When I heard the raining falling out my window, I wasn't sure that I wanted to get up this morning to ask people for their picture, but I did. In bed promised myself a piece of "See's" Chocolate from the USA if I could wake-up and go outside. After that thought, I jumped out of bed got dressed in a raincoat, savored a piece of chocolate (actually I cut open 3 different pieces of chocolate to see what was inside and had a quarter piece of each chocolate so I could have more variety. Yes, I'm a sucker for variety.) and then after dissecting chocolate made my way out into the torrential rains.Lately I have been wondering what is the point of my photography and if it really does any good to take lots of pictures. What do the pictures really do? Can they help many people later? At times this thought discourages me from pursuing it strongly, but today I learned something. When I was coming home after taking picture 3/365, I was soaked, shoes were drenched, I was a bit cold, but I flying.This is what I realized, at the very least photographing people make me appreciate God and his creation, every time I return from taking pictures of random people I feel like I just have won the lottery. So perhaps, these photographs will do nothing more than fill me with joy and appreciation for God and his people. Then so be it, because that in itself makes it worth doing. La fotografia vale la pena.
Family Portrait ~ 2/365
Color and Black in White :-)Almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.Steve Jobs
Day One of Many More :-) 1/365
I'm starting a 365 day project. I have always wanted to and now I am. I think there will be many more 365 day projects to come. Everyday I am committed to ask at least one person for their picture. The point of this project is that my most favorite thing about photography is people, but I don't take enough pictures of people because I am afraid to ask them for their picture. After 365 days, at the very least I will have met many new people and taken many their picture and overcome my fears. I can't let fears of rejection overtake me. That just won't do!I am reading through Proverbs this month, and I came upon this verse.Proverbs 21:5The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.This will be my verse of the year, perhaps life. It reminds me to be patient with myself and God, and to do a little bit a day, because going quickly only brings poverty, but diligence and consistency is what brings success.Have a lovely day~
Jeju Island, South Korea
Jeju Island, South Korea
Photography Styling Challenge #2: Table Setting
This month's challenge was table setting, and because last month I did a 15 day Juice Fast and I'm learning to eat more and more vegetables I decided that it was only natural that I made a table setting of only vegetables. I wanted to make food art. All I needed was red cabbage, white cabbage, green pepper, carrots, a good knife, and a whole lot of patience. In the end, I was pretty happy with the results. It wasn't perfect, but I tried a new kind of photography and as a result I have more ideas for another food-filled photograph.. :-)Here are the Rules again..
Rules
1. No editing can be done to the photo other than edge cropping.
2. Camera equipment and tools of any variety may be used to assist in the photography.
3. Select 1-5 of your best photos, of the same subject matter, to be blogged.
4. The same concept must be blogged at the same time by all participants.
5. The only text acceptable for each photo is your watermark.
6. All shoots must be newly styled as of the first Monday of the month.
Here we go. My table setting for August's Challenge. 
The Table Setting Recipe:The Table Cloth = White CabbageThe Plates = Red CabbageThe Spoons and Chopsticks = Green PeppersThe Center Pieces = Green Peppers and CarrotsHere is are behind the scenes photographs
Here is a photo of the creation after a day in the sun. Interesting, right?
Also check out other bloggers photographs for the Table Setting Challenge here -->
Redesigned By M
Redlovinpixie
At the Corner of Happy and Harried
My Food Tapestry
Introducing The Next Challenge! A Photography Styling Challenge
Juicing myself into a vegetable was successfully completed. Now, I need something else to challenge me.. What is up next up on the challenge board? I'm going to join a Photography Styling Challenge with some fellow bloggers. It will be incredibly fascinate. You just wait!
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This challenge originated from My-Van Dang from Redesigned By M.
What is it?
Here is here description of the photography challenge from Redesigned By M.
Inspired by all the photo challenges out there, I thought I’d create one of my own. This photo challenge is two parts:
1. Being my own stylist for a photo shoot.
2. Learning how to use my camera to its fullest extent.
I love styling photo shoots. It infuriates me when I look at photos and see details that were overlooked during the photography session. I wanted to create instances that I could hone my skills and eye for styling, that were more formal, more elaborate, and more visual than my day to day blog posts.
As for the second point: I love doing my Photo Walks, but those are mostly centered around outdoor photos because they involve getting to know my new city better. I thought if I could create my own shoots that I could style, I’d be able to have more practice with interior photography.
Here’s how it works:
Rules
1. No editing can be done to the photo other than edge cropping.
2. Camera equipment and tools of any variety may be used to assist in the photography.
3. Select 1-5 of your best photos, of the same subject matter, to be blogged.
4. The same concept must be blogged at the same time by all participants.
5. The only text acceptable for each photo is your watermark.
6. All shoots must be newly styled as of the first Monday of the month.
Frequency
Once a month, on the first Monday.
Concepts*
(in this order)1. Food
2. Table setting
3. Wall vignette
4. Morning
5. Bedroom
6. Order (Organization)
7. Chaos(Caveat: Must use at least 3 of the objects from “Order” photo shoot.)
8. Patterns
9. Fashion
10. Light
11. Living Room
12. Personal
*All concepts are open to interpretation of the photographer.We have this month to think of ideas for our first concept and then we post our first photo shoot on July 1st! We’re both very excited about this new challenge and hope you will be, too. If you choose to participate, please let us know in the comment below so we’ll be sure to include your blog in the first post.
Who is part of the Challenge?
Redesigned By M - A wonderful blog by My-Van Dang, about design, organization, gardening, etc... with many more tips on how to make your life easier and clutter-free.Redlovinpixie - Ginny, from London living in LA, who blogs about things from interiors and knitting to food and dogsAt the Corner of Happy and Harried - Anjana, from India blogs about cooking, baking, and home decor, with a little bit of DIY crafting.My Food Tapestry - An absolutely delightful food blog by Namrata---So tomorrow, August 5th I'll be joining the challenge, a month late, but better late then never, right? Well that is if you're not too, too late. Because if you're too, too late all of the good food is gone, and that really defeats the purpose of going at all. :-)The subject of August? Table Setting... Oui that might be difficult, because I'm not much of table-setting kind of girl... But we'll see :-) Wish me luck!
Juice Fast Challenge : Day 13 - Happy Days!
Story of the Day:
I'm Happy! Why? Not only is it day 13 but.... Guess What? I found in E-mart today? CILANTRO!!! What is the big deal? You don’t know!?! Oh that’s right, you probably don’t live in South Korea. Do you know that I’ve been looking for cilantro for the past 3 years in Korea, and the only place I could find it was in Army Bases and remote International markets?..But now Korea is finally Mexicanizing or Thailandizing themselves! Finally.. Wow! Even though it is 3x as expensive as the USA. I was so happy that I almost bought all. YUM! If you’ve ever lived in South Korea, you’ll understand my exuberance for finding cilantro in a grocery store here. It’s unheard of, but now the truth of Cilantro is spreading.. Now this made my day! Look isn't it beautiful..?
Today hasn't been quite been as exciting for Juan... it has been a rough one actually, and I’m hoping that it all will speed up. Today, I have good energy, but it wasn’t the same for Juan. He’s not experiencing as easy of a ride. He really misses food and CHICKEN! Like I said yesterday, we’re thinking that perhaps that we might need to switch it up as far as the greens go, because he doesn’t feel the energy and he can’t focus. There is a green that I got recommended today called Angelica, but upon further research, I’ve found that this herb can be very good for your health but also have very dangerous side-affects. So I’ll skip buying that one. Thank-you!We had our Bible study in our house it was good, Chan Mi cooked an amazing-looking chicken curry and we smelled and watched everyone eat it as we nursed our juice. Live is hard, eh? But it is better with cilantro. That is for sure :-)
Stats of the Day:
Juan:Juice: 2 Liters / Water: 1 liter Food: Vegetable Soup for lunch and a salad for dinner Weight: 6 kg less than the start Energy: Up and Down Mood: Not Good Hunger: A lot today Detox Symptoms: achy, sore throat, fever, tired....But his skin is glowing :) Cheats: None Cravings: Pollo (Chicken), PizzaIngeJuice: 1.5 liter Liters / Water: 1.5 liters Weight: 3-4 kg less than the start Energy: Really good. Quite happy that it has returned and feels really constant no afternoon lull Mood: Good. Hunger: Yup, hungry at times, but not too bad, and cleaning the juicer again doesn’t sound appealing Detox Symptoms: None really Cheats: Nothing Cravings: Salad that is not in a cup and chocolate
Comment Below Ya'll :-)
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Read The Juice Fast Series
1. Juice Fast Introduction2. Juice Fast Day 1 ~ Juicing Resources3. Juice Fast Day 2 ~ Special Guest4. Juice Fast Day 3 ~ Think Long Term5. Juice Fast Day 4 ~ $$$6. Juice Fast Day 5 ~Juice Your Greens7. Juice Fast Day 6 ~ Keep Going8. Juice Fast Day 7 ~ Give Your Veggies a Shower9. Juice Fast Day 8 - Coffee Enemas and Detox Dreams10. Juice Fast Day 9 ~ Lazy Saturdays and Honey Masks11. Juice Fast Day 10 ~ What To Do with Juice Pulp? 1 of 212. Juice Fast Day 11 ~ Juice Fast Challenge: Day 11 - What to do with Juice Pulp? 2 of 213. Juice Fast Day 12 ~ How Do you Start to Eat Again? Step One = Make a Plan14. Juice Fast Day 13 ~ Happy Days!15. Juice Fast Day 14 - Cranky Days! & Transition to Food16. Juice Fast Day 15 - Before and After Photos
A Prayer #32
Take time to look around you and say a prayer of thankfulness for all that you have, big or small. We all have something to be thankful for if we would open our hearts and put away our pride it would be easier to notice all the beautiful things we have to be thankful for.. Don't focus on the 2 or 3 bad things that happened in your day, look at the rest of the day. The part of the day that was good, you woke up, you ate breakfast, and kissed your husband, called your friend or had a nice dinner. So don't worry about the one rude look the barista shot at you or that your to-do list isn't finished. Your time is more valuable than to put your head in the bad things of the day.And even in bad, bad days, find the little nugget of goodness that happened and thank God. Every time you are thankful, your blessings increase and you are more capable of spreading your happiness to other people. So go now, make a list of things you're thankful for and then say a prayer of thankfulness... :-)My list for the day?My sweet husband who made me a delicious green juice this morning, the summer, my health, raindrops, the emails that I wrote today, black tea latte, worship music, soap that is super sudsy and water.. Water is amazing :-)
Pretty Light #28
On this one afternoon, I was lucky enough to find something my friend Amanda dubs 'Jesus light'... Isn't Jesus light, beautiful?
Quiet Moments - These are the Best #3
A Birthday Prayer
A soft touch
The Clock is Ticking Down... 2013, Here We Come!
The New Year is getting deliciously close! So much anticipation! :) Who knows what will be in the works for us all? Something good. Remember when you're looking for something good that you'll find it and lots of it! But also when you're looking for doom, you'll find plenty of that too!So in 2013 what will you look for?What will I look for? The happiest thing in the universe, of course! Dark Chocolate.This year remember to always look for the best in people and things.. Expect it, because when you expect the best somehow people and situations rise to your expectations.
“Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.”― Les Brown
Ukuleles @ MaeLoeGyi in Mae Sariang, Thailand
MaeLoeGyi Vegetarian Restaurant and Guesthouse in Mae Sariang, Thailand is a place that I could hang-out in all day long eating, listening to ukulele tunes and enjoying the sweet company of Net, her family and all the other guests who pop in for a taste of her delicious food. :) If you ever find yourself in Thailand, Mae Sariang is worth the trek just to try a bowl of her delicious green curry or grilled tofu salad. Yum!
Winter Tanning...
With the weather reaching a slightly breezy -13C in Korea.....or 8 F depending on what weather language you speak, it is perfect light sweater weather, though somedays I prefer to wear just a light T-shirt. This gives me a nice sunburn and it is fantastically quick too! In 10 minutes flat, I'm red all over! There is no need to spend hours flipping from back to front, back to front, at the beach like a steak on the grill. Just come to Korea, and in 10 minutes you'll be rosy red and starting your base tan before all of the competition even thinks about summer's golden tan! :) Well I'm off to go get my umbrella drink, there is much suntanning left to do. Don't be Jealous!
Miracles
“there are only two ways to live your life. one is as though nothing is a miracle.the other is as though everything is a miracle.” albert einstein
Dreams of Summer
Yesterday was the first snow of the year! So beautiful, so magical, so nostalgic and of course, soooo cold that your nose and hands might just decided that life is not worth living anymore and say, 'Adieu!'All this winter land whiteness has made me think of Summer and all of its delicious salads. One of my favorites this summer? Anything with Blueberries and Red Bell Peppers! Yummy! Just in case that you live in Heaven (ie you can find fresh blueberries even in December) Then have a go at this recipe. Delicious, delicious! :)Now I'm off to bundle up and find some hot chocolate!But first here is the recipe. Quantities are to your tastes and creativity :)Baby Spinach & ArugulaHalved Orange SectionsChopped AvocadoSliced Red Bell Peppersand a Healthy drizzling of Olive Oil, splash of Balsamic Vinegar, pinch of Salt and Delicious fresh-cracked Black Pepper :)
Friday's Refrigerator Inspirations :)
My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
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I'm not sure what to call this maybe Mini omelettes or mini Spanish Tortillas or a Rice Patties? I not sure. But when it comes down to it I think that Friday's breakfast magic should be donned 'Left-Over Amazingness' with a Cucumber Salad :)How did the recipe pop in my head? Well it came from a combination of influences, but on Friday morning while getting ready for the day I had some serious inspiration. I was thinking about all the things that were in the refrigerator and all the ingredients started singing and dancing in my head and boom! This is what happened..Magic! :D
Left-Over Amazingness
I sauted chopped onions and shredded carrots <-- largely shredded together.Then I threw in some jalepenos...for spiceA 1/2 cup leftover of potato stew.A wee bit of chopped hamThen a wee bit of chopped-up omelet from the day before.Then 1 or 2 cups of left-over riceSaute and saute some more... add oil and water and salt until things are cooked/taste to your likingNext I took 3 eggs and beat them in a big bowlThen I added the rice saute mixture to the egg bowl, and mixed and mixed and.added fresh green onions. and mixed it up.Heated a saute pan with Olive OilAnd scooped out cute mini omelet rice patties to sizzle in the pan until brown on each side...(I also covered the pan with a lid for a couple of minutes to let the steam cook the insides ) :) Next time I think I might put tofu or sweet potatoes or maybe cheese. Any more ideas? Mushrooms, perhaps?
Cucumber Salad
For the salad everything goes in one bowl.. Easy, easy!
I shredded 2 cucumbers in a bowl.
Minced 1 jalepeño.
Shredded 1/2 an Apple
Salt
Juice of a small orange or clementine
Bites sized pieces of an orange
Put my favorite dressing Sesame Dressing
A little bit of Yellow Mustard
Mix, Mix, and Taste for more spice, sweet or salt, and then plate.
Plating goes like this... = 2 Leaves of Lettuce, 2 Omelet Patties, a small mountain of salad, and garnish with Apple slices, and drizzle with extra dressing or Olive Oil... Enjoy! :)
Try this with your own leftover and tell me what different things you create! :D
Thinking Too Much?
Do you ever feel like you're thinking too much? I do. It's frankly annoying. Sure for the first 10 minutes of over-thinking I attribute it to my major IQ points -- You know, I'm Einstein Brilliant.... Ha! Really what use was the purpose of Mom making me drink Spinach juice and Gruel regularly? So that I would be Mrs. Einstein of course! Or at least that is what she told me..I have surmized that because I suffered through the terrors of Green lumpy juice and a really UNtasty version of Oatmeal. I must be a genius! Every child needs to be recompensed for their sufferings.. It is only fair. ;) So my reward? Geniusland... Woo-Hoo! ;) But then after this conclusion... I realize that even if my cocky delusions are somewhat true that I really wish Mom hadn't so generously given me all of these miracle foods Thinking too much is a pain. Relaxing and living out life step by step? Now that is a joy. Forgetting what is behind and Focusing on what is ahead of you? That is a relief.So if you also ate Lumpy Green Juice or equally unpleasant healthy food as a child, I understand. But stop the Madness! Take a walk and leave the over-thinking to your past.
A few quotes for your day :)
“This is probably the advantage of being stupid. Stupid people just do. We tend to overthink. If we could eliminate the “over”and just think, then we could do, too. Only we’d be smarter doers because we’d be thinkers.” ― Sarah Strohmeyer, Smart Girls Get What They Want
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. - Philippians 3:13
p.s. If you're curious about how to make you some Genius Juice please go here --> How to Make Genius Juice <-- but I warned you. It's not worth the extra IQ points ;)
Eyes of Seoul
“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”― Anne Frank
"No One Can Travel the Road for You"
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.You must travel it by yourself.It is not far. It is within reach.Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.Perhaps it is everywhere - on water and land.”
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
Poverty, Stupidity and Culture.
Last night I saw this Poptech talk from journalist and author of Outliers and Blink, Malcolm Gladwell. It made me think, quite a bit. It is worth a listen. Happy Monday from South Korea, ya'll!
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