a "what if we..." type of weekend

This past weekend was most definitely one of my favorites. Did I already mention that I love, love spontaneity?! The days were full of late night drives, impulsive decisions, culture, Taboo, friends, and family :) Hehe. Good times...What made it the most special was that David so kindly drove me all the way to Los Angeles to see my dear little brother whom I sadly only get to see about 3 times a year. I love David. I love my family :) So, how about you? What'd you do in the last couple of days?

in Orange County on the pier his family spent many a hours fishing on

old high school buddies celebrating a 25th birthday at a jazz club. Happy birthday Hung!

spur of the moment decision to drive to Los Angeles at midnight

after waking up my brothers to play Taboo until 2 in the morning

by Elaine Lee

laughter

by Elaine Lee

my favorite siblings/only siblings :)

crazy end of the year talent show and banquet

with my dear friend after getting her ears pierced

And guess what?! David's getting his ears pierced too. It's going down tonight! We're making an event out of it. Ha! I'll show you the results in due time. Have a wonderFULL night!

a random number of random things about me

1. I love my mom's soups.

2. Four of five of my immediate family members are/were photographers.

3. I'm really into the color of mint right now.

4. I'm still a little bit afraid of our family dog, Cheerio.

5. My ideal day starts off with not waking up to an alarm.

6. A dream of mine growing up was to adopt 10 kids-- each from a different country. We'll see how this dream goes :)

7. I'm a sucker for dresses.

8. I really don't like wearing shoes in the house.

9. It's still a struggle for me not to bite my nails...

10. If I could work at anyyy retail store, it'd definitely be Anthropologie.

11. To me, Jesus Christ is pretty darn cool. I kinda sorta love Him a lot :)

12. I have been to three countries and strangely, none of which were Mexico or Canada-- two countries, extremely close by. Mexico being only 30 minutes from where I'm currently sitting.

13. I have an awesome, awesome, awesome boyfriend named David. I call him D or Dearzors.

14. I could spend hours looking at photos.

15. I could spend even more hours taking photos.

16. Throughout my five years in college, I've had 30 different roommates.

17. I am absolutely terrified of alligators and crocodiles.

18. I am a god-mom.

19. I have two middle names, both of which start with a K.

20. My mom thought she made up my first name, but it turns out that it's in the Bible and means "God is my salvation" :)

21. Up until I was in the sixth grade, I was a model.

22. I would love, love, love to live in every state of the U.S. for at least 2 weeks.

23. In two weeks, I'll be getting my fourth driver's permit.

24. I do not yet have my driver's license.

24. I really love arts and crafts.

25. I wish I could speak more Chinese.

26. My absolute favorite ice-cream is plain chocolate with milk drizzled on top.

27. I love to dance.

28. I have the same stuffed animal sitting on my bed since I was born. Her name's Stephanie.

29. Stephanie once fell into a pile of poop...

30. I really love my family and friends.

31. I probably have a blended drink every day.

32. My future dream house would most definitely have a craft studio.

33. I don't do well under gloomy weather.

34. I'm still so stoked that I get to have a job that I truly love-- photography.

35. I am an INFP (Introverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving).

36. I used to hide under benches and tables when seagulls flew by.

37. I have scoliosis.

38. My birthday is December 28.

39. People who care for the environment make me happy.

40. I for sure want to go back to Thailand.

41. One day, I'll have Vietnamese-Chinese babies :)

42. I have had surgery under my eye. I was awake and saw the whole thing.

43. I call my mom "madre."

44. I want to learn Vietnamese.

45. David and I met on Valentine's Day.

46. I love singing to my God in different languages.

47. I love watching live high school basketball.

48. I know how to beet box. Well, a little.

49. I eat spaghetti way too much.

50. I once went camping in the snow with only a t-shirt, baseball hat, leggings, thin sweater, and tennis shoes.

51. Dragonflies, butterflies, and hummingbirds brighten up my day.

52. I love live performances.

53. I love to laugh.

54. I love, love spontaneity.

momma's day & giveaway winners!

Happy Monday, everyone! Hoping that you all had a great Mother's Day!

How'd you all spend your day yesterday? For me, I spent the day with the one below. Everyone, meet mi madre! Hehe. It was such a good day sporadically taking photos of and with my mom and brother, enjoying the brilliance of the vendors/crafts-persons at Unique LA (especially Danni, Steppie and Sonia! Hi friends!), and eating an oh, so special dinner! Guys, both David's and my family shared a meal together for the very first time :) Woo hoo! It was definitely a success :) Thanks Lord!

On another note...the winners for the senior portrait session giveaway have been chosen! Yay! Everyone, thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts about your moms and school experiences. Hearing the love you guys have for your moms really made me smile. So...congratulations to...

If this is you, e-mail me and we'll get things goin'! Can't wait! And hehe weird thing...Alison's numbers got drawn three times! Totally should've saved the photos for you all to have seen. Haha.

Well, thanks again guys! Praying that you all have a wonderful week! Goodnight!

thailand landscapes part ii

The beautiful Hat Yai and Bangkok :)

thailand landscapes

Hello friends!! :) It's so good to be back! How are you?!

I really wanted to post when I was good and ready to have a comprehensive update on my visit to Thailand, but oh, what the heck; I'll break my own rules. Been having too much of an itch to awaken this blog from its slumber :) Well, I'm still processing the two weeks and so won't be able to share the whole shi-bang right now, but would love to share with you a new interest of mine that I discovered while away. Yay, for landscape photography! Who knew?! :)

So without further adieu, enjoy this teeny-tiny glimpse of my trip. More landscape photos to come.

Looking forward to sharing a lot more about my trip with you soon. Take much care!

here ye! here ye!

Time is a tickin'. Posts will not be as frequent as I'd like them to be this month, but...it's for good reason! :) I have all but ONE (!!!!) week of undergrad left...Dang. I truly can't believe it. Crazy. Crazy...Phew...I'll probably be soaking that fact in more after this is posted. Anyway, what was this time like for you? Would love to hear.

Well, after this coming week, I'll be traveling to Thailand for another two weeks with some folks from my church :) We'll be teaching English in both Bangkok and Hat Yai to about 40 kids/teens. Sooooo looking forward to it! Expect an update from a neighborhood computer cafe half-way around the world while I'm there :)

Just in case you're like me and have never visited Thailand before, here's a glimpse of what it's like...

by tayser

by hn

Mostly, I'm looking forward to meeting the people. People like these.

by nick rain

by Pixel Packing Mama

David and his Thai friend that I'll probably be meeting very soon! :)

This photo was taken by my buddy, Eunice, last year on their trip.

a Thai English camper :)

also by Eunice

Please be praying for me and the people of Thailand. Love wants to get even more acquainted with us ;)

Well, that's all for now! You'll be hearing from me sometime in the next couple of weeks! Or...maybe sooner if I need a study break. Hehe :) Goodnighttttt!