musings...

Updated Portrait Session

2011-01-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

This four month old baby photo session resulted in the lil' one winning a model contest:

Part of winning, I got to do another photo shoot with her showcasing their barrette line. These are my favorite pictures, I just love taking photos of this angel!

Wrapping up a decade

2010-12-31T17:01:00.001-08:00

It seriously feels like yesterday when many of us were curious and anxious if coming into the new millenium would end in crazy y2k disaster (seriously, remember that craziness?!). But instead, nothing came out of it and all laughed at the absurdity of the whole thing. That was ten years ago, a decade ago! It has all flown by and this past decade has been quite awesome because it was the decade that defined who I am or would become. From a college student studying film at UC Santa Cruz, to an overly hard working executive in charge of production in the entertainment business. I burned myself out in six years with this line of work and disappeared into traveling the world. I uncovered so many hidden treasures in the world and am still working on visiting more of the world. I learned how to allow myself to be creative and to explore my passions. I discovered that it's okay to make mistakes. I had my heart broken (two too many times) and healed from them. I took a huge leap meeting a random person in a bar who became my husband. I learned what it means to love someone unconditionally. And I learned that what I thought that I knew about love before is nothing compared to the newfound love that I will have as a mother. This past decade has held it all and I can't believe that it has gone by in the blink of an eye. And tonight, as my husband and I have a mellow night enjoying each other's company with homemade cheese fondue and board games, I am going to soak in each moment, knowing that the next ten years will go by just as quickly. Happy new decade!

• favorite 2010 moment: traveling in halong bay, vietnam

Total Lunar Eclipse, 2010

2010-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

In the Silicon Valley area, we didn't get much of a break from the clouds to really enjoy the lunar eclipse. There were a few breaks in the cloud covering but they were short and sporadic. At least I was able to capture (somewhat clearly but not the best photos) of the before and after shots of the eclipse.

• 10:30pm •

• 11:30pm •

Sunol's Holiday Train of Lights Photo Highlights

2010-12-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

What an incredible excursion to dress warmly (considering that we do live in Northern California and we hardly ever have to dress warmly) and enjoy an hour and fifteen minute train ride that goes from Sunol to Niles Canyon. We splurged the extra money ($40/pp) to reserve seats on the Holiday Club Lounge. Not only did we get to relax in an art deco, refurbished and heated lounge car, but they also treated us to hot apple cider (with brandy for adults) and cookies which was a yummy and surprise perk. I think the main selling point for having this become a holiday tradition when our child is older is that you can bring whatever you want on the train and make it into a whole, picnic experience. It's little adventures like this that makes us quite giddy about all the future adventures we're going to show our child!

My favorite Santa Cruz stop: Evergreen Cemetery

2010-11-22T15:16:00.000-08:00

I have lots of favorites when it comes to Santa Cruz since it was my home for the most crucial part of my adulthood. The Boardwalk, Pacific, De Laveaga Frisbee Disc Golf and all the delicious, hidden eateries. However, one of my favorite places is Evergreen Cemetery. This is one of the oldest Protestant cemeteries in California and was established in 1850. With it's eerie atmosphere, dark paths and crumbling gravestones, this is one of my favorite places to spend a few hours taking photos. Although one thing that I never had the balls to do: visit it at night.

Halloween Season...

2010-10-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

...is the beginning of the best time of the year. Fall, pumpkins, spices, crunchy leaves and all the wonderful holidays that are just around the corner. This time of year makes me warm and fuzzy.

Besides the warm and fuzzies of this time of year, the past three months have been crazy and have been neglecting this blog since I haven't had the energy or motivation to take photos. Right now, most photos have been sitting on my hard drive, waiting to be post-processed and I know that I will get around to it, it's just I'm waiting for my body to start allowing me to have energy and fun again! The first trimester really does take everything out of you and whoever coined the term "morning sickness" is a mean person because it's so not true, it's all day sickness. Anyway, I want to keep this blog separate from my pregnancy/personal/etc experience so I've been writing elsewhere. If you'd like the link for the blog, leave me a comment with your email address or email me directly and I'll send you the link. I want to keep this space mainly for my photos so on that, a lovely photo of my pumpkin from our pumpkin carving party. I think that this is my best pumpkin to date. I love Jack!

Their love...

2010-09-21T15:54:00.001-07:00

My grandparents have been married sixty four years and when they go out on walks, they still hold each others hands...to me, this is the definition of love.

Weekend getaways...

2010-09-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

...are always wonderful but this weekend getaway to Prescott, Arizona will be an incredibly memorable one as we celebrate my grandfather's ninetieth birthday. We're looking forward to spending the weekend with the grandparents, parents and sister. Weekend getaways that involve being close with the family, sharing family stories and of course, being with my wonderful grandparents is what makes this upcoming weekend memorable. Ninety years old...wowzers.

• my grandfather four years ago on our alaskan cruise,

i love this photo •

Yosemite weekend getaway photos

2010-09-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

I love Yosemite and am already planning the next trip...a winter wonderland trip perhaps?!

• silhouette •

• olmsted point •

• mono lake detour •

• half dome goodness •

Disconnect time

2010-09-10T12:37:00.001-07:00

Rarely do I get to disconnect from the cell phone, laptop and internet so I am definitely excited and full of glee to escape from it all as we head to Yosemite. We're camping outside the Valley at Hodgdon Meadow which is perfect since we don't have to be surrounded by the mass tourists of the Valley but still a close enough drive to head there for a day. Originally our plan was to include a 14 mile hike out to Clouds Rest but with the husband's knee acting up again, it will be a weekend of mellow hiking and of course, endless photo taking! It's been about two years since we've last been to Yosemite and really need to take advantage of it more often...it's only a four hour drive away! I'm looking forward to disconnecting this weekend and being one happy camper!

• setting sun on half dome - 2008 •

Four months old, pure gorgeousness

2010-09-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Back in May, she was a two week old baby who was an absolute joy to do an impromptu shoot with. Now she's four months old with piercing blue eyes, a brilliant smile and already, a natural in front of the camera.

San Jose's Zombie Crawl

2010-08-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

For the past two years, we have endured the August summer heat to participate in San Jose's Zombie Crawl that takes place in downtown San Jose. The crawl starts at Gore Park (such an appropriate name) and does a circle through the downtown area and of course, the local pubs. There is nothing better than beginning to feel excitement that Halloween is quickly approaching by wandering through the streets with other zombie fanatics! I will have to say that the husband's clown zombie outfit is the best ever especially since he embraces the true lurch/zombieness of the whole event and successfully scares people. Makes the vegetarian zombie who eats grains very proud :)

Stumptown Beer Revival highlights

2010-08-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we drove up to Guerneville to enjoy Stumptown's Beer Revival...an all you can eat BBQ (this part I really did not care about, seriously, seeing twelve hundred people chowing down meat was the most unattractive thing ever) and an all you can drink (so awesome) festival (entry ticket: $55!). Although I didn't really care for the BBQ portion, being around great friends, drinking wonderful beers from thirty different vendors to choose from and hanging out by the Russian River was just incredible.

On our drive back on Sunday, we drove via Hwy 1 and stopped in Duncans Mills (population: 85) for an incredible and hearty breakfast at Cape Fear Cafe which is highly recommended. Although taking Hwy 1 is a long and windy drive back to Silicon Valley, the rolling hills and ocean views makes the drive incredible. It is weekends like this that makes me fall more in love with Northern California :)

• upside down tank gem at Goat's Rock •

• highway one viewpoint •

• point reyes viewpoint •

San Francisco's Mission Mural Walk

2010-08-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

From Clarion Alley to Balmy Ave, here are the highlights from the oh so colorful and super rad mural walk in San Francisco's Mission District. I know...lots of photos but I couldn't pick a "few" of my favorites! Lots more on the flickr...

• women's center •

• zoomy fun •

• RV Mural Clash •

• originality •

• unique perspective of trash •

••••••

• click on the following storyboards below for larger views •

• after a long day in the city, it's time to commute home •

Five days old, pure amazingness

2010-08-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Our friends just had their little baby boy and I had the pleasure of doing his five day old photo shoot. The shoot didn't start until late in the evening so the lighting wasn't ideal (natural light is my light of choice and I don't like using flash on a newborn) but I am still happy since he was just absolutely incredible. I look forward to watching him grow and capture more moments with him...

Semi-new wheels

2010-08-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

My parents came up for two nights which was wonderful since we had two big pluses:

• my mom taught the husband how to cook her special Vietnamese Pho (eventually I will have to learn how to make vegetarian Pho for myself):

• my dad brought up his Triumph motorcycle so we now have a semi-new set of wheels:

We've been a one-car household for almost a year now and love it (I seriously love getting around on a bicycle) but with my freelance workload picking up and taking me outside of an easy bike ride, we figured it was time for another set of wheels. With the husband having his license and my parents having an extra Triumph motorcycle lying around, we get to borrow/ride it for as long as we'd like until we can determine if we want to buy one.

I just wonder if the biking bug will hit me again. Since our car accident in January, I am more weary of motorcycling but now having one in our garage, I just wonder if I'll be tempted with it. I do know that I will probably become more of a "worrier" :)

Third of July

2010-07-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Holiday weekends are the best, especially when it includes a minor league baseball game, beer, guilty pleasure food and of course, fireworks! These firework photos are the "post six or seven beers" but I like them since they have a little bit more flare. At least I have another attempt tonight to be more of a perfectionist with the Santa Clara fireworks show :)

• perfect way to spend an evening if only the SJ Giants won •

• beer and garlic fry goodness •

• pure goofiness is perfect •

• spider legs •

• falling stars •

• white waves •

• squiggles •

• out of focus goodness •

Oodles and boodles of cuteness

2010-06-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Back in December, I wrote about our newest addition to my mom's side of the family, our second cousin: KimMai and we finally got to meet her, play with her and definitely pinch those irresistible cheeks!

Meet KimMai, pure adorableness!

Cucumbers? Really?!

2010-06-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Haircuts and I do not get along...to me, it is the equivalent of people hating the dentist. I used to have a stylist that I loved in L.A. but since moving up north, I have only had my hair cut twice and I hated the results. Since I have yet to find someone, I figured I might as well get my hair cut in Vietnam especially since the cost would be cheaper. I found a Paul Mitchell boutique in Saigon and for a shampoo and haircut/style, their set price was $25 and for that low price, the stylist surprisingly listened to what I wanted: 5 inches off plus subtle layers. Now for the craziest/best part of this experience was the shampoo. Oddly, they do the shampoo after the haircut and the shampoo isn't a standard shampoo...it included a full head massage, a partial facial, fresh slices of cold cucumber on your face after the facial and a neck/shoulder massage! This part of the haircut experience was pure awesomeness since the haircut portion took about 15 minutes and the shampoo experience was 45 minutes! I was pretty impressed with the final result and the whole experience considering that I was in Vietnam!

The only negative part of this experience was the cucumber because I learned that I am allergic to them! After the shampoo/facial/massage extravaganza, my whole face and eyes were red and swollen. I even tested the allergy this weekend eating some cucumber and my mouth did the tingle. As I get older, my allergies have started to change and at least now I know that I am allergic to cucumbers but with summer here, it makes me a little sad since I love cucumbers. D'uh....

• the unruly, too long hair that was normally kept up in a bun •

• i might have to travel to vietnam next year to cut my hair sans cucumber •

Best part of traveling...

2010-06-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

...is returning home.

We're in Saigon with our bags packed and ready to go home. The past three weeks have been incredible but busy and quite tiring...not once did we sleep in or have a real relaxing day...instead, we were always awake by 7am and home by 10pm. Since Nha Trang, we've been to Dalat and Saigon and I just haven't had any time to sit down and write which just means that all the post-blogging will be happening once we've returned to the comfort of our home.

Looking forward to returning to our domestic lives but not looking forward to going through the 5000+ RAW images that I shot during this trip...don't worry, I won't be posting them all on here, probably just the highlights :)

Nha Trang Scuba Diving

2010-06-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

We spent about two days in Nha Trang and that was almost one day too much. If you love the relaxing, coastal, all-inclusive kind of resorts, than Nha Trang is definitely the spot but for the more adventurous types, there wasn't too much to do. Most of the town was "asleep" during the day and the night life seemed to be more popular which just isn't our kind of place. However the scuba diving in Nha Trang was ahhh-mazing! The water was clear with incredible sealife and coral and even large boulders that you can swim through along with schools of fish...if only the diving in Nha Trang was located in the city of Hoi An, than Hoi An would be the perfect place! :)

We did a two dive boat trip on Rainbow Divers again and I attempted to take all the pictures on the first dive. As much as I love taking pictures on solid land, it's so different underwater. I still feel like an underwater tourist and I think that it will be about another twenty or so dives until I really want to start taking pictures underwater since I just really enjoy watching the view rather than fixating on getting the shots. So until I get that comfortable, I'll probably just continue to find different silly underwater poses for my dad to take of me instead :-)

• i'm superdiver! •

• underwater yoga •

• oh no, i ripped the benjamin! •

• playing with feeder fish •

• tangled up •

• moorish idol's are stunning •

• can you spot the spotted eel? •

• coral and nemo's siblings •

Scuba Diving in Hoi An

2010-06-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

My first scuba dive experience was in '07 in Hoi An, Vietnam with Rainbow Divers and I fell in love with diving...three years later, I got to go back to where it all started, this time as a certified diver rather than a newbie. Clear and warm waters, a spontaneous wreck dive, an island lunch time adventure and even a sliced up finger from coral (I need to bring my gloves with me when diving!) makes this dive a favorite of mine! Most of these photos below were taken by my father however for our dive in Nha Trang, I will need to take more photos so I can practice photographing underwater which isn't as easy as it looks...

• heading off to sea •

• our first dive site •

• oh crap, look at the size of that thing! •

• holding a pooping sea cucumber! •

• coral for scale •

• dad checking out the urchin •

• shipwreck from 2009 typhoon •

• note: do not slice fingers on rusty boat •

• lunch and boat ride to cham island was included •

• after our two dives, relaxing on the beach •

• father and daughter scuba dive bonding •

• scuba dive vietnam! •

Ancient City of Hoi An

2010-06-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

The an ancient city of Hoi An that is fully walkable, is close proximity to the beach, is always properly lit with beautiful lanterns and it includes a pretty sweet bonus: custom made clothing for a ridiculously cheap price! Where else can one go and buy a custom made jacket for $60?! I think that for the next trip, I need to spend about five days in Hoi An and have a full new wardrobe made :-) Some photo highlights of one of my favorite cities in Vietnam, can you see why I love Hoi An?!

• beer me please •

• would you believe that this is vietnam?! •

• the husband had this jacket custom made for $55 •

• standard entryway to someone's house in hoi an •

• just another street decorated with lanterns •

• decorated bridge •

• the river at night •

• second night and the river was so calm, it made a perfect reflection! •

Hue Festival Highlights

2010-06-07T02:17:00.000-07:00

We've spent the past five days in my mother's hometown, Hue enjoying time with my family, celebrating my cousin's wedding and mainly, soaking in the Hue Festival which happens every two years. The city really does know how to create a magical place for a festival.

*on a side note: there is nothing more frustrating then having my wide angle lens go kaput on me while traveling! At least I have two other lenses (50mm and 70-300mm) but nothing that goes wider and that will drive me crazy for the next two weeks...at least the 50mm is fast and has allowed me to take these photos without boosting up the ISO too high. I've tried attempting to use the point and shoot for any wide photos but that camera also drives me crazy now since I have such limited control.

Next stop is Hoi An to enjoy "the city of Lanterns" and to do some scuba diving, whoohoo!

The "Amazing" Cave photos

2010-06-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Sung Sot, also known as the Amazing Cave or Surprising Grotto, is located on Bo Hon island in Halong Bay and was a surprise highlight of our cruise. With two chambers that have thousands of stalactites that form into numerous shapes, the wonder of the cave is overwhelming. Once again, these photos do not do justice to the actual location and even at my widest angle lens, those photos do not encompass the immense beauty of the caves.

• boating over to the cave entrance •

• welcome to the amazing caves •

• chamber one •

• chamber two •

• the details and people at the bottom for scale •

• pure awesomeness •

• looking into the light •

• what does that look like?! •

• tiny people, large cave •

• incredible •

• the view from the cave's exit •

Halong Bay photo highlights

2010-06-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

Halong Bay is enclosed with over 1900 limestone islets. The literal translation is: Descending Dragon Bay.

We did a two day, one night junk boat cruise out into the bay and was pampered with delicious food, superior service and of course, amazing photo opportunities. These photos do not do justice to the actually beauty of the Descending Dragon Bay.

• our junk boat, the calypso cruiser •

• view from the top deck •

• heading deeper into the bay •

• location of "amazing cave*" •

• pure serenity •

• only other ship in our part of the bay •

*interior cave photos to come

Hanoi heat and photo highlights

2010-05-31T00:06:00.000-07:00

The heat index is over 110 (with humidity) and grows hotter each day. The bugs are nibbling on my exposed skin which also has a minor sunburn. Our feet are sore from miles of walking throughout the city...and we're loving every minute of it! One disadvantage for being a tourist in Hanoi on a Monday is that most of the museums and cultural centers are closed on Mondays. I really will try to do some minor musings while on holiday or at least photo highlights but will probably do more post-holiday musings of our experiences once we get home when I actually want to write more.

Off to our overnight trip to Halong Bay this Tuesday and then a train ride down to Central Vietnam, Hue...more adventures and photos to come, yay!

• bridge out to Ngoc Son Temple •

• waiting for Thanh Long Water Puppet show •

• recommend the water puppet show •

• Hoan Kiem Lake at night •

• Temple of Literature at 9:00am and 100 degrees already•

• One Pillar Pagoda •

• Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum •

• sunset from our hotel room •

Local hike and abandoned houses

2010-05-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

Our friends live nestled in the Los Gatos hills and this past weekend, we took a nice stroll through their backyard full of wildflowers, rolling green hills and abandoned houses! I'm looking forward to shooting these houses again especially if I can get some friends to model. This area has potential for fun and creepy photo shoots!

• the old chicken coop •

• main house •

• feels like texas chainsaw •

• porch was awesome but a bit creepy •

• love the old, clawfoot tub in the house! •

• this house felt really creepy & we think people actually squat there so i did not venture in •

• yup, feels creepy •

Not what I expected...

2010-05-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

The husband and I are heading off to spend three weeks in Vietnam and it's going to be exciting to show him part of my history especially since he's never been. We're going to spend a few days alone in Hanoi before taking the train down to Hue (Central Vietnam) to meet my family (parents, sister are also flying out to meet us there) and then we'll spend another two weeks traveling Vietnam by van trekking down to Saigon before flying home.

One of the things that has been on my mind lately is allowing myself some flexibility with vegetarianism while in Vietnam (not with meat but having seafood). When I did my major three month Euro/Asia trip, one of the things that I feel I missed out on was the local cuisine especially since cuisine is a big part of any traveling experience. It has bounced around in my head about being flexible for this Vietnam vacation and I thought that it would be difficult breaking since I've been a vegetarian for almost six years. This past weekend, I did overcome that challenge and had a few bites of the husband's sashimi. I envisioned that the moment this would happen, my taste buds might scream in ecstasy and I would realize how much I've missed seafood. I was surprised to find that this didn't happen and the whole experience was quite "meeehhh." People tend to ask if I ever miss meat or seafood and after this past weekend, it's safe to say that I do not miss it*

So for this vacation, I feel comfortable allowing myself to be flexible if the situation calls for it (i.e. we are doing a two day boat cruise on Halong Bay where they make lunch/dinner from the fish caught directly off the boat) but I don't think that I will be going pescatarian any time soon.

*the only meat/seafood that I do miss is my mother's true/authentic/delicious vietnamese cooking...

• the boats heading out into halong bay •

• fishing boat delivering seafood to tourist boat •

Meeting the new lil' one

2010-05-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

An old friend that I grew up with just had her little baby girl two weeks ago and she is just absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to do the actual real, family photo shoot with her and her parents in the summer, especially since these photos were just an informal, hanging out with her mom kind of photo shoot!

• baby feet are way too cute •

• peeking out of her blanket •

• wide awake •

• mother's touch •

• nap time •

• asleep and hungry •

Mini-cation highlights

2010-05-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

With the husband out of town, I snuck away for five days to Los Angeles and it was the perfect mini-cation to spend quality time with the family and friends. I love little getaways and am overly giddy for the Vietnam getaway in less than two weeks!!!

• i pho-king love this •

• mai being a bad ass biker •

• dad being a bad ass biker •

• together, they make a kick ass father-daughter biker team •

• cinespia: movie in a cemetery - best thing ever (except now it's too popular and overcrowded) •

Rose Garden Highlights

2010-05-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

An evening with the sun setting at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden made for a perfect evening of fun photo takin'.

Andrew Molera's 8 mile loop trail

2010-05-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

8 miles long...4 and a half hours long...bushwhacking through overgrown trails...playing the "avoid the poison oak" dance...super gusty winds.

Worth every moment:

• highlighted red is the loop trail we took •

• the big sur river that you have to cross (footbridge is only up in the summer) •

• river trail •

• hidden trail •

• hidden trail connecting to the ridge trail •

• ridge trail's view •

• redwood grove on the ridge trail •

• ridge trail connecting to the panorama trail •

• overgrown panorama trail •

• driftwood log jam at the end of the spring trail •

• bluffs trail •

• the reward after seven miles •

Sunset at Pfeiffer State Beach

2010-05-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Big Sur on Friday afternoon and didn't have enough time to take a hike so we trekked over to Pfeiffer State Beach to watch the sunset. We spent about two and a half hours walking along the beach, being silly and taking way too many photos (actually, you can never take too many photos but I did go through the SD card and left the other card at the hotel room - oops).

Here are my favorite photos from Pfeiffer's Beach:

• looking down pfeiffer beach •

• ripples •

• love the color clash •

• where the wild things are •

• catching the sun - my favorite photo •

• orange glow •

• blue glow •

Scenery of Hwy One

2010-05-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

I fall more in love with Northern California and all the secret gems that are just a short driving distance away. Every view was absolutely stunning and I can't wait to take Highway One again!

• house of prayers in carmel •

• viewpoint off the highway •

• rocky creek bridge •

• bixby bridge •

• other side of bixby bridge •

Anniversary Weekend

2010-04-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

The husband and I are escaping to Big Sur for a weekend getaway to celebrate the one year wedding anniversary (already?!). We plan on filling it with hiking, sun, fun, food, endless pictures and... a bottle of Dom Perignon Vintage 2000 that we've been waiting to open. Yum...

Carnival Colors

2010-04-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

I love going to local carnivals: the vibrant colors, loud laughter, smells of fried goodness and cheesy rides. Maybe one of these days, I'll put down the camera and actually go on these rides :)

Evening photo

2010-04-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

After a beautiful Sunday of endless mimosas in Santa Cruz followed by a BBQ in Santa Clara with our friends, we finished our Sunday sitting in our backyard watching the moon and the stars. Obviously after a day like that, I probably wasn't in the best condition to set up the camera, tripod or manual settings but I somehow managed. My favorite is below...especially since you can see trail of the two stars (at least we can see a "few" stars where we live) moving...

• 30 sec @ f.10, ISO 100, 50mm •

I love strawberry season...

2010-04-06T21:03:00.001-07:00

...so bright, juicy and fun to photograph. I never noticed before how fuzzy strawberries actually are until I saw them behind a lens...I love when that happens.

My little fella'

2010-03-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

We have a little snail that has been hiding/living between our sliding glass door and screen door and he finally came out of his shell and moved out of his entrapment which allowed me to take pictures of the underside of the little fella'. Unfortunately by the time that I got the extension tubes out and the camera set up, did the little fella' start retreating back into his shell so I was only able to take one picture of him before he hid again. I'm hoping he comes out again, he was a different subject matter to take photos of :)

• if you click for a larger photo of him, it looks like he has a small little smile! •

• too bad he was moving which made him blurry •

Earth Hour Evening

2010-03-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Our celebration for Earth Hour 2010: candles + Scrabble + home-brew beer = a perfect evening...

• our mantel and the eerily glow of norman rockwell's "main street" •

• game on •

• wasn't able to play the word "cent" •

• lights out •

My photographer fail moment

2010-03-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

The weather is getting beautiful here which means more walks during the days (especially since working from home, it's nice to get out for a bit during the day). So today I took my trusty Canon out for a walk only to discover that I left the battery at home in the charger. I think that we're all entitled to one of those days, right?!

Instead, I took photos from my backyard since there are hidden gems everywhere...

• blossom one •

• blossom two •

• fallen blossom •

• spiderweb indicating long time since use of torches •

Hidden Neighborhood Gem

2010-03-10T11:19:00.001-08:00

• i love finding little gems in my neighborhood that make me smile •

Whistler Favorites

2010-03-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

Final Whistler post - my favorite photos :)

• you can barely see the moon right in the center •

• firework show after watching The Roots •

• our view while watching the final day of the Olympics •

• not sure why but i like this pic •

• on top of whistler mountain •

• the view from the Peak to Peak between Whistler and Blackcomb •

• an evening out •

• i just had to make these two trees become an "i ♥ u" tree •

Ziplining Adventure

2010-03-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

Although there was so much Olympic stuff going on around us, we wanted to make sure that we squeezed some adventure into our trip and of course, ziplining was the perfect answer! We went through Ziptrek Ecotours and they made sure to pack in as much coolness as possible!

We took a snowcat up to our location which is nestled in a temperate rain forest between Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. We hiked over suspension bridges and up observation platforms that were 150 ft high in the forest canopy and offered spectacular views. Our ziplines reached speeds of 50mph (that's what they say although in the adrenaline rush, it's hard to actually know how fast you're going) and included a 2000 ft zip that dropped over twenty stories over Fitzsimmons Creek! During our three hour adventure, the team also made sure to educate us on the environment and nature that we were zipping through, which was a definite bonus to learn more about the location rather than focusing only on zipping.

The main highlight (besides zipping) was watching the final three teams - Canada, US and Germany compete for the Gold in the Bobsleigh event! Part of the hike included a small section where we were able to watch the teams go by and the timing was perfect since we watched the final three teams go by to win their medals! It was fantastic being on the secret sideline watching this happen and of course, watching the US win the Gold!

This is my third time zipping (Cancun and Nor.Cal) and tops the list as the most incredible zipping adventure! Now I just need to go to Costa Rica to try it there too! :)

• our snow cat •

• looking down into the forest and our ziplines •

• zipping off •

• weeeeeeee! •

• husband over fitzsimmons creek •

• the santa clara zip team •

• our prime viewing location for the Men's Gold Bobsleigh race! •

Bobsledding Event

2010-03-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

Almost all of the tickets for the Olympic events ranged between three to four figures (Men's Gold hockey game) which seemed quite excessive so we were so happy and surprised to find that the qualifying race for the men's bobsled game was only thirty dollars! Standing in the cold, rain and snow for a few hours to watch men slide down on the bobsled was incredible especially since we found an excellent location at the final curve. We were also surprised that there were so many crashes due to the crazy track (never seems that the networks air crashes) so watching the bobsleds go by overturned made us hold our breaths and cheer wildly when the team all stood up safely. If we ever make it to another Olympics (Sochi anyone?!), we will have to make sure to make appearances to the bobsledding event!

• watching at the last curve before the finish line •

• spectators •

• team USA •

Some Olympic Goodness

2010-03-03T23:12:00.000-08:00

Road tripping to Canada for the Olympics was the perfect mid-winter vacation full of sight-seeing, ziplining, tree-trekking, snowcat riding, bobsledding watching, hiking, gondola riding and soaking in the surreal experience after the US lost the Gold in the hockey game!

• olympic flame in vancouver •

• perfect timing to capture the helicopter over the symbols •

• whistler village •

• whistler at night •

• perfect scenery to watch the closing ceremony •

• more photos to come :-)

family fun photo shoot

2010-02-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

I love being able to use my family for photo shoots :)

• action shots are fun •

• my rocker father •

• little sister performing •

• sister and my husband serenading me•

• future canvas print gift for my sister •

Subtle hint?

2010-02-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

My mom wins points for best subtle baby hint by placing this on my bedroom door during our trip down to L.A. for the Lunar New Year. There has been a lot of baby talk lately (friends, cousins, husband's brother) so I was quite surprised to enter my childhood bedroom to find this hanging on the door. My mom claims that she "accidentally" forgot to pack them away for our new little cousin in Vietnam but we know all better...

• baby clothes do make me go: awww too cute! •

Tulip Surprise

2010-02-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

The husband provided me with the perfect surprise while working from home...two dozen tulips to brighten up the home and myself (working from home during the winter has made the home a little grey and dreary).

Although winter does have some advantages... a break away from Silicon Valley to enjoy a mini-vacation to Whistler, Canada for the Olympics. Providing advance warning of Olympic photobomb-blogs to come at the end of February :-)

Lens Playing Part Two...

2010-01-30T15:14:00.000-08:00

I've finally been playing with my camera extension tubes and have been incredibly happy with the results. At one point, I might want to splurge for a decent macro lens but for the time being, I am super happy with my tubes* :-)

• doesn't this thorn look like a bird?! •

*all photos have had a slight color boost in photoshop but nothing else...

Blossoming

2010-01-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

“An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.”

- J.D. Salinger

Cotton Candy Clouds

2010-01-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

We've finally gotten a break from the winter rain to end up with cotton candy clouds...I do love this time of year!

Signs of Spring

2010-01-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a constant downpour for the past week with the occasional moments of blue sky but it's nice that when those moments occur, to see subtle signs of spring approaching...

Rainy day...

2010-01-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

"A new camera will not make you a better photographer. Only YOU can do that. And it's not done by reading the rants and raves on every new piece of gear that comes out each week. So shut down that MacBook, grab your camera and get out there and make some magic happen!"

-Jeff Lynch

I would have shut down the MacBook, grabbed my camera and went outside to enjoy the day to take pictures but unfortunately, the rain decided to foul the plans. So instead, it was a baking day.

We've gone the yuppie route and own a bread maker and are determined to bake every recipe in the book. There are still a lot of bumps and hurdles that we have gone through and have yet to find the perfect recipe but we'll keep trying. Today's delight was the standard French Bread. We would have had bread first thing this morning due to the wonderful timer but we accidentally made it with "white whole wheat" flour. That was not a good idea since the loaf came out like a brick. So instead we had lunch bread with the correct "white bread flour" and had a nice, warm loaf for lunch. One draw back with all the breads we've made is the tough crust...it's great when freshly out of the machine but a few hours later, not so much.

I'm looking forward to making some beer bread...that should be next on the list :)

• baked bread smell is intoxicating •

Wintery Landscape

2010-01-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

As much as I didn't enjoy the cold weather of the Netherlands and made me contemplate whether I would ever be able to live in the Netherlands, seeing the country with barren trees and snow covering it's landscape, I did fall more in love with it. The jury is still out if I'll ever be able to survive a rainy autumn or snowy winter though :)

• winter landscape •

• snowy horses •

Cliché Goals

2010-01-08T04:09:00.000-08:00

A new year tends to leads towards the cliche New Year Resolutions or the "look back and reflect" moments. As always, I intend to stay healthy: physically and mentally. Professionally, I aim to build my freelancing career and my client list without over stretching myself. But my main goal is to really start working on feeling comfortable calling myself a photographer. It has been a hobby for quite awhile now and love the challenge with finding my strengths and weaknesses. I don't ever intend for it to become a career but it's just something that I love doing (I do wish that I had more of a formal education on it rather than being all self taught). So my main photography goals this year are:

• take more photos: i always carry around a camera: dSLR, point n' shoot or camera phone but i want to start taking photos every day. of what? who knows

• print more photos: i love making blurb books but need to start making it a regular habit instead of letting photos live on the hard drive

• work on my weakness: i need to learn how to take better people pictures

• limit equipment to what is truly needed: still looking for a nice wide angle lens

• keep learning photoshop: i used to have a phobia of photoshop and post-processing but i've been teaching myself the subtleties of photoshop and finally starting to love it
• at least i'm sure that these goals will not be broken come march :-)

• setting sun in amsterdam •

Fancy-Schmancy Travelin' Books

2010-01-06T00:02:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across these books at the in-laws and love them so! These books are made on very thin paper (think Bible) but not too thin so you could see through the other side and the font size is standard so you don't strain your eyes. I love how compact and light these books are which make them perfect for traveling! I'm always traveling for long periods of time and the added weight of books can be annoyingly restrictive. I am also not too convinced by the Kindle (pro: great for traveling. con: it's digital) but if I start seeing books like this in the States, than I would prefer these books for traveling instead! I haven't seen these books in the States but I haven't really looked for them but looks like I will now!

• perfect traveling size •

• text size is quite nice •

• this book is over 500 pages! •

Spontaneity: Bust

2010-01-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

The husband and I have a few different "loose" rules when it comes to traveling and enjoying life:

• take the road less travelled: side roads, left, right, or straight without maps, makes it more fun to see more of the country side.

• never back track: on any hikes, driving or biking, we never go back the way we came. Sure, sometimes we go the long distance or go around in a circle but we never travel back.

• flip a coin: if we're not sure which way to go, flipping a coin makes the journey a little more interesting.

Our rules have taken us through some great journeys whether its in another country or just in our own neighborhoods. We've stuck by these rules for quite awhile and they have yet to fail us although this past weekend, we hit the trifecta of bad luck with these three rules.

• We randomly decided on a Saturday night to drive into Southern Belgium so we can do some snow hiking and castle touring.

• We randomly ended up in a small town called Bastogne to sleep for the night (we had no GPS or maps so we had to cross our fingers that we found a hotel)

• We woke up Sunday morning to the whole town covered in snow (and looking beautiful)

• We got into the car and randomly chose a small mountain road heading for La Roche, Belgium

• We drove into a small town called Bertogne and going down a small hill that involved a corner turn, the car decided to lose traction and wrap itself around a small brick wall...oops.

What made this even more "exciting" was the town: Bertogne where no one speaks English or Dutch...only French. Since we were in the middle of nowhere, we had to wait over six hours for the tow truck from the Netherlands to come. The weather was also -3 degrees Celsius (with snow intermittently)! We had to sit in the back of the car with the windows open to allow the airbag stink to get out.

On the plus side, we met an incredible woman (whose house was next to the crash) who welcomed us into her home for coffee and for us to use her bathroom. She kept coming out to check on us and would bring us warm waffles. Of course, we couldn't communicate with each other but she was so friendly and warm that we were really happy to have come across her path.

We also stumbled across a small pub (that opens at 2pm) where everyone helps themselves to their drinks and cash register, it was the honor system in a pub! Although we were the only guests that were not allowed to partake in this honor system but then again, I'm sure this town of fifty did not get too many tourists in their pubs!

It was a long day of sitting in the back of the car, watching everyone drive by and stop to ask us if we were OK (all in French, of course) but it ended up being a decent day. We were both safe (Marijn actually was totally fine while I ended up with all the bumps and bruises that will heal) and we both had the chance to really appreciate the kindness in strangers in a small village in Belgium.

I just think that on our next ventures, we might have to revise our traveling rules a bit :-)

• snow flowers - wanted a happy picture instead of a crash picture :)

Christmas in Vegas

2009-12-29T01:52:00.000-08:00

Spending Christmas Day in Las Vegas might have been a little overwhelming with the madness of drunkards and obnoxious tourists especially since I always thought that Christmas would be quiet since the hotel prices were ridiculously cheap. But spending time with the family on Christmas Day in Las Vegas was the best way to deal with Vegas :)

• city center's Halo exhibit •

• art inside city center •

• pretend paris •

Christmas Eve in Disneyland

2009-12-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

Holidays at a theme park can be a bad combination...lots of families, little rugrats that you can trip on, crazy tourists and long lines. But surprisingly, Disneyland wasn't that busy on Christmas Eve. It was quite crowded but the line rides were short (average: 20-30 minutes per ride). We even had a park hopper pass so we were able to ride all the major rides at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure (which serves beer which is the biggest bonus). Seeing the park decorated for the holiday was excellent and the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve!

• entering the "happiest place" •

• day •

• night•

• poinsettias brings in the holiday spirit •

• it's a small world magically light up •

Stumbling upon a new venture...

2009-12-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

Since September, I have been a happy, unemployed camper (i.e. housewife). It's given me the chance to travel to Europe and South Africa, discover new hobbies (welding, motorcycle riding), build up my tasty cooking skills and challenge myself with my photography skills - which is by far, my favorite when it comes to hobbies (photos)...but that can only last so long.

When the weather started to get a tad colder and rainer here (although it didn't last long), I figured that it was time to do something, I just wasn't sure what. I emailed my fitness trainer and asked if he had anything for available for me to help on. That's all it took for me to have my first client as a freelance producer. For the next couple of months, I'll be producing, shooting and editing over two hundred videos for a mobile phone application. It's nice to keep busy and have something new and creative to do. It was also the best excuse to get the new MacBook Pro, the full Adobe creative suites package and perhaps, eventually a new HD camera to work with.

One of the drawbacks that I am discovering is how to work from home. I spend about two days a week working at the studio and three days a week editing from home. It's been quite an adjustment to try and figure out how to work in my "office" without my pajamas on. What it took was a friend stopping by to fix our keg-a-rator only to have him find me in my pajamas and mismatching socks (I don't have the heart to throw away my perfectly good, wacky socks so the solo ones, I put together and wear around the house :)

It is quite nice to work for myself, especially since it gives me the flexibility to travel and work from anywhere in the world so not having a boss to ask for time off is an incredible experience. I've also had to create my own office although it's sad that I've taken over our dining table since I use two laptops to work. Perhaps that just means that we might need a bigger place at some point?! :-)

Overall Christmas Celebration

2009-12-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

Originally, we were going to host our first Christmas in Santa Clara. My parents and sister would come up, we would open presents, make lots of home cooked meals and just celebrate with each other. But of course, things can always change quickly so instead of having our first hosted Christmas, we are now heading out to the Netherlands the day after Christmas to visit Marijn's family, mainly because his grandma has fallen quite ill.

Since our original plans have changed, we've decided to make the most of it. Christmas Eve: Disneyland! Christmas Day: family gets up early to drive us to Las Vegas (only way to fly out to AMS based on miles). Spend Christmas Day in Vegas and then get on a flight for the Netherlands on the 26th. We'll be in the cold, snowy and hopefully not rainy, Netherlands for two weeks, spending quality time with his grandma and family. Hopefully we'll be able to sneak away for a ski trip in Belgium. It also gives us the chance to celebrate New Years in Amsterdam (which I am not sure my liver or lungs will never forgive me for) It will be nice to head out there for the last of the Winter celebrations, it's just unfortunate it has to be under these circumstances.

Lensplaying

2009-12-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

I recently bought myself a Canon 50mm prime lens and have been having so much fun with the new toy. I thought that it would be limiting to work with a fixed lens but it's been a learning experience to work with the limitations and learn to be creative in order to get the desired shot. It's a fast lens, perfect for the price (less than a hundred for a Canon lens!) and works really nicely with low light. It doesn't have the best bokeh (like my other favorite 70-200mm lens but that's heavy to always carry around) but it works for me and my playing. Of course, it's only just playing but it's been a lot of fun building up the mad camera skills. There are a few more camera lenses that I'm looking into getting but for now, I'll just keep playing with this lens!

• happy bokeh •

• sitting by the fire? •

• holiday lights •

• two in one holidays •

new itty bitty second cousin!

2009-12-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

My mother has a very small family: one older sister who lives in California nearby and a younger brother who lives Vietnam. My mom's sister has no children and her brother has three boys and one girl. We don't get to see our cousins often but every time we are in Vietnam, it feels like there is no distance between us. The middle boy was married earlier this year and just had a baby (the first, second cousin of our family) so it was a great surprise to find that they had named their first baby girl, KimMai! What a wonderful surprise it was to hear that she was named after myself and little sister! We are looking forward to meeting her in June next year!

• introducing the new lil' cousin •

• nguyen thi kimmai - i can't wait to pinch her cheeks! •

Finding the Holiday Spirit

2009-12-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Last year, I couldn't muster up any holiday spirit but I am happy to have the holiday spirit this year! We're throwing a Sinter Klaas holiday party for our friends this weekend and will give them a little taste of a Dutch holiday. For Christmas, instead of dealing with the traffic of heading down to L.A., my parents and sister are actually coming up here so we are also going to host our first Christmas. It's quite exciting to be throwing these holiday celebrations because I think that it gives me the holiday spirit. Now I just have to figure out what to cook!

• our christmas/fourth of july holiday sparkles •

• finding the holiday spirit •

• christmas lights swirls •

• swirling joy •

• model husband •

• holiday lighted angel •

Biker Chick?!!!

2009-11-05T20:55:00.001-08:00

That's right, I will soon be a biker chick. Marijn and I are taking our first motorcycle lessons so instead of always riding bitch with my family, we can finally ride alongside them. I'm a little nervous but also excited about being able to finally ride a motorcycle and don't worry, we won't go for the crotch rocket when we start motorcycle shopping. I am partial to getting a Vespa but Marijn is a tad hesitant about riding around on a "girlie" bike.

• this mug will finally be a true biker chick mug •

• my dad's triumph although it might be too large for me •

The Joys of Halloween

2009-11-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin carving, haunted houses, spooky amusement park rides, horror movies and creative costumes makes Halloween one of my favorites.

• my albino vampire pumpkin •

• great america's halloween haunt •

One of the best things to witness each year is watching Marijn's outfits get more complicated and unique each year especially since the first time he celebrated Halloween was in 2006. I think that he just has a lot of catching up to do!

• 2006 - Army Man •

• 2007 - Park Ranger •

• 2008 - Pinhead and he successfully scared people •

• 2009: zombie clown with high creepy factor •

• He wandered the streets of Pacific solo, following people and freaking them out.
He even made a little girl cry which was quite priceless •

• zombies in love •

Scuba Diving Birthday

2009-10-17T09:05:00.001-07:00

I started off the first day of my thirties with an incredible boat dive off Anacapa Island (which is part of the Channel Islands off Ventura). This was my first boat dive with the Spectre Boat and they were so great. The team was friendly, their lunch was delicious (BBQ chicken for most, veggie burger for me) and their fresh water hot tub was perfect after three tank dives.

Of course, I always learn a lesson with each dive trip and this time, I lost my mask by not having a secure grip on it and watched it fall in off the side of the boat, oops. The boat did have an extra mask for me to use but it was such an old mask that it didn't allow for easy decompression. I actually had to dive with only one glove so I can stick my hand up the mask to decompress which was a tad annoying but it was my fault for losing my mask.

Since October is my favorite month, it's only fitting that October is the best time to dive in Southern California. The water was a nice 68 degrees with visibility from 50-80 feet. The sea life was out in full force with lots of lobsters, sting rays, starfish, a baby octopus, sea lions and even a giant sea cucumber pooping. It was the perfect way to bring in my thirties.

• wearing my underwater birthday hat •

• channeling my under water michael jackson •

• first enc0unter with a baby starfish, too cute •

• bang bang •

my october...

2009-10-01T02:04:00.002-07:00

My favorite month is here! It just holds so much goodness that October has always been my favorite time of year!

• season change: as much as California does not have a true change in seasons, I can still feel the small changes from the different breezes to the subtle color changes in the leaves. So ha, there are some seasonal changes in California!

• my birthday: this year, it's the big thirty! I love celebrating birthdays and don't mind the whole getting old factor (ask me again though in about ten years). I am even now embracing my gray hairs. I want to be one of those old, rocking woman who has a full head of gray hair.

• random woman i saw rocking out in little toyko...i envision to have her wild hair, kinda •

• oktoberfest: a wonderful excuse to drink lots of delicious beers (it even starts this year on my birthday)
• halloween: need I say more?! Although I'm not sure what to be this year since I haven't had a lot of time to think about it or put an outfit together. Perhaps this year I will be a zombie but what kind?! Halloween also has more significance now since it's when "Army Man" met "Audrey Hepburn."

• army man and audrey hepburn •

So yea, I heart October.

End of Dutch Adventures, now to Cape Town Adventures

2009-09-15T03:05:00.000-07:00

Family, old high school friends, college friends, work friends and long distance family all journeyed out to the Netherlands for our 09.09.09 wedding celebration and it was awesome. It was amazing to have so many loved ones close by to celebrate again with us and to show them more parts of the Netherlands besides just Amsterdam. We celebrated with a (mostly) true Dutch celebration which included a wonderful three course meal from a Michelin rated restaurant (that is conveniently located across the street from his parents house), a canal trip through the city of Utretch which included a traditional Dutch Pancake lunch next to the canal, a journey into Nijmegan - the oldest city in the Netherlands and of course, endless partying in Amsterdam. My liver and kidneys will probably never forgive me for the damage that I did to them on this trip (example: our wedding celebration evening for eighty guests final alcohol invoice was for: 60 glasses of Prosecco, 275 beers, 20 bottles of wine and 92 shots of a variety of hard booze). We definitely partied a little too much during these past two weeks but when is the next time we are going to have this group of awesome people with us to party in the Netherlands?

• my boys since high school •

• my mom's family from belgium •

• college friends and our awesome neighbors •

• dinner in amsterdam at d' herengracht •

• on top of st. stevens church in nijmegan •

And now it's time for some piece and quiet. Marijn will be working out of Cape Town for the next three weeks so during that time, I will be a glorified, traveling housewife and to be honest, I don't know if I really mind ;) It will be good to venture off to a new country and see if this is a country that we could live in. Right now, the move between London or Cape Town is quite unclear and hopefully during this trip, there will be more definition of where we are going to relocate too. I am a planner and "look ahead-er" so not knowing where we are going to be living in the next couple of months makes me a little nervous but it's just another challenge that I am looking forward to. Since I'm back to being an unemployed traveler, I've re-opened my other blog: traveling kime to write/muse while in South Africa. I'm hoping to write more while I'm there since I will have a lot of time on my hands so I'm sure I will balance between these two blogs although I really wish that I could link them...that would just be much easier to streamline everything. I did find it funny that my closing Euro-Asia blog post from August 2007 mentioned that my next trip would be Africa. Guess it was written back then that this would be my next adventure, heehee yay!

Love Grows, Part Twee.

2009-09-07T05:26:00.000-07:00

The in-laws have an incredible green thumb and combined with the rainy/cool weather of the Netherlands, I was pleasantly surprised to see what our plantable wedding invites have grown into (prior blog post here). In Northern California, our invites have grown to be only plants, large green stems with leaves so I have been unsure of what they were to become. But the in-laws have been able to make them grow into something quite spectacular: actual flowers! Bright, lovely orange flowers with a faint sweet smell...sigh. It gives me the warm and fuzzies to know that our invites have been successfully grown into flowers!

• they are quite tall •

• a bee enjoying the flower •

Being back in the Netherlands is always fun but it's more of visiting family than traveling so this trip has included more traveling and experiences. Some of our friends have come out to celebrate our second wedding celebration with us so we've been able to take them out and show them parts of the Netherlands. As the rest of the family and friends start arriving this week, we're going to be in full travel mode and really showing them the nooks and crannies of the Netherlands and it's very exciting since no one has been here before. My understanding of the Dutch language is also getting better. I can only speak a few words/phrases and my pronunciation is quite poor but it's become a fun challenge listening to Dutch and finally being able to start picking out words (which helps me follow conversations better, I just can't figure out the exact context yet). It's fun being able to start picking up a new language and am curious if I will ever be able to fully speak Dutch. That would be quite spiffy.

• i heart the netherlands •

Next Steps

2009-09-01T11:34:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that September is already here, what happened to the year?! This year has held a lot of new beginnings and life changes so it's crazy to see that the year is almost over.

We're heading off to the Netherlands to celebrate our wedding with Marijn's family. It's incredibly exciting since my family and some of our awesome friends are flying out to celebrate with us. Most of them have never been to the Netherlands so we get to really show them around besides the standard Amsterdam that everyone normally visits. Of course, to make this journey even crazier is that right after our Netherlands travels, we're hoping on a plane and heading straight to Cape Town, South Africa. Now this is going to be absolutely incredible and I am overwhelmed with giddiness about it.

Although Marijn will be working during our three weeks there, it's going to be the best time to travel and experience a new country but will also allow me to really digest the next personal steps for me in life/career especially since it will be the best time for me to redefine what my goals will be. Being unemployed, it will be nice to take a step back and reexamine what I'm looking for and what better place than the backdrop of Cape Town?

Eek, two weeks!

2009-08-18T14:05:00.001-07:00

It has been pretty well known that I have felt a little "depressed" about my career situation. I work for such a small company and although I have enjoyed working with the people, the challenges that I love are no longer present. They were there when I first started but then this silly economy went downhill, we lost a lot of clients and my hours were cut back significantly. They were so flexible with my constant vacations for the wedding and traveling, it was the best to stick with it for some form of income. But it's funny how quickly things change and so, I put my two week notice in yesterday (which is exactly two weeks prior from when I was leaving on a three week vacation to the Netherlands). Originally I was going to be coming back to the grind and working (barely) but the husband's job decided to throw in a little surprise (OK, it's not really a surprise since we've known that there would be a possibility of relocation, I just didn't realize that it would be sooner rather than later). So after our Dutch wedding celebration with our family and friends, we are heading down to Cape Town, South Africa for a few more weeks. I know that while someone has to work, I am very sure that I am going to soak up everything that Cape Town has to offer and relax in the funemployment world of traveling and adventuring. Besides, I have to soak in everything that Cape Town has to offer in case that becomes our temporary new home! ;)

• after placing my notice in, the amazing husband sent flowers to my office to start counting down until my thirtieth birthday so it was perfect timing: two months until i'm thirty and a congratulations for leaving your job that you were unchallenged by.
it was the perfect surprise gift •

Wedding Photos - highlights

2009-08-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

I have finally sorted through all the seven hundred plus photos and love every single one. If people's attention span could actually filter through all the images, I would have posted them for our family and friends but instead, I found all the favorites the represented our wedding day and uploaded them.

Calamigos Ranch in Malibu was the perfect place for our wedding but what made it more memorable were all the unique locations that we had as our playground for our photos: ferris wheel, red barn (interior and exterior), old bridge, old log cabin, big green field, the giant oak tree from the ceremony and of course, the yellow school bus that was the best rental we could have done. I love all the photos and looking back, it would have been pretty cool to have some cotton candy as a prop to use instead of the bouquet :)

Of all the wedding costs that we had to deal with, the most important for us was the photographer budget and am so happy that this was one area that we didn't hold back on. We loved working with Joy of Wildflowers Photos and her husband, Donny, they made us so comfortable in front of the camera although most of the time, we didn't even realize that they were there. The final photos are truly magical and memorable for us and having these to look back on definitely gives me the warm and fuzzies!

Wedding Ceremony Reflection

2009-08-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

*i thought that i was done with any reflection on the whole wedding process but we just received all of our photos (700+) and going through them, i'm getting waves of emotions/thoughts/feelings that i forgot all about. since i didn't do too much writing during the whole process, i guess it's time for me to release a few more wedding reflections blog. hope you don't mind? :)

Back in the days of the wedding planning, Marijn and I discussed having my childhood pastor marry us off. It was a very brief idea that was quickly shut down when we realized that neither of us are religious but the most important part was that my childhood pastor was just that: a person from my past who knew nothing of Marijn and I. We wanted to have someone marry us that knew both of us as a couple as well as an individual. We thought of our friends and realized that the best person would be our friend, Matt (the State of California allows for someone to get officiated for a day). We asked him early on and after thinking long and hard about it, he agreed! It was so wonderful knowing that we all worked together on putting together a ceremony that was meaningful and special not only for us but for our family and friends that sat through the ceremony.

Besides our individual vows to each other, we also included vows for us as a married couple and said "we do" instead of the standard "I do." The vows that we wrote were touching, heartwarming and even silly since some of them caused laughter from our families.

•will you make sure to never waste an opportunity to say I love you, never forget to ask "what can I do to help?"

• because conversation is always better with sand between your toes, will you take time to walk on the beach together?

• getting out of the house will always be frantic in the morning. It will only get more crazy. Don't leave without a hug and a kiss. The world will wait those five seconds. The same is true when going to bed. Always kiss goodnight. Even when you're so exhausted you can barely lift your head. Will you promise to hug and kiss?

• the days are long but the years are short. Will you promise to appreciate what you have today because it all goes by so fast?

• a bottle of wine at sunset is a true pleasure in life, don't sour it by talking about work. Will you promise to talk about something important and enjoy these moments?

• will you go on date nights together and remember why you fell head-over-heels in love with each other in the first place?

• will you remember that the money you make apart is not nearly as important as the time you spend together?

• will you promise to care for and support each other in the joys and sorrow of life and to share the responsibility for growth and enrichment in your life together?

We also included my grandfather into the ceremony as he was the only person to do a reading. It was so touching to have my grandfather, who has been happily married for over 61 years read for us this quote from "Union" by Robert Fulgham:

"...You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world – This is my husband. This is my wife."

Lake Lopez Camping Weekend

2009-08-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Getting away for the weekend is one of my favorite things to do. As much as I love exploring the Bay Area, it is quite nice to get in the car and discover somewhere new. This past weekend was a trip to Lake Lopez in Arroyo Grande which is right next to San Luis Obispo. It is such a perfect destination for anyone trying to get out of the Northern or Southern California area. It's about a four hour drive from either L.A. or Santa Clara which is the perfect distance for a camping weekend. The lake is beautiful, isolated and in order to get to it, you have to drive through dozens of wineries (I drove alone so wine-tasting hopping wasn't possible to do). It was a perfect weekend of boating, hiking, campfire games, drinking and enjoying the company of friends and family.

If any one ever does find themselves looking to camp at Lake Lopez, highly suggest staying at Grizzly Camp - sites 5,6 or 7. It is the best location with an incredible view (plus it's a short walking distance to the Marina and the Water park - yes, there is a water park in their campground!)

• view from my tent •

• sunset from our campsite - so perfect •

• love the way the campfire makes the trees look •

• boating •

• I think I can do this most weekends •

Music gives me the warm and fuzzies

2009-07-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

There aren't too many things that I miss about living in L.A., however this past weekend, I realized how much I miss the Hollywood Bowl and their summer music series (actually, the music scene in general I also miss)! An evening out with friends, picnicking while watching the sun set and listening to some wonderful music was one of my favorite pastimes of L.A. (the only other event that can compare is Cinespia - watching classic movies in the Hollywood Cemetery).

I am happy to have found a place for me to get the warm and fuzzies over with excellent music. The Montalvo Arts Center is such a unique and incredible venue for music and arts. The venue was built in 1912 by Senator Phelan and is a center for creativity that offers art courses, gallery exhibits and concerts. Another trip just to stroll the grounds is highly needed. It's an intimate center where every seat is a good seat (general admission tickets are the way to go, we had nice seats but didn't need to pay the extra money for it) with acoustics that make it feel like they are playing just for you. My favorite was feeling like I was at someone's home instead of a "venue."

• the villa •

• behind the villa •

We went to see Ozomatli who is one of my L.A. favorite bands and have watched them perform a few times all over the L.A. area so to have them play close to my new home was so perfect. They took advantage of the intimate setting, performing into the crowd, bringing out their children to perform and they closed the evening with an impromptu jam session in the villa's courtyard. Even after their mini-jam session ended, they continued to hang out in the courtyard meeting all their fans.

• lead singer, raul •

• raul was cool •

• music makes me warm and fuzzy - although wine can help •

I have been neglecting my musical self while living in Santa Clara (there really aren't too many places that are close by) but I am releasing the inner-hippie in a few weeks to see Phish at Shoreline. I haven't been to Shoreline so am curious if I will like the venue. I am happy to know that there is a little gem of a place now in the Saratoga area that I am going to have to frequent more! :)

Wedding Photos - sneak peek

2009-07-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

We have been eagerly awaiting the photos from our wedding from our photographer, Joy Harmon Prouty (Wildflowers Photography) who teams up with her husband and is based in Thousand Oaks. All of their photographs evoke a feeling which is the most important thing when it comes to photography (you should really surf their wedding photos and newborn photos. If we're living in the States when we have a kid, I'm so going to them!) We are just so overwhelmed by their pure awesomeness!

We haven't received the final disc of all the photos and I'm sure that when we go through them, we will find photos that are our personal favorites but in the meantime, here are two links of what Joy loved (which are all perfect and the music from the slideshow is fantastic).

Wildflowers Photography - Best of Slideshow

Wildflowers Photography - Blog

• our first glance, what a perfect location •

• wowzers •

• i heart this photo •

• perfect family photo •

Semi-Scuba Diving Adventure

2009-07-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

My parents came up to visit a few weekends ago and the main reason for it was to dive at Point Reyes, Carmel. Upon entry at the Point Reyes Park, they advised us that the visibility was only 3 feet with a high swell. We were determined to go scuba diving since my parents (mainly dad but mom joined as company) drove up from L.A. for diving. We decided that we should check other portions of the Monterey Peninsula so the next stop was Lover's Point, Carmel.

We were the only scuba divers in the area (including the parking lot/beach area which is uncommom) but figured that maybe we should give it a try.

• hi •

• time to swim out •

• dad doing a final check to make sure all is OK •

So we swam a few hundred yards to see if the conditions would get better. My dad decided to first go under to check visibility to only come up after thirty seconds to declare that there was no visibility even at twenty feet down. With that realization, we both concluded that it was not worth attempting to make the dive so we swam back to shore.

And herein lays why I don't like beach diving. As we got closer to the shore, I crawled on all fours to slowly move out of the water but took out the regulator, placed my mask on top of my head and breathed in huge gasps of air. For about those three seconds, it was the calmest moment that I could ask for... until the set of waves decided to come behind me and wipe me off all fours and I had to struggle with all the gear, trying to get the regulator back in and not lose my mask.

Valuable lesson learned! Do not take off the regulator and mask until I am fully out of the water. I have never been pounded so much before by the waves. It took about an additional ten minutes for me to grab my mask, regulator and get out of the water because every time I was able to gain some sense of balance, came another wave. Don't think that I'll be doing another beach dive anytime soon, it's just not fun with the waves!

I am itching to go diving so I will be heading down to L.A. at the end of July to dive Catalina Island. I am really looking forward to that! In the meantime, here is a picture of my mom doing what she does while waiting for us to get out of the water.... making warm Ramen for us! YAY!

Love Grows...

2009-07-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Surfing through some green friendly wedding prep website, I found an invite company that specializes in eco-friendly wedding invitations that was DIY (which was important since we did Dutch and English versions). Almost all of their invitations are tree free, 100% post consumer recycled papers and we fell in love with the Seedling invite which is plantable paper with embedded Cosmo seeds. Since we have a lot of the paper left over from our wedding, we thought that we should plant our paper and see what happens. We planted them throughout our backyard but due to the valley's heat, nothing seems to have sprouted (as of yet). However, we did plant some in a planter where it gets a lot of shade and to our merry surprise, they started growing! We can't believe that the invites are growing and can't wait to see what flowers grow! :)

• exterior •

• interior •

• quote from "The Alchemist," one of my favorite books •

• growing •

• our planter with part of the invite sticking out •

• Remember that wherever your heart is,
there you will find your treasure.
You've got to find your treasure
so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense •

Fifth of July

2009-07-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long time since I've stayed at home to celebrate the Fourth of July. Usually, I aim to travel someplace far away to celebrate all the while trying to sneak in a firework show. I've enjoyed this awesome holiday from Boston, New York City, Prescott, Las Vegas and even Vietnam. So finding myself not making plans for this year was a little odd but I'm glad that I did. We kept it mellow by having a BBQ, playing games of Scrabble with our friends and we ended it with a bike ride to Santa Clara's Central Library for their fireworks show. There are not a lot of places in the Santa Clara/South Bay area to view fireworks and this was a spectacular show. It was free with lots of places to lay out, have a few drinks and wait for the unobstructive show to start. Of course, the Fifth of July has been a holiday to recoop from the wicked hangover (getting older definitely does make the hangovers last much longer) but it has been such a great weekend of relaxing and enjoying ourselves without the stress of traveling. I might get the hang of this!

• waiting for the show to start while moon gazing •

• relaxing •

• boom •

• bang •

• kabloowee•

• some of my favorite fireworks photos that i took.
wish that there were more fireworks shows
so i can keep working on taking firework pictures,
it's a toughie •

Things to do on a holiday weekend?

2009-07-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

It's a three day holiday weekend and for once, we're actually staying in town and it's quite bizarre (although, in reality, I don't work on Fridays so I always have a three day weekend but for Marijn to be home is the bizarre part). So what does one do when they are staying local to try and avoid the crowds?

• laundry? eh, not out of clean underwear so that can wait

• clean the house? it's always neat, just needs to be cleaned but that's just too much effort

• do yard work? it's supposed to be a hot weekend so no thanks

• finish thank you cards? we're in the home stretch, just need to sit down and do it but since mail isn't being picked up this weekend, that can wait

• watch fireworks? drunkenly walk to central park in santa clara and watch them will be a must. or climb onto our roof and watch them from there (although drunkenly getting on top of a roof doesn't sound safe :)

• watch the hangover? have yet to see it so after a few margaritas, might be fun?

• drink beer? mmmmkay, no arm twisting on that

• catch up on my reading? that is a needed

Whatever we do decide to do on this long weekend, we'll be sure to celebrate this holiday with food, beer and fireworks - all the essential ingredients for a holiday!

Muddy Buddy Racing

2009-06-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am a very uncompetitive person so going out of my way to wake up really early on a Sunday morning to run/bike in a 10K race is highly uncommon but I found a race that is totally worth it!

Mai drove up from L.A. to be my "Muddy Buddy" partner in a 10K race up in the San Jose mountains and what a great weekend! Because of the early start time on Sunday, we figured it was best to camp out at the site which is up in the San Jose mountains. We did find it odd to camp with seven friends and to keep the beer drinking to a minimal since camping and beer just go hand in hand!

• looking down into san jose, ca•

• sunset while camping - team ebbets field •

If this race ever comes into your city, I highly suggest doing it! There are five legs to the race and you alternate with your buddy between running or racing. In between each leg, there is an obstacle that you need to complete before starting on the next leg (either biking or running). In order to cross the finish line, you need to meet (or wait for) your partner, run over to the mud pit and army crawl through the giant mud pit. As soon as you're done, there are cold Red Hook beers waiting for you! It was fantastic, tiring and dirty but so worth it! Next time, I think that Mai and I will go in costume! :)

• going down the inflatable slide •

• concentration needed to balance on the beam •

• leaving the mud pit •

• we survived •

• in need of a shower •

• my poor shoes after the race •

Scenery in Oregon

2009-05-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

Instead of battling campgrounds or traffic to get away for the Memorial Day weekend, we ventured North to Oregon. We have friends who live in Silverton and Portland so it makes it perfect for us to visit and really see the beauty of Oregon. Marijn and I were there last year for New Year's but most of the scenery of Oregon was covered in snow. What a difference in five months! It was so incredible to really see the beauty of Oregon (although my allergies were struggling). We did everything we possibly could do on a holiday weekend: hiking to waterfalls, BBQing, wine-tasting, beer tasting, fireworks, horseshoes and even a festival. I'm beginning to fall in love with Oregon. I can't wait to go back and visit again (and again)!

• Silverton Falls, Oregon •

• soaking in the scenery •

• Oregon Poppies •

• Brilliant colors •

• winery in Mount Angel, Oregon •

• delicious pinot noir •

• we were really bad at horseshoes •

• it's not 4th of July but we're still going to play with fire •

• beer tasting in Portland •

• bagpipers at the rose festival •

• the Oregon and Santa Clara crew •

Excessive unwinding in the Dominican Republic

2009-05-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

I really wish that I could say that I had the chance to visit all the Dominican Republic and soak in the beautiful country but since it was our honeymoon, we didn't have a chance to explore as much as we would normally do on our adventures.

The first three days we did nothing except eat, drink, sleep, nap and the extent of our tough choices were: "cocktail on the beach or by the pool?" Although this is something that we would normally never do, we needed it. The two weeks prior to the wedding were very draining and stressful. So the first three days there we did not want to strain ourselves from doing anything so we choose to do nothing and it was a guilty pleasure!

• pool? •

• beach? •

We couldn't travel all the way to the D.R. and not do anything so we did venture out twice. The first trip was a city tour of Puerto Plata which is a very beautiful city. Our tour guide did mention that a lot of the businesses in town have gone under because of growth of the all-inclusive resorts since they provide everything that there is no need to go into town. We felt a little guilty since we were those tourists (next time, we'll venture out more!). The tour was a little silly but we did get to see how rum and cigars were made and it only confirmed how much I don't care for rum but do like a cigar on occasion :)

• the view into Puerto Plata •

• Brugal Rum factory •

• smoking a freshly rolled cigar (guilty pleasure, not a habit) •

Our other adventure was white-water rafting in the Yaque del Norte River which is in the valley of Jarabocoa (central mountains of the D.R.) and that was exhilarating! The drive was about two and a half hours (which was full of Dutch tourists so Marijn was so happy!) which I loved because having long drives in a foreign country really gives you a chance to see more of the countryside.

• somewhere in the central mountains •

This is the third time that I have gone river rafting (first time for Marijn) and it was crazy the difference between the States and a foreign country. They have you watch a five minute training video and then toss you out to the river but it's worth it! We had Class IV rapids and the whole journey was more than two hours. The river was so beautiful and serene and one of the best rafting trips that I have ever done. They even had cold beer waiting for us at the end of our journey! How perfect is that?!

• rocking the gear •

• we survived and ready to do it again •

So besides that, the rest of the honeymoon was what one would expect from one...a lot of relaxation. It was the perfect way for us finish the final chapter of the wedding madness. We definitely want to explore the D.R. again in the future but will make sure to stay away from the all-inclusives!

Here are some photos of the beautiful flowers and sunsets in the D.R., it would have been nice to be awake for some of their sunrises but oh well :)

• such a beautiful flower for something so evil: tobacco •

• wish I knew more about flowers but look at those colors •

• i love macro lenses •

• day one sunset, day two of marriage •

• day two after the thunderstorm •

• day three, pure bliss •

• getting towards the end of our trip, incredible colors •

• final night in the D.R. & pure ecstasy to end our honeymoon •

Details of our wedding (with a splash of uniqueness)

2009-05-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

With eleven months of wedding planning, I scoured the wedding blogs to find inspiration. My Google reader was always full of new posts about some wedding out there in the world. At first, I found it exhilarating to learn more about what was out there and how to make our wedding fit us as a couple. I'm sure that I started to fall into the category of the "coordinating" bride where I had to consider what might be thematic like colors, flowers, decorations or whatever. But about a few months into our engagement, I realized that these themes were not who we are so we tossed any thematic idea out the window. Instead, we focused on making sure that we threw a party that was fun, exciting, different and most importantly, a place where our family and friends can just enjoy themselves.

The first step to ensure that most of our visual elements was fun was enlisting the help of a dear friend who designed all of our elements and made sure that nothing was conservative or boring. The final effect was that all of our visual elements was bright, colorful, fancy with a little hint of psychedelic-ness which is not the standard fare.

• our escort board with photos of our families and selves •

Besides making sure that all the visual, printed elements rocked, we added in some additional touches that would be unique. We wanted to include splashes of my Vietnamese heritage so my mom created these Vietnamese hats that she decorated throughout our ceremony and reception site. By the end of the evening, they were all snatched up because our guests loved them as souvenirs. My mom rocks.

Having a sugar rush (besides the free alcohol) is also important for guests of a wedding so we included a full candy bar and dessert bar. Unfortunately, the candy bar was demolished before dinner had even started! We never even had a chance to see what it looked like. I'm glad that some people took some photos so we could see what the end result was like. We also had a cupcake tower (with our cake topper as a Dutch delft ceramic couple kissing with tulips) and a full dessert table. I don't think that I even had a chance to see what the dessert table looked like but that was demolished too!

To wrap it all up, there was the wacky photo booth! Oh my goodness, we can't believe how wild and crazy our guests went over this! There was always a line and everyone made sure to wear the props that we provided. The best idea though was the album that we found for people to put their photos into. We got a Kolo photo album (best ever) and purchased a variety of colored markers and fun stickers and let the guests do the rest. The end result is a wonderful keepsake that is bright, unique, creative and just fantastic. Each page really showcases the level of fun that everyone had and each time we look through it, we are happy with ourselves that our wedding really did achieve our main goals: fun, exciting and different. Here are just some of the wackiness that went into our book...

• the wacky photo album •

• my parents •

• my in laws •

• dinosaurs made it into our book •

• zombies made it into our book •

• even crystal made an appearance from cape town •

• full page of fun-ness •

• love this photo of the little girl •

• even the reserved vietnamese let it all out for the camera •

L.A. Flower Market

2009-05-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

Way back when we were planning the wedding, the ballooning cost was becoming more apparent as we figured out what our final bill would be (gulp). One of the cost cutting solutions was with our flowers and decorations. Our location was located in the mountains of Malibu and nature surrounded us so there really wasn't a need to spend lots of money on floral arrangements. We had twenty tables, six wedding peeps and our family members so if we went out of house to do that, the floral costs would have been way too high. So I decided to do the flowers myself (4 bouquets, 10 boutonnieres/corsages, 20 tables and sprinkles of decorations) and while I was in the process of making everything (including gluing my fingers together with the glue gun), I seriously thought that I was crazy for doing this task.

But it was worth it! Especially since L.A. has the most incredible flower market in downtown L.A. The warehouse covers about two city blocks (or so it seems) and it's full of everything related to flowers. Warehouses normally don't smell too pleasant but this one sure did (although my allergies didn't care for it). We spent about two hours wandering to see what was the freshest. Unlike most (crazy) brides, I did not know what our flowers/theme/colors were going to be. I had an idea of the flowers that I like working with but nothing was set until I saw what was in season. I think that this gave me more flexibility to have fun with the flowers.

• checking out the Gerbera Daisies •

• finalizing the bride's bouquet •

The final choices of flowers were: button mums for the boutonnieres, yellow carnations for the bridesmaids and white hydrangeas for my bouquet. Gerbera daisies were used in the centerpieces and tulips for our sweetheart table. In total, these flowers (including the costs additional material) ended up being about $200. Much less than if we went to a florist!

• the final flowers •

Instead of doing actual floral centerpieces, I decided that a low vase filled with water, floating candles and floating flowers would be the most ideal. They were simple, easy to set up and everyone loved them enough to take them home. Our guests loved that they could use it for anything in their home so they were all snatched up before the evening was even over!

• a small section of the dining room •

• close up of the centerpiece •

• my family with all the flowers I made •

I'm so happy that I made the decision to do the flowers, I have the battle scars on my fingers to look back and laugh (really, glue guns are way too hot) but I will look back at these photos in the years to come and it will make me smile knowing that they were put together with love and care (sappy).

Back to the real world?!

2009-05-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've had a moment to stop and write although there have been plenty of times in the past month where I have wanted to vent out all the stress and emotions that I was dealing with regarding the wedding planning but time just slipped through and looking back, the emotions and feelings were so fleeting that I'm glad I didn't have a chance to write them down. So now I am back in the grind which means that I can now finally write, update and post some photos although I don't even know where to start!

We highly enjoyed and loved every moment of the wedding stress madness. We dealt with every problem that came our way with laughs, giggles and a few tears but it made the journey memorable. We had family and friends fly in from all over the US and the Netherlands and we actually got to spend quality time with many of them. The best thing that we chose to do to spend time with our guests is instead of doing a rehearsal dinner, we opted to throw "Party in the Park" and we opened it to anyone who could come. We spent the day soaking in the LA sun at Lake Balboa, played games like Bocce Ball and Lawn Golf, ate food and drank beer. It was so relaxing and stress free that I think people should reconsider the Rehearsal Dinner concept. Who needs another layer of stress to throw a dinner in a small, crampy restaurant?

Anyway, we think (and have been told) that the wedding celebration was a great success and the photos and stories have only confirmed that. As the photos keep piling in and I have time to organize my thoughts and musings (apparently I should be working at the moment), I will delve into more of the fun, wedding stuff that we went through.

For now, here is one of the photos that we were able to get from our photographer. I think that this photo shows the level of craziness and fun that we wanted our celebration to have. We rented a big yellow school bus to take our out of town guests to and from the hotel and made sure to stock it with alcohol so guests could finally get a little tipsy in a school bus. Our photographers convinced us to go through the roof (I had to be lifted through the vent very carefully due to the dress and the top of the bus was so dirty) and stand on top. It was a little scary getting up there but in the end, so worth it for shots like this!

• courtesy of wildflowersphotos.com •

To Do Checklist...

2009-03-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

...is getting smaller and smaller each day and I love it! As my previous post mentioned, the stress is building but after the weekend, it's nice knowing that things actually might be under control.

We were able to successfully wait in the (long) line at the Van Nuys Courthouse for what seemed like forever to get our marriage license. I was totally fine until the moment she asked us to raise our hands and declare that everything was correct. I started getting a little teary eyed at that moment along with some warm and fuzzies.

• the official paperwork •

For future brides or people who don't like doing silly games that go hand in hand with bridal showers, I highly suggest doing a jewelry making party! Our "theme" was jewelry making and all of our guests were able to make their own earrings. Some guests didn't make any while some made three or four but either way, it was so perfect having everyone sit around and doing something they would normally not do. I wish I had the hindsight to photo each of the girls with their creations but after a few mimosas, things like that are easily forgotten.

• jewelry preparation •

• some desserts •

• sun, mimosas and girls •

• mother and daughter •

On another note, my lil' sister just bought her first home and we got to visit it this weekend. It was so great to see all the hard work to make it her own. I'm so proud of lil' sis!

Winding into the Stress Season

2009-03-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

There is so much to do in a short amount of time. I can't believe where the time has gone. We've had a long eleven month engagement which has helped to get a lot of the stuff done but still, we're less than six weeks away. I know that everything will work itself out, the celebrations will rock and we get to be in the company of all of our loved ones.

This weekend is the weekend where it all just sinks in with just how much still needs to be done. Here is just an idea of this weekend's itinerary and this is only for this weekend!

• Drive down to LA Thursday evening
• Check out LA Flower Market Friday morning by noon
• Head to courthouse to file for wedding license by two
• Head for dress fitting by six
-wind down time in the evening

• Wake up early for make-up trial by ten
• Meet with our husband-wife photographer team by one
• Bridal Shower - jewelry making theme for all the women by four
• Close friend's 30th Birthday celebration by eight
- wind down time in the evening

• Wake up early to meet with wedding venue by ten
• Meet with our DJ by one
• Drive back to Santa Clara

The weekend hasn't even started yet and I'm already tired. This is going to be a long and brutal weekend but we're coming into the home stretch so the excitement is starting to build.

Our eco-friendly invites have all been shipped and I am so happy with the final outcome of our invites. We found these invites that are 100% paper free and the exterior of the invites is made out of seeds so you get to plant our invite and watch it grow into flowers! We put together over 200 invites but it was a worthwhile task.

• the prep table •

We've also started putting together our Candy Bar and I never knew how expensive candy is! We're having a variety of Jelly Belly, Kisses, Starbursts, Skittles, M&M's, Red Vines and German Candy Eggs and you don't even want to know what that final cost was. For something that is so unhealthy and full of sugar, it sure is pricey! I even think that we might need to add a few more variety (e.g. lollipops) to make sure that we have enough for everyone. We now have to assemble our Chinese Take Out boxes and decorate them. Just another thing to do and this doesn't even include our Dessert Bar!

• the standard mess that lives upstairs •

It's funny because it doesn't seem like there is much more to do besides more DIY projects but as we get closer to each day, there is a little part inside of me that does a subtle freak out. It hasn't been external and to be honest, I have been nowhere close to be a crazy bride but it's just a lot of work for us to do. So I guess the whole working part time has actually been more of a blessing in disguise. It's helped give me a lot more time to put these little projects together while Marijn focuses more on his crazy work life.

Oh but I am looking forward to the relaxing part after! We're spending our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Six days doing absolutely nothing except sitting by the beach and swim up bar. Although knowing us, we're going to want to get away to do a little white water rafting and zip lining but knowing that we don't have to do anything makes me warm and fuzzy.

So instead of counting down to the "big day," I'm going to countdown to our adventure in the Caribbean instead!

• our hotel •

• the coast of the Dominican Republic •

Coast Starlight Train Ride

2009-02-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to write about our New Year train trip since, well, the beginning of January and I started to write it but than completely forgot about it but oh well, writing now about it.

Anyway, Marijn and I both had two weeks off for the winter holiday, we knew that it was the perfect time to finally head off to Oregon to visit some of our friends and the best way to do it was by train!

We took the Coast Starlight train from San Jose to Salem, Oregon. Of course, we rolled in high style, taking the first class bedroom car. It was wonderful having our own room that included a chair and bathroom with shower but it still felt small. I think that on our next trip, we will take the roomette class, the extra space was nice but not needed. Although having the personal bathroom on the train was awesome, no need to hoover on a moving train!

•first class bedroom suite. it's huge!•

•mini-bathroom with shower right above toilet. at least we didn't have to share!•

One of the unfortunate aspects of our trip was that Amtrak's Parlor Car was out of service. It's a refurbished car that has wine tasting, real coffee bar, alternative meal options (train food is a step above airplane food but not as good as cruise food), lots of board games and HD TV's so we were a little bummed that we didn't get to enjoy in that luxury.

So we made our own luxury in our sleeping car because it provided the perfect opportunity for us to play games, take lots of photos with our fancy camera (and point and shoot) and just enjoy the scenery. I love the real relaxation that we finally got with traveling. No rush to catch the next flight or deal with airport security. We could have all of our focus on our environment, watching the world go by, take photos and just enjoy each other's company. This train ride got me really excited for our Trans-Siberian trip, can't wait for that (just a little over a year!) If one ever has time to take the train, it's highly suggested (although I would recommend paying the extra money so you don't have to travel in Coach).

•worth waking up early for these shots•

•electrifying sunrise•

•truly breathtaking•

•you can see the train coming out of the tunnel from the window•

•i'm a dork•

Year of the Ox

2009-01-28T17:11:00.000-08:00

Some people consider Christmas, Halloween or gasp, Valentine's Day as their favorite holiday. Mine is the Lunar New Year (aka Tet/Chinese New Year).

I haven't been able to pinpoint why this is my favorite holiday but I think it's because it's the only one that I celebrate that's rooted in tradition. There isn't a tradition of decorating the Christmas tree or sitting around the table expressing what we're thankful for around our home. Instead, we start planning the celebration of the Lunar New Year just around Christmas time.

There is no need to wrap any gifts but it's important to start wrapping the lai see which is a red envelope that contains lucky money. It is customary to give the lai see to children or anyone younger than you however I like giving so I tend to give my lai see to everyone. I also make sure that the money is brand new since that just makes it even luckier :)

•fresh money and lucky envelope•

•ready to bring luck to the year of the ox•

We usually head over to my aunt's house since she is one who loves hostessing parties. She always does an amazing job of decorating the home. I think that tradition is that there must be 100 things in the house red. I don't think that they stick to it but sure try.

•the vietnamese altar•

•cherry blossom money tree•

There are also games that take us into long into the night and I have no clue what to call the first one. It's more of a children's game, we play this first and then lead into Vietnamese Blackjack. It's a silly game of placing coins on each object. If that object is rolled with the dice, than you win. It's basic and silly but mainly, just fun to play with the kids. The "elders" tend to like their Blackjack much better.

•cua/boai/tom•

•time to play•

•marijn getting involved and counting my coins. he's become a fan•

•time for the adults to play vietnamese blackjack•

Anyway, I hope that everyone has a wonderful year and really get to celebrate in this Year of the Ox (which President Obama happens to be! Year of Change it is!).

I'm looking forward to what is coming this way. It's going to rock. Like an Ox! ;)

Old Photos

2009-01-07T19:13:00.000-08:00

It's already January and another year has passed! Don't worry, this isn't going to be one of those self-reflective blogs of where one looks back on the year past and then tries to figure out what this upcoming year is going to hold. No resolutions. No reflections. But more of a gasp that it's already January and there is only four months left for us to cross a bunch of stuff off our "wedding to-do list" which is about twenty pages long. Eek, where does the time go?!

One of the things that we're doing is asking our parents/grandparents for their wedding photos. Not sure what we are going to do with them but will figure out a way to incorporate them into evening. So far, I've received my grandparents wedding day photos and what a treat! They have been married for over 61 years which is amazing and even rare in the age that we live in. I was shocked when I only received about seven photos but according to them, they really didn't have a lot of photos. Back in 1946, you take the photos of the "key" events only and hope that the film comes out (unlike today's age where we are probably going to get a disc that contains 500+).

I wanted to share some of the photos of my grandparents wedding which is so simple and refreshing compared from the photos that I immerse myself in with all of this prep. Everything is so colorful, overwhelming with details that the average person isn't going to notice. I mean, do people really pay attention to what the linen colors really are or what specific "theme" you were going for?! I'm really glad that the girl gene skipped me and this wedding is going to be simple and fresh and hopefully, low maintenance!

So I had to share some of my latest inspiration, here are some photos from my grandparents wedding, aren't they cute?!

•walking down the aisle, august 1946•

•cutting the cake•

•the end of the night•

•the hotel bill. there isn't a single item in our wedding that is going to cost that•

•sixty years later with their kids on the alaskan cruise•