What will you pledge?

I'm sure everyone witnessed at least 5 minutes of history today. Of course here at work it was hard to ignore the amazing events going on as ABC News covered the Inauguration and related events all day long. We were encouraged, as employees, to log onto our ABCNews.com website and tune in if we were able.

In addition to all of the TV and Web stuff I saw today, I was linked to one video that I thought was touching (I am hormonal, so all emotions are on a whole other level these days). But this video sends a strong message that each of us can easily make a difference in our own way. Take a look and decide to pledge your spirit and self to something you enjoy :)

MySpace Celebrity and Katalyst present The Presidential Pledge

I'm already out of control...

Well, with the news last week that we are having a baby girl, I decided it was high time to do some shopping. I mean come'on, I've been waiting 5 months now being tempted by all things that are baby cute. It's time to finally buy something that ISN'T sex-neutral!

Well, I had purchased some maternity clothes from Target that didn't quite work out (I'm still trying to figure out what the heck size I am), so I returned them for store credit. And to my amazing disbelief (and maybe to yours too), I actually skipped buying for me and decided to buy for the baby. This is a good sign I'm thinking. Because those of you who have chatting with me recently have heard my constant maternity hymnal - "My ass is fat, My ass is fat, nothing fits me anymore, my ass is fat!" But I still chose to buy for baby instead of me - shocker! But look at these cute onsies - how could anyone resist??

Well it gets better. Over the weekend we met up with our friends Jo and Justin (our friends that relocated from Australia the same time we did from Texas) to visit their newborn baby girl, Siena. Jo took me to the Century City mall to show me only the most adorable baby clothing store ever! The store is called Naartjie and if you can pronounce it you win a prize (I'm told it sounds like "nar-chee"). Anyway, they were having amazing sales and I managed to get this whole adorable outfit for $12.31. I mean seriously - why can't we find full outfits at this price for adults? No wonder new moms go crazy buying baby clothes!

I've made a deal with Derek to slow down a bit, because he's right - I'll probably get a ton of cute outfits from friends and family. It's so addicting though!

My First Press Tour

So I've been officially been initiated into the world of entertainment reporting - and it was awesome. This week the Television Critic's Association held a Winter Press Tour and Disney ABC TV Group brought in their new mid-season shows to show off to the press. On today's agenda were the Jonas Brothers, the creators of Lost, and a variety of new shows for ABC scheduled to launch in the March/April time frame. I'll recap the best I can :)

The first panel I saw was the Jonas Brothers. They have a new show coming out on the Disney Channel called "Jonas" and they were joined by two lovely young ladies who are also on the show. Although you would've never known that since they never had an opportunity to talk. The press just killed the three kiddos with constant questions about playing at the Inauguration, getting along with each other, being famous and so on.

I learned about two new comedies for ABC "Better Off Ted" and "In the Motherhood." "Ted" is about research development guy who struggles between moral rights and wrongs in work and love. The company he works for produces crazy new products like pumpkins that double as weapons of mass destruction, and tests cryogenics on their lead scientist. It's a tongue-in-cheek look at the corporate environment of "profits before people." In "Motherhood" you'll see three friends struggling with the ups and downs of being a mom. The casting is amazing and from the clips we saw it already looks like a hit. But how can it not be? It's got Megan Mullally and Cheryl Hines! Both look like good choices for ABC if they can get the scheduling right.

For lunch we were lucky enough to see a new episode of LOST - sorry, we had to swear not to spoil it for the rest of the public, but I will say Season 5 is definitely starting out good - you won't be disappointed.

The afternoon brought two new police procedurals/dramas "The Unusuals" and "Castle." Both are set in NYC and offer different views of crime, love and drama. Both look interesting and as always, I'll give them a chance, but they better impress. There's a whole lotta crime dramas out there and my plate is pretty full with the CSIs, Mentalist and Criminal Minds. I can't even fit in Law & Order and am reduced to watching the reruns on marathon weekends.

It was a long, but exciting day and I can't wait until the next event. You can check out all the press pics by clicking here. Enjoy!

First Highway Accident

Yep, it's official. I can say I've had an accident on a highway. On the 101 in California, even. Before I tell the story I'll assure everyone that all parties involved are fine - thankfully. But it was still the scariest experience ever!

While in rush-hour traffic after work, a motorcycle and myself decided to merge into the same lane. We must have both seen that sweet spot open up after this pickup truck and both made the attempt to grab it. We smacked right into each other, neither of us realizing the other's plan. Yes, I looked before merging - and yes, I did have my blinker on. A kind witness tells us that neither of us were at fault. I'm not so sure the insurance companies want to hear that - or maybe they do?

So back to the drama part of the story. I start to slowly creep out into the lane on my left. As soon as I'm halfway in it, I hear a thud, crash, thump, and see this gray motorcycle rip my mirror off and begin to wobble and lose control. He lost the fight with balance and the cycle landed on its side with him a few inches away. I slammed on my brakes, threw my hands over my eyes and screamed outloud - don't die, don't run over him! It was like watching in slow motion. But as I mentioned before - it was rush hour and the top speed was about 10 miles an hour, so we were all very lucky.

Since nobody was hurt and both vehicles were operable, the police refused to come visit us and advised us to exchanged insurance information. After the initial shock wore off and we both stopped shaking - the cyclist and I were back on our merry little way.

So now I guess I'm officially a Californian - a credentialed "crazy driver" and all. I'm a bit gun shy about changing lanes today, and I never realized how damn important that side mirror is! Stay safe everyone!

It's a girl!

We had our 2nd trimester ultrasound today and the doc says we'll be having a girl! Of course we are very excited, but I will admit my mind did go into a brief panic about all of the drama that comes with a girl (hello, I remember what I was like!).

She's growing as she should be, heart looks fully developed and healthy, both legs and arms, all fingers and toes, eyes, nose, mouth and ears and so on. If you'd like to take about three minutes of your life and watch the ultrasound, click here. If you are short on time, you can check out some snapshots here.

Even better news is that momma has only gained 2 lbs. so far. Doc is very happy about that, but tells me not to be surprised if I start gaining more from now on. I guess 1 lb. a week is normal. No matter what the increase in pounds, you can definitely see the increase in my belly size.

Over the holiday, I officially moved into the maternity clothes and must say that some of them are quite cute and comfortable. I'm thinking perhaps I could even keep some of them after! I hate to disappoint, but I've not been documenting belly growth at this point - maybe soon, we'll see.

Stay tuned - we'll keep you updated on the progress!