2 BrOtHeRs 1 SiStEr & PhotoBooth

Sitting Waiting Wishing

for my parents to get here so I can begin to move all of my stuff and get back on the road to norcal for a week. It's kinda boring hanging out in an empty apartment all by myself. Maybe I'll venture down to the boys house and see what they're up to one last time. 

I packed all my hoodies and its raining. Way to go me. 

XoXo JB
& Snoopy

is NO longer...

Unemployed! I got the job at Visual Photography here in San Diego County and will start working there later this June. (For those of you non-bloggers, if you click on the link you can view their website.) 

I am so happy and excited to stay in San Diego. I got a little worried and unsure about what to do and where to go, but after a lot of praying and networking with all of my Brooks connections, it all came together in just about the 11th hour. 

For now, I will spend the weekend packing and visiting with my parents and brothers who will arrive in SD on Saturday. I may go home for a week or two to do some photography jobs up there and spend some time with friends and family before moving into my cousins house in SD and starting my new job. 

This summer is going to be fabulous and I can't wait for it to begin. I'll spend it in a new town, with new people, and a new job. Cheers to new beginnings and the world of opportunity.

XoXo JB

Stoked!

for my interview tomorrow with a portrait studio in SD! It couldn't have come at any better time since I am deciding whether or not to stay in SD or move back to Pville this weekend... 

Let's hope I'll be staying down here. 

Cheers to me and my great connections from Brooks.

XoXo JB

FaBuLoUsNeSs

Get a glimpse for yourself...

One of my FAVORITES...

is coming to visit in a few hours and staying til Monday!!!

It is going to be a fabulous weekend.

So far on the itinerary we've got:

The beach.
A free fashion show at a pool party in downtown with free drinks and good looking people. (At least we hope so)
Photos.
Good food.
And possibly my last weekend in SD for the next few months.

I'll leave you with these until we post up some new ones from the 3 day weekend...

And remember: 

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
JB

Pros & Cons of Norcal

I am trying to figure out what to do with my life and where to go from here. I have one more week in my socal apartment until my family comes down to move my stuff and celebrate my little brother's 16th birthday.

I have several options but the two I'm considering the most are staying in SD or moving home with the family to the little tiny town of PLACERVILLE.

For those of you who don't know, Placerville is a small town located off highway 50 right between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. There's tons of trees, a few coffee shops, and a handful of legit people. 

So here it goes. We'll start with the PROS...

* Let's state the obvious, FREE rent and food

* Family Time

* A breath of fresh mountain air

* No more city water. Fresh Tap Water all year long

* My best friend Kell will be there (when she's not in school from 5-10 P.M. every weeknight)

* Carrie, Matthew, Aaron, and a few others are still around to occupy my time when I'm not at work

* A sense of community. I'm kind of a big deal up there. At least with the moms

* Hot weather, the lakes, and my pool all summer long

* Birthday celebrations!

* Grandparents and cousins are sure to come around

* A few photo jobs here and there

* Old job connections...

And now for the CONS...

* No beach

* Won't have my own place

* RULES? Probably.

* Not as many friends

* Hot Hot Hot

* Going back to my hometown = blast from the past. I'm sure I'd run into it somewhere.

* Maybe having to settle for a full time non photo job

* Spending almost every day wishing I was back down here

* Having to move everything back down here in 4 months

* Not seeing cousins and family from Colorado as much

* Boringness

* Going back to DIAL UP internet

I think I'll try and stay...

If not, I'll be back in about 4 months. 

Watch out San Diego.

JB

Who Knew...

that spending a night in and playing on Photobooth for 2 hours could be so much fun?

Laughter. Its FREE, FUN, and FABULOUS.



Johnny Bravo? He wishes.

I would be scared too...



Cheesy Mr. & Mrs. Sunshine portrait.

You know you're COOL when...

GOODBYE for now. 

We'll meet again in a few months. 

Maybe.

JB

I heart COLORADO.

I'm back.

Wish I was still there.

We left on Wed. afternoon around 2 P.M. and arrived in beautiful Colorado around 8 A.M. on Thursday. We drove through Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and finally made it to Colorado. We stopped in Vegas for a quick dinner and when we woke up we were driving through the Rockies. It's pretty awesome when you wake up in the car and see the sun peaking over the snowy mountains, along side a river, and sheep grazing in the grass.



After arriving, we had breakfast with Kim (the bride), Melissa (her friend from HS), and Kim's parents. We then got dressed and us girls headed out for manicures, pedicures, lunch, makeovers, and shopping! I had originally decided to nap but couldn't pass up the opportunity with the family.





After getting free makeovers at Sephora we decided to head home. We had a good night in visiting and catching up with the family.



Friday morning we woke up, welcomed tons more family, and celebrated by having a BBQ. We made homemade ice cream, had hot dogs and hamburgers, rode horses, and had a good time.

Saturday morning our favorite cousins Lew, David, and Michael accompanied by Sylvia and Kara awoke just in time to have blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs with all of us for breakfast at Stacy's home/ranch.
Then we headed out to Palmer Lake for the rehearsal. Kim, Melissa, and I made a coffee stop, and picked up her beautiful flowers, and made it to the rehearsal just in time. We were lucky enough to meet Joe (the groom) minutes before and quickly Melissa and I approved. Then it was time for another feast! Joe made some amazing ham and shredded beef sandwiches, and we polished off the salads, chips and dip, homemade ice cream, and pies and celebrated some birthdays.



Later that night, Melissa and I helped Kim clean her room, do some laundry, organize all her papers and things to do, and pack for her honeymoon. (She had no idea where she was going but was told to pack beach like clothes.) We finished around midnight that night and finally went to bed.

None of us slept very well and we all received a text from the bride at 2:54 A.M. letting us know she was having a hard time sleeping as well and that she would be picking us up around 7:30 A.M. to go to the chapel.

So, at 7:45 A.M. Melissa and I hopped in the car, had her make a quick stop at Starbucks for us, (to ensure we would stay awake for the wedding) and arrived at Palmer Lake.



Melissa started Kim's make up, got the mimosas going, and Mollie came to do her hair. All the bridal party eventually got there, Stacy finished the cake, I took some pictures, and before we all knew it, it was wedding time.

The ceremony was beautiful, and even had a few humorous parts in it. Her dad pretended to pay Joe and empty his pockets when they got to the end of the aisle, and Kim's dog Buster was the ringbear and ran down the aisle to Who Let the Dogs Out.

We then went down to the reception and had a good dinner, ate some really good cake, and danced the evening away. 

We were all exhausted on Sunday but stayed awake long enough to visit with the family until we finally all fell asleep. Monday morning came, we had breakfast and packed our bags. 

Goodbyes are never fun but we all look forward to meeting again this September in Santa Barbara for Michael and Kara's wedding...

There aren't enough words to summarize my past 5 days in Colorado and only those who were there can understand. So much of the trip is left out of this blog, but hopefully you will get a glimpse of what I'm talking about through my writing and photographs that will be posted over the next few days.

They say a photograph is worth a thousand words...

I get to edit 600+ of them. If that doesn't explain it, then I don't know what will.

 Now it's back to normal every day life here in San Diego. 

but I will leave you with this one wedding image to preview until I finish the 599 others. 

P.S. We opened the itinerary and Joe is taking her to Jamaica for their 10 day honeymoon.

With Love, Julianne

And I'm Off...

We had a good night celebrating the neighbor's graduation last night. It was complete with Stone Brewery, Rockband, and Popcorn. I'll miss their actual graduation this Saturday, but they're not leaving yet so maybe we'll have a BBQ by the pool or something when I get back.

I'm just finishing packing for my road trip out to Colorado. I'll be leaving around 1 P.M. today and arriving there sometime tomorrow afternoon. We will be driving through the night and I plan to sleep the majority of the time in the car. I'll be traveling with my cousins and their 4 kids (from my previous dollhouse post) so I don't think I'll have any trouble finding some kind of entertainment along the way. 

I'm excited to see everyone in my big crazy family. My aunt and uncle will be there from North Carolina and they are both photographers so we plan to spend at least some time shooting together. They shoot primarily nature so that will be fun. I'll also be documenting the trip along the way, taking family photos, and of course wedding photos. I'm stoked to be getting new stuff for my portfolio. 

On our down time we'll probably be playing a few games of Canasta (family tradition), horseback riding, touring the mountains and cute little towns, and kicking back enjoying the nice mountain air while catching up. 

It's so nice to be getting away for a little bit. I just wish my actual family could accompany me. Maybe next time. They're coming down to SD the last weekend of May so I'm excited for that. We will also be celebrating my LITTLE bro's big 16th birthday. So crazy. Watch out on the roads if you live anywhere near Placerville.

I don't plan to spend much time online out there, I won't even be bringing a lap top, but you know the number should anything out of the ordinary occur. Hope everyone has a FABULOUS week and I'll be back next week to post up all my images and events from the trip. 

Confused? No. Patient? Maybe. For the better? I think so.

There's always something 
In the way 
There's always something 
Getting through 
But it's not me 
It's You 

Sometime's ignorance 
Rings true 
But hope is not in 
What I know 
Not in me 
It's in You 

It's all I know 

And I find peace 
When I'm confused 
I find hope when 
I'm let down 
Not in me 
But in You 

I hope to lose myself 
For good 
I hope to find it in the end 
Not in me 
It's You 
It's all I know

Not many people will understand this post. What used to be is different than what is now. Now that "you" has been replaced with a whole new meaning and relies on faith. That chapter of life is over, the doors have closed and new ones have opened, and new people have ventured in. For the better? I think so. 

I went to an awesome service last night at church. I felt like it targeted everything going on in my life at the moment. I'm excited to see where this path in life takes me. Who knows where I'll end up after I get back from Colorado next week, but one (or several) things are for sure. I've met some really cool people, got closer with family, have a more positive outlook on life, and thank everyone who has been a part of it so far. I would love to stay in SD but who knows. Maybe Ventura is my next place to explore. Only time will tell...

For the Boys Viewing Only.

Now for the remake...

You know you love it. We're done making fun of you now. Happy Graduation!

Meet My Mexi Boys.

Omar in his one piece.

Victor catching the Swine Flu.

Oscar stoked about the soccer game.

And Daniel and Stephen as homies.

These are the infamous boys down the hill that you often hear about in my SD adventures. You can usually find us hanging out together at FroYo or chillin in the hot tub at our complex. They have no idea I've created these images, but when they come back to their apartment tomorrow they'll be sure to have a good laugh when they see them taped all over their doors. We had an awesome time celebrating Victor's birthday this weekend in TJ. Yeah, I made it there and back and I didn't even catch the Swine Flu. Imagine that. I'm almost positive I was the only blonde girl there and probably looked like a tourist crashing their party. Whatev, it makes a good story that someone else is probably telling right about now. Anyways, they take good care of us when we cross the border. The party even included a hotdog stand, a port a potty, and a keg, along with a million other bottles of liquid to impair your judgement. We mingled with the crowd, listened to good music, and danced the night away. It was a good time. Happy Birthday Victor!

Just To Catch Up.

A little taste of life from this past week.

I went to Pacific Beach (PB) for Cinco de Mayo with my roommate and some boys from down the hill. We waited in about 4 lines and finally ended up at the Cantina after a "short" 15 minute wait in line. The fact that we're girls really helped us out. 

We started our night off with a shot of tequila and a Tecate beer. (I wasn't planning on going out so I didn't bring a camera or else this story would have been so much better with visuals.) After sitting at our table for a little bit, I noticed a guy who kept staring at me and would always turn to my roommate when our eyes met. He finally came to our table and we got to talking. I'm not one to go out and approach strangers, I'd rather just go to the bar and hang out with friends and mingle with others. After explaining to him 3 times where Santa Barbara was, and telling him that I am a photographer, he asked me if I had ever done nudes. I never got into that but apparently he was, and had modeled for a few drawing classes. He then attempted to draw his member in the air for me and I quickly turned to my roommate and cut off his awkwardness. He finally left after standing alone for a few minutes. 

Later that night, I spotted a cute boy walking around and my roommate's boyfriend quickly went over and brought him to our table. I've got some pretty good wingmen, and women LOL. I learned that he's a marine, grew up in Conneticut, and is very cute. We'll see if he comes around again. 

Til then, I've got lots to do. Yesterday I spent the day running errands, getting fingerprinted and now I have to go get a TB test for a new job. I got hired as an Activity Leader for an after school program where I will be planning projects and supervising children and other staff at a school down near SDSU. I've done it before so it's really nothing new but it will be nice to meet some new people. 

Anisa, Javi, and I went on a little road trip last night to UCSD to pick up a book for Anisa's final. We looked like those awkward kids that didn't fit in. I was the art school kid with my music print shirt and hemp bracelet, Anisa was the CSUSM kid with her college sweatshirt, and Javi was the gangsta in his chargers beanie and gold chain. We got to check out the 6 level library, the Dr. Seuss statue, and the awesome architecture of the school. We spotted a campus party where they were playing Eminem, and thought about crashing it, but decided not to. We left singing Eminem songs the whole way back to the car. Such nerds.

Speaking of college, Santa Barbara is on FIRE again. It seems as though they can't go 6 months without a huge fire. Here are the stats so far:

Acres Burned: 1,300

Date Started: May 5, 2009 at 1:50 p.m.

Cause: Unknown

Percent Contained: 0%

Structures Threatened:3,500

Homes Evacuated:5,400 homes, 13,575 people

Structures Destroyed: Dozens of homes have burned, however no official number has been released.

Injuries: 10 firefighters

Maybe it's a good thing I didn't end up moving back there, even though I would have loved it. A lot of my favorite memories were made in that town but now it's time to make new ones in a new city with new people. 

And so the journey begins...

Let's Play Doll House.

I pretty much have the coolest family ever.

I miss my family from up north. Now that I'm growing up and trying to find a job, it's hard to see them as often as I did when I was in college. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on so much like hanging out with my brothers, going to Easter Sunday dinners at Grandma's house with all the cousins, and being there for my mom when my brother's stress her out and have airsoft wars all around the house. At least with todays technology we have cell phones which let me stay in touch with them as much as possible. I hope I will be able to go visit up north soon and visit everyone.

Congratulations Nicole (Bri) and Micah on your engagement ! I can't wait to take your engagement pics and post them up. I'm also hoping to make it home for some birthdays (John, Kell, &  Aaron.) Until then, I'll just be hanging out in San Diego...

Until I leave for Colorado in 9 days! I'm road tripping it out there with my cousins and I'll be there from May 13-18th. I'll be photographing my cousin's wedding, spending time with the whole entire family, going horseback riding, hiking, and catching up with everyone. It is going to be an amazing time and I'm so thankful I get to be a part of it. 

For now, I leave you with this quote...

"The family.  We are a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that binds us all together. " ~Erma Bombeck

The Oceanside Pier.

Today I went with my roommate, Anisa, to La Jolla (one of my new fave spots in which I would like to live) and helped her work on a fast food slideshow for school. Then we went to pick up her twin sisters, picked up a footlong from Subway, and headed to the Oceanside Pier. We attempted to take some quick portraits (which I will retouch later,) and then came home for a quick nap. We are supposed to go out to club Below tonight cuz we're on the guest list, but not sure if we'll make it. 

While getting ready for my quick nap, I got a phone call from a far away friend, Nicole/Brijette (depending on where you met her) and found out that she just got engaged! It's the first time a real friend has gotten engaged so it's kind of a big deal. Then she gave me the update on all of our other pregnant and or married friends from high school. 

After I got to thinking, I kinda felt like the odd one out. I'm one of the very few who graduated from college with a bachelor's degree, is still living away from home, and trying to make it on my own. I have a great group of friends from back home and college, but not too many down here in SD. I'm still looking for a decent job, and very far away from getting engaged or having kids. It just makes me wonder if I'll be that one friend who never moves back home and falls into the normal "life after college" routine with all your old friends, job, and significant other. I'm already different enough from everyone up there for going to an art school but I don't mind. I'm just happy to have followed my dreams and have gotten so much support from my friends and family to do so. 

I'm still young, with a lot of imagination and determination. Everything happens for a reason and things seem to slowly be fitting into place. The impatient part of me just wishes things would move a little bit faster. Other than that, I can't really complain. 

Watch Out For This Guy.

He's the one that pretty much captured our entire journey through college. So, if you saw the college video, he's the number ONE source. 

Word has it on the street that he's AsIaN, loves CHEESEBURGERS, and is from the 916.

Like what you see? He's also SINGLE ladies! Grab him up while you can. 

You'll probably find him on a street corner in LA somewhere taking a time lapse of a bum or something. He gets down with his creative self.

Until you track him down in person, check out his stuff @ www.THEGOODSTAYALONE.com

Love you Kyle.