austin. A sponsor had organized some shuttles from the resort into Austin, but the majority of my team decided to stick around the resort for the night. Plus, pregnant or not, I'm not a huge fan of hanging out with a bunch of random drunk people, so I was happy to just chill by myself in my room. Cell reception was pretty awful throughout the resort. I had heard folks say it was better outside, so when I retired to my room for the night, I decided to see if I could get reception on the balcony. I stepped out onto the balcony and saw a giant beetle. Not wanting it to crawl in my room, I closed the sliding glass door. I couldn't get any cell reception and headed back inside -- only to find that the door had somehow locked behind me!!! There I am, locked on the balcony of my hotel room, which, by the way, was on the SECOND FLOOR! All the balconies are connected, only separated by a waist-high set of rails, but I didn't want to hop the rails -- partially because it's probably not something a pregnant woman should be doing and partially because even if I found a room with someone in it, I'd probably scare the bejeezus out of them. I know I'd freak the hell out if I heard tapping from the outside of my hotel room and found some random woman standing there. But the room next to me had its lights on, so I took my flip flop off and used it to reach the window. Despite my tapping, no one from that room came to my rescue. My guess is that they ignored the tapping, didn't hear it or simply weren't in their room despite the lights. I could hear a crowd of folks across the way, whom I'm sure were from our work's event. I was somewhat hidden behind a tree, so I don't think anyone could see me. But I finally worked up the courage to shout for some help, despite my fear of ridicule amongst industry execs. I yelled and said, "Um, can anyone hear me? Anyone?" Then a woman responded, "Are you ok? Are you stuck on your balcony?" "Yup!" I replied. "I'll call someone for you!" she offered. I told her my room number and thanked her profusely even thought I couldn't see her. As I sat on the balcony waiting for help to arrive and relieved that I wasn't going to have sleep outside in the balmy Texas weather with bugs as big as my head, I realized that there was one more potential hurdle. As a cautious traveler, I had flipped that little arm on the door that serves as a faux deadbolt. So then I feared that when security came up to save me, they wouldn't be able to get in! Lucky for me they had some special tool that enabled them to push that little arm out of the way and unlock me from my balcony prison. I probably should have complained to the hotel management for having a door that locked patrons out, but I was just relieved to be back in my room. And to that faceless stranger who heard my plea, thank you. I hope that good karma comes back your way. "I’m going to be your new boss. It’s my greatest dream come true. Welcome to the Hotel Hell. Check-in time is now. Check-out time is never." - Dwight The Office

That's just how I roll

My team and I ran into Russell Simmons after dinner last night. We were surprised that he was sitting there sans an entourage. We caught him on the phone, but he was very pleasant and seemingly happy to talk to us. And he smelled really nice - probably something from his own line of cologne. He was kind enough to take a photo with us (thanks to my co-worker's quick thinking to ask if he'd be willing). "The nice thing about being a celebrity is that when you bore people, they think it's their fault." - Henry Kissinger

Don't mess with Texas

Thanks for all the votes! Place your bets if you haven't already! Yee haw! I'm currently in Austin for a work event, which I always enjoy. Sadly I missed William Hung's performance on Sunday (I mean that in the most ironic way possible), but I did catch Russell Simmons' keynote this morning, which was entertaining. Oh, and Leslie Mann, Judd Apatow's wife, was on my flight out here yesterday. I didn't say anything to her, but I've always enjoyed her work and am a big fan of her husband. I'll be in Texas 'till Wed, and hopefully I can stay cool in this 90+ heat/humidity. This weekend Brent and I had the pleasure of attending the simply stunning wedding of our friends Angie and Chris at the Firestone Winery near the California Central Coast. Oh. My. God. Actually, "stunning" doesn't do it justice. It was more than stunning. Angie incorporated so many wonderful little details that together resulted in a beautiful, beautiful event. She had chandeliers hanging from the wonderful tree that they stood under during the ceremony. Parasols, pashminas and flip-flops for the female guests. Cigars and matches for the male guests. Wine galore! Gorgeous floral arrangements and candles everywhere. And the bride and groom? So beautiful and so very much in love. It was evident how much they are loved by their friends and family. Brent and I had a really nice time and were honored to share in their big day. I'll have to post pics later that some friends took as I didn't take any myself. I was too busy enjoying the celebration! "But he's not your father. The guy swinging from the chandelier is your father." - Leela, Futurama

Choose or lose

In exactly one week from today if all goes well, Brent and I will find out whether Em Dash is a boy or a girl. I can't wait! And I'm going to give you all a chance to play along! Leave a comment with what you think the outcome will be. From those who guess correctly, I will randomly select a winner, who will receive their choice of: - Baked goods from me (probably cookies as those travel better than cupcakes) or - A $25 iTunes gift certificate or - A $25 Pro Flickr account - good for one year of unlimited photo storage (And I will not be offended if the winner selects the iTunes or Flickr over my baked goods.) You can either make a guess based on your own gut feeling or you can consider some of the following: - I'd say the majority of friends and family have declared that we are having a boy, for no other reason than their own gut feeling. - My mom thinks it will be a girl because "Brent comes from a family of two boys. They don't have any girls." Yeah, I don't understand her rationale for that one either. - Shelby thinks it's a boy because I didn't have any morning sickness, based on her own experience and the old wives' tale. - My MIL thinks it's a boy. - My FIL thinks it's a girl. - My brother-in-law thinks "it's both." "A hermaphrodite?" I asked. "Hey, don't judge," he replied. Ha, ha, ha! - My friend Stacie thinks it's a girl just 'cuz. - My friend Andrea thinks it's a girl 'cuz all her friends seem to have girls. - Most of my co-workers seem to think it's a boy. - I've accidentally referred to Em Dash as "he" or "him" or "little guy" before. - I had a dream where it was a baby boy that then turned into a girl. - Brent had a dream that it was a little girl who could talk at 2 weeks old. - I took an online quiz based on old wives' tales and based on my answers it said, "38% chance it's a boy, 62% chance for a girl." Other than the dreams and the occasional slip-ups, Brent and I have no real intuition on what Em Dash will be. Of course, we'll be happy either way! You have until Friday, May 23 to make your guesses! "When my mother was pregnant with me, they did an ultrasound and found she was having twins. When they did another ultrasound a few weeks later, they discovered that I had reabsorbed the other fetus. Do I regret this? No. I believe his tissues made me stronger. I now have the strength of a grown man and a little baby." - Dwight, The Office

Where have I been? And Bump Watch, 17 weeks

Eating out Dinner last night at Ciudad with a fabulous bunch of gal pals. Then tonight at Versailles with Shelby's parents. Yup, that's how close I am with Shelby and her family. Her parents are very much like parents to me. :) They were in town and wanted to try "the Cuban place that Shelby is always raving about!" Rocking out At the Brett Dennen concert, along with awesome Aussie Missy Higgins. I was sad that Brett didn't play more of his songs that I know, but his new stuff was awesome. Popping out I'm 17 weeks, 4 days. And I think my little pregnancy belly has popped over the past couple of days. Take a look for yourself. Taste budding out This morning my Raisin Bran Crunch cereal tasted like chocolate to me. But there's NO CHOCOLATE IN IT! I've heard that strange things can happen to a pregnant woman's taste buds, but this was by far the weirdest thing I've experience yet. Feeling it out I think I may be starting to feel Em Dash kick a bit. I'm not 100% sure that the flutters I *think* I've been feeling aren't muscle spasms or what, but I'm hoping any day now that I'll feel the telltale flutters of our little one with certainty. Come on, Em Dash! Mommy says it's ok to kick her! Styling out Trying to get the hang of my new 'do. It's a subtle change with fringe bangs, but I like it. It's also added a bit of fun layers to the bottom of my hair, which are hard to see in these pics. As Brent joked with me over the weekend when I didn't agree with him about something, "Hey, just 'cuz you're all punk now doesn't mean you can take an attitude with me!" Baking out I officially broke in my new oven this week with a batch of Mexican Wedding Cookies. I pink puffy heart my convection oven - less heat and baking time required! Buggin' out On the way home from dinner at Ciudad last night, I could have sworn there was a bug in my car and it flung itself into my body. It was too dark to tell, plus I was going 65+ on the freeway, so I just rolled all my windows down in the hopes that it would fly out. I didn't see anything when I arrived home, but while I was on the computer shortly after I got home, I felt something near my bra strap. I stuck my hand in my shirt only to pull out a GIANT (ok, an inch or so) black beetle! I screamed and yelled for Brent to come kill it, but it was already dead - probably from fear of my yelling. Ugh, I'm getting the willies just thinking about it. "So the days pass, and I ask myself whether one is not hypnotized, as a child by a silver globe, by life, and whether this is living." - Virginia Woolf