Moving | M.I.A.

Hello loves,
So we are moving this whole weekend & I will be MIA due to lack of internet & packing & unpacking! Sorry:( but we need more room!! I have an office now, WHAT? Yup!!
I will post my 3 shoots on Monday that I did in Michigan! I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey day!!

P.S. did you enter my give away for a $25 gift card & a flan kit?

xo Jenda xo

Wordless Wednesday.

Moving.

Drivers Training | 2013 Ford Escape

Back when I was 14 years old & a few months my crazy parents decided to put me & my sister who was also 14 & some change into drivers training (crazy I know.) Drivers Education was during the Summer for 2 months. What? That was my whole Summer almost. Well I didn't care I was going to be able to drive to school the next year. Little did I know I'd be driving a big ol' van! Anyways so the students drove around in a the parking lot of the high school with a variety of cars. I always chose the Ford Escape. I grew up with Ford my whole life. My parents always owned or leased a Ford. I actually know the guys that work at our local Ford Company (small world.) We have had a Taurus, Contour, Mustang, & a lot of their trucks.  Actually my graduation present was a Contour, which I loved!! Gosh I always get side tracked. 

My car that I test drove on was a 2003 Ford Escape that was white. I ended up passing my drivers ed. course, of course! My Aunt actually owns the 2010 Ford Escape that she got in 2010. She drives her SUV from the mountains in Pennsylvania to Michigan every few weeks to see her husband. She works as a Geologist in the mountains & needs a reliable car to get her through the rocky terrains. As most of you may know Michigan's is a hand free state & the Ford Escape is all hands free. You can voice texts & calls.


My Aunt demonstrates below how to work the gadgets inside the SUV.





  & here she is proudly in her Ford Escape.




It has came a long way since 2003!


The 2013 Ford Escape has seats that are made from soybeans!! WHAT??? When I read the features I was amazed! No joke. The floors are made from post industrial fibers from recycled plastic bottles. The Escape was designed for air resistance. The vents on the front of the grille close to trick the air & reduce aerodynamic drag. 
The lift gate on the back of the Escape ( I can't even I was to excited & I don't even own one!!) lifts on it's own when you place your foot underneath the bumper. It helps you parallel park when needed. It has a push-button start. 
The back seats can be folded down to transport large cargo or small. It can tow up to 3,500 pounds with trailer sway control. 


For more information please go here 
& to stay connected with Ford en Espanol on 
Facebook go here.




Disclaimer: The Ford Motor Company sponsored me to go to Latism 2011 Conference & all opinions are my own as always. 

Flan & Family | Thanksgiving & Giveaway.**Closed**

Is there a special tradition your family has during the holiday seasons? That one dish you can’t live without at Thanksgiving? I am not talking about the obvious turkey, potatoes, yams, & pies. Our family always has a potato casserole that we never go without. This year Nestle LaLechera asked me to participate in a campaign with them & bring a new tradition to our holiday season. Coming from a Mexican family you would think I've had the dish Flan before. In fact I have never even tasted Flan or even watched someone prepare it. I decided to give it a shot since I am trying to cook & bake more. My family was excited to be able to participate in making this dish with me since we drove up to Michigan for the holidays. We ended up making it a Sunday night family night. My little brother, step father, mother, husband, & me all took part in making Vanilla Flan. I let my husband pick which flavor of Flan he wanted to make & he chose Vanilla. That happened to be the kind of Flan my older brother makes & loves. 

The 5 recipe cards included Vanilla Flan, Pumpkin Flan, Coconut Flan, Dulce de Leche Flan, & a card with introducing Nestle La Lechera. The cards tell you what you'll need & step by step of how to make your Flan. 

Kodak Camera (which is digital btw) & Flan molds. One of the molds broke so my mother happened to have 2 so I replaced them. In the end I used the pie pan because I had more people to feed. You may use the molds so your guest & family may have their own serving.

Nestle La Lechera sent me a gift basket which contained flan molds, Nestle La Lechera, evaporated milk, Kodak camera to photograph us making the Flan, a gift card to buy the rest of the ingredients to make the Flan, & 5 recipe cards. Since I own my own camera I decided to let the husband take photos with the Kodak disposable camera & I took the photos with my camera. I am kind of nervous to see his photos haha. 

I documented below each of the steps & since I have never made it before I just said word for word what I did. 
The husband stirred & kept an eye out on the sugar so it wouldn't burn. I also didn't know sugar could be made into liquid (I apparently didn't pay attention much in science class) 

My little brother wanted to work his new blender so he blended the ingredients all together & made a huge mess haha.

I just set the timer on my phone as we sat around the table & talked. 

So I read somewhere that if you have craters in your Flan is because the Flan came to a boil but they certainly don't take away from the taste. :)

Flan does have to sit in the fridge over night or for 4 hours but it is so worth the wait. I had it for breakfast before we headed on the road back to Virginia. 

My mother was telling me my grandmother used to make this dish all the time & she never knew what it was at the time. Nor did she learn how so it was nice to experience this with my mother. My husband has had Flan before & enjoyed it. He is the baker & cooker in our marriage & was excited that I was doing it for once haha. I think I did a pretty good job! 


Grab your loved ones because I will be doing a giveaway of the gift basket above! 


Rules of the giveaway:
1. Comment below on your families traditions during the holidays.


2. Like my photography Facebook page. 


I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving & didn't gain to much weight pfft who am I kidding I ate at 3 different places! Gym here I come!!!!


Disclaimer: I was giving the gift basket from Nestle La Lechera to make Flan & all opinions are my own.

Diamond in the ruff.

She is ruff alright! This lady right here is crazy. She is about 3 years old & acts like a kitten. She will appear in my blog a lot. So will our black cat ;) Those are our fur babies.

Fall is almost coming to an end.

Wanna know how I know? 

The leaves are almost all gone:(

5 things you don't know about me

1. I am 1 out of 10 brothers & sisters:) I am thrown in the middle somewhere. I grew up with 6 of them. The other's are adopted to amazing families & we all keep in contact. 

2. Mexican & White are my ethnicity. My mother is White & my father is full Mexican from Mexico. He moved to Texas when he was a young lad & then my grandmother moved to Michigan to make a better life for her family which consisted of 13 aunts & uncles. (holy HANNAH MONTANA!!!)

3. I am OBSESSED with Marilyn Monroe. I know most people "like" her but me I took it to the extreme! Why? I don't know I fell in love with her back in 05' for some reason. Her character & personality just caught me. I have salt & pepper shakers, photos, posters, shirts, etc of her. I own books galore, magazines, & other things. I just love her & the way she didn't care about any one's opinion about her. Who's excited about (One week with Marilyn) November 23rd it comes out!!! I will be there woot!

4. I flew for the first time EVER on June 8th, 2011. I know I am a newbie haha. I was terrified & we booked our flight to go home & see our God son get baptized. I had to go there was no turning back! Plus I was not going to waste my money:) It wasn't that bad & I wished I would have did it long ago. I have since flew ALONE to Chicago & did amazing! 

5. I have never been under anesthesia or had any major surgery! (Thank our good Lord) I have been super blessed. 

I tag all of you who have a blog & who read this to do it:) link me back to it.

Red Bricks & Babies | Stone Family

Patti is a HUC at the hospital I used to work at. She wanted family photos done for the holidays. She brought along the whole family:) they where so much fun. The morning was crisp & nice. The clouds were perfect & the sun was not harsh at all! I met the Stone family downtown at this awesome warehouse that I fell in love with.

Here is the whole family.

Patti & Kevin

Savannah, Michael, & the baby.

Savannah, Michael, the baby, & their cousin.

Kevin, Savannah, Michael, & the baby.

Kevin with his daughter's.

Patti & Kevin's daughter who is such a ham!!

The baby was not having it. She wanted to do her own thing. She was so funny at the end of the shoot she found a stick she was content with. 


Thank you Stone family for letting me photograph your beautiful family!:)

Thanksgiving Holiday.Where will you be?

We will be heading to Michigan to be with the family for Thanksgiving. I am so excited because we haven't been back home with our family since 2008 I believe. We have been in Virginia for all our holidays. Even Christmas. It's rough because it's just me & my husband with no kids. We go all out for Thanksgiving to make it feel like we are at home. I am over the moon to be with my family & have our quality time. Sitting around laughing, crying, smiling, joking, & everything else.

I miss these guys (My father & God son)

& these folks. (My mother, step father, niece, & nephew)

& these little monkeys (my nieces & me) I can be a kid with them!

& this little meanie head! ( my nephew)

So many more people I miss & I can't wait to see them!! :) My sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, & my puppy!!

What are you all doing for the Holidays?

The Stokes' Family photo shoot.

Cat, baby, & Jason are an adorable family I had the opportunity to shoot. I know Cat from our former job at the hospital. I shot their cute little family before when baby was about 5-6 months old. He is now 16 months holy hannah montana where did the time go?

The Rappahanock River is a gorgeous spot in Virginia were I chose to shoot the family by. The rapids where flowing & it was a crisp morning. We did their fall & Christmas photos.

Jason & Cat have an amazing relationship & the way they parent is amazing. You can tell they are used to it.

I want to thank the Stokes' family for letting me be apart of their day! I thoroughly enjoyed baby & all his wildness.

Wordless Wednesdays: Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is simply gorgeous. I always make it a point to go sit on the beach, any weather, & just take the view all in.

Honey Walnut Shrimp for the family.