Family

I recently flew to Maryland with my husband for his family reunion and had a blast meeting his extended family. He comes from a large family just like me so I felt pretty comfortable mingling with the guests. The weather was a huge plus, it was so nice and warm and I couldn't get enough. The summer in Oakland so far has been very cool, fog in the a.m. and some sun in the p.m. but not much warmth. The only bad thing about the East Coast in the summer are all the mosquitoes and their thirst for blood. I've never had so many bites and found myself scratching in my sleep! We had fun doing summer type things such as kayaking, swimming, running, etc. We had tons of bbq's and drank some good wine. I feel very lucky to genuinely like my sibling-in-laws. They are wonderful, talented, vivacious, and hilarious people.

Saling class and other lessons in patience

My husband has always wanted to learn how to sail. He comes from a sailing town and not to mention a huge Naval family. Me on the other hand, I like to have my feet on solid ground. Even though I'm a strong swimmer and have never had any bad experiences in the water it's just not my thing. So we signed up for sailing classes in the Bay Area and wanting to be a good sport and not to mention a good wife I reluctantly went for it. On the first day of our dinghy class (a two person 12 foot boat) it was quite windy and cool. We got the basic instructions and learned the what the parts of the boat are called. After that we were told to get into the wet suits they provided us with and meet up at the dock. After squeezing into the wet suits we were notified by the instructor that there had a been a change of plans. She decided it was far too windy for the small boat so the five students and her would pile into the keel boat which is a 24 foot boat. There were other instructors at the dock with their students getting out of their boats. My first thought was, why are we the only ones on the water? I felt a small knot in my stomach grow a bit. So we push off the dock and for the first 10 minutes or so I think, this isn't so bad. I can handle this. What was I so afraid of? Then the instructor announces that we are about to tack which means change directions and that we should hold on. Then it became clear why I was so afraid. The boat changed directions and when that main sail caught the wind we nearly capsized! I screamed like a little baby. Finally after going through this thing a few more times she said we would head back for the dock because it was "too windy". I was so happy when we stepped off the boat and decided that I didn't need to finish the course.

After many discussions with my husband, he talked me into finishing the course with him. He pointed out that the first day was the worst case scenario and all the classes after that would seem much easier. Good point. If I could weather that first day, no pun intended, the other days would be a piece of cake. I am so glad that I listened to him because he was right. This past Saturday was our last class and I had so much fun. I never thought that I would say this but I love to sail. It was exhilarating to be on the water and have a pretty good idea of what I was doing. I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go but I feel much more confident going out on the water and I am really looking forward to more lessons and more adventures with this new found hobby.

Will work for wine

My sister in law and her partner are opening a wine bar in Annapolis, Md this summer. How cool is that? They have asked me to help them with the opening of their establishment appropriately called The Purple Tooth. I love that name. Anyways, I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with the pair of them. My husband and I have a great time with them and are always up for wine tasting and comparing notes. This is something we all take very serious but have so much fun with it at the same time. We always end up with purple teeth, purple lips, and purple tongues. I am flattered that they have asked me to help them and I'm really looking forward to the experience and of course trying all the wines they have to offer. Cheers to Maureen and Emmy and their incredible endeavour.

http://www.thepurpletooth.com/

Root canal? Why not?

So here I was expecting this root canal to be HORRIBLE, but it was actually not that bad. I'm not saying that I would like to experience that again but I really think I had created this monster in my mind. I feel lucky to have had a great dentist and he did an amazing job of making me feel comfortable and at ease. It's just one more thing I can cross off my list of facing something that scares me. Once I experience something it no longer has that power over me. Part one is over and done with and in two weeks I return for part two.
More to come....

Dental woes

So Zach and I have been talking about starting our family in the next year or so. I am equally excited and nervous at the thought of this. Well, I thought I should get my body "baby ready" by tuning it up. I've had some dental fillings since my early to mid-twenties and I know that they would have to be replaced soon. Since it's not recommended to have novocaine whilst pregnant I am having a major dental overhaul, cleaning, replacing fillings, etc. About a month a go I had an old crown replaced and it was fine for a while but in the last week or so it's been extremely sensitive. So I just found out yesterday that my tooth has rejected this new crown and retaliated. In other words my tooth is pissed! So now I need a root canal and now I'm pissed! I've NEVER had a root canal and I'm sure I'll be fine and won't feel a thing but it's always conjured up such fear in me to have this procedure done. Just the name alone is frightening. ROOT CANAL. Kill the root. Canal, as in deep. Nerves live there. Nerves don't like to be agitated. We should stay out of their space, right? I don't really have a choice in the matter I mean, it's going to be fine, I hope. I'm sure one day if I am lucky enough to have a baby I will read this blog again and laugh. Laugh at notion that the root canal was a walk in the park compared to giving birth.

A commitment to my blog

It's been eons since I've updated my blog. Many changes have occurred since returning to live in the U.S. but that is no excuse for not keeping this blog up to date. So from this day forward I am making myself a promise to exercise my blogging skills on a regular basis. More to come...

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

I love "signs" in life. I've been working on my photography again and getting organized with my ideas, writing them down when I get them, and started some projects. Our neighbors just moved out this weekend and one of them is a photographer who had some equipment that he was selling. Well I bought alot of great darkroom equipment from him for a good price. I think the timing is funny because right before we moved out of the country my husband talked me into donating my old darkroom equipment since we wouldn't be able to use it in Europe because of the different plugs etc. Now we've just moved back and I have a chance to buy some back almost immediately. I love it. I miss spending the whole day in the darkroom perfecting my prints and can't wait to get back in there and get to work.