25 Friday Nov 2016
Posted in Photographs from Art Gallery
Tags
Author, Destination, Dream, Golden Gate Bridge, Northern California, Photographer, Published, San Francisco, Thanksgiving, Travel, Unpublished, Vacation, Writer
SAN FRANCISCO GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
Happy Thanksgiving! Let’s hope your holiday brings you to your favorite destinations and that you never dare to dream too big.
Written By: Ask Ms Mandi
Photography By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright November 2015
08 Tuesday Nov 2016
Posted in Authors of the Week
Tags
Adolescence, Arcata, Author, Break-up, Coast, Humboldt County, Love, Northern California, Poetry, Published, Relationships, Writer, Youth
Untrusting
9/28/16
push away the boy who cares
it’s what you’re best at.
paranoid thinking
that he’s not gonna stay.
when he really cares
a lot about you.
but you just can’t see
through the bad past with others.
so you decide
you’ll hurt him first.
-jcw
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
25 Sunday Sep 2016
Posted in Quote of the Week
Tags
Author, Beaches, Humboldt County, Love, Northern California, Photographer, Photography, Poem, Published, Sunset Magazine, Travel, Unpublished Authors, Writer
SERENITY
It is better to have loved than not to have loved at all.
It is better to take risks than to stay in your same box.
Life is about change.
Written By: Unknown Author
Photography By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright September 2016
14 Wednesday Sep 2016
Posted in Authors of the Week
Tags
Addict, Author, Beaches, Book, California, Depression, Family, Help, Humboldt County, Literary Agents, Love, Magazine, Northern California, Published, Teenagers, Travel, Unpublished, Vacation, Writers
THE MONSTER UNDER MY BED
No one will believe me…I tell myself, as I try to drift off to sleep.
But sleep doesn’t come easy to me these days. I lay here in the dark, wondering if I would be happier, if I wasn’t me.
This is silly, I tell myself. I have people who love me. My mom loves me, but sometimes it feels as if she doesn’t understand me. But then again…what adult does truly understand a teenage mind.
One or two? I take that back. Zero.
Depression surrounds me, but I must not let it draw me in. I’m really trying, but there are days when I wonder if it is enough.
Written By: Unanimous Author
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright September 14, 2016
08 Thursday Sep 2016
Posted in Quote of the Week
Tags
Arcata, Author, Beaches, Explore, Humboldt County, Life, Live, Mental Health, Northern California, Published, Strawberry Rock, Sunset Magazine, Travel, Trinidad, Vacation, Writer
To Live…
There are some days meant to stay in bed and hide under your covers,
then you see something like this and it all makes sense.
We are small compared to the grander things in life.
Life isn’t meant to stay in one place, it’s about exploring all that life has to offer us.
Written By: Ask Ms Mandi
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
Strawberry Rock – Humboldt County, CA
Copyright September 2016
31 Wednesday Aug 2016
Posted in Excerpt from Manuscript - SNOW
Tags
Addiction, Alcatrass, Bay, Blow, Boat, Break-ups, Cocaine, Drugs, Healing, Love, Northern California, Ocean, Relationships, rock, San Francisco, snow
EXCERPT FROM SNOW
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The last few days had been anything but perfect, maybe perfect was too strong of an adjective, the last few days had been more than exhausting.
January closed her eyes for a moment, reflecting back on their conversation. It hadn’t gone well, with Jack storming out of their high-rise apartment.
This had been more than two days ago and she still had not heard from him. She knew he would be mad, but he was more than mad, he had been furious.
She remembered when they had first visited the city of San Francisco, now their home. She and Jack had just gotten married. He had applied to the city as an Engineer, just on a whim, not really expecting to get the job, but he had.
She couldn’t have asked for a better life, now that Jack was clean. But now it seemed their perfect, picturesque life had shattered into a million different pieces.
Tears slowly spilled down her face, as she quietly opened her eyes. It was a dreary, over-cast day, but when wasn’t it over-cast in the city.
Looking across the bay, she watched as the tour boat took the nostalgic guests across the ocean and over to the Rock…Alcatrass, making her ponder…had she made the right decision telling Jack. Only time would tell.
“Please Jack, come home to me.” She whispered.
Written By: Ask Ms Mandi
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright August 31, 2016
14 Sunday Aug 2016
Posted in Photographs from Art Gallery
Tags
Author, Books, Magazine, Northern California, Novel, Photographers, Picture, San Francisco, Short-stories, sunset, Travel, Vacation, Writer
Visiting San Francisco…
I know I always say that this place and that place are my favorite places to visit…but San Francisco is truly one of my favorite spots in the world. If you ever visit California or already live in our Golden State, you must visit San Francisco.
Haight and Ashbury are a blast from the past. Walking down the streets is as if you are still living during the 1960’s. Jim Morrison, from the Doors and Jimi Hendrix appear to still be living, as you look up and into their faces on the side of buildings.
The Wharf and Pier 39 have all the shopping you could ever imagine, while you’re waiting for your boat trip across the bay to the legendary Alcatraz island. Alcatraz is a must see.
Union Square is for the more savvy shopping goer. It’s beautifully lined streets, looking up to the high rises; such as, Juicy Contour, Nordstrom and Ghirardelli Chocolates.
And we can’t forget the Financial District. This is where success is created.
Make sure you pack your shorts, sweaters, and jackets…you never know what the weather will be like in San Francisco…it’s as unpredictable as your decisions on where you should go to next in the great city of San Francisco.
Written & Photography By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright August 2015
05 Friday Aug 2016
Posted in Photographs from Art Gallery
Tags
Author, Cities, College, Elderly, Future, Humboldt County, Life, Mental Health, Moods, Moonstone Beach, National Geographic, Northern California, Past, Present, Psychology, Published, Sunset Magazine, Travel, Vacation, Writer, Youth
Moonstone Beach…
Do you believe a mood can be altered by a simple scenery change?
Moonstone Beach, in Humboldt County, is one of those places. You may wake up in a bad mood, but once your feet touch the cool, soft sand, squishing in between your toes, you are instantly transformed from blah to majestic. As if, something this beautiful can be real, but it is and trust me pictures don’t do it justice.
The same goes for us that live in the concrete city. We may wake up in a beautiful mood, and once we hit the road of constant and steady traffic, we are instantly put in a bad mood. Not to add to it, but the grey skies above don’t help either.
The sad part about human behavior is that we don’t appreciate all the beauty around us, we don’t live in the present, but instead we are either looking to the past or jumping to the future, never in the present. And then one day we look back and our lives are over and we think, dang I wish I had enjoyed that day more.
I tell my kids this each and every day, stay in the present and enjoy this very moment. There can’t be anything more precious or beautiful than right now.
We can hold our past in our memories and plan for our future, but living in the present is the most important time of our lives. Enjoy visiting the beautiful beaches of California and all the beachs in our world, for that matter.
Peace, love, and joy! The only motto to remember and to live by!
Written By: Ask Ms Mandi
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright August 2016
13 Wednesday Jul 2016
Posted in Photographs from Art Gallery
Tags
Author, Azalea State Reserve, Beaches, Camera, Coast, Forest, Humboldt County, instagram, Magazine, Nature, Northern California, Novel, Photography, Published, Road Trip, Travel, Vacation, Writer
Azalea State Reserve – Humboldt County
The time has come for our yearly trip up the coasts of California. Once again we are heading to the beautiful county of Humboldt, where this majestic forest of Redwoods live, called Azalea State Reserve at the Redwood National Forest.
Most of the time the camera lens captures the beauty of the image, but nothing can compare to the eye when walking through the grandeur of the Redwood forest.
It’s a place that must be on your bucket list, at least once. Or if you are like me, you can’t get enough of the tranquility and continue to visit each year, craving the nature and beaches more and more with each visit.
Come see Northern California for its beauty and stay for your peace of mind.
Written By: Ask Ms Mandi
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright July 13, 2016
04 Wednesday May 2016
Posted in Photographs from Art Gallery
Tags
Adventure, Beaches, Blogging, Bucket List, Landscape, Los Angeles, Marin County, Northern California, Photography, San Francisco, Travel, Trinidad, Vacation
Trinidad Beach – Northern California
I have to say that my traveling experience through California was one of the most memorable and beautiful trips I’ve taken in a long time. Our day started early, packing our car with our bags, snacks, and dog. We had to laugh at how many snacks we had in our bags…
“Where are you going? China.” My daughter asked.
“We might as well” I stated, traveling up the entire state of California is quite a journey, fourteen hours to be exact.
The first six hours are long and boring, not a whole lot to see, traveling through Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and then Modesto County…quite dry and yellow, not much green and hardly any mountains.
Once we hit San Francisco, the scenery drastically changed from dry to lush green. It was quite majestic to say the least.
My favorite part of our drive was after we went through San Francisco and traveled north of Marin County. There were lush, green trees everywhere, vineyards, rolling hills and streams and rivers.
Pictures don’t do the landscape justice; however, your camera is a must. A picture lasts a lifetime and compliments our memories in our mind.
I am glad to have marked off on of my bucket list item and strongly recommend a trip up the coast of California. Your reward is your adventure and it has only started once you’ve reached the beaches of Trinidad.
Written By: Ask Ms Mandi
Photograph By: Ask Ms Mandi
Copyright May 4, 2016
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