the diAry of angi b.

Twenty Three

that's how long John & I have been together, married for 19 and still in love. i said it before - we are total opposites in many ways. and maybe that's the secret to a successful marriage. there's quite a bit of head-butting, and we're not forever and always eye-to-eye on many things... maybe just on the things that really count... like meeting half-way to keep peace. And then sometimes meeting 60/40 or 30/70 (and no difference who is giving more than taking) ... the point is working-things-out-for-the-sake of sanity and love.... for love. That's one key ingredient that has kept us in tact.

New school year

...and we are off and running for the new school year. Over the last few years it seems to begin before summer is officially over. Sigh. Labor day weekend is here, btw. Dominic will begin a new program at Willowood in West Covina starting next Tuesday (hopefully if the transportion goes as planned.) I met his teacher Teresa Griegos today for an overview of her class schedule and layout. She's a self-proclaimed tough teacher and is big on making the student use his communication skills to navigate in the class room and in his world. He'll be bused to and from the school site. I was surprised that a chaperone wouldn't be present for the commute - the bus driver is essentially "it". I was assured by the district nurse that the drivers assigned for the commute are used to dealing with kids with his special needs. I guess it's just me and my anxiousness about Dominic dealing with new and unchartered experiences. I'm not sure how Dominic will deal with it, actually. He enjoys our joyrides and being with other kids his age. I have to stop thinking for the worst and embrace this thing called life. I have to let go a little bit and let my children find their own way in it - triumphs and falls alike. ... yup, just let him find his own path...and as a mom, enjoy the journey alongside him.

Stephen & Eileen Wedding Day 8-23-08

i was asked to photograph my nephew's wedding last Saturday... honestly, i was intimidated because it was my first time and can you imagine the pressure??? so many people had faith in me and as for me, i am ALWAYS my own worst critic. (John kept reminding me all week: it's the most important day of their lives! can you believe this guy?) Here's one of my favorites because it definitely reflects my style of photography ... random and in-the-moment...

experimenting with photoshop

Sean b. is my second son of three, my third of four children.... Just wanted to document a little something about him right now... a simple snapshot of who is right now. The days go by, you know. Here it is. There it goes.

i was experimenting with photoshop today and grabbed his picture from my vast, vast library (can it be that my photo library is so overwhelming that i can't seem to get myself back into scrapbooking?).

and on Beijing 2008...Michael Phelps is so yesterday. LOL.

emersed in a sea of words

wherever she finds herself she is emersed in a world of her own in a sea of a million words

the best part is the elEment of sUrprise...

... dOminic at Irvine Spectrum... there we were just walking around in Irvine and he spots it a mile away ... the fountain of fun where you can dash across the concrete and play "tag" with the water sprouting out of the ground. Luckily i brought along a change of clothes for him --- so getting soaked down to the bone would not be an issue. I took about 50 shots and it was tough to get a good clear picture because he could hardly stand still.... and for 1/2 a second there was a window of opportunity --- and viola! This shot captured the joy of summer perfectly ....'GOTCHA!'

 

out of touch and out of my mind April 24,2008

Feeling out of sorts... and disoriented from the blog world and anything scrapbook or photography related. I've got TOO much on my plate these days with school and work and family.... there's no time for "chilling" do ya know what i mean??? So today I am taking a break and posting a little blurb for the blogworld.

Mr. B. took this pic of me in Carlsbad. We were on a Petra company outing (brunch and shopping in Carlsbad) It was a beautiful Spring day --- and the perfect day to do that "chilling" thing I was talking about. The perfect day to just "do nothing"... 

... Happy New Year --- (24 days later!)

The Bustamante New year's day tradition for the last 7 years: we take a drive down to the beach, walk on the pier, chase Dominic and take a million pics. My darling husband gave me an "after Christmas" gift of all gifts: a telephoto lens that I absolutely LOOOOOVVVVEEE! Now I can take pics from afar and get that cool depth-of-field look. I am loving it to no end....

disNey in dEcember 2007

our company christmas party this year included dinner at the Grand California Hotel and two tickets to Disneyland...

John and I upgraded our tickets to annual passes and wandered around the park for four hours snapping photos of eachother and the cool Disney Christmas Decor all throughout the park.

Although we only went on one ride because we knew we'd be back again and again, we had thee best time doing nothing! It was STRESS free (are U kidding, no kids!)

mY entry for Lu's circle journal

Dear Lu,

I am so late and embarrassed that i've had your CJ since sumMer. I finally finished this 2-page spread about what I tend to say the most...

and it was really a toss up between OMG and Dude!

Valley-speak for a forty-something woman seems ridiculous, but it's pretty much embedded in my California-style vocabulary. so there U go. Confessions of a southern california girl.

I just received Ali's AEZine and what she said about using a few select cardstock colors over and over out of sheer preference makes perfect sense to me. So glad that I'm not the only one who continues to use the tried and true just because it suits me and my style. I am forever using the muted chocolate tones, black, white, kraft as the background for most of my scrapbook pages. I prefer them because they offer so much versatility to my photos and the color-schemes I choose for my projects. Why design with that which does not inspire you? Be true to yourself...

Amen?