first comes love, then comes marriage

then comes baby...

well not necessarily in that order for us, but 2010 was a big year for Bryce and I and expect that 2011 will be even bigger...

As you know we got engaged in October 2009.

A funny story about a romantic weekend spent in a cute little cabin in the redwoods. we hiked, took long walks on the beach, watched the sunset together -

it was really a perfect weekend. I had no clue that he had plans to ask me, but apparently he was stressing about it the whole weekend, but couldn't bring himself to do it...

we got home sunday evening, unpacked the car and sat and watched a movie. as we were getting ready for bed, I was clearing dishes in the kitchen, Bryce walked into the kitchen and hugged me in front of the refrigerator and said 'will you marry me?' I said 'yes, of course I will' and instantly teared up. then he said 'am I standing in dog pee???'

little McKenzie was about 5 months old at that point and still in the trying stages of potty training... talk about romantic proposals! :)

we went back and forth on the whole wedding planning thing. we wanted a rustic cabin type thing, and then we wanted to do it in europe, and then my colleague inspired us a little and eloped... but we didn't think we could pull that off without upsetting our family.

basically wedding planning is hard, and so we just kept putting it off. it's so easy to get wrapped up in the whole let's get awesome invites, cool cake toppers and blow a big chunk of cash on one day, but when push came to shove we just couldn't commit to a wedding. instead we'd just cringe when we got the daily question of 'how's the wedding planning going?'

being over the 'ideal baby making age' we knew that having a baby was something we wanted to do in the near future so we started 'trying' in April and figured what will be will be. we stopped worrying about the wedding and started on 'project baby'. let me just say that making a baby is not as easy as they make it sound in high school... but, it's definitely fun :)

by the first week in September we got our first positive test result. i had to check twice to make sure. Bryce nearly fell over when I told him (incidentally he was standing in the kitchen where he'd proposed) - it was definitely a moment I won't forget :)

being pregnant and not married didn't really bother us since we are not the traditional type but the daily question would come up and we still were no closer to an answer of when we were getting married... we were just overjoyed to be pregnant and enjoying our wonderful secret gift (and praying that nothing would go wrong...)

October 25 is the anniversary of when we met, it is also the anniversary of when we got engaged and we'd talked about doing it on that date but as it was fast approaching didn't think we could give people such short notice... so again we put it off... procrastination is a wonderful thing!

pregnancy seemed to be agreeing with me, the only noticeable difference was that I was more tired than usual and my breasts were growing like crazy... Then one morning while I was lying in bed I looked down and noticed a little bump - it just seemed to pop up out of nowhere. not that I am one of those people blessed with a gorgeous flat tummy, but when I'm laying down it's usually flat enough :) this then led to visions of me shopping for a maternity wedding dress.

so about a week before our anniversary we decided to just do it! we made an appointment at City Hall, booked a room at a nearby hotel, took personal days at work and told a few of our friends and family. all we needed now were the outfits.

after a horrendous 10 hours in the mall the Saturday before we had the dress, the suit, the shoes and were all set. I bought my dress and they were able to do overnight alterations on it.

On Monday 25th October we tied the knot and it was honestly the most perfect day. the weather leading up to the day had been rain, rain and more rain and for those of you who know San Francisco it can be downright chilly on the best of days. that Monday the sun shone from a beautiful clear blue sky.

we picked Bryce's mum (Cathy) up from the airport on our way to San Francisco, checked into our hotel and then walked over to pick up the marriage license from City Hall. there were lots of people getting married that Monday.

Melita picked up flowers on the way

and helped me get ready

while the boys went for drinks

here's the marriage guide we got when we got the licence - all sorts of good information in there from sexually transmitted diseases, to taking folate, dealing with abusive relationships etc... (I kid you not)

I told you my breasts were growing... (I am 10 weeks pregnant here)

and we were off to City Hall to get married

but someone forgot their photo id... I mean I had pockets in my dress too, but totally forgot it, along with my video camera - I was just trying to be on time, which those who know me does not come naturally... luckily our hotel was a quick run through the park to get to - thank you Ini for doing the dash :)

once all the official stuff was taken care of we had to wait our turn. we'd never set foot in San Francisco's City Hall but it is the most beautiful building.

we got to choose where we were married, so we chose the rotunda (which you can see at the top of the stairs here)

and we're up. the judge that married us was really lovely with her gorgeous silvery hair, and soft spoken tone. she made it really special.

I love this shot of everyone taking photos

and videos of us...

and then we both said we do

thank you Christina for taking our photos

these two are the funniest captures

as Bryce landed the pin from his flowers went straight into his skin...

me with Bryce's mum - coolest mother-in-law a gal could ask for :)

Hannah was photographers assistant

these doors were really cool - we didn't even notice them on the way there

this is my fave

back at the hotel - I thought this one was fun since I am now married to an American boy ;)

then we headed off a local restaurant for an early dinner

yum

(can you tell I am paranoid about my breasts here...)

it really was the perfect way to get married!

later that night when we left the city we took this shot of city hall all lit up in orange for the Giants who were playing in the World Series

catching up

well I am back in the USA, after a quick 13 hour flight home from Sydney on Wednesday, I had a short stop-over at home (like 6 hours) only to jump on another plane for Las Vegas - can you say jetlag...

I am here for the Consumer Electronics Show and although I would love to be waking up in my own bed this morning, it's not a bad way to start the work year.

instead of partying all night with my colleagues I spent a lovely night in my cushy hotel room watching the Bachelor (yes, already sucked into another one of these ridiculous shows...) and started sorting through the many photos I took on our vacation.

more to come soon, but here's a photo from our honeymoon... I took this one as we flew into the Whitsundays.

hope you're having a fantastic week

pure genius

this woman never ceases to amaze me with her creative talents...

inspiration for my hallway by the 10 cent designer

happy 2011

hope you had a wonderful New Year's! we saw the most excellent display of fireworks on the best harbour in the world! *

*in my biased opinion :)

hello!

from Sydney!love and kisses

Bryce and I and our little bump :)

I'll be back soon to fill you in on what's been happening over the last couple of months, but wanted to say hi, hope you had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season and let you know that I haven't forgotten you all.

we did it!

today I married the man of my dreams at city hall in San Francisco. I am one happy lady!

love you Bryce

They're Growing!

We take the chicks outside to play everyday. They mostly stay in one spot

and like to huddle under the roses. They're getting hard to catch so we have

to wait until they fall asleep to bring them back inside.

Nancy is my bold and curious girl.

She is alway the first to come check things out.

As you can see the girls are growing and will soon be feathered out enough to live outside in their coop. As for the coop, I have been looking high and low for one that's affordable and large, but haven't had much luck. Did you know a new coop costs about $600, and the ones on Craigslist that are used aren't much cheaper? I was getting desperate because the chicks need to live outside soon, but sorting out their coop situation was problematic until I realized we have a perfectly sized garden shed that we never use out back that would be perfect for them. So this weekend we're hauling all the rusty, crusty tools out (the ones that are still useful will get moved into the garage) and then overhauling the shed into a new coop. All we have to do is weather and predator proof it, build the nesting boxes and roosting bar, and build a pen for them to play in and viola! new coop for around $200. I'm really happy because not only am I saving money and recycling the shed, but it's a great size for my flock. I will try to remember to take pictures of the project.

During

A view across the cluttered floor toward the soon to be walk-in closet

Dungeonous corner - the bed centered on this wall

Closet (the next project is to push this out about

4 feet so we can have a walk-in closet)

The bathroom wall where the vanity will live

View into hallway

Here are some pictures of the "during" stages of the master bedroom and bath remodel. We started this projects months ago, but for some reason we have lacked the energy for this project that we had for the living room/kitchen. Maybe because we have a bathroom and another bedroom to camp out in. It's by no means comfortable. but with the kitchen stuff washing dishes in the bathtub and having no walls was a huge motivator. Anyway, we are moving again on this major project and we turned a corner this week - we're actually hanging drywall and should have the bathroom tiled within two weeks!! Cody actually tried to put off hanging the drywall until "next weekend" which is how we have ended up taking so long to even get this far, but one massive temper tantrum by me is all it took and miraculously the ceiling will be finished tonight! I wasn't thinking clearly and forgot all about taking "before" photos which is why there will only be "during" and "after" pics to share, but trust me, the room was hideous. It's the home stretch, people!

Rainy Days

It starting to feel like Fall now! This weekend was stormy and grey and it's definitely getting colder. I love this time of year because I like to bundle up and the holidays are almost here. We're almost done with re-doing our master bath and bedroom (photos to come shortly) and I can't wait until the room is all finished and cozy. I want to stick a fireplace in the room so we can stay under a pile of blankets and be toasty. My girlfriend Gloria made stew this weekend and I think I'm going to swing by the store on my way home and pick up some ingredients to make my own pot tonight. I love to eat toasted sandwiches, comfort food, and hot soup like tomato or navy bean when the weather is like this. In fact, yesterday when it was rainy I made C get out of bed and take my to Harry's Hofbrau to enjoy a gravy drenched turkey lunch with extra cranberry. I had to be helped out of the booth after lunch and I wasn't able to finish everything (the chickens LOVED the leftover macaroni and cheese). We actually let the girls play in the rain yesterday since I'm hoping to encourage their feathers to fill in faster. I love them, but they are still in the house and they smell to high heaven no matter what I do, so they're going outside into their new coop by next weekend. I just looked outside and it's still gloomy - yay! I'm heading home to hot tea, a fire, a pot of bubbling stew and my stretch pants in a bit.

up the garden path...

at some point, this tired concrete path has to go...

and I must say I am digging these ideas of having grasses and succulents creep into the design to give it a softer yet still modern look while still being water conscious.

photo here

photo here

3000 Miles up!

you've got to love modern technology don't you? I am here on my flight to Dallas and online. the plane has wifi - what better way to eat up 3 hours of flight time than work and surf the web...

too bad for the nosy guy looking over my shoulder reading this right now (he just asked me if my name was flufflefritz...) I knew I should have brought that privacy screen for my mac - sigh...

the launch of our product went so well yesterday in san francisco. it really was like introducing your baby to the world, and I am not even in the product development team. I am in the marketing team.

so world, I'd like you to meet ūmi. I was a little hesitant to mix work and this blog, but I am really excited about this - and if you're like me with friends and family far from you this might be just the thing you need!

so now I am Dallas bound, which should be fun.

hope you're all having a great week!

Finally Got Them!

Last Saturday I went to Love Apple Farm in Ben Lomond and took a chicken raising class. There were two big boxes filled with tiny fluffy chicks
This is one of the breeds we got - a Cuckoo Marans (ours is named Doug)
who will lay beautiful chcolate colored eggs

Cody and Doug hanging out. Doug is our favorite!
I had no idea chickens were so friendly and curious.

Here are all four chicks sleeping in a pile.

From left to right: Doug, Nancy, Willow and Buffy.

Kate and Bryce came by to check the chicks out. Here is Kate and Willow.

Nancy is always climbing on top of the food container

to see what's going on in the world. Here are Cody and Nancy.

The class was very interesting and along with the four chicks I was sent home with instructions on how to brood them, a heat lamp and some chick starter. I ended up with four different breeds who will all lay different colored eggs sometime in the spring.