Monday, July 25, 2016

July

Man alive, this month has gone by fast.  Starting with our fun 4th of July trip to Colorado and then continuing the fun back here at home in California.  And before the month is over the girls and I are heading to Utah for one last quick summer get-away before Clara starts Kindergarten in mid-August.  Which I'm trying hard to ignore for the moment because I cannot believe she will be a KINDERGARTENER!

Anyhow, we made it back to the beach last week with friends from our old ward.  Or actually, practically the entire old ward, it felt like, since a huge group of them get campsites together and do a week of beach camping each July.  I keep wanting to go but always chickening out since Paul can never come.  But maybe next year I will be brave and go for it.  

We had a great time for just the day anyway except that the drive home took two hours and the girls fell asleep in the car around 6:15, just before getting home, which meant a miserable bedtime routine and night of sleep for very confused and very tired girls (including myself).  But it was worth it and the girls played their hearts out in the sand, digging and chasing waves and being buried by mom.  And I had so much fun catching up with friends who I do not get to see nearly enough.  I would LOVE to move back to San Jose if we could figure out a feasible commute situation for Paul, but alas, the commute from SJ to SF is brutal so it's not happening any time soon.



I have been keeping very busy with two new personal projects.  The first is probably not news to most people who might read this blog.  I started a separate food blog to post recipes and stories and serve as an outlet for my food photography (which I am loving since my subjects don't tend to run away from me like two speedy little girls).  In truth, I'm hoping to make something of my little food blog and eventually earn a little side income from it - nothing to brag about, but maybe enough to cover expenses and afford some fun travel.  Either way, I have been enjoying combining my favorite hobbies of food, photography and writing, and have been spending too much time over at House of Nash Eats (which, if you haven't checked it out, please do!  And feel free to go like the Facebook page for House of Nash Eats or the Instagram page or join the subscribe list or something so that you can get updates.)  Gosh, I even set up a Twitter account for it, which is so weird for me because I definitely do not do twitter.  Like I said, I would like to monetize it eventually and a good way to do that is through sponsored posts with brands that pay bloggers to mention them in a recipe post, but to land those you need a bit of traffic and a following.  I would do the blog regardless of making money off of it, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if someone wanted to compensate my hobby, so...  We'll see where things go.



My other personal project is learning videography.  I'm currently taking a videography class that I was super excited to get into (there were limited spots and loads of people on a FB group I am a part of who were all trying to get one of those spots - we sat and refreshed our screens and all the seats were gone in about 3 minutes.  I was lucky enough to snag one).  It has been so much fun and a lot to learn, which is why I think I like it.  I just love learning new things!  It makes me feel more...me, I guess?  Maybe it's my BYU education with the whole "lifelong learning..." thing but it just lights a fire in me.  We are still early into the course and haven't covered more than basic editing and haven't touched on color grading, audio, music, or anything like that, but I had to put together a little technical assignment with a bunch of different shots that we are practicing and even my silly little technical assignment makes me feel inordinately proud.  You can see it below, although some of this footage may go into my final project, which will be a fully edited video with music and everything (and will definitely be posted when the class is over).

Amy Nash - Technical Assignment from Amy Nash on Vimeo.

We have been doing our typical summery stuff - having friends over for dessert on Sundays, working on house projects (oh man are we working on house projects - it is a full exterior overhaul with retaining walls, landscaping, painting the house, etc. and it is going to take us months to finish, if we even get to all of it this year which seems unlikely), swimming and going to concerts in the park.  I sure love those little concerts and look forward to them every year.  It is such a fun scene.  One thing I need to start being better about is taking still photos because I have been so focused on food photography and videography that I am letting my regular photography slide a bit.



But that has been our July!  August is going to be a big month with a lot of change for us!

2 comments:

  1. How can one person be so incredibly talented? I love your videography! That is so awesome!

    I want to know how you do it all. Honestly. I know people say that in jest, like, "How do you do it all!" and then move on. But I'm serious. I want to know how the ins-and-outs of your highly productive life work. Because I can hardly manage my two kids and keep the house picked up, let alone work on awesome hobbies and a house remodel! And I'd like to be able to do more, so give me some tips!

    Do you get up a lot earlier than your kids? Are you a perfectionist, or do you live by the motto "Good enough is good enough" and move on? How much sleep do you get? Do you have chunks of work time during the day when the girls are occupied? How does that work? Do you have a regular babysitter? I would honestly be so interested in knowing how it all goes down. I feel like I've asked this question before, and you've probably already answered it, but I need a reminder!

    PS Remind me...when will you be in Utah?

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  2. Clara and Rose are looking like such big girls! Love them.

    I love your food blog. The pictures are great, as are the recipes and stories that go along with them. Food is so personal, in my opinion, and I kind of love reading stories that go along with why the recipe is so great.

    I think it's so great you're taking a videography class. You are so good at so many things because you take the time to learn to do them well and I think that's awesome. I would love to learn some of these things but definitely don't have the ambition right now.

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