I Love.....the Camera on My Phone?

I was sooooo late to the smart phone party. I got my Samsung Galaxy SII about six months ago. And of course, as soon as I got the phone charged up, I quickly downloaded the Instagram app.

Yup, I'm late to the Instagram party as well. It quickly became one of my favorite apps and I pretty much took pictures of everything.

The cameras on phone these days are pretty cool. I had one in my old phone and man, that thing sucked like there's no tomorrow. Every single image had a blue tint and forget about using it when it's dark...you're not gonna get a damn thing.

My Samsung is not bad at all. I really love the convenience of being able to whip out a teeny-skinny device out of my pocket to capture something really cool within seconds but yeah, it's not the same as holding an actual DSLR.

I miss my camera. I'm going to start using it as soon as things settle down in our household (We got a lot of stuff on our plate right now and I don't want to talk about it yet because I don't want jinx it so I'll explain later.).

Anyway, here's a few pictures I took with the camera phone and edited on Instagram. I know, bad bad bad, lazy, lazy, lazy amateur photographer me.

But come on, they look pretty cool.

 

 

I told you....I love my cats waaaaay too freaking much. :)

Goals for Twenty-Thirteen

I was actually going to start a new blog but after looking at this one and revisiting everything, why start a new one right? (Plus, I'm beginning to think it was too much work to start a new one anyway.)

So, let's talk about goals/New Year's Resolution. To be honest, I hardly stick to them but this year, I think I'm going to try my best to keep them.

And this year's missions are:

1) Stop shopping too much. - I admit it's getting kind of out of control. I found some clothes that still has tags on them. That's not good.

2) Wear everything in the closet. - Maybe shopping the closet will help me kick the shopping addiction to the curb.

3) Stick to a $50 shopping budget a month. -  Baby steps, people. BABY STEPS.

4) Work out for at least 30 minutes a day. - Not just for losing weight but for the sake of being healthy and preventing myself from having some sort of heart disease someday.

5) Travel more. - Experiences are worth much more than tangible and material things.

6) Finish a project first before starting a new one. - Ugh, I have so many projects to do right now.

7) Be closer to family. - Call my Dad and my Grandma every weekend even for a few minutes. Send birthday cards.

8) Stop. Being. So. Damn. Lazy. - Because being lazy is the reason why I get overwhelmed.

9) Keep writing this blog. - Consider it as another project; it needs to be finished.

10) Take more pictures! - What kind of an idiot buys an expensive camera and not use it? Um yeah, that would be me. Must stop being an idiot. :)

Okay 2013, bring it on!

Space Needle 2013 Fireworks

Taken from my living room (and no, that is definitely not the view outside my windows).

I was in front of the TV holding up my Samsung Galaxy S2 and clicking away and using Instagram to upload it.

Yeah, the damn TV is THAT hi-def.

 

 

I know, I'm such a geek.

Fun in Brinnon, WA

We spent the entire day at Brinnon, WA yesterday and we had a blast!

It's a very lovely and sleepy town. It's about a two-hour drive away from where we live but it was worth the drive. My husband's uncle and aunt owns a house along the banks of Hood Canal.

And of course, I took some pictures. They look really cool in black and white too but I'm posting the colored ones for now.

Out and About in Tacoma (B&W)

Taken outside the Tacoma Union Station/Washington State History Museum.


Yup, there was a camel right outside the museum in honor of a featured exhibit titled "Wrapped!: The Search for the Essential Mummy.".


Taken outside a cupcake shop called "Hello Cupcake.". We bought red velvet, pink champagne and strawberry cupcakes and ate them while taking pictures. They were soooo good that we didn't even get the chance to take pictures of them. Maybe next time.


Taken inside The Swiss Pub while my husband was having a glass of beer.


Well folks, that's all for now. Thank you so much for reading and looking!

Random Picture Friday!

Oh and by the way, I got a call from HR and I finally got a starting date for the Seattle job! I'm starting on the 20th of June. Woot! (This also means I get to shop for new clothes and shoes!)

It's probably going to be a bit harder for me to update this blog because who knows how crazy- busy I'll be. I'm not sure if I can travel as much anymore either so no travel pictures for awhile. I don't know if I'll have the time to take pictures either. Oh man.

It's kinda bittersweet because I love having all the free time in the world but at the same time, me having a job = more money going to our savings. More money to get photography stuff too. Oh and yeah, we can get a waaaaaaaay better (and bigger) house now.

Anyway, here's some random pictures for now.

Hermione's Paws.
It's so much easier to take a picture of her when she's passed out.

My Sophie-baby and her Baby Blues.
I love taking pictures of her because her eyes.

Ketchup Anyone?
I think I was a little bit drunk when I took this.

Peonies in Waiting
Just some random peony buds growing outside our building.

Please excuse the overload of cat pictures in my blog lately. I just love taking pictures of cats waaaaaaay too much.

Anyway, that's all for now. The weather here in Western Washington is super awesome as of the moment and it will stay like this all weekend. I am freaking excited!

I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Peonies in Black and White

I actually took this pictures in color but I love the how the images look in black and white.

I freaking love black and white photographs. I miss working in the darkroom. I miss the smell and the sound of flowing water. Seriously, a photo darkroom is one of the most relaxing places in the entire planet. Everyone should get the chance to work inside a photo darkroom.

Now, my "darkroom" consists of a laptop sitting on a coffee table in the living room. That's pretty much it. Hah.





So yeah, our new cat Hermione is settling in pretty well. Sophie still hates her, hisses at her and eats her food. They can coexist as long as Hermione stays out of Sophie's way and leaves her alone. Hopefully, they'll be good friends in a month or two.

Oh and yeah, I haven't even started on painting the living room wall. I really suck at finishing (or getting started on) projects sometimes.

Anyway, that's all for now. Thank you so much for reading, looking at the pretty (and not-so-pretty) pictures and giving a damn about my boring life. (HA HA HA!).

Shooting with Macro (Kinda)

Okay, I don't really shoot with an actual macro lens.

Those things are sooooo freaking expensive and honestly, I would rather save my money and buy a faster zoom lens. I want one with a 2.5 aperture and the one I want cost more than $1,000. I know, YIKES.

Anyway, I actually shot the images below using my Canon Powershot SX120 IS. I switch back and forth between the SX120 and the Canon S5. The Canon S5 has a supermacro setting but I haven't compared the two so I'm not exactly sure if there's any difference as of the moment. I'll let you guys know when I figure it all out though.

I don't think they look bad at all. I'm actually pretty happy with the results.

A white peony from a peony bush (or tree?) outside our building.


Some random stalk(?) or stem (?) of a rhododendron bush outside our building.


Another peony, up close (and personal). I love peonies!


Rhododendron up close.

Well, that's all for now.

It would be nice to own a macro lens someday but I'm not so sure if I really need one. I do photography for the love of the art and for fun; I don't earn any money from doing it.

So yeah, no money = no funds to buy EXPENSIVE stuff I don't need, ha ha.

Well, that's all for now. I hope you have/had a good day today. Thanks for reading and looking!

New Familly Member!

Meet Hermione, our new cat!

(Finally, I have a cat named after a Harry Potter character! YES!)

She's approximately 8 months old and according to her medical records, she's a Maine Coon. Not really sure if she's purebred or not (We don't really care if she is or not). We adopted her from a local animal rescue team. We adopted Sophie from them too.

So far, she's been awesome. She's a purr and headbutt machine. She chirps when she plays. She's exploring the condo as of the moment and trying her best to stay out of Sophie's way. Sophie on the other hand, keeps stalking her and keeps eating her kitty kibbles.

Excuse the messy background in the pictures. Hermione is living in our messy office right now. I'm trying to do the whole "cat introduction" thing but it seems pointless because Sophie just barges in the office and crashes the party. Oh well.


Can't you tell I freaking love cats?

I wish I can take a couple more cats into our home but it's going to be super crowded in our condo if I did. There's a couple older cats I fell totally in love with too. My husband said he doesn't mind taking another older cat in if we have a bigger place. Right after he said that, I kinda wished we're still getting the house! Oh well.

I hope the older cats find a loving home soon.

Anyway, this is all for now. I took a bunch of pictures during the weekend and I'll be posting them as soon as I can. Thanks for reading and looking!

In Memoriam

"For love of country they accepted death..." ~James A. Garfield

I'm a bad blogger but I have pictures and updates.

I was doing really good with the blogging too but this month, I hit a wall!

I mean, I try to think about what to write but nothing comes to mind.

Okay, let's get on with the updates.

Update on the House: Well, we decided not to get it. It really sucked at first and I think I was little bit depressed (hence I haven't been blogging and doing much). I think it's for the best. We're perfectly fine with our condo for now anyway.

I'll probably update a few things around the condo though. We never really painted the walls because we thought we're not going to stay here that long. I'm pretty sick and tired of the white walls. They have to go.

I might work on maximizing the space in our walk-in closet and the laundry room but we'll see.

Update on the Job: I have been in touch with the HR department and I got selected for the job so technically, I got the job. They're just waiting for the director to sign the paperwork so they can call me and officially offer me the job but shit, it's been almost a month now. I guess that's how it is when it comes to federal jobs. The process is just super-slow. It is how it is.

But you know, I'm not in a hurry since we're not getting the house anymore. I really don't need to work but if I don't work, we're staying in this condo forever and my husband and I are not too fond of the idea.

PICTURES: Well, I have been slacking in the department too. I've been super lazy. The weather is improving and we're going to start traveling again so hopefully, I'll start posting more.

Here's a few pictures for now.

I'm pretty obsessed with cherry blossoms this year.

Let's give it a try in black and white.

A trillium.

I really need to get the hell out and take pictures of other stuff besides flowers and nature.

That's all for now.

OMG, I neglected my blog!

Life has been crazy hectic lately and I really don't feel like going into details when it comes to stuff because I don't want to jinx anything.

Yeah, we're still dealing with the house. We are in the process of re-negotiating the price because of the horrifying stuff we found during the inspection.

I was selected for that Seattle job and I'm waiting to HR to call me. So far, no call yet.

Anyway, I have a couple of pictures! I've been slacking off in the picture department lately.

My husband and I baby-sat our friends' cat for a couple of days and I took some pictures of them.

They're so awesome and I miss them already.

Here is Luna. She chirps when she plays! I can't handle the cuteness sometimes!

And here is Mikan. He's so chill. I freaking love him!

Well, that's all for now. Please send me some good vibes. I really need it. There's going to be a lot of changes ahead and I am not sure if I am ready for them.

SOTD(s): Images from the Photo Vault

Hello everyone! So many exciting things going on with my life right now. My head's been reeling from all the craziness!

Okay, first, I would like to share some of my early work. These are some of the pictures I took for my first photography class. I've been super busy trying to get our condo ready for sale that I don't have the time to take new pictures right now. I hope you guys don't mind!

Okay, let's get on with the updates.

House Update: The bank countered our offer and the counteroffer sounded pretty fair to us so sure, we'll take it. Paperwork is not being generated and we pretty much locked in the house. Let's hope for smooth sailing from here!

Job Update: I actually did an impromptu phone interview yesterday. It wasn't so bad but I'm not so sure about the job. Today, the hospital I want to work for gave me a call to see if I'm still interested in interviewing for a position. Um hello, of course I'm interested!

So please, if you can spare some positive vibes, please send them my way. I really, really, really need them.

Thanks and I hope you guys had a great day today!

P.S.: Is anyone having problems with Blogger using Internet Explorer 9? For some reason, I can't publish and edit my post using IE. I had to switch to Firefox in order to publish and edit this posting. This is frustrating!

House Update # WhoKnowsWhat

I can't remember how many updates I wrote about our house-hunting adventures in the past. Probably not that many but I can't remember.

Anyway, guess what? We're looking at a house tomorrow! We drive past this house a lot (and I staaaaaaare at it every single time)and we always wondered how much it's going for. I saw the listing today and it's pretty much in our price range!Is this some sort of sign?

According to our real estate lady, the interior needs some work but she's not sure how much work needs to be done so I guess we'll see tomorrow. The exterior and the backyard looks pretty neat in the pictures but again, we'll see what's up tomorrow.

About 2,500 square feet, split-level with a loft and the backyard is a golf course....damn.

Okay, no more talking about it! I don't want to jinx it!

In the meantime, here's another daffodil picture.

It's been sunny but cold around here lately but I don't care about and don't mind the cold temperature; I just love seeing the sun! Finally!

SOTD(s): Non-Sophie Kitty Pictures

Meet Nala.

Nala is my in-laws' adopted kitty cat. She's sooooo cute.

I finally got a chance to take a picture of her. She moves too much and so far, this is the only decent shot I'm not too ashamed to post on this blog.


I actually want to steal her, ha ha ha.

Fun fact about Nala: we're actually not quite sure if Nala is a boy or a girl.

Oh, wait a second! *digs up an old picture*

Anyway, pictured below is Pat. Pat was my in-laws' old kitty. Pat actually went to kitty heaven months ago. He lived a very happy kitty life.


Anyway, that's all for now. I have more pictures but I'll save them for next time.

My allergies are killing me and all I wanna do lately is lay down and close my eyes. Thanks for reading and looking!

SOTD(s): In honor of Earth Week

April 17 -23 is Earth Week.

Images were taken at the California Academy of Sciences Museum in San Francisco, CA.





Are you doing anything in honor of Earth Week?

Composer LENSBABY

I got this lens as one of my Christmas gifts from the husband and so far, I've only used it once or twice.

It's kind of upsetting and I feel bad because it's pricey and it's just sitting in the box.

The thing is, it was kind of frustrating to use in my opinion. I feel like I can achieve the same thing with my regular camera lens. Also, I have never used one before and maybe that's why I was getting frustrated. I also tend to overthink and overachieve. Anyway, I need to do some more research about it and keep practicing. From what I've seen online, this lens is fully capable of making really cool effects on the pictures (if you know how to use it).

Oh and here's an image taken with the Lensbaby. Blegh, I really need more practice.

If any of you have used any of the Lensbaby lenses before, please let me know and feel free to offer some advice. As soon as it stops raining, I'll start taking pictures with this thing. It needs to be used!

Anyway, I hope you guys have a good weekend!

SOTD: Latest Food Addiction

ORANGES! Yum-moh!


I've been eating at least two oranges every single day. In some days, I eat four of them. Every single time I'm craving for something sweet, I eat oranges instead instead of eating those damned Godiva truffles my husband bought the other day.

Yup, healthy eating. I'm trying my best.

Okay, back to watching episodes of "Criminal Minds". I'm behind.

You all have a good day now. =)

SOTD(s): Random Crap on My Desk

I don't really know what else to take pictures of lately. I can't wait to start traveling again. I need a change of scenery.

Anyway, I've been cleaning the house. I created this list but for some reason, I find myself roaming from one room to another. Instead of finishing up the kitchen (the first room on the list), I end up organizing the dining room, then putting crap away in the living room...then organizing my desk. What the hell is wrong with me? I can't seem to stick with one task!

I got bored from cleaning and organizing so I took pictures of some random stuff on my desk. I had these things forever! Normally, I throw away anything that clutters my desk but I held on to these things.

I think this R2D2 plastic figure had candy inside. I meant to give it to a good friend but I didn't get the chance to do so. The candy inside was pretty crappy from what I remembered.



My German slang book. I remember my high school German teacher hated it when I used some of the phrases in class. Ha ha ha ha ha, good times! I wish I can take more German language courses. It's such a fun language to learn.



My beloved San Jose Sharks (Generic) Bobble Head. I think I got this for free and I can't remember what I did to get it.

Well, this is it for now. I need to get back to cleaning this damn house. I can't believe it's taking this long. I'm actually second-guessing the idea of getting a bigger place. House cleaning sucks!