Hey you, wanna catch up?

I know I've been ignoring this little place. I've been putting 1000% in to getting my other blog up and running. I also started school again 5 weeks ago, which has a been taking up a bit of my time. I'm also a nanny for this little girl, which I really love. But I want to breathe some life back into this space. I want it to go back to what it was originally for, keeping friends and family in the loop on what's going on in this life. So here it is:

The Wedding~ Things are starting to fall into place. We're planning it for January of 2012, so we still have loads of time. Eliot and I are both feeling ahead of the curve for the moment. (I'm going to kick myself later for saying that). I'm really excited about it all, but part of me just wants to be married to him already. I know it will be worth it to have an awesome party though...a week long one.

Eliot~ He's gone at the moment to the wonderful land of South Africa. He's been gone for 2 weeks and will be gone another 3. I miss him, but I'm excited for him. While he's there they're going to launch a brand new boat. This will be the first project he's been completely involved in from start to finish, so it will be so awesome for him to be there for the launch. Then he's going to meet me in California to celebrate Thanksgiving with my grandparents.

Florida~ The weather is so nice right now. It's cold in the mornings and you need a sweatshirt. But it's comfortable during the day. I don't want it to get any cooler, it just needs to stay like this. The end of summer here was amazing. We were out on our friends boat Tinky the Reef Seeker, diving almost every weekend, and afterward we would go post up on a sandbar, go swimming and enjoy some beverages. Now the gulf has gotten shockingly cold in just the span of a couple of weeks. But the wind is picking up, so it might be time to get the kite gear out and try and get better at that. One of my best friends Holly is coming to visit in just a couple of weeks. So the weather better stay in place for a little while longer.

Sailing~ Recently I've started racing every Thursday night. I got in at the tail end of the season, but it's been fun to look forward to every week. Looking forward to being more competitive next season for sure.

Just a few photos


building castles on the beach




Diving

Home Is Wherever I'm With You

I'm back from China! Actually I've been back almost a week now, but I've been occupied trying to get over jet lag and things. My first day back was filled with diving and beaching with good friends. Kind of perfect really.

But it's really nice to be home and to be inhaling clean air again. I know everyone talks about how polluted China is, but summertime is not a good time to be breathing in China. I'm feeling some lasting effect from it.

Lots going on as I get ready to go back to school. I've gotten a couple new toys which I'll share here later. Right now though, I'm just looking forward to enjoying this last sliver of summer here in Florida.

Baby Zoë and Her Baby Blues

A water baby, there's no doubt about it. It's in her genes actually. Both mom and dad are water babies, so there's no keeping this little lady away from the ocean. She's also bilingual and has both her parents wrapped around her chubby little fingers. But who can blame them?








~Daddy Time~






~And Mom~

Senior Photos: Anthony

Remember your senior year of high school? I was so ready for mine to be over. So ready for...I don't even know what, but I just wasn't loving school anymore (not that I ever did), all up until the very end. Then I was sad it was over. I really was going to miss the dances and the carefree feeling (although it didn't seem like that at the time) of being young, before you had any real responsibilities. I can't say now, "I wish I was back in high school" cause I don't, but so much has changed since then, and I definitely look back on my high school years fondly.

I wasn't huge into having senior portraits done. But my best friend had a good camera and was in photography class so she did mine for me. It was so much fun. We took out my dad's sailboat onto the bay (although there was no wind), and put up the sails. I wish I had that photo here right now to show you, because it's a good reflection of my high school experience and how much fun we had during that time.

So here is a spunky senior who I recently did portraits for. His name is Anthony and he has tons of ambitions and ideas going on for him. He's ready to take on the world and the many punches it has to throw his way.

White Shark Experience

So I kind of feel like this is a huge milestone for me. I don't know that I ever imagined myself getting in a cage to "view" sharks underwater. It's definitely something I've always thought about, but as far as actually doing it? I'm scared of sharks. It's a weird mixture of complete fear and fascination. I love reading books about sharks, or watching shark week on the Discovery Channel. I can't learn enough about them. But when it comes to diving? It's always in the back of my head and it terrifies me when I'm in the water.

So why did I decide to climb in a cage that's in water filled with chum and a guy throwing tuna heads off the boat? Well I guess the short answer is because I'm completely crazy. But the truth is, what scares me even more than the biggest man eater out there, is missing out on a great opportunity or experience because I was too scared to do it. So that is what made me climb into the cage on Saturday. Once I'd decided to do it, I was completely committed. But my heart was racing the whole time.

I have to say it was really cool, and given the chance again I would be back in that cage tomorrow. These sharks are really incredible creatures, and seeing them underwater takes away all the ferociousness and scary monster image that we're so often given, and turns them into the graceful kings of the ocean that they are.

All the sharks we saw were Great Whites. We were told in the beginning that there aren't any other large predatory animals in the area at this time of year. In total we saw 5 different sharks, the biggest one being around 3.5 meters (about 12 feet). A couple only did quick passes by the boat and some stayed around to check us out more.






Eliot getting psyched up


Chumming












I think these guys ate most of the guts that went over the boat.




Smiling for the camera