we're baaaack!

I enjoy referring to myself in the plural. I think that it's more accurate right now anyway since there really ARE two people in my one body at the moment.

Anyway, like my subject suggests, I'm (we're) back. I've been on quite the hiatus from blogging but I'm back and full of spit and vigor and whatever other weird things there are sayings about that imply that I'm here with enthusiasm.

First i have to point out that I have an AWESOME and amazing and incredible new layout thanks to Becca from Jumping Jax Designs. Seriously, that girl is incredible. I threw a bunch of adjectives and ideas at her and she came up with the absolute most perfect layout of all time. I am swooning with love for my blog and I wish I could hire her to come work her magic on my house and wardrobe as well. She is that good.

I also thought i'd take a moment to explain my new blog title since it's cute and important to me.

Back when my husband and I were getting married, we thought long and hard about disregarding both of our last names and instead making up or finding a new one that would represent us and the life we wanted to lead together from our wedding day forward. We went back and forth a lot and couldn't come up with anything that was the perfect fit.

Finally one afternoon, while sitting in the car outside of our apartment at the time, our discussion really focused in on what mattered: we just really wanted to represent what our new life together truly MEANS to us and we couldn't find one single word that did that to our satisfaction.

So our solution? Instead of changing our name, we would just change the MEANING of our last name.

We decided to go forward and keep with the tradition of me taking my husband's last name as my own. The reason for this was purely logistics...it's much easier for a woman in this culture/society to change her last name than it is for a man. For me, it required one form and about five phone calls and a trip to the DMV. For him it would have required a lot more and a lawyer (which, okay, there are no shortage of in my family but still) and a lot more time and money. It just was a headache. Also, i kind of like the tradition.

We wanted to make sure, though, that this next step was instituted. The priority for us was to create a family that was unique to us, that was our own, that meant something really REAL to us.

And so we invented a new meaning for our last name. And it belongs only to us and it's really very real. because the truth is that things in life truly only have the meaning that we assign to them anyway, so why not give our name it's own meaning? So we did.

And even better, my husband came up with the specific wording of that meaning and that fact alone makes me smile whenever i think of it.

So what was the meaning we gave? Our last name officially (to us) means: Together (for always).

the parentheses are an important part. We clarified that they were there back when we first came up with the name in the car on that autumn afternoon. I don't even really know why they're so important but they are. They truly capture the whole essence of it.

And so when i was trying to come up with a new name for my blog, I wanted it to be something that really captured the essence of what i want this space to represent. i didn't want it to just be a pregnancy blog or just a baby blog or anything like that, i wanted it to be more than that because I wanted it to be about us, and about our lives together...and about our future.

and i realized that these things will always be what i want to blog about and that no matter where life takes us: through highs and lows in life, i will always be me and there will always be this part of my heart that belongs in this life and this family that we have made. and importantly, no matter what happens, i will always be a mommy to the little boy i have in me and Ryan and I will always therefore be united, as a family. No matter what happens, disasters befall us or luck smiles upon us, it will always be and we will always be Together (for always) because of the things that have taken place so far in our lives and in our hearts.


So that is why i named the blog {for always} because it can be that little place in the internet world where i represent that and where i discuss our lives and share the experiences of our hearts and the things we do.

At our wedding my father wished for us a Great Adventure and I know that so far we have been on one. i can't wait to share that adventure here with everyone and I know that there are beautiful and wonderful things to come. There always are in life and there always will be.

So for anyone reading this who still follows me, thank you so much for sticking it out and still being here. I promise not to disappear again and I am truly looking forward to the journey ahead!

Links that Inspire me this Week:

so this week i've seen some awesome links and I want to share them:

1. This is a DIY link that only the mommies who are breastfeeding will probably be interested in. ORRR maybe the friends of the mommies who are breastfeeding or who are planning to breastfeed:

http://thecoloradoreedclan.blogspot.com/2008/03/hooter-hider-tutorial-for-dummies-like.html

I like to leave the links all long and ugly-like for those of you who may be link-phobic. Feel free to hover over, they go where they say they are!

anyway, this is a link to a blog post on how to make hooter hiders!

What the EFF is a Hooter Hider do i hear you asking yourself? They're basically like smocks that some mommies choose to drape over themselves and their babies for breastfeeding in public...or, you know, around family and friends who they don't want to flash.

Personally, I am a huge breastfeeding advocate and don't think that there's anything wrong with breastfeeding but i AM aware that the large majority of the public is either a.) uncomfortable or b.) skeevy old creepers. I would like to avoid interacting with "b" as much as possible and i don't really feel like being put out by "a" so i might just go ahead and make myself one of these babies. Plus, i think this will inspire me to finally learn how to use my damn sewing machine already! For real! (i get stuck at threading the bobbin and i just give up every time. lame, i know).

2. this is a link for a woman who has Super-Hero-Sized organizational skills. This post outlines how she planned her meals a month in advance!

I share it here because I was so totally inspired by this that i have left the tab open for three days now and have begun planning my own meals in advance too. I used to plan them a week in advance but fell out of the habit with moving and everything else recently so it's really nice to be back on the wagon again. Check it out:

http://flitgurl.blogspot.com/2010/05/meals-for-month-may.html

so awesome and amazing.

3. Last but not least, here's a link for a recipe for Green Smoothies!

Have you heard of these? it's like this trend now to make these drinks and the greener they are, the better they are for you!  Basically you blend up a ton of veggies and then you add fruit so it tastes delicious and you get a ridiculous amount of vitamins and nutrients and it's awesome. I am SO making one of these tomorrow! i'll let you know how it goes!

check out the recipe here, i already bought ingredients to follow this one:

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/02/the-wonders-of-green-smoothies.html

mmmm green smoothies!

okay so yay! there we have it! Inspirational Blog Links of the week!

Anyone have any links to share with me? I always love links!

Quick Public Service Announcement :)

If anyone wants to be listed in my Blog List on the right hand side please let me know and we can add each other to our lists!!

Yay for blog networking! lol