It’s been awhile since I gave you a dose of this kind of randomness so here you go!

1. Would you rather give up pedicures or flat/curling irons?

Last month on a trip home to my parents, I got to unpacking only to realize I’D LEFT MY CURLING IRON AT HOME. People, I went out that same day and forked over $25 for a new one. Forgetting a curling iron (or flat iron) to tame this mane of mine is on par with forgetting underwear or contacts or anything else I deem TOTALLY necessary to travel. Sooo yeah, that ought to answer this question.

2. Does your middle name have a family meaning?

My full name is Gail Lorraine. While my middle name has no special meaning (though, can I just take a minute and tell you all how much I really love it? ‘Cause I do…good choice mom!) my FIRST name is in honor of my great-grandmother. It’s a bit old-fashioned (case in point, the other day I met another “Gail” for the first time in years …she was at least 80), but I’ve come to love it. For sure, I was the only Gail in a classroom of Jessicas, Jennifers and Courtneys growing up!

3. Do you like to sneeze?

What a silly question. And no, not really. But a random trait of mine — whenever I sneeze, it’s always in threes.

4. Do you think kids should need to learn cursive?

I think kids should learn good PENMANSHIP. Print or cursive, doesn’t matter to me. I loved cursive as a kid (Type A perfectionist in me loved being the child picked to demonstrate a capital “Q” on the blackboard), but in college I started writing exclusively in print and haven’t written cursive since.

5. When you go to the beach for the day, what do you take?

A bathing suit, towel, sunblock, sunglasses, some snacks and MOST IMPORTANTLY books and magazines.

6. Which decade had the best music?

For me? 80s all the way. From New Wave (I mean, just look at this list!) to Michael Jackson and Madonna, that decade is my jam and its music makes me all warm and fuzzy for my childhood. (Funny story: A few years back, we uncovered this old cassette tape my sister had made of me as a baby babbling in the bath tub… when we flipped it over to side “B”—remember when you had to do that?— it was Top 40 songs my sister had dubbed from the radio and “Electric Avenue” started playing…I love when little bits of your past help you remember what was in vogue at the time!)

7. Are you a good hand-shaker?

Well, I’ve never asked anyone but I’d say yes. Nice and firm. The worst handshakers? Those folks with sweaty palms. Watch out for them!

8. Do you have a go-to meal for when you are at a restaurant and you can’t decide?

It’s kind of restaurant dependent, I guess. But yeah, once I’ve been to a place once, I tend to order the same thing I liked. Especially at ethnic restaurants (which explains why chicken tikka masala has been my go-to Indian dish forever!)

9. Do you have slippers?

Yep! I wrote about them here — STILL lovin’ ‘em!

10. Are you easily grossed out?

While I can totally handle blood and gore in movies (let’s just say I recently saw Django Unchained and LOVED it), the older I get it seems I can’t handle it in real life. Like that one time I sliced my finger open and nearly fainted.

Questions provided from Roots and Rings

On the topic of assembling baby items in the Werner home, there’s been certain gear I’ve just handed over to my husband with a shrug and look that says, “Yeah, there’s no way I’m attempting this. You do it.”

Putting together our baby swing was one such chore. Another? Our Pack-n-Play. In the early weeks, Dean slept in a Pack-n-Play in our bedroom. When we moved him into the crib in his nursery around two months, that Pack-n-Play stayed there in our bedroom (becoming a lazy mom and dad’s second hamper for dirty clothes). With everything else on my mind (like nursing, rocking and cooing over my new son), I just didn’t have the mental capacity (or actual directions) to figure out how to take it apart myself.

With this parental product struggle in mind, I was thrilled to try out 4moms’ Breeze playard. As the name indicates, putting this thing together? It really IS a breeze! (I should know because I’ve assembled and disassembled it at least a half-dozen times already in the month we’ve had it!)

The Breeze goes from this ….

to this, in two minutes flat. (You can check out this video to get a better idea of how easy it is to put together). Once, I even set it up while holding Dean…impressive, I tell you! As you can see, this darling boy of mine is a pretty big fan :)

Did I mention I love the Breeze’s gender neutral look? Not to mention how well it’s made? It was cool to see the Breeze included in the giveaway last month for Ellen Degeneres’ annual Mother’s Day show! (Fellow mamas, how much would you love to be in that audience?!)

Speaking of love and mothers and giveaways, I’m excited to announce I’m giving away a Breeze to one of my readers (a $299 value!) Here’s how you can enter to win**:

• Like 4moms on Facebook (Doing so means you’ll be in the know about more giveaways for 4moms’ other awesome products … I’ll be talking about some of those in later posts, but trust me, this is worth it!)

• Leave a comment here on my blog telling me what’s been YOUR most frustrating piece of baby gear (or for those who or pregnant or trying to win a Breeze for a family member, what you think said item would be)

Believe me when I say you totally want to take the time to enter (save that extra dough for the diapers…, you’ll need it!) Good luck!

**Winner will be selected at random on Thursday, June 13. Entries will be accepted until noon of that day.

Update: The winner has been selected. Thanks for playing! 

From the reaction I got from a sneak peek I shared of these two over on Monica’s Facebook wall, I KNOW this is one couple who, along with a number of their friends and family members, are anxious to see these photos!

Monica and Kevin, I’ll shush and let the photos do the talking but I hope you know how EXCITED I am to capture your big day later this summer! Given how good looking you two are in these photos, you both will look all the MORE dapper in that gown and tux! Can’t wait!

Monica laughs a lot. She’s one of the girls who just has the most infectious smile. Kevin, I can TOTALLY see why you’ve fallen so hard for her! See what I mean about that sweet laugh? Well helllooooo handsome! Monica I know you’ll like this one! One of Monica’s requests? A sweet shot of her man giving her a kiss just.like.this.And we ended the session at a scenic park in downtown Indy at Monica’s request (she’d remembered an engagement session I’d done here a few years back and had asked for a shot of her own with the two of them against that gorgeous backdrop. Only too happy to oblige!)

Here’s the thing about this month’s self-portrait: I thought long and hard about how I wanted to capture my May. A month that, in a lot of ways, has just been “meh”. After a while, I decided I could focus on my return to my photography business after an extended maternity leave (and what felt like the longest winter ever) away from it. Ah ha! That’s it! I told myself. Buttttttt….. then I forgot to have someone take a picture of me at my first wedding of the season. And I’m always sweaty and gross after engagement sessions so that wasn’t going to happen either.

[ Enter procrastination ..... ]

Now it’s suddenly today—May 31—and I’m home on my quick lunch break from my day job. It’s raining out (so no curls today—Gail’s curls + rain=Monica Gellar hair***), I’m feeling ouchie (I’ve been weaning Dean and, well, let’s just say that’s not the most pleasant of experiences), and the last thing I really want to do is step in front of the camera. But I do. And this is the resulting image that comes with 15 minutes of set-up, shutter pressing, downloading and uploading. Just me at my desk with my camera, computer opened to my latest editing session. It’s a forced smile, but believe me when I say I truly AM happy to be making portraits for people again. Creatively, it’s one of the great loves of my life.

Maybe it’s appropriate that May’s self-portrait ended up this way. After all, it’s been a month where I’ve gotten pretty real about some stuff here on the blog. I feel like being just as real with all of you about this self-portrait project of mine: Sometimes I loathe it. Sometimes I curse the fact I ever started it. Sometimes I feel like it’s one giant nod to narcissism. And yet, I keep at it still. Because even accounting for the months where I feel like I’m dialing it in (ahemmm..May 2013…ahem), I know the long-term reward of documenting my life this way—12 photos a year, year after year after year —will be more than worth it. Imagine the gift this will be for my children some day. For my children’s children, no? So I’ll keep plugging along and, if you’re one of the fellow photographers who’ve joined me in this pursuit over the years, I’ll wish you the same. I’d like to say I’m taking notes for future self-portraits from this kid, but pffftttt….who am I kidding? I could never be THAT creative!

***Any blog post that invokes a Friends reference isn’t all a wash, right? RIGHT.