at the beginning of winter break, my family and kelvin took a trip to lake tahoe.  we stayed at wally’s hot springs resort in genoa, nv. despite feeling like a popsicle the entire trip, we made it to the hot springs nearly every day.  i’ve never gone to outdoor hot springs in below freezing weather.  it was quite the experience.  one time, it even snowed while we were inside the hot springs!

our first morning at the resort.  coffee time :)

pre-snowboarding at heavenly, a resort that spans the stateline of california and nevada

don’t be fooled by kelvin’s outfit.  it was 15 degrees fahrenheit.

kelvin finally gave in a bought a face mask because his face was frozen solid.

aboard the tahoe queen for a lake cruise.

my dad and mom aboard tahoe queen

my siblings and i with santa

emerald bay, the scenic destination of our lake cruise.

christmas day, my family hits up the grocery store, and santa is working the cash register.

christmas saint bernards we ran into outside the grocery store.

the boys with their new ties that my mom got them for christmas. a formal affair.

outside our snowmobiling site.

the snowmobiling crew.

marisa and mitchell ahead of us.

snow-capped mountains along our snowmobiling trail.

kelvin and me on our “arctic cat”

marisa and mitchell on their snowmobile.

the hot springs river that ran alongside our resort.

snow covered plants.

marisa sketching.

the hot springs spa.

marisa and me

my 2010 new year’s resolutions:

1. focus on my happiness.

2. get eight hours of sleep a night.

3. work out consistently. (cliche, yes)

maybe i’ll think of some more as the time goes by.  i think focusing on a few is a good start.

Said USC President Dr. Steven B. Sample: “I had hoped this day would not come; this is a big loss to all of us. But we are proud of Pete Carroll—and proud that the Seattle Seahawks recognize his talents and his accomplishments—and are offering him this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He rewrote the book on college football and now he intends to do the same for professional football. And my guess is that he will succeed wonderfully.

“Every Trojan everywhere owes Pete a big debt of gratitude for what he did for USC and USC football this past nine years. Two national championships, three Heisman Trophy winners, and seven consecutive Pac-10 championships earned him a lasting place in our history. He launched more professional football careers than any coach in recent memory, including 35 All-American first teamers and 53 NFL draft picks.

“But even more important than this, he brought joy and grace back to the game. He filled the Coliseum to the rafters. He was an educator as much as a coach, and taught all of us by example how important it is to take personal responsibility for making the world a better place. Pete’s work with the toughest gangs of Los Angeles through A Better LA is the stuff of legend.

“We will miss Pete, but he will always be a Trojan. And he and his family will always have a warm and welcoming home at the University of Southern California.”

here for the full article.

i call kelvin and myself the “sunset chasers” because we are always trying to find great spots for capturing the sunset colors.  a few days ago we drove up to el matador state park in malibu to catch the sunset.

we got there a little early, so we played around with his new 10 stop filter.  it mades the water look cloudy as it hit the rocks.

we scouted around for the perfect sunset spot, and then right as the sun was setting a photographer stepped in and wouldn’t move from our picture for the entire sunset.  this was the second time i went to el matador for sunset.  the clouds that day were especially beautiful because a storm had just cleared out, and the sunset colors were so vibrant.  it was a total bummer that the photographer walked into our photo at the perfect moment.

kelvin and i waited until the beach cleared out and caught the last rays of sunlight after the sun had set.  i think we’ll have to return another day when it isn’t as crowded.

kelvin sent me this today.  more than a lens?  no way! i don’t believe it!

from here

on another note, the sketch sort of looks like the 17-40mm f/4L lens that kelvin got me for my birthday this year :)

i love the idea of handmade ornaments.  one day, when i get a tree, and i’ll make these adorable handmade bird ornaments from purl bee.

i also like these:

felt christmas ornament from zakka life

rubber origami from instructables

snowy balloon ornament from martha stewart

Surprise.

melvin from Kelvin Kuo on Vimeo.

last week i had the opportunity to take my first engagement photo session with laurie and vern.  i’ve known laurie almost all my life (since i was 2!).  she’s one of my best friend, katie’s sister.  although i’m super inexperienced, laurie and vern made it fun and easy.  i really enjoy taking portaits because i think they add both a creative and relate-able aspect to photography.

we headed to the getty in los angeles and wandered around their beautiful gardens to take pictures.  the two of them are just so cute together.  i’m really happy for you two!  congrats!  :)

i love Up.  when it first came out last summer, i watched it with kelvin in 3d.  i am so impressed with the amount of imagination that went into the movie.  i mean, the story is about a flying house!  but it really isn’t just about a flying house.  it’s a beautiful love story.  the movie makes my eyes tear whenever i watch carl and ellie grow old together.  they are so cute.  i want to grow old with someone.

on another note, i love seeing the house fly over the city carried by hundreds of colorful balloons.  that scene just makes me smile.

My Epic Up Story:

on saturday, i really wanted to watch Up.  i originally bought it from best buy, but then went back to return it because i decided that i should just rent it.   then, I went to a local grocery store to try to rent it from one of the dvd rental machines for a $1, but Up was already all rented out.  later that night, i went to blockbuster with my mom looking for Up.  i asked a man working there where Up was, and he told us that they were all out.  my mom and i wandered around looking for something else to rent, and then we got in line to pay.  when we got to the register, someone returned Up, and the man that was working there handed us that copy of Up.  that seriously made my day!  so i decided to return the dvd early to make someone else’s day. :)

1. 1000 Awesome Things, a blog about all things awesome.

some of my personal favorites:
#902 Roasting the perfect marshmallow
#813 Museum gift shops
#804 Gym pain
#718 When you sneeze and a stranger says bless you
#676 A perfect squeegee job at the gas station
#635 When the hiccups stop

2. fashion illustrations by prismera

i don’t know why, but i’ve always loved the simplicity of fashion illustrations. also, they are so cute!  the characters look like little dolls.

i want all three!

3. max wanger shop
i love his engagement/wedding photo style. he opened a shop online where you can buy prints and special edition shirts based on his photographs.

happy

ever after

4. mae in (m)orning.
finally, they got rid of their rock sound of singularity, and they are back to the sweet sound of my once favorite band.