Baby shower!

Some gorgeous roses at the Test Garden.

Bettie Jo, Amy and I.

Shanna and I. Do I look enormous here or what??

My dear friends Laura Kimball and Deb Yates.

Two weekends ago was the Baby Shower Weekend Extravaganza! Bettie Jo and Amy arrived on Thursday night, followed the next day by Shanna and her mom, Suzette. Shanna and Suzette spent all of Friday driving around town (getting lost a few times in our fair city) tying up the last loose ends for the baby shower. The next morning, Don and I made our way to the Riverplace Hotel, a gorgeous location right on the waterfront. The day consisted of a scrumptious brunch, a completely decadent chocolate cake, heaps of gifts for our son, and lots of laughter and smiles shared amongst many of my favorite people.

Sadly, sweet Shanna had to depart for the airport later on that day, so I didn’t get to spend as much one-on-one time with her as I would have liked. We’ll have to make up for some of that when Don and I travel back down south for Thanksgiving with her new nephew in tow! And this time, I’ll even get to share in a glass of pinot with her!

The rest of the weekend was spent cavorting around town with Bettie Jo and Amy. We had lots of good food and made a trip up to the Pittock Mansion and the International Rose Test Garden. While Amy returned to New York on Sunday, Bettie Jo stayed on for another two days, which was a good thing, because that meant that she got to go to our ultrasound appointment with us! It was a special day, and Don and I are glad that she was there to share it with us. She got to hear his heartbeat and see him in 3D—though he had most of his adorable little face hidden behind his chubby little fingers.

Bettie Jo left her suitcase and all of her clothes (except what she wore home!) with us at our apartment. Much to our delight and with no small measure of gratitude, we are thrilled that she will be staying with us for a while after the birth. It’ll be so nice to have her here while I recover. And I’m sure she’s beyond excited that she’ll be able to spend some quality time with her newly born grandson! And by leaving her suitcase here, all she will have to do when we make the call that we’re heading to the hospital is jump on a plane!

My View at MIG, Inc.

So since I spend 40+ hours a week sitting at this desk, I thought I'd take a few pictures to show what I look at for most of the work day. First off, I LOVE my office. It's located in downtown Portland. The building was built in the early 1900s, as were most of the buildings on the surrounding blocks. It sits right next to one of the MAX stops (the light rail) so looking out my window, I see a perfect (and sometimes goofy) cross-section of Portlanders milling around.

As for my desk, my big flat screen is the main focal point, as I spend most of my time answering and composing emails, searching for marketing opportunities, creating proposals, filling in spreadsheets, messing around with PowerPoint, Illustrator, etc...and organizing files on our server. And speaking of organizing, my mom would be SOOOO proud of my filing system! Much to Don's amusement, I asked Bettie Jo and Denman for a labelmaker for Christmas 2 years ago. He kind of rolled his eyes at how excited I was when I got it. But boy, has the puppy been broken in! As far as I'm concerned, my filing cabinet is a work of art. And with the way it's organized, our marketing efforts at work won't come to a screeching halt while I'm gone. (At least I HOPE not, anyway!)

To the left of my computer I keep two small framed photos--one of Don and I that was taken shortly after we got engaged, and one of my mom when she was a teenager. It's my favorite picture of her--she's got her back to the camara, but has swung around to give that luminous smile as she dangles her feet out over the Grand Canyon. She looks so confident and happy and carefree in it. As my good friend Jen would say, she was a real Dame Rocket.

When I need to feel centered, I look at the picture of Don and I, when I need a bit of an energy boost, I look at my mom's. I love having those photos nearby. I'm sure come fall, when I return from maternity leave, my desk will become LITTERED with baby pictures, too!