The Amazing Racing Against Deadlines

Well, I have done it again. I have bit too big a bite to chew without my mouth open. I have this calendar project - almost done now - to finish in the next two weeks, I signed up for a webinar on HDR Photography that is 9 one hour classes online (which,by the way, conflicts with classes at DVC) and I am trying to learn a new program so I can put some film I took of Jesse on his new bike on the web. My computer is groaning at every turn. I have to keep restarting it so it can have some 'quiet time' and I wander around my already clean house looking for something to keep me away from the monitor tapping my toes in anxious anticipation.

Max and his 4Q Conditioning Knucklehead

My calendar has come along nicely but I need to shot two more shots for the inside and work on my cover. I need to clean up my layout and get all the files uploaded to the printers so I have a finished copy to turn in next week for my final. I feel like I can get it done and hope the end result is going to be good enough to WOW the masses and maybe even sell a copy or two to pay for the time and money I have invested. I am trying to incorporate some vintage stuff from my film days but my quality control brain is freezing up when I look back to some of my 'early stuff' and wondering what I can do to fix it. I have to run up to Santa Rosa some time this week to shoot another bike for November and get my sweet lovable but incredible procrastinating husband to get his bike done - it's the December shot - and ready for pictures.

I have more ideas for shoots than time to do them and concepts for backgrounds and settings that may not be geographically accessible.  I could just do the "Photoshop them in" thing, but masking motorcycles with all the spokes in the wheels and tiny details is incredibly time consuming. I would much rather shoot where I want and hope for the best.

In the breaks between shoots, I did a short movie on my little Sony to upload to Jesse's blog of his latest bike build running down the road for the first time. I need to edit and put the clips together and make it compatible with YouTube so I can upload so he can link it. So, I have been watching videos and perusing through  tutorials so I can use this program I have never even opened since I loaded it at Christmas. I am waiting for it to render while I am working on this. At least it keeps me from sitting there, messing with the program until it crashes - again....

Arrgh! Time remaining... 5:17 and counting.

We had a little birthday party here for my oldest grandchild, our little Sofia who turned 6 yesterday. We did dinner and had all the kids and g-kids over for cake. I actually took the last two days off to do the baking, cooking and threw in some yard work and hanging with my neighbor on Saturday for her yard sale. The garden we are all in on is growing nicely. The cucumbers don't look so good - maybe ph in the soil is wrong for them to thrive, but everything else is just short of making little veggie "fruits" and getting big.

2:13 left.... ok. I am going to finish this and get some photos loaded here. Happy Trails people...wish me luck with my deadlines. And a bit of advice? Don't put too much on your plate! You either get indigestion or end up with leftovers you don't know what to do with!

Oh, by the way...this is what I have been working on....