It has been a great while since I've written an update on how living in Chihuahua has been so far.  I think the last time I wrote was a year ago when I reached the 6 month mark.  A lot has happened from that time to now.

When I visit my friends back in California, the first question I usually get is "How can you live in Mexico?  Isn't it scary/unsafe?"  To which I usually explain that since I have been here, over a year now, that I have never seen or been a victim of any crime.  Other than really bad driving and horrible customer service.  It's really been good here.  I have discovered many great hole in the wall places to eat and have a beer.  There are still many, many places to explore and see.  And if I'm ever feeling homesick, good ol' McDonald's does the trick, ha ha!  

In all seriousness though, I've had many great experiences!  I was able to travel to different parts of the state as well as the country.  It seems as though the people here have more time and willingness to travel, even if they have limited resources or not. This is most surprising because in California, it always felt like I was on the go and never had enough time nor money to go anywhere further than Malibu or Vegas.  Or so it seemed that way.  In retrospect, I probably could have traveled a little bit more within the country, I just never saw its appeal.  In the year that I've been here, I have seen these amazing places:

Majalca, Chihuahua 

Namurachi Canyon, Chihuahua

Rekowata and Creel, Chihuahua

Huapoca, Madera in the state of Chihuahua

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon

I will also admit that it has been a tough.  There are times when I get home sick for the familiar.  For example, waking up in my old room with my family and doggies during the summer mornings.  Or the pad thai from the restaurant on Spruce Street.  Or miss having chips and salsa and beer with good friends at the local El Torito.  Let's also not forget all the beach time that I've been missing out, especially during the winter!

The internet has been such a great gift!  Being able to skype/facetime with friends and family during the time I've been away has been such a great help in not feeling so left out.  Because that's what happens when you leave your home, you lose contact and when you visit, you feel out of place.  Like so many things have continued to happen and you are not informed or otherwise just out of sight out of mind...

This adventure continues to surprise me and the more time I spend here in Mexico, the more I have accepted that this is now my home.  I am also very fortunate that I'm much closer to home than if I lived overseas.  I'm one long bus ride from being home.  And that, always makes it much easier.  Knowing that I can be back home from one day to the next.  Having family here is also another big help.  Being able to have people that I grew up with to help and support is always a plus :).

That's all for now... I'll keep you updated as time goes on!

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Do you PIn?  First, I hit like on everything... then weeks later I pin what I absolutely think is divine.  

I have this obsession with interior decor.  That's all I really look for when I'm on Pinterest.  Desk spaces, living room spaces with lots of color, do it yourself spaces and projects.  Oh, and women's fashion.  I must admit that Pinterest has helped my wardrobe come alive the last year or so.  It's great to see new and inspiring things...  all kinds of things.  

This new installment of my blog will be for the pins that I love week to week along with their respective link to my Pinterest.  So we can keep the inspiration going :).

What have you pinned this week??

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¿Tu haces pin? Cuando estoy en Pinterest, le hago click "me gusta" primero... luego semanas después hago pin lo que yo absolutamente creo que es divino. 

Tengo esta obsesión con la decoración de interiores. Eso es todo lo que realmente busco cuando estoy en Pinterest. Espacios de oficinas, espacios  de sala  con un muchos colores, los proyectos y espacios que uno puede hacer solo. Ah, y la moda. Debo admitir que Pinterest ha ayudado a mi vestimenta el último año. Es muy bueno para ver cosas nuevas e inspiradoras ... todo tipo de cosas. 

Esta nueva serie de mi blog va a ser para los pins que amo semana a semana junto con su respectivo enlace a mi Pinterest. Así,  podemos seguir compartiendo la inspiración :). 

¿Qué has hecho pin esta semana?

1.  

DIY Shelf

2.  

Colorful dinnerware

3.  

DIY mirror planter

4.  

Relaxing hammock

5.  

DIY chalkboard desk

6.

Colorful small kitchen

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We spent a few days in Monterrey, Mexico.  My first time being there.  It's huge, the most AMAZING food ever, and lots to see and do.  We packed two backpacks and a camera and explored the city. 

We went to the following places: centro, macroplaza, museums galore, santa lucia, parque fundidora, chipinque, planetario, pueblo santiago, cascada cola de caballo, and even made some new friends :)

I love traveling...

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The other night, we walked around downtown to snap some photos of the decorations.   We were especially fascinated with the reindeers :).  

Counting down to Christmas has begun!  Happy Friday!

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Everyone has a story.   

My life recently changed in a way I can't even begin to describe, I moved to another country.  For love. In a million years, I never thought I'd pack up my life into the back of my car, drive 1200 miles into another country and move for the person I love most in this life.  It has been the best decision of my life.  

And one day, when we are old and wrinkly, our wedding photos will be something to show our children and our grandchildren.  To show them the story of how we came to be as one.   Those photographs will become my story.  

I have always been a romantic which is why when you see my work, you see intimacy, you see adoration, and most importantly you see LOVE.  Which is the greatest force in the universe.  

Thanks for visiting my blog!  I like to post a mixture of things from recent work to more personal experiences in being a foreigner in a foreign country.  It has been a whirlwind of a ride and I'm excited for what is in the future!  

**I  am available for international travel.**

Call me at USA: 951.732.7039 or MEX: 614.502.02.85 or via email me hello@jackielamas.com for pricing.

We left at 8am.  And until Wednesday, I would be staying in a trailer in the hills of Huapoca with no phone or internet signal.  At night, only the sounds of rain, frogs and crickets would keep me company.  In the early morning, the sound of birds chirping and endless fog.  It was so beautiful.  I can't express how beautiful and how rejuvenating it was to get away.  To journal.  To photograph.  To just breath.

Not all was relaxation, I was taken by a couple of mine to photograph their engagement session.  You can't believe how incredibly honored I was, no, I am, to have their trust, their confidence, to take me 5 hours away from the city to photograph such a special time in their life.  But more on that when I show you the sneak preview of their session later this week.  For now, here is the personal post on the trip we took.  And now beautiful Huapoca is...

a few cell phone photos

In life, we are presented with opportunities.  Some we overlook and decide that it isn't the right time.  Others pass us by with out even a moments notice.  And before we know it, it's gone.  Whoosh.  Just like that.  However, sometimes we are presented with opportunities that often seem like obstacles.  A chore.  Something we have to actually put effort and energy toward to over come them.  What we don't realize, is that each one of these so-called obstacles are in fact opportunities.  They are disguised so that we do not see them in positive light.  They are mischievous and throw us curve balls every chance we get.  Yet, they are opportunities designed to teach us something new.  To help us grow and see things in a different light.  They are meant to be difficult, trying, and sometimes even break us down.  So after we over come them and accept that they've only been playing dress up this whole time, we can see how we have become better because of their little games.  We can see that they were truly in fact opportunities.  That they were some of the best ones in our lives.  Not allowing us to ignore them... not allowing them to simply pass us by.  

Love is like that.  Love can sometimes seem like an obstacle.  However, no matter what it can conjure up to throw us another curve ball, love is love.  It's big, noisy, and most often, slaps us in the face when we least expect it.  That is the kind of love that doesn't like to be passed by.  That is the kind that sticks around and makes you work for it.  No matter how far it may have beaten you down in the past, or how much you try to avoid it, some day, it will come find you.  And you will see it as the best and most beautiful opportunity you have ever been fortunate to receive.  

I have had such an amazing time here in Mexico.  Learning and growing in many different facets of my life.  Of myself.  Of my profession.  Teaching and sparking some interest in what I am so passionate about.  When clients give you the opportunity to see what their love is like it really takes my breath away. It makes me honored to be a part of their lives. 

I had such an amazing time with these two last weekend.  Part two of their session is this coming Saturday and I can't wait!  

*Updated that my then boyfriend is now my husband :)* 

I have a crooked nose.  Big hips.  Short legs.  Really skinny hands.  One eye is bigger than the other.  Both eyes are pretty big as it is.  I have a crooked tooth.  Big gums and a big mouth.  Small ears.  Jiggly upper arms.  

As a photographer, I have been in front of the camera a few times.  Very few times.  Because I know how it feels to be on the other side.  Being nervous.  Feeling insecure.  Feeling awkward.  Will the angles favor my huge child bearing hips?  Is my smile too big and show my gums?  And the list goes on.  So I know how it must feel for you.

This past week, I asked my boyfriend to take my photo.  I needed new head shots for my website, blog, and Facebook and I thought the practice would be good for him.  I had never before been excited to have someone photograph me.  And this made me think, it's not the insecurities that keep you from having a professional session, it's the photographer.  

The photographer makes all the difference.

 I am comfortable being myself in front of my boyfriend.  I'm not afraid to make silly faces or laugh really hard.  I'm not afraid that he'll make me look awkward or weird.  And the occasional, "you are beautiful" definitely helps boost the confidence, ya know!

We all have insecurities That one particular thing that is the bane of our existence.  That thing that keeps us from having our photo taken.  We fear the camera for showing us our worst.  But sometimes, the camera shows you that all of your insecurities were solely in your mind.  In your warped mind that you need to look like someone else.  That you are not enough.

You are beautiful.  You are interesting.  

Finding that photographer that you can trust to make you see the best version of you is key.  When I photograph my clients I know they're nervous.  I know that they're thinking of their insecurities.  Their flaws.  I talk and get to know them.  Before the session and during the session and usually we end up becoming friends.  After 20 minutes, those flaws fade away and what comes out is pure and honest. It's their personality.  Who they really are: beautiful inside and out.

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It's common to feel the burn out coming.  Waking up and not feeling inspired to create, to do something new.  Feeling inadequate to your peers.  As if it were high school all over again.  Feeling like you're stuck in the same spot circling the same stuck-ness.  I just made that word up.  

Then, you get the opportunity to teach.  To extend your knowledge, search through all of the files you've locked away, and teach some one something they've never known.  And you get inspired.  You see that you really do know how to use lighting.  That you have dabbed in fashion and can teach it.  Explain and see that in those bright eyed students, they are absorbing.  And just like that, you see their photos.  You see what they are creating, what inspires them.  You see that you are making a difference in their lives.  Photography may not be what my students pursue, however, if I have sparked one ounce of creativity, a pinch of curiosity in photography, then I have done my job.  

Teaching has also taught me a few things.  While we spent some time on street photography, learning about

Henri Cartier-Bresson

,

Diane Arbus

, and

Vivian Maier

, I realized that I was so busy directing and being in control of my subjects/clients that it had been a long time since I had practiced what I teach.

I grabbed my camera, headed downtown and at first, I was nervous and shy.  Nervous that I had to photograph moments that were happening in front of me.  With out taking control of the situation, the light, or the person.  I had to use what was there.  What was being given to me.  I felt the way I did when I first started out, not knowing anything except for the burning desire to be a photographer.  

I relit that fire on Tuesday.  

I don't know which I like better: the color or black and white??

2013 has proved to be something else entirely.  I find myself in a different county, albeit familiar, there are lots of things that change when you are living and not visiting.  Everything about it is different, the roads, the way people drive, the houses, language, and people. 

Everything is new.  Interesting.  Fun.  The world looks different.  This adventure is proof that you never really know where you're going to end up.  Only God knows that.  And with all that has happened over the last three months, I know that when you put your faith in Him, He will not let you down.  There are challenges, not everything is sunshine and rainbows, but as long as I believe He will guide me in the right direction, everything will fall into place.  As it has been lately.  

It is remarkable how faith can have such a powerful affect on your life and on your ideals, views, and decisions.  

Here's a list of all that's been going on lately:

• I am part of a couple of photography groups here in Chihuahua.  That makes me happy.
• I am going to be teaching a photo class to high school students three days a week.  I can cross that off my bucket list now!
• Making new friends 
• I can now get around the city with out getting super lost, just a litte lost.  
• I've lost weight eating at home.  But seriously considering eating at McD's because I miss their fries... question is, will they be as good as they are in Riverside??
• Now, I have to find out if they're good or not... haha.
• iMessage, Google Voice, and FB are life savers.  I get to talk to the people who matter the most through those avenues... every day :). 
• Preparing to showcase my photography at the Wedding Expo here.  Which is stressful and exciting at the same time!
• Excited to be photographing a wedding in Riverside this year! Which means I can visit my family and friends... and the beach

I'm excited for everything that is happening and it's only February!  You can follow more of what I've been up to on

Instagram

:).  

Happy Monday!  

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