Astonishing Bristols

Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-05T20:59:00.001-07:00

Beach House

2010-04-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

Me... them. Coachella 2010.

Front Yard Photo Shoot

2010-03-23T23:12:00.006-07:00

Ethan is so cute. We couldn't get enough of him.

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-22T22:10:00.005-07:00

Whooo! Spring Break 2010. Oh wait, this is the family edition. I had a great time with the family.

My sisters: Pastora, Crystal, Me, Kirstie, Thelma (L to R)

My Gugu

My Jackie Bear

Mi Familia, I <3 being Nicaraguan

Crystal and Ethan

Backyard Photo Shoot

2010-03-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Our Pizza Making Night

2010-03-01T21:04:00.002-07:00

The family made pizza from scratch last night (minus the crust). The kids had fun getting all messy. We made a total of 6 personal pizza pies.

Brent and Nubia

Jack cracks us up.

The finished product... yum.

Jackie is 4

2010-02-21T23:12:00.004-07:00

We celebrated Jack's birthday this weekend who turns 4 this Monday. I can't believe my baby is 4 years old.

President's Day Weekend 2010

2010-02-16T20:53:00.003-07:00

Busy Busy Busy. I enjoyed the long weekend with the family. And oh ya, Valentine's Day was this weekend. Thanks to Pita, the husband and I got to go for sushi - our favorite!

Park

2010-02-08T20:49:00.002-07:00

The day was too nice to stay indoors. We did our usual library and park trip on Sunday.

Not sure why he was sad. But he tries to do his best to make me hug him with those puppy eyes.

Gugu, the Victorious! First time to cross the monkey bars. He has tried and tried for a long time and he was finally able to hang.

Hanging out

2010-02-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

The kids at home.

Birthday

2010-01-30T18:28:00.001-07:00

It's my birthday... going out! Whoo!

Going to watch Phoenix on Monday:

Photos from Zoo

2010-01-25T20:49:00.001-07:00

Went to the zoo again. But this time we took Pita who's never been there. It was fun and kinda cold.

PF Chang's 1/2 Marathon

2010-01-23T17:28:00.002-07:00

My first big running event and hopefully not my last. I ran a great race, breathing was even. About mile 11 my knees started hurting but I kept running. I finished the race in 2:39:32.

PF Chang's 1/2 Marathon 2010

California Trip

2010-01-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Cooking with Pita

Efin

My Black Eye

2010-01-12T23:32:00.001-07:00

I got headbutted in my soccer game on Sunday and ended up with this shiner. My very first black eye. Ouch.

Hiking South Mountain

2010-01-10T10:25:00.003-07:00

We decided the kids were old enough to start hiking regularly. We've been a few times with them now and they do pretty good. Jackie has a tougher time but does his best he lasts about 45 mins.

Playing Soccer

2010-01-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

Jack trying to get the ball away from me.

Jack

Brent

Pictures from 2005

2010-01-04T23:39:00.000-07:00

My Gugu... I was still staying home with him. I loved seeing him in that black shirt - The Cure, Boys Don't Cry.

I got pregnant shortly after this picture (May 2005) because and I had Jack Feb. 2006

Griffith Observatory

2009-12-27T00:55:00.000-07:00

We went to Griffith Observatory with the boys, Pastora and Kirstie. Lil' Brent was in love with all the sciences. Jack loved running around and making us laugh. Today was a great day.

Zoolights at Phoenix Zoo

2009-12-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Maka and Papa took us to Zoolights last night. The boys had fun playing with their light sabors.

Jack's Christmas Program

2009-12-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Jack had his Christmas program on Thursday. I'm so glad I was able to go. His class sang, "Santa Claus is coming to town!"

i hate you texas!

2009-12-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

At the Getty Center

2009-12-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

Me and Brent at the Getty Center in LA over Thanksgiving vacation. More pictures to come.

The Abyss - 2009 Reserve

2009-11-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Eric told us that Deschutes Brewery released their 2009 Reserve of The Abyss. We didn't have a goblet to pour it into but I did the best we had and enjoyed this very strong beverage.

Our Saturday: 11/7

2009-11-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Love Brent's smile.

Classic Jack.

Wedding @ The Icehouse

2009-11-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

My good friend got married this weekend. Here's one of my favorites shots of the night (there were 6 images that I turned into a panorama). If I have time, I'm wanting to do more tweaks to it, like remove the car parked in the doorway and fix the perspective on it... one day.

Lost Teeth

2009-11-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

Brent lost 2 teeth in one week. Here's a big cheese from him with his big boy teeth already coming in. Jack had to pretend he lost 'em too.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

2009-11-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.state.ie/2009/10/reviews/fanfarlo-reservoir/

I haven't gotten the album but I really like all the songs I have listened to - including this one: Harold T. Wilkins.

Soccer

2009-11-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

Gugu's Soccer Game

It's great seeing him out on the field - he's always smiling and laughing. Last weekend he told me he can hear me cheering for him during the game. When he told me that, I felt like my mom when we were young. I remember my mom yelling for us - I loved it.

I think he was keeping score...

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Our Busy Saturday

2009-10-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Gugu's soccer game at 8:30AM

Off to the pumpkin patch with Maka and Papa: 12-5PM

Photoshop World 2009-Las Vegas

2009-10-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite Photoshop artist, Katrin Eismann. Thanks to my father-in-law, I've been following her for about 5 years. Love her work.

Another Photoshop great, Ben Willmore. He's stuff is amazing and he's the other designer I really wanted to meet.

The gang from work. I had a blast with all of 'em.

Suns Game/Gugu's Soccer

2009-10-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Brent and I went to a preseason basketball game. Suns played some European team. The European team put up a fight in the first half but then puttered out by the end of the 3rd qtr.

Gugu started soccer. He loves it.

2009-07-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Brent and Gugu being silly. Reading a book and heading off to bed.

Summer Time

2009-07-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Brent

Jack

Music Meets Sky

2009-06-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

Collage of my Coachella pictures.

Original Images:

Potty Training

2009-05-18T01:12:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my first photo of my 365 set. My intentions were to have 1 photo a day but well, this one took me 2 months. Between having creative blocks, spending time with family and work there's no way I can put up 1 manipulated photo a day. So, we'll see how far I get... I'll work at my pace and put up the images as I finish them. It's about having fun, right? Enjoy...

Original images below.

Pastora and Jack

2009-05-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

This was taken about a month or 2 ago while Pastora and Kirstie were in between trimesters. I was working on this but never finished till now. It was nice having the girls here. I know my boys and I love spending time with them. Not sure if they will be able to do that anymore. Everyone is growing up and getting real jobs.

Aging techniques

2009-04-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Original photo. No curves/filters applied.

Simple cross processed filter (currently love this filter). Unsharp mask at 160%.

Manually changing curves per channel. Black brush applied around edges.

Which do you guys like best? I already know my husband's answer even without asking... the original one.

Being Silly

2009-04-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

How to:
1. Convert to black and white.
1.1 Use mask over shirts (or whatever you want to high light)
2. Curves

T-ball Game

2009-03-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

Jackie

My Gugu taking off for second base.

Gugu's first at bat

2009-03-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

T-ball Game

2009-03-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

My son is playing t-ball! I'm so excited! I felt like my mom out there cheering all loud.

t-ball 2009

Dinner

2009-03-19T01:21:00.001-07:00

Carne Asada

Daddy and Gugu - hunting for our next meal

Jack and Mommy

Jack and Daddy

Photoshop - Retro

2009-03-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Messing around with some blending modes and what not in photoshop.

AT Picnic 2009

2009-02-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

Family fun at Brent's company picnic. Thanks AT!

AT Picnic 2009

Hi Ho Cherry-o

2009-02-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

Spending alone time with the soon-to-be 3 year old since Gugu went to Riverside for the week.

Tattoo Fun

2009-02-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

The boys have discovered tattoos. We went to Target and found some sesame street ones they are now sporting.

Valentine's Day Cards

2009-02-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Brent wanted to hand out Valentine's Day cards at school so after dinner we got the cards ready. He hand wrote all of his by himself. I did Jack's... Jackie was happy cause there were stickers.

Brent talks about this girl quiet a bit... and next thing I know, he's drawing hearts on her card.

Eating Spaghetti

2009-02-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Dinner

Our Silly Boys

2009-01-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

Our boys in their new Batman PJs, taken 1-22-2009

Gugu's new haircut, taken 1-17-2009

McCormick Stillman Railroad Park

2009-01-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

McCormick Stillman Railroad Park
We decided to get out doors and leave the tv behind. The boys had a blast playing with each other and spending time with us.

McCormick Stillman Railroad Park

Pumpkin Patch 2008

2008-10-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

MNF at the Choza-Bristol Household

2008-09-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Mondays are back and so is eating in front of the tv while we watch football. The boys only last 20 minutes but at least they let us watch the entire game.

Black and White Kele

2008-09-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Original Photo

Converted to Black and White with highlights.

Let me just say that I love the original image of Kele. I think it's my favorite picture I took that night when I went to the Bloc Party concert a few months ago. I wanted to play around with the pen tool and color so I went ahead and made this image a black and white.

Playing with his Legos

2008-09-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Looking at directions to build his Lego Agent #2 set.

The "bad" guy.

The "good" guy.

My little homie pretty much built this whole set by himself, approximately 210 pieces. Big Brent sat with him for a long while over looking and to make sure Jack didn't go crazy and run off with a piece.

Gugu's 5th Birthday

2008-09-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Chuck E Cheese this past weekend to celebrate Gugu's 5th birthday. We had a nice time seeing him enjoy his day. I can't believe my Gugu is 5 already.

Photoshop Tricks

2008-09-01T00:55:00.000-07:00

What I started out with

What I came up with.

Here is a piece I've been working on. It's not done... but I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to finish it.

I'm gonna try to post my work here more often. I do play on Photoshop all day after all.

Flagstaff Trip

2008-08-31T23:05:00.000-07:00

Due to the monsoon, the daycare was closed and we decided to take the kids with us to Flagstaff. It turned out to be a nice day with our boys. We went hiking by Snow Bowl, elevation approximately 8500'. The kids only lasted an hour... not too bad. I'll post more pictures shortly. I took a lot of film pictures, hope they turn out. I'll have to scan those when I get them.

*Updated: Here is the link to the rest of the photos:

Flagstaff Day Trip

Stupid Monsoon

2008-08-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

A monsoon rolled through south phoenix, winds got up to 85mph. Our poor Mesquite tree fell over; it would've been 4 years old this December.

Tired

2008-08-19T00:50:00.000-07:00

I've forgotten how it feels to go to sleep early. I use to say sleep was over rated but in my old age I'm finding it hard to feel "rested" on 5 hours of sleep.

Oh, btw, the pic of Jack has nothing to do with this post. Just found one that was real cute of the kiddo.

Pirates vs D-Backs

2008-08-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

Since Jack is with my parents for the week we decided to catch a baseball after work. We were able to stay the whole game by bribing Lil' Brent with junk food. It was a nice change of pace for us. Beats watching cartoons all evening.

Washing Car

2008-08-04T21:32:00.001-07:00

The other day, Brent "had" to wash my car cause it was dirty. The boys love it when he washes our cars cause it usually ends in them playing with the hose. Good times.

Brett. Manny.

2008-08-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hum, I'm not sure what to think about the recent events going on in the world of sports. Brett Favre... back? I dunno. I guess he still needed to be around football cause of all his love and what not. But really? He's back...

Linkage: Brett Reinstated

On a positive note, Manny Ramirez is traded to my boys in blue, The Dodgers. I hope this works out for the Dodgers. Homie better run out in outfield or the fans are gonna eat him alive.

Our 6th Wedding Anniversary

2008-08-03T15:25:00.001-07:00

Wow, another year of marriage. I know I've said this before but time is flying. Brent and I have been together a total of 8 years now, married 6.

Yesterday, Brent's folks took care of the kids while we went out and spent some time alone. And this morning, my folks took care of the kids while we went and played golf. Brent and I are very lucky to have such a strong support system. We love each and every one of yous that have helped us out and have been great role models.

Sex and the City Movie

2008-06-02T00:18:00.000-07:00

So my sisters and I got all dressed up and went to watch Sex and the City. And I must say... it was all that I wanted and more. I loved it. So glad I got to go with my sisters. There were 3 showings and I swear that there were only like 5 straight men there. It was too funny. The movie was great!

Gugu in California

2008-05-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

My big boy went to California to spend some time with his grandparents and his cousin Jarrett. I think he enjoyed his time there.

Mother's Day Weekend

2008-05-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

At Devil's Martini with Solange, Kirstie, Pastora and Mikey.

My family came up from Riverside to spend the weekend here in Phoenix. I'll put up some pictures of the family later.

Playing in Backyard

2008-04-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

The weather in Phoenix has been awesome. After dinner we usually play in the backyard until the sun goes down. Gotta take advantage of this because it won't last too long before it gets into the 100s.

Wild Life Zoo Adventure

2008-03-08T20:56:00.001-07:00

These are my Gugu baby's pictures:

Wild Life Zoo - Gugu

February 2008 Rewind Album

2008-03-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

February 2008 Rewind

Jack's 2nd Birthday

2008-02-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Jacks 2nd Birthday 2/27/08 8:53 PM

Jack turned 2 -- how sad, huh? My boys are growing so fast. Some milestones...
1. sleeping in his big boy bed
2. started potty training and wears underroos in the evenings
3. says bye to all his friends at daycare when his Daddy picks him up
4. knows everyone's names

Cheese

2008-01-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures while Pastora and Kirstie were in town. They weren't here very long because their school was starting. Oh well...

Go Packers!

2008-01-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

The Boys

Me, Jackie and Baby Meow Meow

The boys broke out their jerseys in support of the Packers. The boys had fun dressing up like their daddy. Brett and crew did awesome.

Proud Mommy

2008-01-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

The other night I was working on a site and had Photoshop launched. Gugu came up behind me and asked if he could draw too. I've seen him on a computer so I knew he would at least be able to click and drag a mouse. Well, to my surprise he did that and remembered so much more. He was able to make a new layer and fill it with white, increase/decrease size of brush (using the shortcuts!), erase and change brush color. I was so proud of my Gugu!

Fiesta Bowl Game...

2008-01-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm gonna hold back on how I feel about the OU game against West Virginia. I'm glad that my friends Courtney and Mitchel came down and that I got to watch the game with my parents and Brent.

More Christmas Pictures

2007-12-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

The kids got a Spiderman and Venom shooting kit. It was funny seeing them run around the house shooting at each other. Brent jumps and makes firing noise and Jackie tries to copy him.

Christmas Pictures

2007-12-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Boys Christmas Play

2007-12-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

Christmas Singing 12/18/07 3:11 PM

Kirstie went to the boys' christmas party at the daycare. They looked so darn cute.

Elf Yourself

2007-12-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

My friend Russ made this of some people at work: Eric, Naureen, Andreas and me.

Elf Yourself Work Friends

Christmas Parties

2007-12-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

Company Christmas Parties

Brent's work christmas party was fun. They had a real cool shot luge.

My work christmas party was at the Marriott resort. It was really fancy.

2007-12-04T21:38:00.003-07:00

My parents were in town last weekend and started decorating their house for Christmas. They had fun putting up lights and all of my mom's nutcrackers.

Debjani and Joy's House

2007-12-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Gugu and I went over to my friends house for an evening so our kids could play with one another. They had lots of fun running around.

Annual Family Soccer Game

2007-11-27T22:41:00.001-07:00

The Gang

The Winners

Well, we had another game of soccer and it was a lot fun. The morning of Thanksgiving all the kids (yes, I'm still one of them, don't care what you say either Kirstie) played our annual game of soccer. Miguel organized the game cause he's awesome at soccer (which btw, needs to move up here to be my coach).

Miguel, his brother Omar and his sister Angelica and her boyfriend Edgar came out this year. Pastora's fiance, Adrian came out again. Thelma was great and took care of my kids so I could run around like a mad woman. Big Brent was quick as a forward and scored a couple, my brothers and sisters made me proud and played all game.

All in all, we had a great time and hope to keep this tradition going.

La Quinta Estacion, Belanova, Moenia Concert

2007-11-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

La Quinta Estacion with Belanova

Kirstie took me to a concert over Thanksgiving Break. It was sooo awesome. I hadn't been to a concert in over 5 years. I didn't know many of the songs cause I hadn't listened to spanish music in forever. When Belanova finally got on stage I rocked out.

This was the bill for the night:
Reik
Aleks Syntek
La Quinta Estacion
Belanova
Moenia

We're planning on going to the KROQ ALMOST ACOUSTIC CHRISTMAS, if we're lucky enough to get tickets. There is a 2 ticket limit so hopefully we're able to grab a couple tickets. We were suppose to go see Feist with Spoon earlier this month but couldn't but wouldn't you know they're both performing the second night.

November 17-18 Album

2007-11-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

November 17-18 Weekend

I'm on a roll - another album. Well, actually, my class starts next Tuesday so I thought I'd put up as much as I could while I can. Just to let you know how special you are (and to get you off my back about not posting enough), I have some freelance to do but I'm putting that off for an hour so I could keep you all update with our activities.

Saturday, the family went to the Phoenix Zoo. The weather was totally awesome. On Sunday, the kids and I went to Discover India Festival. My friend Debjani invited us to their annual festival held in downtown Phoenix, next to the Science Museum. It was lots of fun with Jo-Jo and her family, Russ and his family and my sister Crystal showed up. It's nice having my sister in town.

Pumpkin Patch 2007

2007-11-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch 2007

Pumpkin Patch trip. The one we've been going to for the past 3 years closed because the farmers sold their land - can't blame them. I couldn't go this year cause I had to finish some school stuff... boring. I much rather have gone and played with my kids and family.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2007

Finally an update! I figured I would start small and I got 3 pictures ready. I'll upload more one day. The sad thing is is that the kids have been busy doing lots of new things that I would love to share with you all but finding time to do it has been difficult.

Kids at Home Album

2007-10-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

Kids at Home

Here are a few pictures I've been trying to upload for awhile but always had trouble with google picasa. The kids are doing great. Nothing new to talk about. Sorry, we're a bit boring.

My kid, the Bully

2007-10-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted but I've been busy...again. We just got our digital camera back a few days ago. We had to send it to get repaired because I got sand in it from Rocky Point.

The kids are doing pretty good. Jackie keeps biting kids. All the reports that get sent home say, "Jack chased down another kid because Jack wanted the toy the other kid had" or "Jack crawled over a kid to get to another kid who had taken a toy away from Jack and bit him breaking skin." My kid, the Bully, never thought I would say that.

Gugu is doing great. Eating lots and lots of food. We're having trouble with him wetting his bed at night. We've tried everything too. I think we're gonna have to put diapers on him again, but when we tell him we are he just screams and says no.

Too much going on...I'll post pictures one day.

Rocky Point 2

2007-10-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

This picture is of the group the first day.

Wow, what a weekend! All I know is that I don't want to touch another beer for a month. My liver got a major workout. Brent and I had lots of fun with everyone.

Gugu's Chuck-E-Cheese Party

2007-09-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

My Gugu turned 4! I can't believe it. We had his party at Chuck-E-Cheese and everyone that showed up had a blast. Brent and I would like to thank everyone who made our son's birthday a special day.

Parent Appreciation

2007-09-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I ever posted these (guess I could track back but that's too much work). The boys day care had Parent/Teacher night in August. We went and Gugu showed us around his "office." He was so proud that he had both of us there. It was very cute.

Busy at Work

2007-09-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in forever. I've been so busy with work. Working in the technology field, you have to stay ahead of the curve and in order to do that you have to study and study some more. I've gotten pretty good with CSS, getting better with Javascript and well, basic HTML is a given as a web designer. But just because I feel comfortable with CSS or Javascript doesn't mean I stop practicing.

I've recently attended a code camp here in the Valley. I took a couple of courses that dealt with Adobe AIR. Adobe AIR works along side Adobe Flex (which is in version 3 beta). I'm telling ya'll right now, if you haven't heard of Flex and AIR you sure will. The markup language for Flex is something called mxml, so here I go and have to learn this form of xml (which is always a good thing to do anyways) and Action Script 3 (similar to Javascript).

I recently come to the conclusion that I will not be able to learn everything I wanted in this lifetime. Guess, I have to put off learning Chinese.

Crystal's Wedding

2007-09-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

We had a blast at Crystal's wedding.

Bucket boy

2007-08-28T14:19:00.001-07:00

Jackie being silly. Bucket boy.

Baseball with Dad

2007-08-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Brent and I went to the the Dbacks-Cubs game. Brent was really excited about going. At 7 am he came into our bedroom and asked "Time to go to the baseball game?" But at the top of the 4th inning, he was ready to go. We did get to enjoy some ice cream before we left though (he wanted the ice cream in a mini Cubs helmet instead of a Dbacks helmet because it was "blue"). Hopefully when he is older we will be able to stay the whole game.

Nubia added a scan of our tickets on the picture above, turned out pretty cool.

Backyard Fun

2007-08-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the mall to get Brent some things. When we got home, Jack and I took a nap, I wasn't feeling so good. Once everyone woke up, we played with the boys in the backyard. Big Brent tried out his new grass catcher and the boys played with some of his tools. Gugu was saying he was "Handy Manny" - that's a cartoon by the way.

2007-08-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

The picture with Gugu was a couple of weeks from the time of this posting. I'm not sure who took it, I think it was Pastora when she was here for a week.

The second picture was today after dinner. The four of us played in the front yard and then went to get the mail.

July 2007 Album

2007-08-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

072007

Wow, look at this, another album. I'm on a roll. Enjoy.