my first culinary masterpiece...sort of

I'm not a cook. I probably lost about 10 wife points when I got married. My husband is the kind of guy who can walk into the kitchen, open the cabinets and pull together a delicious meal without even trying. Me? I'm the one hunched over my recipe, my nose crinkled in confusion all the while trying to figure out the difference between minced and chopped. I just suck at it. It's the low point in my day when Elias asks "what's for dinner?" to which I respond, "I donno. What are you making?" I mean, come on! I should be able to throw SOMEthing together right?!?! Tostadas? Enchiladas? Pasta?? It's not that hard. But I guess I give up before I even try. Well, that's something I plan to change. And it started this past weekend. I found a recipe for Balsamic Quick-Braised Pork Chops on WilliamsSonoma.com, and they looked soooo delish, I had to give it a try. "Just follow the steps" I told myself. It can't be that hard. And it wasn't! I actually made something that made me go "MMMmmmmm!" I did have a little help along the way when I couldn't  figure out what carmelized onions are supposed to look like, and thank goodness Elias is such a patient teacher! Anyway, I just wanted to share my little triumph. It was a happy evening with happy tummies.

And of course, any post is better with a photo! (Elias did the asparagus, I would've totally overcooked them)...lol

Burlingame Engagement Session - Alexis + Jon

Alexis and Jon are one of my favorite couples. Not only are they both incredibly handsome/beautiful, they are so sweet and such troopers to go through with today's shoot in the rain! It was wet, windy and pretty chilly, but they still worked it. We have another shoot because we didn't get to do some of the other stuff they had in mind due to the weather, so these are just a few from today.

And a special thanks to Angel for being the day-of assistant/umbrella holder!!

:)

Ami's fall photos

It's been a while since my last post, so my apologies to all three of my faithful followers...lol. I haven't really had anything to blog about, but I promise to try and get back on track. : )

It's a nice day today. The clouds are high and rain is here. These are the kind of days I LOVE. We were going to just bum it around the house in our pj's until I realized that I haven't taken Ami to a pumpkin patch for her fall pictures. I didn't want to wait until Halloween weekend when everyone and their grandmamas were going to be there, plus the hubby was so looking forward to being home, so I was really surprised when he happily agreed to take Ami to Half Moon Bay.  So we packed up the car and headed towards the beach.

The bummer was that we were on a race against Mother Nature as we made our way there though, because we knew the rain was coming. It seemed the rest of the world was thinking the same thing because we were caught in the yuckiest traffic. Luckily, Ami is like me when it comes to trips in the car. It seems I can't even wait for the engine to get going before I fall asleep, so she got a good nap in before we got there. We were going to one of the popular pumpkin patches, complete with pony rides and petting zoos, until we saw how many people were already there. "I can't take photos with all these people in the background!" So, my obliging husband kept going until we found a cute little farm with, like, one other family there. Ami woke up just as he turned off the car and we dashed out. I was so happy with the photos I got, because just as I was taking the last couple of photos it started raining.

So here's my little monster (oops, I mean pumpkin) not quite sure what's going on because she just woke up, but I think I got some framers out of this one!

I was so not anticipating on being in any photos, but she needs the memories :)

Lencho's 99th birthday party

It was a beautiful day in the bay yesterday. We had a nice, warm, and sunny day. The perfect day for a party. This party in particular was really special because we were celebrating my grandfather's 99th birthday. My mom had been wanting to throw a party for him for the longest time, and she finally went through with it. She planned a great party in just a few weeks. There was mariachi and folkloric dancers and great food. All her hard work really paid off because we all had a great time and for a person that we all love soooooo much.

My grandfather, Lencho, as many of us call him is the BEST grandfather anyone could ask for. He's so beautiful inside and out, and he's really funny too. The love my family feels for this man is sort of indescribable. I won't go into details about how much I love my abuelito, because everyone in my family feels it too, so I'll just say that I had a great time seeing my everyone and I pray that we can celebrate 100!! :)

and special thank you to my hubby for taking a photo of me with my grandfather. It hadn't occurred to me to ask someone to take one, but he did it without even mentioning it. This photo sums up how I feel about my grandfather. When I'm around him I have to kiss him on the cheek at least every other minute. :)

he gives blessings to all of us every time we see him, so here's Ami giving HIM a blessing :)

the oldest member of our family with the newest :)

one of my favorites!

the dreaded "m".

I'm not one to face my fears. I'm not about conquering the world.
I. am. a. coward. A lily-livered scaredy cat. A yellow-bellied chicken.  Okay, I've gone too far with the thesaurus.

Anyway, in pursuit of perfecting my skills, or make myself a better photographer, I've had to convince myself that I need to step out of my comfort zone. I need to put myself in challenging situations.
Um, nu-uh. I don't like it. I don't like challenges. I like the comfort of the "known". I want to be in the safe-zone. I'm a safety-gal. Why, you ask? Because I'm afraid to fail. I do what I'm good at and stick to it. If I step out of that zone and I suck at anything, I give up. I know it's not the best way to go about things but that's who I've been, and that's what I want to change especially when it comes to photography.

Some of you are probably laughing, (at me, not with me) because this seems kind of silly. But it's true. And one of the things that I've been putting off in my self-education is shooting photos in M mode, or manual. The thought alone sends shivers down my spine. Ok stop laughing. Seriously! The fact that I could take control of my camera and control the settings scares me! I wish I could stay in the safe zone, but in order for me to get better I have to get over this fear and just do it. What if I go out there on a paid gig, shoot manually and all the photos come out horrible??? How could I ever show my face in public? BUT I have to try. So I've been practicing, and I know it will take lots of practice but I will get better at it. So, from now on my camera will remain in the dreaded M mode and every photo I post hereon out will be shot manually.

Wish me luck.
:)

Amelie + Maiori, just because.

After work I headed to my mom's place to pick up Ami. I had my camera with me and thought it would be a good idea to practice some more. Ami and my goddaughter/niece, Maiori, were in a dress-up kinda mood so I went with it. I'm pretty pleased with what I got, but as always, I feel I could do so much better. Practice! practice! practice!

Alexis Jo turns 1!

Tak and Danielle are two friends of ours that we really wish we could see more often. We live about an hour and a half away from each other, so when we do get to spend time with them it's always a special time. Yesterday we headed their way to celebrate their little girl's birthday. Now, I've met some really cute babies, but this little one stands in a league of her own. I don't think I've met a happier baby. She is going to be the girl that brings life to any party and warms your heart with her smile. And boy did she have me WORKIN' to get these photos!! At least I got some exercise! (Thanks Lexi!!)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy a few snapshots of this adorable little girl's special day! :)