Part 1: The Big Apple

Markus and I took a much needed vacation a few weeks ago to visit with friends and family that live up north, stopping in NYC for the weekend. But before I get to that I am going to be a drama queen and tell about the ride up. Mainly so I can look back at this post years later and remember what a wimp I am and how I eventually overcame my fear of large, tall, bridges (one can hope). I drove the first half of the trip b/c driving into Manhattan on a Friday night scares me. Actually, I think I could handle the driving part. What I can't handle is Markus' New Jersey coming out and him yelling at me from the passenger seat to cut people off, throw my drink at them, and throw up my middle finger. I do not like to be told how to drive. Most people don't, therefore we would need even more therapy than we do now with the bridge incident.

So, I'm afraid of the Bay Bridge that connects Virginia to Maryland via Route 301. I know this because I drove over it years ago with a car full of friends on my way to Avalon, NJ. I had a full blown panic attack to the point where I had to immediately pull over after crossing the bridge and let a friend drive. I would have pulled over sooner if they would have let me but stopping on the bridge is frowned upon. It scares me. My hands are sweating typing this because I have to think of that bridge. Fast forward to our trip: I am happily driving along listening to fun music and annoying Markus because I'm peppy in the car when I remember that I have to cross the bridge. I don't want to let Markus drive b/c then I loose my right to listen to anything I want, a rule we have when driving long distances because of our difference in music. Mine being good and his being, um, different than mine. And also, I want to prove to myself that I can do it this time.

I continue driving. The panic hits me when I get about 1/10 of the way across the bridge because not only are we crossing a big ass bay bridge but I have gone in the Smart Tag lane which requires you to cross with oncoming traffic. And did I mention the railing is see through and not a barricade so I can see straight down the water? So I clutch the steering wheel, look only forward (never in the rear view mirror and certainly not down) and ask Markus to talk to me. This distraction helps slightly when I am about to have a panic attack. My friend, Erin, who was in the car the first time I drove over the bridge did great in coaching me across. So, what does my loving, caring husband talk to me about? How big the bridge is! Obviously, he doesn't want to make it across ALIVE! Panic takes over and it felt like forever until we got to the other side. Once we did, I was literally shaking and the thought of crossing replayed in my head but I kept on driving because a)I did not want to listen to heavy metal Finnish music for the remainder of the trip and b)Because the thought of divorcing Markus AS SOON AS WE GOT BACK TO VIRGINIA distracted me enough that I could concentrate again. I finally calmed down around the time we crossed into Manhattan, 3 hours later. Needless to say, Markus didn't make the same mistake twice. On the way home he drove and I fell asleep. Every time I would wake, he would lovingly tell me to go back to sleep. It worked, we made it over the bridge and our marriage is stronger because of it.

Now on the fun part. Our main purpose was to see the Yankees play in their new stadium Sunday afternoon. But first, there was New York City. I love this city. If I had to pick a place to visit over and over, this would be it. Markus and I have visited a half dozen times in the 4 years we have been together and there is always something new to do. But this trip was a little different, we didn't really have anything planned except for the game so we just kind of went with the flow. We have seen the tourist sites, eaten at trendy restaurants, seen plays, etc. This time I wanted to just be in the city.

First up was subway ride to the Union Square Farmers' Market Saturday morning. But before we left I wanted to get some snaps of the city from the roof of our hotel. The views are amazing! I wish I had gotten up early enough to see the sun rise but I was on vacation so these will do for now.

Next, we headed to the farmers' market in Union Square and I had sensory overload with all of the things to photograph. People, food, flowers, dogs. You name it, it was there. I've been to this market before but never with a dslr camera capable of turning a market into a photo shoot. Markus was great. He was very patient and let me snap away. Probably because he felt guilty for almost killing us the night before. Here are some of my favorite shots, I love how vibrant the colors turned out.

Then it was off to Central Park. I have only explored the lower tip of the park so we decided to take the train to the Upper West Side and walk down to our hotel. We entered around 80th street and walked around exploring and sightseeing. It was Saturday and the park was pretty crowded but we managed to find a spot to lay near a pond. It was quite lovely to relax in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. Even though the park is crammed with people, it is one of my favorite places, especially in the warm months.

I wish we had more time to explore but we had to get back to the hotel to get ready for our night out on the town. We got semi-dressed up and headed down to the Meat Packing District to check out the roof top bar at Hotel Gansevoort, a recommendation from my friend, Susan, who is more hip than I. This hotel was thumping, literally. We thought we were going to sip champagne while watching the sun set but their was some sort of party going on with bottle service, a dj, and scantily clad women dancing on tables. Something both of us may have enjoyed if we were with friends and, oh about 5 years younger before we were old and married. So we quickly did a loop then headed back down the elevator before I felt like a total loser. But I did manage to get a peek at the infamous SoHo House roof top pool that was featured on SATC. I wanted so badly to take a picture but I didn't dare whip out my camera in front of the model-ish types being oh so cool. That would have definitely made me look like a tourist. So instead we opted for a walk around the Meat Packing District, making our way to the West Village for dinner. Something that didn't make me feel old and touristy. I even managed to snap a few pictures on the way.

There is a group of Scandinavian restaurants located in the city that we have been wanting to try since our first trip in 2005. We finally got around to trying Smorgas Chef located in the West Village and I wish we had gone sooner. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect. I can't wait to try the real thing when he takes me to the Motherland next summer.

Up next is part two of our NYC trip; Dim Sum, baseball, and Connecticut. Never thought I would say those 3 things in a sentence!

Photography & Family

I have been having so much fun with my camera. Best birthday present, ever! I love to take it out in the yard whenever I have a spare moment. I never know what I'm going to find out there. The dogs can be awfully cute when they are playing but it's so hard to capture it on film. My favorite thing to photograph so far has been my garden. The camera does the work for me.

Here is a snap of the basil from my garden. I have never had such luck with basil as I did this year. I put it in a galvanized watering trough along with some other herbs. I had to let it flower b/c the branches were getting so tall. It has been awesome having so much on hand, I'm going to miss it this winter.

Markus and I are having a competition to see whose tomatoes do better. I put mine in the backyard and he put his in the side yard. He is winning.

This is a hummingbird that lives in my Ficus tree. He has been in it for 5 years and hasn't fallen off yet!

Mom was watering my tomatoes and I just thought this looked cool. I tried to get a closer shot but it didn't come out that great.

The heavens at dusk. I love the way the light from the flash bounces off the lower limbs.

I'm having a hard time with people though. Can't really get the angle or the lighting right but I'm working on it. The class I wanted to take at the Visual Arts Center is full and there isn't another one until the fall so it looks like I'm on my own for a while. Which is fine because I'm having so much fun in auto. I can only imagine the possibilities in manual. Or when I can learn to edit photos beyond black and white.

Last week was my moms 53rd birthday. Doesn't she look good for her age?

I had a little get together at our house for her. Buz & Ned's barbecue, Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, and balloons.

I had the camera around my neck pretty much the whole night. I'm sure people are going to get tired of me taking their picture but I just can't help myself. You never know when you are going to get a great shot and practice makes perfect. Or in my case, decent.

Granddaddy and Meme enjoying cake. And, if you look closely you can see Jeopardy in the background. Granddaddy never misses Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy!

Can you tell we are related?

It's a Canon

In case you were wondering why there were so many pics over the weekend (or not), I'll tell ya! Markus surprised me with an early birthday present Thursday. A new baby girl named Canon, or EOS Rebel t1i if you want to get technical. She weighs 1lb 0oz and came with an instruction manual that might as well be in French. Like any new mom I am trying to get to know my new baby but she is a tough one to learn. I spent all weekend playing around with the manual settings but decided it's best I shoot in full auto until I learn more about this camera. She has amazing capabilities so I'm thinking of signing up for a beginners photography class at our local vision arts school. Any help I can get with her will be better than none.

Here are some of my favorite photos from this weekend. Nothing spectacular but just wait until I take that class and read a few books recommended from our wedding photographer, Tisha. You will be begging me to show you my skills. Actually, you will probably be begging me to put the camera down and not quit my day job! I'll leave the professional shooting to Tish. She is ah mazing!

I've also started a Flickr account so I can keep track of my progress. It's located in the right column of the blog, feel free to follow me there, too.

Procrastination is my middle name

I am finally getting around to uploading our wedding photos. Which means I'm that much closer to having pictures on our walls and some sort of album made. Hopefully all before our 1 year anniversary. Did anyone else feel overwhelmed by this process? Our photographer did an AMAZING job capturing all the little moments of our wedding weekend. So amazing that there are over 1,000 photos and 1/2 of them are my favorite. It's so hard to narrow down which ones are frame and album worthy. Our house doesn't have that many walls, I don't want it to look like a shrine to our wedding but I do want to have some photos up. Maybe I can hang them on the walls and throw darts. Whatever I hit stays.

But seriously, I've started narrowing down some of my favorites so I thought I would share them on the blog. Most of my favorites are the day of the wedding while Markus and I were separated. I wasn't around and it's fun to see what everyone else was doing while I was getting ready. It's also nice to see the ceremony from different angles. I was so focused with what was going on with us that I forgot to look around at the details. So here they are in no particular order.

This is my favorite picture of Markus. This is while the girls and I were getting ready at the spa. That smile is genuine, so I know he was having a good time.

This is another taken the day of. It's good to know they were having fun. I was worried Markus was going to be too nervous.

Doesn't everyone look sharp in their suits?

I had to show this one. Calming the nerves before he walks down the aisle.

Meanwhile the girls and I were getting ready.

I love that this photo captures my jewelry, bouquet, and the flowers in my hair. If you look closely you can see Markus' mothers wedding ring on my pinky.

We are leaving for the ceremony. I'm so excited! Always the planner, Erin remembered to grab umbrellas. The sky was just turning dark at this point.

Mom helping Dad before walking me down the aisle.

Doesn't Dad look sharp? I was so excited to see Markus. We hadn't seen each other since the night before.

Meme, Mom, & Grandmama Chenault. Three pretty ladies.

I don't remember what is going on here but I love the colors. And Markus' face.

I was so worried the rain would ruin the photos but look at this amazing sky! And, my beautiful ladies in their pink & green.

Another great background courtesy of the rain (and Tisha's amazing photography)

This was taken while we were waiting to go into the reception. I think Markus is whispering "I need a drink!"

Mr. and Mrs. Hakkarainen! My face is saying "wait, that can't be my last name???"

This picture explains how Lindsay and Carlos are expecting twins in July!

There are so many from the day after session that I love but here are a few of my favorites. I love the contrast between the white dress and the aqua water and honestly these were the most fun to take. Our photographer, Tisha, even got in the pool with us!

The End!