A lot has happened since the last time I posted. First of all, we welcomed a new baby girl into the family on July 5th! Though she was past her due date, Novena Bowman graced us with her presence and we couldn’t be happier. Her whole family (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins) was there to welcome her into the world. She’s now 3 months old and is just as adorable and great as we predicted. My parents and I have flown to Tennessee a few times since her arrival and we’re shocked at how quickly and how much she’s grown. It’s hard when you’re so far away from family and can’t see the new little ones as much as you’s like. We’re flying up in early November to see her and her parents again and then we’ll see them at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Patience is a virtue in this kind of circumstance and we thoroughly enjoy spending what little time we have when them up there and getting updates, photos and videos sent to us over our email and iPhones.

Another great thing that happened since my last post – and more recently – is my trip to Dallas. I attended the Salute to Supernatural event that was held there and had an amazing time – an even better than my first convention I went to last year! I met some really great people who quickly became great friends and met some of the actors from the show – some for the second time. I had great seats, if I can say that, and took pretty good photos. I’m planning on loading them to the gallery some time this weekend. I can’t wait to share them with those interested. I’ll go going to another convention in a few weeks in Chicago and I’ll be back in Dallas again next year. My friends and I are already planning our shenanigans for next year. It’s going to be great. I cannot wait!

One more milestone to mention is the fact that I’ve lost approximately 40 pounds since I started my ‘diet’ plan back in March. I’m back down and beyond where I was when I graduated from grad school in December 2010. Last year was tough for me in every aspect of my life, especially food and motivation to be healthy. I finally kicked my butt into gear and I’m trying to make a permanent change for the better. SO far, so good. The next challenge approaching is Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m hoping I won’t freak out like I’ve done in the past and eat everything in sight. I need to make better food choices, slow down, enjoy what I have and not eat like every meal is my last meal.

I think that’s it for now. Until next time…

I think my sister would probably not be happy if she knew I posted these pics places other than Facebook but I had it. I wanted to share some pictures of the day (which was last Saturday, May 12.)

I provided the games while her sisters-in-law and relatives on her husband’s side provided the food. My sister-in-law and I made her a diaper cake as part of the decor. We had it at her house, which is freshly renovated (and nearly complete). The food was delicious especially the petit fours and the sugar cookies. I could have eaten the whole box of everything.

Just a note: The third row includes all the ladies. Left – my mom, sister, sis-in-law and me in back, middle – my sister, right – my sister’s sisters-in-law and me aka the hosts. Also, some gifts! The bottom left is a handmade footprint blanket from her friend’s mother. The bottom right pic is one of the gifts I bought her, a heart-shaped box for baby’s first clipping of hair and first tooth.

These photos came from about 4 different cameras. It’s hard to get a good photo of something with just one camera (and photographer) and a lot of the choices were blurry or not everyone was looking at the camera. After all, events like this are a group effort.

My family is about to grow a little larger come late June/early July. I’m not new to new members of the family since I already have 4 nieces and nephews, ages 3-9. However, this one is a bit different.

The new baby’s mommy is my sister and I couldn’t be more excited for her and her husband. It feels a lot different, at least now, when your brother and his wife have children and when your sister and her husband start.

Anyway, my sister’s sister-in-law and I are throwing her a baby shower this weekend. The new soon-to-be family lives in Memphis, TN so I’ll be flying in for the weekend. My parents went up up a little earlier so I had to pack up my gifts for my sister and the little one. I think I may have gone a bit overboard with what I’m giving her but I couldn’t help myself.

I’m so excited about this whole weekend – going out of town, seeing my sister and brother-in-law, having the shower festivities and spending time with family I haven’t seen in months.

Since I’m trying out the whole blogging thing again after a few years (I have a twitter and a tumblr account but those aren’t nearly the same thing as a full-fledged wordpress blog), I’m going to make a post next week about the shower and the (I hope) fun that was had. I’ll even throw in some photos if I’m able to take any blog-worthy shots.