Passionately Pink - Sarah Lynn

I received an e-mail today from a friend and INC sister, Sarah Lynn. It was to help support her cause to find a cure for breast cancer. I know so many friends, relatives, loved ones who have gone through fighting all sorts of cancers, so it wasn't hard at all for me to decide that I wanted to help out somehow.. I thought it would be a good idea to post this blog up.

She is celebrating her birthday on October 22, 2008 as well as donating to a worthy cause at the Pat & Oscars Restaurant in Carmel Mountain Ranch in San Diego, CA. Just by wearing pink and having dinner with your friends or your family that night at the restaurant, you'll be making a difference in the lives of millions.

If you aren't able to attend but you'd like to help, you can contribute online. In return for your contribution, you'll get a pink ribbon pin and the satisfaction of helping to move us closer to a world free of breast cancer.

Please contact Sarah Lynn if you have any questions. To view her personal website for this cause, please click on the website below.

Just us..

The last wedding we worked on had a rented a photo booth.  The kind where you take funny photos and wait a couple of minutes to get a printed copy of your shots.  Here are a couple of photos of me, Ryan, my brother and cousin.  They help me out so much with weddings and events, I wouldn't know what to do without them.  Just a little thank you to them for all their support! I owe you guys dinner one of these days... maybe after our upcoming CFO Night. You guys are THE GREATEST! I enjoy working with you a lot and I hope we'll get to work together more this coming year.  

I'll be posting up pictures of Lauralee and Steve's wedding before the end of the week! After a crazy busy 3 weeks, I just needed a couple of days...to stop and take a breather...

Ryan and I taking another opportunity to be photographed!

Updated Blog - Free 2009 Mini-Calendars ALL GONE

Regarding my blog below... - CALENDARS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.. It's been reserved for the first 40 who responded.

Thank you and sorry if you didn't get one. :( Next year again :-D

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I'm giving away 40 of these 2009 Calendars! They usually retail for more than $7 at stores! First 40 people to email me at joan.solitario@es-sense.com will get it.

It's cool because it's small enough to carry around, it has a pen with it that can be tucked into the back of the calendar, and there's lots of room to write your appointments. Let me know if you're interested in getting one!

One per person only! If someone you know is interested, please have them also email me. It won't be fair for others if I save 2 or more for anyone since it is first come first serve basis.

Please e-mail me your name and address in case I need to send it to you.

I got a Shootsac!!!!!

Today, I got to work and totally forgot that I had a package coming... when I got in, I already had a ton of things to do, so when Brad came by and handed this package to me, it made my day!

Here's my shootsac! I love it already! I tried it on and I can't believe I didn't get one of these a long time ago... it really does conform to your body unlike the typical camera bags out there. Plus what's cool is that the cover can be changed too!! I need to get one for Ryan :-D.

So, if any of you would like to give me a gift for whatever reason... a gift certificate from shootsac.com would be soooo awesome! *hint hint* :-D

Statue of Liberty to South New Jersey

Our morning started at about 5:30 am. Ryan, ate Peachy, and I were running really late!  We were suppose to meet everyone at Battery Park by 7:30 a.m. but because of the traffic and overall craziness of NYC, we ended up meeting my brother, cousins, and friends from Long Beach, CA at around 8:45 a.m. They waited for us for over an hour so our apologies to you all and thank you for waiting for us as well as picking up our tickets!!

As soon as we got there and had our tickets in hand, we went directly to the ferry boat that takes us to the Statue of Liberty.  This was our view from the boat.

Since we were all rushing in the morning and did not get a bite to eat, we decided to get some brunch at the refreshment area when we arrived at the Statue of Liberty island.  Ryan, Johnson and I ended up sharing two orders of fish and chips! YUMMY!! Afterwards, we headed off to line up to go inside the statue... AND it took about an hour to an hour and a half!! 

There are so much more photos from our trip to the Statue of Liberty, so to view them, please click HERE. 

We were planning on eating some NY Pizza but we were running late and had to get to South New Jersey (SNJ) for the wedding rehearsal! So we ending up getting some fast foods at a service/rest area on the way...

Here is one photo of the couple during the rehearsal.  They are so cute!  I think...no... I know I'm going to get teary eyed when I see these two get married... I still CAN'T believe that my cousin is getting married! After years of seeing him grow up... I know I'm going to get emotional... Good thing I have the camera in front of my face... I can hide it ;)

Everyone from the rehearsal left for Natasha's house where food was prepared.  It was really nice to have met some of the brethren in SNJ.  They're soooo friendly!  It's really a blessing to be members of the INC! No matter how far we live from each other.. whenever we meet, it's like we've known one another for a long time.. because we share the same faith :-D

ANYWAYS... Natasha and Fred surprised me and Ryan with beautiful personalized/engraved gifts! Fred and Natasha, thank you for everything! We are sooooo happy for the two of you!

We're In NY!

We landed at the JFK Airport at around 5:40 am today. Ate Peachy picked us up and took us to this really cool restaurant called "Maureen's Kitchen" in Smithtown, New York. I was looking for a website but could not find any.  Just do a google search and it'll pop up reviews. Inside the restaurant looks like a herd of cows exploded because there are black and white cow patterns all over the place and cow figurines everywhere! Really cute! Here's a picture of the signage outside:

Regarding the food....All I can say is, DELICIOUS!  When ate Peachy says she has found a really cool place to try, I believe her to the fullest! The staff was really friendly and the food was yummy! Ate Peachy told me to try the French Toast Croissant with Cream Cheese stuffed with a kind of Rasberry Jam, so I did.  I'm going to use this blog as a means to spread the word on this place because I would definitely come again and try that french toast!

We're still a bit jet lag.  It's 12:36 PM east coast time which means it's only 9:36 AM west coast time.  Ryan is still napping and I'm just relaxing :-D  We'll be attending worship service today at the locale of Bellmore, NY. Tomorrow we'll be meeting up with my brother, cousins, and friends to visit the Statue of Liberty!   Ryan and I didn't get to see it the last time we visited NYC (which was 2 years ago) so we definitely have it as a TO DO this time! 

I'm actually enjoying the day doing nothing but just relaxing here at ate's home.  She has a cool collection of magnets from places she's been to.  I think my favorite one is the "good friends" magnet. It reads: "good friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they're always there." And of course, I need to focus on the Statue of Liberty magnet cause we're in NY!

Here are some photos I took here at ate peachy's home :-D. I need more stock photos for my use... I intend to take more during this trip!

More pictures to come! Signing off, unless I find something awesome to blog about again!

ECouponsHawaii.com

If you happen to be traveling to Hawaii, check out this website! Jen, a friend of mine, created it! They offer coupons to so many services in Hawaii! I thought it was pretty cool to post up and share with the world! Click on the website image and enjoy the savings!!

INC Brotherhood

There really is something special about the church that I belong to: Iglesia Ni Cristo(INC) - (Church of Christ). This past Memorial Day weekend I enjoyed seeing and being with brethren not just in my locale but from all over the Southern California District! Some of them were also visiting from the Philippines (a break from their ministerial classes) and I realized how much I missed going to district activities! It has definitely been awhile... Although each locale was competing against one another (friendly competition that is..) everyone cheered for all the participants whether they were part of their locale or not. Brotherhood was truly felt throughout the whole day and I am so glad to have been a part of it!

There is a story someone shared with me. A brother in our locale has competed and is part of the school's track team. So I could only imagine how many medals he must own from all the competitions he's been a part of. Well, he won first place for one of the races and he got his gold medal. One of the children who attended was admiring his medal. "That is so cool!" the child had exclaimed and so the brother decided to give him the gold medal instead of keeping it for himself! How awesome is that? Another comment that made me smile that day was when after a child runner finished competiting.. and although did not win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place... still blurted out to his friends, "That was so much fun! I want to run again!". One last comment I want to share that I heard about that made my spirits even high was when another brother had mentioned to his friends that it's definitely worth hanging out with church brethren because we know how to have "good, christian fun!".

Our Track & Field was truly successful! I admit that during the closing prayer I was in tears because I was soooo happy! For the wonderful events I experienced this past weekend.. I give all glory and honor to HIM above. I am so thankful to HIM for letting me be a part of this strong brotherhood inside the Church of Christ! I really want to be a part of as much church activities as I can possibly go to, which is why I'll be working around church schedules before booking any photography/videography work... Church comes first always, family and then work... ;-)

Successful Day!

I had a wonderful Saturday yesterday! I attended our Track & Field event and saw a lot of old friends that I haven't seen for ages!!! There was rain in the morning, but towards the afternoon and up to the end of the event, it was just a beautiful day! Thank God for answering our prayers for good weather! Congratulations to ALL the participants... to ALL of us who joined the activity as well! Everyone - E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E - did a wonderful job!

While I was busy helping to keep track of the awards for each locale as well as the long jump event, my most wonderful husband Ryan took photos throughout the WHOLE DAY! We got over 2,000 photos! But these long jump shots are my favorites.. and of course the group shots!

Thanks Ryan!!!! =D

You Rock!

Okay, so I opened up my email today and guess what I found!?!? An e-mail from Jasmine Star! At first I couldn't believe it…especially since I’m a nobody in the photography industry.. but it was there in my inbox and within the FROM column it read: "JASMINE STAR". I know I know.. She emailed me before, but even now I get excited getting a response from her! SHE actually checked out my recently created wedding slideshow and this is what she had to say:

"you go girl!! it looked awesome and once you start using it regularly, you'll realize how easy and second-nature it'll become. you rocked it out!! :)xoxo...j*"

Don't you love her “j*” signature! It’s so cute! But this totally made my day! Thank you Jasmine for taking time to view the slideshow and emailing me back! You rock! ;-D

Photographers I look up to..

I joined the yearbook staff during my last year in Carnegie Jr High School, Carson, CA and I always had a camera in hand. I remember taking photos of people and how excited I got when most of my shots made it to the final layout on the yearbook. Looking back at those years, I realized how much I enjoyed photography... it's just too bad that once the yearbook was done my camera went into hiding... until now...

There have been a number of photographers that have caught my eye and rekindled my interest in picking up the camera again. I have even started my own photography business... So this blog post is dedicated to them for inspiring me. Hopefully I'll be able to meet them all one day... I just wanted to share a couple of photographers who have given me a reason to pursue my dream!

Jasmine Star is so awesome! I love her blog site and I visit it EVERY DAY! She gives a lot of advice and has written lots of articles for photographers that I've read over and over again. I discovered her site just about 2 months ago! I emailed her a couple of times and it was sooo cool to have gotten an email back from her too!

Mike Colon is another photographer I admire. He was one of the first photographers that I was introduced to when meeting with the wedding album vendor: White Glove. Mike's name came about when I was discussing my pricing and the guy asked me why I was charging so low to do weddings! He then said, "Have you heard of Mike Colon?" When I got home, I checked out his website and I was in AWE because I wanted to take pictures like MIKE!

Richwell Correa was the one who started my interest in photography again! The photos he posts up on his myspace just grabs my attention! He's a really nice guy and a brother in the faith as well!

Last but not least, Sarah Chen is another one who inspires me too! I love her shots! I love how the colors in her photos just pop out at you! She's another photographer I hope to meet one day... but for now, I'll just continue to visit her website!

Thank you all for your inspiration! More success to you all and if any of you do get to read this humble blog of mine... I hope to meet you one of these days and I hope to get as good as all of you!!

Busy Weekend!

Tomorrow I'll be attending a special occasion of a dear friend, a sister in faith, Erika!! Not just attending but I've been entrusted to photograph her 18th birthday celebration! I'm so honored to have this opportunity and I pray I do an awesome job for her!  

ES-Sense will also be unveiling the new video introduction clip that we show before every photo montage we create or video we edit. Ryan is actually still working on it and hopefully it'll be done soon so we can insert it on Erika's photo montage presentation for tomorrow night! He's done with the logo animation... now he tells me he's going to do some sort of remix with the old jingle... ??? hmm.... we'll see how it sounds.. but I have full trust in his ability to make it awesome!

Ryan is soooo talented! I'm not just saying that because he's my husband... but seriously.. he really is talented!  He was the one who composed the song for our es-sense jingle... arranged the music... and now creating a new video intro to sync with the song... I'm sooo proud of him for learning all these things on his own! I'm really blessed to have him in my life...

Okay enough of the mushy stuff... I get carried away every time I think of him and start talking/writing about him.... 

This weekend is going to be quite busy... after Erika's 18th birthday celebration on Friday night, we'll be waking up early to do an engagement photo shoot in San Diego for our clients, Jane and Isaac who is getting married in June! Afterwards, we'll try drive back to Long Beach to make it to our cousin's new business office grand opening and take some photos of their celebration there. Afterwards, we both have a dentist appointment!! How fun!!!!! :D

Hopefully everything we'll go smoothly this weekend and we get all our tasks accomplished with God's help! 

Taxes...

Ryan and I finally got our taxes done! Just need to pick it up and send it off! We pretty much broke even... kinda... We're getting something back from the federal portion, but also having to give it back to the govt cause we owed at the state portion of the return - all thanks to the bonus I got from work last year... =P. Oh well... Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”.

We had Ate Sherry do our taxes this year and she did our last year too! She's fast! :) Here is her information in case you need help with your taxes :). She works with her dad at his office at SC Pangan Tax Service: 2529 Santa Fe Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90810. Their phone number is: (562) 989-4334. Her dad has been doing this for years!!!

Thank you ate Sherry for all your help!!!! I appreciate it a lot especially since I kept lagging in getting all the papers in to you.

Free Rice!

I knew the title would grab some the attention of you rice lovers! Well, I was just surfing on the internet and found this really cool website:

http://www.freerice.com/

This website is about donating 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.

I realized I needed to expand my vocabulary a lot more! I think I donated about a cup... then realized it's dinner time =P

Music & Lyrics

Today, I remembered a song that I've been wanting! It's from the movie, "Music & Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. I'll put a sample of the movie on this post for you to check out.

This movie definitely reminds me of Ryan and myself! It reminds me how Ryan would arrange music and when we finally have to record our voices, Ryan always tells me to "sing a little louder". I started laughing when Drew started to sing and it was really soft... that's what I do! Seriously, I don't like wearing those earphones! I can't hear myself sing.. and when I hear myself sing, it's so loud, so I don't want to sing loud...

Usually I write the lyrics to the songs and Ryan adds the music. Even though he says he's not a lyricist, I think he creates beautiful music without my help! If you check out how Hugh starts to arrange the music, that's what Ryan does too! He uses all these different instrumental sounds with his computer program and his old keyboard to create a wonderful arrangement! It makes me proud to be the wife of a very talented musician! Ryan is a blessing from God to me and I always pray that we can spend more years writing beautiful music together for God's glory!

Well, here's a clip of the movie that I found on YouTube. If you haven't seen it and want to see a chick flick, this is a good one to rent and watch with your better half or on your own :-D.

Central Libray, Los Angeles, CA

Ryan and I joined Jordan in a school field trip today for the Gifted And Talented Education (GATE) Program. Jordan is a GATE student :). It was an awesome experience for all three of us since we've never been to this library until today! This will definitely be one of my "places to go while we have free time" destinations.

Here are some photos taken from today's GATE trip. Please note that Jordan took most of these shots! We'll be visiting other popular LA Historical sites in the coming months with the GATE kids.

The GATE children with some of the teachers.

At the Tom Bradley wing of the library.

A picture of Jordan taking a photo of himself.

A water fountain sculpture at the library.

Ryan took this picture of me and Jordan in front of the library.

My first post on my new blog site!

Testing this out and see how easy it is to post blogs and photos!

This is pretty cool!