San Diego Maternity, Newborn and Baby Photographer, Sheryl Paulino, Pasheoni Photography

On Friday, May 11th, I had the opportunity to assist Sycuan Cafe Grill (a restaurant located at my 9-to-5er, Sycuan Golf & Tennis Resort) as they participated in Mama’s Day, one of San Diego’s popular culinary and social events. Mama’s Kitchen is the only organization that prepares and delivers three meals a day, seven days a week, at no cost to San Diegans affected by critical illnesses such as AIDS or cancer. The event was hosted by Sycuan Casino with Culinary Host, San Diego’s Sam ‘The Cooking Guy’ Zien at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. With over 60 participating restaurants, we were proud to be a fellow supporter. I can say, by far, this was one of the most enjoyable culinary venues I have been involved in, granted I’ve only been to a handful. The atmosphere was lively, the food was amazing and the people I was with were entertaining as heck. These events remind me of how much I enjoy the long late days and nights I work. Without it, I would miss out on these great opportunities that include community involvement. When something is for a great cause, I have no hesitation in helping out as much as I can.

We featured Chef Augie’s Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Maryland Blue Crab and Temecula Olive Oil

Us with Sam, The Cooking Guy.

I cannot help but confess to you all another ah-mazing, yet time-sucking website that I had stumbled upon a couple weeks maybe months back.

www.pinterest.com

What is it?

Pinterest is a place to catalog the things you love.

So yes, at first, I too was skeptical. Like really, who cares what others think YOU would love. Then, the ah-mazing-ness occurred. There were images there of all things beautiful, inspiring and magnificent. I mean, of all places, who would of thought I would find recipes of yummy food or sayings that speak to the heart. Now, I’m all over it. I can’t stop looking at what’s on there, I can NOT look at it on my iPhone (yes, there’s an app for that) before I go to bed at night.

Not another social site.
I mean, the best thing about this, versus Facebook (my other time-sucker), is that there is no drama here. There is no showing off, there is no…judgement. I can go on and see new things and I don’t have to worry about if someone thinks what I pinned was silly.

So if you want to find me and I’m not on Facebook, maybe I’m pinning away. You’ll see me post a couple pins TO facebook; just sharing something random yet meaningful and worth sharing to the ‘world’ (or secretly letting you know that, yes, I’m still alive..ha).

Pinterest is still in beta, and you need an invite to get into the ah-mazing-ness. If you’d like in…send me your email addy! :)

It’s really amazing watching kids aspire to be like their parents. Every time I look at my little ones grow, it fascinates me how they mimic every word, every gesture down to every activity. This morning was a prime example of Kayla doing just that. I couldn’t help capture this moment, as I’m one very proud idol. :P

Look how great of an angel she’s getting of her big brother. Her higher than him to reduce the infamous double chin effect.

Now she’s ensuring proper exposure, making sure focal points are where they need to be. The smile on her face shows satisfaction and she’s ready to do more shots!

Whoa, wait. Is she doing a self portrait? Kayla, that’s too close to your eye.

Oh no baby! You don’t put the lens to your eye!!! That’s not a viewfinder!

Awe… you ok?! Was that flash bright?

Oiy my dear…what am I going to do with you?

I tried many times to show her the LCD, but either way, she preferred to be ‘like mama’!

…I’m still proud!

Rain in San Diego and driving don’t mix. It’s true. We freak out once you see a drizzle and tend to drive crazy. With Kayla also running a fever this morning, we decided to make it a home day. My poor little girl didn’t want to do anything but lay down and watch Kai Lan. My heart aches any time my little one’s aren’t feeling good. With a little dose of motrin and a nice shower, my little girl was starting to feel better, whew. I guess with the heat she was exuding and the dampness in her hair, it made perfect little curls. I couldn’t help but snap a couple of her poof. She’s still not feeling too well, but I think she had a little fun playing with me back. :)

Nice afternoon nap. I wondered where he went! LOL

…how I’ve missed thee.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to actually sit down and ‘play’. These pics were taken ONE MONTH AGO and it barely made it to my digital darkroom. Shame on me…

Coming soon, I promise! Now that I’m ready to post the photo, my phone dies. AND NO, I’m not procrastinating my post…well maybe…

I BLAME THE SAN DIEGO FAIR FOOD FROM SUNDAY!!!!  :P

Ok, Weigh In WEDNESDAY!! LOL. This past week has been  INSANE. I can’t believe it has come and gone this quick. With this weigh in, I already had low expectations. I knew from when we planned our Father’s Day event, I was doomed! From San Diego Fair, to Thai food, to Steaks…there was NO WAY I was going to maintain my points. I think walking down the main strip of the SD Fair had already counted as 20 points! LOL

Nonetheless, I owe it to all of you, my faithful blog readers (YES Kellie, that includes you too hehe), that I post my current stats and what I’ve done to achieve (or not achieve).

drum roll please…..

WOW! I lost weight! Maybe I should go to the fair more often and eat more of their good! LOL. Even though I lost something, I know I could have done better. I didn’t incorporate any exercise like I said I would; the Wii Fit is still collecting dust! I haven’t brought any walking shoes to work (as planned), nor have I even done a single ab workout. How I expect to burn off my bellay fat, beats me! I’m getting lazy, I’ll have to admit. I stopped eating my morning oatmeal; it’s starting to taste that familiar ‘yuck’ when made with WATER! I am eating my bagel thins with WW cream cheese which adds up to only 2 points. It just doesn’t keep me as full as oatmeal does.

I’m tempted to buy this book I found on Amazon. By the time I get home and the kids situated, I literally only have 20mins til we have to start our night time routine of bathing, reading books and bed time. If anyone has this book, let me know how it’s working for you! :)

With it being Weigh In Wednesdays, I have a little Partner In Crime that’s keeping me motivated and on track as she weighs herself in. :) Good night everyone xoxo

I had to think LONG AND HARD for the perfect Father’s Day gift for Paul. I didn’t want to make the holiday an ‘excuse’ for cool and expensive things, so we both agreed THIS YEAR (so yes, including Mother’s Day) we said it’s going to be From the kids. Nonetheless, I still wanted to give him a kick butt gift that will make his heart melt. He did it to me, and I was determined to do it right back at him. Yes, I’m competitive..but heck HE IS MORE COMPETITIVE THAN ME!

So what better way to make him smile, than to do it with photos. It’s a long lasting gift that actually appreciates in value…and of course, I live and breathe photography! ;). I can honestly say that I thought that I was going to be the ‘worst’ Father’s Day gifter ever. I didn’t think I could pull anything off given the free time we have and the busy schedule we had laid out day prior. With the help of my sister, OH THANK YOU SO MUCH BTW, I sent Paul off to get new tires for my car and off we went. I got the kiddos dressed in Padres gear and headed to Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres. :)

Lighting was patchy, it was almost high noon, the kids were energized (and OMG, my fellow photographers know, it’s not easy photographing your own children..). I thought this was just going to be a snapshot session. I did the best I can and well, my mommy goggles are LOVIN’ them! When it came down to editing the photos, I came out with enough for me to get a digital photo frame and put it all on there. I knew if I printed them all, well, it would make it to the top of his desk and lost in never never land! LOL. So, mission accomplished, and by golly, I think I won this years ribbon for ‘best’ gift. ;)

Here is the photo that inspired me to do the session.

Here is the updated photo!

Then, it’s a must to add the Miss.

Then having some fun around the Park.

I’m tempted to have this printed big, just for Paul.

Ok, so I didn’t do as good as I wanted. I would like to ‘blame’ the Chinese food we ate for dinner the night prior to my weigh in….LOL! Overall, I know I didn’t try as hard. I was hoping for a miracle that I’d continue to to drop at the rate I initially started, BUT NOPE!

I still eat my daily oatmeal for breakfast and now I’m expanding my options to 100calorie bagel thins with Weight Watcher 1point calorie cream cheese (yum! I could eat the cream cheese alone!). As for lunch, I still stick to what’s in the EDR, but lately I’ve scooped some high point valued food. What makes it worse is that my coworkers are out to SABOTAGE ME! They love to bring in cookies from a meeting, or pastries from home…oh I can’t say no to cookies! :( For dinner, I have my ups and downs. I try my best and some days I do great BUT when we have family over, it’s over!

My goal this week is to kick it up a notch. I’m going to start a light work out and be more discipline. I know I’m ok at the weight I am now, but I just want to decrease my body fat percentage. I need to gain muscle and have it work for me. So I’m going to undust my Wii Fit and work on my core muscles (again). Let’s hope this change does me good!

What a great start! I can say I’m a tad surprised, but I also know that the first 5lbs bla bla bla… LOL. I can honestly say that the first week was pretty hard. I miss eating freely, I miss my 3pm sweet snack, and most of all, I miss food coma, ha!

Breakfast:
This past week I ate oatmeal (Quaker Instant Maple and Brown Sugar – 3points). You have to be proud of me because I COOKED IT WITH WATER! If you ask my husband, he knows that it’s an ‘on-going’ war of which way to cook oatmeal is better. He likes water, I like milk! I can’t say I like it better, but it is less points, and now my palate has tolerated it to where I don’t gag anymore!

Lunch:
At our Employee Dining Room, I’ve limited myself to eat the chicken or the fish, and a side of salad, if you want to call it a salad (iceberg lettuce, red onions, squeezed with lemon and some pepper).

Snack:
I have a stash of WW 1pt chocolate cakes b/c you know a girl needs her chocolate! I also have 100 calorie pack almonds (2pts), and fiber one bars (2pts). IF I want a ‘good’ dinner, I skip the 1-2point snacks and go to the EDR to grab some cucumbers and squeeze a lemon on it. This way, it gives me the crunch I’m looking for and it’s fresh and light (AND zero points!).

Dinner:
Now that all depends how well I do for lunch and my snack. I typically have rice, a chicken item and some vegetables. If I do bad, I have a stash of Smart Ones (weight watcher frozen dinners).

I have not yet incorporated exercise in my plan. I know I should, it will let me EAT MORE! I think once I get to 120, I can start lifting light weights to gain some muscle. I didn’t want to disappoint myself that my weight wouldn’t change once I start working out, since muscle weighs more than fat. So once I start shedding the weight, I’ll start toning up. :)

I also have to confess that I just ended my monthly cycle, so I am not as bloated as I was in my last weigh it. In the past, I’ve found that this is usually my biggest drop (week after the cycle). I find it motivitating. After 3 weeks of slow shedding, a 2lb-er comes through and remotivates me! Whatever works, right?

Thank you for everyone that had commented on my last post! If you’re looking for motivation, JOIN ME! Update with me and most of all HAVE FUN losing weight with me! I’ll link everyone that posts on their blog so we can have a central location to find all the links (and you can do the same, it’s great for SEO!).

XOXO