its been forever since i have properly updated this blog about Paris (or any pictures of my trip). i am really behind on my image processing.. lately i have felt so worn and tired all the time.. i think ashton is going through another growth spurt or something.. plus i haven't been sleeping very well.. today i decided to commit myself to finishing up the Paris pictures.. i still have to share other non-Paris pictures that are just waiting to be processed. i am so behind that i don't even have the energy or desire to take any more pictures.. which is bad, i only have one more week here and i haven't even started taking pictures of things i really wanted to take yet.. this is why i hate having too many images to go through.. i am a bit disappointed with our Eiffel tower shots.. this is a HUGE reason to own a tripod! 90% of the Eiffel tower shots are unusable (BLURRY! the shutter was open way too long to be handheld).. david didn't get one good shot of me either.. i am just a huge blurry mess.. not his fault.. DSLR's are hard to learn on and for a beginner he did a pretty good job, it would have been better had we brought a tripod with us ORRR had a better lens ORRR if either one of us knew 100% how to deal with our camera.. however the images are useless.. thats not to say mine are perfect but mine came in a bit clearer than his did.. 

the Eiffel Tower

was crowded.. cold.. windy.. and cold.. 

life without a tripod is a hard life. i had to prop it up on davids backpack.. get as low as i can so i can look through the view finder to set the settings (which isn't easy with a belly in the way) and crawl back over to him in time for the camera to take the shot.. david thought it was hilarious (i did this like twenty times or so).. i however, was cussing him out in my head wishing he would not make me feel so guilty for wanting a damn tripod lolz. we are blurry but deal with it people! it was hard just to get the tower and the two of us in the shot!

it was cold and rainy the night we sat out there watching the tower.. 

i think the european union stars look a bit silly, don't you? 

standing underneath the tower takes your breath away with how huge it is.

at the second tier (the tower has three levels).. windy.. cold.. but not as cold as the top tier that's for sure.. that white spot above david's head is the moon!

at the top tier.. i had severe vertigo.. crazy high.. crazy windy.. crazy cold.. crazy crowded but totally worth it!

the Chateau de Versailles 

was by far not my favorite place this time. it was nice to see it.. but it was the worst tourist location in Paris.. it was so packed i actually felt claustrophobic. the rooms were filled like cattle getting ready to be slaughtered.. on top of that, they added these horrible pieces of "art work" to each room.. totally ruining the atmosphere the palace is known for.. for example.. they had one room with Michael Jackson and his monkey, "bubbles" in the center of the room.. wtf?! david wanted me to take a picture of it but at the time i was hot.. bothered by all the people pushing and shoving me and the added level of no one wearing deodorant.. i was not in the mood.. now i wish i had, just to show how tacky it really was.. then in another room they had a blow up lobster pool toy hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier.. WTF!! so stupid.. it didn't end there.. Versailles is also known for the gardens with beautiful fountains.. they only had them running for 2hours.. so it was impossible to see it all.. bottom line.. i was very disappointed with Versailles this year.. its still a beautiful palace.. i just wished they would get rid of the weird and random art work in the palace rooms and for the price they charge you to visit the palace, they can AFFORD to have the fountains running longer than 2hours! i didn't bother taking any pictures of the front of the palace.. they were doing some renovation and placed a fake mural of what the palace looks like in front of it..

you can see the palace behind the fountain.. david came in blurry because i am an idiot and forgot to set the apeture correctly. live and learn

haha.. i was impatient with getting pictures of all the fountains.. david wanted me to get a rainbow in the water droplets.. and right before i took this shot he said, "the fountains aren't going anywhere".. two seconds later the fountain turned off (they only had them running for a few hours). david's memory isn't one of his strong abilities.. just as patience isn't one of mine!

La Defense Arc

was one of my favorite places to visit.. we make a quick visit on the day we left Paris.. it wasn't crowded and a lot of fun.. they have a history of the computer museum at the top.. along with some awesome art work.. and a great view of paris at the top of the arc.. 

i could have sworn i got the entire building in the shot.. i walked like a mile just to get it..  a few days ago i read in my photography book about a crop factor digital SLRs have.. what a rip off.. no one TELLS you these things.. another reason for me to hurry up and get a full frame DSLR :o) not anytime soon though.. but man, i wish i had known that before i purchased mine or i would have picked a different camera..

this computer seriously had like a 2mb harddrive.. look how HUGe the thing is? can you imagine.. only 2mb?

david showed his age when he said, "i remember having one just like this".

LOL!!! this is our CPU unit we own at home.. a few weeks before we left for europe i begged and pleaded with david to buy me a new laptop.. "what's wrong with our computer?", he asked.. "um it's like ten years old.. thats what." "but it still works" "yeah.. you can get on the internet and that's a bit stretching it".. it took a day or two but david finally relented and let me get a new laptop.. when i saw our computer in the vintage collection at the museum i rubbed it in his face.. "See I TOLD YOU we need a new computer!".. in honor of it though, i told him to pose proud of our CPU unit.. im thinking of trashing it when i get back.. its WAY too big. (i think i heard david yell NO00ooo just now in my head).. the thing hardly works with internet.. seriously! and we can make so much room for other things.. 

La Defense had some really  neat art exhibits.. this was the 3-D exhibit

this was the best art there.. you stare at a white dot in the center of the image then look at the white canvas and a 3-D image of the person (they used hollywood actors) would appear.. kinda like those art things that were popular back in the 90's? you stare at it and slowly go back and image would appear out of the mess? well sort of like that but different.. you could have one done of yourself by the artist for 60euros.. i wish we had the money to do it because it was by far the coolest thing i have seen yet. (in the art world)

the view of Paris from the top of La Defense.. you can see the Eiffel tower just right of david.. 

well, that's all the Paris pictures i am going to share.. i can't believe how much work it is just to share pictures.. i made my quota of 40pictures! next up.. Switzerland pictures.. 

 

annoyed..

david and i have decided on having ashton naturally with no drugs.. a lot of you might think, 'HOLY MOLY' but the truth is a lot of people are uneducated with their bodies and rely on doctors/drugs too much.. there are programs and ways to deal with the pain naturally.. i totally plan on doing this.. there are a few methods that allow you to learn how to relax your body so your natural pain relievers (aka endorphins which happens to be stronger than drugs the doctors give you) can take effect.. 

why am i annoyed? because david and i decided to give bradley method a shot with ashton.. it's supposed to be a 12week course.. that's right 3months long.. bradley method stresses how important it is to go to these classes for 12weeks.. i go to the official bradley method website to find a "certified" instructor in my area.. dallas/fort worth area has quite a few.. which is awesome.. but almost ALL the instructors have started classes and won't be offering the next session until christmas or after.. which obviously is way too late for me.. david and i couldn't have taken the classes sooner since we had planned our trip to germany before we were pregnant.. thankfully there was ONE instructor who was starting classes the day i get back from Germany.. "wonderful" i thought.. i was starting to worry there for a bit.. i emailed her about joining the class last night and this morning i get an email back stating her classes are 5weeks long with 3hour classes each.. umm.. what?! 

some of you might not think this is bad.. but bradley method is bradley method because of their method.. a huge part of their method is the 12week course.. as i said before they go into great detail as to why this part is so important for the laboring mother and the coaching dad.. i decided to check the other instructors in our area to see what they said.. since the one i had contacted had no info regarding that she only offers the 5week course.. i naturally assumed it was 12weeks since her next session starts October 5th and claims she won't be offering the next session until January.. turns out the other instructors OFFER the full 12week course.. at 2 1/2 hours for each class.. so 5 days times 3hours = 15hours of study.. 12days times 2.5hours = 30hours of study..that's a HUGE difference if you ask me.. not to mention both courses COST the same $300! i am tempted to almost contact bradley method and let them know one of their "certified" instructors is not following the method properly.. i mean seriously.. now i am left feeling lost and flustered about this whole thing.. do i go ahead and take the lame 5week course or skip it entirely and maybe find another method to go by? it's a bummer that i would have to invest the full price for not being able to benefit from the method if its only taught in a 5 week course.. don't you agree?

such a shame.. i just don't know what else to do.. ::sigh:: i felt calm and relaxed yesterday regarding finding the instructor and now i am a mess over it.. i posted this in all the natural birth communities i am in.. i hope someone is able to suggest something..

i hate someone i don't even know right now.. lol.. i am finding German clothes for ashton.. i found a brand that i am absolutely in love with.. turns out she has a fancy schmancy website with her full collection but no where to purchase or links to lead you where to purchase her collections.. so of course i google and all i can find are bits and peices and mostly for girls.. ugh.. i hate her right now ;oP.. i can hear david breathing a sigh of relief all the way over here.. HAHAHA... i emailed her.. lets hope there is a way for me to get my hands on her clothes! ::now pictures david holding his breath and shaking his head.. and probably thinking about canceling the creditcards:: bwahahahahahahaha

btw.. i love and miss you honey! ::bats eyes::

i actually felt like processing more Paris pictures.. i read in one of my photography books last night that a good photographer will only pick out 10images out of 800.. um.. i guess i need work on that because there is no way in hell i could only pick 10images out of 800 lol.. of course i won't be sharing all 800 pictures.. hopefully my number won't go over 30images (i have a feeling it will hit 40.. i am currently at 24images)... i dislike it when people post too many pictures of the same thing over and over..

david in front of the notre dame.. i have been to paris four times during my life and this is the first time they have ever allowed anyone to walk all the way to the top of the towers.. i so wish i had the energy to have done it myself but oh well.. i am sure this won't be the last time we visit paris.. 

the lourve museum.. way too large fo a museum.. we spent 5hours there and didn't even get to see half of the museum.. poor david.. the sun's position can suck sometimes lol.

david's favorite part about the louvre.. all the statues.. 

david's favorite statue.. he made me take a billion pictures of it.. i figured it's only natural i share it with everyone else..

the mona lisa.. the room was packed.. we waited forever to get a shot without anyone else in the picture..

self portrait of me in a vanity at the louvre

this was my favorite part about the museum..they found the medieval louvre underneath the current louvre.. 

the worst crepes i had.. omg toooo salty.. i wanted to gag.

sacre coeur

i hiked all the way up to the entrance to the sacre coeur.. the stairs are decieving.. you can't see the second or third set of stairs to hike up to the entrance.. i had wanted to go all the way up to steeple/tower (you see the very top of the church? yeah that part) but decided after getting to the entrance i was too exhausted..

i love that david has a sense of humor.. a fountain near the sacre coeur.

vintage mini cooper.. way toooo cute.. 

the paris opera house..

hilarious!

i received an email today letting me know someone was interested in one of my photo's on flickr to put into a Denver map online.. it has been short selected which means if i agree they will put it in the short list and choose it from there.. how neat would that be if one my pictures were published?! granted it's only for a map of the Denver area.. but still that's pretty darn neat if it happened.. i hope they do pick it.. this is the picture they might use.. i took it last January when we went to the Denver stock show..

today is and will be a depressing day.. it's 6am here..  david has to go back home.. even though i love visiting, i am sort of wishing i had to go back with him too(together).. he is in the bathroom getting ready and all i want to do is bawl my eyes out.. i suppose it's bittersweet.. hopefully i will be over it in a few days..  the thought of him not being here upsets me a lot.. two whole weeks without him.. i seriously have no clue how i am going to survive.. he does everything for me.. now i will be on my own.. i don't remember being so emotional about leaving him last time i was here by myself.. or the year before that when he went back earlier than me and i stayed a WHOLE month.. maybe it's because i am pregnant and filled to the brim with hormones.. i don't know.. but the thought of him leaving is literally making me sick to my stomach.. plus the fact he is on a plane.. well.. we all know how i feel about planes.. i will be thinking about him non stop praying over and over God blesses him with a safe flight back home..

because i am too tired to do MORE than one Paris picture tonight (midnight here).. i will post a belly picture of me in Paris..  

david has been learning how to properly use my camera.. as in shooting in manual mode.. he has really picked up fast.. i was suprised how many shots he took that actually looked good (i.e. exposure correct etc). anyway, me (and ashton) infront of Notre Dame. 25week belly shot

hello my name is anne marie and i can not stop buying baby clothes/crap!!!! 

ashton = obsession.. everything david and i do is about ashton.. i even bought more clothes online in America a few days ago.. (tanna.. remember those overalls i wanted from potterbarnkids? the ones on sale? i was going to order them and have it sent to davids parents house right before i left for Germany? well.. i decided to force myself to wait.. after almost two weeks i was STILL thinking about them and finally bought them.. isn't that ridiculous?!). i am also in the process of figuring out how to order some German baby clothes online and have it shipped here in Germany.. i found a cute little website filled with unusual stuff you never see in the states that i just have to have..

it gets worse.. david is a complicated person when it comes to spending money.. when it comes to spending money on me david is more willing to give out.. but he still has hesitation and sometimes tries to talk me out of the purchase if it happens to be over $100 by saying, "we can't really afford it right now.. but if you want it.. i guess you can buy it" ::gives me sad pouty look::.. when we finally got pregnant david did want to buy some baby stuff ASAP.. mostly stuff that was a NEED rather than a want.. like the carseat..i mean we NEED the carseat.. it's not really a want.. david also enjoys all the baby clothes we have been getting.. a week before leaving for Europe he realized we had a pretty good collection going on and mentioned that maybe i need to slow down now.. (HAHAHA the thought is laughable)......point is.. david is not mr.moneybags and he doesn't just throw money away on the whim.. there has to be a good reason to buy whatever it is.. 

now that i have explained davids complicated way of spending money.. here comes the kicker.. david has all of a sudden turned into a, "LETS BUY EVERYTHING FOR ASTHON RIGHT NOW!" mode.. example? he wants to spend almost $200 on a teddy bear.. A TEDDY BEAR PEOPLE! okay.. so it's a steiff bear.. they are expensive and they are wickedly awesome.. i want ashton to have a steiff bear too.. it would mean a lot more getting it here in Germany since they are German bears.. but the fact that david is so excited about plopping down $200 for a normal size teddy bear is astonishing! he has NO BUYERS REMORSE OVER IT! nothing.. is that not NUTS?! not to mention he wants to get an original steiff bear plus a soft CUSHY one for ashton to carry around (cheaper than a original bear but still).. ashton has become a huge obsession with us.. i thought how lucky we were to have a boy because a girl would just get EVERYTHING from david and i would spend way more money on girl clothing than boy clothing (omg baby girl clothes are the FREAKING CUTEST EVER right now!!). 

too bad the baby doesn't want or need camera equipment lmao.. david leaves in two days.. booo hoo.. i am so sad.. i hate not being around david.. two weeks will fly by though.. i am just happy he was able to be here for two weeks with me.. trip is going by fast that's for sure.. 

i also received my extra action set today.. whoooohooooo.. i can't wait to use it.. i plan on processing more Paris pictures today and posting them later..

we are back from Switzerland.. it was beautiful but freeeeezing.. we stocked up on a bunch of Swiss chocolate.. right now i am suffering from an upset stomach/heartburn thanks to all the junk food i had on the drive home and the pure thought of all the chocolate we purchased today makes me want to vomit.. 

i was hoping to have all the Paris pictures to share with everyone.. however.. after reviewing the Paris pictures i feel overwhelmed.. almost to a point where i don't want to process them.. i think i am going to post a few posts about our Paris trip instead of just one big one to make sure i don't burn myself out on processing these images.. the stress of taking over a week to process the Paris pictures on top of any other pictures i might take in the future is too much for me to handle at this point.. :o)

our flight to paris was delayed 3hours thanks to weather in germany (severe fog).. 

in front of the arc de triomphe

windy and cold

the arc is massive

you can hike up to the top of the arc but we skipped it this time to save energy on my poor legs

you can see La Défense from the arc.. it's the square building in the center.. our hotel was right next to it.. i have pictures of it as well but that will come later..

arc de triomphe in the back ground.. crossing streets in paris is serious business.. you have to be careful and alert .. most cross walks make you stop in the middle of traffic before making it to the other side.. scary!

metro station.. thank goodness for these or i would have never survived in paris

waiting for our train.. we headed back to the arc for a night shot right around midnight

the best i could do without a tripod lmao.. 

i will post more Paris pictures later this week.. hopefully i will be able to get them all done in two or three more posts..

BACK FROM PARIS!

we had so much fun in Paris.. the plane ride on the way there was a bit freaky.. turbulence galore..  i was sitting in between david and my mother and totally flipping out (holding both david and my mothers hands as tight as i could and tears coming down my face type of flipping out.. not pretty).. a flight attendant walked past us and stopped to ask my mother if she was okay and that the plane was going to be fine.. my mother was confused.. wondering why he was asking HER if she was okay.. when we finally landed (thankfully safely) in Paris while unloading the plane the same flight attendant asked her if she was positive she was okay and that, "see everything was fine" blah blahblah.. LMAO.. omg it was so freaking hilarious! how the flight attendant figured it was my mother flipping out is beyond me.. we had many great laughs over it..  my mother also swears she will never sit next to me on a plane again.. too bad so sad since she has to on the way back to the US.. bwahahahaha

i have over 800 images from Paris to go through and process, so i don't have any ready to share today.. we went to Nuremberg the day before we left for Paris and i processed them this morning.. we leave for Switzerland to visit my cousin stefanie tonight.. so i have no clue when i will be able to share Paris pictures..

best nuremberg bratwurst ever!

a bunch of yummy meat i am not allowed to have.. :o(

nuremberg also makes the best lebkuchen.. it's a christmas tradition but thankfully their store is open all year.. i stocked up on dominos my absolute favorite.. 

a mischievous cherub on "the beautiful fountain" in Nuremberg

my mom watching some nutso climb outside one of the towers at the nuremberg castle

if anyone makes fun of my pose i will kick your butt.. i will never ever pose like this again (i also pray that i did not pose like this in any of my Paris pictures).. but i love the background so much i am going to post it anyway.. 

david and the beautiful castle

overlook of nuremberg.. i hiked all the way up thankyouverymuch

he is so handsome.. 

making a wish at "the beautiful fountain".. you turn the ring around 3 times and apparently all your dreams come true..

i asked david what he wished for today when i saw this picture and he said, "i was supposed to make a wish? i thought it was for good luck".. lol..

this was interesting.. we went to the nazi party rally grounds in nuremberg.. this is the unfinished german stadium.. very interesting place..

this fountain cracks me up!! it was david's favorite for obvious reasons.. i would love to know the history  behind this fountain.. 

another view.. lol.. i bet a guy made this fountain.. 

by the way, walking around pregnant for the entire day, four days straight is harder than i thought it would be.. i survived though.. (my legs, feet, and butt have been sore since the day we arrived in Europe!) i even hiked up to sacre couer (a cathedral on top of a huge ass hill).. we didn't get to see everything we wanted but we saw enough.. we went to the top of the eiffel tower the last night we were there.. amazing.. i love Paris.. love.love.love.. i didn't have as many crepes as i would have liked either.. and zero ice cream.. in fact david and i had a hard time finding anything to eat in Paris.. french food isn't something i am a fan of.. snails.. horse meat etc just isn't my thing.. and as a pregnant girl overseas, i had to be careful what i ate so i wouldn't get sick abroad.. which meant.. no cheese (didn't know if it was pasteurized).. no fruit (didn't have a clean place to wash).. no sandwiches from the deli (listera anyone?).. i had a lot of pastries though.. in fact that's pretty much all we had (i'm not complaining though.. the french pastries are the BEST).. when we arrived back in Germany last night my oma cooked us dinner (aka. real food). i scarfed it as i hadn't eaten in ages!

ashton has been an active little thing.. his kicks and movements have become stronger and i am starting to feel them way up high.. david and i went to jacadi in Paris and got him two outfits.. oh they are so freaking cute.. i love that store! too bad it will probably be the only two jacadi pieces we own.. 

Europeans have this weird thing where they don't want pregnant women walking through metal detectors.. makes me wonder how safe they really are (in America they claim they are safe for pregnant women) lol.. i was felt up at the airport like never before.. in America when they pat you down they are pretty good about not "touching" you.. they touch but it's quick and not very thorough.. here in Europe, i have had hands/fingers up in my butt/crotch.. boobs tenderly squeezed.. she made sure not to miss an inch.. they don't take you to a private room either.. they do it in front of everyone.. no big deal.. i just thought it was interesting how different they are compared to American security..