Too... Many... Magazines

I've gone a bit magazine crazy. I've always been more of a book reader, but recently I've found myself reading more and more magazines. I've always had a subscription to EGM, but that's really been the only one I've consistently subscribed to. Recently, I decided to subscribe to Newsweek. It's a really great magazine, but it comes weekly. I often find myself not finishing it, and the unfinished issues have been piling up. Add to that a free sub to Wired, and I simply don't have the time to read them all. They're nice to have at work for breaks and downtime, but that's about the only time I read them. There simply aren't enough hours in the day.

The Second Shot....

As I said in a previous post, we're going to be taking pics of Steph roughly every two weeks so we can look back at her progress after the baby is born. Yesterday was two weeks, but considering the news from yesterday, we obviously waited until today.

Well, the job search still continues. I check the websites daily, but it's pretty slim pickings. There's usually about 5 or 6 jobs posted daily, but either I'm unqualified, or the pay is way too low. I just keep looking, and hopefully something will come up. I've heard the Lowes Distribution Center is hiring, and I've filled out my app for them. Hopefully I'll hear something soon.

It's A Girl!

Horray! We had the 20 week ultrasound today, and fortunately for us, the baby decided to cooperate. We got some great looks at her various "parts", and this fantastic "4D" shot of her face. Steph says she looks like me, but I can't really see it yet. Everything looks great, and she is exactly where she should be at this age. It was pretty amazing to be able to see her spine, ribs, organs, fingers and toes. I really wish that we could do an ultrasound every month-- it's my favorite part by far. We've decided on Violet for her first name, but we haven't yet picked her middle name yet. I guess it's a good thing we're having a girl, because we had absolutely no idea for a name of a boy.

Icy Night

Having to do the bulk of my photography at night is a real pain. The literal translation of photography is "writing with light," so obviously the fundamental part of that is light. No light, no photographs. Sometimes, that lack of light can make for some amazing spectacles. Tonight, after some pretty serious ice and rain, everything around is covered in a thin layer of ice. When I took the trash out tonight, I saw the light passing through the ice on these branches against the shadows of the branches themselves, and I couldn't pass up the shot. Beautiful.

Well, tommorow is the big day! At 8am, we have an appointment for Stephanie's 20 week ultrasound. This is the big one. If the baby cooperates, we should be able to see if it is a boy or a girl. I've said all along that is doesn't matter to me either way, and I still very much feel that way. I just want a healthy baby with an easy birth for Stephanie. If I can get those two things, I'll be happy. Look for an ultrasound tomorrow!

Little Shirts

It's so odd and exciting to see stuff like this around the house. It's such a foreign thing, to see baby clothes laying around, but it's something I'll become all to acquainted with over the next few years. We've started looking for some of the "big ticket" items we'll be needing to buy. This is the ideal time to be getting them, since I really have no idea what kind of job I'll be getting, or what kind of money I'll be making. Steph has picked a pretty nices stroller/carseat combo, and I've started researching video cameras. I know a video camera may not be a necessity, but it's something I want for sure. I'll also have to invest in some serious external storage for my computer, as the 160 gb external I have now is nearly full, and digital video takes up some space. I have to admit, it's nice to have a valid excuse to buy "toys" like that. It's for the baby!

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is something we've been thinking about getting for a while. If you sign up for it, you get 2 day shipping for everything Amazon sells. You can also get discounts on things by signing up for "subscriptions" of that item, like diapers or toilet paper. It's a pretty good deal at $80/year, and since I did so much shopping last night on Amazon, we decided to sign up for it. Now would likely be the only time we could afford to do it, with my inevitable release in February. We found some affordable biodegradable diapers that we'll be using, and that company provides a series of affordable, "green" products on Amazon--from baby wipes to paper towels. I know it will be difficult and a little more pricey that normal, but we'd like to try to be as environmentally friendly as possible with the baby.