All Caught Up

Yesterday I wanted to dig up an old lens that I hadn't had much luck with in the past and give it another shot. My not-so-trusty 85mm 1.8 had been tucked away unused since I started this hobby two years ago. To further the matter, I had been getting stuck in a rut with my photography. I was learning some things in Photoshop, but my pictures weren't improving the way I wanted them to. I was content and complacent with my 25-105mm lens. I became lazy with the eaze of a zoom lens and this baby takes the sharpest clearest pictures, so I was satisfied. The only downside was that the widest aperture is 4.0, which doesn't allow for those amazingly creamy soft backgrounds. Although, I had discovered that when I used the 105 end of the lens and kept my subjects away from the background, I could get some lovely blur. Macros are stunning too.

The 85mm was my first prime (non-kit)lens and the vast majority of my pictures were blurry. I even ran some comparison tests and the test shots came out blurry too. But now, I was longing for that bokeh (amazing blurry effect) and I thought I'd give my prime lens another go around.

It was rough at first. I had a fabulous picture that I just won't post because I don't like the crop. I just couldn't get far enough away from my subjects to fit it all in.

This was also an opportunity to scout out my local town for good photographic venues. There are more great places around here than I even considered. Who knew the local museum had such great spots. Too bad it's only open 3 hours/week. I might even go searching some more today.........maybe even during the Superbowl, when I will have the whole road to myself.

Well, that's too much rambling. Here's what I shot with my newly appreciated 85mm lens.

Blue Lily Go Pro Workshop

Well, as usual I am still a bit behind in the blogging world. But now that I have a moment, I am going to tell you what I did last weekend. It was AWESOME.

In case you don't know who Blue Lily is, I will just have to say that they are the most amazing husband and wife photography team, artists, geniuses, gods. OK, so maybe I am getting carried away, but you get my drift.

They hosted a workshop in a BEACHFRONT house in sunny SAN DIEGO, just to teach me and 11 other attendees how to launch a professional photography business, or at least, share ALL their most important secrets with us. Now, I don't plan on going pro anytime soon, but I do want to step up my game for a possible post-retirement second career.

After giving us the scoop, they set up several photo shoots for us to learn and build a portfolio from. After all, who's gonna hire you to take wedding pictures if you don't have any wedding pictures to show? I think there's a chicken and egg analogy in there somewhere. Fortunately, we have this mystery solved, as a wonderful married couple of 5 years, graciously agreed to done their wedding attire and let us shoot away.

Thank you Wendy and Tyler for the most incredible weekend packed full of information and delivered with a humorous style that kept me laughing and awake. Here are some images from this adventure.

Trying to Keep Up

Now that the kids are no longer in the diapers or toddler stage, I somehow thought I would have more time to do other things, like blogging. I don't know where the time is going these days. It feels like I am losing my grip. At the same time, I am more productive at work than I have been in years. I have almost sworn off TV (except for that inane soap opera I have been watching almost since birth). Even so, I can hardly find time for my hobbies of photography, spinning, and knitting.

January has been a wonderful month. Pete turned 50 on the 2nd and we had an amazing party at a restored hotel in downtown Bakersfield. The place was beautiful and the turnout was nice even though snowy weather kept the passes closed and kept our friends from Southern California away. Chloe turned 7 on the 19th. She seems so grown up (sometimes). For nearly a year she has been asking for us to take her to the snow for her birthday. So on the weekend before the 19th, that's just what we did. We escaped the dreary winter fog of the Central Valley to play in the sun-filled snow at a nearby ski resort. We didn't try skiing or snowboarding, but we did ride the inner tubes and threw snowballs and built a phenomenal snow man (thanks mostly to Effy, our exchange student). It was a picture-perfect day and the weather was far nicer than at home.









We gave Chloe these flowers for her 7th birthday

This past weekend, we managed to escape the fog and gloom again as we spent a warm and luxuriously sunny time in Los Angeles. Saturday was spent at Farmer's Market and the Grove, where Effy had a mandatory exchange student orientation meeting. She was in her meeting all day while we ventured into the shops and watched time slip away. Clearly the highlight for Chloe and Pearl was a trip to the American Girl Doll store. Chloe and Pearl are just now old enough for these dolls and they each received one for Christmas. The dolls were ordered to match the features of our girls, so Chloe's doll has dark brown hair, while Pearl's doll has black hair with bangs. Chloe's doll even has purple glasses to match her own. If only we had known about the store, the girls could have brought their dolls with them.

Once inside the American Girl Doll Store, you see little girls of all colors and sizes carrying their dolls around. Many of them are wearing matching outfits. On the ground level, there is a salon for dolls. You bring in your doll with the frayed and rumpled hair and it is returned to you with a beautiful coif or braid. After your doll is all "dolled up", you may sit for tea or lunch in the cafe, where they have special seating for your doll. It is quite the affair.

Upstairs are more dolls, clothing, books, movies and accessories. They NEVER have sales. I think this store is pretty much like Costco. Don't expect to get out the door for under $200. We purchased a matching outfit for Pearl and her doll and then we bought Chloe some pajamas that match her doll's pajamas. She also got a fancy dress for her doll. They even have a portrait studio where you can have your picture taken with your doll. I think I can handle that part on my own.








If that wasn't excitement enough, we met up with some friends the next day at Knott's Berry Farm. My friend's son Damian was celebrating his 8th birthday, so we were having a double birthday celebration for him and for Chloe. Our luck with crowds at amusement parks has been dismal this past year, so I was fantastically surprised to find that we had most of the park to ourselves. There were no lines for rides until later in the afternoon so we dashed from ride to ride all morning long. Chloe loved the roller coasters, but it was hard to find ones where she was tall enough to ride. However, there were a few and they were doozies. Pearl doesn't like the feeling of falling or moving fast, so her taste in rides was a bit different. Fortunately, this place has lots of activities and entertainment for kids of all sizes. By the time we left, there was still so much left unexplored. I have a feeling we might be coming back next January and if we are lucky, Chloe will be 2" taller. We created memories that will be fondly revisited for years to come.

The following weekend, I went to San Diego to attend a Blue Lily workshop. I learned more about photography and how to expand it beyond the hobby stage. I have a goal to learn as much as I can in the next few years and then sometime after that, go professional. I think this is something that I may even want to do as a second career after retirement.

Merry Christmas With Love

Somehow I managed to get all the presents wrapped and everything ready for Christmas with a whole day to spare. I had time to knit a scarf last night and today I even got to play with my camera. I saw a tutorial on how to make shaped bokeh (blurry or geometric shapes in the background) and decided to do hearts. I cannot believe it actually worked! This is one of the packages I wrapped (I made the bow too) in front of the Christmas tree. The colored hearts are the lights on the tree.

The Christmas Letter

This year I was determined to send out Christmas cards, even though I had misplaced ALL of my friends' and family's addresses, even though I didn't have the inspiration or time to create a fun and festive picture for the card, and even though the clock was running out of time. I decided to plod along anyway.

All of last week was pretty much about decorating the house and baking goodies for a Christmas party that we hosted Thursday evening. Since I work full-time, there are just a few short hours available in the evenings to do all my preparation and with two little girls vying for attention, it is hard to break away. I tried to engage them as much as possible and Chloe turned out to be a big help in the kitchen, even if it was mostly just keeping me company.

So now it's the week before Christmas and I have made a commitment to, at a minimum, send cards out to fellow families who have adopted children from Chengdu China (which is where our Pearl is from). I scramble to find a picture for the card and settle on one from last Christmas, my first and only 9 exposure HDR (if you know what that is), and upload it to Costco, where I can pick up the cards (on the cheap) in only hours.

I send out pleas for addresses and most people comply, but now, I have realized this card really doesn't tell the story and I don't have the energy to write on every single card or even prepare a family letter summarizing the year. After all, the letter has to be printed on fancy Christmas paper (which I don't have) and slipped inside each envelope and now the postage will be double! I am too impatient and I want to ge these cards out NOW.

So for those of you lucky few who managed to get a card, but no letter, here is your Christmas letter:

Chloe
Pearl


2010 IN THE CHAVEZ FAMILY

Dear Friends, Family, Blogging Buddies and Chengdu Families:


This year brought us a nice combination of challenges and changes, mostly welcome.

We finally sold our home after four years of trying and we did it without going upside-down. We found a new large, yet cozy home just steps from the elementary and high school. We are renting it and are experiencing the bliss of non-home ownership. Even though this place is 4 years new, it has some electrical problems and the roof is leaking. We keep the landlords apprised and go about our daily business and they coordinate the contractors to fix things.

Before we moved, we had a large and very successful yard sale. We got rid of half of everything we owned, if not more. It felt like a cleansing to be unburdened from so much "stuff". Now when I look in my closet, I see only clothes that fit, crafts and projects that I use, and empty suitcases waiting for a quick getaway. I love the absence of clutter, but now I am digressing.

Once we became settled in comfortably, we realized that we missed having an exchange student around, so we signed up for our third hosting experience. The month of August brought us Liu Shuer, commonly referred to as "Effy", all the way from DongGuan China. She will be spending the entire school year with us. She is only 16 and a bit younger than our previous girls, but she is definitely "sugar and spice and everything nice". Effy has a lively and vivacious personality, yet she fits in so well with our low-key existence. She is an amazing big sister to Chloe and Pearl and she is willing to answer the same questions over and over, since that is what 6 and 7 year olds do. At least the girls can now count to 10 in Chinese.

Chloe and Pearl are having a great year too. Pearl has lost several teeth and now has one adult front tooth and one baby front tooth. It has been that way for months. We had to have Chloe's front teeth removed as they began to abscess. That was likely due to a head injury she suffered a year or two earlier. She is still waiting to lose her first tooth from natural causes.

We adopted Pearl 4 years ago from Chengdu China when she was only 3 years old. She was on a waiting child/special needs list, but turned out not to have any health issues that we are aware of. Pearl is in 2nd grade and reading like a 5th or 6th grader. She is smart and quick and makes friends easily. She is hyper and fidgety, yet she still manages to pay attention to her teacher in school, so we try not to worry about her constant motion. I think that is why she is so thin. She eats very well and loves lots of healthy foods. Chloe, on the other hand, is an extremely picky eater. Until this year, if anything had a fruit or vegetable in it, she wouldn't go near it. Now she has embraced a few fruits and veggies. The list includes lemons, olives, dill pickles, corn-on-the-cob and artichokes. She really loves artichokes and will eat an entire one with her dinner (except for the heart, which she thinks is 'gross').

We adopted Chloe from Qinzhou, China in the Guangxi province in April of 2005 when she was just 14 months old. I remeber I had wanted to adopt an older child and now I find that I would do anything to have that first 14 months with her. Chloe is in 1st grade and is a hard-working slightly above-average student. She is a deep-thinker and very intuitive. She doesn't have a lot of friends and only recently developed a "best friend". Wouldn't you know it? Her best friend is moving to Argentina in January.

Chloe took this picture of her best friend Madison, who is moving to Argentina.


I really love how my two girls can be so different and yet get along so well. They are the best of sisters.

My work hasn't changed much. I am still working for the City of Shafter and it has now been about 16 years. I get to do a lot of fun engineering and designing and it is mostly my responsibility to get our town looking good. I design parks and buildings and landscaping strips. My current projects include improvements to our public pool and the completion on design and construction of a new 10 acre park.

Pete's structural engineering work has managed to continue even though the economy has really turned things around in the construction and design business. Jobs that he used to turn away are now welcomed with open arms. Negotiating prices is much more of a business practice rather than "take it or leave it". The one thing that has kept Pete's clients coming back has been his accessibility. He's not always the smoothest with customer relations, but he certainly is responsive, reliable and quick on the spot. The work gets done on time or even earlier. And sometimes, if it turns out to be easier than he anticipated, he will refund the customer for the difference (even though he gave a written estimate). He seems to have some very loyal customers and for that, we are grateful.

My hobby in photography has started into it's second year and I am still eager to learn everything I can about it, especially the post-processing end of things. I attended a week-long workshop in October and I am scheduled for a shorter one next month. My Christmas present to myself was a new computer, a high-end monitor with color calibration software, and a large Wacom tablet and pen (which I haven't used yet). I am hoping that I will have some time to become familiar with all this stuff during the Christmas holidays. Then maybe, I'll be able to post more often on the blog in the coming year.

After trips to Europe and Hawaii, we decided to take this year off from a long family vacation. We have made lots of short trips and even fit in a trip to see our fellow Sweet Peas (families who were waiting to adopt at the same time) at a reunion in Seattle Washington in October. We even snuck in a visit to see Chris, our previous exchange student, who is now a Junior in college.

Since springtime, the girls have been practicing a dance in their Chinese dance class that they take weekly. In early December, the girls performed their dance in a competition in Los Angeles, CA and received gold trophies for their efforts (which is really 2nd place). I think they were the youngest dancers in the competition.

girls with their dance teacher
Other Chinese dancers


In August, I signed Chloe up for gymnastics lessons and Pearl for piano lessons. Two days before Chloe was to begin, she broke her arm as she fell off the monkey bars at school. It was a horrific ordeal, but it is so nice to have it beyond us and to have her arm fully healed and good as new. We are planning to start the gymnastics class again in January.

We will start the New Year with a big birthday party as Pete turns 50 on the 2nd of January. After that, we will just take it one day at a time. Thanks for following along and I wish you all peace, love and happiness in the coming year.

With Love,

Pete, Lori, Effy, Pearl, and Chloe


Picture of a tulip from my Christmas flower arrangement

Visiting the Grandparents

I am way behind on blogging..so what else is new? We have had so much going on that it has been difficult to keep up with it all. After working solely on a laptop for the past few years, it is now nice to have a real computer with a real monitor. I even got one that comes with color calibration software and super high resolution. I am loving it so far.

Anyway, last month we traveled to Pahrump Nevada to visit my parents. It is one of my greatest joys to see that my parents have lived long enough for my girls to know them. They also know their daddy's parents, who also quite elderly. Last month, my dad turned 91, so we made a trip to visit and wish him a very happy birthday.

Rediscovering Old Talents

This past week I have finally gotten the urge to break out my old spinning wheels and knitting gear. I discovered that I had three large storage boxes in my garage loaded with wool and fiber and lots of goodies. Sadly, I think it's been about eight or ten years since I played with any of this stuff. It seems more just like a couple of years.

Mostly, I think the hesitation to get out my spinning wheel and wool was predicated on the fact that we now have little ones running around the house. I could not picture trying to keep my girls out of the angora wool or away from the spinning wheel (I am imagining lots of wool wrapped tightly around an axel). Especially, I worry about my poor Chloe, who I think must have some sort of a condition where it is essentially impossible to keep her hands off stuff, even when instructed to. I remember thinking when she was a baby that if I just taught her "No", I would be able to keep her from grabbing everything. Now at nearly 7 years old, I realize it is a lost cause and this is just who she is. Not surprisingly, she constantly caressed my wheels as I got them back into working order. This time, I allowed her to help me with the cleaning as I tightened the connections. She couldn't wait to get her hands and feet on the pedals so I taught her how to keep the wheel spinning always clockwise. Her curiosity and excitement are infectious.











This is my original wheel. I haven't tried it out yet, but I did get it ready to go.

Well, that was last Sunday and now a week later, I have done a little spinning. But, I did accomplish one other task. I knitted myself a nice oversized scarf from some wool/silk/angora yarn that I had sitting in my bags all these years. I still have enough to make a sweater, but my skills are so weak, that I need to start slowly and relearn all those old lessons. Chloe is modeling the scarf in the pictures above.

The next two weekends promise to be full of travel and adventure. First we are headed to Pahrump Nevada to visit my parents and celebrate an early Thanksgiving and birthday celebration for my dad who will be turning 91. I will return home for one day of work on Monday and then we are headed to the Happiest Place on Earth by Tuesday. Effy, our exchange student has never been to Disneyland, so I hope she will have a great time. Don't tell anyone we are playing hookey on a school day. On Thursday, I think we will have a low-key Thanksgiving dinner here at home. We may invite some friends over to join us, but not the extended family (of course they are welcome if they show up). Friday, we are off to the beach for a couple days of fun and exploration. I agreed to take some family portraits for one of my coworkers on the beach and she agreed to pay for a hotel room. I don't directly charge for my photography since I am still in a "portfolio-building stage" and I don't consider myself at a professional level yet, but I do hope to get there one day.