Seldom a high energy toddler takes my attention away from the main subject that I was hired to photograph. Mom hired me to photograph her new baby brother and maybe just a few shots of big sister. But I ended with an equal amount of pictures of big sister. That’s because she has the most infectious smile. She coaxed me into getting her out of the crib and then we made a mess of  mom’s & dad’s bed.  Then,  we play in the living room and in the backyard with dad. Phew!

But as you scroll down to view her pictures, you can see that she encapsulates what a great, happy childhood every kid should go through.

I am innocent!!

Get me out of here!!!

Don’t let the ghouls get you tonight!

I didn’t expect to enjoy a rock show but I was blown away at U2’s 360 degree gig at BC Place last night. Favourite rendition:  Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of. Love the atmosphere. But alas, a Vancouver concert is not complete without the smell of pot.

Black Eyed Peas opened for U2.

Then, U2 hits the stage for over 2 hours!

Not! So, here I am with my kids, at home on this dreadful rainy, cold Friday. I should have maybe not insisted my hubby takes the car to work coz now I’m car-less and I need my shot of McD’s coffee to get through the day.

So, to counter this gray day, here are some fall colour shots I took before all the leaves ended up on the ground. I really should put up pictures of the moms & babies instead.

September is a month of celebration in my family. One week after another.

My anniversary, my hubby’s birthday, my son’s birthday and today, my daughter’s. For the kids, I’ll have a mini birthday photo session with them. It’s so humbling to see them grow up and these pictures taken on their birthdays are mine to treasure.

Since the kids went back to school,  I’ve been busy. Added to that stress,  I am looking for a bigger place.  With all those 500k homes, there is little left to choose.

One of the things I had been looking forward to in September was the Pet Shop Boys concert on 19th. I’ve been a fan since their first album “Please” came out.  I sweared Chris Lowe would fall in love with me (I didn’t exactly know “what” was “really” happening then) but 25 years on and I’ve finally met him, there was nothing! On my part or his!! He’s this goofy guy who can really talk a lot. He’s a genius at the keyboards and looks fantastic in his designer clothes.

My friend & I were lucky to take a picture with Neil Tennant. Apparently, taking a picture with either one of them (Chris doesn’t do pictures anymore) is a miracle!

The concert itself was pretty energetic. I didn’t have high hopes of the production being very techy (like Madonna’s); they had collapsible boxes piled up as background and 4 dancers dressed in boxes.  But it was a good party. I enjoyed being a teen again and I had a fantastic front row seat right in front of Chris ( stared at him when I wanted to).

Next in October… Black Eyed Peas and U2!!

So, I needed to repaint my entire condo. Didn’t really know any painters so hubby circled someone in the Yellow Pages called Budget & Save Painters. The projects he showcased in the website was a bit impressive. He got Pottery Barn and Starbucks.  Initial correspondence with Kerry Jamie Williams was fast and he came to check out the place and gave me an estimate of just over $1000 excluding paint & materials. This doesn’t cover the ceiling but all walls, trims, doors and baseboard. Since my walls have mostly nicks and dents, I didn’t want to do it myself. He said he would come on Monday to do the prep work, then work till Friday. After Monday, change of plans. He hadto finish an exterior work and as the weather was forecasted to rain from Thursday, he said he would only be back on Thurs. I said ok. So, we lived two days with all our stuff muddled in the centre of the rooms. He told me he charged $49/h and he would do 2 coats. Guess what? He used this thick hi-hide paint which if your walls are ok, he wouldn’t even do a 2nd coat. He would even lied to say he did. (I saw he didn’t and I asked. He said he did!) Even if he did, he just streaked a huge M across the wall and that’s his 2nd coat. Prep work was very badly done. There were so many nicks & dents that he didn’t bothered to fill and sand. He painted over it. He only worked 4 hours a day and he jumped off to his other site in the afternoon. This whole week, we have been living with a huge mess of a place.

On the third day (yesterday), I googled him and found his site called www.homestars.com. Oh man, Kerry Jamie Williams have two reviews and both were bad and they were exactly described. He was lazy, incompetent (he always say “I’ve been doing this since 1953″. What a BS!) and unprofessional (doesn’t arrive on the time he said he would). I was pissed off at him for arriving an hour late yesterday and after reading the homestars review, I just got him to work on all touch ups. He complained this and that but I think he knew I was angry.

Today, being the last day of the project, I monitored his every paintbrush he did on the doors and trim. He kept saying “You are making me nervous.” Well, he should be. I pointed out at some parts which weren’t painted and he said “I’m not done yet.” but he had already moved on to another door.

At the end of it, I just wanted to pay him to get rid of him. Of course, the total bill was over estimated by $900 (charged me $59 an hour instead). I paid for all paints but he wanted to keep them. At least, I got him to pour out that expensive high gloss $72/gallon paint. I guess it’s a standard practice by contractors to charge materials and keep them if unused but next time, I’m buying the paint/materials.

I still have a couple of touch ups to do by myself.

I am sure there are honest and professional contractors out there. You just need to find them. Before you hire someone, read the reviews in homestars.com or google.

I’ve learned my lesson.

Yay!! But the downside is that I have to start waking uo at 7am again.

Early August, we took a coach trip to the Canadian Rockies. On paper, it sounded wonderful. 4 days 3 nights. From Vancouver to Kamloops, Banff, Jasper to Calgary to Kelowna and back.  In reality, it is one tiring journey. We decided to take this tour because (1) 2 other families we know were going (2) we didn’t want to drive because my kids especially our daughter always whine when she’s gonna get there and how bored she is every 5 mins. That drives us nutty even when we only drive to Maple Ridge. (3) we took the discounted package (less meals)

Sitting on a “luxurious” coach has its advantages. We are seated high up and the AC’s great. The down side to it are you can’t really photograph the scenery as reflections appear on the windows and too much information on minor stuff but still I learned a lot about the Fraser River and the mountains and how important everything is. Rightly so. And secondly, the driving takes about 2 hours from anywhere to somewhere.

Here’s a map of our route.

Day 1:  Kamloops for lunch at Tim Horton’s.  Earlier we went to a ginseng factory. We weren’t that interested in the process. My mother-in-law requested me to buy 2lbs of cut ginseng for her but the price was exorbitant! Then off we went to Spahats Falls.  It’s a bit impressive to me – the sheer height of the ridge. My daughter will tell you that there were too many mosquitoes chasing after her. It was a surprise to see someone you know from the city visiting the same Falls.

Then it’s another 2 hours to Valemount for the night.  The next morning, we had to be at the bus by 7:15am. We drove a short way to Mt Robson Visitors Centre. The early morning cloud was shrouding the top of Mt Robson but it was a beautiful morning. (pic below: Mt Robson on the right)

Then, we drove again to Athabasca Falls. I am more impressive with his fall because the water was like thundering down crazily from a very lazy river.  I guess like macho waterfalls.

Atabascha Glacier is next. The last time, I was there in 2001 it was November and bloody cold. Now, in summer it’s pretty warm. What hasn’t changed is how bloody touristy it is over there and the food is still as expensive as ever.  Nevertheless, as much I like to groan about it, I like sitting on that snowmobile and being on top of that glacier.

Top Pic: Panorama of Atabascha Glacier.

Left: Going up the glacier.

Below: My kids on the snow mobile.

To be continued.

]]> http://lissalo.com/2009/08/26/3-more-weeks-till-school/feed/ 0 lissalo rockies _MG_9191 _MG_9214 _MG_9241 _MG_9228 _MG_9238 athabasca-pano _MG_9263 _MG_9313 http://lissalo.com/2009/08/10/our-trip-to-nanaimo-in-july/ http://lissalo.com/2009/08/10/our-trip-to-nanaimo-in-july/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:25:29 +0000 lissalo http://lissalo.com/?p=1092 ]]>

We had an enjoyable time. We went with three other family friends for 2 days/1 night.

Parksville Community Park

The dog loves it too.

Picking oysters at Nanoose Bay.

Goats on the Roof at Coombs

On our ferry ride home on the Coastal Rennaisance.

I immigrated my old blog back here from a server and the pics don’t show up anymore. I just learned that xml files don’t carry images and I have to manually add all the images again. Hmm… not sure if I want to do that because I have hundreds of pictures in my old blog. So, please stay with me patiently while I revamp this blog including finding a way to showcase my work in a gallery.  Maybe more time in September when the kids are at school. (YAY!)

Anyway, this will be a more personal blog than my photography business.  I still photograph and if you are interested for a session, email me and we will talk.

Update: I manually uploaded pictures to several posts till Oct ‘08. I’ll save my wordpress storage space for new pictures instead