I've never seen a man sob like this in public.
M Kat
Puddle Works
What do you do with puddles? :)
M Kat
The Chimichanga
At the food trucks in Portland Oregon, you can really feel the heart and soul of the cooks put into their dishes. When I purchased this chimichanga, I ordered it specifically because I missed an enchilada and my naive self thought that it looked similar, so why not ask for it? Everything was phenomenal, but the standout of this dish was the different textures that it had. The tortilla was perfectly crispy on the outside, and then soft on the inside. I can go on and on about how delicious and worthwhile this chimichanga was, but let's leave that for Yelp.
Side note: The lady who took my order was so cute. Giving her my credit card as payment, she saw my name and then went on to call me "Ms. Taguchi" for the rest of the transaction (I hadn't changed my name yet to Kat." So cute.
Thanks Poblano Pepper
M Kat
Foggy Morning
Beautiful foggy morning in Portland, Oregon.
When taking the photo of the stop lights and red car, I was laying flat on the ground on a little island in the street. After taking a few shots, I heard a voice yell, "Are you alright?!" I looked over and there is a lady in her suburban looking straight at me. I responded "yeah thank you!"
Immediately after the signal for her to turn left began and as she was turning she finished our conversation with, "Oh I thought you got hit by a car!" Then she was off and away.
That lady gave me hope for humanity that day.
M Kat
Thoughts
Concept shoot with dancer Amelia Unsicker.
"Thoughts"
M Kat
Reminder
Thanks for the reminder.
M Kat
Mt. Tabor
Today I witnessed the beauty of the water drops on greenery.
M Kat
Hug Point & Tillamook
A few more memories made at Hug Point and TIllamook. A big thank you to the lady who recommended that we visit Hug Point. It was stunning.
M Kat
Animals in Tillamook & Hug Point
Last weekend my husband and I got to visit Tillamook and Hug Point. These are a few of the animal life that I got to see there :).
Observe: The dog which you see in this first photo was a feral dog. Look at that beautiful smile. Seeing this little one taught me to never give up on what you see in front of you, it may shine a lovely smile one day like this guy.
The seagulls in the last photo were only four of the many which I saw at Hug Point. The winds were strong there, and most of those seagulls were standing in the direction which the wind was coming from. It was such a funny and peculiar sight to see. They didn't try to move to an area where the winds did not hit so rough, but rather chose to face the wind. So if I could name that image, it would be, "stand... and brace."
M Kat
Birthday Chocolate
Yesterday for my 26th birthday my husband took to me out for a little surprise: a sweet surprise :).
Chadsen took me to a beautiful chocolate shop and there their staff gave us a factory tour! Though I have not gone to many factories, I have always loved seeing them and learning how things are made, so this was a great experience no doubt. Creo was the name of the shop that he took me to. I loved how it was a very small and new family business that had so much love and philosophy into not only how they made their chocolate but also how they ran their business. Lucky us, we got to make our own chocolate bar at the end of the tour :).
Without further adieu, let the photos do the speaking. :)
M Kat
Zouk Dancer Marissa
This is my first shoot with this Zouk dancer, Marissa Rivera. If you live in LA and have even heard of this dance form, definitely give it a try.
Jose
A little teaser of Jose's photo shoot. More to come soon. Dance on my friends.
M Kat
Portland, Oregon
A few weeks ago Chadsen and I got to visit the lush land of beauty: Portland, Oregon. This is a visual summary of our trip :).
See you again :)
M Kat
Genuine Thoughts by Dejon
Meet Dejon. Meet his honest thoughts. Do any of his them resonate with you? For me, the last one rings a gentle bell within me.
Blueprint:
You are as you are
Original.
Unaltered.
Through chaos laugh deeply
Ensure your happiness in
Your surroundings
Encourage positivity.
Develop happiness.
True assurance is true happiness.
Our lives run off of
Positivity. Negativity affects
Our lives like a human disaster
Abolishing all that is humbling
Water our mind with knowledge
and nourish hearts .
I've began to regain the fluid in my humanity from being dried up like wrinkled flesh that has been casted away in a pool of undeniable agony. I would relieve myself with gulps of oxygen like momentum while supplies lasted. As I portioned my faith on plates of hollow souls I unfortunately didn't accomplish a seat at the dinner table. When my pulse ran low, someone touched my heart with opportunity. I've reached the shores of which my treasures trail to genuine appreciation. With much appreciation, my time has been consumed and the waves of my labor delayed my lengthy response to your text.
I've found myself is in an dimension between love and hostility. I dream of lathering in our sweet compatibility and getting lost in our intellectual thoughts. But I fear being held on a plank leaving you with the decision to choose me or your companion to be lost at sea. With out a doubt my heart belongs to my high school sweet heart, but with the same heart I bruise easily. My feelings towards you are longer than any infinity equation and will last longer than anything indestructible.
Imagine yourself as a
As electricity. In any shape you
Desire. In life your encountered
By many various forms of
Electrical currents. Some lead you ,
And some darken your color.
You've experienced explosions
Of energies , however explosions bring
New beginnings dragging destruction with it.
The cold travels freely through your vains
Like glacial blades
Your embrace is frozen to touch.
Your whisper shivers the soul.
Intensifying.
Inhumanity subsidies through
Like lost memories.
Pain destroys what
Love builds.
Deserving of love,
Unworthy of its experiences
Warm souls mends hearts
Chilled to touch.
As the bright sun
Warms your flesh
And the nights provide you sleep
Remain kind and loving
Everything else has been
provided already.
M Kat
Justin's Story
I grew up being the small kid. Graduating high school at 16, 5 ft tall, 100 lbs. on a good day. I was small. I was a gifted child, but unfortunately for my parents, school wasn’t a priority for me. Growing up, I was the trophy my family would showcase to their friends and family. So naturally, when I finished high school, I decided to take a year off and “find myself,” which meant spending a year playing video games and going to fast food restaurants with friends. After some time, I decided to do something; I taught myself piano. Once I became a decent player, I joined a band who became very popular in my area, playing venues with up to 500 people. Life was good. I did this for 3 years until I was 18. In this year, I had a crush on a girl who liked working out. So I did what any 18 year old would do: I started working out with her. Nothing crazy, just a run followed with abs and push-ups. After the first day, I went home and looked up various exercises and constructed a workout plan for her. She lost 23 lbs in the span of a month. Apparently, I’m good at this stuff, so with her results showing, I began getting clients. It was about December when I decided that if I wanted this to be my career, I would attract more clients if I wasn’t 100 lbs at 5 ft 5 inches tall. That Christmas, I got my first tub of protein powder and it all began.
December 26, 2012. Day 1 of training. I started at a gym, but quickly realized I was very weak, and not wanting to embarrass myself, I decided to train at home. 10 pushups, 0 pull-ups, 50 sit-ups. That was my workout. I was weak, but diligent, so for the next year I trained. The strength came slowly. My parents weren’t too happy that this is what I decided to do. My friends and family told me I was wasting my time. “This isn’t what you were meant for!” Through all of this, one person believed in me since day 1.
My grandma has been my rock from day 1 of everything. She would count my reps. Cheer for me when I would get a new skill. With her support I carried on and after one year I met RAW Movement. Until this point, I thought I was the only person who did what I was doing. I began hanging out with the team around the time my grandma found stage 3 lung cancer. In January, a week after meeting RAW Movement, she passed away. I lost my biggest fan. I wanted to give up, go back to school and do what everyone else expected of me. It took a while before I realized that I needed to push through and do it for her. That April, I competed in my first competition in Florida. I won. At this time is when family began to believe in me and support me. Slowly I became more known in the sport and competed several times. I won an open tournament in 2015 which gave me a title shot in lightweight division. I won. This win set me up for a battle with one of the men I looked up to. I beat him. After this victory, I became the number 1 featherweight (135 lbs.) in the USA. Then, I was placed on a team to compete in the world cup and represent America. We took 3rd place. Got to travel to Bahrain, all expense paid. I have sponsors giving me free clothes whenever I ask. I work as a personal trainer and recently got a job as a gymnastics coach based purely off my knowledge and skill set in gymnastics. Through all of this, I know my grandma is looking down at me and is more than proud of me. Still counting my reps. Still celebrating with me when I get new skills. For this reason alone, I will not stop.
Don’t Lose Who You Are!
M Kat
Disneyland
Thanks to my amazing friend my husband and I got to open the New Year by visiting Disneyland with some good friends :)
M Kat
Welcoming the New Year
New Year's is a time where I get to better appreciate my Japanese culture, because get to we make and eat Osechi. :) For those who don't know, in Osechi, many kinds of foods are made in symbolism of welcoming the new year, so usually at least the day prior to New Year is spent preparing the meal. This year, my Dad & I split up into two and made the dishes at our own homes and put together our finished work in tiered boxes on the actual New Year's Day. When we saw everything finished in the boxes, the work was all worth it. :)
Why is the first photo of mochi? In Japanese culture, New Year's breakfast is always mochi! Yummmm.
Some of the first few photos were actually taken by Chadsen, he's quite skilled no? Also, we took the opportunity to use our studio lights to take the shots this day.
M Kat
Morning Chill
Did you guys see it? The ice this morning? :) As a sucker for cold weather, it made me feel so happy to see ice on the grass, the car AND the roof this morning.
What a nice morning.
Cafe Santorini
My boss took the team out for Christmas lunch a few weeks ago, and there I had probably the best food I've tasted in a loooooong time. It was amazing. Amazing service, astonishing food quality. Can't wait to return here. What did I eat? the second photo. If you are wanting to try some delicious food with great service (did I even mention the pretty lights inside?), try this place out.
M Kat
Kayla
Kayla
Art in motion, art in existence.
M Kat