It’s been a crazy two weeks that have passed. It started on Monday, June 13 in fact because that was the day I gave my two weeks notice to my boss… I’ve decided that the “two weeks notice” rule gets 2 thumbs down!  It’s not because I don’t want to respect the company that I’ve worked at for the past 4+ years, but because of what happens when you give your two weeks notice… and whats funny is, I’m the type to give notice, so I know I’ll do it again IF I ever have to… I was surprised that G&E decided to keep me till the end given the fact that I would be working for a competitor… I was preparing myself to be escorted out of the building.  But that didn’t happen at all! I was pretty much working up until I said goodbye.  These passed two weeks drained me up so much I’ve been sick for the past week and a half… but that’s all done now, and I’m ready to move on and I’m celebrating my new job by taking today off and announcing the winners of my most recent contest!

Before that, I apologize for the delay! I really, truly, appreciate you all sharing with me what you’ve been thankful for for the past 5 years! I enjoyed it very much! Since there wasn’t that many who participated, I’ve decided to just give everyone who commented a $5 Amazon online certificate! I’ll be e-mailing that to the participants soon! Now for the winner of the $25 certificate, congrats to Ms. Nataly Navarro! I’ll be contacting you soon to ask you where you want your $25 gift certificate to come from :D

Well, Happy Friday everyone! Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for visiting my blog!

After five years, Ryan and I have been able to travel to different places, meet many wonderful people, made so many new friends, and have been inspired with so many events… These are things that we probably would have never experienced if we didn’t start this humble business of ours…

So, to celebrate ES-Sense’s 5th Year, we are going to do a simple contest! WOOHOOO!! It’s been awhile and I feel that today is a perfect day to do a contest on our blog site. All you need to do is leave a comment telling me what you’re most thankful for these past 5 years (2006 – 2011).

Tomorrow, I will randomly pick 5 winners to win a $5 gift card to amazon.com. Then, within the 5 lucky persons that were picked, I will randomly pick 1 to win a $25 gift card of their choice (to wish es-sense continued success for the next 25 years) :). Contest ends tomorrow, Friday, June 17 at 5:00 PM.

Goodluck, thanks in advance for participating and happy anniversary again to our es-sense business!

So I pleaded and pleaded and pleaded…and with a small nod from my husband, we walked toward a table at the Chop Chop Tea House & Restaurant where we ordered a cup of coffee for Ryan and I mango shake for myself. There we were, enjoying a game of scrabble with my iPhone and most of all, time with one another.

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We want to help remind someone to take time and enjoy a cup of coffee with their friend or significant other or even by themselves! Living this life where we are always on the go, it is hard sometimes to remember to find time for ourselves, so here’s a quick giveaway for a $20 Starbucks Gift Card.  Just answer the following question – What is your favorite way of relaxing?

Please, let me know, by leaving a message below and I’ll pick my most favorite answer. Have a relaxing weekend!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! I definitely need a date night with my husband! This must be my lucky year for contests cause this is the second time I’ve won anything. First it was the travel kit from Justin and Mary and now this!! I’M REALLY EXCITED and SO THANKFUL!! It truly is another blessing!

Speaking of blessings.. Ryan and I were fortunate to have visited our friend Ka Bing, who toured us around “The Message” set! We visited our church’s US Main Office last Saturday before getting lunch with Ka Bing, Ka Remy and their daughter Janica. They treated me and Ryan to lunch at Max’s Restaurant located in South San Francisco. It was really nice to have spent a few hours with them.

FYI: The Message can be viewed on GEM TV – Mon-Fri 7:30 AM and Daily at 10PM [Sky & Home Cables, Ch 20 - Destiny Cable, Ch 18 - UHF, Ch 49 (Digital)]. It is also available internationally via DirecTV! :D

Thank you po Ka Bing for taking a souvenir photo of me and Ryan! This was Ryan’s first time visiting USMO! Imagine that! We were able to visit USMO, EuMO and Central Office all this year!  That is so awesome!!! :D

As I was going through all our mail, I found one envelope from Apple that contained a $50 gift card. I almost forgot about it, so it’s a good thing we are organizing right now because I want to get rid of things and that gift card is one of them.

So I’m gonna hold a really simple contest.

Here’s what you need to do:

Just leave a comment below and tell me what was the coolest or weirdest thing(s) you found while organizing your home or office? Please be sure to leave a valid e-mail address and your full name so that I can contact you if your name is randomly picked.

We will announce the winner on Tuesday, July 20 at around 12PM, so as long as you submit your entry before then, you will be included in the contest. I’ll be sure to send it out the same day.  So please, help me get rid of it!! :D

Okie dokie… back to our summer cleaning..I hope everyone has a great weekend!

YES I WON A CONTEST on Justin & Mary’s Photography Blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See how excited I am!?!!? This is the first time I’ve ever won anything in my whole entire life!!! 

Thank you Justin, Mary, and Julia for the opportunity!! It really is something I’ll never, ever forget :D

If you’re wondering what the contest was about, here’s the link to read about it! Basically, we had to leave a comment about our Best Travel Upgrade OR Worst Travel Experience.  So I decided to give it a shot with this entry:

Joan Solitario My most memorable travel upgrade happened when my mom and I were coming back to the US from the Philippines. We didn’t anticipate having to pay customs and we gave all our cash away. So when we got to the airport, we realized we needed to get cash fast. I wasn’t married to my husband Ryan then, so it was kind of a blessing for me to see him one more time as he came to the airport to give us some cash. I couldn’t go outside to see him, because my mom wanted to thank him personally while I watched our luggages. So the only way to tell him thank you and I love you was through sign language. There were two glass walls that separated us. I was really sad that I didn’t get the chance to hug him one last time, but I was just happy to see him before we left. For some reason though, we still didn’t have enough cash… so a really nice guy in line behind us offered to pay the difference. (Thank you Mr. Nice Person!) As my mom and I finally got to the counter to get checked in, we realized that the attendant behind the counter started to upgrade us to business class (which isn’t first class, but is totally better than coach). The airline had overbooked the plane and we were the last ones to check in! It just proves that there’s a reason for everything! And that is my most memorable travel upgrade moment.  

So there you have it, my winning entry and now I’m going to get some survival travel goodies, like L’Occitane lotion and a “Mophie” for my iPhone!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH JUSTIN, MARY, and JULIA!! All the best to you and your business!

Thank you God for giving me the experience to write about my most memorable travel upgrade!  :)

And since blogs are so much better when it contains a photo(s). Here’s a picture I took of my friends and cousin during our settin up for the Recoginition Night for High School Grads on Saturday, June 12 which was held at the Ontario Marriott Hotel.  I loved how excited my friends and cousin were that evening :) Congratulations to the youth members of our church who graduated High School this year!

P.S. My friend, Kevin, doesn’t really look like that.. he made that face on purpose.. :) 

Krystle: You did a great job with the photos and it is the cutest thing EVER! You really put some thought into it and I appreciate you taking the time to share your talent and creativity! Thank you and your family always for your support!!

I hope you enjoy the $100 Apple Gift Card because you definitely deserve it!

I’ll contact you soon so you can tell me where to send it :D

Without further delay, here is her contest entry:

Okay, I did buy it for Ryan for his birthday, and it really is for him, but that doesn’t mean we are not going to make it work for our business as well. Ryan thinks it’s a great idea to use it for es-sense too! I really love how with a few moves, I can show off a recent engagement, wedding or portrait session! I love how I am able to upload photo slideshows on to it and have it play right then and there!  This new toy of ours is going to give a whole new experience to client meetings and that’s quite exciting! It really is perfect for photographers!

I think what I really love the most is how long the battery lasts! They said it would last for approximately 10 hours, and you know what, it does! That just means family road trips will be so much more fun with this awesome gadget! Especially since I’m always trying to set up trips for my family and relatives! I’m so glad we got the iPad!

Anyway, this just leads me to my blog contest!

Ryan and I would like to help someone in purchasing an iPad by giving away a $100 Apple Gift Certificate. I think this would help someone, don’t you? I mean, if the iPad starts at $499 and you win the gift certificate, then you basically just need to come up with $399 (+tax) to get a 16 GB iPad with wifi, right? Now, if you don’t want the iPad, then you can use the certificate to get something else from the Apple Store.

So this is how you can join the contest.

1. You must be a fan of es-sense. I could open it up to non-es-sense fans, BUT I wont. I need to take care of those who support me first. To be a fan, join by visiting this website: http://www.facebook.com/essense.photography and clicking the “Like” button.

2. With this quote, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, take a picture of yourself that creatively depicts that quote with an apple or a bunch of apples. The fruit kind. :)

3. Email the picture you took to: info@es-sense.com

4. Ryan and I will choose amongst the photos we receive, our favorite and post it up on our ES-Sense Fan Page. 

6. Deadline to turn in your photo to me is Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST on my watch.  I will post up the winner on June 1, 2010. Goodluck my friends and thank you again for always showing us your support! :)

What does NTME stand for in NTME Photography?
Natasha Theresa Marshall Esguerra

What got you interested in starting your own photography business?
When Fred and I got married, he insisted we treat ourselves to a dSLR camera.  On our road trip honeymoon, I began taking pictures and ever since then, I couldn’t put the camera down.

What is the reason why you joined the contest?
I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to win a Shootsac!!!  I saw you carrying it around and I thought it was the coolest thing since I just have a bulky bookbag :)

How did you get people to comment on your facebook photo for the shootsac giveaway contest?
Well, I individually messaged each person on Facebook to ask them for their help. And so many of them were so nice to take a moment to help me out, despite the fact they would get a LOT of notifications as a result.  I really felt the love and support!

What message do you want to tell all your friends who helped you win?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!  YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME AND I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE SUCH CARING FRIENDS. Thank you for supporting NTME!

Thanks Natasha and congratulations! Here’s a sneak peak from a photoshoot we did with Natasha two days ago. Here she is, styling her new shootsac! More photos from the session to come! :)

CONGRATULATIONS NATASHA of NTME Photography for winning the shootsac!  Natasha told me that she had personally messaged each of her friends to ask them to comment on her photo and with a 177 comments, it just shows that it totally worked!

She also told me that she wanted to win the Shootsac for her husband and her second photographer, Fred, because she just ordered a Kelly Moore Bag, but like me, she’ll have to wait for the May shipment to come in!

Special thanks to Katie, Lei, Amy and Natasha for participating! Here are their photos!

And the winner is…