muther-trucker

You've seen the U-HAUL trucks on the road advertising $19.95 per day - an UNBELIEVABLE DEAL right???  Exactly.  We were able to pick up the truck in Chatham and drop it off down in Manahawkin so that we could bring some temporary furniture until our new furniture arrives, and we purchased a new grill that we needed to transport, so it seemed like a good idea.... until Tommy was not available to help us load it into the truck.  After picking up the beast myself in a pouring rainstorm, I spied 2 able-bodied college boys across the street about to head somewhere in a jeep and thankfully they were not in a mad rush and willing to lend a hand.  Will and Gio got the job done and I was so appreciative that I am putting it in writing - "I will help them both find jobs when they graduate!"  I should mention that thanks to our neighbor Brad, Tommy got a foot in the door for an interview and was just offered a job at Ernst & Young after spending exactly 2 years at Mack-Cali, so he is on his way into the big apple and the beginning of a new chapter!  ok, back to the U-Haul - we trucked on down to LBI and I was a slow-muther-trucker because it was like driving a house with everything bouncing around in it or so it seemed.  Jonathan rode in the truck with me, and Tom following with Juli.  Jonny was very amused and even pleasant, but of course halfway down announced his state of hunger so we found ourselves in the fast-food drive thru where I OF COURSE had to announce to the teenager on the microphone that I was a muther-trucker, the joke that keeps on joking... :) yes, I was beating it to death. When I told Juli I did that, she was very happy she was not driving with me.  Express lane to the end of the story - with the help of the plumber and our new neighbor, we unloaded the truck and spent our first weekend in our new home on the bay, and today, with her driver's license only 2 weeks old, the junior muther-trucker drove the big beast to drop it off!  (That's my girl)  Grand total for the U-Haul upon return - a mere $199.69. That's when I realized that the advertisement simply had the decimal point in the wrong place.  

 

baby on board...alone!

Almost a year ago, my first blog posting was inspired by my daughter getting her driver's permit.  Time flies.... today was the big day - her 17th birthday and road test!  Let's just say that Tom and I were prepared to head somewhere far away for the weekend if she didn't pass.  Her instructor arrived 10 minutes late for her refresher lesson this morning and she was in a spin, ready to blame his lateness if she didn't pass the test.  He was certainly a character - Coach Kennedy - a basketball coach from somewhere in Newark whose diction was worse than Tommy's.  But I guess he coached her well enough on the road because she passed the test and when I got the news, I realized that I may have been holding my breath.  She was bursting out of her own skin with excitement when she got home. Then came the moment when she drove out of the driveway on her own, of course with me there with my camera, and after the jeep headed down the road on this beautiful sunny day, I stood there and cried.  Happy for her and her new found freedom, but for me, it seemed like it was just a few months ago that I brought her home from the hospital and invited everyone including the mailman in to have a look at my perfect baby girl!  Lesson learned - don't blink!

say no to yo

I tried it at last.  After hearing all the buzz about 'hot yoga', and after several non-embracing tries at regular yoga, I thought the 'hot' version just might do the trick.  Adding in the sauna factor which I love, would create the sweating factor which is what my brain connects with working out, I would finally see what everyone is so jazzed up about.  So I picked today because it was supposed to be rainy so I thought it would be a good alternative to running or the gym.  I went to 'THEEE place' that is supposed to be all the rage for bikram yoga which was a solid 20 minute drive from home and when I pulled up to the fabulous white office building on what turned out to be a GORGEOUS sunny day, I thought "ok, this might be nice" since the building had lots of windows and looked pretty cheerful.  I soon realized the entrance was 'around back' and the studio was in the basement of the building.  That should have been the first sign for me to head back into the sun and get my butt outta there and onto my bike, but no, when I decide to do something, I have conviction.  So down to the dungeon I went, leaving the sunshine behind and walking into the windowless land of zen.  The 'aroma' should have been the next clue.  There is no describing it, but if you were to blend together the smell of burning incense with the smell of sweaty gym socks, you might get close and still I kept on going.  I felt less-than-welcome by the anorexic girl who arrived before me wearing tiny little shorts and a sports bra, and the 'hostess' greeted me with a mellow welcome.  The 'locker room' was about 5' X 5' and this included the 3 showers with yukky looking shower curtains - so my next thought was "I'm glad I brought the extra towel to sit my sweaty ass on for the car ride home", because there was NO WAY I was taking a shower at that place.  When I entered the dark studio, the smell got worse than ever due to the heat and it occurred to me that I might vomit (that would not help the smell in there), but I thought I would keep the focus and get through it because there must be "something special" about this whole thing.  I will cut to the chase.  I was not meant to fold myself in half, or twist myself into positions I cannot pronounce.  When I was a small and flexible little girl, I could not touch my toes, so I'm pretty sure there is no way I'm getting close to them half a century later no matter how many classes I take.  I know that the point was to focus on the breathing and the poses and to be in the moment, but it was so terrible that I could not keep my mind on it for more than 5 seconds at a time and I stuck with it for 90 minutes!  The fact that there was no clock in the room was like further torture because I had no grasp on when it would end.  oh dear.  I am not going to say that yoga is not great for those who love it, and it certainly is not an easy workout, so I give you all credit for being strong, limber and incredible - it was truly impressive to watch the expert yogis in that room.  But for me, complete and intense focus comes when I'm moving in a different way - running or biking or doing any class or boot camp.  That is when I am solidly on the task at hand, loving it and yes, loving the pain of it.  But I will never love the pain of yoga and as much as I read about it and try to embrace it, I have to face the simple fact that at this point in my life, it's a no-go for yoga.

feelin' lucky

Sometimes things just fall into place and it's like instant stress relief.  After closing on the new bay house 2 weeks ago and closing on the sale of the surf city house today, we could never have planned the timing better and it's an emotional 'happy sad happy sad' thing.  It was so hard to leave the 'old' house, no matter how good the new one is, because the memories are irreplaceable.  Watching my beach babies grow up there, getting entrenched in 'the block' with all the special people on it, and knowing all the sweat and effort Tom put into it to make it our little 'zen place' just made it soooo hard to say goodbye.  When we had our family moving day with the kids all helping, we were each a little emotional in our own private way, Tommy and Juli especially, Jonathan surprisingly not so much, though he tends to be more emotional when it comes to people vs places or things.  Then on my last trip down there,  I left a card and some little surprises for the new owners, and I just cried my eyes out trying to convey in writing how much good karma the house has in it. (tearing up again as I type this).  But on we go to the next chapter in our incredible new haven.  Hard to believe that we will enjoy the sunset EVERY EVENING right out our bay windows or strolling out on our deck or sitting in the sand on our little private bay beach.  How did I get so lucky????  Then this past weekend we celebrated my mom's 75th birthday which was such a happy day for her with just our immediate family together for brunch.  She didn't want a surprise party, which I can totally relate to, but last weekend we blew her mind with a little 'guest room make-over' while she was away on vacation.  She came home and was  shocked to find a new queen size bed, complete with bedding, side tables, lamps, a wall hanging and a special dressmakers mannequin in the room and on the day of her party, we presented her with some of her old dress sketches which we had matted and framed to complete the room.  Even the 'blue monster' (aka ugly unwelcome computer cabinet) that needed to find its graceful exit is leaving the zone this week so the room will be lovely at last.  And as if that is not enough, even work has brought me joy today.  Though it started off rocky as I dropped my phone in the toilet before heading out, I dove in after it and the i5 is truly a prize and worked like a charm after the little dip in the pee.  Sigh of relief and off I went (after washing my hands, and yes, gave the phone a quick rinse too!) to shoot in Fort Lauderdale with pretty young models for a temporary tattoo commercial and I marveled at how much they ate for lunch - big sandwiches, mac and cheese and giant chocolate chip cookies, and then later, cold pizza, potato chips and chocolate!.. while prancing around all day in itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikinis showing off the tattoos all over their perfect little bodies.  That might sound depressing to some, but I truly enjoyed their youth, beauty and spunky personalities without resentment.  One of the models had the most unfiltered responses to everything all day which was so funny but is hard to recap - you had to be there.  Midday I enjoyed a wild ride in crazy eddies batmobile which was right up my alley being a coaster fanatic - I had a momentary feeling of being on Kingda Ka but then realized I was on a local florida road.  oh my.  enough said.  Following the mostly enjoyable shoot, I enjoyed a long run along the beach path at dusk as I watched the full moon appear over the beach... came back to the rock star W Hotel to check out the other elements of it that I hadn't yet seen (pool, gym, restaurants, etc) and enjoyed dinner in my room with my beach view (awesome) and I'm looking forward to waking up to see the sun rise over the beach from my balcony - yes, I promise I'm gonna get up for it - and then spend a few hours poolside before heading to the airport.  I'm hoping for a clear day, but if not, oh well.  It doesn't really get this good with so many happy things in a row too often, so I will consider it my lucky few days and not miss appreciating it with or without the good weather tomorrow.  The sun has pretty much been shining spiritually, so that is good fortune enough for me.  Photos of it all below....

Goodbye Surf City :(

Hello Harvey Cedars!  :)

Backyard paradise

New neighbors

Killer sunset

Happy family

Surprise guest room decor

Seamstress's corner

Tattoos and bikinis

Krazy Kayla

Yes, they do eat.... A LOT!

Batmobile

W Hotel room

There's an alligator on my bed!

View from my room

Breathtaking balcony

durbo nyc

Today is the official 1st anniversary of muthership, so it's fitting that I take the time to write about the big celebration bash, which was the next phase of the durbo party - taking it to manhattan and adding DJ Sharri, bartender Kelly, coat check Georgette, security guards Bob and Steve, catering organized by Debbie from Between the Bread, food server Katie and muthership-hand-stamp delivered by Zaineb upon arrival to get into "the club".  With different guests than all my previous parties, this was a first time for almost everyone and I don't know if they were ready for what unfolded.  It started off nicely with some socializing, cocktails and appetizers, and then the disco ball lit the loft, the music kicked up and there was no looking back.  We danced.  We durbo'd.  We brought down the muthership.  Thanks to all the awesome dancers that totally embraced it and made it great!  Check out photos below and yes, I danced all night in those crazy shoes...

a little surprise

I came home from work tonight to find a few packages at the door - not unusual since I shop on-line for all the little things I don't have a chance to hunt down (the nice fekkai shampoo, or the special thymes body lotion), but one box was marked from my sister-in-law and it's not my birthday and I don't think she'd be sending me a valentine's gift.  So how completely excited was I when I opened it up to find the very scarf I accidentally sold to a stranger in a thrift shop a few weeks ago!!  Well ok, it wasn't 'the very one' because I'm pretty sure that person is still enjoying it, but she bought me another one and the same and I am oh-so-grateful.  Such a simple gesture can just be the icing on the cake to an already pretty good day.  (insert big smile here)




 

pump up the pain

I was thinking about how we take for granted having no pain day-to-day for the most part.  I realize that not every young or middle-aged person is completely pain-free, but for the most part, we move and shake pretty easily until we get up there in years. Older people clearly look like every step takes a major effort, like my father trying to tackle the bleachers at Jonathan's basketball games.  I cringe when I watch.  So then I have to wonder, why the heck do I inflict pain on myself willingly by taking the grueling power-sculpt class, or boot camp session or boxing workout and pushing myself to the limits?  And it's not enough that it hurts during the class itself, it really does, but for the following 2 days, every single step is wrought with pure pain and muscle ache!!  I must be trying to punish myself for something, but I can't think of why I would want to do this do myself willingly when only a few days earlier, I was hustling along happy as a pain-free clam.  I mean if I can see the future, I know that going up steps will someday hurt without me doing an exercise class the day before, so I surely don't need cause myself pain by choice now, right?  But as I near the end of the day 2 aftermath of the most recent muscle-shock class, I know that by tomorrow I will forget the hurt and in a few days the new some-cool-name class will draw me in because it sounds like such a great way to stay in shape and ouch, "no pain no gain" - the vicious cycle continues...

my music videos

Yes, it's true, I can actually remember when portable cassette players, CD players and walkmans  first came into existence and I was an early adopter, wearing headphones for running, exercising and of course, commuting.  It was amazing how the ordinary routine suddenly became a music video and MTV became HTV as I had my own videos playing any time I looked around!  The music truly changed my view of everything, from how I felt while I ran with the driving beat of the music pushing me along, to the mundane and usually annoying bus or subway ride that suddenly became more relaxing and groovy with the tunes playing.  Years later, I still enjoy running and riding the subway with my headphones on for that very same reason, but it has gotten even better because now as my inner music video plays out, I often see other people with their headphones on moving to their own beat and the video becomes more realistic as if there are now dancers in the scene!  So awesome.  As I bop along to my beat, I don't really care if I look like a fool (the good part about being older) because all I want to do is dance... 

confetti angel

No mater what teams are playing, super bowl is the one sporting even that gets my attention.  I cook 'super-bowl-esque' food, usually involving chicken wings but this year it was thin sliced steak with veggies.  I sit with the family and I watch the whole game.  Of course I watch all the commercials and it's one of the few times that I look at facebook to see all the comments.  This year, I can't even imagine what it must be like for poor mama Harbaugh and let's not even think about their next family gathering!   Beyonce ROCKED the halftime show and prompted me to instagram an old photo of myself with her and the destiny's child crew - I couldn't resist a little throwback photo :)  The power outage had me feeling sorry for the poor producer who is probably not going to sleep for weeks.   But my favorite moment of the night - during the ending celebration, one of the Ravens players made a confetti angel on the field!!  

#beyonce  #destinyschild #superbowl 

scarf search

You never know when a simple gift is going to end up being the 'wardrobe go-to item' and that is how it was with the scarf I received this Christmas from my sister-in-law.   It instantly became a staple in my wardrobe.  I wore it almost every day because it seemed to go with my vibe (as she told me when she gave it to me) and it was like wearing a piece of art.  Over a week ago, Tom, Juli and I decided to check out some of the 'second hand' stores that are very popular around here.  There are two -  both sell furniture and one of them happens to be also like a clothing thrift shop.  The place is a bit of chaos with everything packed in really tight and on a Saturday, it gets a lot of people traffic rifling thru the racks.  So I was wearing my coat and favorite scarf and I was trying to squeeze my way closer to take a picture of a lamp I was interested in, and I felt like I was going to self-combust (hot flash?) so I took off the scarf for a minute and put it down on a dresser while I took the picture.  I'm sure anyone can guess what happened - I left the store shortly thereafter and forgot to pick up the scarf.  The place NOT to leave behind something you really like is a THRIFT SHOP because after realizing my error and going to back to get it, I found that they sold it to someone lucky lady who is now the owner of my most special christmas gift and she probably got it for a song.  I have searched the web and found one on Etsy, but it seems to have been sold.  I finally decided to reach out to my sis-in-law to find out where she bought it so I could go get it again!  Now I wonder if I want it back so badly just because I can't have it, or was it really that amazing? (see photo to the left) Not quite sure, but the 'tree branch scarf search mission' continues....

the 80's flu

Sometimes I want to write, but the days pass because there are so many thoughts jumbling around in my head that I can't believe I could actually organize them into any reasonable piece that would be worth reading.  In an effort to get past it, please excuse the brief ramble of random thoughts which I will blame on post-flu-syndrome since that is what truly rendered me useless for an entire 24 hours (which is equivalent to 4 days for any other member of the family).  I got up on Saturday morning ready for the usual routine - dressed in my running clothes and headed to drop Jonathan off at basketball practice where I run while he practices.  After parking the car and trying to talk myself out the door, which is usually never an issue, I had the strangest sensation that I should just stay put and there I sat for an hour, turning the car on every 15 minutes to warm it up while I beat myself up for being lazy.   I was too cold.  I was too tired.  I had too many excuses, but I knew I had to just go with it because it's never that way.  I sat and I sat like the cat in the hat or something like that.  By the time we stopped for the routine post-practice scratch-off lottery tickets and made it home, I made a bee-line for my unmade bed (also a clue that something was amiss this particular morning) and I was so paralyzed that I did not bother to change out of the constricting uncomfortable running bra and lululemon insulated shirt because I was freezing from a fever (confusing).  I stayed in bed all day.  I literally didn't move, or more accurately I couldn't move.  I have to mention that about a year ago when Juli was sick and I told her I'd sit with her while I worked, she admitted to me that the sound of me typing on my laptop was soothing to her.  Funny enough how it all comes full circle because she came up while I was in bed and brought her laptop to do her homework.  As I dozed in and out of feverish delirium,  the sound of her speedy little fingers typing away was, in fact, very soothing!  I put that moment right in the helen-vault because it was special.  After complaining enough about the chest-squeezing undergarment, the little presto-change-artist talked me through how to get out of the running bra without taking off my shirt.  (Daughter becomes mother.. another vault moment.)  Sleeping it off all day and then night, by the morning I was achy but regrouped enough to get back to motherhood in time for the sunday events, and just in time because Tom had left that morning for a business trip, so the races were mine alone to run.  A birthday party at 12:00, following by a basketball game at 2:00, a quick grocery store run and off to meet the HS girls for dinner and a night out to see the 80's heartthrob Rick Springfield in concert!  Good times!  Ha. I learned that sometimes it's best to leave those heartthrobs in the past because this was a big yawn for me as he sang only 3 songs that were even remotely familiar and proceeded to pump himself up so much I wanted to vomit without the flu - and oddly HE had a head cold flu thing and every time he blew his nose on stage, he held up the disgusting tissue and said "ebay"... really Rick????  c'mon.   Humility and connecting on a somewhat more real level would have been a better strategy for him as he looked pretty good, but his 'teen heartthrob' routine was so lost on me and (I hope) most of the crowd.  Unbelievably, there were some screamers and die-hard FANS and I put that word in caps because  there was a woman in front of us with a japanese-style fan and she was fanning away her hot flashes throughout the entire concert!!  (explains alot about the crowd - see photo below) And the real show was off to the right where a very happy couple, clearly older relations to snookie and the situation, were fist-pumping and singing every word to every song!  Very impressive!  One of my friends looked at them and then said to me "I cannot imagine for a minute that my husband and I could have a connection on this on any level what-so-ever" and I would have to agree with her!  So yes, there was some entertainment to be found in the whole thing after all.  Then to finish off the throwback weekend, today in my office, another production company was renting the space for a wardrobe meeting and the guy they were fitting looked vaguely familiar.  I met him briefly and we chatted, and then after he left, I googled his name only to find out he was one of MTV's famous early VJ's - Alan Hunter!  I guess there is a recurring 80's theme going on here... what will tomorrow bring?  Fingers crossed for Bon Jovi.

My Best Nurse

Rick-get-over-yourself-Springfield

Rick's biggest FAN!!  Literally.

the crew

After watching the Golden Globes the other night and listening to all the thank you speeches, I get especially touched when the actors thank their crew.  It really hits home for me, having been in production for so many years.  Here's the thing:  when you spend days on end with people on a set or on location, it's inevitable that you become like a little 'family' of sorts in a different way than if you are working side by side in an office setting.   Even in the commercial world, when the shoots are often only a few days long, you somehow get to know these people really well really fast, even though some of them are complete strangers when you start the job!  It would not make sense to say it's like going to war, but I used to work with a creative guy who used the word "triage" alot when talking about prioritizing the crazy things that would go wrong and what to fix first, so maybe there is the slightest parallel in a much less horrific way.  We are all in it together, committed to accomplishing the bigger project at hand and it is probably better compared to playing a team sport where any one person can't succeed without the other players.  Each person brings their own special something to the party for example:

Brandy and Sean, the production team extraordinaire, making any little request happen with a smile, even when I email them at 1:00 am to ask for 'wedding style place cards' to be set up in the client area the following morning as a little joke for the last day.  (was I SERIOUS?  oh yes I was)

Michael, the extremely quiet production coordinator who makes ME a cup of tea after I spend the bulk of my time running around taking care of everyone else's needs.  and I am speechless and then find the words to thank him so much for that simple act of kindness.

Peter, the DP (camera and lighting guy) who manages to keep me laughing all day even when I try to rush him along, pointing at my watch and insisting we stay on schedule.

Shane, the Swing guy (not because he's a swinger, that is what his job is called) who got me started on instagram and became the muthership poster child sporting the beanie. 

Elysha, wardrobe stylist who blended into the fold seamlessly bringing her special personality along :)

Jenny, hair & makeup artist who cries with me about anything mildly emotional.  Sometimes we just look at each other when something is said and we have to run away because we both start to tear up.  love that about her.

Jianca, the petite set designer and pro surf photographer who works her ass off and then randomly pirouettes down the hallway making me smile.

Will, the quiet PA (production assistant) who keeps the clients happy with their starbucks orders in the morning and afternoon.... we bow to him, this is NOT as easy as it sounds.

Jose, the mysterious tech guy who drives a porsche and appears to own multiple cars, homes and boats... who are you really Jose?  

Rob, the still photographer from San Fran (or Hawaii?) who flies in for every job to wait around all day until he BIG MOMENT where he gets all of 5 minutes to take some stills of what we just spent hours and hours videotaping!  He is kind enough to provide us with awesome behind the scenes shots, some of which I have shared below.

Danny & Dean from Columbus who follow the muthership from city to city with a truck full of lights, equipment and good karma.

Dave, the sound guy whom I've known for years and announced sadly at the end of the shoot "if we start the year off with the muthership, there is no where to go but downhill".

I could write a little something about every single person, I adore them all, but you get the idea.  What was especially nice on this last shoot is that we had 'family night' where we took the whole crew out to dinner and bowling.  It was even more fun to spend some time NOT working but in a low key no pressure setting.  The guys got a little too competitive and the girls enjoyed bopping to the music and trying to keep the ball out of the gutter, but it was what I would imagine a 'team building' session would be if I had ever attended one.  The day after, it seemed that the symmetry was even better since everyone arrived at the location with a little smile on their face.  Many years ago while shooting locally, my dad stopped by the set to see me at work and after sitting pretty quietly watching most of the day, he made the most concise observation about it all.  He said that although it appeared that there were a lot of people standing around all day doing nothing, when something specific was requested or needed doing, the very person responsible would jump into action and he could clearly see that each person had a special purpose.  That about sums it up and if I ever have to make an acceptance speech, aside from my parents, my husband, and my kids, I will definitely thank the crew.