Engaged:: Grayson & Carolyn

This past fall I was given the privilege to shoot some engagement photos for Evan's little brother Grayson and soon wife-to-be, Carolyn, up in Fresno, CA. They have been together since high school, dating for over 5 years! Now that's what I call love, patience and commitment! They finally tied the knot this past October on a gorgeous sunny Saturday.

Though a bit old, I wanted to share some of my favorites form the shoot ---> enjoy!


























Congrats you two! love you both!

Lately...

Been listening to this::

it reminds me of summer sunshine, being barefoot, friends, and warm nights.
it also reminds me of someone special.... :)

also this::

The whole thing was done by hand using a Lite-Brite and stop-frame animation.
LEGIT.

Reading this AND having my world rocked::


I went to see the author speak a few weeks back. fantastic! Feeling so good and only hoping for better! Seriously, go read her book!


I've been working a lot.
busy and blessed.
paying the bills.
thankful.

Looking forward to a road trip up to Modesto this weekend to visit Evan's family for Easter.

EXCITED!

Eleanor & Riccardo:: Engaged

A few months back a dear friend of mine, Elly, allowed me the pleasure to shoot some engagement portraits of her and her fiance. They met in Spain while she was teaching English. Romantic, huh? She's a painter and he's an marketing wiz/coffee connoisseur. We shot in Little Italy, the perfect place for an artist and Peruvian/Italian businessman.

The session for me was practice in shooting portraits, and a technical fight against the elements: late afternoon low light, cloudy, dark, almost raining -- it did end up raining at the end, etc. As much as I deeply love people and photography, my portraiture always feels so timid, so rushed.

hence, the deep need for practice....

Enjoy some of my favorites!




























Thanks Elly and Riccardo, for a wonderful afternoon of conversation, exploring, laughter, and talking of bigger things than ourselves. love you two!

Uganda Buyamba

Last weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to hang out with Pastor Dongo and learn about his fabulous non-profit organization for orphan children in Uganda ----> www.ugandabuymaba.com





beautiful, isn't it?

He self-founded Buyamba Orphan Outreach and God Cares Schools in Uganda and provides housing and schooling for those without families, without money, and truly without hope. His joy was contagious! As he shared his vision, his faith and trust in the GOD who lives, loves, and provides was so BIG. I was humbled. I feel so distracted by "things" and "responsibilities" here in the U.S. But when you have nothing (like in Uganda), your dependance on what really matters is so questioned and heightened, so purely and honestly. Faith like a child. beautiful. What I strive for.

Evan and I decided together to sponsor a 12 year old girl named Sylvia who lost her parents to AIDS and has no known relatives. We couldn't be more excited to give $35 a month to provide housing, schooling, food, and hope to this beautiful girl, spiritually and physically! We also can't wait for our first letter to be sent, delivered, and to hear back from her heart --- woo!

How about you --- do you have $35 a month laying around that you might consider investing in eternity with? Such a rad opportunity.

Think about it!

Happy weekend!

This past week was very busy at work and I am so looking forward to the weekend!

One of my student's Italian father -- Italian, as in he imports olive oil from his own farm in Italy and sells it on the weekends -- shared this video with me. LEGIT.

If you are are Italian or have visited Italy I bet you can resonate with at least one of these. enjoy:




Ciao!

AAAND we're back...

It has been almost 6 months since I have blogged -- or rather, it has been 6 months.

A lot has gone on:

- I left China after 2 eye-opening years of teaching English
- I traveled for 3 amazing weeks through Switzerland, Italy, and France
- I came back to the USA!
- I moved back home with my fantastic parents
- I got a job! 2 jobs actually, working for the YMCA
- I am now an almost working adult. ha

My hope in 2011 is to improve my photography, improve my health, and improve my mind. Hopefully this blog will be a platform in which to do, share, discuss, and learn these things.

SO...to begin. A few photos from Europe:



















Perhaps I will post more soon...

here's to blogging again!

In honor of the English language.

The school semester officially ended last Friday with games, candy, and breaking the news of my leaving in September to my kiddos. I am now on a 2 week break enjoying sleeping in, exercising, reading, preparing for summer school classes, cooking, cleaning, and of course, hanging out with Evan. :)

The sun has been shining, the sky has been blue, and my A/C is now fully functional with the arrival of summer's heat and humidity. It may sound silly...but I am so very thankful for air-conditioning! Especially having lived in sub-tropical countries!

In honor of finishing school and the sillyness that comes with teaching the English language, a video:

CLICK!!! -----> This hilarious video is what English sounds like to non-native speakers.

***Note: they are not speaking a language at all, just making sounds, so basically gibberish.

fab. and a good laugh.

Happy summer, everyone! 9 weeks left until my adventure to Europe and back to the US begins!