Wedding Pictures

I'll have to take some time later to catch up on the holidays and what's been going on the last couple of weeks, but for right now, I wanted to post that our professional wedding pictures are available. Our photographer (Azul Photography) posted them on Pictage.com.

I sent out an email earlier today with instructions for viewing all the pictures. If I somehow missed you, please send me an email, and I'll send you the information.

For those of you who prefer not to look through all 500+ images, here are a few of our favorites.

This one's great because it's Bryan grabbing some food before the ceremony!

Glory Hog

I'm a little disappointed by last night's finale of The Apprentice. I honestly think Randal was by far more qualified than Rebecca, so it doesn't bother me that he was ultimately chosen. What does bother me is his reaction when Trump suggested he also offer Rebecca a job. I felt Rebecca was a solid candidate and extremely well poised, so I had a hard time understanding why Randal was so adamant about being the "sole" apprentice. I just don't understand how it would have affected him if Rebecca was also offered a position.

Apparently, I'm not the only one.

For Bryan

Bryan ran across this photo somewhere and had mentioned it to me. He found it amusing, so I'm posting it here for his future enjoyment!

IBM Holiday Party

Bryan and I attended the IBM Global Services Holiday Party on Friday. We had a nice time, except for the fact that a few hundred people attended and I only recognized a handful. I guess that's just part of being part of such a large corporation.

There were some photographers on hand snapping pictures of the event. We got a few nice shots in:





Earlier in the week, I'd gone in search of maternity dresses to wear to the event. Unfortunately, places like Motherhood seem to think maternity is synonymous with matronly. I found a ton of cute party outfits at A Pea in the Pod, but overpriced does not even begin to describe what they charge for their clothing. I finally opted to get a non-maternity dress in a stretchy fabric.

I must have done pretty well 'cause a woman at our table caught Bryan rubbing my belly and commented "Are you expecting?! You don't look pregnant at all." She changed her mind once I stood up and showed her my profile. Nonetheless, I appreciated her compliments!

I Love IBM

IBM is always boasting about its position in Working Mother magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies. In fact, IBM's made the list every year since the list began 20 years ago. In 2005, IBM even secured a spot in the Top 10. As a working-mom-to-be, I didn't really value the importance of this ... Until today.

I met with my manager this afternoon to discuss my options for maternity leave, and more importantly my return-to-work options. I was granted 10 weeks of leave and the ability to work a flexible schedule when I return. We're hoping to enroll the baby in a local Spanish immersion day care program when I return to work. The only problem is the program is a half-day affair, meaning that after 1pm the baby would be under my supervision. Today, my manager gave me the go-ahead to work a standard shift from 8am - 1pm (5 hours) and the ability to flex the remaining 3 hours. Meaning I could make up the time at any point during the day as my schedule allowed.

I didn't think I'd have much of a problem getting this type of arrangement, but I thought I'd at least have to do some negotiating. I was all prepared to argue my position too, seeing how IBM had just launched an initiative encouraging managers to allow for more flexible schedules. But, I didn't have to break out my sales skills since my manager was agreeable to my request from the get-go. I really am fortunate to have fallen into such a forward-thinking and understanding company.

More Holiday Cheer

First of all, I should probably apologize for my significant lack of blog activity. It's been crazy busy around here, and I haven't made much of an opportunity to write!

We spent Thanksgiving in Williamsburg with Bryan's mom and sister. We had a great time. It's so amazing to me how much Williamsburg has grown up since I left. Off of Monticello, not far from the "new" Target and Ukrops, there's a GIANT movie theatre. We went there to see Walk The Line. Evidence that there's virtually nothing to do in Williamsburg: nearly every movie sold out both Thursday and Friday night.

What Black Friday would be complete without a shopping trip? The outlets have changed some too. There's a lot of neat new stores that I wish were there when I was in school. For one, there's a Gap Outlet now. What I would have given not to have had to drive to Newport News just to get to a Gap. There's also a BCBG outlet. Unbelievable. I wouldn't have had a penny to my name in college if that had been there then.

Over the weekend, we invited some friends over to celebrate what we're hoping to be the First Annual Tucker Holiday Party. Bryan bought a giant slab of Prime Rib and cooked in on his new grill's rotisserie. Bryan would be sorely disappointed if I didn't post some pictures of his creation, so here they are:

the prime rib all seasoned, prior to being cooked

prime rib, cooked and carved - it was delicious

Chef Bryan with his masterpiece


The week, we started decorating for Christmas. We went hunting for a Christmas tree. My ever-thrifty husband was astounded when I told him that I usually paid about $70 for a live Christmas tree from one of those vendor lots. After looking through a few lots, we ended up at Wal-Mart. Ever true to their slogan (Always Low Prices, Always), good old Sam pulled through with a 7 foot, robust, live tree for the unbelievable price of $30! Last night, we headed back to Wal-Mart to buy colored lights 'cause Bryan was unimpressed by my traditional white lights. Before too long our house will be nice and festive!

Jump Start on the Holidays

Bryan and I had a lot of holiday fun over the weekend, and even though it's already Tuesday, I thought I'd post a few pictures of the festivities.

Saturday morning, we headed downtown for the Raleigh Holiday Parade. It's supposedly the biggest holiday parade between Atlanta and New York (though I'm still trying to figure out how we could beat out DC). At any rate, it was actually a great time. We settled in with hot chocolate and warm donuts from a local church group and enjoyed the 2-hour long parade!

Bryan enjoying fresh donuts
I'm honestly not sure why my blog is being consumed by so many pictures of my husband with food.

Horses being humiliated, all in the name of Christmas

Who says librarians don't know how to have fun?

What holiday parade would be complete without a visit from Santa?


Later that night, we fought the crowds at the Streets of Southpoint to enjoy the tree lighting. It was honestly a little underwhelming after the great time we'd had that morning, but the fireworks were nice.

More Fun In Government Offices

Today I went to the DMV to update my license. This experience was even more fun than visiting the Social Security Office. The setup was essentially the same. I walked in, visited the little man behind the counter. He asked me what I was there for and then gave me a number. Then I waited.

While I waited, I noticed the inefficiency of the operations at the DMV. The numbers seem totally random, some starting with A, some with B, others with H. And on top of that, they don't seem to matter much. People are constantly walking away from the counter to take various driving tests, only to return to the counter where they were previously and tie up that agent again.

One agent was obviously new. He was constantly being aided by another agent and moved very slowly on his own. As luck would have it, my number was up just as soon as that agent's window was available. Now, I have nothing against someone in training. I understand we all need to take some time to learn our jobs, but it seems to me that if this agent was not fully trained, he should have had someone assisting him the entire time rather than occupying another agent's time and slowing the overall process.

At any rate, I approached the desk, full prepared with my previous ID, my marriage license and my receipt from the Social Security Office (FYI - You have to visit the Social Security Office before you try to change your license with the DMV). At any rate, the agent, with lots of pseudo-assistance, processed my request and sent me off to another area to wait to have my picture taken.

A few minutes later, the picture-taking agent called out "Ward". Knowing full well that my last name is no longer Ward, I waited to see if anyone else approached him. No such luck. I explained that my whole reason for visiting was to change my name, and he directed me back to the original agent. Fortunately, someone helped him through the process this time around.

2 hours later, I walked out of the DMV office with a fresh new ID, complete with one really not-so-great picture.

Armed with my new identification, I've spent most of my afternoon multi-tasking at work while jumping through various automated telephone systems, trying to change my name on every other thing that appears in my name. Most of the companies have simply required me to verify some personal/account information and tell them my new name, which makes me wonder why the service is not available online.

The Newest Addition to the Tucker Family

I took a trip to the Social Security Office today. What an interesting place. When you go in, you're directed to a computer, where you punch in a number indicating why you're there, and the computer spits out a number. Then you wait.



An hour later, my number had been called, and my name was legally changed to Anne-Marie Ward Tucker. Since my parents decided not to offer up a middle name when I was born, I opted to keep my maiden name to fill up the space.

Interestingly enough, the associate at the desk didn't ask to see any identification other than my application and my marriage license. It was also sort of surreal to sign "Tucker" for the first time. I wonder how long it will be until I get used to that.

Now that the government knows I'm a Tucker, there are only about a million other agencies on my list who have to be notified of my new name. That should make for a fun week next week.

No Rest for the Weary

Over the past 2 nights, I have gotten a miserable amount of sleep. Remember the entry about how even minor colds seems catastrophic these days? Well, I am now in the middle of my second cold of the season / pregnancy.

Wednesday night, I kept tossing and turning and sniffling. So much so that I woke Bryan up (unintentionally), and we suffered through the sleeplessness together. Last night, we wised up and purchased a humidifier (since almost all over-the-counter cold medications are prohibited when you're pregnant). It seemed to help initially, but eventually it was back to the tossing, turning and sniffling.

My mom always seems to recommend these zany homeopathic remedies every time I'm sick. Maybe I should see what she has to say this time around.

!@#!@$%*~!

I just finished watching I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me, an HBO Documentary on kids with Tourette's Syndrome. I came to realize there's a lot I didn't really know about Tourette's. Consequently, I Googled the disease for more information. I've become fascinated with hereditary diseases recently. Bryan and I both have healthy family histories, but you just never know what might pop up. The documentary was interesting because it showed a broad spectrum of kids and discussed their struggles with the disease.

I was particularly impressed by this one kid William, who seemed pretty comfortable with his disease and really tried to educate his classmates so that they would better understand what he was going through. As a parent-to-be, I'm constantly wondering how you instill that kind of confidence in a kid. Maybe they're just born with it - literally.

Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Bryan David Tucker

After one draining week and one eventful weekend, Bryan and I are officially Mr. & Mrs. All things considered (more on that in a minute) the ceremony was beautiful, and the reception went well. Our ceremony had to be delayed for about an hour because Bryan's sister and her boyfriend were involved in a really bad car accident en route to our wedding. Fortunately, they weren't hurt (with the exception of a few scratches), but we were all shaken up and a bit on edge until they finally arrived safely.

I've decided to post a couple of my favorite pictures taken by my dad and my brother. The professional photograher's photos should be back within 4-6 weeks. The whole lot of Owen and Dad's pictures can be found on Kodakgallery.com (formerly oFoto.com).

The Newlyweds

You May Now Kiss The Bride

Our Beautiful Wedding Cake

Feeding Bryan Cake - Open Wide!

Bryan's Dad giving a toast. His toast was so touching, I cried. Bryan couldn't even look at him while he spoke, else he probably would have broken down crying as well!

Almost Official

Bryan and I made our way downtown to pick up our marriage license yesterday afternoon. The entire process was relatively easy. Wake County allows you to fill out the application online, which I'm glad I did 'cause they ask some stuff that I imagine most people wouldn't really know (ex. what COUNTY were you born in). At any rate, all that's left to make our marriage official with the state is to have the officiant and a couple of witnesses sign. Just about a week to go ...

Ghosts, Goblins and Lady Liberty

Halloween takes on a whole new meaning when you're a homeowner. There's something abnormally satisfying about handing out candy to the neigborhood kids and waving to their parents as they stand patiently by in the streets.

Bryan and I prepped the house for the holiday by carving pumpkins. While I carved a more conventional ghost and funny looking face, Bryan opted to be artistic and carve the Statue of Liberty and a big Tucker "T" (though it occurred to us later that people might mistake it for a Tennessee T, and they did).



Bryan was concerned that his Lady Liberty pumpkin wasn't discernable enough, but wouldn't you know it that one of our Trick-or-Treaters was kind enough to boost Bryan's confidence by commenting on how much he liked the Lady Liberty carving.





Not sure what happened to all the Trick-or-Treaters this year. Last year there were tons, so in preparation for the crowds I boughts masses of candy. Towards the end of the night, Bryan decided to be more generous with the candy, which brings us to my favorite Trick-or-Treater of the night.

This little hispanic kid, dressed like a bear, came to the door with about 6 or 7 other kids. Bryan gave him some candy, and he just kind of paused at our door making small talk with Bryan. So, Bryan offered him some more candy. Then handed out candy to some of the other kids, and a few more pieces to the bear. Then the bear's sister made it up to the door, and the bear started exclaiming "Está pesado! Está pesado!" - "It's heavy! It's heavy!" referring to his candy bucket. He followed up his excitement by saying (in Spanish) "That guy just kept asking me if I wanted more." Too cute!

While stocking up on candy, I ran across a full bag of Reese's Pieces. Bryan loves Reese's Pieces, and believe it or not, they're not that easy to find in stores, so I had to pick some up for him, but then I noticed something new - Reese's Pieces with Peanuts. YUM! Why didn't someone think of this sooner?!

You're Fired

Well, I just finished watching my Tivo'ed Apprentice episode from last night, and I could hardly believe it when Donald fired ALL FOUR candidates! Typically the show's "big twists" are pretty predictable, but I didn't see that one coming at all.

Wasn't it amusing to see all four piled into a single cab. Hah!

Fatt?

So, I got on the scale this morning, and it did it's usual run through the numbers thing until this popped up:



I was seriously beginning to worry that maybe I'd gained a little bit too much weight. It took a minute before my pregnant brain realized that the message was an indicator that I needed to change the battery.

10" Inches of New Snow - Bummer

There aren't a whole lot of things about being pregnant that get me down. Sure, I weigh more than I've ever weighed in my lifetime, but it's "acceptable" weight gain. And yes, there's the nausea and uncomfortable kicking, but it all seems worthwhile knowing what's causing it. The news of new snow, however, totally bums me out.

Snowshoe Mountain (my favorite mid-Atlantic ski resort) received 10" of new snow over the last couple of days. Fresh snow so early in the season means it's probably going to be a very good season, and I'm going to miss it.



We've talked about taking an early Spring trip in March, after the baby arrives. If it really is a good ski season, there's a good chance the snow will stick around that long. But, of course, we'll have to see how I feel physically and if Bryan will have the opportunity to take off work.

I guess in the meantime, I'll keep hoping for snowfall in Raleigh, so I can enjoy the powdery stuff on my home turf. Even if it means I won't be making fresh tracks...

Fall, Fair, Fun!

Well, it's Monday again, but I can't complain, 'cause Bryan and I had a fun-filled weekend.

Friday night, we decided to head to the movies and see Domino, the new movie that features Keira Knightley as a model turned bounty hunter. It was definitely interesting, and the cinematography is worthy of a mention, but overall it was kind of a disappointing flick. If given the option, I'd probably wait until it showed up on HBO before I watched it again.

Saturday, we headed to Youngsville and Hillridge Farms for the Fall Harvest and Pumpkin Festival. We had a good time checking out the animals, riding on the hayride and picking out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.

Then it was off to the NC State Fair where we ate, looked at some unnaturally large animals, ate, watched a blacksmith at work, ate, rode the ferris wheel, oh and ate some more.





No fried dough for us, though we did manage to enjoy a Fried Snickers Bar.

My New Bed Buddy

Unless you're pregnant, know someone who's pregnant or been pregnant recently, or maybe an avid watcher of The View, you probably have no idea what a Snoogle is. I am now the proud owner of one.

Basically, a Snoogle is a total body pillow that's supposed to be the answer to every pregnant lady's pre-delivery sleepness nights. I'm not quite big enough to be totally uncomfortable yet, but Bryan wasn't going to let me get to that point. He insisted on buying me a Snoogle yesterday. Only Target didn't have them in stock, and stores like Hecht's and Dillard's apparently wouldn't even think of carrying them.

So, we headed out to BabiesRUs, walked all the way around the store until Bryan finally approached a sale associate and asked, "Hey, do you carry Snoogles?" Ironically enough, there they were, right behind him. The sales associate was polite enough ... as I guess you'd have to be, dealing with absent-minded, near-crazy pregnant ladies day in and day out. Bryan triumphantly grabbed the Snoogle and headed towards the check-out counter.

Last night, I put the Snoogle to the test. All in all, I like it. I think my appreciation for this crazy invention will increase in direct proportion to the increase in the size of my belly. My one complaint, it's HOT. Of course, it probably didn't help that it's been ridiculously cold in our bedroom the last couple of nights, so last night I went to bed in full sweats, complete with a long sleeve sweatshirt (by the way, trying to be sexy went RIGHT out the window pretty much the day I found out I was pregnant!) At any rate, Bryan had decided to close the windows, and I was left suffering with the Snoogle. I think once we work out our little differences, we're going to have a great relationship... me and the Snoogle that is - Bryan and I already have a great relationship!

Film VS Digital

Okay, so I know that digital cameras are "the way of the future". And to be honest, I love mine for snapshots 'cause it's so compact and handy, but I'm really starting to feel like there's a major photographic trade-off when it comes to that sort of convenience.

Case in point, I geared up my 35mm camera for Bryan's dad's wedding. Now, 3 days later, the prints have been developed, and I was so thrilled with the quality of the pictures that came back. I liked several of the pictures I took on my digital camera, but the ones I took with my 35mm just seem to be more artistic.

Now, to be fair, this is not a legitimate scientific evaluation. There are far too many variables at stake here. For one, I only had black and white film for my 35mm, and black and white pictures in and of themselves tend to have a more artistic quality about them. Secondly, it's quite possible that I feel more at liberty to be creative when I'm lugging around this huge camera, lens and flash than I do with my itty-bitty Sony.

At any rate, I wanted to share some of the pictures 'cause I think they're swell ...

Bryan & his sister Amy


Bryan's new stepsisters Mackenzie and Olivia


Bryan reviewing his best man's speech


Menu for the reception FEAST


Jodi & Jerry greeting guests

Diamonds are Forever

So, I realized that after all the excitement from (now) 2 weeks ago - I never did mention how fabulous our rings are...

Bryan came home that Friday after our visit from the FedEx man with a dozen roses. He lolly-gagged around with the other mail and miscellaneous things before getting to my rings! Finally he opened up the package and let me see. The set is stunning. Even more beautiful than I imagined it would be.



We had our "engagement" dinner that night at Simpson's Restaurant. The place may not look like much considering it's situated in a strip mall right next to some trendy Tex-Mex place, but it was an awesome recommendation. Definitely worth checking out if you're ever in the area. The steak was to die for. And the restaurant's manager comes around and offers a single rose to all the ladies. How romantic!

Bryan's ring came on the following Tuesday. I don't have an actual picture of it to post 'cause he insists on wearing it (on his right hand). I guess that means he likes it. Since we'd purchased the rings from a dealer in CA pretty much sight unseen (gotta love the Internet) I took the rings that week to have them appraised by a local jeweler. Wouldn't you know it, the solitaire in my ring is actually BETTER quality than was advertised, and Bryan's ring has a greater total carat weight than expected. Needless to say, we're very pleased about how well everything worked out.

Signs of Fall

Just a couple of quick pictures I snapped of the changing leaves in front of our house.