Photography

So, recently I rediscovered my passion for photography and have been having so much fun! Five years ago, I took a photography class as an elective during my undergrad. I had no idea how much I would end up loving it. I have dabbled in photography since then, but never really devoted myself to it. Last summer, I took a photo workshop, but was too caught up in wedding details to devote time to practicing. Now with all my free time, I have been learning lots and lots on my own! It is amazing how much can be learned through books and the internet. I realized that I don't even need to spend loads of money for classes! James has been pretty amused to watch me prance around the apartment with my reflectors and camera, testing out different lighting scenarios near windows. And he has been such a trooper, letting me take tons of pictures of him. Last Saturday, when my new camera arrived (thanks for the bday gift mom and dad!) he even let me do a mini photoshoot of him outside! My new camera is amazing. It's a Nikon D90, and upgrade from my D70. It's been pretty easy to learn to use since it's built exactly the same and almost looks identical. I have also been working on my photoshop knowledge. It's like magic. And it's definitely an art that I'm far from mastering!
Here is my favorite photo I've captured so far....of my favorite subject: JAMES! Isn't he dreamy? I'm so glad he's my hubby :):)
Tomorrow I am lucky enough to get to test out my skills taking engagement photos of my beautiful mother in law and her fiance Chuck (as long as it doesn't rain). This is wonderful since I've been itching to get out and practice!!!!

Hubby and His Magazines

This post is devoted to James and his magazine addiction. I've never known a person, other than my mom, who gets so many magazines! Almost every day there is some new one in the mail, either Newsweek, Golf, Golf Digest, Sports Illustrated, or ESPN the magazine. How does a man acquire so many magazine subscriptions? Well, I bought him Newsweek for graduation, but I'm not sure where the rest have come from, except that he has gotten all these magazines for free somehow.
As the weeks go by, more and more of them pile up. We have the ultimate magazine library around here. They will not even fit on their dedicated shelf anymore. I guess we will have to get some sort of elaborate magazine holder. I have to say though, hubs is pretty cute flipping through those pages all the time!

"No more pictures babe!"

Stir Fry....MMM

So, James and I have a new food obsession: STIR FRYS! We have always liked stir frys and we used to buy the frozen ones and cook them up. But when we were watching Jamie Oliver's show, we realized how easy it would be make our own stir fry....and guess what....it was delicious! We changed his stir fry recipe to our liking and VOILA!

Ingredients to feed two: 2 cloves of garlic, chopped tiny, thumb sized ginger root, chopped tiny, red chili pepper (optional), steak (or meat of choice, tofu is also really good), olive oil (or canola or vegetable oil), sesame oil, soy sauce (low sodium), bell peppers sliced, bag of frozen stir fry veggies (easier than chopping everything up), bean sprouts or alfalfa sprouts, egg noodles, half a lime.

1. Boil the egg noodles in salted water, then set aside.

2. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in wok

3. Add garlic, ginger, chili pepper, and meat to wok. Cook until meat is mostly done, then in last 30 seconds add sprouts, a splash of sesame oil, a splash of soy sauce, and the juice of half a lime. Set aside in a bowl.

4. Add a bit more olive oil and cook veggies until slightly tender. Add noodles and meat and stir fry to a minute or two. Add a little more soy sauce to your liking.

5. Serve!

Good cooking idea (got this from a magazine I read on my break at work): chop up all your produce when you get home from shopping so it's ready to go when you're ready to cook and need to whip a meal up fast!!! It's a lot easier to do it all at once.

Our New "Outdoor Room"

I spent a large part of this past weekend completely decking out our tiny little balcony....and I have to say that James and I are both very pleased with the end result! I decided that since we have no backyard and will miss that a lot this summer, we should atleast have a nice mini outdoor retreat the help compensate! First, I ordered this adorable little bistro set from Walmart (for an amazing price). It arrived on Saturday and we assembled it. Immediately after assembling it, I headed off to Home Depot to get some plants and other decor. Originally, I was hoping to grow tomatoes, cilantro, basil, and peppers. I was so excited that we might actually be able to have a garden right outside our window. Unfortunately, I realized that all these plants need "full sun" and we definitely only get "full shade." After going back home and researching, I learned that we can only grow a few varieties of flowers in the shade. So I bought one cilantro plant (I figured I would try and grow this and if it dies, oh well), some Columbines, and planted a bunch of impatiens seeds in the planter. We also got a hummingbird feeder, mini candle lanterns, and a citronella candle to scare away the swarm of mosquitoes we're expecting to appear soon. James thought I was going a little too crazy with doing-up the balcony, but when we got to eat a romantic candle-lit dinner OUTSIDE on Saturday and Sunday, he decided that he loves it too! YAY for our mini backyard...feels good to be outside! :)

Easter

Holidays are definitely a strange time when you're all grown up and married...probably because we're in the process of forming our holiday traditions. Our first "married" Easter consisted of going to church, of course, and spending time with family! Pretty normal, I guess! On Saturday night, we went over to James' dad's house and he cooked ribs, ham, and pies for us. Then after dinner we played Clue. I was extremely excited to play a board game instead of the usual card games:).

On Sunday morning, we were lucky enough to have Erin come to church with us! We had a great time celebrating. After church, we relaxed at home and I gorged myself on the Easter candy my sister sent us and leftover birthday cake. I have no self-control when it comes to chocolate...but the little chickie (pictured at left) was just way too cute to eat...

Then last night, we went to James' Grandma Lorraine's house for a big family gathering and food and more goodies!

Overall, this Easter was a great one and we had a wonderful time celebrating! Thank you Jesus for giving us such an incredible reason to rejoice!

Pretty Roses

I also had to post a picture of these beautiful roses my parents sent for my bday. They are so cheery looking and make me so happy!

My Birthday!

On Friday, I turned 25. YESss! Now I can officially rent a car without ludicrous fees and can get cheaper car insurance! Not only that, but according to scientific research the frontal lobes of my brain are now fully developed. Very exciting news. :)

It was a great day...even though my bday makes me miss my family and friends in CA.

I brought mini cakes to work with me and shared them with the pre-schoolers and then I got to leave early! Since it was good Friday, there were hardly any kids there and I probably could have had the day off...but it seeing all those cute little faces definitely brightened my day. James had a surprise for me when I got home.....he had decided to take me out to dinner to a surprise place! I had an inkling that I new where we were going. There is only one place that we go out to eat lately....Little Fiesta. It's our favorite. What a surprise James! :) Little Fiesta never disappoints. James got himself a huge Dos Equis and I ordered a large peach margarita and we happily chowed down on our always hot-out-of-the-oven chips and our authentic burritos.

When we got home from dinner, James had ANOTHER surprise for me hiding in the oven. A bday cake made by him! Poor James was forced to buy two boxes of candles for the cake since the 24 pack was not enough....that's when you know you're getting old. The sweetest part of my day was that he sang happy birthday to me solo. The chocolate chip chocolate frosting was delicious. And we happily licked all of the candles like little kids.

Here's to being a quarter of a century old!