Back from my unintentional hiatus.

My lack of involvement in this blog over the past week is sickening. I'm sure you've all missed me terribly. I'm talking to you in Minnesota! And you in Massachusetts! And you in Texas! And all of you lovely souls from all over the state of California. Yes, it has been brought to my attention that I have recently gained a number of new readers and I'm very pleased to find out that I actually do have an audience and am not just talking to myself. Thus I feel like you guys deserve something worthwhile to read and yet... I got nothin'. In lieu of such, I offer this image from the wedding I shot last weekend.

This is Becca, the beautiful blushing bride! Not even she and her husband have seen this. Consider yourselves special, because I sure do!

I've been entirely too busy recently. I thought summer was the time to relax? Oh well! Can't say I'm complaining about seeing all the awesome people I've been seeing recently. Bible Study at Billy's was splendid. And I also finally reunited with Audrey and then Michelle - on the same day! Miracles. Today is the observance of Ethan's parents' twenty fifth anniversary - meaning we're havin' a parrrtay! Ethan and his father and siblings will be serenading the crowd while Michelle and I take photos while probably embarrassing ourselves in the process. I am excited, at the very least, to see Ethan look smashing in a tux. Off I go!

Thursday Word: 1 John 1:6-8.

"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:6-8.via my flickr.

Happy Father's Day!

Here is my dad and I engaging in some father-daughter bonding at a New York Yankees game last September. Disclaimer: I strongly dislike the Yankees. :P

My dad has always been my biggest fan and I love him so much!

Oh me, oh my.

I really miss having good girl friends nearby. More and more I find myself wishing I were closer to someone - physically and emotionally (which sounds creepy, but you know what I mean) - but I can't find that someone here. At least not year-round. So I've been entertaining the idea of doing "something else" in the coming years. I will refrain from disclosing any details to anyone until I've talked it over thoroughly with E and my family... As much as I love my University and Northern California livin', I just don't know that I can keep doing it when I feel that - maybe not now, but very soon - there is something "more" calling me elsewhere.

... I have a lot of thinking to do. But for now, I'm off to photograph Nick and Becca's wedding. Beyond excited and a teensy bit nervous. Wish me luck!

In light of recent developments...

Note bene: I had written up a lengthy post describing my situation. I then managed to delete it. I tried to salvage from my worn-out brain what sentiments I could in order to reconstruct something semi-comprehensive. But I decided to settle for this.

I am well aware of and indescribably thankful for every blessing in my life. :]

via my flickr.

It's happened.

I received an amazing - and unnecessary - gift from my parents yesterday...

This beautiful Canon Rebel XSi is all mine!

Hard to believe that someone who in her wildest dreams fancies herself as somewhat of an amateur photographer has only just acquired a DSLR of her own. Until now I've been shooting everything from snapshots to portraiture to headshots with my mom's Olympus. It has, by all means, served me very well. But it was time for me to move on - and just in time for the wedding I'm shooting tomorrow (tomorrow?!). Still in disbelief and deliriously excited to keep playing around with it.

Thursday Word: Psalm 119:18.

"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." Psalm 119:18.

via my flickr.

Boyfriend, where art thou?

Christmas 2008. I look elfin. E looks hilariously adorable.

Ethan has been mostly absent from my life for the last couple days. And although I've had some fun adventures on my own, let's just say I've been putting my mixer to good use in order to fill the void he's left. :P My next victim is Jinelle, who is one of the best friends in the world! She is deserving of some indulgence so she should expect something to be dropped off at her humble abode later today. :]

ps: I'm shooting Nick and Becca's candlelit wedding a Mission this Saturday. There's a rehearsal on Friday but the Mission will not allow any test shots during that time. So I'm basically going in cold. Oh, yeah, and dying of fright.

pps: Becca, if you read this, don't freak out. I'm just being dramatic. Your wedding photos will rock. Hopefully. ;]

Photos from the past week.

Behold. Enjoy these poor quality photos from my phone.

June 10th, 7:35 - Grace finishes her final final. She is torn between her joy for summer and the realization that it is freezing cold outside.

June 12th, 6:30 - Ethan and Grace celebrate their thirteen months! Doesn't E look like a cute baby?

June 14th, 5:30 - Grace successfully bakes some small but delicious little cakes (yellow cake with chocolate buttercream) with the help of her new mixer. ;]

June 16th, 2:30 - Grace and Monique enjoy lunch at Ricatoni's and cupcakes from The Cupcake Shop in Mo Hill! This cupcake is The Armadillo - a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. So. Good.

June 17th, 6:25 - Grace bakes cupcakes for Jinelle! Here are the eight prettiest. For the topping, she tries a new buttercream and doesn't like it. ;[

But. Life is good.

On June 12th...

Ethan and I went out to celebrate our one year anniversary. It was, of course, one month belated - we can thank our busy schedules for that! We went to dinner at The Counter before going back to my house - where I would receive from Ethan what I will henceforth refer to as the best (best best best) belated birthday/anniversary gift (gift gift gift) ever (ever ever ever).

Yes, this baby - and she's all mine! At long last.

Disclaimer: it is actually a bright "Pear" green, although every photo I've found online makes it look somehwat like a rotting avocado.

Thank you so much, Ethan!! And if anyone is wondering - although I admit I had more than a hunch that Boyfriend had gone above and beyond to purchase this beauty for me - yes, I did cry when I opened it. :]

The equation for a great Thursday night...

+

And now - I sleep.

Thursday Word: Genesis 9:14-16.

"Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." Genesis 9:14-16.via my flickr.

"Backwards."

Yesterday my younger brother Tucker had a couple of friends over. Boredom ensued, and then so did genius. He has always been good with a videocamera and he's also great at editing film, so I was excited to watch a couple of shorts they shot together. Here is the first.


"Backwards" via Tucker's YouTube channel.

Wrapping up the school year.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a group of little artistes I met at an afterschool program where I volunteered these past eight weeks. I thought I'd share a couple of their masterpieces here so that the masses can be blessed by their artistic talent.

1. Me, by Stephanie. The likeness is astouding, don't yout think? I over-Botox'ed my top lip. My bad. 2. A butterfly and a car, by Crystal. 3. Leslie's work, Grace and Leslie sans torsos, in front of our shared condo.

And the butterfly collection by Manuel, Stephanie, Claudia, and Leslie. Beautiful.

Today is my very last day as a college freshman. I'm excited but really burnt out. I'm so looking forward to ... sleeping. Sleep first, summer later. :P But before all that, a little something I like to call my final final is happening tonight. Wish me luck!

Here is some more happiness.

About two weeks ago, Ethan and I were going to go out to dinner after a six-hour rehearsal for "Twelfth Night." He had forgotten his wallet in his room, so we walked back to his dorm to retrieve it. We walked in the door and he then guided me through the room to find a series of cute and hilarious notes that he had written for me and posted in various places. Well, he told me an admirer had written them - an admirer bearing the same name as a certain cat we've giggled about before. The whole thing was adorable. While most of the notes are two inside jokey or sappy to share with the rest of the normal world, I decided to post a couple that made me smile. Ethan is the best. :]

HAHA. Amazing. :]

ps: thanks for the encouragment you posted for me, E! Good luck with your finals this week - I know you'll be fantastic! muah!

Good Luck on your Math Final!

Hello my little mathematician :D
You are going to rock your math test tomorrow (or in like 6 hours lol). I know how hard you studied and I know you know the material! You are so ready :D I'm so proud of you goose. Don't stress and just do your best. I know that everything will work out. :P My phone is completely dead, but I'm getting my charger around 9:30am.
~The Love Tutor

Ethan and Grace, 2009.

Enjoy.

Congratulations, thank you, and good luck!

The Class of 2009 from my high school graduated last weekend and I was lucky enough to be able to make time in my schedule to attend the ceremony and celebration! To be honest, I missed about half of it due to some poor time management, but I was there. That's what matters.

So, congratulations to my many [formerly] senior friends! I am proud of you all and can't wait to see what God has in store for your collegiate lives. I love you all dearly. :]

This is one Chris Ham, who is a definite fave of mine and E's. Pola-photo cred to my little brother - who is now, by some miracle, a junior in high school. What?!

Also, I can't believe that so many of my friends - none of whom go to my University - made it out to see "Twelfth Night" here. So, in chronological order - thank you Michelle, Chris, Jinelle, Monique, Audrey, Tiffany, and Christina!

And finally, good luck to the cast and the rest of the crew of "Twelfth Night," as closing night will commence in ten minutes.

Holy shmoly, I can't wait for summer. My last final is Wednesday at 6:30pm. Let's hope I survive til then!

Thursday Word: James 5:7-8.

"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." James 5:7-8.

via my flickr.

Here is some happiness.

My life is filled with awesome people. I know I've been relatively negative about my past friendship experiences, but the coming of summer has made me realize how I've not been giving the friends I do have the proper acknowledgement and appreciation they deserve. So, to all of my friends out there: I acknowledge and appreciate you. And I'm not just sayin' that!

So I thought I'd paid hommage to these precious souls brave enough to be my called my friends, beginning with Audrey.

We've had some fun times together. She is a super smart, super kind, super fun lady. Tufts is lucky enough to have her as a student, and I'm lucky enough to be her friend. HOLLA!

Audrey and I went to high school together - for one year. She entered the school in ninth grade and we became friends, only to have me decide to transfer at the end of the year. Funnily, a good number of my closest relationships from middle and high school died out quickly. My one year friendship with Audrey turned into two years, three years, four years, and we're now coming on five awesome laughter-filled years.

Audrey and I have made countless walks to Safeway in our time together. We've baked an innumerable amount of cupcakes and cookies. We've gushed over boys and - well, I've listened as she tells me all about her celebrity crushes. And she's had a lot. She went to Church and youth group with me - she was one of the few friends who was not only supportive of but interested in the "rekindling" of my faith that I experienced between ninth and tenth grade of high school. And Audrey is one of those friends that I probably have taken advantage of having in the past because I know she'll always be there for me - even when I don't even know I need someone to be there for me!

Case in point: I was stressed a couple of weeks ago. Beyond belief! So much to do, so little time, and so much negative emotion swirling through my mind that I probably complained about my life to anyone who would listen. One night when I was stuck at a Tech Rehearsal for "Twelfth Night" at my University, Audrey - knowing I was not home, and going nonetheless - stopped by my house and dropped off some flowers and a plate of cookies to remind me that school was almost done and that there was summer fun to be had right around the corner. I realized when I saw these things how lonely I had been that day - and how she had been able to cheer me up in more ways than she'd planned.

Here is the little note she included. Please note her masterful use of glitter glue and sequins.

So, thank you, Audrey. You're the bomb!