Better Now - with UPDATE

I am back at it today and feeling 100% better, thank my stars. Last week was horrible; every time I thought I was feeling better I would soon enough be assured that I was no where near better. I ate toast and bananas and applesauce all week. Thankfully, L didn't get the worst of it, although his stomach is a little wacky as evidenced by his diapers the last few days (I assure you, once the baby arrives, I am making a deal with W that I will change EVERY SINGLE baby diaper as long as he changes L's poopies!!!! I will take that yellow, seedy, up the back of the diaper breastmilk poop over grilled cheese and big people food poop anyday. C'mon potty training...)

I am super backlogged on reading my blogs!! It will take me 3 times as long to catch up, I think. Being down a week really sets you back!!

Luckily, last week was a slower week at work, and if I needed to take time off, it was at least a good time work wise...although I hate eating up so much PTO all at once, and to lay around being sick, none the less. Technically, I only used 3 days...but 3 precious days I could have used for something fun like a me day, or a day to spend time with L enjoying the nice weather! Since I am salary, 1/2 days or less don't really count against our PTO, unless you abuse it, of course.

The thing I love about being so sick is how appreciative I feel when I finally feel better! Even the screaming ache in my hips and back seem to have quieted down a bit for now.

Yesterday was okay. I could have handled a much more relaxing day, but at least I got a pretty decent walk in, and a short nap. But much of the day was spent running around, visiting the other mothers in my life. Even though I am a mom myself now, the day still seems to be more about our moms. Only because I allow it to be though, I suppose. And I love W to death, but I must say, I could stand him to be a little more sentimental and thoughtful and romantic when it comes to things like Mother's day and birthdays. But I knew this about him, and chose to love him anyway. He has come so far in so many other ways in our time together, that I still hold out hope that he will come around a bit on this, too.

*UPDATE*

I am so excited! I have this pyschic medium friend who is just so amazing, and does these wonderful spirit guide sessions she calls Soul Portraits. It is a reading / healing session...she connects with your spirit guides to bring forth the information that you need at the time...if you check out the link she explains it better...And you come home with a beautiful, completely unique, piece of artwork.

Anyway, I have had oh...5 or 6 sessions with her in the last 8 years, and am convinced that she sees and is open to things which most of us do / are not. The first time I had a session with her, we did not know each other at all, and she blew me away, and convinced me, a skeptical believer if you will, that she is genuine...that session was mostly focused on my friend Lynda who had recently died in a tragic car accident caused by a drunk driver. It was one of the most spiritually healing experiences I have ever had. Over the years, I have come to call her my friend, and she has continued to make me a believer in her gifts. I have seen her leave several of my friends as blown away as I was and have been.

Over the years and through my multiple sessions with her, we have talked about my children; which at the times of most of the sessions, were still 'future' children...I am so excited because she not only does Soul Portraits of adults, but also of children, and even babies IN THE WOMB! I am going to see her on Thursday to have a mini Soul Portrait done of this baby, and I am very, VERY excited. She has conveyed messages to me that already seem to be playing out when it comes to L, and I am excited to see what this baby's spirit guides are going to tell me. I already believe that my friend Lynda has been with this baby, and will continue to be with this baby as a guide, which makes my heart happy, and makes me even more excited about this session, as it presents a chance to reconnect with her as well.

I will post a photo of the Soul Portrait on Friday. Wish me fun!

Giving in...

Let me just say that giving in to pregnancy food cravings is even better than giving in to stoned food cravings...

Dude in my office gets a DQ daily special value meal EVERY DAY and EVERY DAY I sit in my office with my mouth watering to the smell of the greasy burger and french fries.

Today, I decided I just couldn't smell it without tasting it, and I just finished scarfing down the best greasy, cheesy fast food double cheeseburger and crunchy, delicious deep fried french fries I swear I have ever eaten. And while eating it, I seriously pondered over how that giving in was more fabulous than any meal I ever ate to fulfill a case of the 'munchies'...

*SIGH**

Now I just need a nap....

Oooooh, Dreamy....

Isn't this dreamy???




You should see it with a big ol' lense on it...It is even dreamier.

Check out these specs:
Price • US: $ 1,699 [check/order]
Body material Magnesium alloy
Sensor • 23.6 x 15.8 mm CCD sensor
• DX format
• RGB Color Filter Array
• Built-in fixed low-pass filter
• 10.92 million total pixels
• 10.2 million effective pixels
• 3:2 aspect ratio
Image sizes • 3872 x 2592 [L]
• 2896 x 1944 [M]
• 1936 x 1296 [S]
File formats • NEF (12-bit RAW)
• NEF + JPEG
• JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
File sizes (approx.) • RAW + JPEG Large/Fine: 20.7 MB
• RAW: 15.8 MB
• JPEG Large/Fine: 4.8 MB
• JPEG Large/Normal: 2.4 MB
• JPEG Large/Basic: 1.2 MB
• JPEG Medium/Fine: 2.7 MB
• JPEG Small/Fine: 1.2 MB
Color space • sRGB (2 modes)
• Adobe RGB
Lens mount • Nikon F mount
• 1.5x field of view crop
Usable lenses • AF Nikkor (including AF-S, DX, VR and D-/G-type) : All functions possible
• D-type Manual-Focus Nikkor: All functions except autofocus and some
exposure modes available
• AF Nikkor other than D-/G-type: All functions except 3D Color Matrix
Metering and 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash possible
• AI-P Nikkor: All functions except 3D Color Matrix Metering,
3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash and AF possible
• Non-CPU AI Nikkor : Usable in [A] or [M] mode with Matrix-Metering,
Center-Weighted and Spot metering available. Indication of aperture No.,
after user inputs the aperture f/No. and focal length f=mm by multi-selector
operation.
Electronic Rangefinder usable with maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster
Auto Focus • 11/7 area TTL (7 in wide focus area mode)
• Multi-CAM 1000
• AF working range: -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100, normal temperature)
Lens Servo • Single Servo AF [S]
• Continuous Servo AF [C]
• Manual focus [M]
Focus Tracking automatically activated by subject's status in [S] or [C] AF
AF Area Mode • Single Area AF
• Dynamic AF with Focus Tracking and Lock-on
• Group Dynamic AF
• Closest Subject Priority Dynamic AF
AF assist Yes, white lamp
AF Lock • Locked using the AE-L/AF-L button
• Half-press shutter release button in AF mode [S]
Exposure modes • Program Auto [P] - flexible program possible
• Shutter-Priority Auto [S]
• Aperture-Priority Auto [A]
• Manual [M]
Metering TTL full-aperture exposure metering system;
• D-/G-type Nikkor lenses support 3D Color Matrix Metering II using the 1,005-pixel CCD while other AF Nikkor lenses with built-in CPUs support Matrix Metering (Non-CPU lenses require manual input of lens data)
• Center-Weighted Metering (75% of the meter's sensitivity concentrated on the 8mm dia. circle)
• Spot Metering (3mm dia. circle, approx. 2% of entire frame); metering position can be linked to the focus area when using Nikkor lenses with built-in CPU
Metering modes • 3D Color Matrix Metering II
• Center-Weighted
• Spot (3 mm circle, 2% of frame)
Metering range • 3D Color Matrix Metering: 0 to 20 EV
• Center-Weighted Metering: 0 to 20 EV
• Spot Metering: 2 to 20 EV
At normal temperature (20°C/68°F), ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens
Meter Coupling CPU and AI
AE Lock Locked using AE-L/AF-L button
AE Bracketing • 2 to 9 frames
• 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV steps
Exposure compen. • +/-5.0 EV
• 1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps
Sensitivity • ISO 100 - 1600 in 1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps
• ISO 2000, 2500 or 3200 with boost
Shutter • Electromagnetically controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter
• 30 to 1/8000 sec (1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps)
• Flash X-Sync: 1/250 sec
• Bulb
White balance • Auto (1005-pixel CCD, image sensor)
• Presets (six) with fine tuning
• Manual presets (four)
• Color temperature in Kelvin (2500 - 10000 K, 31 steps)
• White balance bracketing (2 to 9 frames, 10,20,30 MIRED steps)
Image parameters • Preset modes: Normal, Softer, Vivid, More Vivid, Portrait, B&W
• Sharpening: Auto, 6 levels
• Tone: Auto, 3 levels, Custom tone curve
• Color mode: I, II, III
• Saturation: Auto, 3 levels
• Hue: -9° to +9°
Viewfinder • Optical-type fixed eye-level pentaprism
• Built-in diopter adjustment (-2 to +1m-1)
• Eyepoint: 19.5 mm (at -1.0m-1)
• Frame coverage 95%
• Viewfinder magnification approx 0.94x with 50 mm f/1.4 lens
Focusing screen B-type BrightView Clear Matte Screen II
Viewfinder info • Focus indicators
• Metering system
• AE/FV lock indicator
• Flash sync indicator
• Shutter speed
• Aperture value
• Exposure/Exposure compensation indicator
• ISO sensitivity
• Exposure mode
• Flash output level compensation
• Exposure compensation
• Number of remaining exposures
LCD monitor • 2.5 " TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixels
• Backlight / brightness adjustment
Flash control • TTL: TTL flash control by 1,005-pixel RGB sensor.
• Built-in Speedlight: i-TTL balanced fill-flash or standard i-TTL flash (spot metering or mode dial set to [M])
• SB-800 or 600: i-TTL balanced fill-flash for digital SLR and standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR.
• Auto aperture: Available with SB-800 with CPU lens
• Non-TTL Auto: Available with Speedlights such as SB-800, 80DX, 28DX, 28, 27, and 22s
• Range-priority manual; available with SB-800
Flash Sync Mode • Front-Curtain Sync (normal sync)
• Red-Eye Reduction
• Red-Eye Reduction with Slow Sync
• Slow Sync
• Rear-Curtain Sync
Built-in Speedlight • Manual pop-up with button release
• Guide number (ISO 100, m) approx 12 (manual 13)
Flash Ready-Light Lights up when flash fully charged with Speedlight SB-800/ 80DX/ 50DX/ 30/ 28/ 27/22s; blinks for full output warning
Flash Accessory Shoe ISO 518 standard-type hot shoe contact; Safety lock mechanism provided
Flash Sync Terminal ISO 519 standard terminal, lock screw provided
Flash compensation • -3 to +1 EV
• 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps
DOF Preview • Stop-down lens aperture by pressing button
• Activates modelling flash
Shooting modes • Single frame
• Continuous High [CH] - 5 fps
• Continuous Low [CL] - 1 to 4 fps (custom)
• Self-Timer (programmable)
• Mirror-up mode
• Interval timer (Timelapse)
Continuous buffer • JPEG Large/Fine: approx. 37 frames
• RAW (NEF): approx. 22 frames
Self-timer • 2, 5, 10 or 20 sec programmable
Orientation sensor Tags images with camera orientation
Playback mode • Full frame
• Thumbnail (4 or 9 images)
• One-touch zoom
• Slideshow
• RGB histogram
• Shooting data
• Highlight point
• Auto image rotation
Connectivity • USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) Mini-B connector
• Video out
• Remote control 10-pin
• PC Sync flash terminal
GPS NMEA 0183 Interface standard supported with GPS Cable MC-35 (optional)
Communications FTP and PTP/IP file transfer with optional Wireless Transmitter WT-3 (IEEE 802.11 b/g)
Video out • NTSC
• PAL
Storage • Compact Flash Type I or II
• Microdrive supported
• FAT 12/16 and FAT 32 support
• 36 characters of text can be input and stored in EXIF header
• No CF card supplied
Vertical grip • Optional MB-D200 battery pack / vertical grip
• 2 x EN-EL3e Lithium-Ion batteries
or • 6 x AA batteries
Power • Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e (7.4 V, 1500 mAh)
• Included battery charger MH-18a
• Optional AC adapter EH-6
• Optional MB-D200 battery pack / vertical grip
Battery monitoring The LCD monitor on the camera back displays the following information
about the EN-EL3e battery:
• Remaining charge (%)
• No. of shots taken since last charge
• Battery life (5 stages)
Dimensions 147 x 113 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 in)
Weight (no batt) 830 g (1.8 lb)
Weight (inc. batt) 920 g (2.0 lb)
Box contents Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, Video Cable, USB Cable UC-E4, Strap, Body cap, Eyepiece Cap DK-5, Rubber Eyecup DK-21M, LCD monitor cover BM-6, PictureProject CD-ROM
Optional accessories Wireless Transmitter WT-3, AC Adapter EH-6, Speedlight SB-800/SB-600/SB-R200, Nikon Capture 4 (Ver. 4.4), CompactFlash card, Nikkor lenses, Multifunction Battery Pack MB-D200, GPS Cable MC-35, Remote Cord MC-36 (replacement of MC-20), Semi-soft Case CF-D200



ISO 3200?!?? OMGosh...

Shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second, WHEW!!!

I am sure I would have no trouble catching L in action in our low light livingroom with that range of settings and some good lense options...

(((((SIGH))))) I want, I want.



Or how about this one?




List price
(body only) • US: $ 1,399
• EU: € 1,399 List price
(with EF-S 18-55 DC) • US: $ 1,499
• EU: € 1,499 Body material Magnesium alloy Sensor • 22.5 x 15.0 mm CMOS sensor
• RGB Color Filter Array
• Built-in fixed low-pass filter
• 8.5 million total pixels
• 8.2 million effective pixels
• 3:2 aspect ratio Image processor DIGIC II Image sizes • 3504 x 2336 (8.2 MP)
• 2544 x 1696 (4.3 MP)
• 1728 x 1152 (2.0 MP) File formats
• RAW (.CR2)
• JPEG (EXIF 2.21) - Fine / Normal
• RAW + JPEG (separate files)
Lenses • Canon EF / EF-S lens mount
• 1.6x field of view crop Focusing • 9-point TTL
• CMOS sensor
• AF working range: -0.5 - 18 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100) Focus modes • AI Focus AF
• One shot AF
• AI Servo AF
• Manual focus AF point selection • Auto
• Manual
• Home position AF assist • Stroboscopic flash
• 4.0 m range (at center) Metering • TTL 35 zone SPC
• Metering range: EV 1.0 - 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100, 50 mm F1.4) Metering modes
• Evaluative 35 zone
• Partial (9% at center)
• Spot metering (approx. 3.5% at center) *
• Center-weighted average
• Metering range: 1 - 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100)
AE lock • Auto: One Shot AF with evaluative metering
• Manual: AE lock button AE bracketing • +/- 2.0 EV
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments Exposure compen. • +/-2.0 EV
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments Sensitivity
(1/3 EV steps) *
• Auto (100 to 400)
• ISO 100
• ISO 125
• ISO 160
• ISO 200
• ISO 250
• ISO 320
• ISO 400
• ISO 500
• ISO 640
• ISO 800
• ISO 1000
• ISO 1250
• ISO 1600
• ISO 3200 (Enhanced H)
Shutter • Focal-plane shutter
• 30 - 1/8000 sec
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• Flash X-Sync: 1/250 sec
• Bulb Aperture values • F1.0 - F91
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• Actual aperture range depends on lens used White balance • Auto (3000 - 7000 K)
• Daylight (5200 K)
• Shade (7000 K)
• Cloudy (6000 K)
• Tungsten (3200 K)
• Fluorescent (4000 K)
• Flash (6000 K)
• Custom (2000 - 10000 K)
• Kelvin (2800 - 10000 K in 100 K steps) WB bracketing • +/-3 levels
• 3 images
• blue/amber or magenta/green bias WB shift • Blue (-9) To Amber (+9)
• Magenta (-9) to Green (+9) Color space • sRGB
• Adobe RGB Picture style * • Standard
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Neutral
• Faithful
• Monochrome
• User 1
• User 2
• User 3 Custom image parameters * • Sharpness: 0 to 7
• Contrast: -4 to +4
• Saturation: -4 to +4
• Color tone: -4 to +4
• B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G
• B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G Viewfinder • Eye-level pentaprism
• 95% frame coverage
• Magnification: 0.9x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity)
• Eyepoint: 20 mm
• Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter
• Precision matte screen Viewfinder info • AF points
• Focus confirmation light
• Shutter speed
• Aperture
• Manual exposure
• AE Lock
• Exposure compensation amount
• AEB level
• Spot metering area *
• Flash ready
• Red-eye reduction lamp on
• High-speed sync
• FE Lock
• Flash compensation amount
• ISO speed (while changing)
• WB correction (while changing)
• Warnings
• Maximum burst for continuous shooting
• Buffer space LCD monitor * • 2.5 " TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixels
• 5 brightness levels
• 10x zoom playback Record review • Off
• On (histogram via INFO button)
• 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold Flash • Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash
• FOV coverage up to 17 mm (27 mm equiv.)
• Guide number approx 13
• Flash compensation +/-2.0 EV in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• X-Sync: 1/250 sec External flash • E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites
• Wireless multi-flash support
• PC Sync Shooting modes
• Auto
• Program AE (P)
• Shutter priority AE (Tv)
• Aperture priority AE (Av)
• Manual (M)
• Auto depth-of-field
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Close-up
• Sports
• Night portrait
• Flash off
Drive modes • Single
• Continuous: 5 fps (CH) up to 30 frames or 3 fps (CL) *
• Self-timer: 10 secs (or 2 sec with mirror lock-up) Direct printing • Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge
• PictBridge Other features • Orientation sensor
• Automatically writes FAT16/FAT32 depending on capacity
• LCD panel illumination Auto rotation • On (playback uses orientation data in file header)
• Off Playback mode • Single image
• Single image with info (inc. histogram)
• Magnified view (1.5 - 10x in 15 steps, browsable)
• 9 image index
• Auto play
• Image rotation
• Jump Custom functions 19 custom functions with 53 settings Menu languages
• English
• German
• French
• Dutch
• Danish
• Finnish
• Italian
• Norwegian
• Swedish
• Spanish
• Simplified Chinese
• Japanese
• Traditional Chinese
• Korean
• Russian
Firmware User upgradable Portrait grip Via BP-E2 battery grip (option) Connectivity
• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• Video out
• N3 type wired remote control
• PC Sync flash terminal
Storage • Compact Flash Type I or II
• Microdrive supported
• FAT 12/16 and FAT 32 support
• No CF card supplied Power • Lithium-Ion BP-511A rechargeable battery (supplied & charger)
• Supports BP-511 / BP-511A / BP-512 / BP-514
• CR2016 Lithium battery (date/time backup)
• Optional AC adapter Dimensions * 144 x 106 x 74 mm (5.6 x 4.2 x 2.9 in) Weight * • No battery: 706 g (1.6 lb)
• With battery: 785 g (1.7 lb)


My heart starts beating faster just looking at them...My breath catches at the possiblities the capabilities of these cameras present.

(((((SIGH AGAIN)))) Some day.