The sky is on fire.

The Texas skies are a breathtaking view. I know we might not have the Northern Nights but we sure do have the sky on fire. Every night is a different view and every night is a different moment to capture.

Interesting.

I have never seen a Barbie doll cake. The top half of the cake is real but the bottom is all made of cake. I thought I add this to my list of interesting things because this is definitely something to remember.

Can you find the bird?

This bird is hiding its habitat and not making any noise. He was looking for some food and stood their for a good five minutes blending in the moss.

Lavender.

Flowers! Spring is in the air and so many flowers are blooming.  I have no idea what this type of flower is called but its beautiful. The color is so luminous!

TSC.

My favorite part of the Brownsville campus is the architecture. Our school was designed to host all events outside of the campus and so the students can feel proud of the university they are attending. Therefore, I took this photo of the patterns of the fountains at the TSC side which UTRGV is leasing. (I know its so confusing.)

Another day at the office part two.

Here is another photo of push pins. I was working on the focusing and I really wanted the front of the pins to be more clear but that did not work out so good. SO this was the best that I did.

Another day at the office.

Since its the end of the semester, we really did not have anything to do at the office. We aren't allowed to have events because of finals too. Therefore, I began taking photos around the office to get up and active. I had been at this office since 9:30 AM and I was just finishing some homework. So I did some exploring and tried to be creative.

Baby Alligator.

It was already the end of the trail and the kids were running to the truck. On the other hand, I kept taking my sweet time absorbing the beauty of the park. As I was about to hit the parking lot, I saw this little fellow and his siblings hidden within the swamp. I got really close to take this photo; however, I didn't realize that he still had his mother. At the corner of my eye, I saw his mother slowly approaching our direction and I knew that was my cue to leave.

Backyard.

Check out this shadow of a mesquite tree!! Yes, the tree is at a weird shape but thats what makes nature beautiful.

SPI.

Throughout this blog, I have posted majority of the photos in an outside setting. I absolutely love being outdoors. Above is beautiful South Padre Island Beach that is right in our backyards. The beach is my favorite and most frequent location during my summer break because I love getting a tan.

Another accident.

I have a tendency to open my camera without knowing and taking random pictures. This picture above of my brother's cake was accidentally taken when I was cleaning the chairs. Sometimes the best shots are on accident.

Salsa.

I remember my professor for photojournalism assigned us to learn how to use the rule of thirds with focusing on simply the object in the front and blurry in the back. After months of the assignment, I wanted to give it another try and took picture of these cups with salsa. 

The Birdcage.

So my sister in law and I hosted her parent's anniversary party. I was the photographer of the night and took the opportunity to practice again. (I am telling you...I am attached to my camera.) Anyway, above was a decoration my sister in law made. I love the close up and detail of the flowers.

Broken Star.

After the lighting assignment, I decided to practice more and more. I would take my camera everywhere and decide to take random shots. For instance, this is a broken chimney at my brother's house. I figured I take photos to practice my different angles of lighting.

Peeping Hole.

Donna was right: walking around and exploring is better than driving around the town because you get to experience more things. As I was walking around town, I saw this interesting looking cement door that can't even be open. I wonder what the purpose of this door is if it doesn't even open. 

Famous street.

Everybody in Brownsville knows Elizabeth St. This street is where the annual Charro Day Parades happen and where you will find stores where they sell all type of knickknacks. Plus this road will lead you straight to the Mexican border to Matamoros and to UTRGV Brownsville campus.

Practice makes perfect.

During this time I was practicing my lighting shots. This photo was taken during midday in the hot and really sunny day. The bird above is a cardinal and I am very proud of this picture because I was able to capture the darkness side of a sunny day. 

Sunbathing.

Turtle!!! As the sun starting coming out, the turtles began coming out of the water to sunbath. However, once he or she saw me he jumped right into the water again.

Endless road.

This may look cliche but I love taking picture of roads. This photo was taken in Houston when we entered Brazos Bend State Park in Needville. The surrounding areas were absolutely breathtaking.

Walking by.

As I was walking in Brownsville in downtown working on my photo story, I came across this interesting woman and her daughter. She was digging in the garbage can looking for clothes. This trash can belonged to the thrift store that was right next to it. She was opening some bags looking for stuff that I could not get a clear shot of. She then saw me and don't the little girl to hide further in the trash can.

Art.

This art piece caught my eye because of the size. At the Brownsville campus, the art gallery is next to my office. Sometimes I need a break so I go into the gallery to walk around and get distracted. This piece is made up of a palm tree and all its parts.

Another frog.

I was walking with my little cousin and came across this little fellow. I have no idea how he spotted this tiny frog in the swampy area. This photo is a close up of the frog hidden between the grass and trees.

Pottery and ceramic.

Living close to the border is fun and unique especially in Brownsville. I have been going to Brownsville ever since I was a little girl. My mother and I would spend all day shopping or simply walking around "el centro". In other words, in downtown looking at all the knickknacks of the stores. I remember as a child, I always wanted these little canisters to play with but my mother didn't approve because I was a clumsy child and would have broken them.

Hey girl hey.

On the day of shooting the 20 faces, I took photos of my sister in law's family. Above is Ramon III who is quite a character. At first he was shy in front of the camera but eventually caved in. After I was done taking photos of the 20 faces, he came up to me asking for me to take more photos of himself. The funny thing is that I told him to pose this way and he actually took the photo.

New hobby.

Lately, my co-worker and I have been discussing birding. I have grown into loving these animals. I have done some research on all types of birds. I believe this bird is called a Brown Heron. They live in swampy areas with water since they eat fish, small mammals, and large insects.

Fallen Kitten.

The kitten in the middle was completely past out on the seat with his mother and siblings beside him. I love kittens and the unusual things that they do. It was an absolutely adorable moment that I had to share on my blog.

Greenery.

I absolutely love nature and being outdoors. The majority of my pictures are taken outside because the photos have the best lighting. This photo was taken outside the Harlingen campus of UTRGV. I had been outside of this building in the hot and humid Texas weather for two hours waiting for the shuttle. Probably one of my worst days!!

Fireworks.

These type of action shots are one of the hardest of them all. I attended the Los Fresnos CISD Centennial Celebration and at the end of the event there was a 15 minute long firework show. It was probably one of the longest firework shows I have ever seen. So I took this opportunity to practice my action and blurred shots. This is the best photo that I took during that evening.

Plane crash in Los Fresnos.

I was at work when I found out about this plane crash. You see I live in the outskirts of Los Fresnos and this helicopter would fly around the neighborhood since there are crops all over. This helicopter was a crop duster and would spray some type of fertilizer. My dog would always bark when the plane would fly over my house. I had always seen a small yellow plane and I had never seen this helicopter before. Maybe it's the same individual as the yellow plane but I wil never know. All I'm sure about is that this individual has third degree burns in 75% of his body. 

I don't remember what this plant was called it's absolutely beautiful. Anything that's nature is gorgeous. I wish I had a garden of my own but I wouldn't have time to take care of it. Anyways, this plant is in my cousin's garden at her house. She talks to her plants, nurtures them, waters them and anything else you can think of. Basically, she is the queen of plants.

The Green Frog. Since I was out on vacation during Spring Break. I took advantage of practicing my photography skills. This tree frog was a perfect model for me to practice my detailed and close up shots. I don't mean to toot my horn but this was probably my favorite picture out of all them. Thank you Donna for sharing your skills.

In my three years at UTRGV Brownsville, formally know at UTB, I have walked down the outside paths to get to my classes. However, yesterday I happened to be looking down going out the Cortez Hall and saw this random brick on the ground. I couldn't stop laughing because I had never ever seen this brick. I shared this picture with my co-workers and one of them said "Oh they are all over campus. They are random little facts." I just stayed staring at her and couldn't believe that I have never seen any of these bricks with random facts. Well point is: always be aware of your surroundings.

Tia's mini garden.

My Tia Patty loves flowers. At every season she plants various types of flowers and plants. Her yard is filled with Hummimgbirds and all types of bees. It's funny because she always asks me to take photos of her with her garden. I love my Tia and as long as she's happy I'm happy. 

Donuts. My goodness. Nowadays they have all sorts of different shaped plates and themes. Above this donut theme, there was a pizza theme of napkins, plates and cups. I mean who would buy the pizza plates? I know I wouldn't it but I would definitely buy these donut shaped plates. Aren't they the cutest?

Rodeo time is my favorite season of the year. I love seeing the barrel racing, bare back horse riding, bull riding and especially the Mutton Bustin'. This photos shows the Houston Rodeo grounds located inside the NRG Stadium where the Houston Texans play their games. Also many people from around the state of Texas and some from around the nation come together to enjoy the month long festivities of the rodeo.

Brazos Bend State Park. Alligators from all shapes and sizes live in this park in Needville, TX. This alligator was sunbathing against the current to catch its prey. However, many people were passing by taking snap shots and not bothering the animal. The only way an alligator would attack you is if you go near it and mess with it.

Houston Livestock & Rodeo Carnival is the biggest in Texas. The lines are endless and the food is to die for. I seriously have probably gained about 10 pounds this Spring Break just because of all overly priced carnival food. But man it's too yummy!

At the beginning when we meet friends we become so open about our life and begin to tell them about our experiences. However, as we get older that gap gets smaller and smaller. We begin to loose friends and gain new news but those new friends only consist of 2-3 people.

Life of a party planner.

Planning and organizing is probably one of my favorite hobbies. I especially love chalkboards for parties because one can simply worst alone it however they'd like. Currently I have 2 parties that I am helping with the planning process. Everyone I walk into Target, I can't simply just get one item. 

L & R

Wedding day. No I'm not the one getting married. However, one of my closet friends married her best friend this past weekend. This a photo of the location. It was absolutely gorgeous. She quotes, "this is exactly how I dreamed my wedding to be: simple." Now they are currently enjoying there honeymoon in Paris. Well isn't that nice? 

So I decided to go visit this place in my small home town and let me tell this place is beautiful. These are some of the plants that we saw while we were walking in the trails. I saw this plant and it just reminded me of an octopus for some reason. Nature is beautiful!!

Traveling is the best part of life. We might not know where we are going or who we are going to meet or if we might run out of gas. But the best part is focusing on your surroundings rather than your tiny screen.

This is Texas for you.

These puzzle pieces are all wrong.

Friday's are so peaceful.

Patterns are really easy to find.

Everything has two sides.

I can still see you.

Sometimes growing up too fast makes us "mature" on the outside but on the inside we are still naive.