Your questions answered.

Thanks to those of you who responded to my request! I have had a long day. It's almost ten and we're still trying to get Liam to sleep. Bear with me as I zombie myself through this post.

AndreAnna asked: "Is your life now how you planned it?"
No. No, it is not. I love my life but it is not entirely what I expected. I wanted to have been published by now (and not just the Publish Post button at the bottom of my blog window). I wanted to be financially stable by now. I wanted to love my body by now! But it's ok... I am where I want to live, with the man and boy who love me the most, and we're on our way. I never really had a plan. I had dreams and visions, and some things are just different.

Bridget asked: "Is nora your real name? he he ho ho" and "What's your favorite color?"
You stinker! :) No, Nora is not my real name, although I wouldn't mind it if it was. I don't use my real name on here, or the real names of my family and friends, for privacy, so that I can say things and post photos and still not be pinpointed by internet crazies. My favorite color is green. Most of the clothes I own are green. I also would like to give a thumbs-up to the colors red and brown.

Pauline asked: "So how many children do you and your hubby want? Liam can't be the only one right? When do you think that you'll be trying again. Come on girl, you need to increase the population in Maine, they need cuter kids like yours. :o) "
When we were first together, Gabe and I talked about having four or five children. No, I am not joking. We both come from big families and it just seemed natural to us. As time passed and reality set it we pared it down to three children. When I was pregnant I told him Liam would be an only child and I was only half-joking. Maybe we'll have three someday but right now the general consensus is *probably* two children. At this point we do not want to make a decision about it until Liam is two or three years old, and if we do decide on another, we'd like for him to be four to six years old when his little brother or sister is born. Like everything else, this might change too, but right now we are NOT READY for another baby! We are having fun with Liam right now and want it to stay that way.

Jenny asked: "Hmm..How did you and your hubby meet? I don't think you've mentioned that before. Forgive me if you have."
Gabe and I met online, on the old message board for the band Thursday, just after Christmas in 2002. We met in person on Valentine's Day in 2003. We weren't trying to be romantic and make it Valentine's Day but it's a neat anniversary to have. He will never forget the date! :)

Caley asked: "Did you have any other top choices when deciding on Liam's name, or did you know he'd be a Liam right from the beginning? What's your all-time favorite movie? And... I know you are into crafts/art. What kind of things do you like to create?"
Well, when I was 14 I read a book called Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde, which was a teen vampire novel. I was really into vampire stories and movies then, and I was IN LOVE with that book, and with the lead character/vampire, Ethan Bryne. Ever since I was 14 I wanted my first son's name to be Ethan, and Gabe was ok with that. The summer before I got pregnant, my cousin and his wife had a son named Ethan and I didn't want two children in the same generation of the same family to have the same name. So after ten years I had to come up with something else. The name Liam just popped into my head, and I mentioned it to Gabe. Unlike EVERY OTHER NAME I HAVE EVER MENTIONED IN HISTORY (except for Ethan) he was surprisingly warm to it. After I got pregnant we were discussing names and were having a hard time with boy names. Gabe said to me, "How about Liam?" and I suddenly remembered how much I liked the name. And that was it. It was the only name we could agree on. We almost got divorced over his middle name though. Ha! Not really.

The two movies that are constants in my life and heart are Labyrinth and Amelie, both of which I have loved the moment I saw them, at the ages of five and twenty, respectively. I walked down the aisle at our wedding to music from Amelie and David Bowie's "As the World Falls Down" from Labyrinth was *almost* our first dance song.

As far as art and crafts, I really love collaging and decoupaging. I make really lovely decoupaged and collaged tree ornaments. I have devoted "customers"/friends to those. I also love designing cards and other stationery. I have a major post card project coming up that I hope to finish this summer, once my art rooms are all set up. I am SO EXCITED about it! I also hope to show some collage work at my sister's gallery sometime. And at random I love hand sewing and embroidering- I love felt and buttons and embroidery floss and beads and all kinds of fabric. I don't do nearly enough of it. By winter I want to re-teach myself how to knit and use my sewing machine.

xoxo Thanks ladies! <3