10 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted in Photography
Would you mind sending a vote our way? Circle of Mom’s helps me connect with other blogger momma’s, it’s a really great website. If you feel we should be listed as a top photographer mom blog, please take a second to click the link and send a vote my way. 🙂 Thanks friends!
10 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted in All Others
The last week has been full speed ahead. This is really the first morning where I’ve been able to sit and drink my coffee in my fancy new Club 33 mug…
Our friend Carrie was kind enough to invite us to lunch there, and we were so excited to be among the few who have eaten above New Orleans Square in Disneyland. We were really geeky about it, and loved taking in all the history, details, and photos.
Of course, the first thing we did was take photos of the restroom. We were caught by a custodian who said that was the norm, catching people taking photos in the restroom. She taught us the best way to take secret restroom photos, by propping the stall doors open with tissue.
I also got to see Mandi and Steve again. I love those two, I could listen to them talk for hours. Of course, I’d have to add to the conversation a little too, or that might come across as a little creepy. ;p
The food was delicious. There weren’t many buffet items for appetizers, so I didn’t have high expectations for my meal. I didn’t think it would be like The Millenium Restaurant where they specialize in vegan cuisine, but my entree was surprisingly delicious. There were veggies and a coconut curry sauce, that I just can’t get out of my head. I wish pictures let you remember how something smelled and tasted. :p
Appetizers: not looking promising!
Total surprise-knocked it out of the ballpark entree:
Trevor’s entree:
Carrie, enjoying the soup:
Big T, being out of control:
All of us:
While we were eating, J was watching Little T at Disneyland. We met her afterward to pick up Little T:
Then we took Little T to meet his new hero, Miss Snow White. This may have blown his little mind.
We stayed in the park for a while afterward and danced at the mad Tea Party before calling it a night. Little T has some very fancy dance moves and didn’t think twice about showing them off!
A fun adventure for our family. I can’t say thank you enough to Carrie and Chris for inviting us. It really was one of those things I never imagined I’d be able to do, and I’m so glad we did!
07 Sunday Jul 2013
Posted in All Others
One of our favorite things to do is take walks around Cal Poly. There are so many beautiful places to enjoy. Koi Ponds, lakes with turtles, and so much more. The roses in the rose garden are in full bloom right now, and we spent most of our time on this day playing hide and go seek in them.
05 Friday Jul 2013
Posted in All Others
We told Little T that he needed a good nap so that he would be able to stay awake during the fireworks. I didn’t know he would take me so seriously, but when we got home from the grocery store, he walked straight into his room and took off his shoes and went to bed. 
We always spend the 4th of July with Big T’s family at his grandma’s house. She lives on a hill and we can see all the fireworks around the city from her backyard! It’s really beautiful, seeing fireworks all over the skyline.
For food, we made baked onion rings from Post Punk Kitchen:
And for snacks we had home made guacamole, olive tampenade, and hummus:
For dinner we had soy dogs or portobello mushroom burgers, baked beans, and fruit!
And for dessert we had cherry and apple pie with vanilla soy ice cream:
We had a great time, and Little T did like the fireworks. He stayed awake for as long as he could before we had to pack up and head home. One of the things that made us laugh, is that all night he was trying to figure out who this America person was, and why we were having a birthday party for them. He kept pointing to relatives and saying, “you America?” :p
How did you all spend the 4th? I hope you had a great one! 🙂
30 Sunday Jun 2013
Posted in life, Meal Plans, The Family, vegan
Vegan Marsala Pasta with Cashew Cream
Vegan Panna Cotta
English Muffin with Tempeh and Tomato
Sliced Avocado with Salt and Pepper
Heirloom Tomatoes and Broccoli
Vegan Tiramasu Cupcakes from Chef Chloe
Crackers, red pepper spread, olive tampenade, and vegan cheese
Vegan Ramen
English Muffins with Tahini Spread and Roasted Beets
Leeks for Soup
Jill’s Summer Minestrone Soup
Potatoes and Lentil Loaf
Vegan Macaroon
Helping Momma cook
Sneaking baby corn before dinner. :p
29 Saturday Jun 2013
Posted in life, Photography, The Family
I wouldn’t trade photography for anything, but it does make my schedule a little sporadic sometimes. Especially because I photograph destination weddings and my weddings are usually on weekdays. This was one of those weeks where our family just had to throw our schedule out the window and go with the flow!
On Wednesday, I met with two different potential couples at the Disneyland Hotel. It reminded me of when Big T and I were getting married, and the excitement of planning and meeting vendors. On my way out, I ran into Tara of Fairytale Hair and Makeup at Trader Sam’s. Her family was celebrating a birthday, so I joined them for a while! M met up with us too because I’d brought a few odds and ends that she’d left at our house. We all chatted for a bit before watching the fireworks together at the Disneyland Hotel.
The next day, I had a wedding to photograph at the White House in Anaheim. When I walked into the bridal suite, Joy’s dress was hanging in such a beautiful way, that I snapped a photo with my phone before I even had a chance to pull out my camera.
Isn’t this couch gorgeous? I could have sat on it all day, but that wouldn’t have been very productive, seeing as how I was there to photograph their wedding and all. 😉 Tara was doing Joy’s hair and makeup, and it was fun to work together at a new venue.
The White House was an exquisite venue. I wish I’d had more time to wander around and take photos of Joy and Eric. But then again, it’s good that I was on a schedule because I probably could have taken photos of them for hours and hours. The staff was very friendly, and set up the fanciest vendor meal table I’ve ever sat at. My assistant Louise and I joked that we were having a very romantic dinner together, and that our spouses would be very jealous. 😉
This was Louise’s meal, they made me a special pasta with eggplant and vegetables.
Joy and Eric’s family were fun to photograph, especially when they all began dancing. There’s something about dancing that makes me really happy. When I was taking anthropology, we learned that every single culture dances and sings. I’ve always wondered what it was about singing and dancing that was a necessary part of of being human. I don’t know, but I do know that watching dancing feeds my soul and makes me smile. There was a point when all the adults were singing and dancing together with Joy’s four year old niece. It was such a sweet and special moment. She looked so happy to have everyone singing and dancing to her, I bet she’ll remember it forever.
After we said our goodbyes, we drove to J’s house to spend the night. We had a morning castle shoot the next morning and had to wake up at 4:00 AM, and it would have been too difficult to drive home and back. We sat in the kitchen and started downloading disks until late into the night, and Louise began to laugh at how I was able to fall asleep sitting up in a chair at my computer. I think I finally fell asleep on J’s couch and got a few hours of sleep before I had to wake up again at 4:00. Here’s the hotel on our way in.
When we arrived, Tara was there again for hair and makeup. We laughed about how we’d spent the whole week together, as Tara worked her magic on Christie’s hair. The morning was amazing. It’s always an incredible feeling to have an hour to photograph couples in front of the castle, and Christie and John were such good sports. We had them running, like-literally running, down Mainstreet to the Castle. We were laughing and giggling the whole time.
During the reception, I gave a few impromptu camera lessons to a young protegee. 😉
There were lots of kiddos at the wedding, and so I had them jumping and laughing in front of the camera and took some great action shots. It did make me miss my little boo!
When the wedding was over and we’d said our goodbyes, Louise’s husband came to meet us for his birthday. He’s also a photographer, and gave me a few tips and talked to me about better camera straps to help my shoulder and my back. I wished I could have stayed to talk with them longer, but I was completely exhausted and my bed in our little home was calling my name.
When I got home, Big T had prepared a special meal for me that made me laugh. So much talent!
After dinner, Little T had physical therapy and occupational therapy. I felt so rude because I was dozing off the whole time from being tired. I was trying to stay awake, but it was impossible! I fell asleep on the couch two seconds after they left and didn’t wake up until the next morning.
And today, we’re going to try and take Little T to the movies to see Monster’s University. We found an early show, in the hopes that the theater wont be crowded or will at least be crowded with other toddlers. I’m not sure how he’ll do, so we’re setting our expectations low and telling ourselves he may not last the whole time, but we’ll see. It could be fun. 🙂 Wish us luck! When did you all take your toddlers to the movies for the first time? If you have any suggestions for successful movie trips, I’d love to hear them!
27 Thursday Jun 2013
Posted in All Others
When I was in high school, my step sister and I would write letters to each other. This was way before e-mail, which sounds funny to say because now I can’t even imagine life without e-mail. My step sister still sends letters every once in a while, and I can’t tell you how nice it is to open your mailbox and see something that isn’t a bill. Weve received a lot of fun letters over the past month. Little T calls them books and likes to pretend he’s reading them. They say things like Thank You, but if you ask Little T, it’s actually a story that involves him and Harry Potter having some sort of epic battle against Darth Vader in our backyard. 😉
25 Tuesday Jun 2013
Posted in The Family
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24 Monday Jun 2013
Posted in Meal Plans, vegan
I feel like our meals have gotten a little easier, a little lazier. Big T and I both have been working so much, that’s we haven’t had the time to prepare the meals we used to. On days that I work from home, I start to cook dinner around 4:30. I try to have different options for Little T and I don’t pressure him to eat one thing or another. His favorite meal is rice, and would probably have it every meal if he could. Big T makes a lot of brown rice and freezes it in single serving bags for us to pull out and use for meals. Little T likes it the best with avocado, lemon, and a little Braggs Liquid Amino Acids. On days when I’m not home, Big T takes over for dinner.
I’d like to say that I make beautiful salads every night, but to make our life easier, I’ve been using the salad bar at Mothers Market on my way home from Disneyland. I get a lot of salad and chopped veggies dry, and we use it for meals through the next day.
So here’s what we’ve been munching on. Someday, we’ll start making those elaborate vegan meals that have been bookmarked in my cookbooks again….some day…..;)
Pasta, avocado, bread, watermelon, green olives, and salad:
Couscous, vegetable soup, peas, and salad:
Baked tortilla chips, beans and rice, vegetable soup, and veggies:
Couscous, mango, Amy’s brand vegan Mac and cheese, salad, and avocado:
Corn on the cob at the Fair (one of our staple fair foods).
Corn chips, salsa, and fresh squeezed apple juice from Mothers Market:
Deconstructed Home Made Black Bean Burgers with bread, pickles, and ketsup:
We were traveling on this day, so I packed rice, and in a separate container had avocado and half a lemon to squeeze in:
So that’s our not-so-glamorous food routine. Pretty basic, but it works for our little family. (P.S. Little T is in love with that Snow White doll).
23 Sunday Jun 2013
Posted in All Others
We took a quick trip to Big Bear for Big T’s birthday. I have to admit, I was feeling a little anxious about it because I promised Big T I would t bring my computer or do any work. I’m glad we made that decision though, it’s been nice to have a little break from the computer screen. Hopefully my business hasn’t exploded in the day I’ve been gone. 😉
We were greeted at the cabin with a donut cake and friendly faces. For his birthday, Big T got a puzzle, C3PO ear buds, a special book from Little T, and some water squirters.
The boys had an epic water fight outside while we packed lunches for our boat outing, but we did manage to fill up a giant bucket of water to throw on Big T towards the end of our sandwich making. Big T had made some vegan lemon cookies for the trip, and we added them to our boat bag.
We rented a pontoon boat and relaxed on the water for a few hours, before heading back to the cabin. When we got back, we devoured some hummus and veggies, and then walked to a nearby field to shoot off these little rockets we had brought. Little T loved the rockets, and played with them forever while the rest of us played frisbee.
We ended the night out to dinner in the Village at Big Bear. Today were going to play a few board games before heading back to real life, but it was a nice mini vacation!
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