I realize lately that there’s one kind of facial touchup I have to do often on kids’ portraits. You might think that when photographing children, there’s not much photoshoping needed on their face. While it’s true that they don’t need any digital face lift or botox, there is one procedure I have to do often, especially on my kids’ photos. It’s called the “booger removal”. No wonder I always see kiddies sticking up a finger in their nostril, that’s because they always have stuff in there that needs attention. And I ask myself, do I want those photos of them to look more realistic the way they are, or should I take them out? It a hard call for me. Most of the time, I prefer not to see them on a portrait. Just a personal preference.

This is what I had for dinner tonight. Two simple spring rolls made me completely happy and satisfied. The best part is, making them is so easy, although they look a little uglier than the ones ordered in a Vietnamese restaurant. I just wouldn’t mind having them every day. They are diet friendly and make perfect light dinner on a hot summer day.

It was one of those days, when I acted ugly. Impatient. Pushed to my limits. And irresponsible.

Christian was throwing tantrums all day, for no apparent reasons, at least not to me. I know he has officially turned two, but that’s no excuse for him to flare up all the time. This was one thing that irritated me throughout the day.

On the other side of the house, I had a bath time battle to fight. This was an ongoing battle and so I felt a need to prep the stage before hand. On our way home after picking up Annabelle from school, we had a nice conversation about bath time. Annabelle had agreed to go to bath right away without whining so she could get a reward sticker to redeem a doll that she wanted to buy. Then when it came to bath time, she totally ignored me and continued playing. After more re-negotiating, nagging, threatening, and yelling, there was no progress. And this had sent my attitude teetering on the edge. There was nothing I could do to get a four year old to walk up the stairs and go into the bathroom to take a bath. I was not even asking her to undress or bath herself. I felt so helpless, incapable, and incompetent. I felt totally like a loser.

Urggghhh.

After dinner, I was still trying hard to be a good mom, even though my mind was exhausted. I grabbed some books and sat down on the living room floor, waiting for my lovely children to sit on my lap to have some story reading time. The next thing I heard was water splashing from the bathroom. I knew it was not good. I ran over and saw Christian splashing water all over the place from the sink that was full of water. That was the moment when every nerve in my body suddenly climbed to the surface of my skin and started demanding I should disappear from the earth or my head might explode into a thousand particles of pixy dust.  Instead of stopping my son’s wrongful excitement, I left the crime scene and hollered at Ricky, “You need to deal with this mess because I am going to kill myself right now!” Sorry honey, it wasn’t your fault. And I’m still alive. But it seemed like I had waited for this opportunity all day so that I could have someone to yell at and to vent out all my steam.

Seeing each situation as a gift for which to be thankful never entered my mind.

Seeing my children as a gift for which to be thankful never entered my mind.

Seeing the fact that Christian is healthy and able to explore water and to play happily never entered my mind.

Seeing my husband has made it home safely to enjoy dinner after a long day of work never entered my mind.

I just felt frustrated and angry and anything but thankful.

While it may not be wrong for me to feel frustrated, my response to that frustration could have been different…should have been different. I didn’t have to act ugly and become a slave to my circumstances. I could have replaced my graceless and irresponsible words and actions with this saying that I have heard before, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”

Boy does this statement put things into perspective. How many times do I need to learn this lesson? I guess it’s an everyday way to do a little heart check up. The Bible tells us that we should intentionally make our minds think of things that are good, true, excellent, and praiseworthy. The more I think about things like these, the more my perspective seems to stay in check. In Colossians 3:15 we are instructed to, “Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts… and be thankful.” Verse 16 goes on to say that we should also, “Let the word of God dwell in us richly…” Finally, verse 17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”

Letting the peace of Christ rule in my heart and letting the Word of God dwell in me richly doesn’t just happen naturally. I have to intentionally make those choices. And I have to challenge myself to deal with the bad while focusing on all the good that is there as well.

This is a book I bought last month and thought I would need it to prepare for times like this. Obviously, I have not finished reading,
but after last night, I think should spend more time reading it.

I rented a 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens last month and had some fun with it. But I personally wouldn’t get my face too close in front of this lens because I don’t want to look like them.

Annabelle was laughing so hard when I showed her this photo.

And then she laughed at herself and said, “Oh, this is fun!”

What precious moment when they don’t fight…

I shot this on the airport train in Dallas, TX.

Sylvia and Ivan are married! They had an intimate, simple yet cozy wedding with about 50 guests. Ivan was Ricky’s elementary school classmate and neighbor when they lived in Hong Kong. He was Ricky’s best man at our own wedding. Best buddies are the two words to describe them.  It was only the second time I met Sylvia, but I felt like I was seeing a good old friend.

Sylvia and Ivan were made for each other. They both have exceptional taste buds and high expectation for food. Food is their lives. And that’s how he won her heart. They also share the same occupation: risk management in the financial industry. Yup! Smart people. I can imagine their kids being little Einsteins who can do Calculus by the age of five.

Back to the wedding. It was pouring rain the night before. Weather forecast said there would be thunder storm the next day. Ricky and I prayed, and God answered. There wwere only some drizzles in the morning, and by the time we wanted some portraits outside, the sun smiled at us. God is good.

Sylvia and Ivan, I most truly know how much I appreciate the two of you. I think both of you are incredibly smart, kind, and giving! I was so proud to be able to attend your wedding as a guest and to document it at the same time. We enjoyed it so much! Thank you for trusting us.

Here are the images from their big day. I have to warn you, there are a lot of them. So I hope you enjoy!

Oops! Sylvia was running late for the ceremony.

This is her running at 85 mph into the church, not wanting to take the chance of seeing a wedding ceremony start without a bride.

A mother’s look of satisfaction and pride, “how beautiful is my daughter!”

Oh no, this is not the groom yet! He’s the father of the bride.

Now, here comes the groom…

…and the best man, writing his speech at the last minute, which turned out to be remarkable!

The pastor was so thoughtful to bring an electronic game for everyone to play together. He was like a prophet who knew for
sure there would be time to kill.

I could not stop laughing about this. It seemed like Ivan had forgotten what his real mission was for the day. I love their expressions!
This makes Photo of the Day.

My favorite Orchid.

I had a blast with the wedding parties. They were so awesome!

Good job, groomsmen! For giving Sylvia a blast.

My favorite shot of the bride. She looks so graceful.

The reception was held at Tarry Lodge. I knew for sure this tiny romantic Italian restaurant served good food even before I
went there. That’s because Sylvia and Ivan picked it. They would never let their guests down with bad food.

It was showtime for the best man. That was the funniest best man speech I’ve ever heard. No wonder he made everyone laugh
so hard.

Ivan, you clearly were the winner of the day.

See the slideshow for more photos.

I was invited to shoot Sylvia and Ivan’s tea ceremony before their wedding day. This is a common Chinese wedding tradition that even the younger Chinese generations in America still do now, with their own modifications.

What’s in it?

Tea is used because it is China’s national drink and serving it is a sign of respect. Using tea is practical because not everyone can drink alcohol. There are two ingredients to put in the tea to make this tea super special. Lotus seeds and two red dates, and this is why. The words “lotus” and “year,” “seed” and “child,” and “date” and “early,” are homophones, i.e. they have the same sound but different meanings in Chinese. Therefore the ancient Chinese believed that putting these items in the tea would help the newlyweds produce children early in their marriage and every year, which would ensure many grandchildren for their parents. (In case you don’t want children or not too soon, drink at your own risk.) Also, the sweetness of the special tea is a wish for sweet relations between the bride and her new family.

How to serve?

Traditionally, the bride serves tea on the wedding day (holding the teacup with both hands) to her parents at home before the groom arrives . She does this out of respect and to thank her parents for raising her. The tea at this time does not need to have the lotus seeds or dates, and the bride does not need the assistance of a “lucky woman.” She pours and serves the tea by herself without the groom.

After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds serve tea (holding the teacups with both hands), inviting the groom’s elders to drink tea by addressing them by formal title, e.g. first uncle or third aunt. The general rule is to have the woman on the left side and the man on the right side. The people being served will sit in chairs, while the bride and groom kneel.The newlyweds serve tea in order, starting with the groom’s parents then proceeding from the oldest family members to the youngest.

In return, the newlyweds receive lucky red envelopes stuffed with money or jewelry. The helpers, who are usually women blessed with a happy marriage or wealth and chosen by the fortune teller or bride’s mother, also get lucky red envelopes stuffed with money from those being served. These envelopes are placed on the platter which holds the teacups.

Nowadays, this tea ceremony takes place whenever the wedding schedule allows. Most of the time, the couple serves tea to both the bride’s and the groom’s parents. I’ve been through this on my own wedding day. It was summertime and my mother-in-law’s house had no air conditioning. So we were sweating the whole time kneeling down. But it was all worth while for the blessings, red envelopes and jewelry we received. And I became a Christmas tree after wards!

A sneak peek at the wedding…

We went to the brand new Pretend City on Labor Day. This children museum had only been opened for a week and the whole place was not very big. It’s a miniature city with a bank, a fire station, a Ralph’s, a beach, a couple restaurants, and so forth. Upon entering the museum, each kid gets a time card. They can go to different places to clock in and work. After finishing their job, they can go to the ATM machine and get paid with their stamped time card. They can then use their hard earned money to go grocery shopping. I would have so much fun if I were a kid!

As soon as we got in, Annabelle got a job at Ralph’s being a restocker. She also tried another job at a Vietnamese restaurant doing dishes. Christian didn’t care for anything but driving different cars and playing with water at the marina. Adults can be a little bored but kids definite have fun at this place.

Clocking out from her first job.

It’s payday!

Finally get to take a lunch break with her buddy.

Christian made no contribution to the society but still got to drive a Mercedes. Life is unfair!

He seemed lost in a new place. Too many interesting things to see.

If you haven’t gotten sick of seeing New York photos by now, then you may keep reading. Otherwise, I apologize for torturing you with these travel photos for the whole week. I promise these are the last.

We spent a day with our newlywed friends Ivan and Sylvia. By the way, I am working on their wedding photos now. Our first stop was the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). I am not a museum person, but I was glad I went there.  The artworks displayed there gave me a lot of inspirations.

A bunch of old stuff from China.

The above two shots were my first successful attempts at in-camera panning. Lucky lucky!

Brooklyn Bridge by Ricky. Could see a little motion blur since we were in the car. Otherwise not too bad, huh?

At South Street Seaport.

Happy Monday!

While we are staying comfortably at work or at home with air-conditioning, occasionally complaining about the heat when we need to go outside, the L.A. firefighters are still combating the Station fire with their lives.  This fire has been burning in the greater Los Angeles area for almost two weeks. It has cruelly taken the lives of two firefighters, over 140,000 acres and nearly 100 structures.

My heart goes to the families of the two fallen heroes, and to the people whose homes were lost. Please pray for the fighters who are in still putting their lives on the line under smokes, ashes, flames, and triple digit temperature.

Images provided by The Big Picture. Click on link to see more amazing photos.

When we travel to a different city, a lot of times we can spot a trend or lifestyle of the people living there. When we were in New York, I was guessing that New Yorkers were under a lot of stress because the streets are flooded with smokers.  About every 10 seconds, I was forced to get a whiff of second hand tobacco smoke. I could find someone with a cigarette in the hand at every corner of the smoke-filled energetic streets in Manhattan.

I had too much fun spying for smokers.

A shaving salon.

More cabs.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

Little Italy.

Works of art seen every where.

The rain stopped for a moment for us to take some photos.

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to hide from the rain.

Dumb and Dumber taking self-portraits. Can you tell who’s dumber?

More photos coming…