Baby Sienna

This is a cute video of our goddaughter, Sienna Trinh from January!

Pursuing my dream...

I've wanted to be a photographer since the dawn of time, but I just really never thought it was possible, since I was let to believe by many that there could be no success in the industry. Boy was I (or rather, were they) ever wrong! I've learned from working in the 'real world' for the past few years that I'm really just going to have to follow my heart and go after what I am the most passionate about for a career. So... Studio Z, our wedding photographers have agreed to let me come on board as an intern/apprentice so that I can learn the ropes of wedding/portrait/family photography. INSANE isn't it?!

My upcoming goal will be to join the Studio Z team as a second shooter, and then start doing weddings on my own!

My first wedding will be this Saturday (yep, two days away) in Coronado. I'm totally nervous and excited! I can't believe the door has opened!

Now I just have to prove myself... I really do feel like I have the talent and the passion. I just need the training and the expertise to show me the way...

Wish me luck!

(The above photograph was taken by Catherine Hall, titled Walk to Ceremony. She won the third place award for Nonprofessional Photographer of the Year: People: Wedding from the IPA 2008 contest. Gorgeous, isn't it?)

We got published!

Our wedding was featured in Ceremony Magazine's 2009 San Diego Weddings of Distinction! We were actually pretty surprised, given the fact that we put together alot of our wedding details ourselves! It was kind of a buzzkill that the magazine didn't even mention that we did all our own stationery, but oh well! There were probably 'political' reasons for omitting that information. Anyway I'm super proud of the work Trick and I did in putting our wedding together- and to us it's clear our hard work paid off! Of course we could have never done with it without the help of all our friends, family and vendors involved! They called it 'Serendipity by the Sea'... which I love, since Serendipity was the first movie we ever watched together ;)

You can find the online version of the article here: https://ceremonymagazine.ipower.com/featured.html#sdwod09

Happy New Year!

Trick and I don't usually do anything for New Year's Eve, but this year we decided to actually party! We also figure this may very well be our last New Year's Eve without child ;) (no promises though, parents!). So we went to a party at the Paramount Movie Lot (their New York City set) with two of my old college roommies, Meggie and Grace, and another friend- Maren. Due to some technical difficulties in getting a cab we didn't get there until just a hair past midnight, but really to us it was the perfect timing! Katy Perry (pop singer, not so much my cup of tea, but fun) sang and right as we got there she was singing her version of me and Pat's favorite Outfield song, Your Love! The set was amazing and there were tons of DJs and dance floors spread around. It was a great way to start 2009 :)

Holiday Bowl!

So, sad as it is, my first time at Qualcomm for a 'real' football game just happened! I haven't been there for any kind of sporting event since the Padres played and I was in high school! Patrick and I joined our friends Mike, Kris, Rob and his family at the Holiday Bowl to cheer on the Ducks- and I like to think they won because I was there :) My favorite part? The fireworks, of course! And standing next to Brian Giles (Padres) in the elevator!

Joyeux Noël

Oh, how I LOVE the holidays. I love Thanksgiving meals (yes, plural), Christmas trees and twinkle lights and wrapping gifts with pretty fabric ribbon. Patrick and I were both pretty lucky this year despite the economy (I mean, hell, we both kept our jobs!)- he had his biggest month in sales, and I got a bonus and a raise. We knew we were pretty fortunate and tried not to take it for granted.

We spent Thanksgiving in Santa Maria with the Carmichael fambam, since they (minus us) were planning on spending Christmas in Virginia. I was totally expecting a blowout family fight, since Patrick had warned me that the last time Thanksgiving was spent at his parent's house there was a war- but nothing happened and the whole week was relaxing and fun! I made a 'Williams-Sonoma' pumpkin pie (my first pie ever... well, the filling... since the crust was premade! Moo hahaha!) and it turned out really well. Earlier that day, on a last minute trip to the market with my mom-in-law and sissy-in-law, we ran into Patrick's very first girlfriend... very, very interesting. And I will say nothing more!

I am really going to miss spending Thanksgiving right on the beach in Oceanside with the Carms. It was a tradition when Patrick's grandma, Joan was around, and it was really special. We would spend the day riding beach cruisers right along the water, then head back for dinner and football.

I got Pat a PS3 and some clothes, and he got me a Canon 10-22mm super wide angle lens and a Canon speedlite flash. Yea, he loves me :) And he supports me in what I would really love to do for a career- photography. He believes in me much much more than I believe in myself... Ah it makes me get all teary eyed!

We are also totally loving a stereo/ipod system that one of my best buds Olivia gave us! We'd been using a crap clock radio for about 3 years now so it was a perfect gift! Thanks Liv!

We also were able to catch up with some old friends throughout the month. Our friends Nick and Eileen recently moved to Coronado and introduced us to the best burgers we've ever had, at a place called the Burger Lounge http://www.burgerlounge.com/. It's $8 for a burger and totally worth it. How I lived in San Diego for most of my life and never came across it, I will never know!

My brother was once again a shining star in this year's church Christmas play. I think he always does such a great job, and you can tell he totally loves the spotlight. I can't believe he's 9 now. He loves having a load of responsibility given to him and getting rewarded for it. I took pictures of all the children throughout the play and came away with some of my favorite shots ever.

We also went on a holiday cruise with one of Patrick's customers, Doche Dental, and watched the Parade of Lights. It was our first time and I had a blast. It's crazy to think how much work would go into decking out your boat in full on twinkle lights! It was also really cool to see what the San Diego 'holiday' skyline looks like at night from the water!

Christmas Eve was also our goddaughter Sienna's 1st birthday, so we stopped by Richard and Chrissy's house before heading to the church service. I can't believe how much she's grown. She's a beautiful baby and we're glad to spoil her! Now when we have a child of our own... we'll have to talk about that! For her gifts we got her a Christmas/birthday dress, diamond earrings (totally Pat's idea, and yes, they're real!), and I put together a photo book of her first year (which apparently was a real hit!).

A few days after Christmas Pat and I went to Coronado to test out my new lens and flash, and got some really great shots. There were monks visiting the island and I totally approached them and took a picture with them!

I am a quarter century old now...

Birthday time. My old roommie Meggie and I were born a day apart, so it's nice to celebrate our birthdays together with the old UCSB girls. This year we went nostalgic and met up at Buca di Beppo (on Meggie's real birthday, Nov 1). I don't really remember how the food was (but I do remember it used to be MUCH better), but I do remember how great the company was!

Some of us pitched in and got Meggie a pair of white wayfarers, which she loved. Kristi and Amanda, in their support of my artistic endeavors, got me a ton of paintbrushes, canvases and paints- I could have cried that made me so happy... or maybe that was the alcohol! I also got some lovely gift cards which I of course spent only days later. One of of my fave gifts was a giant bouncy ball Meggie gave me... which has liquid and glitter that swirls on the inside. AWESOME.

Later in the night, due to tradition, Kristi and I took our 'bench picture' :)

The next day, on my real birthday, my family went to lunch at Karl Strauss in Carlsbad (minus dad, recovering from surgery) and my sister gave me more paints (YES!) and my mom got me a Burberry scarf! I almost peed my pants I totally wasn't expecting it. I'd been wanting one for years and it was really really nice of her to get it for me. It's cashmere and has coral (my fave) in the plaid!

THEN the next weekend, Patrick surprised me and took me to Palm Springs! The first day we got there the weather was totally gorgeous and just hot enough. The first hotel room we were given was totally creepy and ghetto, but we saw an opportunity with a spooky lamp to take some really great pictures. Then we complained about the room and got a new one, which was totally different and remodeled compared to the old one! His parents also came to Palm Springs as they were going to spend a whole week there, so it was really great to see them and go out to dinner.

Wouldn't it be great if everyday was your birthday?