Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! Better late than never right? I spent the day with my family watching movies and the NBA on ABC; good old tradition. Then in the evening, my mom and I went over to my aunt's house to hang out. Knowing that there were going to be three munchkins aka my little cousins running around, I knew I had to bring my camera :).

This is the youngest one, Larry, climbing on my back as I took a photo of him. He's a really smart yet mischievous cookie and loves to take advantage of his older brother Justin :).

Here's all three: Karen, Justin, and Larry (again). My mom said I looked just like Justin when I was his age. I personally think Justin is waaaaay cuter!

My aunt, her husband, and daughter Karen. Larry is actually my other aunt's kid but he had to be in every single photo :). That kid loves the camera!

Family portrait!

Absolutely priceless :).

The funny, the pretty, and the cool:

My mom with her two younger sisters:

When I reel in more dough, I'm going to seriously spoil these guys!

The young lady that raised me when my parents went to work: my grandma. Thanks mom for taking the photos with me in them :).

I don't know how but Larry took my iPhone earphones from my left jean pocket without me noticing. What a clever little booger! And I love Justin's smile here :).

They were quite infatuated with my phone. Justin is a pro with the whole swiping thing. Maybe I can get him to start watching the NBA as a kid too! And apparently Larry is a fan of Matchbox Twenty.

Larry calls his mom on the iPhone:

I hope each and every one of you had a fun and safe Christmas with your loved ones. I sure had a great time seeing my relatives again and hanging out with my little cousins. Not only do I feel blessed to be around such caring and loving people, but also to have the opportunity of documenting memories for you to see. Thank you as always for taking that few minutes to check out my site. Happy holidays to you and your friends and family :).

I got a package today from my best friend Jana sent all the way from Mississississippi (I could never spell that state correctly :P). For those of you who don't know her, i.e. all three people that read this weblog, Jana has been the sole inspiration behind my photography business from day one. My engineering job has made it possible for me to buy all the expensive cameras and the Clippers photo internship helped me learn a lot about taking photos, but it was Jana that really encouraged me to take pictures and keep posting them for people to see. I remember her writing this to me in an e-mail just about a year ago (December 11th, 2006 to be exact):

Hmm...about your pictures...amazing. I'm not lying when I tell you that looking at them is really one of the highlights of my day. They are beautiful, and you have some amazing talent. I don’t know, but every time I look at one, it seems like I get to see a little more into your soul...like, being hundreds and hundreds of miles apart really isn’t the case. I don’t know, I’m crazy...haha...I love how you can find beauty in anything, that is a real gift. And I will always look at your pictures, every chance I get...just to see if I can discover a little bit more about my wonderful friend in California.

A lot has happened in 2007, but the constant throughout it all has been Jana's friendship to me, and that is something I wouldn't give up or trade for the world. Now onto the goodies that she sent me for Christmas :).

Here's the box I picked up from the post office, after hours of fighting the angry mob in line with pitchforks and shovels:

I couldn't wait until X-mas to open the box!

Two wrapped gifts, a reindeer doll with chocolate, and a letter!

I'm going to put this right next to the cow Jana got me when she went to Spain this past summer. I wonder if she's sending animals that resemble me, hmmm...

Yum, um...what is this? It looks all shiny and expensive, thanks! Wait, are you saying I stink?

I wonder if the cologne is supposed to benefit me or someone else :P.

And of course, nothing quite like The Super Dooper Reindeer Pooper!

I somehow got the nickname "chicken butt" from Jana (Bananana, hey hey hey, goodbye!) I wonder why...

Thanks JB! You're totally awesome, but that won't stop me from continuing to make fun of you. I'll always cherish everything you give me, including your lame insults ;). Merry Christmas, and yes, I APPRECIATE your gifts :). "Have a good one..."

My dad, sister, and I took my mom out to dinner for her birthday this past evening. We've pretty much tried every single famous restaurant in Arcadia (Tony Roma's, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, etc.) except Macaroni Grill, so guess where we went! I was super starving since the last thing I ate today was a breakfast croissant before the Clippers and Heat game earlier in the day. Since the restaurant was pretty quiet and dim, I decided to wait until they brought the birthday cake at the end to take photos since I didn't want to disturb the other guests with the flash.

We got the Romano's Sampler as an appetizer. My mom got the Simple Salmon, my dad got the Chicken Portobello, my sister got the Mama's Trio (primo chicken parmesan, lasagna, and chicken cannelloni), and I got the Chicken and Shrimp Scaloppine...YUM!!! After we finished our meal, one of the waitresses brought out a small cake and sang Happy Birthday to my mom in Italian. We ended the night with some few photos :).

One of the perks of going to Macaroni Grill is you get to draw on the table with the crayons that they provide:

Make a wish mom!

Even my dad participated but he kinda signed his name in the wrong place:

We all stepped outside the restaurant for some fun family snapshots; here's one of my sister Shelly and the birthday girl:

No way we're leaving until my mom gets some photos with my dad as well :).

Can you tell how much my sister loves being photographed? Shelly, I really like your hooded jacket!

This photo is courtesy of my sister, good job Shelly. Oh yeah, I shaved my head (again) a few days ago.

So this is a totally random photo. I asked Shelly to turn around and...snap! And that's my dad walking away. I've pretty much made it a life long goal to harass Shelly with my camera every chance I get :).

As far as presents for my mom, you'll see right here in about a week what I'm going to get for her. Happy birthday mom, I love you! Please remind Shelly to clean her room and feed her dog, hamster, rabbit, and your fishes :P. Thanks!