Dream Rangers

Tear-jerker alert!

I sobbed through this whole video. It is one of the best uses of advertising that I have ever seen - akin to those Olympic period Visa commercials that put a sob in my throat. This one beats them out, though - - and, unbelievably, it is for a Taiwanese Bank commercial! The message from the true story it is based on rings loud and clear - - live life to the fullest, follow your dreams, be amongst those who love and support you.... Amen!

Human Planet

In the vein of the spectacular series, "Planet Earth" that my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed a few years back, is another series from the BBC this time about humans on Planet Earth. Alas, this is not about the average human and families - but those who live around the world in the most dangerous and extraordinary places. Where every day is a struggle just to survive, to eat, to drink water, against Mother Nature. My wonderful Aunt Gini sent me this link and I already know P and I will be keeping an eye out for it on NetFlix or the BBC website. The sweeping cinematography is just as stunning as the subject matter. We LOVE these kinds of shows and I think all children and teens in America should watch this series to help gain a perspective about how much grander and harder Life is than the clothing brand they wear or the Smartphone they carry.

Cats and Kittens

No - - it's not my tabby cat, Jordy. What you see here is a story I have been too busy to blog about since moving in to our new home on a canyon last July. One evening I was in the computer room upstairs which has a view of the canyon past our backyard. I heard my cat Jordy growling at the window where he liked to sit perched, looking at everything and nothing. I figured he was growling at the neighbor cat that he didn't like but he kept growling so long that I finally got up to look out the window and see what he was looking at. Well, the neighbor cat was there, indeed, on the big boulder at the end of the canyon. But he wasn't what Jordy was grolwing at. Neighbor cat was puffed up 3 times his size, on top of the boulder, frozen and staring down at something 3 feet below him in front of the rock. It was getting darker so I peered with my blind eyes at what was camouflaged and staring at my yard. It was a bobcat big kitten. Oh, yeah. BOB CAT!

He was chilling, staring into our yard, probably checking us newbies and all our animals out. He obviously wasn't hungry for I don't see how he could not know the neighbor cat was frozen in fear right above him on the boulder. Well, he was small but beautiful and I immediately grabbed the closest camera possible to snap pictures - it was my little point-and-shoot Pentax - - not the greatest quality in the lowlight as you can see. Once I shot he started moving, walking alongside the top embankment at the edge of our yard - - look carefully - you see him in the pic.

I ran downstairs and into the yard - where he immediately stopped and crouched low. He then lifted his head straight up (think ET rising on hid long neck) to look at me (see pic).

We had a stare-off for a few seconds with Fred the Basset whining behind me since he followed me outside into the temporary dog cage we had erected at the time until we built our fence (see pic).

It was all pretty cool - Jordy was still upstairs watching from the window (see pic).

The bob cat was the size of a big housecat - - you could tell he was still a half-grown kitten - probably a year old. He has the black pointy lynx ears and the white bobbed tail like cotton or a rabbit. Well, I couldn't have him feel so comfortable around my yard with all my animals that he might want to eat some day when hungry - - so I did what our HOA said to do if we ever saw coyotes or bobcats - - run them off, throw something to scare them. I hated to do it, but it was necessary. My cats and the chihuahua could be prime rib to it and it's siblings (I am sure there was a litter of big kittens nearby - not just him)...so I threw a stick and yelled at him and he quickly bounded off like a jackrabbit through the canyon.

Happy Valentine's Day

Reception Photos

You saw a couple pics and blog in the Fall here about our 1 year anniversary and wedding reception party that we threw at my parents' home in late September. My photographer friend, Heidi Lee, shot 1300 pics and it understandably took me some time to review such large files. I finally narrowed it down to 200 to put on a flickr website and feature everyone who went there.

Again, it was such a wonderful warm late afternoon/evening party in the presence of loved ones. Thanks, again - to everyone for coming out to play! We love you and appreciate you all ...oxoxo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsawedding/

Shark Attacks...

...and cleans my home!!

I always liked cleaning. My parents instilled a good cleaning, take-care-of-your-things and organization ethic that I am glad to have as an adult, wife, mom#2, and homeowner.

We live on a canyon and with a big yard. We also have 4 animals. The dogs, especially, make the floors dirty enough that I truly have to clean every other day. Our Brazilian cheerywood laminate floors are lovely but do NOT clean easily. You cannot use a regular mop, a lot of water or just any chemical on these floors. I also tried the Swiffers - nyit!

I searched online (and remember how much I hate spending time online) for homemade cleaning recipes and people's opinions. One time I made a concoction that had me 2 hours on hand and knees spraying a small patch of floor and then having to polish it off with a special dry cloth. It killed my back and took too long and wasn't worth it -still leaving a slightly sticky residue. And, remember, with the dogs I would have to do this every other day - forget it!

Then a few weeks back we got the CostCo coupons in the mail and there was a $25 off coupon for the Shark steam mop. I just knew it would work.

I LOVE MY SHARK STEAM POCKET MOP!!! It not only disinfects, but it is easy to use, is lightweight, with swivel steering and interchangeable heads that make it fit into any nook and cranny. I actually look forward to using it!

I am such a cleaning nerd that when one of my sisters visited us I brought it out for her to try knowing she would appreciate it's cleaning attack and ease. She actually said, "It's fun to use." I know my sister enough to know she'd feel that way!

It's pricey, (website says $149) but you can probably still buy it at Costco for around $100 without the coupon. We bought the steam pocket lighter version for only $75 and it works great! I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

I heart Groupon

I just got turned onto Groupon - - I never thought I would use it. But early this week a deal came on for a month of unlimited Bikram Yoga sessions in La Jolla for only $39. I immediately jumped on it and told my husband as well. When I first met him he used to be a regular yogi and looked yummy healthy. He got me into it for only about a month before I realized I just can't afford it and dedicate the timeframe needed for it. It is a 1.5 hour class and you have to get there early to ensure a spot and then stay after waiting to take a shower since it is practiced in some serious heat. So you dedicate about 3 hours to it - more than that, I think, since this particular studio is far away in La Jolla from where we live. I don't mind dedicating 2 hours to the nearby 24HourFitness but 3 hours plus daily is a lot of time away from home, family, my animals and more..
http://www.groupon.com/san-diego/deals/bikram-yoga-la-jolla
That said, the deal was too good to pass up and, being my first Groupon purchase, I got $10 off so mine was only $29. I plan to go 5 times a week if not more and that means for 1 month I am paying only about $1.50 or so per class. To get an idea one class is usually about $15. Es una Ganga! A TOTAL STEAL!

You, too, can be on YouTube

Unlike most people, I am not up on using the internet much... only out of necessity. I don't google people for the heck of it or peruse much outside of the news headlines. I hate Facebook but own one mostly for professional contacts and because my 20 year highschool reunion was last year and it made things easier with the organization of it last Fall. I don't care about entertainment gossip and quite frankly, I limit my screen time just to the fact that I hate sitting down (haven't had a desk job in 15 years) and I have chronic dry eye syndrome (thanks to a botched Lasik surgery over 10 years ago) so I hate to sit down and fry my eyes in front of a computer screen. Heck, I don't even make time for this blog and my Flickr photography website nowadays! My 'Gift to Gab' wanes --

Having a 12-year-old in the house, however, has made me mildly aware of what the rest of the world does online. For example, I truly had no idea how huge YouTube is and for so many reasons. I am known to post short videos myself - usually snippets of travel and family and I favor anything less than 30 seconds. Although there are a lot of things I wish that kids and most of us didn't have access to on it, there do exist a few talented and worthwhile postings I have become privy, too.

Getting famous by posting oneself singing on the internet akin to Justin Beiber and others is echoed often-enough to me by my stepdaughter for me to say, "Go for it!" It's just another medium to showcase talent if you have it. Sigh - between Youtube and American Idol kids have it easy nowadays hehehe...

Check out this Broadway southern-belle star who happens to be an awesome comic as well and has several videos of hilarious different characters. My gay stylist friend introduced me to her and now I am passing it on to you to enjoy... one of the funniest things I've seen in years! I still laugh so much every time. Every sentence and delivery of hers is a priceless soundbyte. A lover of big hair, I 'be-weave in her'.. :)

Pooty Plays

A quick video of our rat, I mean, teacup Chihuahua. It's my daughter's dog, but akin to my husband's basset hound - I just seem to be the one who has taken over feeding, walking, vet upkeep, cleaning up after and basically attending to every need of our blessed animals.

They are blessed to be in our home - these animals have got it made! :)

My Niece

My eldest niece had asked Patrick and I to help her with taking photos for her senior page in her yearbook. Patrick broke out his expensive Leica M9 and some film cameras and did some really nice commercial and black and white shots. I mostly was helping with styling issues and holding up the reflector light which is a blessing on the skin and radiance no matter how old or young you are.

When I finally got a moment here and there to shoot with my own Olympus Pen I fluffed up her pretty hair, and directed her in more model-y shots. She was giggling constantly but I liked the results of my shots as far as creating moods and the highlights of her hair...

Click on slideshow:

Niece - Senior pictures

Xmas Day Soccer Love

As good as my 3 nephews are in Soccer, my husband surprised them by playing a bit with them on Xmas Day. By the way, you see the life-size goal and how my parents' yard has been utterly DESTROYED this year by the grandkids playing soccer there so often? I don't even think the boys knew Patrick could play at all but he remarked, "They didn't grow up kicking a ball around with nothing else to do in the streets and fields like we do in Europe or Latin America. It's like riding a bike - you don't forget your skills." Snap!

Designer Sharon Plache segment

Here is a snippet from the show. I must point out that we did not have our normal rehearsal time allotted (since we weren't being paid, it was a lot to expect of us to be there for 8 hours for free so we only went in for 4) to choreograph the shows we normally do. Plus our spacing was different being a staircase and ballroom instead of a normal catwalk - so what you see here are me and the other models 'winging it' as far as spacing and not walking on top of each other.

Hehehe. Watch me on the bottom of the stairs, all those turns I am doing is me checking out the models to my right, to my left and even to see if there was anyone behind me on the staircase. With the slow jazzy Xmas music playing, too, it made for a whole lot of traffic jams. :)

That said, I enjoyed immensely the designs by Sharon Plache - -

San Diego 10 Best-Dressed Awards - Runway

This show was set up a month ago but with the sad news of an unexpected passing of the only son of 2 of the socialites winning an award it was canceled and then rescheduled and put on a smaller scale last week at the Westgate Hotel in San Diego.

It was decided in accordance with the smaller scale festivities and somber news of the death that the models would donate their paychecks to the charities benefiting.

"Interesting side note: This was also the show that last year (see blog) at the Spreckles Theater I fell off the stage into the orchestra pit - thus injuring myself that a good 3 months of recuperating needed.

I modeled with some younger models (outside of Nadia and Feben in their early 30s, all the rest were 16-19) and was clearly the mother of the show since our normal group of runway girls understandably couldn't make the trip from LA for no paycheck.

The designers for the most part were new for me to model for and wonderfully talented with plans to show their lines in NYC next year. And yes, Leonard, our producer, did put the boys in gold lamet hot pants with fur coats - BAM!

click on slide show below - -

San Diego's 10 Best Dressed runway

My Niece - Mi Sorbrina Works it OUT!

I had to post a picture from last weekend of one of my 4 nieces whose soccer team is in first place in the regionals and still going on to the Finals. The team they played last weekend was HUGE in comparison - - but my niece scored the 2 last winning goals probably because as you see here PUSHING the big girl in the gutt she is so small and quick that she slid underneath, past and between the competition. Thus, joining her 2 big brothers as yet another champion soccer player in my brothers' family. Just like their dad was back in the day... :)

DBIFF Director's Q&A

Film: "The Last Conversation" starring Elsa Martinez, Mona Mossayab. Written/directed by Amelia Zandi.

Dawn Breakers International Film Festival 2010

Last Spring I was cast in a short film, "The Last Conversation" for a lovely and courageous young director, Amelia Zandi.

At the time I was intrigued as it was a very heavy script, based on the true story of an 18 year old Iranian girl who was executed for her beliefs in the Ba'hai religion.

Many of you know that in my modeling and acting career I am considered 'ethnically ambiguous' and that I can certainly pass for a Middle Eastern woman. I wanted the challenge of playing another ethnicity but to play an Iranian mother and bring her to life without offending anyone (I am Hispanic and Catholic, and do not have my own children) - - certainly had its challenges for me as an actress.

I remember shooting the 6 minute film - it took us 1 day. I had a terrible migraine afterwards from the sheer heaviness of the subject and the emotional toll it took upon me. But I was grateful to my director for being 'color blind' and taking a chance casting me.

Likewise, the actress who played my daughter, Mona Mossayab, is about 30, and had her own set of challenges as an actress to play a teenager. That said, she is already of the Ba'hai religion which only helped bring a trueness and dignity to her character that, for my part, I had to dig up from other life experiences.



http://dbiff.com/take4/the-last-conversation/#more-129"

Alas our director decided to submit to a film festival and got in - - even better it was screened in San Diego this year (last year was Switzerland) - - so I went last week with my husband to the show and also did a Q&A with my director after the screening.

Watching myself on that screen I remarked later to my husband that there was nothing pretty about me or that performance at all. A far cry from what I usually do in modeling and acting. I was ugly, furrowed, tear-stained -- and I am very proud to have been a part of it. To hear the quiet sobs and sniffles from the audience around us was gratifying - not that we wanted it to be a tear-jerker - and it wasn't. But many in that room knew the story and as I commented later to the audience, "I was just appreciative that they accepted our work so well."

Many thanks to Amelia Zandi, the promoters and selection staff of the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival and to my co-star and crew.

Long live the Arts!

"It's a Good Day for a Guinness"

"It's a Good Day for a Guinness"
Originally uploaded by elsamart

I never did get all my photos up from our quick sojourn to Ireland the first week of October. You saw me put up videos previously on this blog and my youtube channel. The trip was quiet, beautiful weather (sun!) and uneventful but just fine.


Click on slideshow below for more pictures - -

Ireland 2010

Ginger - - our rescue kitten

The next morning - we find out that it's a girl and P names her "Ginger" - -

"What I did for Thanksgiving vacation..."

Do you remember writing papers with that title in grade school? Well, it's been a doozy of a last few days with getting soaked at work in the rain over the weekend, then going to see my friends in a drag show at Bourbon Street on Saturday evening with my husband and my go-to-girl Richele. Will blog on that later when I get a couple photos from Patrick who shot that night.

I spent 2 days painting Ciara's bedroom a Barbie Doll lavender. And I informed her that in 2 years she can't get all 'emo' on me and want it repainted black. Cus I ain't gonna do it!!! It's staying Barbie Doll pretty-girl color until she goes to college - which it will then be promptly turned into my yoga/meditation chamber - hehehe.

I have spent all day today in bed with a flu bug - but at least I am getting some photography worked on for here and my Flickr site!

But the biggest event this vacation was Sunday late afternoon when Patrick and I rescued a kitten!

We had just done a little photography excursion in the car and were in line for gas at CostCo in the ghetto. Even with the running cars and windows rolled up I could hear a kitten squawking in distress.

I still can't believe no one else heard her. Not even P. When I finally pointed it out to him he said, "It's a dying bird". Then he somehow caught a glimpse of her orange tabby face caught in the side of the parking lot, above a wall where there was an extremely thick and prickly hedge made of thorny twigs and sticks separating the CostCo parking lot to the minimall on the other side.

Well, I immediately jumped out of the car, jumped up the wall and searched for her - - she was crying loudly and caught in the thick mess. P, meanwhile, got his gas and pulled over to park the car. But he didn't get out - thinking I would get her out quickly or give up. Neither occurred.

It was so dense and prickly, I scraped my arms and hands trying to break pieces off so I could make a tunnel big enough for my hand to reach her. She is the size of my tiny hand by the way. I guesstimate about 6 weeks old, tops.

She was terrified and panicking, of course, as I tried to get to her which made her even more caught int he branches. She even sliced open the soft pad on her back foot on those horrible thin branches.

Not a single person asked to help me or even asked what I was doing. I am sure it was quite a sight seeing me up on that wall and digging into a hedge at sunset. I was praying to Jesus to help me get her out because I had no doubt in my mind that she would not have survived the night stuck in there. She would have succumbed to exhaustion, dehydration and exposure easily.

At one point I made the decision that I'd have to drive all the way home to pick up cutters to get into that hedge and that I'd be back in about 45 minutes. I felt guilty, but jumped down to the ground. She started screaming.... SCREAMING! It was as if she knew that she was going to be left alone. It broke my heart.

So I jumped up again to try and got as far as being able to touch her nose softly. Finally after about 40 minutes my husband came out to help - and with his help we were able to get her.

Of course we took her straight home. She was covered with fleas and dirt and trembling from fear and shock for the first half hour. But settled into my warm, fuzzy vest which is now dubbed 'the cat jacket' or 'her mom' since it is lined with a faux fur.

She is very young. We looked for her mama and any siblings but it was clear she was abandoned in there on purpose. Also, her demeanour makes it seem like she wasn't a Ferrel kitten - she was scared and in shock, no doubt, but she had to have been around humans before.

We now have 2 cats and 2 dogs - and I already suffer over our animals and their well-being so, believe me, I wasn't going to be getting a new cat until Jordy passed on (he is about 10 years old and still has plenty of time). Also breaking her into how things are done around here and with the dogs takes time. Like I have that right now ;)

She is precious. We love her already.

Haute With Heart Runway

I am on far right in my spectacular red gown that the photographer failed to get a shot of me in on my runway pass :(

This show was in August benefiting the St. Madeline Sophie Center.



It was lovely to have some of the kids actually sing onstage and strut their stuff - they had a wonderful time. So did we! Click on slideshow below!

Haute With Heart Runway show