Some of you may have heard of Project 365 before. It seems to most frequently apply to photography, but I’d guess it could really apply to just about anything. Essentially, you set a goal for the year to – in the case of photography – take a photograph every day. You can blog about it, post it on flickr or facebook, or just keep it to yourself…just as long as you get in one photo per day for the year (hence the 365).

What better time to start on such a project than the beginning of a brand new year? Well, I already know this is going to be a big year for our family what with so many changes on the way, so I decided to start small. I’m going to do a Project 52. I’ll still likely take several pictures throughout the week. On Sundays I’ll post my favorite(s) from the preceding week on this blog. Not all the photos will be stellar, but that’s part of my reason for doing this. I want to become a better photographer. I’m starting this project with the intention that it will force me to get more practice and learn some new techniques.

So, look forward to some weekly photos starting this Sunday!

According to our 18-week ultrasound, we’ll be having a little girl next spring! Angelina Gracia is expected to arrive on April 14th, but if she’s anything like her mother she’ll procrastinate and get around to it in her own time. The ultrasound images are below. Just click on one to see it bigger. They’ll also be added to the photo gallery (see link to the right) once I get iPhoto and MobileMe to play nice.

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Update: The pics have now been added to the gallery.

So tomorrow’s the big day! We will hopefully be finding out if our little one is a boy or a girl. That’s assuming the baby decides to cooperate with the ultrasound technician, of course.

I’ve been collecting everyone’s guesses, just for fun. Hey, everyone has a 50% chance of guessing correctly, right? As of this posting  about 60% of guesses are for a girl, and the other 40% are for a boy.  Some guesses are based on hunches, others rely on old wives tales.  What is my guess?  That’s hard to say.  For the first 8 weeks or so, I was convinced I was having a boy.  Then I started to doubt myself.  Soon I was nearly convinced I was having a girl.  Now I just don’t know.

I used one of those silly Intelligender tests, and it predicts I’m having a girl.  The age-old Chinese Gender Chart predicts a girl as well.

If you’d like to go on record with your guess, this is your last chance to do it.  I’ll hopefully have some tell-tale ultrasound pictures to post here tomorrow!

The past several weeks have been an emotional roller coaster.  The first – and saddest – event was the loss of my grandfather…my godfather…my Pepere.  He was an amazing man.  Everyone who was lucky enough to meet him couldn’t help but love him – family and friends, of course, but even waitresses, bank tellers, and whoever else he dealt with on a daily basis.  None of us was ready to let him go just yet.  His illness came on so suddenly, and within a couple of weeks…he was gone.

While I was coping with the loss of my grandfather, I noticed one of my cats wasn’t behaving like himself.  I took him to the vet to find out was wrong.  After many tests that didn’t give us any concrete diagnosis, I took him to a specialist.  It turns out he has carcinoma in his lymph nodes, and it’s effected his entire system.  He’s on a special diet and medication to help with the swelling of his organs.  Other than that, all we can do is wait.  When it gets to the point where he’s suffering and his quality of life is diminished, we’ll have to have him put down.  The change in food and meds seems to have made an immediate difference, but I know that won’t last.  The vet predicted he’ll be gone within a matter of weeks.

My life hasn’t been all doom and gloom these days, however.  After 2 years of trying, including three IUI’s (intrauterine insemination) and five attempts at in-vitro fertilization, my husband and I are finally having a baby.  I like to think that my Pepere put in a good word for me with the Big Guy upstairs.

I’ve started working on our family tree once again. So if you’re lucky enough to be one of the nuts growing on it, click the link in the blue box on the right.

Most of the research for the Leduc/Dubois branches was done by my uncle. I worked mostly on the Starbird branch. I’ve now begun adding information about my husband’s family so our children will have the benefit of knowing their family history.

I can’t make any guarantees to its accuracy. I’m no professional when it comes to genealogy. I did it because it’s fun. If we’re related and there’s a mistake you want me to correct, or if you have some additional info you think could be concluded, I’d love to hear from you.  You most likely have my email address, so that would be the best way to send me the information.