My nephews!!!!

You know moments pass in life...you forget after a week, month or year. But there are those moments, good and bad, that will forever be like a picture that was taken in your brain. I think everyone knows just where they were when they found out about the 9/11 attacks, or where their spouse propsed to them. Certain memories never leave our minds. That moment means so much to you that you can't forget even if you tried.

My memory...I was sitting at home when my sister-in-law, Kristen, called. She asked if I could come out to visit them in October to help them paint a room. I told her no problem and asked what room we would be painting...she said, "The Nursery". I was so excited. I was going to be an Aunt!!!!! The next nine months seemed to take FOREVER!!!

Adam and Kristen decided to wait to find out what they were having....so the sex of the baby was a surprise until the day he was born. In my family, if my brother did not have boys...the family name would end. Even though I would have been happy no matter what the baby was, I was REALLY hoping for a boy.

The day came...it was St Patty's Day. AWESOME, we would have a baby in the family born on St Patricks Day...but Cooper had other plans. He did come but after a very long night of labor for poor Kristen. I could not sleep that night, kept looking at my phone hoping it would ring with the good news that the baby had arrived. I finally got that call the next day at work....Cooper Frederick Hess was born on March 18 :). I cried...at that moment I knew that I loved that baby more than he would ever know. I have wondered in the past how people say that they loved a family member the moment they saw them. Well, I then understood what they meant. I had not met Cooper but was already in love with the little man.

I finally flew out to see him a month later...wow...he was even more amazing in person than I imagined.

He was so long and small...so sweet and cuddly. Adam and Kristen were nautral parents....and I loved watching them with Cooper as well.

Cooper turns 3 on Friday. It's hard to believe that he is getting so big so fast. I love watching him grow and being a part of his life.

What can I say about Cooper as a person...he is smart...so smart. You can always tell that he is thinking about something and absorbing all around him. He has a mischievious side. He has a smile that would make ANYONES heart melt. (It makes mine melt all the time) He is so funny, only 3 years old and has a great sense of humor. He comes up with some of the funniest things sometimes...always keeps you on your toes and laughing.

He is a busy kid...always on the go and moving....but loves to watch Toy Story and Scooby Doo and cuddle on the couch with his chocolate milk. He loves ears...he rubs his own, or anyone close enough to him to reach. He is genuinely concerned for others...that's a quality that I think all parents want their children to nautrally have, and Cooper certainly does.

As Cooper grows and learns new things, I enjoy being a part of his life. I feel honored to be his Aunt. He is an awesome Kid...Happy 3rd birthday Cooper. I love you more everyday and can't wait to see you grow.

Now....I have Alex....sweet adorable, wide eyed Alex.  Last April...on Earth Day..Adam and Kristen brought another little one into the world. Again, they did not want to find out ahead of time what the sex of the baby was. I was excited either way. My gut kept telling me that the baby was a girl, but I was going to be excited either way.
So, the moment that I found out Marica and I were on the way to Yosemite for a photo trip. Adam called and said the baby was born but wanted me to guess what I thought the baby was. I again said I thought it was a girl...but it was surprised and happy to hear that they had another boy. And BOY OH BOY did I cry. I was so happy and excited, the tears just started flowing. Again, that instant love for someone that I have never met. His name, Alexander Thomas.

My first visit with Alex was  great, I could not take my eyes off of him...he was such a beautiful baby. Perfect big brown eyes, long eyelashes and beautiful dark hair. He was AMAZING!

Even though he looks like he was looking at me like, "who the heck are you?" in this picture, I think he loved me too :)
Alex has a great personlity too!!! He has an easy going way about him...he is so sweet and gives the best hugs for such a little guy.

He is going to be a knock out when he gets older. He has the most amazing eyes....they have a sparkle about them....and those long eye lashes that every girl hopes for...he has!!!!

I think that he might even want to be a photographer like his Auntie when he grows up. He is always curious about things, but careful....he puts everything in his mouth to chew and like his brother has his ear fetish, Alex loves hair. :)

We took him on the carousel when I was there this month and he laughed and squeeled the whole time. He loved it...and I loved to watch his excitment as he rode around in circles. When he feels an emotion, he really feels it and lets everyone else know too! Those are the moments that really matter in life...the moments that you will remember forever.

I can only hope that my nephews will remember the times that I share with them, that I will make enough of an impact on their lives that they will later have those long lasting memories that include me in them. I love these 2 boys more than words could ever say...I am blessed with many things in life....but the most imporant is my amazing family!!!!!

Oh...the love for FOOD...Mexican food :)

I LOVE FOOD.....
But I really love Mexican food. If I had one type of food to eat morning noon and night, it would be Mexican food. My favorite thing to cook at home is chicken enchiladas....Oh, it makes my heart happy!!!!! So, I am here to share my recipe for green sauce chicken enchiladas.
First let me apologize because I don't measure ANYTHING....and I never use my timer either...so bare with my "recipe".

I start out with 2 large chicken breasts...I cook them on my George Foreman grill. As they are cooking I cut 1/2 of a yellow onion, grate lots of cheddar cheese and heat up the small corn tortillas.
Let me get on my soap box for a second and tell you how much I LOVE my Presto salad shooter. Every kitchen should have one. It will grate cheese in seconds, cut up cucumbers...really will do anything. Next to my kitchen aid mixer..its my favorite kitchen friend :)

After everything is cut up and prepared, mix the chicken and onion together, put a generous amount in each tortilla and some cheese as well. Roll each up...Pour a small amount Herdez green salsa over the bottom of your Pyrex dish, place each enchilada in pan, pour the rest of the salsa over and top with more cheese and some olives....

Bake on 375 or 400...for about 15-30 min....again I never time anything, I just keep checking the over and when the cheese is bubbly its alllllll good :)

This is how it should look! YUUUUMY. This recipe will make 8 enchiladas....so you can adjust the recipe depending on the size of your family.

While I was preparing all the dinner goodies, I was baking some bread for dessert....yummy pumpkin cranberry bread, will have to share that recipe another time...

Time to EAT!!!!!!!!

Working past my fears!

This year I am going to work past the things that I am afraid of...things that hold me back in life. I think that it will make me a better person. One of my TOP fears is heights. I am TERRIFIED of being on a ladder. I shake, my heart pounds, I can feel a panic attack coming on. I despise bridges....I think I will pass out one of these times going over a bridge cause I don't breath. So....that's what I worked on getting past on Friday... My fear of heights.

Jessica, Marcia and I went up to Moaning Caverns to zip line. The set up is a 1500 foot cable from the top of the hill to the bottom. You only go from the top platform to the bottom. (which was perfect for me since I was already afraid I would pee my pants LOL) The harness they put you in is as comfy as your jammies...(can you feel the sarcasm) and the bright red helmet they give you to wear is the BEST accessory a girl could ask for :) 

Sooo....we head up the hill in the Land rover as the tour guides tell jokes about us flipping over up the hill and telling us how fun their jobs are.

Then I see it....there it is...THE TOWER. The tower that was going to make me fly down the hill. All I could think about was, REALLY???? Am I REALLY doing this? I think that I might throw up....EICK?!?!?!

Time to cross the bridge...the swinging bridge...Don't let the smile on my face fool you....ITS THE LOOK OF TERROR!!!!!! I notice now in the picture that my fist is clenched in fear : /

 And what's up with that sign?!?!?!? Is that supposed to comfort me in my time of panic?????

We made it on the other side...me and my SRW Marcia....What in the world would I do without her????

OK...so here we go, the "zip line dude" (his name was Brent but I would rather call him the "Zip line dude" :)

hooks us all up and tells us to just hang there for a minute to get our picture. I think that was the most terrifying moment, the moment that I let my feet up from the ground...I trusted the "zip line dude", he seemed to know what he was doing and he had my harness attached to the flat form...but this was the most terrifying moment of all. I did it....I lifted my feet and there I hung....in the zip line dudes trustworthy hands. He took our picture and then off we went!!!!!!!

All the sudden I felt like a bird flying....felt free....free of that fear of heights...free of anything. IT WAS AMAZING. I was no longer afraid...I felt like I was moving forward in life...understanding that taking chances and experiencing new things is the only way to grow as a person....

Moving forward in life, challenging yourself and pushing the limits is what life is about. God does not want us to sit back and watch life pass us by...he wants us to take a deep breath and BREATH life in...enjoy it!

So.....I moved past my fear of heights....jumped off into the air and flew down the mountain. Jessica was  our photographer and got some great shots of us going down the hill....will post those when I get them :) I am so blessed to have such amazing friends. Jessica, Marcia and I have so much fun...we dance like noones watching, sing like noones listening and enjoy all the beauty that God has given us!!!!! Since I think that life is about breathing it in and taking every moment and experiencing it....I am going to keep taking that deep breath of life :):):)

P.S. All photos are by Marcia Duso, Jessica Bonar and Zip line dude :)

A balanced dinner????

I have a secret love....Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.....ohhhhh they are amazing! Since I am single...sometimes my dinners consist of oatmeal cookies and a pepsi or cheetos and a glass of wine. Balanced meal, right? Oatmeal is good for you...there were eggs in the batter...BALANCED....as for the cheetos and a glass of wine...well that is even better for you. Cheese and grapes!!!! WHOOT WHOOT. So... i just thought I would share my favorite meal.....:)

Small steps and hard work...

A good friend of mine told me about a place that was opening in Hughson. A place with local live bands, poetry, music lessons and local artists and photographers showcasing their work. She let me know about it and I contacted the owners, showed them my work and they want to display what I have! It's a small location and won't get a lot of traffic but I feel like this is a step in the direction that I want to go. I am SO blessed to have so many people in my corner...rooting for me and helping me with resources. The people in my life have helped to make me who I am!!!! It's exciting to think that people may look up at my photos and think, "That would look great in my home." There is no better feeling for a photographer than that!!!!

When you have a dream in life...you can't just sit back and wait for your dream to turn into reality. The REALITY is that you have to put hard work into it...make sacrifices...put some things in life on the back burner in order to make that dream come true. I have spent so much of my time lately trying to make that dream of mine come true...and I am starting to see results and the hard work is paying off!!!

On another note...I am so excited that my new camera is coming tomorrow. I can't wait to test it out...and of course think of a name for it :) LOL.

So...I hope everyone that has a dream, puts the hard work into it to make it come true...God wants us to be our best selves....wants us to enjoy life and live to the fullest...enjoy every person and every moment! I certainly am enjoying my moments!!!! :)

Being creative...

I went to visit my best friend Melissa in October. She lives in Florida now and we had a super fun week. We spent a lot of time hanging out at the beach and picking up shells...the sand there is so fine and WHITE!!!
When I came home, she came up with a very creative idea to remember the trip. She sent me to Lowes to pick up the glass block...she mailed me some sand...I put the shells in and a picture of the two of us at the beach and WHAAA LAAA. Here is the end result! Since I have beach like pictures in my bathroom I decided to put it as a decoration in there! I love it...thanks for the idea Liss and the great memories from that trip!!!!

A photographers worst nightmare!!!!

OK...so I know it sounds dramatic...BUT a photographer's worst nightmare is something happening to their camera. Marcia and I have had conversations about "what if" situations. Again...excuse the dramatics involved here BUT...we joke that if we are on a cliff taking pictures and one of us starts to fall...we will throw the camera at the "survivor" standing on the cliff and yell "SAVE THE CAMERA". I warned you that this is dramatic....

SOOOO...When I was photographing the event on New Years, I noticed my flash acting weird. Then I played with it the next day and it was doing the same thing....slowly it is not working at all. Considering that I think I have taken about 200,000- 300,000 pictures with that camera...I guess it's time for the flash to go out. LOL :) So, I called the company who estimated that the cost would be $200-$300....Can you say WOWZERS????? I can!!!! and I DID!!! SOOOOOO...my heart has been set on the Olympus E-5 camera for $1700....oh do I dream about it. I dream of the photo trips I would take with my E-5...Then I woke up from that dream and Pooooff...back to reality. Soooooooo I started looking online and found a 620 for $360 (they are usually $600-$900) SOLD. I figured that for $60 more I might as well get a new camera body, and all my lenses will still work with this camera body :).

I still plan on using Shooter (yes I name my cameras) on landscape photo trips since I won't need the flash and the 620 (NO, I have not named the new one yet, but soon I will) will be used for portrait photography and my busniess side of photography. Excited to get the new camera...but not so excited for the learning curve of knowing where everything is and the settings on this one. So...RIP Shooter...you were loved for many years!!!!!! :)