OBLIVIOUS
Dec 27, 2009
It Takes a Small Village
One of the Hoyda family Christmas traditions has been to take an annual family photo, every, single, year. I don't really remember the very first one and if I were to go searching among the multitude of photo albums in my parents house I could be looking until next year; however, the family photo is something that has caused our group laughter, frustration, delight, anger, and thankfully many great memories.
The reason the 'photo' creates some of the unfavorable emotions is because all of us by nature are slightly... hmmm what is the best word here... not stubborn, not unyielding, but headstrong (except Mom, she's a saint and will go along with anything to make sure everyone is happy). So when the photo is taken, we all have very strong opinions about why this one is good or that one is bad. Some of the best excuses are; 'the way I'm standing looks weird' or 'the light behind my shoulder is too bright'. It's all code for; ' I hate this one of me'. But I think that one of the reasons the photo works out year after year is because we try to have a fun during the session - and this is the pic usually pick.
One of my favorite memories includes Ted's head and a suspended lamp shade. It's strange, but for some reason, (literally three years in a row) we took a family photo where there was this suspended lamp shade that always ended up hanging overtop of Ted's head. At the time, (1990's) we didn't have digit photos so we couldn't check the picture until it was developed and then we would discover that we took 50 shots all of which Ted looked like he had just arrived home from somewhere in Asia. Three years in a row too!
Then there is the time that Grandma and Grandpa Enns tried to take the photo. Us kids were all under the age of eight or nine and our attention spans were extremely short so my parents had the idea that if two people were taking the picture, the chances and odds of capturing the group smiling together were better. But nobody knew where to look and Grandma and Grandpa just kept shooting them. The final picture is a classic. We're ALL smiling in different directions which gave the effect that we were completely out of it.
Nate and I decided to continue the tradition in our relationship and if we're blessed, with our family. This year after the photo was shot, we discovered there was still some green painter's tape on the stairs in the background; but Mom and I were talking about it and we came to the conclusion that these little imperfections are what makes the pic 'imperfect' is actually what makes it (and us) extra special.
Here are a few of the interesting ones getting set-up and trying to find the right lighting from this year. Yes, it does take a small village.
Dec 26, 2009
Dec 13, 2009
House. Updates.
Weeks 19-22
(Nov.20th - Dec 10th)
HOLY BUSY!!!
Short story long - but hey, this is a blog.
The last few weeks have been a total gong show. I have always being extremely busy - and have always loved it; but this last stint has been especially wild. At Central, two of our mainstage shows went up at the same time which is kinda like working two full time jobs at once. Plus, I was teaching regular classes at the same time. It really has made life feel like a bit of a mad house. Thank goodness my colleagues are so amazing have been there every step of the way with support and encouragement. I love those guys.
The Astonishing Adventures of Awesome Girl and Radical Boy and The Albright Pact had fantastic runs. We had to cancel both Friday night performances on the 4th due to the torrential snowdump; but we made up for it the next day with four shows instead of two. It was crazy getting that organized last minute, but it happened and the kids did so well. I was so proud of them.
The shows received excellent reviews and responses from our audiences and we were happy to finally strike sets and begin the clean up phase on Monday. Literally, the next day my colleague and I began a week long process of auditioning students for our upcoming musical Les Miserables. SO EXCITING! The Oresteia is also starting rehearsals after school everyday. Busy busy busy.
The house is coming along too. We finally have all of our bathrooms in working order with more and more being completed everyday. Decorating is going to be really fun. I'm loving our new tile in the power bathroom (pics to follow). They have a bit of a modern/asian feel. We (and by 'we' I mean Nate) will finish the powder bathroom with a poured concrete vanity, modern lighting and medium to dark slate gray paint. Our master bathroom is also coming along beautifully. The harlequin tile looks insanely stunning - I didn' t realize that it would be so gorgeous. It was pricey, but in my opinion it totally makes the bathroom look parisian.
The basement, the two spare bedrooms upstairs, the laundry room, the flex room and all of the built-ins still have to be done. They'll obviously be completed in the New Year which is funny because both Nate and I thought that the house would be done by the end of September maybe late October. NOPE. The house is certainly livable, and perhaps the extra reno weeks give me more time to consider what I want decoration wise - there's always a silver lining. But it's funny, when people ask me how the house is coming along, I still roll my eyes. It's coming...sigh, it's coming.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)