The Ultimate Challenge

Marshmallow Test from Mission HS on Vimeo.

By the Seat of My Pants

That's how I'm operating these days. It's been really busy. Like......since the day after Labor Day. That's when it all exploded. Zillions of weddings, ZILLIONS of casting things. Last week was absolute MADNESS at the office and we shot a wedding both days this weekend. I won't be home before 11pm any night this week, we have a wedding in Hartford all day Saturday and I have an opening for work Sunday night. Which I think I haven't even told Geoff about. Then theatre and classes all next week and 2 weddings on the 9th. So my next day off is October 10.

And all I want to do is cook.

I want to be able to be at home and make stuff with the poor CSA vegetables that are being woefully neglected in my fridge. I want to get creative in the kitchen. I want to make homemade everything. Bread, pies, pizza, soups, salads, things made with squash, everything. Not quite sure where this is all coming from. But its what I want to do. Maybe because I never get to? And if I got to all the time, I'd be glad to eat out?

But there are 6 openings for work in the next 7 weeks. And at least 5 weddings to shoot. So I fear there will far too much takeout in my life in the weeks to come. This is very, very sad. But I guess I'll be flying around by the aforementioned seat of my pants far too fast to notice.

Can't decide if glancing at my favorite food blogs, here, here and here, while I'm too crazed to do anything myself will make it better or worse.

I'm guessing worse.

My First Headshots

On the way home from brunch last weekend, Megan and I had an impromptu photo shoot in our neighborhood. She needed some headshots for a couple interviews/auditions and we just snapped a couple real quick. I didn't have the best lens with me and I truly don't know what I'm doing, but I thought they turned out ok, all things considered.

I think this one is my favorite.


My favorite kind of photography is the kind where I hide in the background with a long lens and catch a great moment when the subject doesn't actually know they are being photographed. I'm not super comfortable "directing" people yet. I think I need some practice in that department.

Like, for example, I told Megan to maybe give me a little half smile/smirk and jokingly said "you know, like you have a secret." This was her response.


Rightly so.

So I need a ton more practice (right, in all my free time), but it was fun. Thanks for being a patient subject, Megs!

Niece Number 3

Emma Brook Bashawaty, our third niece was born just over a week ago. The hair runs in the family. She couldn't be cuter. Or smaller really. I mean she was 8 pounds, but here's what - that's small.

Here she meets her brother and two sisters.... (L-R: Kayla, Maya & Khal). This picture is pretty stinkin' awesome.


We got the chance to meet her briefly on Saturday morning before a wedding shoot. She is teeny. And surprisingly alert. And she only puked on me twice. So she's pretty impressive.

Wildlife and Bike Rides

We saw a ton of wildlife at the Cape. My parents have always kept binoculars at the ready at the Cape and at their home in Maine, and with good reason. The bird life alone is pretty awe-inspiring. It makes me feel pretty old to get excited by birds so much (and I believe Alison even once bought me a bird watchers guide in jest a couple of years ago), but here's what - birds are amazing. Straight up. They just are.

The day we were expecting Earl it was grey and damp out and we took advantage of the weather to get ahead on a few business things. So we were inside on the computer when all of a sudden a HUGE bird swooped right across the deck. We made our way outside gingerly (grabbing the camera of course) and found this guy, with his back to us, just chillin' on the roof.


Yep. A hawk. Just hanging out with us pre-hurricane.


Just check him right out! I believe at this point he was standing on one leg. He hung out like that for a while.


And then in a hot second, he flew away...


So he was pretty awesome. We saw him (or his cousin) again later throughout the weekend swooping around and flying back and forth. Also in the bird family, we were really into this guy.....


Particularly when he was drying out his wings


The rest of the wildlife we didn't manage to capture on film. There are usually some foxes who dart across the end of the deck. There was a super cute chipmunk who lived in this hole at the end of the deck and I just missed him poking his little head out.


There was also a ginormous black garden snake who lopped himself down out of the ivy in the above picture, and then looped himself right back up into it. But we won't talk too much about him (even though it was fascinating), because just thinking about him does my mom in. As she says.

Rightly so.

After Earl headed north, we had THE MOST AMAZING weather and we headed up to a bike path in Truro.


It was awesome.


Not a super long path, but a gorgeous one. After about a mile you come to this amazing bridge



It's right over this gorgeous marshland.


And then you're at the beach.


Where there were surfers taking advantage of what Earl left behind...


Honestly, what is better than Cape Cod?





No, seriously, try to think of ONE thing...







Yeah, I didn't think so.

Flowers in the Rain

The day that Earl was supposed to hit the Cape I got up early. I made some coffee and read for a bit and it started raining. It was so quiet. Peaceful. Mom had given me a list of things we should do to prepare for Earl (nailing shut the door to the outdoor shower, drawing off water, locking windows in the attic, pulling out the radio and flashlights etct) and one of the best things she suggested was cutting some flowers for us to enjoy indoors, since once Earl and his "75mph winds" came through, the flowers would be pretty much ruined. Excellent idea.

So when it started raining and I wondered if this was the start of Earl, I headed out to clip some flowers. The rain was gentle and a little warm and I was out there by myself. There was something about it that was so awesome. I didn't mind getting wet. I didn't mind the bits of leaves and pollen that stuck to my damp arms. I liked it even. And even though many of the prettiest flowers on the trees and bushes were scorched looking from the super dry summer, I found a few worth saving.





For some reason that I can't quite describe, those 20 minutes in the rain with the flowers is something I think I will remember for a long time. The peace of it. The simplicity. The total contentment I felt to reach for the highest branches to get a flower, to get mud on me, to let the rain fall and enjoy it. Rain in the city is only fun when you're safe inside. Fighting through the umbrellas in the streets and subways, trying not to have your eyes poked out....not my idea of a good time. Rain in the country....a whole different story. And rain and flowers together will now always remind me of being at peace.

Re-Entry

We're back from the Cape. We'll we've been back for a while, but computer issues have kept me from sharing. Earl kicked up a lot of fuss for no reason. But he left us with A-MAZ-ING weather for Labor Day Weekend.

Vacation is great. But always too short. The only time vacation was not to short was our 3 week honeymoon. By the end of that, we were ready to come home and start our life.

I find it takes me a couple of days to let the work stress melt away. During the rest of the year, Geoff and I usually get one day a week together (usually Sunday) and beyond that we're together daily from 10pm - 10am (or less). Most of that time, we are asleep. And as you may remember from our house rules, we are not allowed to have any real or serious conversations during those hours. We often have to break that rule out of necessity and it rarely goes well. Hence the house rule. So when we do have a whole week off it takes us a minute to adjust. To stop thinking about all the potential things we could be doing to get ahead on business stuff. To allow ourselves to dig beneath the surface and have a real conversation. Finding the balance between that and just allowing ourselves some down time to read quietly on the deck was more difficult than I thought it would be, actually. We each needed time to mentally space out, read, not have to think about anything, and we also needed time to actually KNOW each other. Which is difficult in real life with the 27 things we each have going on. I'm sure most couples experience this on some level, especially those with kids. In fact, I take comfort in the fact that at least the craziness of our current lifestyle will prepare us for the craziness of kids. It can't possibly be worse. Right? Right??!

All that being said, we managed to have a good time at the Cape. I'm convinced its one of the most beautiful places on earth. It just is. I love the history. I love the weather. I love the architecture. I love the charm. I love the fact that it feels like there is TIME there. We had some really great CONNECTING conversations that were a long time coming. We spent a lot of time on the deck. We grilled out. We went for bike rides. We read. We walked around downtown and had lunch at The Squire (Chatham's most famous restaurant/bar). We went to my favorite Home Consignment shop. We got ice cream. We took (a few) photos. We went to a great French place for dinner one night. We connected with nature and the local wildlife (pictures to come). We survived Earl. Which wasn't remotely hard to do. We made mojitos in the afternoons. We saw my brother for dinner and made s'mores on the grill. We wished we didn't have to leave.

More photos to come...

Please Hold

We're back from vacation. I'm back at work. Kids the world over are back to school. September has a very "back in the saddle"/"gearing up" feel to it.

Wanting to share the few pictures from vacation that I did take, but haven't been home before 11pm to do so (again with the "back in the saddle" theme). That and a new computer and sorting through tech issues means my photos haven't even been uploaded yet. We'll get to it.

Hoping to share soon....Happy Friday!

An Uninvited Visitor

Hurricane Earl was not invited on my vacation.

But he's a comin'.

We are at the Cape. The only opportunity to get away this summer and good ole Earl wants in on the fun. And I just remembered that several of my dear friends from college are vacationing in the Outer Banks this week. They make an annual group trip there with their kids (6 or so families all together). They've just been issued a mandatory evacuation. Mean ole Earl, just ruining vacations left and right.

We're hoping that it won't come to that here. We're keeping a close watch on things. We'll be battening down the hatches today.

Earl, I don't mind a little wind and rain - that can be fun to watch from the safety of the house. You better watch yourself, though. I came on vacation for a vacation. Not to be in the middle of a national disaster. Why don't you be a good boy and just head on out to sea and leave us alone?

'ppreciate it.