Foto Friday- Photographer's Choice

Hello there everybody! Hope you've had a great Friday so far. I am totally late with this post but I wanted to link up today with the blog Photograph Life that got me started on these Foto Fridays to begin with. I came across Photograph Life through another blog I read, and it inspired me to link up my pictures on a weekly basis with a different theme per week. Its been a great way to challenge myself, to be conscious about my picture taking, and being able to share it with others and in turn see learn from other bloggers and their pictures is always a plus.

Its is Photograph Life's 1st Anniversary of hosting link up Foto Friday's and Lori, aside from doing a special giveaway, has named this week's theme as Photographer's Choice. So each blogger/photographer can pick one of their own favorite pictures and link it up to share and be judged. I don't have any hopes of winning, but I do feel like have a recent favorite pick that I wouldn't mind sharing with her.

So I am actually sharing a picture I had posted as part of a slideshow last week from the Quinceañera I took two weeks ago. I haven't linked up in the last few weeks because unfortunately, my pictures have not fit Lori's themes lately, so I figured I was still safe to share this picture again, and on its own.



This is Shantal, a familiar face on my blog, and one of my favorite pictures of her in general. This little girl has these beautiful eyes that pop in color as it is, but in this picture they do so even more. She reminds me of a little Audrey Hepburn here...I love it!  I took it with the 50mm and had the advantage of having the nice natural light coming in to highlight her face.

So that's it for today. I'll keep it short, but I wanted to get in my contribution. I am linking up also at
The Hollie Rogue as its one of my other favorite blogs and Lori links up with her as well.

Thank you, Lori, for letting me celebrate with you!

Happy Foto Friday from my corner to yours...

Linking up at:

Weight Watcher Wednesday- Have a healthy summer!!

 Summer is one of those seasons that I feel kind of makes it a little easier for me to keep up my healthy changes and my weight loss. Although the days are longer and there is more time to eat than usual. That's not a good thing necessarily, but there are a couple of other advantages to that I'm choosing to look at as well. Its a great time to drink a lot of water, there is a variety of foods that I prefer to eat during the summer than in the winter, and because it gets darker later, there's also more time to find different activities or exercise to work off what I eat.

 Summer Fruits...

I love this time for fruits…along with added sunshine comes the added colors. They’re soo pretty! 

 Bananas are staple for me, and a must to have a home. A good banana and a glass of milk, for me, are a meal in itself. And that is low point lunch that can fill me up and leave me some room for something yummy later in the day. Grapes are sweet and just easy to eat on the go too!

 

I LOVE RASPBERRIES!! Don't you? 

They're great on their own and they're so tasty with yogurt and granola...OMG!!

Watermelon is another must for me. 

I can go through a whole watermelon in one sitting if I let myself. 

On a really hot day, its super refreshing and just delicious!

 (It digests really nicely, too)  ;)

 
Salads...have always been one of my favorites too!
Cobb salads with mostly egg whites, low-fat shredded cheese, ham and/or chicken has become one of our favorites at home that even my hubby loves. It has a lot of protein and picking the right low-fat dressing to go along with it can make it a great satisfying meal.

Exercise

Summer is a great time to get motivated to do more with your body. The weather just gets you out there to do more. Although, having said that, extreme heat can also slow you down. And I will admit that since I've started jogging, I too am not as motivated to jog even late in the morning because the sun is pretty strong, and makes it that much harder to keep up my endurance. So instead, I try to run on those early mornings, especially during this June gloom, when its still nice and cool in the am. I LOVE the feeling of that crisp cool air as it hits my face! 

If I can't get that run in, then I reverting back to a nice hearty walk and I've been taking those in the late evenings just as the sun is kind of going down. Another favorite time of day for me!! I'm also taking advantage of that time to take my boys with me. They don't walk as fast as I do, but they do keep up and now they can actually walk up to 2 miles with me if I nudge them along enough. I started doing that last year, and now we look for opportunities to walk to different areas in our neighborhood just for sake of walking. Like on Monday, instead of driving, we walked over to Christian's baseball game at his high school  a little over a mile from our house, and we walked back home part of the way too. It was a nice time of the day to do it and I felt like I got my exercise in for both the boys and myself. 

And then there's always the beach and the pool!!!

 

I cannot wait to get to the beach this year! I honestly discovered the beach all over again, a few years back, and I LOVE going with my boys and our friends. I'll be honest, I don't do much exercising there (or at the pool for that matter), but this year my goal is to hopefully be able to take a few walks along the beach while we're there. Walking on sand is soo much harder than walking on cement, that it makes for a much better workout! I'm looking forward to trying that out this summer.  And I need to get in the pool more often as well to take a few laps and work out those legs, which can never hurt!

So I hope you'll find the summer a great time to enjoy the great fruit that's out there and maybe you already have your favorite activity you'll take advantage of doing, but maybe you'll find a way to change that up a bit or try something completely different. Let me know what you end up doing. It would be fun to see what everybody's "thing" ends up being. 

All in all, I just hope you have fun doing things that can help you all stay or get healthy this summer!

Happy Weight Watcher Wednesday, from my corner to yours....

Foto Friday- My first photo gig

So most of you know by now that I dabble in photography. I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I am NO professional, but I have DNA connections to the art form as my father was once a professional photographer, so the apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree. I have come to love it in my own way, and have a different eye for what I like to see in pictures.

Well, my dearest friend Angie, for whom I have been taking pictures of her little girl for years now, apparently trusted me enough a few months back to offer me a small job to take pictures of her niece for her Quinceañera. Of course I was flattered than she even asked, but it soon turned to shear panic of possibly disapointing her, but she reassured me that they were on a tight budget for this so any pictures I could possibly take would be truly appreciated. Otherwise there would be no pictures. Great! Ok, no pressure, right?!

Wrong!! As time got closer, I'd get sick to my stomach, and honestly thought about chickening out to avoid the possible disaster of ruining some little girls memories. BUT, I knew this was a great chance to get some practice and challenge myself to do something I never thought I'd do. So the Quinceañera was this past Saturday and it turns out that I think I actually did ok, and I'm glad I did it.

Here is where I will take the opportunity to thank another dear friend of mine, Jennifer Counter, who I owe the success of this photo shoot to.  She is a photo wiz and I love her photography , and she was nice enough to let me borrow a 50mm lens and her flash. But more importantly she was gracious enough to look at some of my practice pictures and give me some very practical tips and skills that I could understand. It made ALL the difference in my picture taking and my confidence going in. So Jen, once again...THANK YOU!!

Her tips helped me actually shoot the whole event in Manual mode which that alone was a huge success for me.  Shooting in manual takes practice (and I need more of it for sure) but I found it easier to maneuver lighting situations in this mode.

Instead of posting a long set of  pictures I have this short slide show with a sample of the shots I took throughout the event. My style tends to be abstract and I like catching casual shots of people just having fun. You'll also be able to tell that some of my favorites pictures tends to be shoes. Go figure! ;)



So in 5.5 hours I took well over 1000 pictures and ended up after editing and deleting the ones not worth keeping, there are 775 pictures total! I didn't expect to take this many, but its hard to know when to stop when you're there.

Ultimately I'm happy with what I turned out! They're not perfect but I got some great practice. I'm glad I did it and so was my friend Angie who loved the pictures. It was fun, but definitely a lot of pressure in making sure that I got the shots they wanted and would like. The one thing I have to say is that with digital photography today it is soo much easier to delete and re-shoot as you go along, so I'd like to give props to my dad and those photographers from years past when digital was not being used for professional photography. They were basically shooting blind and trusting in their mad skills that the pictures they shot would actually come out as they expected. Editing was not as easy as it is now either...so cudos to them!!

I hope you enjoy the pictures, and Dad I hope I made you proud!

Happy Foto Friday everybody!!

From my corner to yours...

Monday Motivations- Let the Summer begin!!!

And the final last day of school for my boys is finally here tomorrow, so that means....

We have a short summer this year due to schools going back in mid August. But we are going to make the most of it. Here are some of our plans:

• lots of swimming
• getting together with the cousins 
• afternoon walks with LuLu
• summer baseball for Chris
• summer basketball for Mikey
• trips to the beach...Can't wait!!
• a family reunion in San Diego
• The Freemont Experience in Vegas...almost forgot ;)
• my Brother's wedding...SOO excited!! Yay!
• hopefully a small vacation getaway to Palm Springs
• and any surprises along the way!

Things I'd like to try this summer:

• hiking with the boys
• taking them to Venice beach
• going to the library on a weekly basis

We'll see just how much of this gets done, and I will share throughout the way, but we're looking forward to all of it.

Here's hoping that you all have a great summer as well, filled with all the things you and your family enjoy, and some wonderful summer memories to cherish.

Happy Monday from my corner to yours...

Foto Friday- Mikey's Annual Project

Mikey has been out of school for a week now, and I haven't had the chance to share his year end pictures, so I figured I take the chance to do it as today's Foto Friday post.


A few weeks ago I did a Foto Friday post about a some pictures I helped take for Mikey's classroom. They were for the school's Annual Project day where each grade/classrooms show off their last big project of the year.  Then friends and family are invited on this special day to come admire their work. The 3rd Grade class project was about The Art of Nature and Perspective. They also studied the work of Ansel Adams, the famous photographer and environmentalist, so the pictures we helped the children take were then made into black and white, 8x10 portraits as an inspirational homage of his work.
 

 Their pictures were displayed on these beautiful backdrops that were painted by the kids themselves.

 It always amazes me what these teachers can come up with and get our children to learn and appreciate. Mikey comes home all the time with bits and pieces of knowledge that just blow our minds.  I'm sure that its a great satisfaction for these teachers to see their ideas come to fruition through their students. Thank you Ms. Aram for being such a great teacher! Mikey loved her and was privileged enough to have her a second time, as she was also his Preschool teacher a few years back at a different school.  CHIME is blessed to have her teaching there.

 The Annual Project day also served as the debut of the the ART Garden Installation put in by the PA as part of CHIME's outdoor classroom. It was headed up by our adored art teacher, Ms. Jaye, and parent volunteers. Its a wonderful piece of work that adds an outside museum like walkway for all to enjoy. It really is beautiful! Thank you Mrs. Jaye

 

 

Everybody who came through the Art Garden got a chance to stick their own decoration on the wall as their way of leaving a mark on the community wall for all to see.





Can't wait to see what new projects 4th grade conjurs up for Mikey, but until then...

Happy Foto Friday and may you all enjoy your Fathers Day Weekend!

Christian is going...Upward Bound

This past Sunday, was the beginning of a new adventure for Christian, and the start of the "letting go" adventure for Jerry and I as parents. 

A few weeks before school was out, Christian was accepted to a  student program called Upward Bound that helps high school students prepare for post secondary education.  He went through an application and interview process (as well as we did) that gave him a spot as as one of 50 students who get provided with a 6 week summer academic program held at CSUN, year round tutoring services that are held right on his high school campus, and future help with the college application process and all that entails. So this is actually a 3 year commitment for both the program and Christian as well.

 
The summer program starts of with a 2 week residential program where the students actually stay on campus in the dorms while taking their classes, and specialized college oriented workshops, and are taken on field trips to various College campuses in California. Their classes include taking 5 academic courses, 3 of which are classes that they will be taking in the upcoming school year (English, Biology and Algebra2 in Chris's case) in order to prepare them ahead of time. The 2 other classes are in the science and language areas, so Chris will be taking Robotics and Public Speaking this year. The next 3 weeks, they commute back and forth from home like a regular school week, and then go back to CSUN for a final week of staying on campus for finals. 


What a great opportunity for Chris! And what an opportunity for us!

What?? How's that? Well, during our interview process, one thing we were told straight out was, that one of the hidden goals of this program was to prepare not just the kids to go off to college, but to prepare the PARENTS!!!

Uggh! Wait... Yes, sir! I guess I'm in! Because guess what...we're going to need it. Jerry and I haven't been as heart strong as many of you  parents who have already experienced your babies leaving home for a few days at a time. More power to you all, I tell you, because I couldn't have imagined letting Chris go anywhere on his own until now.

So knowing we would miss him dearly, but also knowing how great this would be...we were ready for Christian to take on this experience and get a small taste of what "college dorm life" might be like for then next 3 summers. 

Sunday was the day we dropped him off for his first week at CSUN. I will be honest, I had my emotional breakdown Sunday morning in his arms as he assured me he was going to be ok, but I kept it together while we dropped him off, and then broke down again later on that evening when he called us after getting settled into his room.  I couldn't help it, I missed him already! :'( 
 

                

Each dorm holds 4 boys, 2 in each room. Boys on one level, girls on the other with strict rules of entering each others area...you just cant! Phew!!!! Lol! It was fun getting his room ready, and he had some cool gear already waiting for him on his desk to make him official. We got to meet his room mates and their families, all of which made leaving him there all that much easier.

 

We had a parent orientation meeting where they explained what they're day was going to be like as you can see their day is packed with work and some fun at the end of the day. The other life skill they're being taught throughout the 6 weeks is budgeting. One of those cards on his lanyard is a meal card with just enough money to pay for all the meals they get. Their receipts are monitored, and IF he doesn't budget correctly he runs the risk of running out of money and having to pay for it himself or having to ask us for more money! Not that we wouldn't give it him, but the plan is for that not to happen. I love it!! Money budgeting 101 at 15 years old will hopefully help him make wise budgeting decisions when he's in college handling his own money.

        

After the meeting, we got a chance to say our last good byes and take this picture. See, I was totally happy and I was truly excited for him. I wanted him to see that his mom was strong and not making it any harder for him either.   

Update on Chris so far: He's doing great, having a good time, adjusting to being away from home as would be expected of a kid like Chris, but not suffering by any means. He's enjoying his classes, he likes his roommates, and says he's already meeting some good friends.

Update on us (lol): Jerry is a total softy when it comes to his boys. He adores them! He's tries to maintain being a bit more stoic, but admits that if its hard for him now, he can't imagine what it will be like later when we send Chris off to college. Danny and Mikey miss him too, and are showing it by actually taking over his bedroom...hahaha! As for myself, I've actually been quite proud of me. I totally miss him, but I've been holding up really well considering that a few years back I believe I would have been an absolute mess. But like I told somebody yesterday, its kind of hard to be sad when you know your son is doing something good and is totally ok, and I trust that will continue to be the case.

We'll have Chris home for a few hours this Father's day weekend before he goes back on Sunday night, and I can guarantee we'll be enjoying every minute, and I'm sure he'll feel the same way.  I think for him as much as for us, this experience is also one of learning to appreciate your family and what you have with them and not taking that for granted.

I am grateful that Christian got this opportunity, and for all the good that will come of it for him and his future.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy being with your babies this summer!!

Have a great day, from my corner to yours...

Monday Motivations- Letting Them Go...

Oh where do I begin with this one. Its been a busy few weeks for me with the the school years coming to an end at 3 different times for my boys and all the activities that come with that so I was a little challenged in getting down to writing my blog. But my Monday Motivations are always a good day for me to feel like I can start over and get back in the groove of writing.  I have been using this post lately as a weekly motivation for you (if not more for myself) in areas of creativity, health and some fitness. However, today its going to be a little different.

My Monday Motivation  for this week will have to do with the joys and the growing pains of parenting. I wanted to share that being a parent of 3 boys who are growing up very quickly, calls for moments, whether I like it or not, of having to let go of my baby boys..

Its the end of the year that brought a lot of new beginnings for Christian and Danny. They both finished their first year of high school and middle school respectively. They have both had a lot of success and have learned soo much. Christian survived the rude awakening year of some grueling curriculum and hard work that he wasn't used to and grew intellectually in ways that only his 15 page papers could explain. Danny changed schools and from day one showed us that that we were NOT to underestimate what he could do. He showed us just how much he could advocate for himself and just how well he could do in a middle school 2-3x the size of what he was used to.

As parents it was a year of learning and growing for us as well. Its been year of letting go not just of them but of having control over a lot of the situations they will now have to encounter as the reality of the times we're in, and learning to let go with some guidance and trust that they will know how to deal with these situations. Its also, more importantly, been a year of letting go (a little bit) of that fear that maybe as parents we haven't done enough and actually trusting in our own abilities as parents; that we actually have and continue to lay a solid spiritual and personal foundation to help them be the best all around people possible.






This past week alone has been a week of letting go for me, and it truly put me to the test. Danny was going on his last field trip last Thursday to Malibu Creek State Park for a long day of hiking, and I immediately said "there's no way he's going by himself!" Long story short, after catching myself in realizing that this would be a great opportunity for him to gain some independence, in talking with his teachers and actually finding out that Danny wanted to go by himself, that's exactly what I did...I let him go by himself!! And what did this mommy learn...that he did absolutely fine on his own and had a great time to boot!



Then just yesterday, after being accepted to a special college bound program (see future post for details), we had to drop off our first born (sniff, sniff) for the first week of a 3/6 week residential stay at the CSUN student dorms. OMG!! I honestly did a lot better than I expected, trying to keep my thoughts positive and enthusiastic for him, but I had to give myself some slack too as Christian has never been away from home for more than a night on a sleepover. So Sandy was going to miss her baby and cry about it...at least a little bit! :'(


And boy am I little tired and drained today! But in good spirits and in the mood to write and share these experiences with you. Understand that these are little victories for me worth sharing because I'm trying really hard to make sure that I live my life as positively as possible for my boys, but mostly for myself. That alone has been a journey for me...but that will be a conversation for some other day. 


For now I will leave you with summing up the poster above in regards to our kids:

We don't want our kids to grow up, but we have to accept that they do, 

there are things we don't want to know that are kids are going through, but we have to learn how to guide them through it, 

and we CANNOT live without our kids, but have to let them go...

May we all go through this parenting ride together and in support of each other! 

It truly does takes a village!

Happy Monday from my corner to yours...