it's Ryree

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2010-10-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to put some life back into this blog...

I've revived my passion for photography...and it's time to stop hiding behind my alter ego, "Ryree"

Stay tuned...this is going to get exciting!

Hello There, New Furniture

2010-05-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

I decided to take the camera out and at least attempt to capture my move. I actually unpacked most of my boxes! It's a great achievement, really. This was the key chain the gave me when I picked up my keys.

This weekend was a success! I knew I had to go to IKEA to get some starter furniture, so I made sure to search their website before going. If I didn't know that, I would have been all over the place. I knew I had to go in there with a plan of attack. I had an idea of what I wanted to buy, I knew the color wood I was looking for, and I had a list of specific items with product name and bin number (yes, they give you that information online!). I wrote it all in my handy dandy moving notebook. :)

Once at IKEA, I reach in my purse for my notebook, and realize I left it on my coffee table (a.k.a. plastic storage Tupperware thingy). But I wasn't worried because I remembered the color and somewhat remembered the items I wanted to see.

I came out a winner!! Got myself a new side table, coffee table (a real one!), and a kick-ass TV stand. I also got a few other things. You know that area after the show rooms and before the self-serve area? Where they have all the fun stuff to shop for? Yeah, I got myself a few kitchen supplies, wall decals, and a few other things.

I leave you all with a picture of these cute little chocolate truffles I scarfed down the other night. I got them as a gift for my birthday. Aren't they cute?!

I'm Home!

2010-05-17T17:53:00.001-07:00

That's right ladies and gents, I'm officially moved in and it feels great! I wish had some pictures to share, but I didn't take any. I was too busy packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking. It's such a relief to be done with the big stuff. I still have some unpacking to do but I'm pretty much settled in.

Things I learned over the past couple days:

Just because you buy an HD Television, doesn't mean you have HD cable.
You'll get charged a $30.00 fee, plus $4.00 a gallon for gas IF you don't refill the U-Haul gas tank. Thank goodness for the kind employees at U-Haul for letting me take the truck back to fill it up, saving me the fee plus ridic price for a gallon!
Have an internet network name ready before the internet/cable guy comes. Otherwise, you'll be sitting there for tens of minutes trying to figure out a clever name and all he'll be thinking is how much of a fool you are.
Make sure you know where to throw the garbage and recycling.
Boxes make great interim tables!

Stay tuned for more lessons learned!

Break Time a.k.a. Procastinating

2010-05-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

I've dedicated today to all things packing. I've packed a box here and there, but today everything should be done. I've been anticipating my move weekend for a while now, and now it's quickly approaching. I have a business trip to go to before my move, hence the need to pack everything now so I don't need to worry about it when I get back.

I've settled my cable/internet issue! I was so frustrated that I just made up my mind to get Comcast. I was all excited when I was filling out my information and then I ran into a problem that blew my mind. Apparently, Comcast does not service my area. What?! I couldn't believe and I had to call for a serviceability request. A day later, the confirmed that they don't service my building. Aren't they one of the biggest, if not the biggest, cable provider?! Anywho, I ended up signing up for Astound, which is a local cable provider. I'll have to get used to the channels because I'm used the Comcast channel numbers, but Astound is cheaper than Comcast and it's not like I'll get a lesser quality of the networks.

I still have to get a U-Haul. Buy a TV and buy a sofa in the next week. Ambitious of me huh? Of maybe incredibly dumb for getting all the 'big stuff' at once. That's just how I am though. I hate having to wait for things. I want everything in my new place right when I move. That's going to cause a major dent in my bank account. Probably more like a collision.

I still need to make an IKEA trip too, because, well, it's required. You always have to do an IKEA trip when moving. Regardless if you need something or not. I like looking at the showrooms for ideas. IKEA can wait a couple weeks though.

The buzzer of the dryer marks the end of my break time. My next post might be from the comfort of my new place, stay tuned!

www.internetisexpensive.com

2010-05-01T22:03:00.001-07:00

About a month since my last post. How wonderful of me, aye? I do have a valid excuse, a few of them to be exact. I've been really busy and out of town a lot. But I won't get into that.

I'm a bit frustrated. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm moving. In preparation for this big move, I've been researching cable and internet service. Can someone please explain why it's so darn expensive? I've already decided that I don't need a telephone line since I already use my cell phone as my main number. I've come to accept the price for cable, although I do think it would be better if we can pick and choose what channels we want and pay for those only, but I digress. Internet. The service provider I've been looking at charges a monthly charge. Okay I get it. But in order to actually get internet, you need a modem AND a wireless router? They charge you a monthly charge if you decide to use their equipment or you spend hella money to buy your own. I just don't get it. You'd think that would have some easier way (cheaper way) to connect to the internet now a days.

So, thinking I was clever, I thought I could skip the whole internet service for my new place and just get a internet card, since I only have a laptop anyways. I've seen people use those to connect to the internet from airports, cafes, etc. So why couldn't I use it to connect at home? So I go home and start researching. I'm left even more confused. I guess it's easier to get one of those internet/wireless cards for PC laptops. I have a Macbook Pro and kept coming across this thing called "expresscard." Then I read that the 13" aren't equipped with an expresscard slot. Hmph! There has to be a way to get some kind of internet card/express card for the 13" now, right?!

All I want is some (cheap) way to connect to the internet. I just have one lil ol' laptop...what in the world am I going to do?!

Does anyone out there have any suggestions? I'm so lost!

I'm Moving!!

2010-04-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

I'm just way too excited to think of a witty title for this blog. Oh well...I'm moving! This is one goal that I've had on my to-do list for some time now. One thing that hindered this was the idea of saving a certain amount of money before I move. What did I gain from that? Nothing, really. The idea seems valid and doable, but the reality is that it doesn't work for me. Yes, my rent at home should have allowed me to crank up my savings in the past few years, but instead I indulged in mini-vacations, shopping, eating out, etc. It's actually kind of sad to think about all the money that goes into entertainment and leisure. Oh well, can't turn back time, I can only look forward to what's ahead.

And ahead of me is my first apartment! It's a very exciting time. Well over-due, some may say. It definitely feels like the right decision and I couldn't be more excited. I was actually planning on a June move date. A couple of nights ago, I was browsing the apartment postings on craigslist, I actually have been doing that often. I figured that if I keep the idea of moving active in my mind, it would keep me motivated to make it happen and finally stop pushing it back. Since this is my first apartment, I really didn't know what to look for and what was considered a good deal. So, of course, I always consult my big sissie Share-Bare. She's moved enough times to be considered an expert on apartments! So as I was searching on craigslist, I found this one posting from this one particular property that I've been debating. This move-in special was one I couldn't resist, and when I ran it past Share, she agreed.

The next day I gave them a call and set up an appointment to see the unit. I brought Share with me and we spoke to the Leasing Specialist and she gave us a tour. To add on to the great move-in special, it is in an ideal location for me. On our way back to the leasing office, Share tells me to do it, which was exactly what I was thinking. So that same day, I filled out the paperwork and gave the security deposit.

I still have about a month and a half until I actually move in, which is a month earlier than I originally planned, but it feels right. My mom is totally getting into it too, which I was hoping she would. She's already planning what I need for my kitchen. I need that because I don't know where to start! I started making lists of what I already have and what I need, but if I think about it too much, I start to feel overwhelmed. Which is what happened right before I started this blog entry. I was browsing online for sofas, and then realized that I don't know what color scheme I want. So I started looking up swatches, but then the colors I want won't go with the furniture I already have. And then I went back to looking for sofas...so I stopped and went to blogger.com.

This is definitely going to be a new adventure for me and I'll be sure to keep this updated with the ups and downs of how things are going. Ahhhhh I still can't believe it's finally happening!

Random Ramble: Part 3

2010-03-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

I've been MIA! I really don't have a good reason for it, but it happened. A week turned into two, and so on . Well that's it from me!

Just kidding...I plan to have a few good posts (or at least I hope they're good) in April, so please stay tuned. I've been neglecting my camera, so I plan to try to get back into that and share a few shots. I invested the money in that equipment, so I should use it, get more experience, and get better, right? Right.

I am currently working on a project that is pretty fun. I'm making a movie on iMovie of our family trip to the Philippines last March. Yeah, I know...I'm a year late. But hey! It's not my fault, I didn't have any way to connect my camcorder to my laptop. Don't expect any award winning short films from me, that's not my forte, but if you want a kick-ass slide show or have family videos that need to be put down on DVD, I'm your girl.

The Chronicles of The Ride Home: Volume I

2010-03-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

My passengers: Mom, Janelle (age 5), and Tates (age 4).

Tates: You know, my mommy let me and mama go to nanay's house and I fell.
Me: Hahahaha... (i like to mess with her)
Tates: Thas not funny!
Janelle: Teachers say you shouldn't make fun of children.
Me: Well it's a good thing I'm not a teacher. Muahahahahah....
Janelle: You should make good choices.
Me: I do make good choices. That's why I don't have children. Buahahaha....
Janelle: That's not funny...

Sugarpill...you know you want try it...

2010-03-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard about Sugarpill cosmetics was on YouTube while watching one of my new favorite make-up gurus, JazzieBabyCakes. Before I go on, I have to say that JazzieBabyCakes is so freaken awesome. She's so talented and I love the way she does her make-up. Check her out!

So JazzieBabyCakes did a review on Sugarpill cosmetics and I got curious. So I found the website and it appealed to me instantly. I'm a visual person, so I liked the vibrant colors and bold style. After browsing the products and reading some reviews, I was hooked. The reviews that I did read said that the colors were very pigmented, which I like! I mean, who doesn't like bright and dynamic colors?!

I really didn't need to buy more make-up, but when I saw that this cosmetic line just launched in February 2010 AND she was based in Oakland, CA, I knew I had to buy something. I mean, I have to support a fellow Bay Area resident. I placed my order on March 2nd and it showed up on my doorstep today. I packaging was cute! I loved how Amy personally signed the packaging slip and threw in a decal.

I don't own any loose eyeshadows, so that's what I decided to get. I bought Decora (the pink one) and Magpie (the blue one).
Another thing that I've been into lately is glitterly/shimmery (remember My Private Jet OPI nail color?...loved it!). I wanted to try it out right away, so I played around with Decora. I have a few pink shadows that are slightly lighter than this one. But the reason I don't really use them is because the color doesn't really show as I hoped it would. The reviews I read on Sugarpill were right, the color was way more pigmented and I was happy with how the color turned out.

I'm excited to actually put this on both eyes (HAH!) and wear it out, instead of just one eye before I go to bed. My first experience with Sugarpill and loose eyeshadow was a success. I'd definitely recommend this brand to others.

Spinning vs. Me....

2010-02-25T21:35:00.000-08:00

Spring is just around the corner and I've got a few trips coming up. I'm a few months behind in my goal to get fit and lose weight. I just haven't been motivated, my fault, really. I've actually avoided weighing myself because I knew there would be no difference from almost two months ago.

Well, this morning as I was waiting for the shower to heat up, I saw that little sucker in the corner collecting dust. Yeah, you know, the scale. I thought, "What the heck...mind as well." I hop on and low and behold, -8 lbs. Crazy, right?! That negative number was stuck in my head the whole day. I thought,"Well, maybe I remembered my January weight wrong." So I looked back and it was just as I remembered.

EatSmart Digital Bathroom Scale

You'd think I'd be more excited about this. But I have to remember that I was really sick during the month of January and I changed my diet a bit. So that's probably where the loss came from. Regardless, it was a great wake-up call and I told myself,"Why break the streak?"

Share asked me this afternoon to go to spin class with her. I've gone before and actually enjoyed it. It's been a few months since I last stepped into the gym, so I hesitated at first and didn't give her an answer. "Why break the streak?" So, finally I told her I would. We got there and I felt so tired and sluggish (I didn't even workout yet!). There was a small percentage of me that wanted to back out because I woke up not feeling well and had a sore throat. Sign that I am probably getting sick....again! But I sucked it up and went.

Oh my goodness, let me tell you, spinning kicked my @$$! I could not keep up, even with a sick instructor who wasn't even as tough as other spin instructors. My legs, arms, and @$$ (I forgot how much those bike seats hurt!!!) were killing me not even halfway through the class.

I won't let this discourage me. Even though I did lose a couple lbs. doesn't mean I'm fit or healthy. Tonight's spin class proved to me that I am truly out of shape (like I didn't know that already). Once I got home, I plopped myself on my bed and didn't want to move for the entire episode of The Deep End and Grey's Anatomy. Let's see how Turbo Kick Boxing and Zumba treat me!

Savings!

2010-02-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

I really just can't get enough of FRIENDS. It's one of my all time favorite shows. I love watching the re-runs, and I still find myself cracking up! They are just too funny. Tonight's episode, Ross had some important event and none of the friends were ready to go. The funniest part of the episode is when Chandler and Joey fight over the chair.

Chandler was sitting on the chair first, then gets up to go to the bathroom. When he comes back, he sees Joey sitting in the chair he just deserted. They argue about it, Chandler hides Joey's underwear, Joey wears all Chandler's clothes, Joey takes the essence of the chair (the cushions, duh!). It was just too funny.

It reminded me of my childhood. No, no one hid my underwear and no one wore all my clothes! When I was little, whenever we left a chair we intended to return to, we always said "Savings!" And that was that...no one could touch that seat. And if someone did, we argued, "But I said 'savings!" It's funny how we made that the rule that everyone had to obey. 20 and some odd years later and we still use that magic word and it works.

Random Ramble: Part 2

2010-02-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

I actually sat down yesterday and planned to blog about....something....anything. I looked over a couple of drafts that I started, but never finished and, well, deleted them, except for one. There is one draft sitting in my Edit Posts tab that I'm still holding on to. To be honest, I don't have the balls to post it yet. Maybe soon....maybe.

So as I sat there, I just couldn't think of anything blog-worthy. I have had a couple little things in mind, but nothing that deserved its own entry. You like how seriously I take this? Haha...as you can see from my other posts, not serious at all. I guess I was just in one of those moods yesterday. So I just read some of the blogs I follow and logged out.

I sit here again thinking of what to blog about and thought I'd do another installment of a random ramble, I mean hey, that's all I've been doing on this entry so far, right? I'm all about consistency.

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a fan of the Kardashians. I was at Sephora this past weekend with my mom and sister. When we entered the store, we all went our separate ways. I, for once, steered clear of the make-up and went to the perfume section. I've been meaning to find a new scent since I'm all out of my Juicy and L.A.M.B. perfumes. As I walked up and down the perfume aisle/wall, my mom and sister come up to me and asked if I found Kim's new perfume yet. Funny how they knew I was looking for that exact scent! I know she just launched it at the Sephora in NYC, so I was hoping it'd be there. I don't know if I would have bought it (probably though), but I am very curious to smell it.

For my fellow Catholics, yesterday marked the first day of Lent. This is the time to reflect, sacrifice, and make new resolutions. I won't go into my beliefs too much, but I did want to share one of the things I gave up this year. One thing I gave up is meat. 40 days (or 39 as of today) of no beef, chicken, pork. One question that comes to mind is, "Is seafood meat?" I mean, I've never considered it meat since we can still eat fish on Fridays. But isn't it still meat?

Finally, I was on perezhilton.com and saw this adorable video of this 3-year-old crying over Justin Bieber. haha...I feel just sorry for her future boyfriend...just kidding (kind of), she's too cute! Check her out here!

Loving My Private Jet

2010-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

Of course I don't have my own flying aircraft. One of my guilty pleasures...well not even guilty because I'm not ashamed...is my love for reality television. It's great entertainment! One of the shows I follow regularly is Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Great show, right?!

How many of you remember that episode where Kim 'finds' the chihuahua on the street? Well, when she finds that pup, she walks into a nail salon and asks them if they had OPI's My Private Jet. Me and my sister were really curious to know what color that was. Who really knows why we were so intrigued. I mean, it's only nail polish right? And if you really think about it, it was probably just an advertisement plug. Regardless...it worked and we wanted to know what nail color Kim was looking for! haha!

I haven't gotten my nails done in a while. Well, lately I've just been painting them myself. Now that I'm trying to be more aware of how I spend my money, getting my nails done just seemed like a waste of money. But sometimes a girl just needs to pamper herself and the other day I had some time to kill before going out. I drove to the small, local nail place near my work that I've gone to in the past. It's your typical asian owned place where they do manicure, pedicure, haircut, and wax. Those places are usually really cheap and get the job done.

I walked in and they were pretty busy with ladies getting their nails did. So they told me to wait a little bit and pick my color. I was in the mood for a dark grey/gun metal type color. Out of the 100+ colors they had on the wall, I could not find the one that fit my mood! It was quite upsetting. So then I started looking for something dark but with a metallic or glittery flare. I had a couple colors in my hand, but then saw this brownish/greyish color that had glitter. It looked brand new, so I picked it up and looked on the bottom. Yes. I'm sure you've guessed...it was OPI's My Private Jet! It was meant to be. I love the color. She did two coats, but now I kind of wish she did three.

Here's what it looks like. It's lighter in person. Isn't it kick-ass? I am slightly disappointed because I felt like Kelly (my nail lady) was rushing, and after closer inspection from these pictures, I can see som messy spots. Oh well...life goes on...(if you know me then you know what the next line is..hehe)...

Surfing the Internet Waves

2010-02-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

My earliest recollection of the computer is the one my family had. I believe it was an Apple computer, with the rainbow colored logo. I remember the black screen with the green images. I didn't have any use for computers back then, except to make those kick-ass dot matrix paper banners that were heavily pixelated. You better believe that every birthday party we threw had one of these banners hanging in the house. With the image of a birthday cake on either side of the "Happy Birthday" text.
Fast forward a few years to the AOL days. I was probably in middle school when we first got dial-up AOL internet. It was the best thing ever. I got to see my friends for 7-8 hours during school, talk to them on the phone when I got home, and then chat with them online for the rest of the night! AOL chat rooms started online dating! Because it was new, no one (at least not me or my friends) worried about crazy people out there, and I have to admit that I've met up with people I've met in those chat rooms. It was completely harmless, and we were just bored and met up at the mall or something. Don't tell my mom! haha...
I probably spend way too much time on the computer/internet. But it's nothing I am thinking of giving up. I'm on the computer the entire day at work, and if I'm at home, then I'll probably be online or my laptop will be on for some reason. You'd think that 8 hours would be enough, but there's always something to look up, right?

I am taking a night class this semester and I got to class a little early one night. I sat in front of the computer and it was an automatic reaction for me to open up Mozilla. Once the page loaded, I sat there thinking, "What website am I going to go to?" And a few of my usual websites popped into my head, such as Facebook, Blogger, Perezhilton, D Listed, work email (I know...).

I visited each of them briefly and nothing was updated since the last time I checked, which was maybe 2 hours prior to me getting to class. Which got me thinking, "Why do I feel so compelled to be online all the time, to check my usual websites a few times a day, waiting for something to be updated or new information to be posted?" Then I mentally put my foot down and thougt I should really just close the browser and just sit back and maybe meet some people in my class. So I did. I clicked on the red 'x' on the upper left hand corner, pushed the keyboard away and took my hand off the mouse. I looked around at the other early birds and saw that they were all in a trance in front of their own computers.

What thought came to mind next?

"Ahh, fcuk it, I'm gonna play Bejeweled." haha!

I know we live in a digital age, and I'm glad we do! I do agree that it takes over a significant amount of time that I'll never get back, but, hey, 'everyone else is doing it...' haha!

Reason #3 to Watch the Super Bowl

2010-02-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

Before I go into the third reason to watch the Super Bowl, I thought I'd share the first two reasons just for consecutive order's sake.

Reason #1: Football players are so freaken hot! I've had a thing for football players since high school, which is the reason I became a fan of the sport. Out of all the professional athletes out there, football players are definitely the best eye candy.

Reason #2: Is a follow-up to reason #1, I'm a fan of the sport! I just find it exciting and it's fun to watch games live or on T.V. It's easy to follow, and even if you don't know all the flags or penalties mean, you can still figure out what's going on.

And now Reason #3: The commercials.

I was very unimpressed with this years commercials. There can be numerous reasons for that. I hear that Pepsi chose not to buy any airtime this year and instead will use that money to help those in need. The economy is still in the shit-hole, so that may be another reason people didn't put much of an investment into Super Bowl commercials. In any case, I do have two favorites this year.

The first one is the Google commercial. When I was actually watching it for the first time on T.V., I didn't get it because I wasn't really paying attention. But I saw all the buzz on Facebook about this, so I YouTube'd it. It's so cute! Check it out below:

The second one is the Bud Light T-Pain Auto Tune one. HAHA! Absolutely high-larious!

Random Ramble

2010-02-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

I don't really have a specific topic for this entry, not because I don't have any ideas. I always have ideas and topics waiting in the queue. Why don't I pick one of them? Eh, another time when I'm in the zone. You know which zone...yeah, that zone. heh...

Let me officially congratulate the New Orleans Saints for their first Superbowl win in their franchise history! I was rooting for you guys, love it when the underdogs prove everyone wrong. Boo-yeah! To be honest, I'm not a Colts or Saints fan, but of the two, I, of course hoped for the Saints. Great win for this team, but...not an exciting game. I believe there was only one interception the entire game, which was by Saint's Tracy Porter. That was one of the very few times I got up and cheered. Congratulations again and now the waiting game for the next football season.

I've recently added Google Analytics to this blog and let me tell you, it's so much fun! I use Google Analytics for work to track website traffic and to get metrics. But it's simply for fun and curiosity for this blog. My sister Share uses StatCounter.com (which I've used in the past but I'm trying to get the hang of Google Analytics) and she tells me that her top search words in search engines are "match.com etiquette." Try it out on Google.com and you'll find her blog as the second search result. So in the month or so that I've had GA installed, I've had two visitors that came to my blog from a search engine. And what did they search, you may be thinking? The first one was "don't wake, when i'm dreaming, california dreams just let me lay out in the sun" and the second one was "don't wake me up california dreams blogspot." Funny, right?! I mean, how many of you guys are California Dreams fans? I'm not ashamed to admit that I watched that show. Another interesting fact is that they are both international. One of them is from Saint Kitts and Nevis (I never knew this place existed until I Googled it) and the other one is from Japan. So thank you my international California Dreams fans for stopping by! Greatly appreciate it :) Feel free to stop by again.

I dedicate this video to you both! Enjoy :)

Grammy's at its Best...and Worst

2010-02-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

The Grammy's is probably my favorite awards show. It would either be that or the MTV Music and/or Movie awards. Celebrities just seem more laid back and are ready to have fun during those three award ceremonies. I, and over 25 million other people, tuned in to Sunday nights Grammy's and I was well entertained.

Although I missed Lady Gaga's opening performance, I was able to catch it on the ever so reliable youtube.com. She doesn't disappoint. I always to expect a great show from her, I semi-wanted to go to her concert when she was in town, but didn't. Heard it was fab though!

I'm not going to comment on every performance, but I do have a comment for a few of them.

P!nk: I totally respect you as an artist. I wasn't a big fan of yours up until I went to the Britney Spears concert and you did your acrobatics thing. Totally cool and I was very impressed. Then you performed "Sober" at the 2009 Video Music Awards on MTV. Love that song and again, totally impressed with your acrobatic skills. Then you preformed "Have You Ever" at last night's Grammy's and tried to dazzle us with the acrobatics yet again...it's getting kind of old. We get you are flexible and strong...and you can sing at the same time as hanging from a piece of cloth. But you have to give us something new! Time to step it up!
Beyonce: I really enjoyed your performance, it was probably my favorite of the night, but don't get why you got so nervous while accepting your award. You even say,"I'm sorry, I'm nervous." BUT...after googling, I saw that you picked up six awards last night, which is a record for a female artist. So I'm going to overlook that. Congrats, girl!
Taylor Swift: You are still one of my faves! I'm still a fan of your Fearless album and think you're the sweetest and most humble young artist out there. I heard a lot of people saying you were way off pitch last night, and I have to agree. But! I wasn't a fan of yours because you're the greatest singer (that's not an insult, I promise), but I respect that you write your own songs, play a few instruments, and seem like a genuinely nice person who doesn't let fame get to you. I heart Taylor Swift!

My vote for worst dress is (drum roll please): Jennifer Hudson. The black tights are not kickin' it for me. Without it...it would've worked! Maybe I'm being too hard on her, I mean, I think it's flattering on her it's just that the tights are throwing me off. And she looks so good for just having a baby! So I'll take my vote back and give it to...

Photo courtesy of CoCoPerez.com

...Ciara. Girrrrrrl...what were you thinking?! I'm so confused by the whole thing!

Photo courtesy of americansuperstarmag.com

My vote for best dress goes to...*gasp*...it's a tie! This award goes to both Rihanna and Lea Michele of Glee!!! *applause* Both ladies look fab-u-lous! I wish I could look this good :)

Photo courtesy of CoCoPerez.com

Photo courtesy of gofugyourself.celebuzz.com

Wake-Up to Make-Up

2010-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, I was a morning person. I'd love waking up early, getting ready, and would always be one of the first people at school. That was a long time ago...

Now, you'd be putting yourself at risk if you try to wake me up in the morning. In the past, I'd kick myself for sleeping in until 10 am on weekends, because half the day was practically wasted! But now I just can't get enough...I do, however, avoid naps during the day, that's where I draw the line.

With the loss of 'getting ready' time in the morning, I've found some short cuts and routines that help me 'catch-up' with time. One, in particular and the reason for this entry, is my make-up routine.

Make-up is one of my favorite things, so I really try not to skip that step in the morning. I'm a sucker for Limited Edition MAC pallets, so I have quite a few of them. So going through each of them trying to figure out what colors I want to use and which brushes and how I want to wear them can take some time, believe it or not. So to save some of the few precious minutes I have in the morning, I've chosen to stick to one make-up look for weekdays. It saves me time and the more and more I do it, the faster I get.

Disclaimer: I'm in no way a professional, nor do I claim to be one. I just know what I like and like to experiment with make-up! Take this as it is...

I'm always in search of a good eyeshadow primer. What I find that works best in my morning routine is MAC's Cash Flow Paint Pot. It goes well with the eyeshadow colors I use and I like that it adds a gold shimmery hint.

And these are the four colors I use. As you can see, all neutral colors so it goes with all outfits. I put Mulch (the darkest MAC) on my lid, Mocha (Motives from Pure Blendz) on the corner, Kid (the lighter brown MAC)blended on the crease, and then finally Rose Blanc as the brow highlight.

And then I top it all off with MAC Black Track Fluidline. This is one of my favorites, I absolutely love this eyeliner. If I'm super late and I have to skip they eye shadow part of my routine, then I'll simply just slap on some black eyeliner.

As you might have noticed, all (with the exception of the Motives shadow) is MAC. I have other brands, but I just really love MAC's eye shadows. :)

Cheers to morning routines that help us save time!

Project 365: Fail!

2010-01-29T18:32:00.000-08:00

Surprise, surprise. Although I wish I could capture memory in a photograph everyday this year, but ever since I've been on a hiatus from photography, it's just been hard to keep up with this project. Oh well...it was a nice thought but I'm completely fine with letting this goal off the hook. But never fear, I have a few BIG goals this year that I plan to share...but not right now ;-). Stay tuned...

So speaking of my hiatus from photography, I've been starting to really miss it! There isn't one reason why I took a break, it kind of just happened. One of my excuses is that I don't have a proper photo editing program on my MacBook Pro. I'm still planning to buy Photoshop CS4, but as you know and as I've mentioned in a previous blog, it's so darn expensive! As much as I love taking photos, editing is the icing on the cake for me. Graphic design is so much fun and even funner when you get to work with your own...work.

I kind of wish I realized my passion back in college. But it's never to late, I suppose. I'm still following my dream and, although it's a slow process since I work full-time, am continuing my graphic design certificate program.

Go Go Gadget...GO!

2010-01-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

One of my cousins recently commented on my obsession with gadgets. To be exact, she said, "I never noticed that you are gadget-y(I had to add the "-[dash] y" because it just didn' t look right as "gadgety") for a girl." Apparently, the only people who can be gadget-obsessed are males! haha...I kid, I kid.

I wouldn't say I'm the most gadget-y female out there, but I do like to keep up with the times. Although, keeping up with the times can do a number on my debit card. My most recent buy was a Kindle 2. Love, love, love it! The company I work for got a sweet discount, so I just HAD to. That same cousin I mentioned just got the Nook and we compared the two. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, they are both digital readers. Kindle is through Amazon and the Nook is through Barnes and Noble. We are both happy with what we have, but I like the fact that the Nook shows the colored book covers on the bottom touch screen, as opposed to a list of book titles in the reading screen of the Kindle 2. I'm a more visual person so that appeals to me. Another more obvious difference is the Kindle 2 is WAY lighter than the Nook.

A couple months ago I made the switch from PC to Mac. I've actually worked on both, but 80% of the time on a PC. So I traded my Sony VAIO CR-Series Valentine Edition laptop for a MacBook Pro. I love it and haven't regretted the change. Except for the fact that my Adobe CS3 programs are PC versions!!!!!! I know, tragic, right?! I do plan to purchase the Adobe CS4 creative suite for the Mac, but as you know (or maybe you don't), they are so freaken expensive! I haven't been able to edit photos...I'm Photoshop deprived right now. I'm hoping in the next month or two I'll be back in action. Did you want to make a donation?!?! No? Yeah, I figured...well enjoy two photos to Project 365...
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PROJECT 365

01-07-10
I must say, this is an absolute first for me. On this day, I received my first bouquet of used flowers. That's right, I said "used." Haha...it was actually a very sweet gesture. On of my colleagues got promoted this week and she received said flowers as a 'congratulations.' Well, being it was Thursday and she was going to leave on Friday for a long weekend, no one would be around to enjoy the pretty-ness of the flowers. So she left them with me to enjoy. Told you, sweet, right?

01-08-10
Apparently, my mother has turned me into the bad guy! She calls me to punish my nieces when they are bad (of course when their mother isn't around) instead of punishing them herself. I'm sure you all recognize Tates. She got in trouble, by me, today. What did she do? Well, in her words, she "stole my sistahs bind-a (aka binder) and punch ha (aka her) in ha back." Her punshiment was to sit in her chair and face the wall. Look at her chillin with her legs crossed like she's grown! This one...she's trouble...lol!

Project 365...and GO!

2010-01-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

I want to thank wedding photographer Catie Ronquillo for the inspiration for this fun project!

I first read about Project 365 from her blog and thought it was such a cool idea, and left it at that. Earlier today I was on Facebook and saw that another person was participating in this project as well and figured it was a sign that I, too, should partake.

So what's my mission that I choose to accept? I shall take a picture everyday this year and post it right here on my blog! I'm a few days late, so I don't have one for all 6 days, but I'm letting myself off the hook for those. But from this day on, I will not miss a day!

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January 1, 2010
I'd like to introduce you to Time, the absolutely-best-game-ever-at-the-moment. Okay, okay, it's not called Time, it's official name is Tangram Master. Me and my family put a new spin on this classic game by racing to complete the puzzle and the first one to finish yells out, "TIME!" heh..get it?

January 4, 2010
Sticky fingers herself! Literally, sticky fingers. No matter how many times I tell her not to touch my things, she never listens. This is her "Yeah, I'm touching your laptop and not even trying to hide it" look.

January 5, 2010
As you might have read from my previous entry, I talked about the Kat Von D make-up I got for Christmas. I only showed the eyeshadow pallet I got, so now I'd like to present the Underage Red lipstick! Isn't it gorgeous?! I like it because it isn't wet or glossy looking and doesn't come off easily. Like a matte stain...FAB!!!

January 6, 2010
And finally today...it's from my phone and is a bit blurry because my subject was moving. There's a story behind every picture, and this one was me being random and silly. I had to pick my mom up today from Share's apartment. So Share told me to BBM her right when mother gets in my car. I thought it was a ridiculous request, and so instead of BBMing her, I took a picture of my mom right when she got in my car and sent it to Share. Happy? She's in my car!

There you are, 2010!

2010-01-05T21:26:00.000-08:00

Happy new year! It's been quite some time since I've blogged, hasn't it? Now, I could have my first entry be about my new years resolutions, but I haven't decided yet if I want to share those. So instead, I want to show off one of the Christmas gifts I got from my sister, Share (you can check her out at Share's Tabo List)! There is kind of a story behind it, that I'm a bit embarrassed to share, but here it goes anyways.

I like to watch make-up tutorials on youtube.com (that's not the embarrassing part!), and one night I randomly came across this one chick's channel. She's 16 years old, and after I watched one of her videos, I was just annoyed! They way she talks, her expressions, everything! But (the embarrassing part), I kept watching her videos. Like, she's so annoying that it's kind of entertaining and I actually now subscribe to her channel. So I watched a couple more and learned a thing or two! I love make-up and shopping for make-up, but there is so much out there, I never know which one to try. I watched her review on Kat Von D's make-up and I just had to have a pallet of my own! hah! So I put it on my wishlist and viola, I got it and LOVE IT.

Here's the pallet I got, Beethoven (also got the Underage Red lipstick):

Thank you JuicyStar07 a.k.a Blair.

Part II: Relief Efforts for Typhoon "Ondoy" Flood Victims

2009-10-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I blogged about the aftermath of Typhoon "Ondoy" in the Phillipines. Hundreds of thousands of families have lost everything because of the flooding and I just felt like I needed to something. So I coordinated a donation drive with the help of my family. I asked my uncle if we could set up shop at his filipino grocery store, and he was more than willing to help! We left tubs at the store for people to drop stuff off and I have to thank everyone who has helped out!

I've also been very impressed with how our community has really come together to help. The Bay Area has a huge filipino community, and it's so refreshing to see all the efforts. There have been night club events where 100% of proceeds go to the Philippines flood victims, restaurants donating a percentage of proceeds, donations, and benefit concerts!

Let's continue to pray for those who have been affected and try our best to help as much as we can.

This picture just breaks my heart...

Photo courtesy of Xinhua/AFP Photo

Here was our set up! We were collecting a variety of things such as, toothbrushes/toothpaste, perishable food items, vitamins/medications, soap, etc.

Thank you again for everyone's help and support this week! We got a ton of helpful items to send over to the Philippines. Remember, one small gesture will help thousands!

Maria the Make-Up Artist

2009-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Remember Maria the make-up artist? I mentioned her in a previous entry :). I've known her for about a little over 11 years now and is one of my best friends! She was nice enough to invite me to shoot her doing her make-up thing this past weekend. We kind of joke about how we are a package deal, when you get her, you get me too (and vice versa). We're both going through the beginning stages of transforming our passion into something more. It's really exciting!

I met up with her at the hotel that Saturday morning. She was doing make-up for the whole wedding party, including the bride! Talk about pressure, right? But no no, Maria was confident and did an awesome job! As she worked on the ladies, she'd give tips about how to apply eye shadow, what to use for dark circles, and explained what she was doing and using on their faces. I never knew what pigment was until that day, now I'm itching to go get some. She's such a professional, I love it!

After doing make-up for almost 5 hours, time was winding down and everyone was in a rush to get ready. But that didn't phase Maria, she was calm and finished up the last girl, the maid-of-honor, in fact, beautifully. It was such a pleasure meeting everyone and being there watching one of my bestie's in action. I had so much fun, thanks for having me ladies, you all looked beautiful!

Here's Maria.
I love all things make-up <3<3<3... id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389349471546235506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GXFwdD6MGhk/SsrQylXz2nI/AAAAAAAAAUg/6KB2TvBTQp0/s576/DSC_0706.jpg" border="0">
If I could wear false eyelashes everyday, I totally would! These belong to the bride.

Here's Maria working on the blushing bride :)
I just love this shot. I actually didn't even know I got this one until I uploaded the pictures to my computer. It's my accidently on purpose shot!

I absolutely love how she added the blue liner here. It goes perfectly with the earings.

As Tyra Banks would say, this is so FIERCE!

Pure Blendz Make-Up Party

2009-10-05T20:17:00.001-07:00

Make-up party. Need I say more?

Okay, okay, I will! Pure Blendz is a cosmetics company that I recently learned about. The people that work there are amazing! They are all very friendly and I love the one-on-one attention they give you. A couple weeks back, I went to one of their makeover events and had my make-up done by Wendy. I bought a few of their Motives products, and absolutely love it! (I'm wearing their foundation right now) Well onward with my story, I brought my friend, Maria, who is also a make-up artist and long story (not really that long....) short, they invited her to be one of the make-up artists at a Pure Blendz Make-Up Party last week! So exciting :)

Maria recently got her esthetician license and is starting to take her love for make-up more seriously. It's actually perfect timing, because we both are starting to build our portfolios (hers is make-up, and mine is photography), so she invited me to tag along with her to shoot her in action. It was a lot of fun! Pure Blendz did an awesome job, I wish I had some special occasion coming up because I want to throw a make-up party! Hey, maybe I'll do one just cuz...hmm. I mean, seriously, what's better than getting all your girls together to have a private makeover session in your very own home?

If you want to know more about Pure Blendz, you can visit their website at www.pureblendz.com.

Relief Efforts for Typhoon "Ondoy" Flood Victims

2009-10-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to share something with you that not many people know. I'm a pro when it comes to tuning out bad news/uncomfortable situations. I'll deal with things in my own way but if at all possible, I'll just pretend that it doesn't exist.

When I started hearing the news about the typhoon in the Philippines, I just thought, "Wow...that sucks!" I asked my mom if our family there is effected, and she said that the province that majority of my family lives in is safe and high enough that they don't have to worry about floods. So I just tried to not think about it, because I knew my family was okay. One day last week, my mom was chatting with one of my cousins in the Philippines and asked them how they were doing. She lives in a different area from the rest of my family, and she told my mom that their entire downstairs is flooded. I figured, "Hey, she's on the computer so it can't be that bad, right?" So again, I just put it in the back of my mind.

Last night, my uncle who lives here emails me and a few of my other family members asking for donations. It turns out that one of my aunts in the Philippines is in need of help. Her entire house is flooded. My uncle never asks us for help, so that's when it really finally hit me. I could not stop thinking about it.

So the next morning, I bring up the idea to organize a donation station. A place where people can drop off items to help the victims effected by the flooding. There is supposed to be another major storm hitting the Philippines this weekend. I started reading articles and looking at some pictures and realized that I could not just sit here and do nothing while hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything.

If you live in the Bay Area and would like to participate in our donation, please contact OndoyRelief.Payumo@gmail.com for details.

To find out more about how you can donate to help the victims, please visit the Philippines National Red Cross website.

Alcatraz Island

2009-09-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

I've lived in the Bay Area all of my life and not once have I gone to Alcatraz Island, I've never even been on a ferry! That's actually not as unusual as some may think, I know a ton of people who have grown up here and never been. I always just thought, "It's not going anywhere and I live in the area, so it can wait."After 26 years, I finally got an opportunity to go (it's actually not that hard to go, you just need to buy a ticket!).

It was a cloudy, windy, cold day in San Francisco. Just how I like it. I love the crisp, cold air. And the fog! I love fog! Haha. At the time, I kind of wished it was clear skies so my pictures would look 'better'. But after going through and editing them, I think the gloomy weather totally fits the theme, wouldn't you agree?

Alcatraz is such an amazing place. So much history and so many interesting things to see. The bad thing about me is that my mind tends to wander in its own direction when people try to give me a history lesson. We sat down for about ten minutes to watch a brief documentary on Alcatraz Island, and I retained a little bit of it. We all know that Alcatraz is known for being a prison, but I had no clue that after the prison closed, an Indian tribe (umm...my mind was somewhere else when they mentioned the name of the tribe) tried to claim it as their land. And another thing I found interesting is that when it was a prison, the workers and their families actually lived on the island, too. Well, I'll stop my poor attempt to dazzle you with my Alcatraz knowledge. Haha...here are a few pictures the Cellhouse Audio Tour.

Ran into this little guy while waiting on the fairy...

Check out that wonderful fog....

There it is, The Rock

Using Textures ... Dun Dun Duuunn...

2009-09-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to play around with textures for some time now. They can have a really nice effect, if done right. And that was the part that was delaying this experiment. I didn't want it to look like i just copy and pasted a new background. I wanted to know how to blend it into the image, how to make it look 'natural.' I've seen some really good uses of textures, so I guess I got intimidated. Tonight, I finally just dove in to the world of textures.

I'm pretty satisfied with the way they turned out. I'll probably start to incorporate textures into other projects, but promise not to over do it. Playing around with textures is pretty fun. It totally changes the vibe of the photo. And it's also a good way to 'cover-up' a busy background.

If anyone has any good suggestions (free!) on where to get textures, lemme know! =D

This is what happens when you get too busy...

2009-09-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

You remember you entered a photo contest two days after the polls are closed! I can't blame anyone by myself on this one. FAIL!

I entered a Summer Photo Contest on Tiffiney's Photoblog a few weeks back. The rules were simple, just submit a photo of a summer day. I chose a picture I blogged about earlier in August and voting started on Tiffiney's blog on Sept. 5th. I am totally FIRED because voting ended on Sept 12!

I have to thank Tiffiney of Tiffiney's Photography for posting my picture! It such a good feeling seeing your work posted somewhere other than my blog. I'll have to be better about this next time!

Here's the photo I entered of my two neices:

I Scream for Maggie Moo's Red Velvet Ice Cream

2009-08-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

My obsession began a couple weeks ago on one of those lazy Sunday afternoons. I was watching Food Network, specifically it was an episode of Unwrapped. I swear, that show always makes me crave whatever they are featuring. They're good! During this episode good ole' Marc Summers featured an ice cream shop called Maggie Moo's. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this because one just opened up near my house a little while ago, I've just never tried it. It's right next to a Jamba Juice so I always end up opting for that. Well, that's not the case anymore, my friend.

On that episode, they featured Maggie Moo's red velvet ice cream! Well, let me back up just a bit. If you're not familiar with this place, it's very similar to Cold Stone where they have various flavors of ice cream and you choose your mix-ins. Well, unlike Cold Stone, they have more unique flavors such as buttered popcorn, very yellow marshmallow, cinnamoo bun (hehe), and red velvet! I just couldn't get that out of my mind (I love ice cream!), so a week later, I drag my nieces with me to get some. Janelle got vanilla with oreos and Caitlin got chocolate with gummy bears. Of course, I absolutely had to get their red velvet fresh escape, which is red velvet ice cream with brownies, pecans, and fudge mixed in. YUMMO! I swear to you, this is the creamiest ice cream I've tasted! It's sooo good! If you get an opportunity to try it, I highly suggest you do!

If you live in the Bay Area, then you have two options, there is one in Hayward and one in Richmond. I've since been back twice and am still as amazed as the first time. Here's a picture of the dee-lish treat taken by my handy dandy Blackberry (please excuse the blurriness).

Joyce's Mommy-to-Be Shower

2009-08-16T20:58:00.001-07:00

Remember I mentioned shooting for my first event as a photographer, but I couldn't give too much details about it? Well, it's time to spill! I was asked to shoot for one of my sisters' best friends surprise Mommy-to-Be shower. I admit, I was kind of nervous. I don't really know why because I've known most of them practically all my life. Maybe that was the reason..haha.

Joyce, the mommy-to-be, was surprised with an afternoon mani/pedi party at Twinkle Toe Nail Bar. The day was full of laughter, gossip, and colorful toes! She was glowing and such an adorable preggy. You may be wondering if she's having a girl or boy...well so are we! The parents-to-be are saving that surprise for D-Day! Ahh...I can't wait to find out!

These were such cute favors! And I got to keep one, which was a major plus. What was inside? Why, mini nail polish, of course!

Can't be a spa day without spa water! Cucumber and lemon water is truly more refreshing than plain water...

Don't try to eat this cake! The diaper cake was such a cute idea. And it was even better with the added cupcakes along the bottom. Those were edible and deee-lish! Thank you Sibby's Cupkakery, I'll be contacting you for some yummy treats soon!

Here she is, the Mommy-t0-Be!

Told you there was laughing. This was taken right after I caught Sharon talking to the baby giraffe on the cake. Heh...silly girl.

Gotta have the belly shot!

Thanks for having me, ladies!

Introducing my Muses

2009-08-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

You've seen them time and time again, but I thought I'd give them a proper introduction, especially since they are the two people who are always willing to strike a pose. Anytime I want to test lighting or different settings on my camera, they are always ready and smiling. I seriously think we turned them into camera-hogs, I've caught them many of times with my digital camera taking pictures of themselves. And if I didn't catch them in the act, I'll find out later on when I upload pictures and there are mysterious pictures of their eye or forehead (they are totally into taking self portraits of themselves...just like their auntie!!! ha!).

Well, without further ado, I'd like to properly introduce my nieces, (dun da da dun!) Janelle and Caitlin!As a 'thank you' for putting up with me, I took them out for a Day-O-Fun! They're still young, so hanging out with me is still considered cool. And this Day-O-Fun would not be complete without an impromptu photo session. Of course, right? Here are some highlights from that day.

This is Janelle, the older of the two. She's a total girly-girl and I absolutely love that! On the day of this session, she had a fit about wearing an Elmo and Cookie Monster shirt out because she said it was a pajama shirt. If you know her, then you can imagine how stressed out she was! And she gave me specific instructions on how to braid her hair, including the matching green hair ties.

And this is Caitlin, aka Tates. She is probably the total opposite of Janelle. Tates is a dare-devil, tomboy, and messy. Don't get me wrong, they have their similarities, I mean, they are both goofballs, but that just runs in our blood. Her instructions for her hair that day was basically not to braid it (because it takes too long) and she just wanted one ponytail (so it's out of her face). If she ultimately had it her way, she would skip the ponytail altogether and just leave the house lookin' a mess! Haha...

We completed our day with an ice cream run to Maggie Moo's. And you better believe that Tates' nice, clean white shirt was covered in chocolate by the time we got home.

Im waiting, anticipating for you baby....

2009-08-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Heh...don't let the title of this blog fool you. I'm not waiting or anticipating the way Mike Jones' Next to You song explains it.

I'm pretty excited because I've been asked to shoot pictures at this upcoming event. I can't go into too much detail but in about a week, you'll know why. Without revealing too much, this is kind of the first event where I'm invited as a photographer and not as a guest! It's something small, but still, I'm stoked!

I'm not getting paid, nor did I expect to. I'm just excited to practice and take pictures of people other than my neices or inanimate objects. So wish me luck and I hope I don't disappoint.

Happy Monday!

Fix It Friday: Sweet Boy

2009-08-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! I thought this week was never going to end. Oh the stresses of being a grown-up...blah! heh... One of the highlights of my week was finding this fab candy store! It's called Powell's Sweet Shoppe and the one I went to was in Burlingame, CA. OMG...when we walked in, I just couldn't help but smile. They had new and old brands of candy! And a few odd ones like gummy bacon, ick. I definatley need to hit up that store again, soon! And if I don't speak about food enough (heh...I love food), I am absolutely excited for dinner tonight (which I should be getting ready for right now...ohhh man, they're going to kill me if I'm late).

Well, onward to Fix It Fridays! Here's my take on the photo this week. I did similar edits as the Southern Belle. I just am really diggin' that look right now. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Summer....what's that?

2009-08-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

Summer used to mean sleeping until noon. It used to mean getting Jamba Juice in the middle of the day and chatting with friends for hours (well...I guess that still happens every now and then). It used to mean weeks of doing absolutely unproductive and time-wasting activities. That is, until this thing called "work" entered my life. *sigh....

When iHeartFaces posted that Week 30 would be their bye week for contests, and in its place would be a photo sharing week about summer, I thought, "Oh...should I share photos of my cubicle, because that's where I'm spending my summer."(I actually may do that one day!)

This has been in the back of my thoughts for a few days now, and finally thought of the perfect summer post!

Every year, for the past couple years, me and my sissy try to hit up different festivals during the summer. I mean, that's one of the great things about the Bay Area; we're so diverse! There seems to be an Arts and Wine festival in every city, there was the (unsuccessful) Great American Food and Music Festival, and I can't leave out the famous Gilroy's Garlic Festival. But the one that I want to focus on today, is the Aloha Festival at the Presidio.

I look forward to this festival every year! What more can a girl ask for? If I can't go to Hawaii, this may be the next best thing. Live music and dancing, great food, and shopping!

We took our nieces this year. They were a little cranky that day, and it might have been due to the fact that they were out late the night before (no really....they go out! haha)

Ahh...the food. It's probably the main reason we go. Lomi Lomi, Laulau, Poke, Malasadas, and of course Spam Musubi. (and did I mention Hurricane Popcorn?!?!?.....it's heaven)
Here are the girls with two of the performers. Aren't they adorable!?
I still have a few more weeks of summer and I'm going to end it with a bang. I've got a few mini-vacays up my sleeve, so keep an eye out for those posts!

Fix It Friday: Southern Belle

2009-07-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Here's to another Fix it Friday! I thought this picture was pretty cool. I like the 'old-style' feel to it, so I tried to flush out a bit of the color, but still keeping it sharp. Here's my entry and the steps I took to get to it. Happy Friday!

I use Photoshop CS3 (I'm actually debating on purchasing CS4, but haven't noticed any drastic changes in the program....but let me know if you have).
1. Rotated imave 15 degrees CCW.
2. Cropped image.
3. Added Sepia Photo Filter
4. Increased the Brightness to +39
5. Applied a basic S-Curve
6. Adjusted the RGB Levels
7. Played around with the Brightness/Contrast again....changed contrast to -24 and -6 to brightness.
8. Finally, I merged all the visible layers and played around with filters. I added a slight grain, dust and scratches, and then sharpened it a bit.

Thank you iHeartFaces for this fun weekly activity!

Fix It Friday: Little Miss

2009-07-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a "fix-it friday" in a while! These are really fun, well to me at least. Every Friday, the wonderful people at iHeartFaces posts a picture to edit. You can get as creative as you like. I use Photoshop CS3. I'm all about clothes and when I saw this little girl's dress, I knew I wanted to make it pop. Here's my submission.

TGIF!

2009-07-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness it's (almost) Friday! I'm so looking forward to the weekend (it's just been one of those weeks). Not only do I have a half day of work tomorrow, but I also have a 75 minute facial scheduled (ahhhh.....). Did I mention it's a free facial? A while back, my former manager gave me a gift card to this local day spa, and in typical Ryree nature, I lost it and just recently found it! Ooh yeah...I'm going to enjoy this one. I'll let you all know how it goes. *crossing fingers*

There really isn't a point to this blog entry (just one of those random ones...*shrugs*), but I was going through some of the pictures I took last weekend, and couldn't help but laugh when I saw this. He, by the way, is my nephew. I was testing out action shots and he was more than willing to help me out. From the look on his face to the awkward way he's jumping, this pic just makes me L-O-L!

Finally...it has happened to me...

2009-07-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

Finally, I bought my first digital SLR camera! If you know me, you know I love pictures. I carry my handy-dandy Casio Exilim digital camera with me everywhere. There are things happening around us all the time, and I want to be prepared to capture it!

I know a few photographers and I am always so envious and inspired by their work. I've taken a couple photography classes back in high school, you know, the black bags and dark room type class. I really enjoyed it, but at the time, my focus was on graduating, and then college. Fast-forward to now, I find myself being the go-to person in my family for pictures and my desire for photography has resurfaced. Of course, right now it's just for fun. I need to get the hang of it again and get to know my camera. So don't mind me if you see me snapping away...I'm just trying to find my flow.

Here are some random pictures I took this weekend. I'm sure my family (especially my nieces and nephew) are tired of me taking pictures already, but they'll thank me 20 years from now when they get to look back at all these memories.

I can always count on Jenny to be my muse.

Tates loves her some chocolate.

Janelle is so fresh and so clean...clean...

Just Let Me Lay Here in the Sun....Until My Dream is Done....

2009-07-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

Don't wake me up, Don't wake me up if I'm dreamin' California Dreams, Just let me lay here in the sun Until my dream is done.....

I know you all remember that show! I went to Santa Cruz a couple weeks back and while I was sitting on a bench watching my nieces on one of the Beach Boardwalk rides, I looked over to the houses on the cliff side and saw a seagull fly by and the California Dreams song popped into my head! Haha...am I corny or what?!

It was a fun-filled day full of arcade games, deep fried twinkies, ribs, and rides. In the midst of all that fun, me and Tates sneaked (random fact of the day: did you know that "snuck" is was not even a word? Due to common usage, the dictionary now lists the rather vulgar "snuck" as an option, but sneaked is the original past tense form.) off to the beach. Later we found out that was her first time touching the ocean! Here's are some pictures I took of her.

And for those of you that don't know what California Dreams is...here's their theme song. Enjoy!

Congratulations, Jenny!

2009-06-20T00:06:00.000-07:00

My dear, dear cousin graduated from FIDM this week! And I got carried away with editing her pics. Here are three of my fave pics. ENJOY!

Music Minute: Justin Nozuka

2009-06-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

So I may be late in the game...because his album was released last year. But I was feeling like a Jason Mraz day on Pandora one day at work and this song just caught my ear. I've been hooked ever since! Loves it!

"Get Bitten!"....I'm Trying!

2009-03-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

So as many of you shopping goers out there know, Steve & Berry bit the dust and joined many others in the bankrupt-economy in the sky. It happened a couple months ago, but for some reason I was thinking about it today. I've only been to Steve & Berry once or twice, and it was towards the end of its time with us. I wish I listened to long-time BFF and name-twin when she told me to go there because everything was so cheap!

During my shopping visit, I discovered Bitten. Bitten is Sarah Jessica Parker's affordable clothing brand! I bought a pair of jeans for under $20 and because they were closing, it only came out to like $5.00!! Great deal and it's one of my favorite pairs of jeans. Everyone knows that it's hard to find a great pair of jeans, and if you find a brand you like, stock up.

Well, today I was thinking that I need to stock up. I know Steve & Berry has been gone for a few months, but in the back of my head I didn't worry because there is always online shopping. I've been looking for an online store for the past hour and haven't found any! I've found some on ebay and other sites like that, but I don't want those. I came across an article in People magazine online and it said that SJP has gotten offers from retailers to be the new home of Bitten, but she wants to make sure she is making the right move for her customers. The right move is to make it available online, like now!

If anyone knows where Bitten is being sold...like a reliable online store...let me know!

Messy Little Tates

2009-02-27T21:32:00.000-08:00

I don't consider myself a photographer, but I'm hooked on the I Heart Faces blog! This is the first time I'm submitting something. When I saw the them for this week was "Messy," the first person I thought of was my neice, Tates.

Silly Girl

2009-02-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

It's Fix-It Friday again! The wonderful people at I Heart Faces posted another image to fix. Check out the edits I did below. I used PhotoShop CS3. Cute baby, huh?

Original

After

Wonder Girl

2009-02-21T21:48:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, I am totally into playing around with graphic design and such, that's what I went back to school for! I came across this awesome blog called I Heart Faces and found out they do this thing called Fix-It Fridays. I'm no photographer, just your typical digital camera user, but the Fix-It Fridays give me a chance to practice with Photoshop CS3. The task is to take the un-edited photo and fix it up. Check out what I did below.

Before

After

Another After

Music Minute: Maria Mena

2009-02-19T14:39:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: So let me just be clear, I'm no music-expert. I'm not pretending to know anything about music. I just know what I like, regardless if it's mainstream or not.

So, about over a year ago, I was obsessed with Realize by Colbie Caillat. I would play it over and over again on YouTube. I then started reading comments and someone mentioned that one of her songs reminded her of Maria Mena. She's a Norwegian singer and I totally dig her. Here are two of my faves. She's definately iPod worthy in my book.

I Miss You Love

(single was released to Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Spain in 2007)

Just Hold Me

(went Gold in 2008 in Germany)

New Crush

2009-02-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

I'm usually a loyal viewer of American Idol, but this season, I haven't had a chance to keep up because of other engagements. But I have seen an episode or two of the auditions and I saw the results show tonight. I was pleasantly surprised that my favorite from one of the audition episodes I saw made it to the top 12.

I swear, hearing him sing makes me cry. It's mainly because of his story. His audition interview just broke my heart. He's 28 y/o and his wife passed away 4 weeks before the audition. You have to watch it for yourself. And then I heard him sing...so soulful! And did I mention he's way cute? My AI prediction is that he's going to win the whole thing.

Love You Long Time

2009-02-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

In celebration of Valentine's Day, I've decided to devote this entry to my celebrity loves. There are way too many to list, so I narrowed it down to long-time crushes.

Will you be my Valentine?
(in no particular order)

1. Terrence Howard - What can I say about Terrance? Can't really pin-point when I first noticed him, but I just dig his smooth-talking characters and love the eyes!

2. Bruce Willis - He was such a hero in Armageddon! Makes me cry everytime I watch that scene. Even though he's older, I still think he's very attractive!

3. Will Smith - I have a love/hate relationship with Will. The Will that I hold on to is the one from Bad Boys. I haven't been too crazy about about a lot of his movies, and actually haven't had the urge to watch a lot of the recent ones.

4. Vin Deisel - Oh, Vin. I don't care that he has a receding hairline. I fell in love with him in 2001 in the first Fast and the Furious. I loved his protective nature and macho-sensitive persona. You can't imagine how excited I was to hear that they are bringing him back for Fast and the Furious 4! (I didn't bother to watch #2 or #3)

5. Ben Affleck - I can't say that I remember exactly when I knew it was true love. The thing I like about Ben is how he's laid-back, and down to earth. I was really happy when he married Jennifer Garner, they make a perfect match!

6. Johnny Dep - My first introduction to Johnny was on 21 Jump Street. I love how he still rocks the flannel shirts. Can't wait for Pirates #4!

7. Ryan Gosling - I've loved Ryan since he was Sean on Breaker High where he played the goofy, no-game high school student.

Congratulations to My Boys

2009-02-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

I was so nervous during the 4th!! Both teams played a great game. I wish there were less penalties and more play time, but whatever. *Sigh* Until next season...

A M A Z I N G

Saving the World, One Plastic Bag at a Time

2009-01-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

If there's one bandwagon to jump on, its the re-usable bag one! I'm totally hooked on these. If you're like me, then you have tons of plastic bags laying around. I recall seeing Target, Forever 21, and Macy's plastic bags in my room as I left this morning. I'm still getting used to remembering to bring my re-usable bags with me, hence those plastic bags currently in my room.

Well, in my quest to save the world, I came across some merchandise in Macy's back in December. They were really cute so I started to look more closely at them. At the time, I was buying Christmas gifts so I thought the make-up-sized bag would be perfect for my girls. And then I noticed the tag said "featuring artwork by Kanye West." I started looking at other ones and there were some by Heidi Klum, David Bowie, Giorgio Armani and Gwen Stefani.

Here's a tid-bit of what the tag said:
The signed artwork reproduced on this garment is the original work of the celebrity artist and has been donated for the exclusive use of the Whatever It Takes campaign, which has so far raised over $1,500,000 for charitable projects worldwide.

How cool is that? These celebrities actually drew out these designs! I wanted to research more about what Whatever It Takes.org is all about and found out this organization is based in the UK. Which got me thinking, "Why are they selling things here?" Then I saw they are trying to tackle key global issues, such as poverty alleviation, environmental conservation, and the protection of children. These celebrities contribute their designs to the items sold from Whatever It Takes.org and the sales of their products go to the celebrities' charities of choice.

This organization supports tons of causes around the world, not just in the UK. A few that I picked out from the list are:

CARE International - works in more than 70 countries around the world tackling poverty where ever the need is greatest. It has impacted 45 million people worldwide

LIFEbeat - the US music industry's charitable organization, dedicated to reaching America's youth with the message of HIV/AIDS prevention.

St. Judes Children's Hospital - discoveries made here have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program - works to improve the lives of patients and their loved ones by providing at-home help, childcare, transporation, access to support groups and patient care srvices offered within Cedar-Sinai Medical Center.

Check out a full list of causes and their charity report here: http://www.whateverittakes.org/causes.php

Well, when I was at Macy's looking at the Whatever It Takes.org merchandise, I came across a bag that contains four reusuable bags! I didn't buy it at the time because I was Christmas shopping and told myself not to buy anything for myself. Well, ever since then, I've regreted it because the bags were really cute! I started looking online for them, but the Whatever It Takes.org is based in the UK and the prices were listed in pounds. I'm always a little scared to buy something that's not in dollars. And the website didn't have the bags I wanted. I searched in other places and saw other people who were like me and discovered this organization in places like Urban Outfitters. Well, long story short, I found my bags! I got the ones designed by Lucy Lui.

What I like about them, besides the fact that they are loud and colorful, is that they roll up and are secured by a button so they are only about 3 inches big, which means they are easy to carry!

Ode To A Cupcake

2009-01-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

This week, even though it is a short one, has been oh so uber hectic. The sucky thing about it is that it's not over yet. Today marks my busiest and longest day thus far.

It started off at 5 AM when my alarm clock goes off. I usually don't wake up that early (or shall i say...I NEVER wake up that early), but I had an uber early meeting. Let me take this opportunity to thank my collegues in Boston for scheduling it. I actually didn't wake up exactly at 5 AM, so I had to call-in to the meeting from my car (thank you renee for the bluetooth, it came in handy!). Getting into work when no one is here actually made me feel good. I won't be doing that often, but at least I got to experience it once, hah! So moving on. You would think that because I came in early, I would leave early. That's not the case, my friend. I actually have to stay later than usual! And not only that, I have class tonight and will have to sit there for four straight hours.

So knowing that my day is not even close to being over, I decided to take a mid-day Starbucks break. I needed some caffine in my body, like ASAP. (Oh, did I mention my 'coffee only once a week new year's resolution' is totally over?) So me and my friend from work head over to our fave Starbucks spot and we are in line. Then I hear her say, "Red Velvet Cupcake!" *Gasp...I know! I look into the pastry section, and like a ray of light shining on it....I see it. Two red velvet cupcakes. (pause for dramatic effect)

It was perfect, one for each of us. It's amazing that this little cupcake changed my whole outlook on my day. It doesn't beat Marita's though (if you don't know about Marita's then you are certainly missing out). But it did hit the spot. Mmm...cupcake.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

2009-01-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

I'd like to send out my congratulations to the 2008 AFC Conference Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Hines, honey, we need a speedy recovery from you! As some of you know, he injured his knee on a reception in the first quarter and wasn't able to play for the rest of the game.

Tomlin also reports that Ryan Clark and Patrick Bailey should be fine. Clark, you gave us a scare, but glad you were able to walk off the field. Unfortunately, Raven's McGahee had to be carried off on a stretcher after colliding with Clark.

I may be biased because I have a major crush on him, but my MVP award goes to Troy Polamalu. He was absolutely amazing! ESPN said it best:

"With Troy Polamalu ending any chance Baltimore had for a comeback with a 40-yard interception return, the Steelers bullied their rivals 23-14 on Sunday to reach their seventh Super Bowl."

And check out my man here doin whatever it takes to get the job done. But yeah, I do have one request for my beloved Troy. Please shave that beard. Maybe its something your doing for this season, but after you win the superbowl...please shave it off.

Congratulations again and see you guys on February 1st! If (and when) they win the Superbowl, they will hold the record for most Superbowl victories! Here's to win #6!