216, 217
Photos to help me remember where I was and what I did-
In the LA County area, there are a lot of “Concert In the Parks” going on. I, along with my “partner in fun” were able to catch one last week at Parnell Park to see a band called “Abbey Road” perform Beatles songs. I smiled a big smile and sang along to songs like “In My Life” & “Hey Jude”. Everyone at the park cheered for Abbey Road. Good job, mates & kudos on the costumes!
There’s something about silhouettes. I like the way the sky gradually changes.
More friends enjoying the songs Abbey Road was performing.
Did you guys know that last week NASA sent up another satellite? This time it was Juno, and Juno’s going to Jupiter! I worked the night-shift and the guy in the picture is my friend Steve who played a big part in making sure everything would turn out okay.
Check out this link about Juno. It’s one of the cutest things NASA has ever done!!
So, I think I’ll be switching back to digital in the next few days. As much as I’m starting to love film, i tend to get disappointed with how many shots are taken and how many shots actually put a smile on my face. In some photos, the focus is completely off, or the colors are all wacky. But should I keep going with film and experimenting as to get better?
Dilemmas, dilemmas.
At times, my life is just. so. difficult.
“I Didn’t Think It Would Turn Out Well…” -Kitty
But, surprise! It did.
Oh, yeah! That’s film, baby!
Absolutely NO Photoshop editing. Okay, just a little bit because I cropped the photo.
Sunday Funday
I was with my cousins on Sunday. Needless to say (although I’m saying it here), it was a fun day. We were celebrating Kuya Alfred’s birthday at this hip LA party called the Do-Over. There are no pictures from there because they wouldn’t let us bring our cameras in. Shucks. They wouldn’t even let me take in Minnie, aka my Minolta. Such is life…
But afterwards, the cousins stuck together and ate at Umami Burgers. Remember this pix?
Love.
They love each other.
I love them.
Here are a few photos family friends.
Kelani & Lisa. Childhood sweethearts.
A few of my favorite DJs from the Cerritos All Stars Duck says, “Look at me while I’m sipping on my water.” And Dennis says, “Hey! I see you! I’m going to point my finger acknowledging that I see you!” haha. They’re fun to be around.
Here’s Kuya Noel- cool. calm. collected.
When he’s with Jo Anne, he’s the jokester.
And Jo Anne… just thinks Kuya smells. LOL. She loves the guy, and I love that they love each other!
Okay, only one thing comes to mind when I see this photo-
Man, I got caught! Oh well.
It would be nice to be able to go back and say, “Thanks for the great picture, miss!”
And here’s a really neat photo, in my humble opinion.
I dunno who you are, man… but I think the composition of this photo is neat! But, I’ll be the first person to admit this was an “accidental” photo, because I originally focused on the girl on the right side of the photo.
But sometimes, accidentally… good things happen to us.
bye 
209-213, sans 210
I’ve been saying “sans” instead of “minus” or “without” lately. I like it. It makes me smile because I don’t just say “sans”, but more like “saahhns”. ahah! I’ve been out and aboot lately, and that’s good for me. When i reflect back on my day or week, I think about how I’m really living my life and making the most of it. Yay, Me!
My obsession with film continues! Here are a few photo from the last few days.
Hmmm… very grainy.
I don’t know who this little girl is, but she with my friend Alisa so I took a pix of her. Grainy or not, i’m glad I snapped the shutter. Okay, okay… Obviously, this photo was put through Photoshop. hehe…
I visited the LA Thai Temple on Saturday. This photo just helps me remember my day. It was a good day. I ate, made a wish to Buddha, laughed and learned about an ancient culture.
Happy Birthday, Kuya Alfred!
This is Kuya Alfred with his lovely wife, Chrissie.
I love candid shots. I wonder if they knew I was taking this photo?
I journeyed to LA on my day off so I could see Art In The Streets. As I drove around to find parking this tractor drove in front of me.
Tractor: country-feel.
High rise building: city.
Irmy: smiles.
I have more film photos to post. We’ll see how my day goes… Maybe i’ll update my blog again today.
207, 208
Film. IT LIVES!!
I’m really enjoying taking photos the old school way. Manually focusing the lens, cranking the level to advance the film. It’s just so cool. I love the feel of it! And I love the graininess of the photos. Please enjoy a few photos from the last roll I had developed.
Ahhh, I finally have a photo of Mel on here. Whenever I tell my mom I’m going to Mel’s house, my mom always says, “Who is Mel? Mel Gibson?” and then she laughs. I laugh, too!
I went with Kaye to San Pedro and we crossed a bridge. The thick blue band at the top of the photo is the tint on her windshield.
Miss Kaye. All model-istic, right?
My pal Kitty!! We enjoy having photo adventures together. This evening was no exception.
“Hello, good morning!” haha! Oh, you guys don’t get it? Well, it’s an “inside thing”.
Light. Lamp.
I know what you guys are thinking, “What is that?”
The answer: ART, fool!
Man, this kid… was a KID when i last saw him.
He’s a teenager, and Kitty’s nephew.
Horray for film! Expect more
200, 201, 202, 204, 205
Its been a while since I last took Bootsie for a spin. But, she came out for a bit over the weekend, and I’m glad. I’m just gonna post pictures, but not in order.
I went to DTLA on Saturday with my pal (and old college roomie), Kitty. We went to BloomFestLA. It was a neat event with music and art. Bloomfest was created to honor local general store owner and community activist, Joel Bloom who passed away of cancer in 2007. He was very loved in the community that they created this event. Here’s a nice picture of Kitty talking to her boyfriend, Van. I wonder what the two are saying to one another.
As Kitty would say, “Vibrant!”, which the photo is… and also the subject!
These 2 photos were taken on 2 different days, Saturday & Sunday.
This was outside of Tart off Fairfax in Los Angeles. I wonder if the owner of the hotel/apartment complex knew the color of paint chosen would match the sky. Maybe that was all part of the brilliant plan.
I really like the picture above. As old and decrepit the building actually is, the photos makes the building look soft and inviting. I really enjoy the hearts on the building.
Part of what attracted me to take photos of the 2 buildings are the windows. The blue building has the same curtains for each window, and the windows in the other photo make me wonder if anyone is home, and if they are home, what is the person up to. Also, I liked how the lines cross the photos.. It’s interesting to me.
Go Dodgers! They won!
I went to the Dodgers vs. National’s game yesterday. I moved around the stands to get this photo. Kinda sad that the stadium wasn’t filled with fans.
I also went to a LA Galaxy game last week. It was my second time going and it was awesome, as usual. I was lucky enough to dance around like a silly-head and get a free Galaxy scarf. I’m awesome.
But the game wasn’t all smiles and cheers.
I love the emotion on these kids’ faces.
But not to worry. LA Galaxy Won! wOOt!
I pulled over to the side of the freeway to take this picture.
I’ve never really taken pictures of fruit- still life. I enjoy this one. What other still-life photos can I take?
I’m intrigued with film right now, and if you couldn’t tell, a few photos were taken with my dad’s SLR. The good old Minolta. I went through 2 rolls and only had a few good ones.
I’ll be spending a few weeks with film. Bear with me, friends.
30 Day Blogging: Part II
It’s been oh, so very long since I’ve showed my blog and Bootsie some love. But it all changes (soon). I’ve Google-ed and asked my friends if they could help me come up with questions to blog about. They are below. There are few changes-slash-rules.
#1: You don’t have to blog every single day for 30 days. If you decide to take a few days off- okay! But you DO have to go in order.
#2: Each entry must have a photo, even if it doesn’t pertain to the blog! Pictures in posts just make the entry more interesting, dontchathink? I thought so
Please feel free to copy & paste the list and blog for yourselves!
So, here are the questions!!
Day 1: A few of your favorite anythings
Day 2: Something you’re OCD about
Day 3: A hobby of yours
Day 4: A few practical things you want, but haven’t gotten for yourself yet
Day 5: A talent of yours
Day 6: A moment you wish you could relive
Day 7: Four things you couldn’t possibly live without, or wouldn’t want to
Day 8: A photo you have taken
Day 9: A photo of you taken over 10 years ago
Day 10: A photo of you taken recently
Day 11: Three strange/funny facts about you
Day 12: Have you ever lost something that meant a lot to you?
Day 13: A way in which you want to be remembered
Day 14: Somewhere you’ve gone; that you want to take someone
Day 15: Something you do differently than others
Day 16: A recipe
Day 17: A childhood memory
Day 18: A physical feature of yours that you love
Day 19: A scar you have and it’s story
Day 20: Hopes, dreams and plans you have for the next 365 days
Day 21: A motto or philosophy
Day 22: A picture of a meal you ate today
Day 23: Something you could never get tired of
Day 24: Your shoes (any number of pairs) and why you like them
Day 25: A song that you wish you could play on an instrument
Day 26: A silly photo of a loved one
Day 27: A photo of you with someone who puts a smile on your face
Day 28: Post a YouTube video. Why did you choose it?
Day 29: Something you have always wanted to do
Day 30: A photo of yourself and four cool things that has happened to you since you started this challenge
Cheers & happy blogging!!
Homemade Oreo Cookies
Kim called me a “Domestic Goddess” today, because I told about my weekend of cooking. I agreed with her. Before I get into the ingredients and directions on how to make Homemade Oreo Cookies I have a few things I want to tell you guys.
1- less is better. I read the portions of the filling wrong, and added twice as much shortening as I was supposed to. In the future, skimp in the beginning but add more to ensure correct flavorosity. I gave cookies to by bro & sis but had to tell them, “The cookies might taste funny because I used too much shortening.”
2- Cook one batch of things and then adjust the next time. Oreos are supposed to be small, but my first TWO batches- the Oreos were twice their size. Also, I decided to cook the THIRD batch of cookies 2 minutes less. Oh well and c’est la vie!
Okay, here we go! (These cookies are not as hard as regular Oreos. They’re soft, which I enjoy… greatly!)
Ingredients:
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (I only used 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.
Curry Pork Burgers with Spicy Ketchup
I’d like to thank Sunny Anderson & The FoodNetwork for helping create Saturday’s lunch. I had seen the episode where Sunny made these burgers a few months ago, but never got the chance to make them, until NOW! Sunny use a tomato, but I left the grocery story without picking one up. But as cooks do when they are missing an ingredient– they improvise, and so I did. I used some roasted red peppers, since it was red like a tomato. hehe
Here’s the ingredients & directions. Its super simple to make! I like simple.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds ground pork
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 scallions, chopped
2 large clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 hamburger buns
1 head butter lettuce
2 to 3 tomatoes, sliced
Spicy Ketchup, recipe follows
Directions
In a large bowl, using your hands mix together pork, coriander, curry powder, Worcestershire, cayenne, scallions and garlic, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Make 6 even patties and put in refrigerator until ready to cook. Heat a large fry pan over medium-high heat, add oil. Sear patties until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Cook in batches, if necessary. Serve inside hamburger buns topped with lettuce leaf, tomato slice and spicy ketchup.
Spicy Ketchup:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 scallion, finely chopped
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, lightly saute garlic in butter, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper. Cook another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in scallions. Cool before serving.
Smiles, 149
Here are a few photos of people who put smiles on my face whenever I see them.
Dine & Jacob. I’m loving that head-tilt, girl!
Lisa & Warren. Soo pretty! (Lisa, not Warren)
Roche & Trace. SO cute & they’re just wonderful, welcoming gals.
Ms. Mary. OH, don’t try to hide that smile! You’re lovely!!
This photo makes me smile alot. Jacob is adorable & he was getting the party started on Sunday!
Jacob.
How adorable is he? But don’t worry guys, he wasn’t mad. We just said, “Show us your mad face.” and he does that!
Nini
Mary is Jacob’s godmother (or ninang in Tagalog). Jacob and me were sitting together when I said, “Here, take some photos!” he got a nice, artistic shot of his Nini. I think he has a future in photography. But, just to let you guys know, I was the one that cropped and photoshoped the photos.
Van & Kitty
I though to myself the other day, “What would my life had been like if I never met Kitty?” I know for sure I wouldn’t have become friends with such an awesome group of people.
#iamblessed
