Ice Cream & Urban Landscape

Every week, a friend and I go to Whole Foods after work and have gelato. Yesterday I took my camera with me and decided to take a picture of the roof terrace we sit at. It's nice to just relax for a few minutes right after work and before driving home. Traffic is actually better if I head home a bit later. Perfect excuse!

Since I've been in Austin, the skyline has changed. New buildings continue to emerge, and it's nice to notice those changes as I indulge in the creaminess of my pistachio/ mint with chocolate chips ice cream. :)

Memories That Make Me Giggle- # 3: Karate Tournament

(make sure you read # 3- title's reference)

As I've mentioned before, my friends and I used to play silly games at school. This is one of them. Let me first explain: we were in an all-girls school and always had to find a way to be creative during our recess time. During our elementary school years, many martial arts-related series were popular; the ones you all probably know are Power Rangers, but there was also Flashman and Liveman (Japanese ones that came first). We used to play Flashman all the time! And there are things I remember from these wonderful years that always make me giggle:

1) Me and my friend Johanna would fight (and get mad at each other) saying "I'm going to marry Din!" (the red flashman) "No, I'm going to marry Din!." Her dad would always say to us: "stop fighting over a random chinese guy!"

Well, today I look at my crush... and I just smile:

2) Since we all wanted to be flashmans and not the mean guys (plus we didn't have enough people anyway), we pretended our school's patio concrete columns were our adversaries. We kicked them, punch them, they "kicked and punched" back at us, and we would scream like the flashman girls did (Sara had a peculiar scream and my friend imitated it correctly).

3) We did not have problems with "who's who" decisions. I liked Lu, the pink one, and my friend liked Sara, the yellow one.  

3) And this is one of the best memories: We were so into Flashman, that we decided to organize a "Karate Tournament" during recess-- even though we had no idea how to do karate. We thought we could; so we wrote "Karate Tournament, recess: back patio" in small papers and passed them along in the classroom.  During recess, we had our audience! Johanna and I just kicked and moved our arms as best we could... who knows who won...  at the end we couldn't decide. Later in the classroom, our teacher had already heard the story somehow. I remember her saying "so I heard something about a Karate Tournament," "who is responsible?" She then looked at me and said... Marcelaaaa. I can't remember much after that, but I know she was nice about it and just explained that we needed to be careful. I love this memory so much; I am going to tell my friend Johanna to read my blog right now.  Thanks for reading! Come back tomorrow for Fabulous Friday!

What if... Wednesdays

Sharing little thoughts that most of us have probably had at one point...

Today: What if we could step on clouds? Wouldn't it be amazing?

How many times have we looked at the sky, either from the ground or from an airplane, and wished we could have a cloud "getaway?"

Of course, it would be a little hard to get to them, but humans would eventually find a way! *sigh*... the scenery from up there would be extraordinary. And they look so comfy!

I think I was actually a little sad when I found out that clouds weren't solid. It would certainly be an experience like no other... 

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Once Upon A Time, On A Rainy Afternoon...

Hello awesome readers! For those of you who are new, I post pictures on Tuesdays to document part of my my journey as a photographer. This group of pictures belongs to the time when I first started getting into photography. They have one theme in common: rain; some all of them I took from inside my car--> I believe that, many times, the most interesting images come by surprise, so you have to be ready... In this case, I like the effect that the water on the windshield has on the picture. I also ended up liking the one with the windshield wiper a lot. Yes that picture could have been dangerous, but I did not take my eyes off the road, promise.  

All pictures, except for the one before last, were taken on the same day. You can tell that I had fun applying some effects. Thanks for stopping by! 'Until tomorrow :)

Love, 

Marcela

Don't you miss these games?

Yesterday, while on the computer--after looking at some Google gadgets-- I had a sudden flashback to the days when I used to play Simon or BopIt! Remember those games? I never owned any of them, but several of my friends did, and I would love to grab those two toys whenever I went to their houses. How fun! I can still remember the 4 button tones on Simon and the voice commands of "bop it! twist it! pull it!" with goofy music in the background. I think I am going to buy those toys!  At least I know I'd like to play with them again one day. What toys/games do you miss? 

Anyway, just a short little memory today. Coming soon: more Memories That Make Me Giggle, and Tuesday's Photograph. Have an awesome day!

Marcela 


  

That's the spirit!

The other day I was driving home. Traffic wasn't too smooth; the sky was a little gloomy. Another stop light... and suddenly, I saw a bumper sticker that made me laugh:

  

  (sorry for the blurry picture, it's a phone camera)

The sticker said "This is it! I don't have another car."  Considering this was probably the oldest car among the other surrounding ones, it made me chuckle. I love it when people read your mind in advance and buy a bumper sticker to respond to that. I also love the fact that this person is content with what he has at the moment (it seemed that way), no matter how old the car model is. I think guys that value what they have, even if it's not the newest thing, are more attractive than guys who want to lure you with their "newest model and fancy sound system and turbocharger," don't you think? 

Fabulous Fridays: October & Fall

Quote(s): Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.

- Albert Camus

Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

- William Cullen Bryant

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all.

- Stanley Horowitz

   October is nature's funeral month.  Nature glories in death more than in life.  
The month of departure is more beautiful than the month of coming - October than May.  Every green thing loves to die in bright colors.
-  Henry Ward Beecher

Song: October- U2

-only has one verse and a lot of piano, perfect!-

[October
And the trees are stripped bare
Of all they wear
What do I care
October
And kingdoms rise
And kingdoms fall
But you go on... and on...]

Thought: It's a rainy day here in Austin, Texas. Sometimes it takes time for the heat to go away here, but today it's certainly a Fall-type day. Skies are cloudy, streets are wet, and wind is blowing. Is the weather where you are similar? Well I hope that if it is, you are not feeling blue about it. October is the start of a beautiful season, it's just a matter of admiring the wonderful aspects of it as opposed to being sad for the sun's temporary "departure." I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 


Love,
Marcela 

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