Through My Eyes

I Heart Faces: Photojournalism

2010-08-29T21:43:00.001-06:00

My great aunt was literally on her death bed when the entire family flew in from around the country to be with her. I took several photos that day, and when the family started praying the Rosary I took a few more. It was during this time that this bright light completely embraced my Tia. She passed away blanketed in love.

365/365

2009-12-31T11:55:00.002-07:00

Happy New Year :)

This will be my last post for this Project 365. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I'm happy I accomplished it. Now that this project is wrapped up, I'm starting on another project called 101 in 1001 Days. You can read more about it over here at Jesstagirl's 101. Thanks for keeping up with my 365!

364/365

2009-12-30T21:43:00.003-07:00

I know I'm not supposed to double post for this project, but it looks like I've missed a day somehow (sad!). So to make up for it, here's an extra photo. I took this picture with my camera phone, but it's a picture of the camera I've used throughout the year. My brother gave it to me when I graduated college (circa 2006), and even though it sucks up batteries like crazy, it's been a great and reliable camera. (sorry the camera phone photo is so crappy)

363/365

2009-12-30T21:40:00.003-07:00

Kenny and one of his best friends went out tonight for a pseudo bachelor party and he sent me this photo text, telling me that this port was one of the best he's ever tasted. Noted.

362/365

2009-12-29T21:38:00.002-07:00

On our way back from Angel Fire, we stopped in Santa Fe and had lunch at Tia Sophias. It was really great, classic, New Mexican food. Next time, though, we want to make it in time for breakfast. The restaurant (more like a tiny hole in the wall) was so packed that there were groups of people waiting outside in the snow to eat—a true sign of a good place!

361/365

2009-12-28T21:36:00.002-07:00

While up in Angel Fire, Kenny and I worked on this incredibly hard, 750-piece puzzle. Soooooo hard!

360/365

2009-12-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Kenny and I went to Angel Fire for a few days, and on our way we stopped to get some lunch at Gabriel's. Unfortunately, the food was overpriced, really bland, and all fancied-up. And anyone who's had good New Mexican food knows that fancy is not how good food works.

To make up for the bad food, we saw this on the way and snapped a picture of it. Gorgeous.

359/365

2009-12-26T21:26:00.002-07:00

We had our friend's Christmas party tonight, and while I took A LOT of pictures, here are just a few (I'm putting the rest on Facebook).

My green bean casserole. It was probably the best one I've made so far. Oh! And there's one of Kenny's rolls in the picture, too!

My friends Morgan and Mike being their awesome, funny, selves :)

Kenny, looking quite handsome in his new fedora

358/365

2009-12-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

(Confession: I didn't take a picture on Christmas, but I took A LOT on the day after, so here are some from my outing to the Melting Pot with Kenny on the 26th)

We kinda devoured the cheese:

I forgot to take pictures of our entree and salad, but check out this dessert tray! YUM!!!

Kenny randomly put a cherry stem on his plate and it looked like a face because of the little chocolate sauce drops he dripped!

357/365

2009-12-24T21:12:00.001-07:00

Part of my Christmas present from my cousin Conci! I LOVE chocolate chip cookies WITHOUT the chocolate chips. So delicious!

356/365

2009-12-23T21:11:00.001-07:00

SNOW!!!!

355/365

2009-12-22T21:10:00.002-07:00

Kenny and I stopped by our wedding cake vendor (www.cupcakeology) to try a cupcake that won't be available on our cake-tasting day. This cheesecake cupcake was absolutely delicious and will most likely make an appearance at the wedding. In the background was a peanut butter cup cupcake that was also really tasty (according to Kenny).

354/365

2009-12-21T21:08:00.002-07:00

We bought a Brussels sprouts stalk at Trader Joes. It was my first encounter with eating the little green vegetable, and I've gotta say that I wasn't a huge fan. I'll have to try it again sometime, though.

353/365

2009-12-20T21:07:00.001-07:00

Driving during the holidays is scary. We almost saw three accidents happen as I took this picture (don't worry—we were far away from any of the accidents)

352/365

2009-12-19T21:06:00.002-07:00

Kenny and I went window shopping today and I took this to remind me that we need place mats!

351/365

2009-12-18T21:05:00.001-07:00

My brother got in an accident today...but.....

You should check out the other car...:

350/365

2009-12-17T21:04:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the fuzziness...I took this as my plane was landing in Albuquerque

349/365

2009-12-16T21:02:00.002-07:00

This is what your room will look like if you pack for two different seasons, the holidays, and a wedding in only three suitcases. Ugh.

348/365

2009-12-15T21:01:00.001-07:00

I made this Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe for dinner. It came out very yummy!

347/365

2009-12-14T21:00:00.001-07:00

My DIY pomander :) One down 11 more to go...

346/365

2009-12-13T20:58:00.001-07:00

My computer glasses!

345/365

2009-12-12T20:57:00.001-07:00

My grandma gave us this cool coat tree. It's made out of old railroad tracks and nails!

344/365

2009-12-11T20:52:00.003-07:00

We went Kenny's squadron's Christmas party and this was the sunset that awaited us as we drove into the peach packing company (where the party was held).

343/365

2009-12-10T20:47:00.003-07:00

I created this favor tag for our favors. I LOVE them and can't wait to print them out.

342/365

2009-12-09T20:46:00.002-07:00

A little music machine that plays the song I'm walking down the aisle to. (I put a cracker there so you could see the actual size of it!)

341/365

2009-12-08T20:43:00.001-07:00

Working on our invitations...

I even got Kenny to help!

340/365

2009-12-07T20:42:00.001-07:00

Our guest book came in. I'm really happy with it. :)

339/365

2009-12-06T20:41:00.003-07:00

Another idea we have for my office. We want to get a few clocks and put the names of cities with their corresponding time underneath!

338/365

2009-12-05T20:37:00.001-07:00

They wouldn't allow pictures inside the exhibit, but Kenny went up to Atlanta to check out a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit. It was beyond cool.

And a trip to Atlanta isn't complete without a trip to Ikea. We saw this day bed and really liked it; we may incorporate something like this in my office.

337/365

2009-12-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Our invites came in today. time to get cracking!

336/365

2009-12-03T20:35:00.001-07:00

I bought a swimsuit from Victoria's Secret tonight :)

335/365

2009-12-02T20:33:00.002-07:00

My absolute favorite picture in the entire world. I bought it on my first trip to Florence. LOVE it.

334/365

2009-12-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wow. December already? Crazy how fast time is going by! It looks like I'm going to be off by one day for this project. I have no idea where the mistake was made, though. Boo. I also don't think I'll be continuing this next year. I've enjoyed documenting each day, but towards the end it's beginning to feel like a chore.

Anyway...Happy December!

333/365

2009-11-30T19:20:00.003-07:00

Kenny and I got mail from my grandma today. Here's what the note attached to the magazine page said:
"I'm thinking this outfit would be perfect for me to wear to your wedding. Can't decide what color—what do you think? Grandma"
And here's the outfit...
Oh, and she was totally kidding about getting it. I just thought it was hilarious that she sent it to us. I love that woman! Too funny :)

332/365

2009-11-29T18:59:00.003-07:00

After Callaway we went to Kohl's again (we have a serious problem) and saw this pot. I really like it, so I took a picture to remind me to add it to our registry!

331/365

2009-11-28T18:18:00.010-07:00

Adventures at Callaway: a Thanksgiving tradition!

We started out with some lunch at the Whistling Pig Cafe. Oh, and it was just as good as it looks. There were so many funny things going on at this tiny dive of a restaurant that I'd need an entire blog to fill it up.
Kenny got the pork plate with fries, Brunswick stew and okra

I got the chicken strips. SO tasty and oh-so bad for you. (But really tasty)

Once we checked into our room for the night we went on a little walk around some of the gardens.

Then we found a butterfly garden. It's not exactly butterfly season, so there weren't too many fluttering around.

Here are a few pictures of where we stayed. This was by far an awesome place and we want to stay here again, but this time we'll bring some food and hopefully friends, because there was a full kitchen, two decks, a living room, and a sitting room. It was awesome - sorry for not taking more photos.

And then it was off to Fantasy in Lights

There was a wishing tree where people could leave there well wishes for our men and women in the military.

He actually looked like the real santa!

We had a really crappy, and really expensive dinner and wished we had just picked up some pizza at Fantasy in Lights. Lessons learned for next year...

I like Bailey's and may have spiked my hot coco :)

Now, it's off to see lights! The photos aren't that great, because I have no idea what settings to put my camera on.

We busted out the smittins for this trip, but since one hand was busy holding my hot chocolate and the other was trying to take pictures, Kenny had the smittin all to himself. Sad face.

Happy holidays :)

330/365

2009-11-27T18:16:00.002-07:00

Black Friday shopping rocks. I bought this dress for $30 (regularly priced at $68).

I took a picture of this from Bed Bath and Beyond, because I want to add it to our Amazon wishlist!

329/365

2009-11-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Ooooooh Yeah..... Happy Thanksgiving :)

328/365

2009-11-25T18:13:00.001-07:00

I made these potatoes before The Big Day, too. Yum.

327/365

2009-11-24T18:11:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite new Thanksgiving foods. It's my grandma's recipe for a cranberry relish and all that's in it are cranberries, strawberries, pineapple, and walnuts. Making it two days before The Big Day saved time, too.

326/365

2009-11-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

We recently bought a new TV stand and this was the old one, but come to think of it, perhaps I should've taken a picture of our new stand!

325/365

2009-11-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is how awesome my fiance is...he made this stool for me. Not only did he make it, but he painted it and then engraved my name into it! He's pretty much the most awesome person ever. :)

324/365

2009-11-21T17:52:00.001-07:00

We went registry shopping today at Kohl's - YEA!!!!

323/365

2009-11-20T17:50:00.003-07:00

I've been meaning to make red chile since I came out here, but never got around to it. Well, I finally made it today. I took several more pictures (including pictures of the final product), but my camera decided to poop out and not digitally develop some of them. Lame.

This is a pile of the discarded parts of the chile:

Here's the chile in hot water:

322/365

2009-11-19T17:48:00.001-07:00

Today was my brother's birthday, so I snail mailed him this gift card!

321/365

2009-11-18T17:47:00.002-07:00

Crappy photo, but oh well. This is of the departure screen at the San Antonio airport that I took from pretty far away (I was too lazy to get up and go look at the screen).

320/365

2009-11-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

We took an impromptu trip to San Antonio for Kenny's grandfather's funeral. We were only there for one night and got a bite to eat at the Alamo Cafe. Twas very tasty!

319/365

2009-11-16T17:44:00.001-07:00

A sneak peak of our invites!

318/365

2009-11-15T17:42:00.002-07:00

This is one of those wall art decorations that I put up on my wall. I love it!

317/365

2009-11-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

:) We love our new Christmas tree :)

316/365

2009-11-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

There was a chili cook-off at Kenny's work today, so we made a chili. Sadly, though, we didn't win.

315/365

2009-11-12T17:38:00.002-07:00

One of the most delicious chicken Parmesan meals I've ever had! Wrote about it here.

314/365

2009-11-11T17:36:00.001-07:00

I'm singing my absolute favorite Christmas song in this picture. Kenny snapped it while we were stopped at a red light.

313/365

2009-11-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Kenny's birthday is tomorrow, so I made him a lemon meringue pie, and it came out FANTASTIC!

Happy birthday, babe!

312/365

2009-11-09T17:32:00.001-07:00

This may look like a used car lot, but it's actually a really delicious Greek restaurant. mmm..mmm.mmm!

311/365

2009-11-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

Awww, my initials for the next three months...

310/365

2009-11-07T17:02:00.005-07:00

I was raking leaves and sweeping our driveway and look what came out to greet me!

Check out that nut!

He got within five feet of me and must've realized I'm about a hundred times bigger than him, so he scurried away...

Look right in the middle of the tree and you'll see his tail!

309/365

2009-11-06T16:59:00.003-07:00

I REALLY love my car and I'll be sad I won't be able to drive it when I go back home for Christmas, January and February. Sad.

308/365

2009-11-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

My fiance blending into the couch and playing on his computer :)

307/365

2009-11-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

I've been sick, but Kenny's been amazing and has been making dinner/breakfast, bringing me tea, and lighting candles for me. So sweet.

306/365

2009-11-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

The plan was to make 40 Cloves and a Chicken tonight, but then I got sick. We still made it, but my throat hurt too much. It was tasty though, from what I remember!

305/365

2009-11-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

Happy November!

304/365

2009-11-01T17:48:00.003-07:00

The master bathroom lacks in storage space, and while it was fine for when just a boy used it, I seem to have a lot more "stuff" that now needs a home. This is my new cabinet! Kenny was fantastic and put it up this afternoon, so I'll start filling it up this week.

303/365

2009-10-31T16:30:00.003-06:00

I know we shouldn't have procrastinated, but Kenny and I waited until Halloween to look for a pumpkin to carve. We must have been stuck in the "Land of Manana" (aka New Mexico), because we were thinking that tons of stores would have pumpkins to buy. In New Mexico there's an over abundance of pumpkins that last well after Halloween.

Well, after going to about five stores and spending an hour driving around town without seeing a single pumpkin, we decided to give up on The Great Pumpkin Search.

This was the only jackolantern we saw:

Sad about our lack-o-pumpkin, we were just going to wallow in our pumkin-seedless lives, but then Kelly came over with her two little munchkins! We helped the kiddos get in their costumes and then I went trick or treating with them. Twas fun :)

Tyler the Monkey:

Kailey the Kitty:

They're two of the cutest kids I've ever seen and I just love seeing how well Kenny gets along with both of them :)

302/365

2009-10-30T16:26:00.001-06:00

A new grocery store opened up by our house and I really like it, but I had to take a picture of this so I could rant about it later. I can't stand quesadilla makers. I think it's the biggest load of crap and such a waste of money. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON ONE! Seriously. If you want to make a perfect quesadilla, here's exactly what you do:

Heat a pan large enough to hold your tortilla
When the pan/griddle is hot place your tortilla on it
Flip it a few times and get it nice and warm.
Put some cheese and whatever other ingredients you want in it
Let it heat up a bit and then fold one side on top of the other
Flip it so the other side gets hot.
Take it off the heat, onto your plate and either cut it or eat as is.

That whole thing will take maybe 5 minutes.

*end rant*

301/365

2009-10-29T16:25:00.002-06:00

Not as gorgeous as a New Mexican sunset, but God sure does make some pretty amazing sunsets out here in the south :)

300/365

2009-10-28T16:17:00.004-06:00

I woke up super early and went to the Good Morning America studio and this is who I saw there: (To read more of the story, click here)

Oh yes. I was thisclose to McDreamy, and he was BEYOND "dreamy" in person. Yowza!

Reese was the tiniest person ever, but looked as sweet as tea.

Diane Sawyer, me, and Chris Coumo!

299/365

2009-10-27T16:09:00.003-06:00

The hotel I stayed at was called The Pod Hotel and I loved it. This isn't some luxury place to sleep at night; it was essentially an upscale hostel in the middle of Manhattan. Personally, I loved it and would definitely stay there again. My particular room had the restroom and shower down the hall, but you can pay a little more to have it in the room.

In the picture below, imagine the turquoise cushions against the wall right against the bed below and that's how it looked when I first walked in (kinda like a couch).

Flat screen TV in every room and two reading lights.

View from the corner by the TV

The desk. Perfect size for me!

Sink with everything I needed: towels, hair dryer, soap, etc.

And a closet to hang my stuff!

298/365

2009-10-26T16:07:00.002-06:00

I was in a workshop ALL DAY and snapped this shot back in my room. It took all my self control to stop myself from devouring this slice. I'm not kidding when I say it was the best slice of pizza i've ever had. Mmmmmm.

297/365

2009-10-25T15:58:00.003-06:00

I went to New York City for a workshop and had a really fantastic time. The last time I was in NYC was right after 9/11, so it was interesting to come back many years later.

Ground Zero

I thought it was interesting how the Times Square Ball was illuminated in the following photo:

When Kenny was first deployed back in 2008 I had nobody who knew what it was like and what I, as a girlfriend at the time, was going through. Luckily, I found a website for military girlfriends and wives and through that site I've "met" some amazing women who are in the same boat as I am. Well, while I was in NYC I was able to meet up with one of them! Leah and her husband drove down from Rhode Island and we spend an afternoon around NYC. It was really fantastic being able to meet her after more than a year.

And of course, we found a cupcake shop; and not only was it pretty, but it was one of the best cupcakes I've ever had!

296/365

2009-10-24T15:44:00.004-06:00

I needed to take a picture for today, so this was it. Here's my lovely fiance playing on his awesome coffee/arcade table. We were watching a really funny Youtube thing of Beaker.

295/365

2009-10-23T15:31:00.002-06:00

This particular ice cream is SO delicious.

294/365

2009-10-22T15:30:00.001-06:00

I LOVE coffee and this was one of my new coffee mugs.

293/365

2009-10-21T15:29:00.002-06:00

In honor of Halloween coming up, this was what we dressed up as last year. Kenny wore his grandpa's army uniform and I was a "house" wife. Twas fun.

292/365

2009-10-20T15:24:00.002-06:00

My hamster, Schmumfy, died. :(

291/365

2009-10-19T18:17:00.004-06:00

Kenny picked this from me yesterday :)

Our dinner was fantabulous again! Whole wheat pasta, frozen veggies, shrimp with Thai Sweet Chile Sauce:

And Kenny made an awesome whole wheat baguette.

290/365

2009-10-18T17:41:00.007-06:00

I went to the Georgia State Fair with my friend Kelly and her two kids (one of which happens to be our flower girl!)

Seriously, how cute is she?!

And this is Tyler being a messy little boy

Petting Zoo!

When I got home Kenny and I decided to make dinner. I LOVE making dinner with this boy.
First we started with some fried okra:

And I made some sweet potato fries:
And he made salmon with veggies:

And this is what it looked like:

It was soooooooo freaking delicious!

289/365

2009-10-17T17:40:00.001-06:00

It must be nice to be a tall, skinny boy with a high metabolism. Kenny had these five Reece's for dessert...I had half a glass of juice.

288/365

2009-10-16T17:36:00.002-06:00

I rejoined Weight Watchers and this was a recipe in the book. It's called Chicken with Broccoli and Garlic Sauce. Personally, we thought it was incredibly boring; it tasted like boring chicken and rice, so we spiced it up a little with some Thai Sweet Chile Sauce.

287/365

2009-10-15T17:35:00.001-06:00

We picked up these bottles at Target. Not only do I judge books by their covers, but I also buy wine based on how cool their names/labels are.

286/365

2009-10-14T17:33:00.000-06:00

My Schmumfy died :(

285/365

2009-10-13T17:32:00.001-06:00

On our first night together in our home, I made us spaghetti for dinner! Kenny got the bigger portion (I hope I'm making enough food for him) and I got the one in the bowl. Twas tasty.

284/365

2009-10-12T17:30:00.001-06:00

It wouldn't be a trip to the south without a meal at the Waffle House! My parents and I went there before I took them to the Atlanta airport. Good, greasy grub!

283/365

2009-10-11T17:28:00.001-06:00

PEACHES!!! Jess and the Giant Peach :)

282/365

2009-10-10T17:27:00.001-06:00

We made it to Georgia! This is a pretty awesome air museum just off base, and perhaps one day I'll go and take some photos of all the planes. Well, not all of them, but a few.

281/365

2009-10-09T17:25:00.001-06:00

My dinner in Memphis at Neely's BBQ. It's barbecue spaghetti adn was super yummy!

280/365

2009-10-08T17:23:00.001-06:00

Left for Georgia today and we had to stop for the bathroom at a truck stop. I LOVE truck stops!

279/365

2009-10-07T20:16:00.004-06:00

We finally booked our (cup)cake vendor with Cupcakeology. I'm so excited to have them at our wedding. We got some cupcakes while we were there - how could we resist?! I'm personally not a huge fan of chocolate, but these were all delicious. From clockwise: Red Chile Chocolate, Birthday Cake, Oreo, and Coconut. The shop is adorable and I promise the next time I go there I'll take pictures from inside, because it's the perfect little cupcake shop.

278/365

2009-10-06T20:14:00.002-06:00

The Balloon Fiesta is so cool because you never know where you'll see a balloon floating. This one was about a 1/2 mile from my house and I saw it on my way home from the gym.

277/365

2009-10-05T20:11:00.002-06:00

I had a little run in at Walmart's photo department. Security may or may not have been called.
They wouldn't let us print our engagement photos even though I have the copyright & ownership of the pics. They wanted me AND MY PHOTOGRAPHER to sign THEIR contract. Needless to say, I was livid. The reason security was called was because they were telling me that I should've read their policy online (which I did when I got home) about professional-looking photos, but in my furious state I told them that I would make sure everyone knew about their policy since I would blog about it later. I promptly took my camera out and snapped a photo of their Photo Department. She didn't like that very much because she called security. I told her I'd delete it once I saw—in writing, of course!—where it says I can't take a photo in Walmart. She never produced anything in writing, so I still have my picture.

276/365

2009-10-04T20:09:00.002-06:00

Just out of curiosity, when you put your utensils in the dishwasher do you do handles up or handles down?

275/365

2009-10-03T19:26:00.003-06:00

YEA Balloon Fiesta! Basically this is my favorite time of the year. Ah...makes me so happy! Here are a few pictures from the opening day:

See more here: Balloon Fiesta 2009

274/365

2009-10-02T08:03:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow may be the official start for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, but balloon enthusiasts just can't wait, because several lifted off today!

I should mention that the only reason I was able to take these pictures was because my dog was barking like a crazy dog; I literally thought someone was in our backyard or something because of the way he was barking. Then it hit me: he must be barking at balloons!!!

On the Friday before the Fiesta, balloonists lift off from nearby elementary schools, which is always a fun treat for little kids. Here are the ones I was able to see from my backyard and front yard:

Peeking through the trees:
Another one in the distance:

This one had Oreo going extra crazy. It seemed to hover just above my head for awhile in the backyard:
And then it moved on and showed it's pretty design:
I thought the show was over till I heard Oreo barking again. I went out back and saw this lovely balloon:

Happy Balloon Fiesta Friday!

(more balloon pics to come from this weekend!)

273/365

2009-10-01T08:00:00.002-06:00

Don't mind the messy table, I just wanted to post a pic of the purse I carry around. It's made out of seat belts! It's made by Harvey's, but here's a hint: you can get them cheaper — much cheaper —on Ebay! I love it and you can fit so. much. inside.

272/365

2009-09-30T15:04:00.002-06:00

We made pizza for lunch today and it was delicious as always :)
I was going to take a picture of it when it came out of the oven, but we kinda ate it a little too fast!

271/365

2009-09-29T15:02:00.002-06:00

I was going through boxes from my office on my living room floor. I don't know if you can see it all, but there is so many random items there! It's crazy!

270/365

2009-09-28T15:00:00.002-06:00

This is my great grandma's jewelry box that's going with me to Georgia :)

269/365

2009-09-27T14:58:00.003-06:00

I started packing/cleaning my room today. This is definitely the "before" and hopefully the "after" will be up soon!

268/365

2009-09-26T14:53:00.000-06:00

My cousin makes these awesome lamp fixtures and wall decor out of recycled materials he finds from around town. I love his work! Check it out here if you're interested: Angelo Torres Artistry

267/365

2009-09-25T14:56:00.002-06:00

Um....yeah. This is from the dollar store. I have serious issues with whether or not a pregnancy test from a dollar store would actually give accurate results. Just sayin..