So what two albums, you ask? Oh, just my pregnancy album and my everyday 2009 album. I am so freaking happy to announce that as of right now, this very moment, I am fully caught up with both albums. We are talking hours and hours of work to convert blog posts and 5000 pictures since January into nicely contained digital layouts. What? I got a new camera this year. You didn't think I'd just have a few hundred pics to sort through, did you?
I would like you to guess how many pictures are in our 2009 album thus far. Remember, beginning in January until present day, this album holds all of my self-proclaimed relevant blog posts and favorite images from the year. My 2008 album had 88 total pages from January through December. Do you have your guess?
Because it's only September and I have exactly 100 pages....and that does NOT include any pregnancy posts or pictures. Holy geez! Here are few randoms I thought I'd share from this album:
And then the pregnancy album? It's something I've always wanted to do and it's why I've tried to stay diligent with my posting during this amazing and thought-provoking time. I think I'll love looking back on my thoughts as a first time pregnant lady and I'll probably laugh. Maybe the baby will like to read what Mommy was thinking someday, too. But for the book itself I decided to keep it very simple and plain...all black pages, nothing fancy at all. Can't wait to add more pages to this bad boy!
Speaking of albums, I haven't mentioned much about J.Lorene on this blog for many many months. It's not that I haven't been working on gorgeous albums this year, because I certainly have and continue to upload all of my recent work to my site under 'examples', if you are interested. (I'm a total sucker for Chelsea and Jide's wedding in Cabo and could stare at this one all day long, but that's just me).
I'm still taking new orders but I'm really struggling with whether or not I will continue to go full speed with my little side biz. I still love it and enjoy the extra spending money but I'm starting to feel like I will need every free moment to prepare for the baby. Once baby comes in March I'm absolutely certain that I'll need to take a break from J.Lorene to focus on my new job as a mommy....but then what? Do I continue fun hobby that in all honesty is purely a labor of love because I really don't make enough money per hour to justify spending time away from my new baby consistently? Or do I just limit my new clients to allow for a more laid back time frame and less pressure to perform quickly? I don't know. I'm torn. For now I'm just thinking of continuing on until I have a stronger opinion one way or the other.
On a different note, my beloved iMac aluminum keyboard protested the number of hours it was hard at work to complete my personal albums. All of a sudden in the middle of typing a comment on a friends blog I couldn't type the word 'that'. All that was coming out was 'ha' which was totally frustrating and confusing. Then I realized that my letters B, G, and T were all not working along with the letter 5. If you look on your keyboard you see these pesky letters are all in a diagonal line. CURSES! Have you ever tried to type anything without these letters? Totally maddening. I didn't spill anything on the keyboard and I hadn't done anything to tick it off besides work the crap out of it all day long.
After some research and a quick trip to the Apple store it was official: the 1.5 year old keyboard gave up on life. It was broken and not repairable. So we basically HAD to buy a new one unless I could figure out a way to work the English language without the letters B G and T. Ugh.
But failing economy my left cheek---the Apple store is always hopping with people who are dropping mad cash in there like it's no big deal. Seriously. Every time we go in we are of course drooling at all of the new Macs and iPods but also staring in astonishment as people wheel out gigantor iMacs in multiples. Who are these people and how are they spending this money?
I suppose I shouldn't talk since we do technically own two Macs and a few iPods but still. 'Tis craziness in there.
And finally, the topic of flu shots is always a fun one, right? You see, I work in a hospital which is full of very sick people. Those sick people are my patients and thus I am literally inches away from their faces as they sneeze and cough and do other nasty bodily functions. Anyone in health care should automatically get the flu shot, right? Plus, I'm knocked up so that puts me at the top of the 'must get flu shot' list even more than before. BUT....
I've never gotten one before and I've been fine. I realize that I'm totally lucky to have never gotten the Flu and people tell me that someday, when I do get a real respiratory Flu bug, I'll be begging for the vaccine every year afterwards. I mean, the shots are free at work and they literally wheel around carts through the halls ready to plunge the needle into your skin. I asked the nurse and she said that the shots they have at the hospital are the preservative-free kind, which is what us pregnant ladies should get.
I'm just not sure I want to deal with it. I have heard of people getting sick after the shot (even though it's not one with a live virus) and of course, many times 'they' pick the wrong Flu strain to guard against so the shot is totally pointless. I know it can't really hurt the baby to get the shot but I still have a hard time committing to it....don't ask me why. My doctor's office recommends it, my work recommends it, and yet I'm stuck with this one.
Any advice? Let's not even get into the topic of H1N1 though. When that vaccine comes out I'm going to do lots of research there, too, and I know they'll push for pregnant peeps to get it but again, I'm torn. I know of some preliminary reports that show a startling correlation to the vaccine and Gullian Barre, so of course that makes me a wee bit nervous.
So that's that. More miscellany coming at you just in time for me to watch The Office. Oh, Jim and Pam. How I've missed you.
I'm totally struggling with the whole flu shot/ H1N1 shot thing too. My OB recommends both, but I've never gotten a flu shot before and I've been fine. I don't really wanna risk my babeh's health over it. I think if you're sensible, wash your hands alot, don't touch your face, you should be ok. I'm never around kids at work so I'm just praying I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteJust remember it is YOUR CHOICE. Most doctors HAVE TO recommend getting the flu shot because they are on some hoity-toity doctors board and the BOARD recommends it. Or something like that. (this is what my OB told me when I was quizzing her about it).
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I chose not to do it, was pregnant both times during flu season, and never even caught a cold. Take your prenatals and eat lots of Vitamin C!!
love those bailey shots! And I totally know what you are saying about the Apple store. That place is always hopping with peeps buying Iphones, etc. like that is a normal thing to do on a Thursday afternoon. I don't don't get it!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh...I never really thought to put my pregnancy album together now. That's a great idea! I may be starting on that soon.
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as the flu/h1n1 shots are concerned, I'm not getting either. I could talk about this for ages, but for me, it comes down to one thing: There is no scientific proof that the flu vaccine causes fetal harm because the relation has never been studied, so whether it's really safe for a baby in the womb or not, no one knows. And that is enough reason for me to say no way, Jose.
However, I do understand why some people get the vaccine, especially those in the healthcare field. It's a tough decision!
i really like your books! what fonts did you use for the handwriting-esque fonts?
ReplyDeletei kept a blog during my pregnancy and made it into a 7x7 blurb book. i LOVE it! it felt good to do an album that wasn't as massive as a "year in review" or even my wedding, but it still took me 6 months post-partum before it was printed and in my hands!
as for the flu shot, i just heard on the radio this morning that there was a canadian study recently done [i'm in toronto] which showed that the flu shot actually made ppl more susceptible to H1N1. i normally get the flu shot b/c i'm asthmatic and a teacher [surrounded by little kid sniffles all day!] but i don't think i will this year.
everytime i have made a mac purchase i have pined for months and months, drooling over the screen shots - looking at all the gadgets (even though i often have no idea what they mean). so when that triumphant day arrives when i can purchase that glimmery little hipster electronic (typing from a mac-book pro, iphone vibrating from a recently tweeted tweet) i cannot pull myself away from it for days. days. maybe the person that you see is me...i'm just trying to play it cool?
ReplyDeleteI didn't have the flu shot last winter (which was pre-H1N1, of course), and I was totally fine. But, you do work in the hospital, so...I'm also torn right with ya!
ReplyDeleteI also recommend taking maternity leave from J.Lorene, too, at least until you find out the baby's personality. If he's a good self-soother, like my nephew, you could probably take an order or two. Of course, if he's a good self soother, you may want to sleep too. I miss sleep. And now I've started to call your baby a 'he'.
I also work in a hospital, so I get a flu shot every year.. I've never had a problem with it, and I've never had the flu. I guess I feel it's the responsible thing to do since I work with patients who are older, and if I came down with the virus I could potentially spread it to them before I realized I was sick. I've always felt that I should do what I can to minimize that risk.. That said I do make sure to research these things first, and I haven't read anything about H1N1 yet, so I can't comment on that one..
ReplyDeleteI could also sit and stare at Chelsea and Jide's pictures. Amazing. I can't get over how cute those books are. I am so sad...I haven't developed pictures or made an album in over 2 years. I know, I know. It makes me so sad. I need to do something about!
ReplyDeleteJulia, I LOVE your albums. I only wish I could be so motivated to do something like that. I really love the idea of the yearly album, because all of my photos pretty much just sit unseen on my computer. I haven't even started our wedding album yet, and it's been almost 18 months.
ReplyDeleteI am anti-flu shot for myself, but then again I have never had the flu either.
I haven't had the flu since I was little (knock on wood) and have never gotten the flu shot. I work at a university and they promote it tons here, but I've never gotten it. I don't think I ever will either. I think as long as you do things like wash your hands, etc you should be fine.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to put the pregnancy blog posts into a photo album!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the flu shot goes, my doctor really recommended both, and I'm going to trust him on this one, because he's usually pretty reasonable about when to dismiss hysteria (like with lunch meat) and when to pay attention. I was not super keen on the idea honestly, but the doctor told me that it isn't just about me in this situation, and that getting the flu shot would also help pass that immunity on to my baby, which then decreases the chances of her picking up a nasty flu that could do a lot more damage to her than it ever would to me.
I love your albums. Such a great idea. What program do you use to create them?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you would be opened to answering some questions that I may have in regards to photography in this blog. BTW I love this post . Hope to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteJessica.hogan28@gmail.com
What a great idea about the pregnancy album. I hadn't even thought of doing one!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am all over the place on the flu vaccines too. I have gotten them some years and some years I haven't. There seems to be no correlation. Some years I get the shot and don't get the flu and other years I get the shot and do get the flu.
I am leaning towards a "no" on the H1N1 too. I'll probably do a blog post about it in the future. I just hate having to make that kind of decision!
Love the albums. Where oh where do you find the time, my dear.....
ReplyDeleteI am anti-flu shot as well, though those darn cute heart band-aids that Walgreens uses makes me want to run out and and get one. :)