L to R: Amber, me and EB, DS (the preggo for whom we’re doing the shower), GS, Maru, and SD. You can click on any screen to zoom in on that person, so SD was getting the big screen in this shot.

My high school friends and I are still very close–emotionally, but not by proximity.  DS is due in July and we wanted to have a baby shower for her and she lives in Canada.  There are also a couple of gals that live on the west coast in San Francisco and Seattle, there are a couple more regulars to this blog that live here in Austin near me, and lastly there are two that live in Japan and Africa.  All over the place.  So how to do this shower, you ask?

One of the gals suggested a Google Hangout.  You have to have a Google + account, which I have a couple of, but my blog one is suspended because I don’t use my real name (on purpose, dummies at Google.  Just let it be).  So that was out, and then I couldn’t remember what email I use for my personal one, so I used yet another email to log in under a new profile that hasn’t been set up yet.  I was the dumb dumb in the group that took forever to log in to our practice baby shower, while everyone else waited patiently, caught up, laughed, and got to see everyone’s pretty face.  It was a good thing we did a practice run.  We are doing this for real next weekend and I have 7 days to think of a shower game.  My mind is blank right now.  Suggestions?

It was a pretty awesome situation being able to talk to everyone via camera at once.  It felt so Future.  And it made me miss everyone that much more, especially since two of the gals couldn’t make this practice sesh since it’s something like 3 am where they are while it’s noon here in Austin.  Next week, GS’s husband is going to do a blog post on the actual shower and I’ll link to it.  GS is going to record the whole thing so I’ll try to be especially funny.

EB loves chatting to people on my phone via FaceTime or on my computer via Skype, but this was slightly overwhelming for her.  She didn’t want to do any of her parlor tricks, which now include counting backwards from 10.  And she knows about 1/4 of the alphabet and is working on the signs to the letters.  Mostly she ate a pear and rubbed it on both of our faces today.

I fully recommend the Google Hangout–just make sure you know which email attaches to what Google + account.  I have too many emails and profiles so I don’t think most people will have this problem.  Story of my life.

Future Jells.