Diana Radoi's Blog

new blog, new logo, new name!

2010-08-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come! Almost a year in the making- of deciding on a new logo (which took the longest time) and making a new blog! I am so excited to announce that it is finally done!
I am proud to announce my new name,logo and blog! Diana Marie Photography
Please continue following me on my new blog at www.dianamarieblog.com
Leave me some love on my new blog and tell me what you think! ;)
Thank you so much!
xoxo
d

DIY{2} - flag garlands

2010-06-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

I think flag garlands are so much fun! You can use them for anything! Kid's birthday parties, Christmas or any other holiday, and even your wedding! Here is a photo courtesy of Martha Stewart so you know what I'm talking about! hehe

aren't they so much fun?!

Well I found an amazing easy to follow step-by-step instruction on Justin & Mary Marantz site here. But I'll copy her post below:
Paper flag garlands always make me (Julia) smile. They are so cute and festive and fun. They can be hung almost anywhere: in door frames, behind the couple, on chairs, or tables- and in my opinion make the perfect accent to any decor! Since they are the perfect decoration, we HAD to try to make some of our own!! In order to make ours fit with the Lemonade theme we chose pastel colors and mixed in some fun prints to liven it up! This project is pretty simple but the results definitely aren't! This is a great one to try if you don't have much time but want to add a little extra touch of special to your reception!

In order to start this project, we needed 12x12 craft paper in various colors/patterns, a ruler, a pen, a cutting board, a hole punch, a rotary trimmer, and some pretty ribbon.

First we made the template for the flags. We cut the paper in half by drawing a line at the 6 inch mark. Then we made three dots along the top at 2, 6. and 10 inches. And two dots on the bottom line at 4 and 8 inches. Pretty simple huh?

Then we connected the dots so it looked like this! A little front and back view for you! Each 12X12 makes 10 flags- so you don't need much paper to get a whole lotta garland!!

Next we used the ruler and rotary trimmer to cut out the flags. Look how cute they are!

Off camera we kept cutting more flags until we had a bunch in each color. We got all of these out of 5 pieces of paper (and only used half of each piece!!)

Next we used the hole punch on each corner. Then we strung the ribbon through the holes ... and the final result, looked, like, ....

THIS!!

Seriously though, does it get any cuter ...or easier?

Hope you enjoyed this post everyone! Also, if you are interested in fabric garlands, check them out on here from twigs and thistle!

xoxo,
diana

DIY{1} - Teapot and Teacup Arrangements

2010-05-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

As some of my closer friends and family know...I was a wedding coordinator for almost 2 years and I loved it! I still get asked by many friends and family on what they should do for their wedding, or engagement parties,etc. Over a year ago, I posted on here that I will start putting things up on my blog that inspires me or things that I love in regards to weddings, or DIY projects... I got so busy with so many things that I never got around to it. So I am finally going to start! Recently I've gotten asked quite a few times, "what's a great DIY project that I can do for my even"t...and I love projects like that. So every week I'll be posting up a fun DIY project that I found online and that I love! If you have anything that you've done as well and that you love, you can email it to me at absolutelycaptivating@gmail.com and if I love it as well I'll be more than happy to share it!

I love tea! So when I saw these two arrangements....well I was in love! :)
I can picture myself doing this for a fun girls day, hosting a tea party. You can do this I think for anything really. From a tea party, to having it done at your wedding! I love it and I hope you do to!

You can find out how these two were created here and here!

xoxo
diana

Sammy + Natalia's Wedding | Newport Beach, California

2010-05-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

What in the world can I say about these two! :)
Sammy and I have been like best friends for quite some time, and we'd hang out all the time! He has been such a blessing in my life, and Im SUPER grateful for his friendship throughout these years!

When Sammy started liking Natalia....OMG I was more than happy for him! :)) When they first started dating, I was given the privledge to take some pictures of them, their first photoshoot together as a couple! Only God knew that I'd be given the opportunity to photograph their proposal, engagement photoshoot, engagement party and their wedding(which was amazing)! :) Maybe next is a future baby ;) hehe

I want to give a little shout out...that Sammy and Natalia decided to launch a photography business together! You can check out their site here and their blog here!

A little about their big day...Sammy played a huge part in planning this wedding. Not many guys do! And I loved it! You can see his creativity played out throughout everything. He made the invites, and the program for the day at the wedding and so much more! How cool is that?! They got married at the Turnip Rose and the flowers were all done by Bella Bloom!

May you continually be blessed! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this special day with you two! (by the way, I couldn't choose from your pictures...you had a ton of great portrait shots of you two...so I posted quite a few!)

Also....a big special thanks to my long time friend Jennifer for helping me second shoot!

Thankful for my mom!

2010-05-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

I skipped writing this Friday, so I could specifically write today...

I MISS my mom SO much! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her. I wish she would just move here with me ;) hehe
This post is going to be all about my mom, (well more of a letter to her) and why I am so thankful for her!

Momma,
I know I've probably told this to you, over and over again...but I mean it from the bottom of my heart; words DO NOT even describe how amazing you are and how very blessed I am that you are in my life...that I get the privilege...no....the honor to call you my mother. Not only do I get to call you my mother, but my very best friend, and for that I am even more thankful!
Mom...I am so thankful for your heart. Your ability to show so much love is mind boggling! Your love that you have for God first...well it overflows into your love that you have for us...for me! You always went the extra mile for me, and not because you had to...but you did it willingly. Your faith has always been so strong, and your constant prayers for me and everyone that comes your way...has taught me to be a better person. I thank you for your passion. I sit and wonder sometimes, and I feel that one thing you were passionate about (and still are), was to love everyone around you, even if you only met them once. Your passion in serving, in helping, in being the "mom" to every single one of my friends or to everyone that came to know you. You continually pour your love. You are so caring, loving, thoughtful....and I am just constantly amazed and in awe of what an amazing person you are. People say that when God created the woman...that she was made in His image so we can see a glimpse of His heart. Mom, you are such a beautiful creation, and your reflection of Him is so evident in your life. I see it more and more every single day. No one cannot even compare. You are beautiful in every single way!
Thank you so much mom, for always encouraging me to follow my heart, and to do what I love and desire to do! You have always been there for me! You have pushed me to always be the better person. You believed in me, when I didn't believe in myself. You trusted me and had faith in me, when I didn't. You always and still do, have had high hopes for me, when I sometimes was hopeless. You protected me...always, even when I thought I didn't need it and I thought I could handle things on my own.
Thank you for ALWAYS being so honest with me, even when I might of not wanted to hear certain things. I always feel so blessed, because I know that I can come to you any second of the day and talk about anything! Some people don't have such a close relationship...but we do, and I wouldn't trade it for the world! You have helped me through thick and thin. Laughed with me, cried with me....ohhh, even when I got my first heartbreak...you were there. To help pick me up, and you cried with me, listened to me...you were there! You are always there! Mom....thank you for always being there! Thank you for never giving up on me! I am the person I am today....because of YOU! Because of the faith you had in me, the love you've given me, the guidance you've taught me and much much more! Thank you will never be enough to express what I feel, and how much I love you! I love you so much! I hope you know that I am always here for you! Always praying for you. For all that you've done for me in my life, and Lidia's and Nicky's...and everyone else's...you deserve only the best of the best. I love you, and I hope you know that you truly are a blessing to me and to every single person that knows you! Thank you for being YOU....the most selfless, giving, loving caring person out there that I know....thank you for being the most amazing mom! I LOVE YOU!
Your daughter always,
Diana

I wish I had all my pictures with me from back home, that way I could have scanned a ton to post...but here's just a few that you can see!*and yes i said scanned! haha I only started using digital about 5 years ago! haha*

To all of the mom's out there...you are all so very loved. And I know that everyone in your life has been touched by you in a great way or another. Thank you for all that you do! Happy Mother's day to all!
xoxo,
d

Thankful Friday!

2010-04-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Though its been somewhat of a rough week, I still have a lot to be thankful for.
Here is what I have been thankful for this past week:
- my car! the ability to drive anywhere and everywhere and the protection it gives me. (especially from all the hail that we had this week)
- seat warmers! whoever came up with this idea, is GENIUS! I use mine every single day.
- getting texts from friends saying "thinking of you" - that always puts a smile on my face! ALWAYS ALWAYS!

here's a quote that i love:

"when you are thinking of someone, let them know.

such moments of intuition are the heart's gentle reminder that

you are a part of something much larger than your self." - jesh de rox

- i am so thankful for the new bible study that started at my church last week. its been something i have been missing since moving here to Portland! If you are in the area, and want to join this women's bible study, we are going through the book of ruth! click here for some info, and here for the podcasts!

- i am thankful i was able to buy the new fuji instax mini! i just finished all my 600 polaroid film, and got the mini just in time with film to use! :) love it! if you are interested in buying one, check it out here!

- i am thankful for friends who are and have been so supportive. pushing me to be better, to chase after my dreams, to think big, and who answer all my silly questions when im confused on certain things and what to do, who are there for me (even if they are far), and so much more! SOOO thankful for them!

- thankful for certain people who always put a smile on my face.

thankful i was able to catch the last of the cherry blossom trees! this is SOOC:

ps. What are you thankful for this week?!

xoxo
diana

Thankful Friday!

2010-04-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

This week I am so incredibly thankful for:
- my sister nicky, who cleaned up all of my mess in the garage....just because. And her lovely notes she has left for me at the top of the staircase for me to read.
- i'm thankful for the open road in the countryside really close to my house. Its so beautiful, and if I ever just need to get out and drive, that's the place to go. Plus...I haven't seen a cop yet ;) lol
- i'm thankful for my friend, who introduced me to google voice last night....LOVE it!
- i'm thankful for friends who are asking me to second shoot weddings with them this year! I couldn't be more than excited, not only to spend time with them, but to be helping out! THANK YOU thank you thank YOU!
- i'm thankful for all the inquiries I got this week, for me to shoot weddings next year! Crossing my fingers and praying I get them! They all sound like great weddings!
- i'm thankful for new friendships

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Here is a beautiful dandelion (SOOC)

ps. What are you thankful for this week?!

xoxo
diana

My first time at WPPI

2010-04-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

I know this post is long over-due, but better late than never....right?! ;)
Last month was a crazy month for me! I was all over the place...to start off my time away, I was gone in Las Vegas for a few days and went to WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) Convention. It was my very first time, and I had no clue what to expect!

I'll have another post of what I did, learned....
but for now, I want to share that I participated in a photoshoot that Stephen Knuth put together. Here is his post that he wrote about wppi and also some behind the scene pictures from our shoot! ;)

Here are some of my favorite shots that I took from the day ;) enjoy! Happy Monday!
xoxo,
D

Thankful Friday!

2010-04-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

About two years ago, I was with a group of women and we had a little arts and crafts session. We made a journal. Not any kind of a journal, but a journal to write down everything we are grateful for. I started writing in it, and it has definitely kept me on track of not taking things for granted, and making me realize how much more I appreciate certain things. It has put certain things in perspective for me, made me feel better when I was a little down and so much more! I've slowly stopped writing in it, and as it sits on my night stand I keep thinking I should start again.
About two weeks ago, a local photographer in Portland has been writing every evening what she was thankful for, for the day as her status. And it really made me think I really need to start my grateful journal again! Well, I decided I'm going to do it here! Get my thoughts out! Plus I need something to keep me writing on my blog more often!
So once a week, on Friday's I'll be posting what I was/am thankful for! I want to be able to look back at these posts, and smile. To remind me of the tough times I went through, or the amazing times, to remind me of the small things in life, to remind me to be more appreciative of everything! We shouldn't only be thinking about what we are thankful for only on Thanksgiving. I think it should be a daily thing! It makes me, at least, to be able to look at things on the brighter side, and stay positive!

On Thanksgiving a friend of mine had this quote up on his facebook wall. I loved it so much, I copied it too! I'm going to post it again for you as well!

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"

So here is what I am thankful for this week:

- thankful for skype - the ability to chat and video with family and friends in a different state/country at any moment of the day, well....I basically LOVE it!
- thankful for that the sun came out this week and we have had some the beautiful weather.
- thankful for support and words of encouragement from friends and family.
- thankful for quiet time
- thankful for the ability to purchase a new camera today ;)
- thankful and excited that my re-branding is in full gear and has started today!
- thankful for my Italy workshop friends! love the fact that we our friendships are only continuing to grow and that we are constantly there for each other!

Since every post needs a picture, here are some pictures that I took of some lovely tulips. There is a Tulip Festival here in Oregon. I went on the coldest day possible I think, but got a few great images! Enjoy and hope you have a wonderful weekend!

ps. What are you thankful for this week?!

xoxo
diana

I love Cypress Albums!!

2010-04-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

I couldn't be more excited over this weekend to receive the Color Portfolio from Cypress Albums!
Over a year in a half ago, I decided to search around for albums in order to provide for my clients. I had narrowed it down to my top 3 companies, and sent out emails to my sisters and two friends to get their opinion. Basically....Cypress won! ;) It was my absolute favorite and everyone else's too! I never had the chance to see them in person, until Jose Villa's workshop in Italy. When I saw them in person, I was in love even more! After WPPI, I decided to purchase the color portfolio, in order to show these to my clients! I am so excited to be able to have this to show my clients! Thank you Cypress for your amazing work!
Here are a few pictures of what I received:

My sister's wedding!

2010-04-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Since I kept you in the loop all about my sister Lidia up until her BIG day, its only fair that I tell you all about the day now!
We were so very blessed to have had amazing weather. (Well...SUN!) I guess the week or two before the wedding, it was constantly raining! She got married at the Lake Arrowhead Resort on March 14th,2010! Despite being a bit cold, we had sun, and my sister looked AMAZING....so all in all it was a really great day!
I think that I was more stressed out than my sister! haha She was so calm the entire morning. First off she didn't sleep one minute, but she was as happy as could be!
Lidia's dress was GORGEOUS...and she looked absolutely radiant!
I couldn't stop crying as she was walking down the aisle! But the moment she said "I DO" I was just so happy for her! Words cannot even describe!

Two of my amazing friends were the photographers! Our friend Jennifer, we grew up with her our whole lives...and I've known Jen since she was in 4th grade! :) My friend Lauren was her assistant. She has been an amazing close friend, and distantly related to me know for the past few years ;) We were so very blessed to have them be a part of my sisters day, and I couldn't thank you girls enough! I love you girls SO SO SO much!

I promised myself over and over and over again that I was going to shoot all day long at my sisters wedding! Did that happen?! Absolutely NOT! :( I was so mad at myself! I took one digital shot, and one polaroid and THAT'S IT! Seriously?! Here's the one shot I took of my beautiful sister!

Since I took absolutely no pictures, here are a few from my friend Lauren, she sent over a little sneak peak for us to see!

the sisters!

see that hair piece?!...(well a small part of it) my sisters and I, we decided to all wear it on our wedding day!

Besides having these amazing girls take pictures....we had an amazing group of guys do the video! And when I mean amazing...I mean AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! Drew and to the rest of the crew, I want to thank you SO SO SO much for everything!!!!!!!!!!!! I have constantly watched the video over and over and am in LOVE! It honestly was the greatest pleasure getting to meet you and getting to talk to you! You have to know, and I'm not just saying this, but everyone was calling/texting me that they have never seen a better video before! May God continue to bless you and Ben and the crew...seriously, you guys have major talent!!! I hope we are able to still keep in touch and see each other again in the near future! Again, thank you for everything!
Here is the preview to my sisters wedding...I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Highlight: Andrei and Lidia from Ben Potter & Drew Barefoot on Vimeo.

Lidia and Andrei, I just love you guys to death! I am seriously so happy for you guys, and you two are so perfect for each other! I hope your love for each other will continually grow each day! May you two be blessed in all that you do!
Hurry up and move to Portland ;)
xoxo
di

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went and took some pictures of tulips. Here is one SOOC (straight out of the camera) I'll post a full post of some more beautiful tulips soon! Have a blessed Sunday!

Celebrate Our Savior
On Easter morn, we celebrate our Savior;
Whatever people seek in Him, they find.
In history, there has never been another
So holy, sacrificial, good and kind.
His resurrection makes us all immortal;
In heaven, we’ll be together with our King.
Eternally we’ll share in all His blessings;
Happy Easter! Jesus Christ is everything!By Joanna Fuchs

Winner!

2010-04-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

I just want to take a moment and THANK every single one of you who have entered!
Every single story was so different, yet so lovely. They each put a smile on my face. :)
They made me hopeful as well, for whenever my day will come as well! (Still single at the moment, but it will come) hehe

Thank you for opening your hearts, and sharing all that you did with me.
It definitely was a tough decision.
But what really stood out to me was all the small things that were done along the way of this couples relationship that made me fall in love with their story! Remember a few posts back when I wrote about its the little things that make me smile?! Well it rang true for this certain bride as well!

Well with all that said...... Andria Woods and Scott Bissell you are the lucky winners! WOO HOO! CONGRATS!!!!!! I look forward to shooting your wedding! It's going to be an amazing day, I just know it!

Here is their story written by Andria:
Scott is a bartender and I am an accessories designer who has somehow been sidetracked into making wedding hair pieces for a few friends at the moment. (I guess my wedding can wait!)

We met at work (haven't heard that one, have you?) when I was a server at Bahama Breeze. We became friends after about a year or so. You could say Scott roped me in with his daily goody bags and adorable tiny surprises he'd have waiting for me at work- gumball machine toys and hidden post-it notes! He even had an article put in the paper that my manager happened to notice and show me at work! The kicker: one picket (from a white picket fence) with our initials on it. He told me we'd have the perfect home one day and the picket would be the start of our fence! He just wanted to be with me.

Six years later we're planning our wedding after a touching engagement. It was my birthday which is a day after Valentine's Day. We went to our favorite restaurant, The Kingfish Cafe. Afterwards we went to the historic Edgewater for drinks. In the room he had Godiva chocolates, comfy jammies (I didn't know we had a room at the hotel), vintage Dom Perignon, and a handmade scrapbook. The book had pictures of all the places that were meaningful to us! The last page had a beautiful diamond ring tied with a black ribbon. He was already crying before I even noticed! It was so touching and I was so not expecting it!

Here is a picture of the lovely couple and also their location! LOVE IT!!!!

A handmade scrapbook?! Andria thats so awesome! That is just the sweetest!
And about the post-it notes...I used to do that to my sisters and really close friends, just wishing them a good day, and they would always tell me it put a smile on their face! So I love the fact that he would do that to you too! I hope he continues doing little things like that...continually throughout your marriage! Because it is the little things that counts the most!
Congrats once again! Please email me so we can set up a time to meet and chat! absolutelycaptivating@gmail.com

Diana

Napa Valley Part II

2010-03-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

My first trip to Napa! I didn't get to see too much, but from the few hours spent there, I loved it and I cannot wait to go back, and maybe next time spend a weekend there!

Since my family and I got to Napa kind of late, we didn't get the chance to do much wine tasting. We did a little though at our first stop, which was at Merryvale Winery. When I walked in, the first thing that caught my attention was this one room that was to my right as I entered! If I were to ever have a super tiny, intimate wedding, this is where it would be! It was well...gorgeous! I didn't get the chance to check the outside at all..but this was enough for me!

After snapping these few shots, I went and tried a few different wines. This place definitely saved the best wine for last! If you are ever in Napa and visit Merryvale...you HAVE to try this dessert wine!

Well after our first stop, all the wineries were pretty much closed. But my cousin wanted to take me somewhere still for a little surprise! Little did I know what he had up his sleeve ;) When we got there, I was in heaven! He took me to Castello di Amorosa. If don't know me...well I basically LOVE ITALY, and would move there in a heart beat! I love it so much that I really am considering the move in the next year or two! (I really feel like I left my heart there a few years ago) If you have never been out of the country, and always wanted to see a piece of Italy...you should definitely go and visit Castello di Amorosa! It's seriously a little piece of Tuscany in the heart of Napa! Anyway, it was getting really dark, so I went around and took a few pictures of the place!

This small day trip was such a little tease! But definitely a good one for me! Next time I really want to spend a weekend there and go explore! :)

I want to encourage you to take a day trip somewhere, or a weekend trip! Sometimes we get so caught up in wanting to go and visit other states, and we forget that in our own state there is something we haven't seen or done! I definitely am at fault of doing the same! I think I've seen more of other states and countries than I ever have of California. I'm now visiting places in California that I've never been too, since I moved up to Portland! I know its tough, with the way the economy is going...but don't burn yourself out from all that work...a day trip somewhere near you won't break your check book...so I encourage you to go out and explore! :)

xoxo,
diana

Napa Valley Part I

2010-03-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

A little over a month ago, I wrote to you that I went and visited family in Sacramento! During my stay, my cousins decided to take me to Napa...well, because I've never been there!
I honestly feel like I have been seeing more of California, ever since I moved to Portland a few months ago ;)
Which I totally don't mind...makes for a great excuse to go back and visit!
Well...I'm just going to post some pictures of my family and I at one specific winery! My next post will be some detail shots, etc. We got to Napa kind of late, and were only able to visit one winery..and then everything else closed. But I am super thankful that I had the chance to go, and with my family..who I love soo much! :)

me and my beautiful niece arella! i <3 this girl to pieces!

I absolutely LOVE my family!!! <3 <3 <3 They are all a huge part of who I am! So thankful that they are in my life!
xoxo
diana

Baby Anabelle

2010-03-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

This was my very first time spending some time with one of my closest friends baby! I went over for an hour, and decided to take some pictures while I was at it! I shot my friend Martina's maternity photos, which you can view here in late 2008.
Well here are some pictures of little miss Anabelle while she was playing and having a little snack! :)

My sister's bridal shower!

2010-03-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Just a little over a month ago, my sister Lidia had a bridal shower. When I flew home that weekend...well I didn't have to much sleep! I flew in Friday morning...and I went straight to setting up, buying flowers, etc! It was crazy busy...but in the end it turned out beautiful! I was so happy that when I got home later that afternoon, I got a new backdrop in the mail from Drop it Modern. The timing couldn't have been perfect! We initially were not going to use the backdrop, but we all thought it went well with the shower...so we used it!
It was quite hard having to help plan this shower from another state. My sister Nicky and I were always researching on things at home, and we would skype each other all the time to talk things over, etc! That was our daily routine. But when it came down to having to go to the store and help with things, it was a little difficult. So my sister asked our friends to help her out! Lidia knew everything that she wanted, she just needed help putting it together, and that's where our friends Jennifer and Maria came in from Encore Events. Thank you ladies for helping us out, and helping us set up everything, etc! We couldn't have done it without you! *especially making those flower balls...those took forever! haha!*

Early Saturday morning, my mom, sister and I went to downtown LA at the flower district! OMG do I love that place! My sister had wanted different flowers for her flower arrangements...but I finally convinced her to change her mind, and got white mums! My mom had quite a good amount of mason jars, so that is what we used for our flower arrangements!

Here is how the rest of the room looked like, after we finished decorating, arranging, etc!

As all the ladies came in, I quickly ran around to take a extra couple of shots of things we had just put on the tables! I didn't get the chance to take any pictures of the food, or half of the dessert table..because well those ladies were hungry..and they beat me to it! haha! So I didn't really have much to take! But the food was delicious! :)

there were about 130 ladies at my sisters bridal shower! Sounds crazy, right?! Well...that's how us Romanian/American's do it! haha! I dont know any other way! During our bridal showers...we usually have a few people speak and give advice for the bride to be, sing some songs, eat and open presents! YES...presents! It's tradition for us to give presents at the bridal shower, in order to help the couple off with getting started in their new place together, etc. At a Romanian wedding...well basically there is no present table. We give money at weddings...in order to again, help start the couple on the right foot, etc. That's how we do it...and I absolutely love it! It's how I grew up...but I don't think I would have it any other way! It's such a blessing to know that you have an awesome group of family and friends to help support you like that! It shows they care, and how much they love you! :) Ok...back to the pictures! ha!

I dont know what we were laughing at...but I <3 this picture!

here's lidia, telling everyone how she met andrei!

all her gifts + some more you can't really see ;)

After Lidia opened up all her gifts, we decided to take pictures with the backdrop! I won't post too many pictures, because this post is long enough! ha! But I hope you enjoyed this little story, that is a huge part of my life ;)

backdrop: drop it modern
yellow and white flower balls: martha stewart
lidia's dress: sarah seven

Owen James

2010-03-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun taking pictures of Owen! He is the sweetest little boy that you will ever meet!
For a few days, we had tons of rain...and on this particular day, we had about 25 minutes of a break, so we went to a nearby park and took some pictures! Owen had learned how to walk and run a little...so I was all over the place trying to get some good shots of him! I had a ton of fun though. Like I said in my previous post...I just ADORE kids, and no matter what they always put a smile on my face!
Hope you enjoy these couple pictures of Owen! ;)

Children's Portrait, Hillsboro, Oregon |Conner & Riley

2010-02-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Oh how much I LOVE kids! If you don't know me...well, I absolutely ADORE them!
I love how innocent they are, I love how they just speak the truth, I love how they are just so care free yet so compassionate and kind, I love that they are so motivated to learn and how curious they can be, I love that they have no fear, I love how the sky is the limit for them, I love how selfless they are, I love how they go after their dreams....well I could go on and on! I sometimes sit back and think to myself, why I don't have that same courage anymore, or drive to go after my dream because fear comes in my way..
Anyway....kids just simply put a HUGE smile on my face. I miss working at my old preschool. :( I miss all my kids there! But the bright side is, I get to meet new little faces all the time through photography! And spending a few hours with them, playing with them, etc....well I love every second of it!

I had the honor of taking a few pictures a little while back of the cutest brother and sister, Conner and Riley!

Happy weekend everyone! :)
diana

My first giveaway!!!!

2010-02-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

Since it’s a new year, and a lot of new things will be happening this year in my business (new site, new blog, logo, etc) and since I’m in a new location (Portland, Or), I decided to do something I haven’t done before! I am having my first giveaway!!! It’s not just any kind of giveaway either! I’m giving away a free wedding! YES, you heard me….a FREE wedding!!!

Basically, I love LOVE :) and I LOVE photographing weddings! So, if I can help a well deserving couple out this year, it would be such an honor and a privilege! Here are all the details below on what you need to enter! :)

Entry Requirements:

TO ENTER: send an email to absolutelycaptivating@gmail.com and include:

1. Subject line: Wedding giveaway!

2. Your names and contact information *email and phone number

3. Wedding date and location and time.

4. Your love story – how you met and got engaged and anything else fun that you would love to share!

5. Share a picture of you and your loved one!

6. Make me fall in love with you, to the point where I can’t resist saying NO to wanting to shoot your wedding!

7. I always love to hear what your style as a couple is as well! What you both enjoy doing together…are you a beach person, someone who loves vintage, etc!

Prize Details:

One grand prize will be awarded:(worth 2000) * 8 hours of photography by Absolutely Captivating Photography

* Online viewing gallery

* Final selection of pictures printed (4x6 only and up to 400 images)

Rules:

-You cannot have any affiliation with me. So no friend or family member can enter!

-You must be a resident in Oregon or Washington State to enter. Contest begins on Monday, February 22, 2010 and will end at 11:59 pm on Sunday, March 28th 2010. One winner will be announced on Saturday April 3, 2010.

* if you are from a different state, I’d still LOVE to hear your story! (I love destination weddings!)…and maybe we can work out on a good price to fit your needs! If you book me, I will give you a free engagement session if you enter! ;)*

Feel free to forward this contest info to anyone who you know that may need a wedding photographer within the year. I'm very excited to see your entries!

Elysse | Auburn, California

2010-02-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

I went to Northern California at the beginning of the year, and Elysse got in touch with me and wanted some pictures in her town before she moves to Hollywood. She mentioned to meet in Auburn and we would go from there! I've never been to downtown Auburn before, but it was seriously such a cute little town! When I arrived there, I just got so excited! We walked around for one minute and I fell in love with little corner in the street behind some restaurant! I absolutely loved it...from the brick walls, to the moss wall, and so on! I LOVE MOSS! Yes, you heard me...I love moss...so I couldn't resist taking some pictures with it...Anyway I had such an amazing time shooting Elysse that I had such a hard time choosing what to put up, so theres quite a few pictures!
If you are ever in the Hollywood area starting next month or so...feel free to look up Elysse if you ever need a massage! ;) With all that said...here is beautiful Elysse!

2010 Bride's Choice Awards!

2010-01-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my e-mail last week to find that Absolutely Captivating Photography was selected as the winner of Wedding Wire's 2010 Bride's Choice Awards!

Here is the press release:
Dear Diana,

Congratulations! We are excited to announce that Absolutely Captivating has been chosen to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards^™ 2010. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Absolutely Captivating is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Absolutely Captivating is among the very best photographer within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards.

It's the little things in life...

2010-01-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

I've been behind on my postings, because I have had a lot of catching up to do, since I've been gone for a month. This weekend, I'm heading back home to LA, because my sister is having her bridal shower! Be sure to come back and check out that post hopefully next week so you can see how it all turned out! :)

I've been thinking a lot lately of just things that put a smile on my face. It's that look in someone's eyes, the long warm hugs, a simple text saying 'thinking of you today', and the list goes on!! It really is the little things in life that matters most! With that said, here's something that put a HUGE smile on my face every single morning for my last 12 days of being gone for a month. I was in Sacramento staying at my cousin's house. Hearing my niece Arella say "ana" which is short for diana, well basically it just melted my heart! I love her to pieces!

happy and ready for 2010!

2010-01-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

I feel awful for not blogging in the past few weeks! I have been so incredibly busy, and not even home. I finally got back to Portland late Sunday night after being away for a month.

This past month, I went to Chicago, for a mini reunion with some girls that I met at the Italy workshop! We had such a blast together, and I can't wait to see everyone again soon! After Chicago, I flew straight to LA to go home and spend the holidays with my family, and as you saw from my previous post, we had an engagement party for my sister! The day before new years, I then flew out to Sacramento for the rest of my time to be with my cousins. My cousin's wife was pregnant and I went to go help her out with the delivery and other things around the house, preparing for the baby, etc! (more on this later)

During my stay in LA, I met up with the WONDERFUL Kamee June! I was a winner of a contest she had, and it couldn't have been a better timing for me. I'm currently in the process of changing my site, blog, everything about my branding, and I did want some good pictures that I can have of myself for my new site! Let me tell you, I really really was nervous practically the whole time during my photoshoot! I'm not to fond of being in front of the camera, I like to be behind it! Unless, I'm with a group of people or something in a picture, thats OK, but other than that I just feel super uncomfortable! I couldn't have asked for a better person to have taken my pictures!! Kamee did an amazing job, and is such a wonderful person. Kamee and I chatted throughout my session, and by the end of the night, I just felt as if we have known each other forever! I hope that this new friendship will only continue to grow!

Here is one picture that Kamee took, and if you would like to see more from my session, check it out here!

My sister is getting married!

2009-12-29T18:51:00.000-08:00

I still can't believe it! My little sister Lidia is getting married! The day I flew back from Italy, from the Jose Villa Workshop, my sister and her boyfriend flew out to Portland for the weekend, and she got proposed to the day I got back! Initially the plan was that I would go take their pictures and hide behind some trees or something, and plans changed! My youngest sister Nicky ended up taking a few pictures during the proposal, and they turned out great! :) Here are some pictures from the proposal!

This past weekend, I flew out to LA for the holidays, and on the 19th we had a small family get together and had an engagement party! (Yes! I said small! We're Romanian...and small family get together about 45 of us. haha!) We all went out to eat at Fogo de Chao! If you are a meat lover, that is the place to go! Afterwards, we went to our house, and I took a few pictures of my sister and her fiance! Here are some pictures of the family at the restaurant and pictures of the gorgeous couple!

Growing up, my sisters and I have always talked about who will be getting married first, and I always knew it was going to be Lidia! I couldn't be more excited for her to start her knew life with Andrei! :) I'm already missing her tons, since I moved up to Portland....so I'm hoping she'll move close by soon ;) I mean common...later on wouldn't it be nice if our kids grew up together?! lol I love you tons Lidia, and am excited for you! Your wedding is coming up so soon, and we have tons of work to do, but I know its goin to turn out AMAZING, because you are amazing and everything you set out to, do turns out great! ;) Can't wait for March...you are going to be the most gorgeous bride out there! ;) Love you sister!
xoxo,
di

Engagement Session, Portland Oregon | Haley and Dan

2009-12-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

Haley and Dan definitely have a fun story on how they met!
Dan started to explain the story by telling me him and Haley are both in the medical field doing two complete different things. Dan was all smiles as he was telling me about the first time he saw Haley in the hallway one day at the hospital! He asked around to see who she was, and Haley had no interest in Dan at all! But for Dan it was love at first sight, he says! He would purposely make his way around that part of the hospital more often to see Haley, but she never seemed to give him any sign of interest! Long story short, they eventually kept bumping into each other, as they seemed to have some mutual friends and they slowly started getting to know each other, and the rest is history!! :)

I officially can rent a car!

2009-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl, the thought of one day being 25 one day scared me! Also growing up, I thought by 25 I'd be married and have at least one kid! Well what I thought growing up and what my reality is now is complete opposite, which I am totally ok with! My grandma on the other hand, thinks quite the opposite! She called me this morning to wish me a happy birthday, and right after that, she asks me "did you find/have a guy yet?"..I of course said no, and she's like "this is not good, you are 25 and single! I'm praying that someone comes your way REALLY soon!" Oh, how much I love my grandma! :)

I have been blessed in so many ways through all of my 25 years! I thank God for every single person that he's brought into my life, even if it may have been for a short period or a very long one! Each person has touched my heart/life in so many ways! I have also gone through tons of ups and downs in the past 25 years, and I thank Jesus every single day that He has always been by my side through everything! He has been the only one that I could count on for everything! I'm so grateful to be called His daughter!

My hope and prayer for this year is that I will continue to serve Him and put God first in every aspect of my life! I'm also praying that His plans for my life will continually unfold! I'm so excited to see what this year has in store for me, especially in the plans He has for me in regards to photography! (ps. stay tuned for a new site/blog...early next year! I cannot wait, I'm so excited!!! :) )

Hope you all have a wonderful day!
xoxo
di

PS. Here's some beautiful flowers that I got from my best friend, Kendra! :) <3 you girl!

Psalm 20:4 May He grant your heart’s desire and make all your plans succeed.

A winner, for the first time!

2009-11-29T23:32:00.000-08:00

All my life, I have never really had the chance to win anything. I have entered various contests or even done things at church or work, by putting my name in a hat, etc! I've never had luck! The past few weeks, Kamee June, who is an amazing photographer from the OC was having her first surprise give-away! All we had to do is comment on her blog! I am always checking out her blog and reading it, and commenting as much as I could, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I came home last Saturday evening, and was exhausted from a very long day, and decided to quickly check my email and facebook. Kamee had just posted a link on facebook saying she announced the first winner on her blog. So, I decided to check it out, to see what the winner was going to get. Towards the end, she finally announces the winner....and I read my name 'diana radoi' on her blog! I litteraly screamed in excitement! Check out this link to see what I won! :)
I couldn't be more excited!
Hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving holiday!
xoxo
di

Tuscany Wedding Photography | Italy Workshop with Jose Villa and Gene Higa

2009-11-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

I had the blessing and the most amazing opportunity to be able to go to Italy for a workshop that was hosted by the truly talented Jose Villa and Gene Higa!
I have been a huge fan of Jose Villa's work, and when I heard he was offering one in Tuscany, the timing for it couldn't have been more perfect for me!
This was my first workshop, and had no idea what to expect! I gained so much from the whole experience though, and not only did I gain a ton of information on what to do business wise, I gained a bunch of new friends from all over the world! :)

A huge shout-out and big hugs to all my new friends! It was so wonderful getting to meet all of you! I cannot wait till we meet for our reunion....Bali?!:) You all are constantly on my mind, and I miss you all very much!
Here's everyone I met! They all are such awesome photographers...check out their sites if you can, and leave them some love! Arkadi Fomintsev, Cathy Kovach, Troy Woods, Jen Badalamenti, Jyllian M. Victoria, Molly Michel, Laura Ivanova, Jeff Wilson, Sara Doaldsonn, Lara Hanlon, Alicia Swedenborg, Stacy Brogan Able, Bob Davis, Kristen Wood, Melissa Scholllaert, Katie Murphy, Mireen Kierzek, Yazy Raclawski, Corina de Stefani, Lelia Scarfiotti, and finally but not least Kurstin Roe!

Ok...So I'm sure you are just waiting for the pictures! Here they are!!! :)

On this particular day, we shot at the Fontebussi, and we split up in 5 groups if I remember correctly. We were asked at one point to go around the villa and take some detailed shots....so here's a few of my favorite shots!

Here are some of my favorite shots of the models! They were amazing....and I want to thank them for all their patience with all of us! :)
Special thanks to the models:
Omar was paired with Georgia (pictures 1-9)
Giordano was paired with Valentina (pictures 10-15)

I want to thank Matthew Johns for the amazing stylist that he is, and Mar for the amazing hair and make-up that she did on the models!! You two honestly did such a great job! :) Also....I'd like to thank Olia Zavozina for designing these beautiful dresses that you see in pictures 1-9, and for letting us use them!

Well, on our last day...Jose Villa and Gene Higa decided to surprise all the attendees with a day trip to Florence! I've been quite a few times, so I didn't take many pictures this time. I just went and enjoyed myself with my new friends! And then later that night, was our last night & dinner.....it definitely was not fun saying goodbye :( I can't wait for our reunion!!

I want to stop and thank every single person that put this workshop together and worked behind the scenes even the week while we were there! Big and special thanks to Jen Curtis for all the hard work you did, and making sure everything went smoothly! Also a big thank you to Ann Hamilton and Joel Serrato for all that you did as well! :) Again, thank you to Matthew Johns for styling our models, and to Mar for the fabulous hair and make-up, and Olia Zavozina to for letting us use your beautiful dresses you designed! Thank you to Fontebussi for having us, and a big thank you to the Cioncolini family for hosting us at your villa as well -La Selva Giardino del Belvedere....and Maria and her daughter for the wonderful food!

And a HUGE THANK YOU to Jose Villa and Gene Higa for everything! Words cannot explain how grateful I am, for what the both of you have done for me! I love you guys!! <3

Tuscany, Italy - Part One

2009-10-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

Italy!!!!!

When I first started this blog a few years ago, it was because of my trip to Italy, when I went to study abroad in Rome and lived there for a few months! I haven't been back to Italy until this past week, and boy did it bring back so many memories! I have really missed Italy, and all the beauty it holds!

The reason for my trip to Italy, was because I signed up towards the beginning of the year to go to a photography workshop that was being led by Jose Villa and Gene Higa. I flew in on Sunday afternoon. I stayed at an amazing villa Fontebussi! On Monday, we had a only a handful of people at the villa....everyone arrived that evening!

My mom and I took a cooking class with another well now friend at the La Selva Villa on Monday afternoon. We learned how to make pizza, pasta, and bread all from scratch. We served pizza for lunch that afternoon! Tuesday-Thursday was our workshop! It was filled with so much info, from class-time to going out and shooting! I loved every second of it! I'm still trying to soak up everything...and I think for sure if Gene and Jose offer another workshop together, I'll be one of the first to sign up! They are amazing together!
Well, I dont want to keep you waiting, so here are some pictures, of Sunday/Monday of our trip! Enjoy!!

Diana
ps. I'll have at least 2 more blogs about the trip!
But will post more pictures on my facebook fan-page or on my personal page on facebook! So feel free to join or add me as a friend! :)

First thing I ate and drank when I got to Italy!
Brought back SO many memories!

My mom and I at the airport!

The view from my bedroom in the morning at my villa was amazing! I wish I could wake up to that everyday! One day, I hope I will! :)

Cooking Class! :) The cutest chef in the world....my mom! :)

making pasta Pizza Dough focaccia bread

"Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." (2John 3)

update on Portland!

2009-10-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been really busy for me!
I had 2 senior photoshoots here in Portland, flew back to California, for a wedding, got back and did another photoshoot of a local model. When I wasn't busy taking pictures, I was busy working on my new place!
A few days ago, I got a random phone call from an old friend who is also now my dentist here in Portland, telling me that he has connections with people to hook me up with a booth at the Portland Bridal Expo! I was more than excited when he told me that. So this week, I'll be talking details with him about that!

I just became a fan on facebook of a local group here in Portland, and saw that there was a Bridal event going on. I asked if they had a photographer covering the event, and they had no one as of yet, so I'll be covering the event next week, which I'm really looking forward to it! Brides Against Breast Cancer is the event I'll be covering! As I looked more into what Making Memories is doing, I couldn't be more excited to help and support such a great foundation!

If you are in the Portland area, and are interested in coming to this event, here is some information about it!
Here's the address:
Canyon Place Shopping Center
4005 SW 117th Ave. (Between Red Robin and Marshalls)
Beaverton, OR 97005
Tuesday, Oct. 20 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m
Wednesday, Oct. 21 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 23 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
(Bazaar runs until 9 p.m. and Sunday until 6 p.m.)

On another bright note, I leave to Italy next week to go to this photography workshop! I cannot wait. It's been 3 years since I last been to Italy, and its by far my favorite place. The workshop is hosted by TWO of the Top Ten Wedding Photographers in the world, Jose Villa & Gene Higa I will definitely give you an update of my trip to Italy!

Have a blessed week!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5)

Week 1 of Portland, Oregon!

2009-09-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

I've been here in Oregon for just over a week now, and this past weekend, was my first free time from working on my place! Saturday I got booked for two senior portrait photoshoots! I was super excited for that...

But since I've been constantly working on my place, I just never had the chance to go around town to search for places to take pictures at for Saturday! Mid week, I emailed a handful of photographers that I found online, that had some awesome locations in some of their shots, that was similar to what my the girls wanted for Saturday for their shoots! So, I kindly asked for some help with locations and such. To my surprise, I was not told any locations by anyone who I asked! Every email I received back where all kind of rude and simply no one wanted to tell me anything!
I immediately started thinking of home "cali" and how much different it is there! All the photographers out there that I look up to, have met personally... like: Jasmine Star, Bobby Earle, David Jay, Becker, etc at the smugmug meet and greets are all so kind, willing to help you out, share experiences, etc!
I felt so disappointed, or let down....im not even sure of the exact feeling I was feeling at the moment, but sad for sure! After hearing over and over from all these amazing, talented pro photographers, and them talking about having a close community, talking, sharing, etc...I had the expectation that I was going to have that here in Portland! And boy, was I wrong! I immediately looked up to see if there are any smugmug meetings in or around the area,so I can possibly have the opportunity to meet some nice people in the area, and to my luck, there was none! I was totally bummed out!

As bummed out as I am, I am going be the change that I can be, here in Portland! Its such a great city, I am not going to be like all the rest of the photographers out here! I am willing to lend a helping hand and talk to others, etc! I will be nice and definitely not rude to other photographers! My only fear is of moving here, is not getting clients so easily...because I am new in town...but new or not I know I will treat everyone with the kindness and respect everyone deserves!

Moved....

2009-09-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you know, that I just moved to Portland,Oregon a few days ago, from California!
It still hasn't hit me just yet. I still feel that I'm on some sort of vacation, only unpacking tons of boxes in involved this time!
My first full day, as an Oregonian...I unpacked everything from the car, and then went with my cousins to Chuck E Cheese! haha!
Anyway, on my drive up from Cali, I stopped a few hours in Sacramento, and shot a maternity shoot. Here is a sneak peek!

Chocolate Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods

2009-06-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Bag of pretzel rods
1 lb of caramel (available at Bakers Rack)
1 lb Milk chocolate
1 lb Dark chocolate
1 lb White chocolate
chopped nuts, toffee bits, granola, etc..about 3 cups (optional)
Roll of parchment paper

Preparation
Lay out a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Work the entire pound of caramel into a tall plastic glass, tupperware-type works good, and microwave for 1 min or until melted. Do not over heat.

Melt the milk, dark and white chocolates in separate bowls also in the microwave. You may choose to use only one or two of the chocolates.

Have the chopped nuts heaped in a plate or pan. Stick the pretzel rod down into the cup of caramel all the way and pull out, scraping the caramel off the rod in several places. You should have just 2 inches for holding on to without caramel. Immediantly roll into the pile of nuts until coated all around and lay on the parchment paper. You may lay just the caramel covered pretzel with no nuts on the parchment paper also.

When all pretzels have been dipped, using a different spoon for each kind of chocolate, drizzle the milk, dark and white chocolate over all the pretzels. You may also choose to just dip the rods in the milk chocolate then drizzle the dark and white.

If you don't roll the caramel in nuts then dipping the pretzel in the milk chocolate is recommended.

HELP DONATE!

2009-04-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone....
I have two friends who need to raise money for their cause they are supporting.

My friend Ana-Maria is doing the AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER.
here is her page, where you can check it out...and possibly donate as well.
http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2009/Chicago?px=4496517&pg=personal&fr_id=1780&et=2oB-dXPpOlGqZor-_l_QPA..&s_tafId=371714

My other friend David is riding for diabetes. Here is his page!
http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC557228030?px=4057007&pg=personal&fr_id=5637

Both would greatly appreciate any amount of donations!
thank you...

Chocolate Banana Bread

2009-04-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

The recipe is below :
I absolutely love chocolate....and banana bread!
this recipe doesn't call for any nuts....but
I would definitely add nuts to it..I'm sure it would
be sooo much better! At least for my taste buds!
Enjoy!

Bill Granger’s Choc Banana Bread

* 250 grams (2 cups) plain (all purpose) flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 125 grams (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
* 250 grams (1 cup) caster sugar
* 4 ripe bananas, mashed
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 175 grams (1 cup) good quality chocolate chips

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C (350 F/Gas Mark 4)
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl
3. Mix the butter, sugar, eggs, banana, choc chips and vanilla extract in a seperate bowl
4. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, being careful not to over mix
5. Pour the batter into a non-stick , or lightly greased and floured 19 x 11cm loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the bread is cooked when tested with a skewer
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool
7. Serve in thick slices with butter

2009-04-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Decisions...decisions = confusion....!

2009-03-30T20:59:00.001-07:00

As some of you know, I will be moving to Portland,Oregon at the beginning of June this year!

Its totally a bitter sweet feeling, because I am going to miss California soooo much, but I will be with my youngest sister living in Portland, in our own place...which is the sweet & great part! :)

I am in need of some help! I have never really designed my own bedroom, or put my taste in it really, because my dad has always decorated our house...and never really let us have a say for what we want, etc!

I have a few options in mind...of things that I've always wanted!My ultimate favorite colors have always been: black, white, grey, red, purple, turquoise, & pink. Of course...there is specific shades of the last 4 colors that I really like....

So, with those colors, I've always dreamed of a purple room.

*ALL the pictures I posted, is me just looking at the wall color really! Except for the last two pictures with the baby in them....i love that whole room entirely! :)*

I'm not the biggest fan of light/lavendar purple...I like the more dark purple hues! As I was searching online.....and stumbled upon some colors/pictures of purple rooms....I've come to the conclusion that the dark purple might be a bad choice for me! :(

My reasoning for that is because, Portland tends to be more dark, gloomy and rainy for most of the year....and I can't imagine coming into a room thats also dark...

Even though I would love the dark purple...I dont know how I would be able to make the room more vibrant and i wanna say happy! I dont want to go from being outside in the gloomy weather to a dark kinda gloomy bedroom!

So, after i searched for purple....i started to look for grey! And i stumbled upon the same situtation! :( and was super bummed out!

i really like this room for some reason!

I never really thought of red in my room. always liked black, white, grey and purple! haha goodness gracious.....i have no clue what I'm gonna do....and I'm totally stressing out about it, even though I have about 2 months or so to figure it out.

Well..............since I'm always blogging....one of my favorite photographers, posted a recent family photoshoot she done. And she posted 2 pictures of the couples bedroom! I absolutely fell in love!

And I think it if I would do something along the same lines....that when I'd walk in my room after a gloomy portland day, that I will be happy seeing more vibrant rich colors?!

Goodness..........maybe im wrong! Im not an interior desginer! So I wouldn't have a clue! haha

I would love to hear any comments, suggestions, or references you may have to help me design my furture bedroom! thanks soooooooo much! :)

<3
di

HAPPY! :o)

2009-03-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

I am excited to announce that my photography website has just been launched!
CHECK IT OUT @:
www.absolutelycaptivating.com

Here is what my business cards look like:
front

back

Now, I am thinking of maybe also turning this blog into a wedding blog. Or at least have a list of different websites, blogs that I really love, or have been inspired by, etc.
If you would like to see anything added here, let me know.
I find myself always on different wedding sites and blogs, because I am always looking for inspiration and am always helping brides with their wedding planning. I was a wedding coordinator for almost 2 years, and have really slowed down on doing much with that right now, but still help friends here and there. So if you want to see anything, please let me know! :)

di

p.s. I have been EXTREMELY busy this year. And haven't had much time to blog, but I will try to post more often.

All I want for Christmas.....

2008-12-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

is this: EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Three Sister's by Francis I. Gillespie

2008-12-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

We are three sisters

Three sisters are we

I love each of you,

And I know you love me.

We’re not always together,

Life sometimes keeps us apart.

But we're never separated

We’re in each other's heart.

Now I know we've had our troubles,

But we always get thru.

The real message is you love me,

And I also love you.

We have had lots of good times

That we'll never forget

Sometimes we worry

And sometimes we fret

But if God ever gave me

Something special you see,

It might have been the blessing of,

Three sisters are we.

The Lord above has gave me lots

Of happiness and glee

But the most special thing he did was

Make us sisters, all three.

My wish came true!

2008-12-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have grown up listening to Celine Dion my whole entire life. I have always loved her, her music, her voice, etc!

When Celine started playing at Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas...I honestly tried to go to her concert SOOO many times! Each time was a failure...due to sold out tickets, or tickets that were over $800! When I heard she wasn't going to be singing there anymore, I tried so hard to find tickets to go to one of her last shows....and that was simply impossible!

Anyway...Celine began touring. My mom and sister Nicky surprised me for my 24th birthday, to buy me tickets to her concert! I went to the concert on Nov. 29th.(saturday night)...and took one of my best friends Kendra with me. It was the best ever! And my wish to see her in concert finally came true, thanks to my mom and sister!

Thank you soooo much for making my wish come true! The concert was AMAZING! Celine is BEAUTIFUL....and what made the night even better, because as she was walking out, Kendra and I were about 50 feet away from her! Also, on our drive home, Kendra and I saw a shooting star! It was the perfect way to end our evening together! :)

Martina & Daniel Leu

2008-11-28T20:04:00.001-08:00

Well, I figured, since blogging pictures is the new thing to do...that I will start off with this Maternity photoshoot I did today.

The maternity photoshoot, turned into just a normal photoshoot, since they don't have many pictures together...! :)

I have known Martina for what seems like forever! She is one of my best friends. And I am soo blessed to have her in my life. Her and Daniel are newlyweds. They were married at the beginning of the year. And let me tell you...that they are the cutest married couple that I know! :) I can see the love they have for eachother.....and the love they have for God....and I LOVE IT! I am soo happy for Martina...because she was blessed with one amazing husband...and I couldn't picture her with any other guy! :)

Anyway....they are expecting a baby girl, in February 2009!
I am so thrilled for Daniel and Martina....and I love them both to death! :)

Here are my top favorites from all the pictures! I had tons of fun taking pictures of them today! Daniel cracks me up! :) haha Anyway....here are the pictures....it was really hard to narrow them down!

Praying & Listening: Preparing to Meet God, Prayer Journaling

2008-11-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

Preparing to Meet God
Every believer has a prayer life. But, not every believer has an effective prayer life. When coming to God in prayer, it is important to remember that God is more interested in us than in what we want. So, preparing to meet God in prayer is just as important as the act of praying.

An Effective Prayer Life
Would you say that your prayer life is effective? Why or why not?
Read 2 Cr. 7:14-15; Is. 1:15-16. What must we do to have an effective prayer life?
What does Zech. 7:8-13 teach us about the consequences for ignoring God?
According to Mt. 14:23 and Mk. 1:35, Jesus went away by himself to pray. When was the last time you sought out a private place to pray?
Read Col. 4:2, 12 and 1 Thess. 5:17. Should we be committed to prayer?

A Focused Prayer Life
Read Eph. 1:15-19. What does Paul pray for in v. 17? Why? What does Paul pray for in v. 18? Why?

A Practical Prayer Life
-- Always, always, always confess your sins before making your requests
-- Pray persistently. Don’t give up until God makes his answer clear.
-- Pray regularly. Set aside a time each day for prayer.
-- Pray until you pray! Don’t allow distractions to disrupt your prayer time.

Prayer Journaling
Prayer Journal = a spiritual diary. A place to record God’s responses to your requests, thoughts, feelings, and insights. A way of remembering God’s activity in your life; a way of holding yourself accountable to spiritual maturity.

The Concept of Prayer Journaling
While there are no actual biblical examples of prayer journaling, there are numerous examples of writing down God’s activity for remembrance and accountability.

The Ten Commandments (Ex. 32:15-16)
Every new King of Israel was to write down God’s Law (Deut. 17:18-20).
Joshua reminds the people of Israel not to be negatively influenced by unbelievers, but to obey what God had written down (Joshua 23:6-8).
God’s helping activity was recorded so that future generations would give Him praise (Ps. 102:18-19).
John recorded the life of Jesus so others would know the truth about Him and be encouraged by His promises (Jn. 21:24-25; 1 Jn. 5:13).

The Benefits of Prayer Journaling
When we get discouraged, it helps us remember God’s power displayed in our lives (Ps. 77:11).
Prayer journaling provides a disciplined activity that trains us in godly living (1 Tim. 4:7).
Prayer journaling reminds us that God answers prayer and increases our trust in Him.
Prayer journaling helps us put into words our feelings and ideas about God, ourselves, and others. It’s a way of "seeing" our feelings.

Ideas for Prayer Journaling
Each page of your journal could include questions like:
--What did God teach me today? --What do I want to tell God right now? --Write a scripture verse and tell God what the verse means to you. --Write to God when you are feeling a strong emotion. --Write when you are having a conflict with someone. --Write when you have physical pain or sickness. --Ask God for wisdom concerning a certain subject. --List your “praises” and “thank yous”. --Record the names and prayer requests of others. --Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. --Write the lyrics of praise songs and then your response to them. --List what you think God is telling to you or trying to teach you. --Tell God what you learned about while reading a devotional or listening to a sermon.

mmm mmmm good!

2008-11-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

Almost 3 years ago....I lived in Rome....and studied there for 4 months.

While I was there, I went to a small, quaint little restaurant called Spirito Di Vino ...

which has become very popular recently. :)

My first visit at the restaurant...was when my mom and Lidia came to visit me for a week.

And the owner and his son loved us! They were wonderful as well.

I have never been a fan of Creme Brulee. I guess because I just have had bad experiences with it..at different restaurants in the states. My sister ordered it...and I figured I would try a small little bite! Well I ended up having 2 orders of it! haha It was AMAZING! BEST i've ever tasted!

So, I asked Francesco if we could get the recipe! Suprisingly that night was his mother's (the chef) birthday! So we went into the kitchen, sang her a very happy birthday....and she was kind and gracious enough to give us the recipe to her wonderful tasting creme brulee.

After this wonderful dinner....Francesco had invited me to come to the restaurant whenever I felt like it...and the creme brulee would be on him...no matter how many times I would go! I surely took him up on his offer! :) What a wonderful and giving family! I went a few times...right before the restaurant would open...and enjoyed making new friends!

Since then, I've been ordering the creme brulee at restaurants....and nothing seemed up to par with the one I had in Italy! I finally found the recipe after misplacing it...because it was written on a very small sheet of paper!

So I am excited to be making creme brulee today! :) mmmmm mmmmm I CANNOT WAIT!

:0)

Thankful!

2008-11-21T23:02:00.001-08:00

To be seeing Gods hand at work in my life!
And thankful that God has done His will in my life!
I am more than blessed, and am ever so grateful for
letting go and giving my ALL to Him!
He is ALWAYS faithful! Praise God!

Featured in the second edition of Romanian Magazine!

2008-11-21T22:58:00.000-08:00

I am honored and proud to say that my photography website is featured in the second edition of the Romanian Magazine! :)

Here is what the page looks like! They gave me a whole page! haha

The only thing I wish was...that my website was done...so people could actually see my work really being displayed! Soon it will be done...and once the site is up....I will make sure to get the word out...but until then, I am still happy to see that my work is somewhat being featured and advertized! :)
Check out the magazine at : http://www.romanian-magazine.com/archive.html

EXCITED! :0)

2008-11-05T12:13:00.000-08:00

From the hearts and minds of Denis Reggie, Bambi Cantrell and Joe Buissink comes a new broadcast network for photography lovers of every stripe: The Photography Network at www.photographynetwork.tv
Finally, a 24/7/365 network that explores the people, places and all things photography… think Food Network or HGTV, but with Photography front and center. And viewing is FREE… just a click away on the web.
Dozens of talented networkerbees are busy producing hundreds of hours of edu-tainment featuring webisodes that inspire and educate viewers on the inner workings of some of the world’s top photographers, studios, and real world assignments.
In addition to fun and entertaining programming, PNTV viewers will be invited to join the community and showcase favorite images, network with other impassioned photographers and enthusiasts, compete in contests, and interact with knowledgeable experts.
Sign up now to be first to receive word as the beta site launches later this year. The full network launches in the first quarter of 2009. Visit www.photographynetwork.tv to stay informed as the network comes alive.

Quote

2008-11-03T22:05:00.001-08:00

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

Magnolia Bakery's Red Velvet Cake

2008-11-02T12:18:00.001-08:00

Photo by Antonis Achilleos

Cake
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 Tbl. red food coloring
3 Tbl. unsweetened cocoa
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
1½ tsp. salt
1½ cups buttermilk
3⅓ cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1½ tsp. cider vinegar
1½ tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour 3 (9x2-inch) round cake pans and line bottoms with waxed paper. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time; beat well.

In a small bowl, whisk food coloring, cocoa and vanilla. Add to batter and beat well. In a measuring cup, stir salt into buttermilk. Add to batter in three parts, alternating with flour. In a small bowl, stir together cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to batter and mix well.

Divide batter among 3 pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cool for 1 hour. Remove from pans and frost.

Vanilla Frosting
1½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup milk
1 Tbl. vanilla extract

Place butter in a large mixing bowl; then add 4 cups sugar, milk and vanilla.

Using an electric mixer, beat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition, until it’s a good consistency for spreading.

Baklava

2008-10-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

1 package filo dough
3 cups finely ground walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
21/2 sticks unsalted butter
Defrost filo the night before in the fridge. Do not open box. You will need a cookie sheet size baking pan. The baking pan should be the heavy kind so the baklava, since it cooks for a while, not to burn but to slow bake.
Open the filo package and decide which way, according to the shape of your pan, you will layer the dough. If you have not worked with this specific dough before it is good to cover it,while you are working with it, with a dumb tea towel, so not to loose the moisture and dry up. It will if you do not work fast enough.
So first you melt the butter and mix the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Start layering the dough while you are brushing it with the melted butter. You will need a clean pastry brush. So you layer about 8 buttered sheets of dough and then spread ½ of the walnut filling. Add one more sheet brushed with butter and spread the rest of the filling. If you have followed directions you are almost done. All you have to do now is to continue brushing the rest of the dough until you run out of it. If you have left over butter just pour it on top.
Now the most important part is to cut the baklava in small diagonal pieces, otherwise it will crumble if you try to cut it after it is cooked. So you bake it now in a 340 preheated oven in the lower middle. Bake it until it has a nice golden cold color for about 1 hour.
While the baklava is cooking prepare the syrup.

Syrup

In a heavy saucepan mix 3 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups water and ½ cup corn syrup, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla. Allow syrup to cook and simmer for about 5-7 minutes. When baklava comes out of the oven, pour warm syrup over the dessert and allow to stay for 1 hour before you serve it. Baklava can keep after it is room temperature in an airtight container for at least 4 weeks. Enjoy!

Matt Redman - You Never Let Go

2008-10-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back I know You are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Chorus:
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

Chorus:
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Chorus:
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

Thoughts in Life

2008-10-19T22:58:00.000-07:00

Written by: Ruth Hategan ...A dear friend of mine....We both have been going through the same things lately...and everything she wrote is what I have been feeling lately too....So I asked if I could share this...

Every one of us has our own problems and struggles in life. We have sunny days and cloudy/rainy days. Some live what seems like the “perfect” life and others are struggling and dreading to wake up the next day. We deal with work, school, family and many times our crazy and busy lives lead us to be stressed and despaired and scared. There are so many hopeless people out there who have completely lost hope in everything. I’ve talked to people who are depressed and sad but you wouldn’t think that from the outside looking in. We are good at pretending everything is fine and dandy although we really hurt inside and we don’t know what to do. We are so busy and caught up in the moment, we forget about the most important person, GOD. We forget that he is the one who needs to be in control of our life, we forget he is the one who can relieve our pain, we forget we forget we forget. We sometimes go on searching for something, just something that can fill a hole or emptiness or loneliness in our aching hearts. We look for things that we THINK will satisfy us or make us the happiest person on the planet. Money, toys, cars, and even boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. When we finally get what we thought would give us joy, it turns out, that we are not much happier than before we got it. Its like a little kid at Christmas who is all excited about a new toy he just got, after a few days, he’s bored with it and wants something else. I’ve been on this search myself and I was looking for something to make me happier, to fill an emptiness that I had in my heart. I didn’t really know what I was looking for to make me happy. I’ve finally realized the ONLY thing that can fill this emptiness or make you happy is God. Psalm 37:4 says “ Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” He can give you happiness and joy, He can heal any pain, solve any problem, because nothing is impossible for God. So many times, I felt as if God wasn’t there with me, wasn’t listening to my prayers, and I was mad and frustrated. I was losing hope, and felt like giving up and trying to control my own life. I didn't realize one thing: Why should God make time for me and give me everything I want if I didn’t make time for Him? Why? God gives us so much more than we deserve and we neglect Him. We forget to thank Him, we forget to spend time with Him, because our schedules are jammed packed with such important things, we think, are much more important than He is. If we give more time to God, we will begin to see changes in our lives and prayers being answered. We can go to God with any problems we have, and even secrets we don’t want anybody knowing, because God does listen. I’ve been realizing more and more how important it is to give God some of your time everyday. God is with you ALL THE TIME. It's so relieving knowing that someone is there for you everyday, every hour, every minute, every second. You’re never alone. It’s hard to believe because you can’t see Him, but its true. I’ve been listening to John Mark’s lessons (from Solid Rock Church in Beaverton), which btw you don’t have to live here to listen to them, you can listen to them online at www.ajesuschurch.org, but they have been speaking to my heart and they are such an encouragement. I’m realizing more and more everyday that God is the only answer to a happy and successful life. Go to Him with anything that’s on your heart, He listens even though he might not respond when you want Him to. Just don't lose hope.

Psalm 35:15, 17-18
15. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry.
17. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18. The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Isaiah 40:29

2008-10-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

"He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless."

Philippians 4:4-9

2008-10-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

love, lust, cheating, youth and relationships. . .

2008-10-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

(I borrowed this from a friend....I like what she had to say)

its rough draft essay- wrote rediculously fast but i think it is important that people read it.

Current Dating Habits and the Youth's Pitfalls of Love

What is love? Are there such concepts as soul mates? Is it possible to be in love at a young age? There seems to be a universal confusion about the concepts of love, relationships and communicating with your significant others. As a victim of my youth, I feel the impact and confusion of my emotions and feelings toward the opposite sex. It appears so easy to "fall in love" with another boy right after the last chapter of love has ended. So if I keep having these feelings of true love, then how do I prevent myself from falling into the standard, dating a boy a week practice like most of my demographic? How do I practice healthy relationships when everything in my body persuades me to make decisions against such goals? By defining love, lust and recognizing the differences as well as acting upon this new awareness will begin a new practice on dating and better the future practice of marriage. "I love you". This common saying is heard throughout the world in different languages and in some cases, attached to other words such as, "She meant nothing to me, I love YOU." I know a few people whom cheated on their spouses at one point and they claim to truly love their spouse; they just made a mistake. Who am I to argue against what a person FEELS? However, what these people and other people fail to recognize is the definition of their claims. Joshua Harris, author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" rejected this common saying related to love stating, "Why do we feel compelled to compare love to a pit or a mental disorder?. . . because they remove personal responsibility." (pg 63). Society has classified love as an uncontrollable force yet Joshua rebutes, " Love is under our control." Whether you are religious or not, truth is in the bible when it says:Love in patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud,It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)Love must start to be viewed as a verb, not a noun. Loving someone is in the choices you make everyday. But what about the butterflies I feel when that special person is around? I cannot just deny my feelings; they are real. And if these are not feelings of love, what are they? Toufexis explains these feelings of being "swept away" from a scientific stand-point, "They're not mistaken; they are literally flooded by chemicals. A meeting of eyes, a touch of hands or a whiff of scent sets off a flood that starts in the brain and races along the nerves and through the blood. The results are familiar: flushed skin, sweaty palms, heavy breathing." Sound familiar? I am sure you have experienced this at least once. This attraction is called Lust because you do not have complete knowledge or understanding of this person yet they make you feel weak. Webster defines lust as intense longing. Lust and love feel similar and are easily confused for one another. Lust is so strong that it is often mistaken for love. This confusion and strength can be dangerous when dating. Some people become "attraction junkies". Toufexis elaborates, " They crave the intoxication of falling in love so much that they move frantically from affair to affair just as soon as the first rush of infatuation fades." (pg 207) On a smaller scale of this extreme mental disease, youth practices the same thing. We find ourselves head over heels and as soon as the feelings fade, we break up and repeat the process all over again. So what is wrong with this picture? Developing a pattern in our youth that will affect the rest of our adulthood: a.k.a. divorce. Children grow up, practicing easy escapes. As soon as the butterflies fly off or as soon as there is a fight, the exciting dating ends and new matches are made. As this outlook on relationships is carried into adulthood and marriage, more of the same practices take place. " A relationship based only on physical attraction and romantic feelings will last only as long as the feelings last". (Harris 35) After the honeymoon, romance fades, adaptation to new living conditions might be too difficult, or for whatever reason the marriage becomes difficult they go their separate ways or they stray outside the confines of their legal marriage. Joshua outlooks dating as " intimate with little or no thought about commitment or how either of them would be affected when it ended." (pg 32) He goes on to question why people choose to date others. He gives many reasons including that two people might have "met each other's emotional and physical needs and helped each other's image. . . There is nearly always a hidden agenda." (66-68) The issue with youth is not dating, it is dating motivated by lust for one another and dating with insincere motives. Real love is not how that person makes you feel but loving whom that person is.So on behalf of the rest of my youth, I ask, "what do we do now!?!?" The answer is to become aware of our feelings, decipher which is sincere and which are motivated by lust, and then take appropriate steps toward healthy relationships. "You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush." (Harris, pg22) Testing your feelings take time which means that healthy dating comes first from healthy friendships. The biggest problems of my youth is the need for immediate satisfaction; to have what is wanted right away thus rushing head strong with every impulse. Friendships lead to dating that lead to marriage. If you could not be their friend then and do not see them marriage material in the future then what sense is there to date them now when it only leads to heart ache, confusion, and miscommunication? "We'll carry the memories of our past physical involvements into marriage." (pg 37) Would you like to bring guilt and regret from past involvements into your marriage? Instead of society focusing on loneliness, it should be rejoicing at youth's time in life to grow as individuals. In all of my personal experiences and watching my friend's experiences, friendships that later evolve into something more are almost always healthier and more sincere than those that are rushed into. It is time that society changes it's focus on relationships. Completely changing your outlook and practicing new habits (as much as your heart says otherwise) is a lot harder to do than say. I recognize all of my feelings and I know when I am falling into the same pitfall of lust yet I fall anyway. But even though I make the same mistakes, I continue to grow and learn, I consciously mold a healthy mindset on dating and relationships in preparation for marriage someday. Changing society's outlook on love and relationships is extremely difficult to accomplish but it starts with the individual's personal evolution.

Psalm 37:4

2008-10-04T09:18:00.001-07:00

"Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart."

about me

2008-09-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Mom

2008-09-19T16:24:00.001-07:00

On Monday, Sept 15,2008, my mom had surgery. She had a total knee replacement done.

As of right now, she is still in the hospital.

I want to thank every single person who has kept her in their prayers!

I believe that everyone's prayers is the only thing that is helping my mom get through

everything that she is going through!

My mom is suffering soo much! She isnt able to take any pain medication at all, because she is allergic to all of them! The doctor said patients usually take 5 different kinds of meds for the pain...and my mom isnt taking anything! :( So I could only imagine what she is going through.

It is only by the grace of God, she is getting through the pain minute by minute...and also because of your prayers! So, I want to thank you for your prayers! They mean alot to me, and especially to my mom. I know for a fact that she feels your prayers!

For those who have visited...THANK YOU! My mom does not like being alone at the hospital. She loves visitors...because she gets to have fellowship...and also because she's not concentrating on her pain.....So for those of you who even stopped for like 5 minutes....to my mom it means the world to her! :)

May God bless you all for all of your prayers and support you have been showing my mom!

Domnul sa fie cu voi!

Chicago Sept. 11-15,2008

2008-09-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

What an amazing time I had!

Our main reason of going, was for Joe and Dana's Wedding! :) (Which was an amazingly beautiful wedding) And besides the wedding, we wanted to see all of our friends again. Its been a year since we've last seen them....so it was about time we went again and visited! :) haha

Although, I was not expecting the weather to be super rainy the whole time....my time spent with my friends is all that mattered...even if we didn't do too much! Spending some quality time is all that really matters!

I am soo glad that I got to see everyone again! I am even more excited of the new two friends I made! :) They are two amazing people...:) I am excited for this new friendship, and what's to become of it. One of my new friends, promised to take me to the Grand Canyon! :) YAY! I am really looking forward to that trip! :)

Anyway...here are some pics of our trip! I cannot wait to visit all my friends again next year! :) And next time...I am going to stay for like 2 weeks...:) im already looking forward to it! :)

us with adi...an amazing person...and very funny....he took
us all around chicago all weekend! thanks adi!

nicky and damaris! :)

alin and i :) my little bro! :)

us with our new two friends.....romi and beni :) their amazing!

my beautiful sisters

the wedding party

nicky, dave, adi, me :)

adi & nicky

nicky with fibi....the cutest flower girl ever!

Welcoming Arella to the family

2008-08-29T01:18:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful pleasure of spending time with my wonderful cousins in Sacramento.
I took time off from work, to come help out Lygia during her delivery and with her newborn baby girl. Arella Reagan Gherebean was born August 21st, 2008 at 1:37pm and weighed at 9 lbs 7 ounces! :)

What a blessing she is to me...and especially to her parents!
Congrats steve and lyg! :)

p.s. whenever you need my help...im only a hour away with the plane :0) if not....im always here for you over the phone...and especially to pray for you guys! LOVE YOU GUYS AND MISS YOU TONS!

FEB 18TH & 19TH

2006-03-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

Feb. 18th, 2006 – Saturday
Well………today we completely slept in………and I didn’t look so great when I got woken up by someone pounding on our door at 9 am this morning! It was 2 Italian men. A plumber and an electrician! They were really nice. They didn’t leave until about 2:30 pm!!!!! During the last hour or so……..Josh came by our place for the first time! He supposedly had nothing else to do today, so he decided to call Vikki! He came by….helped us out with our Italian lol but actually he didn’t help much at all…and what I don’t understand is that all these people kept “visiting” our apartment and talking to both of the guys who came to work in our apartment. Like seriously there must have been like 15 people or more that stopped by and talked to the two guys who were here!!!!! We didn’t understand….the electrician guy didn’t know English at all….but the other guy, he tried a little, and we understood his Italian….but he was soo funny. He seriously made our day! He made us laugh sooo much the whole time!!! We took some videos of him….ahh….he was funny…..and then after that, we went with Vikki because she went to go call her parents. After that, we got some food to eat…….which was really good by the way…….and then Michael came along with us and we went to go visit the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps finally! It was really really nice….and then Josh had to go back home for dinner…and Michael stayed with us. We walked up all the way to the top of the Spanish Steps and then Vikki got a portrait drawn of herself. While she was getting that done, I was taking some pictures of her, and these two guys came next to me to see what the guy was drawing. Lots of tourist people came by to check it out too, but these two guys never left! Then this one guy started speaking to me in Italian….and of course I understood mostly what he was saying to me…..he asked me what my name and Vikki’s name was. And then the guy started going on and on….and I had no idea what he was saying to me! And Vikki asked me in Romanian what he was saying…..and then the other guy that was with the guy who was talking to me, started talking in Romanian! He was such a dork though….seriously I kept asking him what his friend was saying, and he wouldn’t say a word he would jus look at me and laugh. They were sooo weird and then they asked if we had boyfriends….and us girls know how to get weird guys away……by always answering YES!!!! So I’m like yes, we both have boyfriends and we are both in a very serious relationship, and a few seconds later….they left! Thank GOD….because they were totally scaring me. I kept looking for Michael which he was like 10 feet away from me….to get his attention to get these guys away from me………..but he never did a thing!!!! So, when Vikki was done, we left to go back home…..and I told Vikki exactly what had happened and how I said we both had a boyfriend. And she’s all like…what you do?! Haha and I’m like yeah right girl…..I know you have one, but I was just saying it to get them away….and you think Michael would get the point now that he heard that Vikki has a boyfriend………..but NOOOOOOOOO he doesn’t! Poor guy…..he just doesn’t get the point at all!!!!!!!!!! We went and got some gelato on our way back home…………which was sooooo good………..mmmmmhhmmmmmmmmmm I love gelato……!!!!!

Feb. 19th, 2006 – Sunday
This morning all the girls came back home from Vienna, Austria. I didn’t do anything at all……….other than look at what the girls bought….their pictures….hearing their stories……..and then doing HOMEWORK the whole entire day!!!!!

.....................................TO BE CONTINUED....................................VERY SOON........................................

FEB 13-FEB 17

2006-03-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Feb. 13th, 2006 - Monday
Today, I woke up a little early so I can take a shower……..and I was expecting this really hot shower……because supposedly they only have the running hot water at certain times…so I couldn’t take a hot shower at night, because their wouldn’t be any. And umm…to my surprise, all I got was freezing cold water! L Tiff and I got to school and sat in on our first class! We had history of philosophy! Our teacher wasn’t talking much about philosophy at all though…she was asking all of us students how our apartments were, if we unpacked…etc and she reminded us that if we ever felt homesick that we can go to her place and she would make us a cup of tea and talk with us to make us feel better, etc! lol So as you can tell, we didn’t do anything in that class! Then the rest of the girls showed up at 10:30 for our next class, which is Mythology. Unfortunately in this class, she did start lecturing lol! Monday’s are my shortest days for me. I finish at 12. After class, we all went out to eat and went walking around to go see what’s around our school! For lunch…..Vikki, Bri and I went to McDonalds…..now all of you know that I don’t like eating there at all that much…but what can I do….its the closest thing to home! They had this special going on….2 full meals, big mac and chicken sandwich with 2 drinks and 2 fries and chocolate candy for 10 euros! It was way cheaper that way. So we asked the lady to get that…and she looks at me and she says I couldn’t have it because it was only a Valentines special…and I told her, that it said the special in fine words at the bottom said that it started on the 11th and ended on the 17th. So she was a little upset that I told her that, and she gave it to me! Lol…..that’s right…..she tried to get more money off of us!!!! Ce sad!!! L Whatever though..then we went home….and finally started unpacking all of our things! We felt a little more at home!! Then later on that evening, I went to a place nearby to go make a phone call home! I called my parents at work…..and I talked to them for like 15 minutes, which was really nice! J So…not much happened today……but it was a great day overall!!!!

Feb. 14th, 2006 – Tuesday
Another really cold shower….lol…Well, today we had to all meet at school for another tour! We officially met our art history teacher from here in Rome. Her name is Cristina! For our tour today around Rome, we were going to go visit Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel. Another little side note: Did you know that Vatican City is its own country? It is a country inside a country! CRAZY!!!! Lol with all my “little side notes” you guys are all going to learn so much!!! Lol So…I have already had the chance to come visit Vatican City before. But when I went the first time, we went super fast through everything….and we didn’t see a lot of the things that it had to offer! You seriously need to spend a few days too look at everything in detail and go in every room and see every fresco, and sculpture, etc! As always, walking inside to see the famous wall fresco that has the amazing creation and the last judgment! I got in trouble while I was in there….I got caught with my camera open. I was getting a little video of the inside. While you are in there, you aren’t really allowed to talk at all, or to take pictures, or video…..woops!!!! Oh…I forgot to mention….on our walk towards Vatican City…..the guy who I told you about that totally has a thing for Vikki, comes up to us, and says Happy Valentines Day to the both of us in Italian! Lol we had no idea what he was saying to us….and then he translated it and then we were like oh………and said it back to him! Vikki and I completely forgot that it was even Valentines Day! So we asked Michael how he learned how to say it in Italian. And he’s all like….well this morning before we had to meet at school; I asked a random Italian person how to say it, because I wanted to impress you girls! Lol…..and he only said “girls” because I was there; if Vikki were to be alone, he would have said he wanted to only impress her! HAHA so that’s what happened with that! There’s one more guy who likes Vikki……..ACTUALLY……….there is a total of 3 guys who like her since before we even got here to Rome! Here’s all of them for you, so you guys can know….JOSH, MICHAEL AND JONATHON! Josh…..we met him in our Italian class last semester! So, we have known him for a while….these other two guys we met during all of our orientations for this trip! So after the Sistine Chapel, I don’t know how….but we ended up separated from our girls…..first of all because there was way to many people inside there, and then we ended up bumping into Jonathon and we went outside with him and a few others. We started walking out and we were all very hungry! So we went to this restaurant close by and all got something to eat! GUESS WHAT I GOT LIDIA?! I got this pasta thing…..Pasta Carbonara!!!! J Can you say YUMMY?! (It was really good……but it wasn’t as good as I remember the first time having it in Florence with you Lidia! I think that was the best I ever had!!!! But I’m sure you can make it better….my little chef that you are J ) Anyways…..after having lunch……..Vikki and I didn’t have a phone to get a hold of the rest of the girls…so we asked Jonathon to call them, and they didn’t answer. So we figured they were going to be out for a little more. So we went with our group to Jonathon’s apartment to go check it out. The whole time he was saying when he came to visit ours that his stinks compared to ours, and all this stuff. We all thought that he was exaggerating. Well……to our surprise……..HE WASN’T! He was telling the truth…it was way worse then ours! After we stayed there for like 15 minutes, Vikki and I decided to leave and go back home! On our way back home, we went a little around the stores on our streets. Vikki bought this really cute jacket, and I bought two turtlenecks! Then we got home and we stayed home for like 15 minutes, and then decided to leave so we can go buy our cell phones. Right when we got outside of our door, the girls were there! This was a good thing, because we only have 1 key to our apartment…for all of us 6 girls! So we gave them the key, we went to go the to cell phone store to go buy our cell phones, and we also bought a hair dyer and flat iron….and then we were going to meet up with them later on for dinner! We went to our friend Andrew’s house for dinner. The girls were supposed to be there by the time we got there, but they weren’t. So, we went by the internet café to finally go check our emails for the first time! I spent an hour…payed 2 euros for it too! Yeah…..pretty pricey!! I had to read all of my mails very quickly and wrote back to all my comments on myspace…they were very short though! I felt bad…but I had little time….and much to read than write! While we were at the internet café we met this really nice Christian married guy that was on a business trip here in Rome and he was telling us that he knows of churches and people we can meet up with and stuff here, and if we need anything to let him know or whatever! He was super nice!!! We were praying like seriously praying to meet a Christian person around here…because all the people we have bumped into here in Rome are all very worldly in their language, smoking, drinking, etc…you get the idea…..so meeting this guy…it was great! Guess where he lives?! …….. nope not Romania……he lives in IRELAND! Who ever knew that Romanians would ever live there!!!! Well…..now you know that they do! Crazy huh?! Haha yeah I know…..well…….Vikki and I, if it’s possible, we might go take a little visit in Ireland, because I have always wanted to go there!!! And by meeting this guy….what a great opportunity to do so!!! Anyways….so after the internet café, we went back to Andrew’s apartment and the girls were there making dinner! Which was great!!! We hung out and talked for like 30 minutes….and then all the guys, got all dressed up and we were about ready to get up and get our food….and the guys told us to sit down….so we did, and after we all sat down they all came towards us with roses for each of us!!! How cute is that!!!! Then…not only did they give us roses, they served each of us dinner!!! AWWW!!!!!!! It was a good Valentines Day for all of us! Then since I didn’t really help out with dinner….I washed all of the dishes after dinner was done. Then we all went back home! It was a great day, filled with lots of things that I saw, things that we did, got my new cell phone, dinner and most of all because I got to check my email lol and hear from all of my friends and family!!! I really missed them a lot…and hearing from them…..it totally made my day!!!! J

Feb. 15th, 2006 – Wednesday
So, today…..if none of you know…………I REALLY dislike Wednesday’s because it’s my longest day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (It felt EXTREMLY good to finally use a hair dryer rather than my having to sit next to our heater in our room) I start class at 9 am and have a 30 minute break from 12:00-12:30 and then class until 5!!! How horrible is that! Today…..Tiff went to class by herself for our first class…..which was ok, because I didn’t miss a thing in that class. I went to school with Bri, Kendra and Lisa and we took the bus, and someone tried to pick pocket Kendra! I was holding on to her…and Bri was noticing the guy behind her totally staring at us and our stuff. And all of a sudden Kendra felt someone moving all their fingers on her…and she’s like Diana what are you doing?! Are you touching me…and I’ m like yeah I am lol cuz I was holding on to her! And then when we got off…she’s like why would you do that to me?! And she showed me what she felt and I’m like I didn’t do that to you at all!!! And Bri was like…..I knew it….it was the guy behind you the whole time!!! CRAZY!!!! Bri was staring him down the whole time, so I think because of her he didn’t do anything! (THANKS GIRL J ) For lunch since I only have the shortest break…Bri and I decided to go share that special at McDonalds again!!!! Anyways…I have this Cinema class….I took this class, thinking it was going to be fun and interesting…….and boy was I wrong…I don’t like it at all….especially cuz its FOREVER long too! NO one likes this teacher either!!! She’s super weird! A couple of us gave her a nickname……it’s…..ABU…..you would understand if you would see her why we gave her that nickname! Lol On top of the class being extremely long…..today, she couldn’t get the TV. Projector working so she lectured for 3 hours or so….and then she got the technician guy to come in…he fixed the problem and she kept us in for almost another 2 hours! We got home close to 7 pm!!!!!!! WHAT A SUPER LONG DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After we took all our books and stuff home, we finally decided to go grocery shopping! So the way we do it, there’s only 3 little shelves so we each shelf is for each room. So Vikki and I bought things for ourselves, and spent almost 50 euros on food! Haha I’m planning on making something that I’ve never done in my life before……..and yeah…………so that was our whole day today!!!!
Let me not forget that many flirtatious comments came from Michael and Josh today towards Vikki too!!!!!!!!! By the way…..another cold shower was taken today!!!!! Tonight it also started raining really hard with lightning and thunder!!!! Up until now, its been cold but sunny outside! The rain just had to start!!!! L

Feb. 16th, 2006 – Thursday
(Another cold shower was taken today too……Just to let you know how I dry my hair…..to give you a visual…….there is a heater on our wall under the window in our room, and every morning after my shower, I go sit on a blanket that’s on the marble floor with my head towards the heater…..while reading my bible…..waiting for my hair to dry!!!.........you gotta love the way people have to improvise!!! J ) Anyways….today I had no class since I had our “art history” class technically on Tuesday when we went to go visit Vatican City! Today is Kendra’s 21ST Birthday!!!! J We were trying to get her out of the house all day. She had class today, and she wanted to skip it…and we didn’t wan to let her stay home! She finally left to class, and while she was gone….Tiff, Vikki and I went looking around school for little bakeries to find a cake for her! The ones we found were way too expensive or closed! Josh called Vikki to see what she was doing and he met up with us…..awkward…..at least for Tiff and I…..but yeah….he took us to a place next to school, and it was closed but it looked pretty good and fairly decent prices. So we waited around for the store to re-open….told Bri to keep Kendra distracted after class….we bought her cake, walked to school and came around the corner…..and started singing to her! She was so happy and was crying and she was totally touched! It was very cute!! J She loved it! Then a like 2 hours later…..all of the girls besides Vikki and I, went to Vienna, Austria! We went to an internet café today…and right next to it……we saw …………SUBWAY!!!!!! J I was so excited!!! I had to have some….it was really good J On our way home, this guy tried to pick pocket me! I have this purse with many pockets and all this stuff….but little did he know that I don’t have anything on the outside in those pockets, even though it looks like I do. Underneath one of the pockets though, was my umbrella….I saw the guy stick his hand and feel what was in there….and he realized it wasn’t anything important so he took his hand out, and moved into another section of the bus!!! Lol Tonight………..Vikki and I are alone………we have the whole apartment to ourselves!!!! The girls were totally gone……and we didn’t know what to do, so we just took a little walk around our apartment….to see what’s around, because all we know is what’s around school……and guess what we walked to………..the Colosseum!!! It was like seriously a 7-10 minute walk! We were excited for that! After our walk…..we came back home………and we went to bed!!!!!

Feb. 17th, 2006 – Friday
This morning we woke up…..took another cold shower….after the first few days….I seriously became immune to it! Anyways…..then we called our teacher up LeVonne….to see if we can go over to her place! We wanted to see her place, and also use her computer because she has internet connection at her place…..which is very rare here in Rome to have! She made us some tea….and gave us chocolate……which was absolutely delicious….and we stayed there and talked with her for a while and stayed a few hours. After we left her place….Vikki and I decided to walk home from school…on our way home…we finally dropped off all our postcards and sent them!!! Then all we did was homework the rest of the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing else but homework……we talked to Vikki’s cousin Danny from London and his sister Christina….and that’s about it. My mom called I think today too….and talked to her a little bit….but other than that just stayed home and did homework!!!! If it were up to me, I would have went out to go visit things around…..since I got here, I haven’t been in the school mood….because there is so much to do and see around here….but Vikki being a good girl….wants to get her things done on time and not procrastinate….which is something I tend to do sometimes with homework….and she made me do my homework!!!!!!!!! It’s a good thing she’s here with me lol

FEB 12TH

2006-03-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

Feb. 12th, 2006 - Sunday
So today, they took us on a tour of where our school is going to be. There are two different locations for our classes. They showed us both. They gave us time to go around and have some lunch before we had to all go our separate ways to our apartments. Right behind our school, if you look straight ahead down this little ally, you can see these huge gates! Tiff and I were really interested what it was, so we asked our coordinator Alessia and she told us that it’s a Villa. It belongs to one of the wealthiest person here in Rome! CRAZY!!!! Anyway…we all started going our separate ways for lunch…but we all had no idea where we were going, so we ended up at the same place. Us girls (my roommates and I) didn’t want to eat at a really small place with 50 people because it was going to take forever! So we left and went somewhere else and we found the cutest little restaurant. When we walked in there was only another couple that was there. By the time we left, it was full of Italians! We were so happy…..we found a really great Italian restaurant were all the locals go….and the people who owned the place were so nice and welcoming….we definitely knew that we were going to go there again! After lunch we all went on different busses, cars, etc to get to our apartments. We were all so anxious to see where we were going to end up. We got the biggest bus….and we were the first ones to get dropped off to our apartment! We were a little scared, because of all the stories we have heard that they might be bad….etc….no elevators and so on! The major street that they dropped us off on, was super nice….filled with all these places to go shopping! We met with our landlord and we walked in….and we saw an elevator! Haha we were really happy because we were on the 4th floor….technically the 5th…and with our luggage’s we would have broken our backs to carry all of them up to our apartment! We walked in…..and were sooo happy! It was nicer than we expected! There are 3 bedrooms….and I already told you how we all split up…..2 in each room! We wanted to start unpacking….but we didn’t! lol we started moving furniture around….etc to make things look a little better and a bit more comfortable! As you walk in to our apartment….you see two huge long “MIRRORS” and a very long hallway as you turn to your left. As you walk down the hallway…there is a really extremely small bathroom on your right, and then on your left is Vikki and my room. Right after you pass our room…there is a full sized bathroom on your right, followed by a kitchen on your right, and on the left hand side across the kitchen is Brina and Lisa’s room…..and if you just go straight down the hallway, you walk straight into Kendra and Tiffany’s room! It’s not the best description of how our apartment looks like lol but that’s all I can do! So after we moved everything around….then we finally started to unpack! But not everything….because it was getting late….and we had to get ready to go meet everyone for another dinner together! Everyone was soo tired at dinner! I sat with Tiff, Bri and Lisa…we kept telling each other to wake up! Bri actually fell asleep at one point while we were waiting for our main course to be served! Tonight’s dinner was super good though! We had pasta for appetizer, then chicken with potatoes and peas and salad for main course, then my favorite………Tiramisu for dessert! Doesn’t that sound good?! Well, let me tell you……….it was!!!!! We weren’t paying attention on how we even got to the restaurant that night…because we were following our coordinator person, Alessia, for this trip….and when we left the restaurant…we were slightly lost…..then we headed back towards the restaurant, and found our way home……hehe which was good. We all went to bed, we were crazy tired! Tiff and I had to wake up the earliest for our first class which started at 9 am.

FEB 11 2006

2006-03-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

Feb. 11th, 2006 – Saturday
Wake up call was at 7 am. It was very hard to really know what time it was, because there wasn’t a clock or anything for us to tell time! We went and had a little breakfast that the hotel provides. It was pretty good. Although I really really miss my orange juice from home! The one here tastes a little watered down! L So we got on our motor coach, and they took us throughout the city, I saw LeVonne (one of my teachers) looking out the window waiting to see something, so I tell Vikki to look with me too. And a minute later, we see the Colosseum! I think that’s when it mostly hit me that I was in Rome. Dennis…..I thought of you when I saw it…..there wasn’t any way for me to chip you off a piece of it though…sorry! I’ll try later though when I go back to it! J Anyway…so we took a tour around the Colosseum, and then we walked over to the Roman Forum! This place is amazing! There is SOO much history behind the Forum, and it just kind of leaves you in awe….at least it did for me! Then we went to this huge national building. I can’t remember exactly what it’s called. Then we walked over to the Pantheon….and after seeing that, we had a small lunch break, then we all went back to our hotel…and had a group meeting. They passed out our international student id cards and our bus/metro pass! Then Vikki and I went in our room and we just fell asleep. We were soo exhausted! We only wanted to take a little nap, but we ended up sleeping about 6 hours. During that time, my mom and Lidia called me, but I was so out of it, that I couldn’t think or even speak! Anyway…so we woke up…and Vikki and I were starving!!!!!! We wanted to eat so badly. So we went to go check to see what the rest of the girls were doing, and all the girls were gone except Bri….she was sleeping too! So we woke her up, because then we wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all during the night! Oh…..while she was getting ready to leave, I saw a box of ……guess what….WHEAT THINS!!! J oh….it reminded me of home and of a bunch of people….you know who you are ;) so….we went up on the ceiling, because a bunch of people were up there….it was way cold, so we left….and this guy who totally likes Vikki- his name is Michael or Mike…wanted to go with us downstairs! So I went ahead of them and he came down with her…and he wanted to show off to her, by jumping on one foot down all the stairs. (What a dork lol) he looked really funny….and then all of a sudden; I hear a big noise…..on the last stair…..HE FELL! Lol he got up and made it seem that his ankle didn’t hurt. So he came with me, Vikki and Bri to go find something to eat. So we left and found two restaurants that were open. We wanted to eat at the cheaper one, and when we went inside and told them in Italian how many people….they told us that it was full! We were a little upset, because they weren’t full….only about half the restaurant was filled with people, and then they let other people in after us. So we ended up going to another restaurant. We had a really nice waiter! We asked for plain, no gas, water and it still tasted like mineral water…but it was stronger than mineral water, and Bri and I didn’t like it, so we of course….like I do with just normal tap water…..guess what I did Eva?! Lol yup……..that’s right….I squeezed a few lemons in it! J So after dinner, we got back to our hotel, and we didn’t know what to do. We wanted to do our homework, but that never happened. So I ended up writing most of my postcards to everyone! So be expecting them….because I sent them out! Then we went to bed around 4 am and woke up at 7 am again, and now they were going to take us to our apartments!
Speaking about apartments, before I came to Rome, they had asked us who we want as a room mate and to chose up to 6 people for a whole apartment. So there was 6 girls, and they somehow messed up some things while we were back in the states with our situation and stuff, and there was not much they could do about it, because it was all going to be taken care by the people in charge here in Rome. So not until today, did we find out exactly who our roommates were going to be and if we would have gotten what we suggested! All 6 of us girls, seriously prayed soooooo much for us to be together, and once they started calling out all of our names, WE WERE SOO HAPPY! So, here are the girls I’m with. Diana & Vikki in one room, Lisa and Bri in the other room and Kendra and Tiffany in the other room!

my first day.....

2006-02-17T03:18:00.000-08:00

Buon Giorno Tutii!!!! : )

Well….let me start you all off with my day before I left!

Feb. 8th, 2006 - Wednesday
As most of you know, I really don’t like my Wednesday’s because it’s my longest day. I have class from 9-5 and only a half hour break from 12:30-1 pm. Well…I had EVERYTHING pretty much planned for what I was going to do before class, and after class. Before class, I needed to stop by Martina’s house, which I did, to drop something off for her. Then I went to class, got there a little late….(its ok Martina…it was great seeing you and talking to you) and after that class...I wanted to go to my car, to meet up with Vikki, so I can give her some of her books that I had. So I walk to where my car was, and couldn’t find it! Then I’m like, ok…I know I was tired, so maybe I parked a little further down….so, I go down a little bit and it still wasn’t there. I started to think that I lost my mind lol like seriously….because I always know where I park my car! So then, I started walking throughout most of the parking lot, and it still was no where to be found. Then Vikki came, and parked her car and I told her that I couldn’t find my car! She thought I was joking…and I just sat in her car, and I seriously started crying! Then she was like, well do you have an extra key…and I’m like yeah, I do...it’s at home! And then she’s like…well maybe Sammy went and got it and is doing a prank on you! I told her that I know Sammy would never do that, or even think of doing that to me! And she kept insisting that he might have done it. But I seriously started panicking, because not only did I not know where my car was, I had everything in there! My purse, camera, laptop, wallet…..EVERYTHING! I had no idea of who to call…what to do, I was in panic mode! I knew Sammy was home, so I called him! (Sammy….I just realized why you had that dream of me crying….maybe because of this! ) Anyways…I told him that I couldn’t find my car and that I looked everywhere. He was being all nice, trying to calm me down and stuff, (thanks by the way) and he’s like are you sure you remember where you parked lol and I’m like, “Sammy, when I am with you…I’m always the one telling you where you parked because you can’t remember….I think I know where I parked.” Lol anyway…while I was on the phone, this guy named Marc from my class was walking towards his car, and same thing happened to him. His car was gone! Thank God for him, because he knew exactly what to do, and who to call! In like 5 minutes he found where our cars were. They got towed and taken to the city of Orange! I would have not known of what to tell my parents if I went home telling them, that my car was missing! So, I was happy that I knew where it was now! So, I went to class….told my teacher that I had to go pick up my car, because it got towed away and she let me go. Vikki drove me there, I felt bad, because I made her miss her class too! Anyway, so I get there….and I had to pay $135!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that! Anyway…I got my car! So….this was definitely something I wasn’t planning on happening to me today, and it kind of messed up my whole entire schedule! Well after that, I went by Sammy’s house for a little bit, so I can say bye to his parents. Then I ran a whole bunch of errands, which was something that I had planned on doing. Then I met up with Eva, went to Jamba Juice and also the new Berean store lol! We had a great time together! Before I left with Eva to Jamba Juice, Cozmo dropped by, and surprised me lol (it was great seeing you Cozmo….we still need to do lunch) Anyway….I stopped by Sonrise, stayed for worship and then said bye to everyone! Oh….and on my way home, I got a phone call from Martina! She had just gotten in her first car accident! (I hope everything’s better now girl) So I get home…and I wanted to start packing! I wasn’t really in the mood of it though. So I took out the cd that my greatest friend Christina made for me! And I started to listen to it! I not only listened to it once, but twice in a row! But before I listened to the cd, I bought my sisters a little something so I gave it to them. And then Nicky’s like I have something for you too! So I go to her room, and she gives me a t-shirt that said FBI – fully blooded Italian. Lol and I thought it was really cute….then she’s like…there’s more….and she pulls out this little painting. OMG!!! I started crying when she gave it to me! BUT CHRISTINA…Omg girl…..thank you so much for the cd! I seriously was laughing, crying, etc throughout the cd! And I want to THANK EVERYONE who was all apart of putting this together too! YOU GUYS ARE ALL AMAZING! : ) As I’m writing this out right now, I’m listening to it again! : ) It’s getting put to great use!!!! I’m listening to my song right now! lol thanks Josh...the Cosa group sounded GREAT!!!!!!! Anyway….so I didn’t pack at all that night….after listening to the cd twice, I just went to sleep!

Feb. 9th, 2006 – Thursday – Feb. 10th, 2006 – Friday
So, today I woke up and I started panicking, because I didn’t know what to pack, I had so much to do, with so little time to get anything finished! I seriously was in such a panic stage, that I couldn’t open my water bottle at one point….lol it was crazy! I texted Eva and Sammy and asked them to pray for me….cuz I couldn’t handle it anymore! I stayed in Lidia’s room for a little bit, before she left to work. I finished packing right when I had to leave my house to go to the airport! Martina stopped by my house around 9 in the morning and stayed for like half an hour...we talked a little, and then she prayed for me (thank you Martina)….So I went to the airport with my mom and Nicky! My dad drove there too by himself! I got to the airport around 12:45 in the afternoon. So I hung out with Vikki and my family and ate some lunch in the airport. My dad left….and I went to go take a picture! Lol I saw something that reminded me of EVA! J yup….girl, YOU ARE ALWAYS ON MY MIND!!!! J I think Josh knows this time….because I was on the phone with him while I was taking this picture! Lol….Josh it was good talking to you before I left! And thank you for your prayers, and you are always in mine too! J Ok…so then not much longer I had to leave. And right before I left, Fane and Evelyn stopped by the airport to say goodbye too! And it was soo funny, because the whole time, Fane thought that Vikki came to say goodbye to me too, and he kept wondering why everyone was hugging Vikki too. Then when he found out that she was coming with me he was amazed lol! It was funny!
So we get on the plane….we moved around so that all of us girls- my 5 room-mates could sit next to each other. As most of the back of the plane had gotten their seats, there were 4 of us together in one row, and then 2 girls behind us. And we all got together, turned around to face the girls behind us, and each one of us prayed for our flight, our whole entire trip and for our family and friends that we were leaving behind! It was very emotional!!! Then we finally took off!!!! And even though I was on the plane, it still didn’t hit me that I was leaving to ROMA!! Ok….little side note…..did you know that ROMA spelled backwards spells AMOR!!! Amor means love for those of you who don’t know! J lol ok….back to while I was on the plane! So the whole time which was like 15 hour flight to Munich, Germany I only slept like 20 minutes. They had 2 movies that played! Haha and it was perfect timing, because when I remembered that I had to read another letter from EVA….she had asked me what movie was playing, right when one was about to start! The first movie was called……I don’t remember, but it wasn’t that great! But the second movie that played it was called GOAL, or Goalie lol it was some movie about soccer! And that movie just reminded me about Pastor Kurt! Pastor Kurt, I am definitely going to go to a soccer game for you, maybe two! J But that movie made me more excited to go watch one!!! Hehe So, not much happened on the plane, we wanted to play Catch Phrase…..Sammy, Eva, Laura and my sisters know that game ( we played it on our trip to AZ) but it didn’t really work out, because we didn’t want to wake people up! So, then we finally landed in Munich, Germany. It was snowing!!!!! We were all excited to see the snow! On our way to go to our next flight, we had a chance to go outside and have little snow ball fights, etc. it was extremely cold, so we didn’t stay out that long! Then to get to our next flight, to go to Rome, we had to take a bus to another part of the airport, and in like the olden day movies where you actually walk up the stairs from outside to go up in the plane….that’s what we had to do! It was pretty cool! This plane was extremely small!! There were 3 people in my row though; I was sitting next to the window a person from my class on the isle and some random Italian guy in between us. This guy took up soooo much room! I was so squished! I fell asleep for about an hour, and the flight was only supposed to be 2 hours. So I was thinking to myself…that there wasn’t much left to go. Then when I woke up and looked at my time, an hour did pass..but we were still at the airport! There was a little snow blizzard and we had to wait it out till we could leave! So for the next two hours I did nothing! Lol listened to my ipod! I was sad that I didn’t have any more movies on there, because I accidentally deleted them…..(sorry jonny…but thanks for taking time to do that for me) and yeah…then we finally arrived in Rome! Yippee!! But it still hasn’t hit me that I was here! It took us almost 2 hours for everyone to get their luggages. Some got left in Munich and were going to arrive the next day. Then we got picked up by a big motor coach bus and taken to a welcome dinner that they had prepared for us at a local restaurant. Vikki and I felt a little more at home, because just like Romanians, Italians serve you like 4 different portions of food! So for appetizer we had this cold eggplant and pepper thing. It was kind of different; I wasn’t fond of it though. Then we had pasta with meat sauce. Then for our main course, it was eggplant lasagna. Finally for dessert…..my favorite…..GELATO (Italian ice cream)!!!! Yeah…..can you say that’s a lot of food?! And just like Romanians….its very impolite to not finish everything off of your plate! We couldn’t finish our soda that they had given us, and so since we payed for it, we took it home with us! We didn’t want to waste a whole bottle of coca-cola!! LOL Then we got to our hotel. Checking in didn’t take that long, which was nice, because I just wanted to go to sleep! Vikki and I shared a bedroom together. We were in room 503 in the Hermitage Hotel. The rest of our room mates were in 603 and 703! Haha it was pretty cool! Anyway…so there was 2 twin sized beds and it was a very very tiny room and we had a bathroom…we had a bathtub with no shower door or curtain, so taking showers in there, were extremely extremely hard! We would get water all over the floors! So the next day, we had a wake up call at 7 am! It was crazy …I wanted to sleep in…..EVERYONE wanted to sleep in. But I guess it was ok…because we were going to go on a city tour of Rome!

Feb. 11th, 2006 – Saturday
Wake up call was at 7 am. It was very hard to really know what time it was, because there wasn’t a clock or anything for us to tell time! We went and had a little breakfast that the hotel provides. It was pretty good. Although I really really miss my orange juice from home! The one here tastes a little watered down! L

………………MORE TO COME LATER……………….WITH MORE PICTURES TOO!!!!!

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2006-02-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

So.....these are my ROME ROOMIES :) Tiff, Bri, Vikki, Kendra and Lisa!!!! :) your going to see a lot more of these girls................. :)
Last night we got our plane tickets!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously have been waiting for this day for about a year now....and I can't believe that its finally going to happen in less than a week! I wish i was leaving about 2 weeks later though....because there is a whole bunch of people coming to visit here for the choir festival, that i haven't seen in a very long time...and i would have liked to have seen everyone especially before i left..... im kind of stressing out, because i still didnt start packing yet! haha yeah i know, i need to get on top of this........but i really dont know where to begin. i only have one thing in mind lol ............and its our "traveling black dress"! and i hope i am able to get it from my friend before i leave! .........oh and please, please keep in touch, because i know i'm going to miss home way tooo much....especially my family and really close friends!!!!!!!!i'll be getting a cell phone while i'm there......so i'll make sure to give you guys my number!!! :) well......i have to get going........but expect to hear more from me, in about a week!!! :) !!!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!