meganbeth.com

I grew up never having broken any bones and no real emergencies, so hospitals were kind of mysterious to me. They were exciting, fast paced, and the only one I was familiar with had George Clooney playing Dr. Doug Ross in it. I envisioned the day when I would get to visit one first hand, limbs cut off, bleeding out and Dr. Carter pulling out the crash cart in the waiting room. And then my life changed, my dad was diagnosed with a neurological disorder, he started falling and thus started the visits to the ER and the hospitals.

The last time Dad and I were at Hopkins we sat in the waiting room for five hours and I came to a conclusion, this isn’t fun. This isn’t exciting. Actually it sucks. People in hospitals are sick. People in hospitals come because they need serious help from medical professionals. And unfortunately these last few years I have spent may days in the ER, and at hospitals. I don’t think it gets any easier, but it is comforting to know Dad is at John’s Hopkins, one of the best hospitals in the nation.

Tomorrow we are taking him for his pre-surgery anesthesiology consultation in preparation for Monday and Tuesday. I’m a little nervous, and certainly not looking forward to going but hopefully this surgery pushes things in the right direction. I’m going to be out of the office tomorrow, Friday through Wednesday, and answering all emails when I get back.

I shot this image last time we were at Hopkins, right before the security guard told me I couldn’t take pictures…I may or may not have complied with his warnings.

I was walking to my car coming back from a client meeting on Sunday and noticed a long line coming out of a small new store front in downtown Bethesda. I did indeed learn a few things in my Criminal Justice career at the University of Maryland, so I was off to investigate. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed. A cupcake place opened up in Bethesda, and I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT IT. I did an immediate about face and scurried on over and got in line. Georgetown Cupcakes in Bethesda. Sigh, thank goodness they put in one more, cause the three cupcake places we already have JUST AREN’T ENOUGH. And so it continues, my mission over the last few years to try as many cupcakes as I can find.

I thoroughly enjoyed Georgetown Cupcakes, and ordered the Chocolate 3. The cake was moist and flavorful and the icing was a scrumptious chocolate ganache. I’m not a huge fan of The Sprinkle, but these seemed like chocolate gourmet sprinkles. Definitely a must try spot. What is your favorite cupcake place, near or far?

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. Ready, go.

1.  Sing on stage in a gospel choir, robe and all. 
2.  Pay off my credit card (hi mom!).
3.  Drive the speed limit for a month.  Following all lights, signs, and guidelines.
4.  Take flying lessons.
5. Go horseback riding. And take my horse where ever I want, not on some dinky trail.
6. Visit Nikki in San Diego.
7. Go skydiving…again.
8. Order canvases for my living room walls.
9. Cook more.
10. Visit Mexico again, preferably Cozumel.
11. Get back into the gym, and my daily gym routine.
12. Shoot a destination wedding in Hawaii.
13. Get a dog, and name her Sadie.
14. Go to a photography workshop.
15. Practice my Arabic once a week.
16. Scuba dive.
17. Travel to Africa.
18. Furnish my living room.
19. Mentor a photographer.
20. Go rock climbing.
21. Get a video camera. I hear the Flip is awesome!
22. Go to bed before 11, for a whole month.
23. Visit/volunteer in an orphanage in Africa.
24. Enroll in hip hop dance classes.
25. Take my vitamins everyday for three months.
26. Get rid of my migraines.
27. Travel to Europe from France to Austria taking the same route as Easy Company of the 106 Airborne Division (Band of Brothers)
28. Organize personal photos.
29. Take more time for myself, instead of working very single moment of the day.
30. Go to WPPI in Vegas. Vegas baby!
31. Learn how to ride a motorcycle, and buy one.
32. Visit 5 different states I have yet to see.
33. Go to a Battle of the Bands, just like on Drumline.
34. Get published.
35. Get a chance to go to Iraq or Afghanistan and shoot…with my camera.
36. See RENT or Stomp on Broadway.
37. Visit my aunt in New York.
38. Meet the president and photograph him.
39. Go to a USMC parade again.
40. Buy a house!
50. Frame my degree.
51. Learn to surf.
52. Invent something/develop something.
53. Buy a new computer!
54. Finish buying ALL my camera gear I want.
55. TAKE A VACATION to a tropical beach.
56. Get a new point and shoot.
57. Spend the night in a swanky boutique hotel in NYC.
58. Order letterpress business cards…YUMM
59. Buy a rolling camera suitcase.
60. Photograph a wedding for free for someone less fortunate.
61. Gain weight. You heard, GAIN WEIGHT.
62. Volunteer at a local orphanage.
63. Learn to snowboard.
64. Go to the gun range again.
65. Photograph Jackson S.
66. Join a pool for the summer.
67. Get an ergonomic office chair.
68. Volunteer in New Orleans.
69. Frame some of my images.
70. Photograph the Healys!
71. Participate in the Toys for Tots campaign.
72. Ride my bike.
73. Clean out and donate clothes from my closet.
74. Go to the top of The Pencil .
75. Take my dad on a vacation.
76. Go to the Newseum.
77. Photograph a trendy wedding in NYC.
78. Get family pictures taken of MY family, eek.
79. Set up my office.
80. Help Alberta finish decorating her house.
81. Have a business anniversary party for all my clients and friends.
82. Photograph Amanda and Brian.
83. Get a strawberry and Nutella crepe. In Paris.
84. Read a book.
85. Run a marathon.
86. Visit Italy!
87. Host a get together for photographers to network.
88. Climb a mountain.
89. Volunteer in a pediatric oncology ward.
90. Bake a cake from scratch.
91. Be IN a wedding.
92. Buy an antique chair and redo it for my living room.
93. Send out Christmas cards.
94. Cook for my whole family (ahhhh!)
95. Go to a Kanye concert.
96. Eat meals at appropriate meal times for one month.
97. Get a plant. Keep it alive.
98. Pay for the person behind me in the drive through.
99. Plan a surprise party.
100.Get reusable shopping bags.
101.Sand surf in Dubai.