Phil and Marie's Wedding + Sister Leaving for College | #WeeklyWednesday

Ladies and gentlemen, we are BACK IN BUSINESS! WHOOP!
School has started, which means that I'm back on the computer more regularly.

Just a quick update on ME before I go back in time to update you on the latest happenings, I am (this semester):
Taking 4 graduate level classes (pray for me. 3 is typically considered a full load)
1) Learning Models for Instruction
2) Instructional Development Studio A
3) Learning Design & Technology
4) Game Narratives (the extra class. I had wanted to take it as an undergraduate and I missed the window because it is only offered once every two years, so I figured I'd snatch it up now that it's back and has a GRADUATE student option)

I'm officially "retired" from worship team. I'm still helping in "emergency situations" when I'm able, but otherwise, it's a time of rest (so to speak). 

CCF resumes the first weekend of September. We'll see how that goes.

---------------------------------------------

Phil and Marie Coffi's Wedding

African weddings seem to be a thing this summer.
I was asked to decorate for this one too...is this getting to be a thing? lol 
I think I've unofficially made the Top 10 list of people to contact for crafty things at church, though according to Paula (the last bride I decorated a wedding for), I might be the top of the list hahaha XD

Let's get started! :D

I liked this color scheme a lot. It was very cool and refreshingly elegant.

I personally would have opted for the groom's choice of coral/peach instead of mint to create more contrast between the colors, but the mint was nice as well. 

The reception area was in The View Church. 

They had lots of lovely stained glass windows and high ceilings.

Champagne roses and Baby's Breath.

FOOD. My Singaporean stomach was happy. There was SO MUCH MEAT.

Going from the shiny brown item (in a circle) and ending with rice, I had:

Bananas (very reminiscent of goreng pesang from back home, sort of)

Green beans

Pork Chop-ish item

Fried fish

Grilled Chicken

Meat and Veggie Kabob

Steak

Deviled eggs-ish item

Some form of coleslaw (the least favorite thing on my plate)

Seasoned Rice

The concluding "ceremonial" dance. Bridesmaids on the left. 

Coming in on the right are the bride and groom, followed by their relatives.

Congratulations to the newlyweds!!

------------------------------------------

Sister Leaving for College

...do I really need to go into detail?
The sister is leaving and headed off to UIUC to pursue her Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science. 

The inevitably empty bed, devoid of plushies and pillows.

My sister's "life" that needs to be loaded into the car.

Sephy cat trying his best to stay out of the way and yet be helpfully adorable.

All loaded up and ready to go.

The sister.

The party of three, all ready to go!

I couldn't go with because I have work :(

Sad face :(

Excuse me while I contemplate what my life will look like without that adorable face being around 24/7 for me to poke. Half of my lifestyle is essentially to make her laugh. Now we're gonna have to settle for embarrassing selfies being sent over iMessage.

------------------------------------------

#FeatureFriday this week will show you all what we did for Comic Con, the Solar Eclipse, and for the Crossroads Arts & Crafts Sale. Dad took WAY better photos of the eclipse because he actually prepared for it with a fancy camera and everything, but mine came from my cellphone. So don't expect TOO much quality wise. lol XD

If you haven't subscribed yet, please do so :)
Click the "SUBSCRIBE" button in the top right corner of your screen, enter your email, and you're done!

See you Friday!~

Reaction Video: Baby Mine (The Hound + The Fox) | #MusicMonday

I would like to with a very belated Happy 26th Birthday to one of my faves, McKenzie Zamber from The Hound + The Fox!! I almost didn't make it in time to post this video ON the day of McKenzie's birthday because my uploading speed was awful :(

Why am I sharing about H+F again so soon, you might ask?
First off, there's no such thing as so soon with these guys, okay?!

Just kidding. I actually filmed a reaction video to their “Baby Mine” video, released July 18th, 2017. Baby Mine is originally a lullaby from Dumbo. Excitingly enough, the footage of their video is used in MY reaction video with permission from McKenzie herself.

Enjoy the video, guys! :D



Here's their original video :)



--------------------------------------------------------------

Patreon (best way to support them) : https://www.patreon.com/TheHoundTheFox
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/TheHoundTheFox
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thehoundthefox/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/TheHoundTheFox/
Loudr : https://loudr.fm/artist/the-hound-the-fox/XRX6S

--------------------------------------------------------------

Subscribe in the top right corner of your screen!
If you click on it, it'll ask you to enter your email.

I'll be sharing about our Disney karaoke party (from Sunday) on this #WeeklyWednesday.
If you missed the party, you DON'T want to miss this!! :D

Byee~

P.s. It's also my dear mother's birthday today, but she's out of town until later this week, so yeah :( Mother + child feels all over the place, guys. 

Landscape Photography Class: Nature Photography | #FeatureFriday

Our first assignment(s) for class were to produce Nature Landscapes in Color (1) and also in Black & White (2).

Here are some of the ones that I took, submitted for class, what I thought when I took the photo, and also what I plan to do with it going forward (as far as my final portfolio submission for class is concerned. 

Slight disclaimer, some of the colors may look a little weird/strong/faint depending on your monitor.

--------------------------------------------  

I liked the shapes of the rocks, the texture of the soft leaves with the hard ground, and the vertical lines of the trees and rocks played off of the roots/sticks going diagonally quite well (I thought). 

Submitted this one to class. Overall response was good, but feedback was that it was a little too yellow. Gonna need to fix that for the final portfolio (FP).

Some funny fungi thing. Thought the colors were cool.

Didn't submit to class.

The almost mandatory one shot up the tree that every photographer has to take, but never submits unless there's actually something else that's interesting happening in the photo. lol XD

Beautiful butterfly. Unfortunately dead :(

Loved the texture of the powdery wings though, and since it wouldn't move no matter how close I got, it was worth taking anyway. Submitted to class, but probably won't include in FP.

The sun actually made the top left corner of the bottom left leaf glare white in the photo (like the bottom edge of it). Fixed it in Adobe Photoshop, but left the bottom edge alone since you could still see the actual EDGE of the leaf. How do we like my PS skills? lol

You would normally see me staying away from creepy things, but a tent caterpillar "tent" is something that just...caught the light so well and in this case, it's DEFINITELY going into the FP. I may retake it to see if I can sharpen out more of the webbing, but I LOVED this photo. 

There's something Lord of the Rings-ish about it (Sheloby?).

Gorgeous rock textures, lines that go UP the rocks and into the tree trunks, which ALSO go up :)

FP for sure.

I'm hoping your monitor lets you fully appreciate this one.

This was a class (and instructor) favorite, and Ashriel's affectionately referring to it as Lothlorien.

There's definitely an otherworldly ethereal quality to the lighting and the (not my word, the instructor's) creaminess of the gradient going through the leaves. Originally shot in color, minimal editing (aside from just converting to B&W). FP guaranteed piece.

This little guy was as big as my thumb. No joke. Reminded me of the fat slug from Epic.

Thought it was cool. Class LOVED the bokeh at the back (the dappling light, for you non-photo people), but it's a little blocked up in the image around the stump and the mushroom, in addition to the details on the slug. 

MAY make it into the FP if I can tweak it, but that's still a maybe at this point.

Thought it was cool when I shot it, didn't seem as awesome compared to the others though. 

Didn't submit to class in the end.

--------------------------------------------  

Comment below with which one YOUR favorite was and why. 
I can always use more feedback, and for an amateur photographer like me, it's an invaluable piece of my education :)Subscribe (with your email) in the upper right hand corner of your screen if you haven't already and also, comment below with artists that you'd think I'd like! 

Continue to pray for me!~ (I have like...10+ mosquito bites from the shoots from this week)
Thank you!