We had a fun time at my mother n law’s house for the Ugly Xmas Sweater
Party! I spent hours making lil man’s Christmas Tree Robe… He should’ve won the
contest! It’s a bummer that Jack had to work :( One xmas party down, two more to go… 

    The house is filled with the sweet smell of chocolate and yummy cupcakes baking in the oven. Christmas music playing softly in the background while my Jackz are chilling in the living room. Life is GOOD! These are one of the moments that I would like to lock in my memory bank forever! Thanks to Jacks grandma Gina for sending over some yummy tamales. This satisfies my tamale drizzled in tapatio with an egg over easy (subtract the yolk) cravings! Here are some of the goodies I made…

These are Great Grandma Virginia’s yummy Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Balls… Thanks for the recipe, they’re Jacks favorite!  

Hope all of you are having a Comfy-Cozy night!

    There’s a package coming tomorrow and I won’t be home so I need you to sign for it… DON’T look at the package! Just put it away in the closet, it’s your xmas present! Promise me!!! 
     So I promised him! I LOVE surprises and I know how much work goes into planning a surprise, so I didn’t want to ruin it for him. He on the other hand, has ruined EVERY surprise that I have ever planned for him. (When I say EVERY- I mean E-V-E-R-Y single one for the past 8 years!!!) He is quite the detective, or maybe I’m just not good at being sneaky.  Anyway, I was expecting the package around noon and nothing came all day! Then 8:20pm rolled around and there was a soft knock at the door… I thought it was my mother n law so I called out Coming, Hold on (in a very nice voice of course!)… I opened the door and didn’t see anyone and as I looked down & around my eyes locked onto the big bold letters B&H on a little brown box! DOGGONE IT, I read the label! It was as big as day and I wish I didn’t see it, I felt awful for ruining his surprise!!! I even hid the box in the closet trying to
convince myself that I didn’t see it… but who was I kidding I knew right away
that it was the new lens that I wanted so badlyyy.  I didn’t want to ask for it because we’ve already spent too much money this year; our wedding, my lasik eye surgery, & the camera.  I didn’t expect anything more, so it was a big surprise! Of course he was mad that I found out what it was… But now he knows how I have felt every single time he ruins my surprises! So say HELLO to my lil Friend –50mm 1.4. (and since I ruined his surprise I got to open it early and play with it!!! –I feel like an excited lil kid)

    As if this post wasn’t long enough, I thought I’d add a few more thoughts for those of you that still want to read lol… 

     Gift giving isn’t just about the gift, it’s really about the meaning behind it. In the beginning of relationships you want to shower your mate with gifts! (yes, I said Mate – no, I’m not Australian & yes, I use random words in my vocabulary). Most of the time you get them material items; clothes, shoes, purses, colognes, jewelry…  then years later after you run out of gift ideas, you give them money or gift cards. The thrill of gift giving slowly dies, and it turns into a chore. Then most couples will tell each other I don’t want anything this year, so let’s not get each other anything! But there’s always that one person who can't resist and ends up getting the other person a gift. Then there’s an awkwardness… why do we do this to each other? I speak from experience, Jack & I have been through all of these stages and I decided to put an end to the gift
giving funk! 

     Two years ago I was stuck, I had no idea of what to get jack for father’s day. After a few days of thinking about it, I thought of activities he hasn’t done yet that he’s always wanted to try (things he could eventually teach our son). I wrote everything that came to mind and had a pretty long list of activities. Some of them were out of my budget, so I chose Surfing lessons!  He was thrilled. It turned into something we could enjoy together, I loved cheering him on as he tried to catch waves, he was a natural. 
 
    Jack & I put together a Bucket List… Now we’ll never run out of ideas of what gifts to get each other (and we tried to just list activities, even though he snuck a 1969 Roadrunner on there... –maybe if we hit the lotto luv!). When writing these activities, Keep in mind that some years will be tighter on money than others, so throw in some free activities, for ex; a bike ride along the coast & bonfire picnic… (well.. maybe not for xmas). 
    
     Then he caught onto the idea and he got me my first Kitchen Aid mixer because he supported my baking dream. This year I got him flying lessons because it’s been a lifelong dream of his (Groupon is my new best friend!). I am so thankful that he got me this lens…  It’s not just about the lens, it’s the fact that he supports my dream enough to invest in the equipment. 

     Wow I really rambled, I’m going to leave you with a corny final thought; "I feel that life is too short to be unhappy, and I like the idea of living the rest of my life making each other’s DREAMS come true!" -& boy do I got a lot of dreams lol! 
So put some thought into your gifts this year… 

     -Thanks baby love for my gifts! You’re the BEST Husband I’ve ever HAD!!! 

    I had the pleasure of observing my friend Marina (Owner of Aniram Photography) while she was hard at work. Marina was shooting a beautiful couple with their gorgeous daughter. I was given the choice to second shoot but I chose to keep my camera in the bag and watch how she addresses her clients. Within an hour I learned a lot! My biggest lesson was BE YOURSELF!!! She seemed so comfortable because she was just being herself. When she was wrapping up her session, she invited me to play with some of her lenses. I had my eye on the 50mm 1.8 because I really want to buy a 1.4 but I’ve never touched anything lower than a 3.5. So I jumped to the opportunity. I took the camera outside and started playing with the settings and the father followed to put on his daughters shoes. Don’t worry about posing I’m just playing with the lens, I doubt I’ll get anything good because I have no idea how to use it... But to my surprise I got some cool shots. I love the lens! It’s pretty tricky and takes some time getting used to, especially on a moving target. I am now certain that I want to get the 1.4! Thanks Marina so much for giving me your helpful tips n tricks, and also for giving me a screen protector –You’re AWESOME!!

*Below you will see the cute little girl “Avery” eating a flower, don’t worry it’s not poisonous!

    I really want to start shooting engagement sessions, but I don’t want to limit myself to only engaged couples, I want to capture the LOVE from ALL couples! –I know that sounded super corny! I’m going to include a short passage of their relationship story (because each one is so different) and I will call this my LOVE STORY COLLECTION! (Side Note: When Jack and I first began dating back in 2004 his father would always call us “Love Story” & and it just stuck with me.) So here is my first Love Story Shoot… I asked my best friends Darlene & Alex to let me shoot them. The experience was pretty funny, it was so hard for me to explain how to pose or to even come up with different poses –I had a brain total fart. Good thing I had my Ma there to throw out ideas. It was hard for them to take me seriously, they wanted me to put on a mask to cover my face because I would make them laugh –and I’m not that funny! I learned that I need to move my feet more… I have to not be afraid to walk around them to get different angles. I also need to study different poses, ones that look natural. So Salute to my first Couple Shoot!!! Thanks to Dee & Alex for bearing with me!  I need to Practice. Practice. Practice!!!    

 LOVE STORY {Darlene & Alex}
    Alex & Darlene attended High School together and became the best of friends. Alex was always secretly in love with Darlene, and she pretended not notice! They had so much in common; sports, music, friends, etc. Finally their senior year of high school, they decided to take a chance at love and take their relationship to a whole new level. Seven years later they are married with children. Laughter & Love is the foundation of their relationship, and it seems to be working...