Matt, Liz, and Madeline

I don't blog as much as I use to back during my "fresh out of high school" days, but I still enjoy blogging nonetheless. I've made some great friendships all because of people reading my blogs, relating to my stories, and offering their own advice. But besides that, I also want to be able to look back my stories and what went on during any particular time in my life.

Last week, an article in People Magazine caught my attention about a single father in Southern Calfornia. His name is Matt Logelin, and on March 24, 2007, he became a first time dad. 27 hours later however, he lost his wife to a pulmonary embolism. Initially he started his blog to chronicle his wife's pregnancy so that one day, he'd be able to share it with his daughter... Now, he continues to write for that very same reason and much more. As Matt puts it, he writes for his daughter, so that she'd remember her Mom and that her dad is doing everything he can to be strong for her.

It's pretty hearbreaking to read, but powerful nonetheless. With everything he does for Madeline, he's constantly thinking about how Liz would have reacted and enjoyed the moment. What I also love about Matt's blog is that he's into photography, so he shares alot of pictures.

I think Matt's situation has inspired me to blog more frequently. I remember back in the day, writing secretly in a diary and destroying the book itself after I "got over" whatever experience it was at the time. Destroying the physical diary was always the final step... to be rid of bad feelings once and for all. Kind of like the ending in the "Butterfly Effect" movie... "as if it never happened." I wish now that I hadn't so that maybe, my future kids could see that any obstacle could be overcome. Oh well... guess we'll have to keep this blog alive and going.

Anyways, read more about Matt, Liz, and Madeline for yourself: http://www.mattlogelin.com

Our little visitor

This weekend at my parents' house in Corona, we discovered a little visitor! She actually made her way into the house and into ejay's room! After she was caught by Kuya Jhon and set outside, we noticed that she wasn't flying away. It was later discovered that she had built a nest on top of one of my mom's plants (which let me tell you according to my mom was a cheap $1 plant that grew into a huge one!) which happened to be right next to the front door. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the hummingbird cause she always flew off whenever we opened the door, but I did grab some neat shots of her nest. Also, my mom realized she had a hummingbird feeder, so Ron and I assembled the thing, placed some honey and water, and hung it by her nest. I hope the little jellybean eggs survive on that plant! It can get pretty windy and the plant doesn't seem all that sturdy against the wind!

By the way, I've decided that any of my still life images will have an imprint of my name on it. It was brought to my attention that my Kona, Hawaii photographs were being used. I don't mind anyone using my pictures, but atleast ask or don't take credit. Thanks!

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

This was a commencement speech given by Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple and Pixar Animation) at the 2005 Stanford University Commencement ceremony.

The speech is 15 minutes long but listen carefully... It isn't about "going to college" or the "importance of a college education," but about three personal stories that paved a path for where he is today. (sorry you'll have to turn off/disable my playlist for this one)

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition; they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

I've always entrusted that everything in life happens for a reason... that the chips stack (or don't stack) the way they do, and that they fall right into place when they're suppose to. Alot of the decisions in my life have been instinctual, a strong pull from within urging me to turn left, even though my conscious thought was telling me wisely to turn right (I was extremely fortunate enough that my parents didn't make me do anything that I didnt want to do). A couple examples would be enrolling at La Sierra High School last minute vs. Centennial High School, dropping out of UCR after one quarter to enroll at RCC in hopes of becoming a Registered Nurse (which led to a rapid turn of events in itself I'd have to add), starting at UCI Medical Center vs. starting at Kaiser right away, etc, etc... I'm not saying that every decision was necessarily the right, smartest or easiest decision.. but I am saying that turn of events inevitably did lead me to where I am today.... twenty-five, alive, happily married, accomplished, financially established (with the exception of school loans), and ready for the next step!

"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference."

And so the next step.... currently I'm loving everything about UCLA and I feel bad saying this but since my tuition is a fixed dollar amount every quarter, I'm milking the institution for every single educational opportunity and experience that presents itself to me (whether it's learning medical spanish, attending football/basketball games, or simply utilizing their gym). I know I sound like an overly excited child on her first day of kindergarten, but if you knew me back in high school... then you'd know that I was a self conscious girl who drowned in pessimistic negativity, and never ever dreamed of being good enough for anything.... So over the years I've managed to surprise myself, and just like Asher Roth proclaims, "Man I love college!" Instead of taking the minimum requirement of 8 units this quarter, I'm taking 16 units. It's insane, I know... but I like to think of it as balancing between the tight ropes of insanity and dedication. One of the nice things about my graduate program is that when it comes to the 16 units of required electives, there's no restriction whatsoever. You can take whatever you want. One of the classes I've enrolled into is in Anderson's Management school with it's primary focus being placed on networking and relationship building. In just three classes I've already learned alot about myself... hmm that again, I think I want something more... I've danced and two stepped around the idea of obtaining a concurrent MBA degree, especially since one of my good classmates has entertained the idea as well. Maybe we'll cross paths again in the future? As of right now, I've decided to hold off for a little bit, but to continue taking MBA courses to see whether or not I could get a feel for this new shoe that I'm wanting to step in to.

Alot of people have asked me about my plans after school, and quite honestly, I don't know anymore. Ideally, I'd love to remain on a part time work status so that I could 1) start having babies and 2) continue exploring and doing everything that I've been wanting to do in life. Some of you may have noticed my interest in photography and again, my intuition has been tugging me towards that direction... a sideline business just like my Dad's DJ business. Then again, I also want to open up a coffee shop, learn how to sew/knit/crochet, cook exotic dishes and desserts, get scuba certified, take up ballroom dancing, continue traveling, become a teacher at a Nursing school, become a positive nursing leader, maybe design clothes with my brother, etc, etc my bucket list goes on and on (and you can see the importance of some MBA courses here, hehe) .. Yep, lots of "foolish" aspirations some might say.

I know I'm still young with the advantage of "time" on my hands... but I hope I never lose this feeling... of being hungry and foolish.

"You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don't settle."

Tying the Knot Vegas Style!

This past weekend, my sister Ate Khrisna, tied the knot with Kuya Jhon -->VEGAS STYLE! The celebration was on short notice and very intimate. Only close family members were in attendance. I was such a HAPPY TITA when Ate told me last minute (literally at the chapel) that I'd be walking, errr carrying Khayla down the aisle with the rings! Khayla was overly excited being carried down the aisle but quickly shyed away into my sleeve and drooled down my arm (must be a stress response, hehe). The sucky part was that the chapel didn't allow for photographs (unless you wanted to be fined $50!), yet the chapel photographer came late himself! GrRr!

Anyways, i borrowed a Canon 5D and a couple lenses for the weekend because Ron's been soOoOoo encouraging of me trying out a 5D. (EEEEE!!!) I didn't particularly like the bulkyness compared to the Rebel, and I was ready to kick myself for forgetting a flash component. But I did LOVE shooting in FULL FRAME! Just had to do what I had to do for some light!

Congrats Ate and Kuya! I'm so happy for you both! I'm also sooo happy that Ate Khrisna found happiness and such a great guy! I know he'll take good care of her and Khayla =) I hope you like the pictures... and I apologize in advance already that there's more of Ate than Kuya Jhon. haha!

all ready!!

khayla's all ready now too!

i think somebody told them khayla needed a sibling?? LOL love Kuya's reaction to whatever it was!

some crazy veil action fun courtesy of Reinald Himaya

we passed by a huuuge goldfish aquarium and decided to have some fun with the glass and mirrors!

there were ALOT of gold fishes but for the most part it didn't interfere with the pictures.

my favorite picture!

Little Person, Big World!

khayla was so curious with tita's camera!

faithlynn's gnarly camera. fish eye!

Ron and Me! We needed a new default. ahaha!

Man's (and Woman's) Best Friend...

I've been a little late blogging about my new years adventures thus far, but one thing has been certain.... Ron and I have been spending a great deal of time watching MOVIES (thanks largely in part to my dad). Movies I highly recommend viewing are: Seven Pounds (powerful story), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (interesting plot), Slumdog Millionare (another powerful and facisnating story), and of course... Marley & Me.

Although all of these movies are highly recommended, I'd have to say that Marley & Me hit right close to home. I think I cried throughout most parts of this movie because of my own personal experiences with my past dogs, Cookie and Stitch. Cookie, reminded me so much of Marley! And I know alot of my old friends and family that knew her could definitely relate (especially Robert & Carlo, I'm remembering a time when we were playing basketball and Cookie decided to play, haha... or the other times when Cookie would literally dance with us).

I miss that dog and Stitch so much and I'll never forget them or the life lessons they taught me while growing up. I wouldn't expect anyone to understand the bond between a dog and his/her owner unless you were a true "dog love" yourself. But I will say this: The fondest memories of Cookie and Stitch have been the moments when I'd shut the world out and bury myself underneath the bed covers. Although they possesed only animal instincts, they knew how to find their way through the sheets, and plop their warm bodies right next to mine as if to comfort me. Whether I turned my back on the world or the world turned it's back on me, I never felt like I was ever alone... With that being said, I'll leave you with this... a quote from the movie, Marley & Me...

“A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbols mean nothing to him…

A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside.


A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull.


Give him your heart and he will give you his.


It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not."

these last two "goodbye photos" are the last pictures of me and Cookie. They were taken the morning that we put her down... it's amazing not only how much stronger she looked that morning, but also how she managed to assure me that everything was going to be okay... *sigh

A few of my favorite things....

If you're a Twilight, dessert, Canon lover like me, then you can't help but appreciate these photos! My cousin, Gary Cruz (photographer in San Francisco) got really creative and took a picture of his wife, my Ate Beverly, holding a red velvet cupcake to replicate the Twilight book cover. (yup, so those are her hands!) She's an up and coming cupcake enthusiast by the way! I know she has big plans for her cupcake passion! Be on the look out for Beverly's Bake Shop!

Afterwards, he took a picture of himself holding a Canon flash!!


Haha, I love it!

Kuya's work was even featured on http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com
You can even check out my cousin's work at www.garycruz.com

So check it out!