mila | baby news

i have not had any cravings... odd or otherwise.  curtis has not had to rush out in the middle of the night to pick up food.  as far as the food stuffs goes, other than the miserable nausea of the first trimester, it has been uneventful.  and then we had last week.


there are some foods that i know i get hooked on that i make a conscious decision not to buy and bring home.  snyder's pretzels is one of them.  those bags of yumminess are EVIL.  curtis, bad boy, snuck a bag of mustard flavored heaven into the grocery cart without my knowledge.  last week he busts it out as we're on the couch watching season 2 of dexter.  one whiff of that stuff and my fingers were clawing for the bag.  3 bites later and the sickness sinks deeper.  not only am i hooked on this stuff like it's crack ... now i'm wanting a coke too!  (um, no pun intended).  i'm desperate.  i tell curtis that i MUST have a coke ... NOW!!!  he's looking at me like i'm joking.  he doesn't believe me.  i'm close to hysterical.  i argue that i haven't had cravings, i haven't asked him to run out for anything.  i've been a good preggy!  all i want is a coke!  i know ... no caffeine.  i've been good this whole time!  but i NEEDED it!  he's still looking at me like i'm kidding.  i take matters into my own hands.  fine... i'm going to jack-in-the-box (one block away).  i asked him if he wanted anything.  now he knows i'm serious.  now he offers to do the run.  and now something else occurs to me... while i'm there i can get bacon cheddar wedges too!  muwahahhahah!  so i decline his offer to go (coz i cringingly didn't want to tell him what else i wanted)  he has a knowing grin.  he KNOWS!  he says he's gonna go and i run to get the keys and decline the help as i run out the door.


it's pouring rain out.  i'm still in my jammies but who cares... i'm just doing drive thru anyway.  it's a quick trip to the jack and before i know it i'm home again.  cozy on the couch, dexter is back on the screen and i survived curtis' tease about the bacon.  fork in hand, smile on face, i'm content.  i take a sip of my coveted soda ... and just about spit.  EFFFFFF!!!!!!  WTF!!!!  more cuss words spew out.  dag nabbit!  they gave me rootbeer!  AAGGGGHHHH!!!!


i'll tell you.  that story is funny now but right at that moment i was LIVID.  


here's the latest picture of my baby girl.  flippin the ultrasound tech off.  that's what she gets for poking her into awakeness.  yep... definitely my daughter.  hahah!  oh and the due date has been confirmed.  we're running on schedule and expecting her to show up on march 11th.  nevermind that my ob thinks i'm tiny.  apparently this baby is the right size in there.

naughty girl covering her smile.

mila | the calendar

holy canoli!  there's a lot going on in the next few weeks!!!  come hang out with me ....


JAN 28  - OC SMUG

• venue | mesa verde country club
• time |  7pm
• speakers |  i'll be doing introductions and this month we have the socal photog shootout crew (hanssie trainor and matt saville) and the photo sharp shooter crew (nancy ramos).  

FEB - BRIDGING THE GAP

• venue | tranquil tea lounge in fullerton
• artist's opening planned to be on Feb 5, exhibit will be shown for the entire month of February
• my very own photo exhibit!!!  during our stay in the philippines last year we visited the slums and got to know 25 families living under a bridge.  it's amazing how happy people can be despite being destitute and hungry.  it really teaches you that all these worldly possessions are nothing in the equation for happiness.  come support the cause.  all proceeds will go towards missions supporting the slums in the philippines.

FEB 11 - SOCAL PHOTOG SHOOTOUT

• venue | pasadena
• The purpose of the SoCal Photog Shootout is to connect photographers with different strengths, abilities, and talents to learn from each other, to network and make new friends.
• to register for the next shootout be sure to join the club on facebook

FEB 16 - LEARN LIGHTROOM

• venue | irvine fine arts center
• time | 6.30 - 9.30 pm
• fee | $99
• i will be teaching a one evening intensive LR crash course.  learn how to edit faster and more efficiently using adobe photoshop lightroom
• register here

FEB 17 - FOOD + CLIX

• venue | cafe tutu tango at the block (in orange)
• time | 6 - 9 pm
• hangin out with people, chowin, talkin, chillin, sharin camera info. perfect for people that just got their cameras and want to know how to be the boss of it. also perfect for people who've been around the camera block a few times and just want to share all that knowledge.  super informal but a great time for some geek speak and food.
• this month's topic | still taking suggestions but i'll be showing some photoshop magic for sure.
• join us on facebook

FEB 23 - LEARN LIGHTROOM

• venue | irvine fine arts center
• time | 6.30 - 9.30 pm
• fee | $99
• i will be teaching a one evening intensive LR crash course.  learn how to edit faster and more efficiently using adobe photoshop lightroom
• register here

FEB 28 - ROMANCE ON THE WATER

• venue | dana point yacht club
• time | 11am - 4 pm
• it's a bridal event at the dana point yacht club.  come check out an awesome venue and enter to win prizes!

here's a photo you'll be seeing at the BRIDGING THE GAP exhibit.  i really really really hope to see you there.

mila | portrait photographer . studio sessions

i actually really enjoy doing studio work.  it's a controlled environment, the lights are easy to manipulate and i don't have to run around as much.  at this stage of the pregnancy all that is major awesomeness.  


becka adams, a model i had worked with before, had posted on facebook that she was itching to shoot again.  i had been toying with a one light studio scenario that i've been wanting to experiment with (in black and white) and offered it up as a session concept.  kim bragalone, makeup artist amazingness wanted in on the whole thing too...apparently she needed black and white photos for her portfolio as well.  after that... magic just happened.  


check out the photos below.  i must say... i am IN LOVE with them!


oh.. for my photog friends.  here's a factoid for ya.


did you know that when shooting on black and white mode in your camera if you are shooting in RAW the photos are viewable as black and white on the LCD of your camera but are stored in color.  to keep that black and white data and upload it on your computer as black and white you must shoot in JPEG.  only JPEG mode will "cook" that information into the file.  


i personally prefer to do the black and white in post process however, when put in a really tight low light situation (like wedding receptions) i find that the black and white mode (in JPEG) on the camera sometimes does much better with low light.

mila | MY baby bump week 32

only 8 weeks left or so we think....


went to see the doc last week and her comment was ... where are you keeping this baby?!  i'm like waddya mean?  there's a giant bump right there!  apparently the fact that i can see the tips of my toes at this point makes her think that i'm running small.  we've got an ultra sound scheduled in a week to confirm delivery date.  mm hmm... i knew their initial calculation was a little wonky.  


one day we were laying in bed and curtis cups his face to my belly.  i'm totally relaxed thinking aww this is sweet... he's gonna whisper to her.  ummm no.  he sent a sonic boom into my belly!  he wanted to see if he could startle her into kicking him.  geez.  our daughter is gonna come out deaf before she's even born. 


speaking of kicking.  at this stage one is required to do kick counts.  so at the same time every day i have to see how long it takes her to produce 10 kicks (or movements).  the chart says a minimum of 10 mins is good and can take up to 2 hours.  my child is definitely my child.  she's so regimented.  at 10 till 8 everyday (as in no kidding... like clockwork), she begins to fuss.  i can feel her moving.  our 10 kick count is completed within 2-3 minutes.  i love that!  i may just be able to plan my life around this kid after all!  nobody say anything to burst my bubble please.  


one last random thought and i'm done on this entry.  my girlfriend jenny kim announced her pregnancy after curtis and i arrived back in the country last may.  jenny and her hubby steve had decided it was time and got to work immediately.  as we squealed in delight she interrupts our elation with another statement... "i want one of you to get pregnant too so we can do this together".  pffft!!!  i instantly declared that that was so not a good reason to get preggo.. puhleeze!  two weeks later curtis and i found out we were pregnant.  oh $h1t.  naturally, when i called jenny to let her know the news she was off the wall happy.  at the time i was just in shock.  she was carrying the excitement for both of us.  that's all changed since then.  and jenny who was due to have lil dylan on january 21 has already given birth to a healthy 8 lb boy.  


i can't believe how much life has changed for her.  it's surreal to me.  and even more so is that i'm right on the heels of it coz in 8 weeks (maybe) we'll be bringing home our own lil bundle of joy.  i think i know what i'm in for but really... i don't.  it's scary and exciting all at once.  ah but we will survive... stay tuned.