ShutterMoms Workshop

Had the privilege of attending Tim Park's ShutterMoms Workshop this past Saturday. A great time of learning, meeting other shuttermoms and fueling my love for photography! Min from L&M did a wonderful job coordinating the workshop with lots of yummy food, plenty of coffee (very important to mommies!) and awesome door prizes and goody bags.


One of the favorite things I learned -


"Every time we compose a shot, we have to think: What will and what will not be in the frame?"


Tim reminded us to be intentional about composing a shot and not haphazardly shooting away, hoping we get something good in the frame. 
He taught about a vision minded approach - how we are to be directors and storytellers with our images, instead of shooting 10,000 tight head shots of our kids (I am guilty of this!). 


There is so much more that was shared there, so if you want to learn more, you have to check out one of his workshops! He will be offering more workshops in the future, so to stay in the loop, join Tim's Facebook page for updates and to view his work.


I wish I could've taken more photos, but my camera battery ran out halfway through...yes, total fail. I was pretty sad :( but lesson learned!




The workshop was also very hands-on and allowed us time to handle our cameras.
So in the above photo, I took a photo of my friend Cindy for an exercise on how to use light to create different moods and effects. Very fun. (And isn't she beautiful??)


Happy shooting everyone~

My Free Spirit

Recently, I've been exhausted by the demands of my little girls.
I love them to death but exhausted nonetheless from the constant cleaning, negotiating, disciplining, cooking, playing and all the little details that equal motherhood. 


My littlest one, Noelle, has been especially shriek-y and difficult ...leading me to pray hard as never before, "God, please give me grace for today" and simultaneously rant to my husband about how the "terrible two's" must've come early.


Well, yesterday, I spent a refreshing day at an inspiring photography workshop (more on this later!) and then lunch with friends while Tim watched the girls.  


When I came home, little Noelle ran as fast as her little chubby legs could carry her, shrieked like a banshee and gave me a big hug.


My heart melted into a thousand puddles.


She is my little free spirit.
How I love her, tantrums and all.

[photos taken at The Huntington Library]

The Village at Pomona

 A glimpse through my lens


Favorite eye candy - blue birdcages and Valentine day decorations!

Everyday Moment #78

Brushing teeth and bathtime fun with ducky

Dream More

Walt Disney started with a pet mouse and a dream.
Now his impact is measured not in millions, but in generations.
That's just crazy. 

"If your actions inspire others to 

dream more, 

learn more,

do more

and become more,

 you are a leader."

- John Quincy Adams

Take a Break

Bottle Love

Little N is nearing the 16 month mark... soon she will need to wave farewell to her beloved bottle so thought I'd take a few photos to remember her as still a "baby", milk dripping off her chin and all. 

This set was also prompted by the Creative Mama photo challenge. The challenge was to use natural window light indoors in your shot.

If you're looking for a good blog to subscribe to, check it out! They do photo challenges every two weeks and I've found that it stretches me to learn and try different things, esp. with all the great resources they share. Plus it's really inspiring to see what other people shoot and flickr has such a great community of photogs to learn from! 

Food for Thought

Kid Friendly in Glendale

I love to go out as a family.
As a parent of two little ones, here's my list of criteria when deciding where to go:
1. Fun for kids under age of 5 and kid friendly 
2. Not expensive
3. Fun for the parents
4. Not crazily crowded
5. Not too far away
6. Affordable food nearby
7. Fun for the parents 


Is this too much to ask?
There are days when if I have to go the Brea Mall one more time, I will pull my hair out. Sometimes old stomping grounds get...well... OLD.


So, I was delighted to find a new place: 
Gigi's Farmer's Market held every Saturday morning from 10 AM - 12 PM in the Americana in Glendale.


They have a petting zoo ($4 and you get a cup of feed) and pony ride ($5).
Live music, free samples of food and drinks, fresh produce, a playground, fountain, and shopping. 


We would've stayed longer but accidentally left our baby bag (no diapers, no milk, no snacks) plus Noelle's shoes at home. This is the parental equivalent of holding a time bomb in your hand. I do not recommend.


Otherwise, a fun family outing ~ If you and your family haven't visited the Americana yet or it's been a while, check it out~ a treat for all your senses!

Five

Five years ago today on a cold, rainy, windy afternoon, I married my Timmy.
I'll never forget it - nervous, excited, over the moon.


Thank you Lord - it has been an amazing five years!
Looking forward to all that is ahead of us....

(Wedding Photo by Cheri Pearl)

Meerkats and Maps

So last week, we went to the Zoo.


Alas, my photo-taking skills were at an all time low this day...
Maybe it was the early morning drive dragging two kids out of bed or the amount of walking we did that day, in any case, I came home with a lot of blurry pictures of animals and kids.


But here are my two favorites.
The first one pretty much sums up how we spent one hour of our time there.
With Zoo map in hand and Totally Lost.
In case you live in a cave and didn't know, the San Diego Zoo is G I N O R M O U S.
We managed to navigate our way around but not before losing 10 pounds.

The second is of the little Meerkat family.
Although I'm not a fan of rodent-like animals (is there really anyone that is??), these little guys are alright.
Maybe it's because they have a cute name.
Or because they remind me of Timone from Lion King.


Anyways, I read that they are also called "sun angels" in some parts of Africa.
I guess they are serious about their sunbathing!

Loved our trip there and capped it off with some delicious Mexican food...enough reason for us to make another drive down!
Can't wait~

Imagination...

is the most free in a child.

A work of art, in more ways than one!

Tasting the New Year

I love that I married someone that is not Japanese and from a different culture.
For one, I can cook Japanese food that is semi-horrendous and Tim thinks it's good.
And two, I love that our kids are part of two rich cultures and will get to experience both.


So in an attempt to keep both Korean and Japanese traditions alive for our girls, I cooked some traditional New Year's Day foods for my family today. Luckily, my mother-in-law and mom were not here to taste said dishes because they would surely gag at the inauthenticity of it all.
But hey, you gotta start somewhere.
Hopefully one day, my girls will cook these dishes for their kids~


Ddukgook (Korean rice cake soup)

                         


Osechi-Ryori - traditional Japanese New Year's food


(And yes, that is a chip-and-dip dish. I need to get some traditional Japanese lacquer boxes~)

• Kuromame (center) - "black bean", symbolizes good health and hard work
• Kamaboko (left) - Japanese fish cake, pink and white supposedly symbolizes the rising sun
• Tazukuri (dried anchovies, store bought) - symbolizes fruitful harvest
• Nimono - "simmered dish" made of gobo (burdock root), renkon (lotus root), carrots, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, peas, chicken (Naomi's favorite)

Sekihan (store bought) - "red rice", Japanese red rice cooked with azuki beans

Ozoni - Japanese soup with mochi, shiitake, kamaboko, daikon (radish), carrots, and spinach (Tim's favorite)

It was good to have a little taste of "home" today~

Happy New Year!