Merry Christmas!!

The hustle and bustle of Christmas has finally subsided and cabin fever has begun to set in... I need to learn how to just relax and enjoy the down time.
So, due to the lack of activity today, I finally found time to blog some shots from our glorious Christmas in Northwest.
Being home is always so fantastic but it's especially wonderful around Christmas because Mom makes everything so festive! Its because of her that I am such a Christmas Nazi when it comes to decorating!...hee hee :)

Meet the Fam... Everyone was over for Christmas Eve and we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a group shot :)


The Dinner table looked amazing!


Our traditional Christmas Breakfast... My brother and I look forward to this every year... Some breakfast Casserole, baked peaches with bing cherries and home made cinnamon rolls....YUMMY!!


And who could forget the trees... There are a total of nine throughout the house... Including the bathrooms and kitchen!
This one was on the Island in the kitchen




Merry Christmas Everyone!!

ShowIt Addict

Ahhh... I am so addicted!! Ever since I got everything rolling and was able to run ShowIt... I have been addicted. Can I just say that whoever invented ShowIt is a genius?! If I ever meet him, I'm gonna give him a BIG hug and tell him he's my hero!... haha ;)

Anyway, I have made a ton of slideshows from past weddings/events to send around to my former clients :)

Here's one from the Hackbarth wedding back in May.

**Slideshow**

Stay tuned because there are more where that came from...YAY!

Amazing!

We got back late last night from the Orphanage and I walked around in a complete daze today. I haven't quite figured out if it was the effects of exhaustion or the sobering effects of my visit to such a poverty stricken country... Regardless, I know that this trip will have a lasting effect :)

Here's a pic of our team with our friend Erik ( left) who we went to college with. Erik has so selflessly given his life to the Orphanage and raising these kids! He not paid and has no source of income ( except donations) but I have never seen a man more gentle or love kids so much... It was truly touching!



What was so amazing about visiting this Orphanage was seeing how happy the kids were. Their team takes such incredible care of these children!! You can see how happy they were by thier smiles and laughter :) I had so many adventures in our short little trip... For example,When I found out we were having Pig-head soup for dinner the first night, we convinced the cook to pull it out of the pot to take a picture!! Look for it in the slideshow :)

We also hiked out to the hills and went shooting! Not with Cameras... with GUNS!!! It was soo cool! Although I think my ears are STILL ringing from the shots...haha


And whats a trip to Mexico without a soccer game and a few fun soccer pics??








**Click Here**for the Slideshow!! :)



(Special Thanks to Brett-Man for helping me get this up tonight!!...)


***EDIT***: The location on the slideshow is supposed to be Valle De Palma, Tecate, Mexico. ;)

Hello to all my darling friends!

If you think about it, keep us in your prayers today! please :)
In a few hours we are leaving for Mexico to go play Santa at an Orphanage down there for the weekend.

I am so excited because we got sooo many donations, including three bicycles....Bags and BAGS of clothes...plus hundreds of $ worth of toys!!
YAY!!


I can't wait to show you pics!
Stay Tuned!...

S.B. PUG

Last Night was the PUG ( Pictage User Group) Christmas Party in Santa Barbara.
A few of us from Pictage decided to drive up for an evening of fun and it proved to be that and MORE! We had such a great time hanging out with friends old and new...
Here are a few pics from the evening...

Susan Han ( Client Trainer), Emily Engle ( PUG/Community Coordinator) and I started the evening off with a sushi dinner with DJ


The ladies...Susan Han and Jasmine Star


The crazy gentlemen... Ricky Mia, JD De La Torre, Tim Halberg, Justin Lyon & Damian


um... yeah, I dunno?


Jasmine has taught her husband well ;)


Then it was back to DJ's place where I fell in love with his little tree... It has twinkle lights but apparently it interferes with his WiFi?!...lol


This is the beautiful Amy Nave with her HOT new hair do...
Amy, I dont think I told you how hot your hair looks ;)


Even though we didnt get to sleep until around 3am, the drive home was amazing because I saw 5 shooting stars!! Was there a meteor shower last night?

And alas, here are us Pictage girls this morning after only 4 hours of sleep and LOTS of caffiene... Notice the glasses and no make-up?!!! Luckily we dont meet with clients in person!! hee hee :)

PCP

Saturday Night was the annual Pictage Company Christmas Party. It was a Vegas-themed, cocktail attire shin-dig and my first corporate event! I didn't really know what to expect but it was definitely fun!
Mr. Studly, David Jay, came down from Santa Barbara to accompany me for the evening and luckily he brought his camera or ya'all would have to be using your imaginations!! ;)

They brought in blackjack, craps, and roulette tables plus bow-tie clad dealers... Then everyone started out with $500 fake money and by the end of the night DJ and I had "won" our way into the top ten with $18,700.
That won us a 3 day 2 night trip to Laughlin!!
I think I should mention, though, that the 'winning' involved the dealer slipping us extra chips throughout the evening...hee hee. One time, a dealer came up behind me and slipped me $5,000 worth of $500 chips... then DJ, being the blackjack guru he is kept doubling the chips by going all in and WINNING!...haha.

Meet a few of my friends...

Emily Engle runs our PUGs, Mike does product development and Barbara is in charge of all our speakers...

and I dont know who this is, but it sure was a funny sight!! Murse's are becoming popular, I guess ;)


Bibiana and her man Kent. She is seriously my sanity! I LOVE her... we laugh with eachother all day long. She is in charge of out new loyalty program that we are launching next year.
Kent is a kick in the pants! He drives race cars which makes him a super-stud in my book!!


And, I am still trying to figure out if this picture of DJ is why we kept getting special treatment from the dealers... LOL

BUBBLES!

Of all the weddings I have shot or been to, this was the first to actually UTILIZE the bubble favors! I had so much fun shooting the bubbles... I was like a little kid!

I am always so easily entertained...lol

Anyway, here are a few from the wedding last week I was at with the fabulous Lyon duo...




Thanks Justin and Ameila for having me along... you guys are always such a blast to hang out with!!!

Casa Celestial!

How cute is she?!
Next weekend I have the awesome privilege of making a trip to Tecate, Mexico to deliver Christmas Presents to an Orpahange called Casa Celestial! I visited an orphanage last year in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and it was an amazing life-changing experience, so I am excited for another opportunity!! Not only are we shuttling gifts down but we will spend the weekend there and help out some basic needs of the facility as well. I am sooooo excited!!!

With the help of a few small businesses, me and my friends will be able to pack my new SUV full of fun toys and neccesities down to these adorable kiddos!
If your in the SoCal area and would like to donate a new unwrapped toy or other necessity ( you can find a list of needs HERE) please email me at shyla.dalirifar@gmail.com and let me know. We will be leaving Friday Dec 15 at 7pm.

Additionally, If you would like you join us on our trip, we have an extra seat!
Our plan is to leave on Dec 15th at 7pm and arriving in Tecate, Mexico around 10pm ( its only a 3 hour drive!!)
We will spend the weekend there in the Orphanage's ministry house and returning on Sunday Evening the 17th.

I'm sure if there is more than one of you who would like to come, we could work something out ;) ;)

Naughty or Nice?

I apologize for having been a blogging delinquent, but I have been experiencing some computer issues! Luckily it is working right now so I thought I would share the 'Naughty or Nice' session I did yesterday with a bride whose wedding I am shooting next year.
Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day...