3/101 | Jeymy Jasel and the Cerro de Plata Project

About 6 months ago, I stumbled upon this blog post by a fellow photographer. The post really struck a chord with me and I have been looking into child sponsorship ever since. I knew I really wanted to do it but I also wanted to make sure it was the right fit for us as it would be a multi-year commitment.

On December 12 of this year, Vince and I took the plunge.

About a week later, we received an information packet with information about our sponsor child, Jeymy Jasel, and the project that we are supporting, Cerro de Plata in Honduras. The specific community improvements include long term initiatives relating to education, health and hygiene, and economic development.



Taking a lesson from Melissa Jill's very candid blog post, I have had it in my mind to write to Jeymy Jasel since the very day I received the information packet. With the hectic schedule of Christmas now behind us, I set about writing to the adorable 6-year-old as soon as I woke up this morning.

There are certain protocols that need to be observed when writing to a sponsor child - letters, cards, photographs, and flat gifts such as stickers or bookmarks are encouraged. Money, photographs of your home, and information relating to your specific address are not. I kept all of this in mind as I put together a small package for Jeymy Jasel today. The World Vision office in Honduras is responsible for delivering the letters and will also translate the messages into Spanish. Hehe, that's a good thing because all I know is, "Hola" and "Feliz Navidad"... Alright, I may know a little more but not enough to write a proper sentence.



When Vince and I were in Guatemala in 2007, one of our trip-mates took a detour to visit his sponsor daughter near the build site. On that same trip, we visited the Copán ruins, a Mayan archeological site in Honduras near the Guatemalan border, but Cerro de Plata is in a different part of the country. Hopefully, Vince and I will be able to visit the community one day. :)

We are very early in the process but this has still been an incredibly rewarding experience thus far. I am really excited to get future updates about Jeymy Jasel and the Cerro de Plata project!

Happy Holidays

2010 has been quite an interesting year for me. While there have been a lot of positives (completing my first full year in this incredible yet crazy creative venture of mine and adding the wonderfully adorable Truffle to our family are definitely highlights), I have felt very lost at times and unsure of what path to take towards the future. But this, I know, is part of life.

The changing of the seasons brought a whole lot of clarity and I feel like I am going into 2011 with a much clearer picture of what I want to achieve and how to go about it. I'll save my resolutions for my new year blog post... because now, Internet buddies, now is the time to celebrate.

In keeping with tradition, Vince and I are going to take a little break to spend some much needed time with friends, family, and each other. We will still be monitoring e-mail over the holidays; however, please allow 48 hours for a response. We will be returning to our regular 24 hour response time on January 3, 2011. Happy holidays to you and your loved ones!

L+V

P.S. If you like this card and wish to send it to someone special, please feel free to do so! Simply right click on the image, save the image to your computer, and attach the image to your e-mail message with a note of merriment. Note that this card is scaled for web viewing only and is not suitable for printing.

Love... In Shades of Blue

There is a new man in my life. And I am completely enamored. Not to worry, Vince is quite taken by him too! His name is Truffle and he is a blue Netherland Dwarf. We call him Truffs, Truffleupagus, Trufflesaurus, Truffle Wuffle, Wuffle Binky, Bun Bun, and Our Little Puddler (but not because he pees everywhere!).



Vince and I added Truffle to our family on October 31 so this post is long overdue. We've had him for 6 weeks and he is an absolute joy. He loves following us around and seeking attention. When we pet him, he sinks dramatically into a little puddle and purrs with content. If we stop petting him, he gets up almost immediately.




Truffs has grown a lot in 6 weeks and now weighs in at 1 pound and 12.5 ounces. He's about double his size from when we got him so sometimes I forget that he's still really really little.


(Truffle on November 02, 2010)


(Truffle on November 20, 2010)

We used to weigh him in this little basket but he no longer fits in there comfortably!




Hehe, I love photos of him walking around. He reminds me of a pointer in these photos - even though I've never actually seen a pointer in this pose. LOVE!




Besides being bigger, Truffle's also a lot braver and stronger. He adores exploring new territory and climbing all over us but he no longer tolerates being picked up and held for too long. I think these next photos are my favourites - Vince's facial expressions (and even Truffle's in the bottom photograph) are just hilarious!




Truffle doesn't care much for bunny toys but he loves iPhones, cables, and DSLRs. He must take after Vince! He also enjoys jumping on our laptops when we are using them... that part is not so cute after the 5th or 6th time.



Despite his nickname, Our Little Puddler was pretty much fully litter trained from day 1. But he also likes to bite his litter box and drag it around, which worries me sometimes.



I made Super Truffle a little cape but he enjoys biting it more than wearing it so I have to re-think the design. This is actually the only photo I have of him standing in his cape and it's only because he was distracted from biting it when I got up and left - he followed me so I turned around quickly to take the photo. Aside: I know bunnies don't like clothing for the most part but seeing this little guy hop around in his cape was the cutest thing! He only wore it for a couple minutes though - then we rescued him and gave him lots of petting as his reward.



Yes, Truffle is the most adorable bunny ever and we get to see him and play with him every single day!

From Scavenger to Studio

Once upon a time, there was a silly girl with a camera. She had big dreams but didn't know where to start. So she searched the wide Internet world for like-minded people and joined a meetup group of photographers. Soon enough, there was an event that caught her eye. Feeling very alone in a big sea of newness, she enlisted her best buddy to join her. "Please join me on this scavenger hunt!" And of course her fun-loving friend replied, "of course!"

A few weeks later, the day arrived. Armed with their cameras and creativity, the two girls set about completing the challenge the only way they knew how: with a flurry of ideas and a whole lotta fun. Their team won 2nd place. Their prize was 4 hours of time at a Toronto studio. The girls were excited and happy. They gathered as many outfits as their little hands could hold, skipped over to the studio, modeled for each other, and had a grand ole time. Jumping. Dancing. Laughing. Sometimes being serious too. But only very rarely.










More photos from the studio session soon! Click here to check out what happens when this silly girl models for the super-duperly talented photographer!