this little one is the real reason...

Baby B is due to make his or her appearance in early January!

Mr. B and I found out we were expecting in April, with much delight! Both of us have always looked forward to starting a family and we're thrilled to be on that path now. It's turning out to be quite the year for our little family!

So, the real reason for the lack of blog posting has been due to my serious fatigue over the past couple of months and my need to not spill the beans before now. I've been blessed with an uneventful pregancy thus far and the baby is doing great, measuring a full week ahead of my estimated due date. I'm focusing on relishing every moment of this first pregnancy and looking foward to all of the wonderful moments to come.

go go gadget...phone!

Remember my little phone debate a while back? Well, back then I had to cool my jets until AT&T would allow me to upgrade without emptying my bank account for a new phone. Friday night was it. The stars alligned and the iPhone 3G was in stock at a new lower price...it simply called to me (so, I have a flair for the dramatic...whatcha gonnna do?). Mr. B and I braved the rainy night, the line and wait at the phone store and I walked out an hour later with this beauty!
Now, if I could only figure out how to blog from it. There's got to be an app for that!

oops, i did it again...

Three weeks, no blog? Oops. Sorry about that!

Coming back from a long vacation is a shock to the system (to say the least!) and I was thrown back head-first a really busy time at work. Two weekends ago, Mr. B and I traveled upstate to visit my family. Last weekend, my parents visited us. This weekend what do we have planned? Just about nothing! I need to proof 99% of our honeymoon photos, all of the pics from two weeks ago (still safely tucked away on the memory card in my camera) and, someday, find my mojo to scrapbook again. Could it possibly be lost under the growing pile that used to be my organized scrap space? Hmmm...

Oh, and this Saturday, June 27th? Well, I'll just call it iPhone day!

For now, I leave you with this market basket giveaway opportunity from Monogram Chick. I love her stuff and this tote would be perfect for Saturday morning walks up to our local Farmer's Market. Entry rules are on her blog. Good luck!

honeymoon in greece: take one...

18 days.
900 photos.
3 islands.
3 major historic sights.
LOTS of stories to tell. This is the first installment. Just some of my favorite photos of the trip at a first glance.

Ancient Epidavros. Tip: If you want to look slim in photos, avoid standing in front of columns!!!

Beautiful taverna in Nafplio. Oh, the colors!! Makes my heart sing just looking back on this photo. Such a gorgeous, picturesque town. We plan on going back for a full day on our next trip. Pulling away from the dock in Piraeus, Athens - leaving for our one day cruise to three islands.

In front of a war memorial on the island of Hydra. A taverna getting ready to open on Hydra - something about the colors begged for a photo as I was passing by. Hydra was a postcard!!! All of the white-washed houses built into the hillsides around the port. Stunning.
Just about to dock on the island of Poros. On Island 3: Aegina. Famous for their pistachios.
Peeking out from behind a column in front of the museum at Ancient Agora, just down from Acropolis. There isn't a lot of press about this site but, there should be. Large, facsinating and full of ruins - we spent about as much time here as we did walking Acropolis. More to come.
Parthenon!!! We were advised to wait until 5:00 pm to make the trek up Acropolis. Trust me - very good advice! It had cooled off at the point so that the long trek up was more than manageable, the crowds had thinned and the winds were cool and refreshing (albeit about 30-40 mph!). The Parthenon is undergoing major renovations (see the scaffolding) but, was still a sight to behold.

Parthenon from the other side.
Mrs. B, the tourist. What was your first clue? LOL! In the background, the first columns ever carved to represent the human form and still, remarkably intact.

Home for just two days now, it's already very hard to sum up our honeymoon. Greece is just beautiful. Everything moves very slowly, the people are incredibly hospitable, the food fresh and wonderful and stress is unheard of. DH and I went into this trip with some grand travel plans. Once settled in to our base in Kaito, however, we really didn't want to go much further. The endless shoreline and beaches of the Gulf of Corinth were two blocks from our door and the weather begged us to stay and relax so, we did. But for 3 days trips, we sat on the beach, ate Greek pastries, grilled corn and gyros (no, you have never really tasted a gyro until you have had one IN the country of origin. Seriously) and sipped frappes.

It was the best, most relaxing vacation of my life. I miss it already and can't wait to return next year!

greece...

• way more than I had dreamed of
• welcoming and beautiful
• a place you are made to feel right at home, no matter where you travel
• has amazing food
• the waters really are as clear and as blue as the tourism photos

I think I could live here. Just a few days left in paradise. Have hit the beach nearly every day and scrapped some travel because the of the call of the ocean. We've taken at least 700 photos so far and have a lot of tales to tell. But, for now, we're enjoying every last minute.

countdown to paradise and an award...

10 days to go...

10 little days before we leave on our honeymoon to Greece.

10 long days until my first vacation in exactly three years.

It has been so good to have something tangible to plan and look forward to following our wedding and I'm so glad we planned it this way. Still, the final countdown is a bit tortuous! I've been doing some shopping over the past few weeks in preparation and think I have pretty much everything I need...including a teal bikini purchased yesterday (at my DH's request). One more bathing suit and I should be fine in that department. Just need to dig out my cover ups and see if I have a pair or two of yoga pants to wear around the house balconies and on the beach in the cooler evenings. Ahhh...doesn't that sound divine?

DH however... He's nowhere near ready. His job has been all-consuming lately. Read: 6 days a week for 12-16 hours a day. Not good at all. Now, our mission this Saturday will be to completely prepare him and gather/buy everything he needs in one day.

On the blog front, my lovely friend Tania gave my blog this Ladybug Blog Faves award... thank you Tania!!!

The rules for this wonderful little blog award are as follows:
1. The winner may put the logo onto their blog
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 10 blogs
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for the nominees.

I do plan on nominating my favorites but, need some time to go through my Google Reader and pull out the addresses for my faves so, bear with me!

my equipment...

"What camera and lens do you use?"

I get asked this question a lot so, I figured I'd just post it here. Since August 2005, I've been shooting with the Nikon D50 D-SLR. It's 6.1 mp and, at the time I bought it, was the camera of the moment. Capturing roughly 12,000 images over the past few years, it's been a true workhorse. I've learned to shoot really well with it and this baby launched my part-time photography business. Sadly, it's quickly become professionally irrelevant and I'm in need of a megapixel upgrade but, I still love this camera and would highly recommend Nikon. If you are just starting out and are intrerested in an equivalent, great starter DSLR with a small pricetag, I'd contact B&H Photo Video and look at the D40 (maybe only refurb now?) or D90. My favored lens is the Nikkor 1.8/50mm. It rarely leaves my camera because it's light, quick, great in low light and gives great depth of field. A necessity, in my opinion, and very affordable (under $100). These Trash the Dress photos were all shot with the 50mm. Love, love, love it's versatility and super sharp images.