Holiday photo 2015

We got real weird with our holiday card photo this year. Life was obviously a little crazy this holiday season, so we (I) majorly slacked on getting our card together. But, we had a trip to New Orleans to work with so we thought we might snap one there! Maybe in front for some pretty Christmas decor or something. Well, there was totally pretty Christmas decor everywhere, but somehow it just didn't happen. BUT, then we had the idea to take one in the cemetery when we were doing our cemetery tour. But that didn't happen either, because well, it was a tour and I didn't want to interrupt and be like, "AHEM, can you stop what you're doing there and take a photo of me and my husband? Also all you other people who paid to be here, skeddadle, we don't want you in it." Plus, that cemetery was very cool, but not that pretty. But then, we found another more visually appealing cemetery the next day and it was pretty dang empty! Prime opportunity! But who would take the photo?? No one was around except tours and this creepy dude who I suspect was the caretaker, but I mean... I've seen movies. I wasn't asking him.

SO WE SAT THE CAMERA ON A TOMB. We busted out that self timer and propped it up on a tomb. Omg, I was so scared that possible caretaker was going to come around the corner and be like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT TOMB IS 200 YEARS OLD HOW DARE YOU SET YOUR BIG ASS CAMERA ON IT YOU ARE NOW CURSED FOREVER GET OUTTTTTTT!" Kind of like when the Beast finds Belle in the west wing, about to touch that rose. You know. But thankfully no one bothered or yelled at us, and it took a few tries, but we got a shot that was acceptable.

If you got a card (hopefully they have all arrived by now), this is old news. Perhaps you were like, wtf? But for everyone else, it says, "HAPPY HOLIDAYS. We're dead serious."

HAAAA, we think we're real funny. Too weird? Too morbid for Christmas? Did we mix up our holidays? I don't know, but I'm a fan. Mostly because it was a comical situation. And because we can't do anything normally. We started with the idea of a normal photo with pretty holiday decorations, and ended up taking a photo in a cemetery. Honestly, I like the cemetery far better than normal.

Happy Holidays, y'all! Next year our card with have THREE HOGANS in it! Eeeee!

And for a walk down memory lane, here are our holiday photos from 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011. We look blissfully young and gleeful in last year's photo, the calm before the storm y'all! Although, as grumpy as we might look in this years photo, this storm has been a blast.

Maternity photos

Maternity photos! I was not on board with these at first. People kept asking, "Are you going to get maternity pictures taken??" And I was like, ehhh? Because I am not a huge fan of being photographed. I am an awkward human. And I was afraid they'd be pointless, like how often do you bust them out? "Here, look, offspring! It's that time you lived in a basketball in my belly!" I don't know. But at the same time, I wanted to document this, because being pregnant is a big deal. I'm not sure if I'll be pregnant again, so I might as well go all out, right?

And y'all, I'm so glad I did. We found an awesome photographer right here in Temple, Angela Luci Photography, we highly recommend! She was so laid back, the whole thing was easy and painless, which is good because I was a little nervous. And she is FAST! She took these photos Sunday and we got them back Monday. Rock star! And obviously, we love them. So, prepare yourselves for the onslaught of a LOT of photos of us. I had a hard time narrowing them down, so like I said... there's a lot! And I am definitely not used to sharing a whole bunch of photos of myself, but I'm so happy with these, I don't even care. Feast your eyes on these Hogans, looking far more fabulous than normal!

Okay, the hands in a heart on belly shot. Before the shoot we were all, are we gonna do that? Because everyone does. And when Angela pitched the idea we were like, what the heck why not, planning on it being super corny. But y'all, I LOVE IT! No shame in my game.

The flower crown! Isn't it fantastic?? Angela texted me asking what I was wearing and if I'd be interested in wearing a flower crown. I was like, "UH YESSS." She made that crown! And it matched perfectly. It was so much fun. Obviously, any chance I get to wear a crown, I'm in.

I think this one is my favorite, because we were trying so hard to keep it serious and then we just lost it. Also Brendon has an evil Jack Nicholson thing happening here that I find hilarious. But seriously, let's talk about Brendon's game face in general. That boy refuses to make a normal face for me when I'm taking the pictures, but you throw a professional out there and all of a sudden he's Zoolander.

Okay okay, maybe this one's my favorite. Angela asked if we wanted to do any particular poses at the end and I was like ???? and Brendon said he wanted a shot of him kissing my belly. I DIE.

Seriously, so so happy with these photos. I have been feeling like a big ol' frumpalump whale lately, and definitely not very pretty. But I feel beautiful in these photos. I am definitely bigger, everywhere, than I was 8 months ago but I like it here. I feel curvier and softer and those are things I am usually not. Even if for one day, I'm glad I got to feel a little fabulous! But real talk, as soon as we got home it was back to leggings and Brendon's t-shirts.

Muchos gracias to our photographer Angela for taking these fantastic photos and for stomping out into the trees and mud with us even though it could have started raining at any moment! (Which explains my Hermione hair that was previously in nice little curls.) And a big thanks to Brendon who did all this just for me, but did such a good job of acting like he was into it. ;) Also for looking extra handsome. And thanks to the Seahorse, for kicking me in the guts the entire time. She knew she was the center of attention I guess.

So if you're on the fence about getting maternity photos done, DO IT. And if you're in Temple and need photos taken, Angela is your girl.

Cameron Park Zoo

GIBBONS! Y'all, I love animals! You know this. There's a zoo in Waco (the Cameron Park Zoo), and since we've moved here I've been scheming to go, but somehow it never worked out. BUT, Saturday, we went! And it was awesome! I thought it might be a little pokey zoo, but it's actually a decent size with lots of animals. The Fort Worth Zoo is, in my opinion, the best zoo in Texas. But, this one was pretty good! Especially for being just up the road!

I have this fascination with Waco. I'd driven through it about a billion times, but I'd never really stopped and explored until we moved here. It's just a short drive from Temple, and it's actually a really neat city! Almost a little hip. I think it's grown a lot in the past five years or so. Anyway, I love it. And keep finding excuses to go. And it's within my travel restrictions for this last month or so of pregnancy so I'm loving that.

This parrot was all about talking to us and doing some borderline obscene movements against the fence.

Brendon in a slide, through the otter pool!

So many of the animals were snoozing in the sun. I guess it would have been better to see them active and awake, but I thought they were all so cute sunbathing so I didn't mind! It was a sorta chilly day, but when you were in the sun it felt fantastic. And we got there pretty early, so the zoo was pretty much empty! It was awesome.

Awkward pregnant girl stance. Waddling around the zoo. And the rest of these photos were taken by Brendon! I am usually the camera queen, it's nice when he takes over every now and then.

Seriously fun morning! I'm so glad we were able to go. This zoo was awesome, and really the perfect place to take a kid! It's not huuuuge like some zoo's are, so you could probably tackle it all with a little one before they got over it. In fact, I think we were the only folks there without kids. Well, a kid outside the body anyway.

As soon as we got into the car I almost died from hunger. I'm at this awesome point these days where if I go to long without eating I feel super sick, and it hits me out of nowhere. Before I even recognize that I'm hungry I'll feel like I'm going to puke/pass out. So we've gotten kind of good at just watching the clock and saying, "Well, it's been about two hours since we've eaten, lets get a snack." I'm like a damn baby, feed me every few hours okay?

We found this really fantastic Mediterranean place, D's Mediterranean Grill, right down the road from the zoo, very veggie friendly! And I ate A TON. Seriously, shoveled that food into my face. We will have to go back, it was super good and I'm still thinking about it.

34 weeks

It's been a while since I've done one of these updates! It's been busy busy here for the Hogans, as December always seems to be. The last update was at 27 weeks, whoops. How time flies! The holidays are swiftly approaching (CHRISTMAS IS A WEEK FROM TOMORROW?) and that's always a chaotic mess of happiness. There's a big change this year, aside from me being knocked up. We won't be going home for Christmas this year. I've hit my "stay within an hour of the hospital" marker, and thus being two hours away from home in New Braunfels a month or so before she's due is not a good idea. Mostly for my sanity. Also, traveling in the car is torturous. I'm definitely bummed about not being able to go home from Christmas. This will probably be the first time, ever, and Christmas is my thing. But that's life huh? And growing up? And I think all our parents are going to try to come up to see us so that will be good! And we usually do four different Christmases in about 24 hours, sooooo it's probably for the best. Aaaaand not traveling also means, I had my last day of work yesterday. Cry face! Y'all don't even know how much I enjoyed my days sewing in Austin. It brought me sanity from running a coffee shop when we lived down there and then it brought me sanity from well, being pregnant and alone in Temple. That commute was always worth it. Susi and Eva, thank you so much for unknowingly being my support system through growing this Seahorse. I don't know what I would have done without you guys. Thank you for listening to me complain, for providing an excellent distraction, and for being generally awesome. Get that workroom nursery ready, me and the Seahorse will be coming down to sew as soon as we can. ;)

Sooo here we are, near the end! Thirty-four weeks. Gasp! Only six weeks left until the Seahorse's due date, which is pure insanity. This pregnancy has inched by in some ways but overall, it's gone by pretty dang fast. I've totally left the land of  "comfortable", I think I said farewell to those days around Thanksgiving. I am pretty much always uncomfortable now in some fashion. Sometimes I feel like my body is going to just fall apart, that my skeleton will just be like, SORRY, I'M OUT and I'll just be a mass of bleh on the floor.

Back and rib pain are my constant companions. I didn't really expect the back pain. It's nothing like I've ever dealt with. I've had plenty of aches and pain from running, but dang... this back pain is something else. And baby girl likes hanging out on my right side almost exclusively, with what I'm guessing is her feet under my ribs. So I've got very definite one sided pain. Sitting for long periods of time is pretty much torture, as is standing. Walking is actually excellent. Laying on my side is okay, but eventually my hips start hurting and that means rolling over. Which is basically the most pathetic maneuver ever. Think of that scene in a Christmas Story where Randy is bundled up to the point of immobility and he falls in the snow and can't get up. That's me trying to move while laying down. Lots of grunting.

Heartburn is still here, but I've gotten pretty good at controlling it. Acne is still here, but I've just about given up on caring. Hormones are better than they were last time I checked in, but gosh, every now and then I just get this WAVE of emotions that I'm so not used to feeling and I just want to come to pieces. But thankfully it seems to pass quickly. I heard it's a riot postpartum, so I'm attempting to mentally prepare myself. But honestly, I think I've still got it pretty good. Some ladies have it real rough and I'm still able to go about life pretty much normally. Just slower and with more complaining and a constant companion stealing my food that loves to kick my bladder.

We just finished our child birth classes and are touring the hospital this evening. Those classes were wonderful. Super informative, but if you're like me and are a huge weenie, they are also terrifying. I almost lost my cool during the C-section part, especially when they said in an emergency C-section your partner doesn't get to go with you. WHAT? I can't even. We are a package deal. Team Hogan. It doesn't work when one of us is missing!! But let's just keep our fingers crossed that she comes out... the normal way. Ha! I am in no way ready in any shape or form to give birth, but I will definitely be more prepared when the time comes thanks to that class. I've got no definite birth plan (basically suffer through as long as I can and then give me them druggggssss) and am going to attempt to be as flexible as possible. I think the biggest benefit of the class was finding out how they usually do things, and how supportive they are. I'm very happy with our hospital. I was a little nervous at first since Scott and White is the only option in Temple, but I feel like we are in good hands there. It's a big relief to be comfortable with who will be taking care of you.

Obviously aside from attempting to prepare for actually bringing the Seahorse into the world, we've been doing a lot of getting our world ready for her. Her room is pretty much set up and I think we've got most of the essentials. If she was born tomorrow we'd be just fine. There's a few things we need to buck up and purchase, but mostly we've been spoiled rotten by friends and family and are ready to roll. Thinking about actual day to day life with a newborn consumes a lot of my mental time these days. I am terrified. Naturally. But I am also so so so excited. Anxious is the perfect word. I can't even imagine what it will be like. That's the scariest part I think, that I have no clue what I'm doing. But does anyone with their first kid? I'm all in though, I'm ready to get my ass handed to me. And I think that's important. I'm ready and willing to suffer, haha. Bring your best, Seahorse.

So that's pretty much it! We're just wrapping up the last month and a half of waiting. Brendon is excited too. I know he's nervous about juggling a residency and a baby, but I have faith. I am so so fortunate to be able to be a stay at home mamma for a while, so I'm hoping that will make things easier for him. And I say he's nervous, but you'd never know it. He's such a winner. Kissing my belly, talking to the Seahorse, saying he can't wait to meet her! I die. That boy is so damn good. He's beyond supportive and even though he's a busy bee doing important pharmacist things, he's always present in anything that has to do with the Seahorse. The VA is a big part of this. They have been truly wonderful and so flexible throughout this whole thing. I know I dragged major ass moving to and accepting Temple, but it's been such a good place for us to be during this adventure. I couldn't have picked a better place for him to have done his residency. NOTE THAT EVERYONE. I am saying I'm glad we moved from Austin to Temple and that shit is cray. I'm not a huge fan of how alone I am here (or how there's nothing to eat if you're vegetarian), but it has been very good for us.

Was that a long enough update for you? Yeesh, huh? I could talk about being pregnant all day long because IT HAS CONSUMED MY LIFE. Parenthood, huh? ;) One more picture of me and our basketball of a Seahorse, because I can.

New Orleans - part 3

This is the last post! And you guys, it's got a whole bunch of photos of buildings, so just bear with me. I have a thing for architecture.

Wednesday was our last full day in New Orleans, and we walked the most this day. I did a little exploring on my own that morning around the warehouse and business district, near where we were staying. Which I def should mention! We stayed at the Old No. 77 Hotel and if you're traveling to New Orleans soon, I highly recommend it. It's an old warehouse converted into a hotel, and newly renovated. It's very... hip. Hipster central. There's no other way to put it! We loved it, it reminded us of our beloved Austin, haha. But seriously, it is a cool hotel. It's got a fantastic restaurant downstairs and an espresso bar that we frequented, a lot. And it's not in the French Quarter, which was a huge plus. No crazy people at night! Much quieter I'm sure. But it's just a few blocks away from the Quarter, just a short walk. It's in the warehouse district I think. Near lots of good food, art galleries and museums, and the convention center if you're there for that sort of thing. And it's actually really affordable! So yes, highly recommend if you're looking for a place to stay in New Orleans and want to avoid some of the chaos of the Quarter.

This place with the fantastic blue doors and windows is a Children's Museum! Those doors with that brick! Heart eyes.

We met up with a couple pharmacy friends for lunch and then headed over to the Garden District. We were told by someone that we had to visit, and that the houses were beautiful. Naturally I was in! We walked down Magazine Street which was full of fun shops and cafes! This side of town had a much younger crowd, I don't know if there's a college around there or what, but there were tons of young folks!

And thanks to a recommendation from a friend, we stopped at Sucre for sweet snacks! Oh man, that place is dangerous. Dessert central. Little cakes, macaroons, truffles, gelato... basically heaven. I got a couple macaroons and this little chocolate mousse cake with GOLD LEAF on it. Because why not? Brendon the ice cream king got gelato, of course.

And then we found another cemetery! Lafayette Number One. I loved it. I actually enjoyed this one more than St. Louis No. 1 because this one was much greener! Trees! Also this one was a bit more organized, and bigger I think. And surrounded by gorgeous massive old homes.

And then we went house hunting! We found a little website with some "must see" houses in the Garden District, so we found those and drooled over all the others in the area as we explored.

While admiring this house, which is now home to the Women's Guild of the New Orleans Opera, we met a little old lady who was waiting to get in for a meeting of some sort. She told us about the house and I swear would have gladly brought us in with her, but the woman who came to unlock everything was like NOPE. Very cool place to have meetings though, huh?

Christmas decorations, on point everywhere. New Orleans is a classy lady when it comes to her decor. Martha would be proud.

I think this was Ann Rice's house. Vampire Queen!

And of course, a kitty cat. This cat was so serious. She or he was not interested in passersby, at all. She was just like, "Yeah, this is my house. Don't come near it." We did find a very friendly orange kitty on our way back who bounded out of his yard to get some attention. Crazy cat people, we always find out of town feline buddies.

That's it! A gazillion photos of buildings and a couple of our faces. Seriously, such a good trip. It was such a good note to end our sort of extensive traveling while pregnant spree. I'm thrilled with how well my body held up, I was tired by the end, but I managed to do everything we wanted to do. And now I'm ready to rest, ha!

I must share details on where we ate, because we did not have a SINGLE bad meal. Seriously, everything we had was marvelous and surprisingly very vegetarian friendly. I love big cities. I'm sure I'll miss some place, but here's highlights/what I can remember, in no particular order: Salt N Pepper (Indian, pizza, po'boys, you name it), Viet Orleans (sushi, vietnamese food, po'boys! Oh man they had a tofu po'boy/bahn mi that was out of this world), La Divina Gelateria (gelato obv, but also sandwiches and pizza), Domenica (fancy but real real good), Cafe du Monde (obviously), Stacks (grilled cheeses!), Seed (the best vegan restaurant we've ever been to), Salon by Sucre (a restaurant by a dessert shop? Yes please!), Carmo (tropical veggie friendly food and fresh juices), and Cafe Fluer De Lis (breakfast central, all the benedicts). Plus breakfast and coffee quite a few times at our hotel's espresso bar, Tout La. Plus MORE coffee other cafes around town. Basically we ate like royalty and it was fantastic. And if you're like OH MY GOD THAT'S SO MUCH FOOD, keep in mind, I'm pregnant. We were there for five days. And we almost always split meals. It was all so good though. I think New Orleans wins hands down for best food on vacation.

AND I have to say, because I generally groan at the mention of attending pharmacy related events, I enjoyed this one. We got to see so many pharmacists we haven't seen in a while, and it was really nice. It was kind of like a UT reunion, even though everyone graduated in May. It was nice to see everyone and hear what they're up to. And gosh, everyone was so kind! I sometimes feel awkward and out of place at pharmacy events, but not this go round. I felt very welcomed and not so awkward. And a special shout out to everyone from the Central Texas VA that came to midyear and let me tag along to all your meals and outings. Thank you for being so nice and making me feel welcome, on this trip and otherwise. You guys are like a little family and it's so lovely. We are very lucky be a part of this program, especially at this nutzo time in our life. Pharmacists are some of the nicest people. And the weirdest. In the best way. :)

So that's it! New Orleans! Thanks for surviving the photo barrages and endless prattle from my brain. This was a really good trip. A fantastic last little vacation for the Hogans before we are a family of three. Life as we know it is quickly wrapping up! I'm a little sad, but mostly very excited. Our next vacation will be with a baby. Eeeee! Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later and smoother rather than rougher. ;)

Here's the whole New Orleans trip!