Walnut Creek Art & Wine Festival

Every year I look forward to this event with high expectations. I guess for me, it kind of signals the beginning of summer. Typically I go more for the wine and less for the art, but that was not so much the case this year. At the risk of sounding like a complete lush, I didn't have quite as much fun. It was still a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon and I enjoyed catching up with friends, but definitely not the roaring good time I recall. Is it me or did the wine glasses shrink by a good 30%? Since when did it become $20.00 for three drink tickets? Over $6.50 for no more than 3 oz. of wine? If I had been partaking in the wine drinking, I would have been very annoyed by this fact. Anyways...

One year I wore a fabulous pink hat (or at least what I thought to be) that stained my hair pink and took at least five washes to get out. I remember feeling so sexy in that hat, even though I'm sure I looked like a complete idiot to everyone around me. The afternoon then extended into a late evening with more wine at the Greenery, and then into the early morning at Lex and Aimee's house (also involving more wine). I don't think any other year has quite stacked up to that one. Of course, next year will be a whole other experience. We will have the pleasure of bringing our little girl with us. On the way back to our car this afternoon (after purchasing a huge bag of the best Kettle Korn I've ever had), Knute and I debated about which stroller we should bring with us next year. How silly is that? Life is going to be so different.

It can be sad letting go of certain chapters in your life. Knute and I have always had so much fun with it just being the two of us. Although we will continue to have plenty of fun together, the dynamics will completely shift with three of us. We will never be able to be careless and stupid without knowing that we have someone who is dependent on us. I feel like this reality probably changed in me several months ago when I found out that I was pregnant. You have to care for yourself not just for you, but for someone else as well. Knute probably hasn't quite yet experienced this, but soon enough. Once again, I somehow digress to "Deep thoughts by Paris." I'll save it for another time...

Insomnia

I can't sleep! Last night I finally drifted off at about 2:00 only to awake every hour because something really heavy was pressing on my bladder. Eventhough it's still somewhat early, tonight isn't looking much more promising. I think my dear daughter is crushing my lungs...it is getting so much harder to breathe. I can't find a comfortable position. The Nurse Practitioner said to try and sleep on my left side, but Knute sleeps on his right and then snores in my face. The Queen sized bed that I once thought was ample big enough keeps getting smaller and smaller. Okay...rant over. At this rate, it is going to be a very long and uncomfortable month.

All By Myself!

Knute left early Friday morning for a Bachelor trip to Vegas over the long weekend. I had been feeling really sad about him leaving and not looking forward to it all week. He only has to travel once a year for work, so I have become accustomed to always having him here. Eventually I toughened up and decided to take advantage of some alone time (my last in probably a very long time). To my surprise, it turned out to be a very relaxing and pleasant four days that involved the following:

Not making the bed

Spending a ridiculous amount of time putting on makeup and playing with different shades (although I can't say it turned out very different)

Shopping at the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale (where I saved money from all the fabulous sales.)

Watching anything I wanted to on TV (typically Forensic Files and Lifetime).

Reading my book until whatever time I wanted to (the light always bothers Knute when he's trying to get to sleep).

Having quality girl time at Amy's house cooking dinner and playing games.

Letting Rudy sleep in the bed and snuggle with me.

Taking Rudy to the Dog Park every morning.

Taking a short trip out to the city to visit Shawn.

Spending two hours in Target walking around with absolutely no purpose.

Having a leisurely lunch with Claudia.

Organizing my photo albums.

Knute will be home in about five hours now and I am definitely looking forward to it. Although I missed him, I really kept myself quite entertained while he was away. I think sometimes good quality alone time is healthy for the soul.

Where to Begin...

For all three of you who may read my blog, you might have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. Unfortunately, our computer caught several nasty viruses and after a lot of wasted time and frustration we decided to finally get a new one. After our Internet had been up and running for only two days, Dear Rudy decided to chew through the Internet wire (the second time in two months). As you can see from the picture above, he looks quite sweet and innocent, but he is really a Turkey.

Anyways, I thought I would do a little re-cap of the month in pictures. We spent a few days on a little getaway in Palm Springs. Some may call this a "Babymoon," but I'll stick with "Vacation." A man that Knute used to work with generously allowed us to stay in their beautiful vacation home. We had a great time swimming, sunning, eating out, and shopping the outlets. Knute also played a little golf. It's always so nice to get away for a little trip. We came back very relaxed and sunburned.

We celebrated Kelly's 27th birthday at Il Fornaio.

We hosted a Wine Shower for Lex and Aimee, who are getting married on August 2nd!

My mom came in town for my "Ladies Shower" in Mill Valley, hosted by Claudia and her sisters. Fortunately, she came in the same weekend that Knute and I hosted our Wine Shower, so I was able to put her to work. I felt a little guilty about this, but she insists that she likes to help. She has an amazing eye for things and did an incredible job with all the flower arrangements.

The Baby Shower in Mill Valley was so nice and our little girl was spoiled rotten with generous gifts from loved ones!

The following weekend Lindsay hosted a "Girls Shower" at her house in Walnut Creek. We had so much fun! There were plenty of mimosas for everyone (except me).

The lovely hostess.

Cooking Club Girls and Emily.


In other news (not in pictures), our Book Club met at Amy's after reading our first novel, "The Time Traveler's Wife," by Audrey Niffenegger. Now we are onto "Three Cups of Tea," by Greg Mortenson. I'm really looking forward to this one because Claudia and I went to hear him speak back in the fall. Very fascinating man...

Last but not least, Knute and I finished the last of our Childbirth Classes. We learned a lot of helpful and some not-so helpful information such as Infant CPR (helpful) and how to change a diaper (not-so helpful). Overall, it was a great experience and we are feeling pretty (but not totally) prepared.