updating

a few updates on my recent posts

wedding guest dress - i couldn't decide.  plus, half the dresses went into "out of stock" or "size 2 available mode.  and since most forays into the dressing room for me have a 17% success rate i decided this:  purchase 7 dresses that i liked best ie: were most affordable, try them all on, and send back the 6 losers, hopefully keeping 1 very awesome winner.  my husband frowned upon this idea, wanting me to purchase 2  instead and choose from those.  next time, you can have the baby and jack your body up.


ditch the shampoo - this got worse before it got better.  not only are my grays sticking out and holding up little "look at me" signs; i was wanting to shave my head and vomit every time i saw my hair, which stayed perfectly placed in a ponytail every time i removed my hair band.  gag.  when i was begging for my shampoo, husband suggested i follow the baking soda wash- it made a major improvement to my hair from first wash, and my hair is gradually starting to look cleaner.  i'm hoping that holds up, because it's time to color it... AGAIN. 


shredding - ugh.  epic fail.  i got through 10 days, then hubby's gma died and we were out of town for the long weekend, and it was just so difficult to get back into it.  i may start up again, but for now husband has a big plan for us that i'm keeping to myself for a while.  good news is while i didn't lose any weight, i haven't gained any since then either...

ian and i are flying to the atl tomorrow.  i'm so excited.  i need some south in my life.  we are flying, and did i mention it's just going to be the two of us?  after we get to atlanta, we'll be driving to nashville for the weekend for a family reunion (a little counter-productive) and then it's loads of fun in c-town.  this will be the first time husband has been away from ian- and he's a little bummed (so are we).  thank God for skype.  i'll be sure to include a post on traveling with baby. 

i won't be posting much during my vacay, but i do have some guest posts lined up- so keep checking in!!

what to wear to the wedding

so the wedding we are attending is just 2 weeks away, and after spending the last month searching the internet high & low, i have narrowed it down to 14 lucky finalists.  yes, 14.  ugh.  i'm suffering from a case of abulia!

so excited about this weekend, but a little nervous too.  the wedding is on a friday in the late afternoon, so we will be dropping ian off with...?  and not picking him up until the next morning.  *i was just joking w\ my mil about how they need to consult with us before making plans- we were going to have them keep ian on our anniversary, but they were out of town.  now, we wanted them to keep ian this- and guess what- out of town.  we can't bring him to the wedding, so now we need to enlist an overnight babysitter.  aaaaaah!*

so excited-  1.  i get a pretty dress to wear, and it can be any kind of dress i'd like b\c it doesn't have to be made to allow for breastfeeding (!!), 2.  we get to go downtown to a beautiful church and a reception at the chicago history museum, 3.  we get to stay at a beautiful hotel downtown (i'm pretty sure we're splitting this hotel with at least 2, if not 3 of our single male friends- this should be interesting). 

so, onto the dresses.  i did a lot of searching on a LOT of sites.  so i hope i've picked some things that are cocktail wedding appropriate.  my goals are to keep the girls intact, keep my butt covered, look awesome, and not attract unnecessary attention.  duh.  without further ado...

photo cred:

Bright Young Things Dress- ModCloth

Ascending Pleats Dress- Ruche

Sleeveless Tulle Neckline Dress- Loft

When the Night Falls Dress- ModCloth (thanks, girls)

The Dress I've Been Telling You About- ModCloth

Berry Abstract Print Dress- Loft

and...

Chocolate Souffle Dress- Lulu's

Lost In Your Eyes Dress- Lulu's

Andalusia Silk Dress- Lulu's

Mesh Insert Bandage Dress- asos

Folded Flower Dress- asos

Frill Front Slinky Dress- asos

aaand..

Celebrate Good Times Dress- ModCloth
Kirigami Craft Tube Dress- Ruche

so, how did i do?  did i pick anything out that's early fall cocktail wedding appropriate?  anything you love?  i have some definite faves, and some that i'm on the fence about, but would love to hear your opinions.  so opine away....  

7 months

ian is 7 months old.  what the crap kid- stop growing. of course, by this point he's nearly 8 months, but i'll update for the sake of an update.  here's what happened during ian's 7th month:

ian still has no teeth, no words, no desire to sit up, and isn't crawling (some of this has already changed)!!

he loooooooooves to eat.  man, can this child eat.  he's still nursing like a champ, and he's eating table food like it's his job.  currently ian eats the following homemade foods- sweet potatoes, peas, apples, pears, apricots, yellow squash, zucchini, plums, & peaches.  he also eats avocado, oatmeal, banana & tofu (no home-making required).  we also had our first food allergy- acorn squash- but, he loved it!

ian survived 3 weeks sleeping in our room in the pack n play, and so did mommy & daddy.  in fact, i missed him the first several days once he was back in the crib.

he's also been super cranky lately- it's driving me crazy.  i really hope we find the cause soon because he is out of control!

i can't wait to update for next month- so much has already happened!!

looonnngggg weekend

it's been a long weekend.  so long that this is pretty much day 6.  labor day weekend is always a nice week(end) for us because of our anniversary.  this is our 3rd year of marriage- the leather anniversary, and since i'm not into s&m, husband got me a nice red leather photo album with some photos of us inside to start it.  i also got an adorable pair of rain boots b\c i hate when it rains and my pants get wet...  oh, and a gift certificate for a pedicure!  finally!  we went to dinner & had a very nice evening just the 2 of us.

our weekend was supposed to start on friday- husband's company always releases them from work early on friday before a holiday- we were going to be packed and heading to michigan for a nice relaxing weekend at the lake.  i have been looking forward to this trip in months.  while other people are going on a vacation every other day it seems- we have not been on one in 3 years- it sucks.  i had 2 new swimsuits, a baby float, a baby tent and i was ready for my skin to finally see the sun...  well, of course, there's murphy's law...  unfortunately, husband's grandmother passed away on thursday- bye bye lakey.  so we packed for a different trip. i will not cry about the trip to the lake that wasn't- we made the best of what we had, and we had a nice weekend despite the circumstances.

saturday we had a nice family day after ian watched his first uga game - go dawgs!  then sunday afternoon we headed to lincoln to get ready for the funeral.  after we checked into our hotel, we got ready & headed to the church.  my husband's gfather died a few years ago, and i must say, they always plan really nice funerals- it was a wonderful service with happy tears.  eloise was a wonderful lady with good taste in shoes...  she is missed.

monday we had a really fun day at dave's uncle kevin & aunt reva's.  they have a beautiful old farmhouse and lots of land.  we sat around, talking, watching the 6 dogs run around, playing bags & bocce, and shooting guns.  then we had delicious grilled fare for dinner, and made the plans to bury eloise & harry.  it was wonderful time with all the cousins.  although it wasn't the labor day we planned, and the circumstances were sad- we really had a blast.  i don't think i could've asked for a better weekend!  

this is lincoln, illinois from our car.  cornfields on your right, cornfields on your left.

ian had a good time just chillin' out in his tent and playing

mommy had a good time shooting things!

dinner on the go!

i'm sorry, but my son is adorable!

all the cousins with their children, husbands, boyfriends and wife.  yes, i am the lone wife.  dave is the only boy out of all his cousins and it was up to us to have a boy to continue the family name (no pressure).  luckily, we got it right on the first try.  there are also 9 people missing from this picture

one of the first exits on our way home.  this exit boasts the atlanta museum and "historic downtown atlanta".  riiight.

see you and me have a better time than most can dream

have it better than the best

so can pull on through

whatever tears at us, whatever holds us down

and if nothing can be done

we'll make the best of what's around

dave matthews band

nappy roots

so, remember back here when i talked about doing this?  well, i ran out of my delicious rosemary & mint shampoo about a week ago, and haven't looked back.  now, of course, i've become the shredder, i'm a little scared about what a daily (very sweaty) workout is going to do.  so i'm at least a week in, if not longer into this experiment, and let's just say it's going to be interesting.  today, i had to re-read the article plus this article because my hair is looking a little... well, limp.  i've also been rocking the ponytail for the last week. 

i'm not sure if i'm supposed to be still using conditioner or styling products.  i have been doing conditioner just on my ends, and i've used styling products a couple times.  i think i may just go to conditioner once a week and try to wean myself completely from my styling products.  sorry bumble & bumble.  

it looks like it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months before your scalp stops overproducing oil to make up for it's non-shampoo shock.  i'm hoping for me that it's closer to the former, and not the latter.  lulu asked me to post/take a daily photo of my hair.  i don't think i'll do daily, but how about weekly.  so, here is my rat's nest after week one of being "poo-free"

note:  these photos were taken after a workout, before my shower.  it's also been in a ponytail for around 24 hours.

 so you can definitely tell my hair is very oily

here's all of my hair.  at least it's so shiny it's got serious camera flash on it!

ai yi yi

this weekend has been filled w\ many ups and downs- so i've been on the go.

hopefully i'll be back tomorrow.

hopefully.

it's my wedding day

a page is turned in this life, he's making her his wife
and there is no secret to the source of this much life
when the grace that falls like rain is washing them again
just a chance to somehow rise above this land

bebo norman

happy anniversary

and many more