Quote of the day...

Back in College we used to have a dry-erase board on the front of our door that we called our "Quote of the Day board". We would write down random things we heard and used it as a source of laughter throughout the day... Anyway, A dear sweet friend of mine said something today that has had me laughing ALLLL day! It was definately Quote-board worthy so I figured it deserved a blog-nod...
She was getting on my case for my non-existent dating life and here was the quote...

"Girl, if your taxi's empty, turn on your light!"...

Apparently I need some help...anyone got any tips or spare lightbulbs?? ;)

Show me the LOVE!

This book has been recomended to me countless times and now its my turn to forward the sentiments... Read it, you'll LOVE it! Anyway,I am just finishing up this book and have really been thinking about how incredibly blessed I am to be apart of such an awesome community of what the book calls "lovecats". I had lunch with a friend the other day who is trying to break into the music business and as we discussed business and our plan of action, I started talking about this book I was reading and the community that I have been allowed to be apart of. He was completley shocked at the idea of people helping eachother out and even professed to be envious of the model. Apparently the "every man for himself" idea is still prevelant among the business-culture and its so sad to see the ramifications... It shouldnt be a foriegn concept!
So, Why not be a giver??? There is plenty to go around and how awesome is it to see someone else live out their dreams?!? Anyway, I just want to reiterate how thankful I am for each and everyone one of you who is apart of the community of givers, I am so blessed to know such great people :)


Here's a quote that I read in a different book last night that just happened to coincide...

"Give abundantly! Feel that you are rich.
Of love, of thought, of all you have... give, give, give
You are followers of the world's Greatest Giver.
Give of time, of personal ease and comfort, of rest, of fame, of healing, of power, of sympathy, of all these and many more.
Learn this lesson and you will become a great power to help others and to do mighty things!"
:)

Nicole!

I took my friend Nicole shooting today because even though we have been friends forever I somehow have never shot her! Obviously we had to remedy that!
Here are a few of my favorites from the day... :)
(you can see more on her MySpace page where she put a slideshow together of more of the imgaes :)

What a weekend.... I had the opportunity to shoot for the amazingly-wonderfully awesomest Jessica Claire on Friday at the Hotel Del Coranado in San Diego and then yesterday I shot for one of Becker's assistants Amanda at the Los Coyotes Country Club out in Buena Park. I loved it...It is so interesting to watch how different photographers work and how each photographer's personality impacts the outcome of the photos. It was something I really enjoyed observing :)
This was my first experience with two weddings in a row and I am exhausted...and my feet throb! haha... Something I must get used to!!
Anyway, Thanks Jessica, [b], and Amanda... I had a GREAT time!!

Stay tuned for photos... :)

Dreams, Desires and Goals!!

I am the biggest dork because I love to go hang out at bookstores and READ...It's quiet and there is just a plethora of information that makes it so intriguing. Anyway, I went and spent 3 hours there last night and then decided I should probably just buy a couple books and go home before they kicked me out ;) I had heard about this book "Never Eat Alone" but when I picked it up, my first response at the title was ..."Oh dear Lord, not ANOTHER dating book...but don't worry, its about business so its all good!...haha
Anyway, I started reading and I just kept writing down so many quotes on random receipts from my purse, so that's when I knew it was a book I had to buy... After I got home last night, I couldn't put it down so I finished it already!...hehe...
Holy Cow! This book totally rocked my world! The poor book is all marked up and highlighted and I wrote stuff all through the margins but I was just so inspired! If you haven't read it.. I highly suggest you do!
The last few weeks have been a time of figuring out my goals and what I want from life so this book was the icing on the cake. I never truly realized the importance of setting goals...I had ideas in my head but ultimately I was just focused on succeeding in life (whatever that means)...The problem is, you cant succeed if you don't have a plan and you wont have a plan if their aren't those dreams and goals that are the foundation to activate that plan... Yeah so I got a swift kick in the pants!
Check out this quote from the beginning of chapter 3...

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat
"I don't much care where-" said Alice
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat
-Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol

I've been like Alice.. I have made countless requests to God for direction but if I don't even know where I want to end up...then what good will his direction do?...Make sense?? I still will seek Him for direction in life but God steers moving vehicles, if you know what I mean. So over the past week or so I developed 4 basic core values of what I want in life to serve as foundations to measure my dreams and goals next to...

1. Give Back: Live a life devoted to others. Growing up, there were so many people who sacrificed and poured into my life and I want to "pay it forward" as a lifestyle
2. Legacy: I want to leave a legacy...how will people remember me? Its not about being famous..I could care less honestly, I just want to live a life that my children and children's children can look back on and benefit from. This stems from a Nichole Nordeman song called "legacy" that is a cry to live a life that will be remembered for all the right things... Did I chose to Love? Did I glorify God with my words AND actions...etc... This value holds me accountable to attitude and actions on a continual basis
3. Availability: Open, willing and available to be used of the Lord in any capacity
4. Have Fun: This is KEY in my life. I want to enjoy life to its fullest...Life is too short to not enjoy! :)

Then after reading this book, and using its suggestions for goal setting, I wrote and wrote and wrote and developed a goal list, and an action plan to achieve the goals that stemmed from my core values! I am totally stoaked now!
OK...so yeah...go read this book...:) The whole 'goal' stuff is only the beginning! It also offers some really rich information that is key to not only having a successful business but a successful life...one relationship at a time :)

PPM Shoot!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to shoot for Popular Photography Magazine in Newport Beach. Phil from PPM called me and asked if I would be willing to document a Nikon Masters Class to show in the magazine. Of Course! Especially when I found out that Joe Bussink was teaching it. Essentially I got paid to shoot and listen to Joe speak...not bad huh? :) Well, to make it even better, the guys from Nikon were out from NY so I had the pleasure of seeing Mike Corrado who I was introduced to at WPPI. I was so excited because he totally remebered me and gave me a HUGE hug and we hung out the rest of the day! Those Nikon guys are soooo great...They even offered to let me use thier lenses so I got to experiment with some fun ones! :) We even went out to dinner that night so I made some fun new friends at Nikon!

During the 'practical' part of the class, students had the opportunity to shoot brides of different ethnicities. A Masai couple from Africa and Miss Afghanistan offered us a new look at your traditional bride :)
Here are a few shots from the day.... Something went crazy wrong with my computer so the favs I picked and placed in a folder wont open :( These will have to work for now..they are saved at a low quality but at least you get the idea :)

This is Joe showing us what he looks like when he shoots...
I think he looks like a Black Ops agent :)

My Bad!

I just bought this shirt... I thought it was so funny!!! :)

My dear friend Nicole celebrated her 21st birthday on Wednesday so we took her horseback riding in Goleta. I havent been horseback riding for years but our guide said that whoever taught me did a good job! (that made me feel good!) My grandpa used to own some stables so I had some practice ;) The wierd thing was when halfway through the ride he asked if I played piano...???
"not really, I just pretend" I replied
"yes, she plays" Nicole chimed in
"That's what I thought" he said "your posture is too straight...classic piano player problem when they go riding..."
So... this is me trying to slouch... ;)


A view from the top...

After the ride we changed in the stables and headed to dinner in town...

I tried to throw her in, but then I figured I would be nice since she was the bithday girl...

Then off to Ice Cream!
Kevin ( nicole's brother), Nicole, and me.

The Deej-ster, me, and Kev....haha, so fun!

I have a crush on Becker! ;)

haha...
Ok, so the girls and I just got back from the drive-in and I have a confession to make... I have a crush on Becker. :)
We saw the movie "Goal!" and on the way there were we discussing which athletes are the hottest and if we had to choose only 1 type of athlete to ever date... what would it be. OK well we ruled out American Football players because we like boys with pretty faces and we ruled out Hockey players because we like boys with teeth ;) Then we said baseball players are boring and wrestlers are just too darn unattractive in those onsie thingies... We essentially narrowed it down to Soccer players and swimmers. But I personally wouldnt feel comfortable if my guys legs were smoother than mine so Soccer players Win!
ESPECIALLY after seeing this movie ;) It was your typical sports movie where someone gives thier whole life to fulfill a dream but I like sports movies that make you feel good and it makes it even better when the main character is hot like fire ;)
I usually am never attracted to movie characters because I'm not a "bandwagon" kind of girl...but this time I made an exception. I waited till the end to see who the guy was and his name was Kuno Becker. I immediately began laughing and therefore had to confess to all my friends that I have a movie-star crush on Becker!

:(

My car got broken into AGAIN last night! This makes 4 times in 8 months and 3 of those times have been in the last three months!! Last time they took my CD's and I was slowly building up my collection when they took them all last night... THEN to make it worse they stole my CD player...and to top it all off they took my ipod that was in the glove box! So,I have officially been stripped of any and all music I own. :(
I LOVE music so it makes it really hard! I made the trip to and from LA today WITHOUT any music and thought I was gonna die! (ok so thats an exaggeration but it wasn't fun!)
Granted it was all just material stuff and honestly I still have alot to be thankful for... I mean at least they didnt steal my car or at least my gear wasnt in the car.
All in all its a bummer but it's all replacable... I just have to suffer for a lil' while :)

Rebekah White's Concert

This last weekend I had the opportunity to attend my friend Rebekah's Concert so I grabbed a few shots of the evening. Rebekah has a promising career ahead of her! She is even so blessed that the vocal coach for Destiny's Child and Mariah Carey is working wuth her for FREE! (She normally charges $1,000/hr!) God definatey has his hand on her life and I am sooo excited to see where her career takes her...
For a sample of Rebekah's Music... Click Here

The loves of my life!

I spent the weekend with my baby sisters! Both are very involved in sports and any time the older one (Paris) has a soccer tournament I am there!... but this weekend I figured I should play fair and go watch the youngest one since her All Star Softball team made thier first tournament...7 hours sitting in the hot sun and 2 games later I was glad to go home...I love her and want to support her but softball is just soooo boring to watch :) ...I'm used to hours of soccer games during tournaments but those are FUN so the time doesnt really phase me! She was a real trooper though...she pitched two ENTIRE games despite the heat and a sore arm... I am so proud of her!!
Here is Chanel delivering one of her killer pitches!


This is Paris. She's only 13 and the boys are already after her..but I told her she isnt allowed to date until she is 30!! She is my baby and since she was my first sister we are very close...so I am a bit protective! ;)
Anyway I played with her hair and makeup and we shot a few pictures of her...isnt she beautiful?? :)








Oh and check this out... My parents are seniors pastors ( 55 and older) and so whenever I go home to visit I always make sure to stop in on one of thier Wednesday Bible studies because I feel like I have 50 sets of grandparents! They always make me feel like a celebrity and I feel so loved. :) Anyway when I got home from my weekend out I had a mailbox FULL of letters from a bunch of these cute lil' old ladies.. They all sent me lil' notes of encouragement...arent they CUTE???

Since graduation, I now have all this time on my hands and I dont know what to do with myself!! I am so used to being CRAZY busy and I got really good at multi-tasking, but when I am given all the time in the world I don't know what to do!
I have spent ALOT of time looking for a job because since I am just starting out with this whole photography business stuff I need a job to support my habit ;)

Anyway,I have been in search of the perfect job...you know, one that will give me weekends off to do wedding stuff plus allow me to intern with Jedi-Master Colon a few days a week and also be FUN! Alot to ask I know... but a girl can dream right?
Well, my dreams came true (for now anyway..)

My college contacted me and wants to hire me to do some interior design work while the campus is empty for the summer and then I ALSO got a call from someone who heard I have experience painting murals and is in need of four children's murals...
I am so thrilled because interior design and mural work are both things I LOVE to do and are fun too! Plus, since I will essentially make my own hours I can still intern during the week and shoot on the weekends.... Neither are permanent but they will take care of me in the meantime :)

All that to say, God is so good to me...I am so thankful to have the opportunity to make $ doing things that I love!! :)