As if I'm not busy enough...

...I go and start a blog. Who knows how much I'll mess around on here though. I have enough reasons to sit in front of a computer all day long; I really do not need one more.

I guess for now, I'll start this - and save it. And maybe someday I'll come back and have more fun!

UPDATE: Right. "someday"... try 2 days later. And then the next day. And the next... I should have known. I (obviously) need a writing outlet!

Recipe Info

When it comes to sharing recipes - I'm more lazy than I am actively avoiding sharing. If you look closely, I often link to a recipe since I just don't have the patience for typing them out. Or I'll incorporate instructions into my blog post without actually typing it all out in "recipe" format. If you ever have a request for a specific recipe and it's unclear in my entry - please feel free to email me at lisaisbossy {at} yahoo {dot} com




Also worth mentioning; there are some recipes my family holds quite near and dear to their recipe boxes. Some of these are recipes we've created. Others are recipes we've altered from an original in a way to really make it our own. And by "we" I mostly mean my mother and her sisters. None of them worked in food for a living, but sometimes I wonder how that could be possible. I often won't share a recipe that falls into this category. For reasons we might not yet even know (future bakeries? cookbooks? restaurants?) my family would like to keep those to our family.

Case in point - I gave one of my closest friends the chocolate chip cookie recipe my mom and I have changed and perfected over the years (which folks have called "crack cookies") and when she misplaced the recipe after a couple years, Mom wouldn't give it to her again! Ha!

Most of my posts do link to recipes, so it's not entirely often you'll read about one of those "restricted" ones. I hope you understand though, and can still enjoy the blog!

Copyright

All text and images on this website copyright © Lisa is Bossy 2008-2010, unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved.

No material from this website may be copied, adapted, borrowed or otherwise utilized without the express written permission of the artist. Copyright infringement is illegal and punishable by law.

Please contact me at lisaisbossy {at} yahoo {dot} com, for information about using material from this website.

Photography

*YES* every photo in this blog (unless otherwise noted) was taken by me... Oh. I guess. Except for those on this page?

My cousin, Sue gave me my first camera when I was 7 years old - and I've been HOOKED ever since.

I was one of those weirdo kids who brought her camera to school to take pictures of friends when I was in elementary school and junior high. By high school more of my friends had cameras but it became a HUGE deal to finish a roll of film take it to Longs Drugs (now CVS) and then trade and swap photos of each other with friends. We'd finish ROLLS and ROLLS of film in a weekend.

By college it was starting to become obvious that I was a bit of a "photography nut". I had albums of photos with captions and dates and was constantly blowing up pictures and framing them all over my room or college condo. People knew I couldn't do anything without my camera and would be surprised if I didn't have it. I actually found myself a bit depressed if I had attended some fun trip or event and hadn't taken any pictures of it. Oh yes, something was brewing...

As everyone transitioned to digital photography around 2000/2001 my physical photo album stockpile screeched to a halt. But the picture taking did not. To replace the albums I found myself burning photos to CD and of course finally stocking up on external hard drives.

When my friends started getting married in droves sometime in the last 5-6 years, I became known as "the friend who would have her photos online before the couple had gotten home from their reception". But I was noticing something about this point... the things I needed to manipulate to get the shot I wanted were not available to manipulate on my little P&S. There were suddenly rumblings of an SLR deep in the back of my head.

Everyone around me had Nikons. Dad, Uncle, Dad's friends, my friends so I obviously gravitated towards a Nikon. I made my first purchase which was the Nikon D40: a *total* entry level SLR and all I thought I'd need. I loved that camera and loved how much freedom and flexibility it gave me with my photos! Suddenly I could change the aperture and shutter speed!! And NO - I never once used it in "Auto" mode. If you buy an SLR and ever put it in Auto mode - you should not have purchased that SLR. Just sayin'...

Well my photography hobby grew to a level I wasn't anticipating. I suddenly found that I'd outgrown my D40 (primarily cuz of the AF-S lens requirement, I owned a handful of AF lenses...) and I was reinvesting in the next notch up: D90. Anything bigger than that was just too heavy for me to carry along on my extensive travels.

And here we are... At this point I've shot everything from weddings to newborns to products for friends' businesses. And just anything in between. My family practically doesn't bring cameras to events anymore 'cuz they know I'll be shooting. I still have a TON to learn and don't consider myself anything other than "amateur". But I LOVE my photography. And goshdarnit, I better with the amount of money now invested in it!

About

My name is Lisa and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I have resided all of my life (with the exception of college).

My mother is a First Generation Chinese American whose parents were from Southern China. Mom was born and raised in California and taught me practically all I know about cooking, baking and overall crafting.

My father is a Third Generation Scottish American with a little English and Irish in there somewhere also. Dad grew up in New Hampshire and came to California after college. He taught me just about all I know about electronics, computers and "techie" stuff. Not to mention skiing...

Having given a bit of a background -- you can see how I'd be a little bit all over the place. During the day I work for one of the largest tech corporations in the Silicon Valley. I have a degree in computers and used to write code for a living (*gasp*)! At night I cook, bake, sew, knit and photograph it all. When I have the time, I throw dinner parties for my beloved family and friends and I travel as much as I can fit in.

I started blogging in February of 2008. It was a perfect outlet for me since I love to write, I love to create things, and I love photography. It's become a type of journal for me and since it seems others enjoy it also - it's been a great ride!

Since my blog is not so much about my techie/nerdy side (even tho that is a huge part of who I am) I'll give you a bit of history how I got into baking and cooking and crafting... My mom is one of 12 children - most all were born in the US. Though they obviously grew up in a Chinese home, the [5] sisters spent much of their time learning to cook and bake "American" food. Although there is not much baking or many desserts in the Chinese culture (you traditionally won't find ovens in Chinese kitchens) - you'd certainly not know it if you visited one of our family gatherings. At Thanksgiving, the dessert table is nearly more full than the food table. So I clearly grew up surrounded by cooking and baking and the demonstration of love through serving food to others.

It has blossomed in me! I started baking with my mom before I can remember. I'd flip through her cookbooks (this one in particular) like I flipped through my picture books. I'd check [children's] cookbooks out of the library at my elementary school. When The Frugal Gourmet would come on after Sesame Street I'd get SO excited! Looking back, it seems the contents of this blog are not surprising - predictable even. It's likely it was even before my teenage years, but the first thing I remember baking on my own was around 12 or 13: lemon meringue pies. Not just 1 - but tons. All the time. Hmm, and let's not forget that Easy Bake Oven! It was my favorite toy!

I'd love to work in food some how, some way. I'd love to write a cookbook to honor my family and all our fantastic recipes. I'd love to own a bakery and watch customers squeal and smile as they bite into something delicious. I'd love to cater parties and make people happy with yummy food. But those are just dreams for now. A bit risky and difficult to attain with a Bay Area mortgage looming over me.

So by day I'll continue to sit in my cubicle taking conference calls and working on project schedules. And by night I'll do what I love, then sit down and share it with you... Thanks for visiting! Please leave me comments if you like a particular entry! They keep me going - knowing that people are reading!

To contact me directly please email me at: lisaisbossy {at} yahoo {dot} com