30 is the new 20…

Oh goodness, I hope not. I turned 30 a couple of weeks ago, and the weeks leading up to that were a little bit of a rollercoaster.  I was happy to be done with my 20’s one minute, the next minute I would feel upset that I wasn’t “young” anymore.  See, I was looking at 30 through a 21 year old’s eyes.  30 was ancient to me. If I was to have a conversation with someone past 30 (and not a good friend) I subconsciously thought of it as unsolicited advice.  And I’m sure many will now see me as giving unsolicited advice.  And guess what….I’m okay with that.

Looking back at the last year, with the help of this little blog, I have realized a couple of things about myself and my life. For example…

#1. I have a crazy busy life! And I loved it that way! Absolutely loved it. In the last couple months I have figured out, that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.  I felt that I needed to prove to myself and maybe one other (if I’m going to be completely honest)person that I could handle the world on my shoulders, and I’ve finally figured out that it’s not worth it.  I have cancelled my plans to continue on to my masters degree and instead am planning on taking the test for my professions certification.

#2. I am constantly searching for something to fulfill me.  Now, I don’t mean like a child, or a family, or a career. I mean something that is purely selfish and self-fulfilling.  I wanted to do something only for myself, that would make me happy. I didn’t care if it made anyone else happy.  I went through a running spree….the next great marathoner I was not! I started a blog…which is hit and miss for me sometimes. I’m walking this line of how much do I share, how much do I keep to myself? Do I keep my real personnality in check or do I just let it all hang out?  I wanted to buy a coffee shop, or open a day care! My most recent adventure in photography finally fit the bill though.  I know because I’ve been obsessed for over a year…that’s a decade in my time. Im not worried about if people will like my personal work, I mean I hope they do, but it’s not my #1 concern. I think I’ve finally found that one thing! Yay!

#3. I have a pretty awesome life. Like everyone I have had some very hard times, that I wouldn’t wish on even my worst enemy, but in between those hard times are great times!  I have been very blessed at work. I had an amazing boss who gave me plenty of good advice and reality checks. I have an awesome little boy who cracks me up at least hourly. He teaches me patience daily, and has pulled me through some of my hardest times in my life. He really is my heart. I have an amazing husband. We have gone through our hard times as any married couple will tell you they have if they are being honest, but were still here! He’s an amazing father. I never have to worry about going on travel for work, because he’s competent. That was very important to me when making my “list”.  I live comfortably. I don’t have to worry about how Im going to find food to put on the table, or how I’m going to clothe my family.

I’m looking forward to my 30’s.  I pictured myself knowing how to handle situations better, how to talk less and listen more, how to not take things so seriously, to rise above things. Basically I think that I’m going to be able to rise above myself and put more effort into the bigger picture.  I want to bring more babies into this world, and become more involved with the March for Dimes. I want to learn how to take better photographs and use off camera flash so that I can become involved with NILMDTS.  I want to build another house where we will stay forever. And I want to be comfortable with the decisions I make, and not look outwards for validation.  The 30’s will be great! Thank you everyone for joining me on this rollercoaster ride!

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Roman Turns 3!

So my little boy turned 3 on Easter. Wow! Where did this time go? I swear it feels like I was just leaving the hospital with him yesterday. I also threw an old pic in to show you the before to present. Bonus!

This fabulous cake was made by a wonderful person! Thank you so much Denise! Roman picked a John Deere theme and Denise made the awesome cake and sent me templates for this cute banner!

Ahhh….chaos of screaming kids and tons of presents! I freak out during it, but after I realise I LOVE every moment! Im not sure why it wouldnt let me space the pictures like I wanted to, but oh well.

I think some people (love you guys) were waiting for some good pics. Ahahaha! Yeah, I put down the camera again. I wanted to be in the moment. Sitting next to him as he opened presents.  Holding him as he blew out his candles. All that jazz. Im looking forward to seeing everyone else’s pictures! 🙂

I have two more posts. Hopefully Ill get to them soon. I have the pics, just havent downloaded them yet!

Sunday Funday

Has a whole new meaning when you have kids. Spending time with family is what makes the day perfect! This whole weekend was pretty great if I do say so myself. We spent last night with my parents and celebrated his birthday.

Roman loves blowing out the candles :). 

The card that we got Grandpa :)! Happy Birthday! We love you!

Sal’s sister came into town too. She brought her adorable family! The kids played. Tata (Roman’s Grandpa on Sal’s side) BBQ’d. Love it!

I thought this photo lent itself well to a cool preset called Bitchin Camaro.

Doesnt he have the most beautiful eyes? Lucky boy. I didn’t do anything to them except for adjust the normal things like blacks, lights, highlights, etc. He’s just handsome on his own. 🙂

I asked him to pose sit for me so I could take his picture and this is what I got. Such a model. 🙂

I also learned something new tonight. You shouldnt edit when your laptops not plugged in. Haha. Hope they look okay on everyone’s computer!

Trona Sunrise

I got up unbelievably early today to head down the road about 20 minutes to Trona, CA. I wanted to catch the sunrise, but without someone counting on me I wouldnt have gotten up. So I called my Dad and asked him to go with me. It was his birthday yesterday, so I thought while we were in Trona we would have breakfast with his granddaughter and my niece Lexi.

For those who don’t know what type of town Trona is I’ll break it down really quick. If you blink you miss it. It smells like rotten eggs because it’s home to a Borax mine. The highschool football team plays on a dirt field. It used to have a HUGE salt water public pool. The roads are red.  A lot of movies were filmed here including but not limited to The Planet of the Apes; that desert scene…ya that’s Trona.  The people are close-knit and are very protective of each other and the town. 

While I hate mornings, Trona did not disappoint. The clouds colored the sky with blues an pinks and oranges. Beautiful. 

Trona has a lot of abandoned houses and for lack of a better word…junk, laying everywhere. That’s not a bad thing though! It makes for some cool photo’s. This was my first time shooting a sunrise, and I learned a couple of things. You need a tri-pod. My dad bought me one, but my brain didn’t wake up and remember this morning :). And you need a coffee. Got one of those a little later in the day.

I plan on going back and trying again soon. The scenery would lend itself to HDR so easily. I’m excited to see how that works out! BTW that’s really teal you see through the window. That wasnt me.

I really like over saturated processing right now. Or desaturating to get a B&W. Maybe it’s because I’m a beginner :).

One of the coolest murals I’ve seen in a long time.

One of the mines.

Enjoy your weekend!

Juju’s Birthday

It was this little cuties Birthday and Baptism party on Saturday. This is our niece Juju. Full name not to be disclosed ;). I can’t believe that she’s already 1. How time flies!

We baptised Roman when he turned 1, but it was nothing like this party! Nobody ever tells me nothin!!! That’s a George Lopez reference f.y.i. :). They had a pinata, a taco truck, bolo, music, everything! I’m taking notes you guys!!! Next time! 

This is the lil miss with her Nina. So cute! There were so many photo’s to choose from! LR3 is getting a little easier for me. I plan on ordering a book soon to really get the hang of it, but I’ve already cut my basic editing time down drastically. While I think the 365 plan is long gone by now, I do plan on posting at least a couple of times a week. It’s really important for me to chronicle a year of our life, but doing it everyday is stretching me a little thin. And the reality of it is that I’m doing this for Roman, but if its taking away from Roman, or adding another hour to my schedule at night that I don’t get to sleep (making me a grouch in the morning) it’s not worth it everyday. 

I was feeling pretty guilty about it for a while as you guys know, but I think I’m at ease with posting every other day instead of every day.  Priorities right?  Thank you every one for assuring me that whatever I choose is okay! I’m glad I have met you all, and look forward to sticking around and progressing with every one, but being way less stressed! Ill leave you with this lovely little face that makes me smile from ear to ear!

Tyrick’s Birthday

Ahhhh, Ty’s turning 3!!! These kids are growing up way to fast!! It makes me sad :(.

I love going to Ty’s parties! His Nana cooks the best food, and it’s always so non stressful. Nothing like Roman’s parties. Haha!

These two were once again thick as thieves! I loved it! They played for 3 straight hours, leaving a trail of destruction behind them :).

Isabella’s Birthday

We celebrated this pretty little girls birthday on Saturday. Her name is Isabella, but everyone calls her Isa. She’s Sal’s Goddaughter, and she is the sweetest cutest little girl ever! She, and her parents live in Carlsbad, CA so we don’t get to see them nearly as much as we would like. Though, it does give us a good reason to go to the beach! The whole time we are driving there, I hate it, but once we are there and see the family and explore the San Diego area, it’s completely worth it.

I can’t quiet figure out how to get the color cast out completely and I don’t shoot in RAW so I cant do it manually. Maybe I should upgrade to Photoshop or Lightroom and figure it out huh? Any suggestions or favorites for what program to get?

We brought a pinata that Sal got for his birthday that we never broke into. The kids had a blast breaking it open.

The newest addition to the Ramirez family is above. Her name is Juliana and she is the cutest sweetest thing I have ever seen. Okay, they are all cute! Love them to bits!

Oh No! She’s At It Again!

This picture is hilarious! So if you read yesterday’s Blog you know today is Sals Birthday! Unfortunately he’s not in any of the pictures because he’s in math class right now. Yech. So I’m letting you in on a little secret that he doesn’t even know about….I baked. You may be asking what’s the big deal about that? Well if you have read previous blog posts you know I don’t bake. I almost detest it. However I decided to try again. This time I made some Red Velvet cupcakes from scratch. Well kind of Red Velvet, I didn’t have Coco. So maybe they are just cupcakes with red dye in them, I’m still going with the Red Velvet thing though :).

Poor little Fat Face and I stayed home from work today. He’s still sick. I tried to take him to the Dr. but as luck would have it, the one and only at Urgent Care was on his lunch break, and on our way home Roman fell asleep for a little over three hours. By the time he woke up and came to the Dr’s office would have been closed. Ugh. Hopefully he’s a little better tomorrow. 😦

Well I’m off to try to frost these bad boys. Not sure if I’m going to make my frosting from scratch or use the stuff in a jar yet. I’m leaning towards the stuff that’s ready to go, hehe.

Early Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Sal’s birthday a day early today. Sal will be 32 tomorrow, but since it’s Sunday it was easier to get everyone together today. This was one of the best birthday celebrations for Sal to date. Well…Cabo was nice, but I liked this a ton too. We made a yummy dinner of Tri-Tip, baked Asparagus, rolls, and a Parisian Salad. We celebrated this year sans alcohol, which isn’t a big deal but it was much nicer. Weird how that seems more appealing when you grow up. 🙂

Just incase you couldn’t tell…my parents are on the left, Sal’s are on the right. Hehe. I’m sure I have said it before, but I got really lucky with my in-laws. They are both so sweet and welcoming.

Here is the birthday boy and his helper. I think this might have been the second or third time they blew out the candles 🙂 Ahhh…..poor little Roman is sick though. Can you see it in his eyes? I an not sure what he has, but if he’s not a little better by tomorrow were going to the Dr. Ugh, nothing better than a sick kid and the Dr. on your birthday. 😦

So….Im sure everyone is dying to know what Sal got for his birthday?! He got a new computer that I want to steal, a circular saw from my parents, and a couple more things, but since it’s not his real birthday yet its a surprise. As I said earlier in the post, this birthday was amazing! Good food and good company! What more do you need?

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend

Look at that rock!!!! Sal bought me a ring for my birthday, and we went to pick it up after having it resized. Isn’t it beautiful? My first full carat! I am soooo spoiled.  Thank you Sal! I love you!