A Day in the Life

Spain sounds like a grand place to live, doesn't it? I get that all the time. I think people assume all we do is get together with our friends in cafés, eat yummy food, drink sangria and travel around, taking in the beautiful scenery every day. And let's not forget the massive amounts of siestas we take! We obviously need the rest with the constant fiestas!!

Ok, we do these things... sometimes. But instead of sangria, I usually drink tinto de verano, because it's not as strong and just tastes like sparkly juice. (But WATCH OUT! It's NOT juice! I found that out the hard way!)

Anyway, I thought you might like to see what we do on a typical day, so these are just some candids from around the house the past few days, nothing special, but I  did get some really cute shots that I wanted to share with you.

After the two hours it takes us to get ready in the morning, we almost always take a walk to the park, or go to the grocery store.

Bella likes to copy Alex and sometimes she pretends she's "fadada", or angry.

I left the dog pee in the picture, because it's ridiculously realistic.

Julietta chills and smiles at everyone she sees.

Bella pushes her buggy everywhere we go. Usually it's carrying a sleeping Grinch or Winnie the Pooh.

Sometimes we'll see the Ya yos on their way home for lunch, and they'll stop and push the girlies on the swings for a few minutes.

Juji is very fond of the grass, sticks and leaves, and Bella is very fond of being around her sister ALL THE TIME!

After park time, we'll usually hit up the local grocery store (it's tiny) and buy whatever ingredient we forgot to buy the last time, and then we'll all have lunch together. Alex leaves immediately after lunch, and the girls take their nap.

I know I said the "girls" take their nap, but Julietta has been very erratic lately with her naps. Instead, she usually crawls around, gets into the potatoes and onions in the kitchen, and follows me around.

She doesn't like it when I cook or clean or spend very much time in the kitchen at all. Ok, Juji, I'm not going to argue! I actually spend a lot of this time on my computer, if she lets me.

After nap time, we may see a few breakdowns here and there. We usually spend the next two hours either just playing at home (while I try to get some cleaning and cooking done... and laundry. I MISS having a dryer!!), doing a bigger project, or meeting with Sarah and Christina, our German friends. At 7.15 it's Ya yo time where I get a little break!!! (I love this time of the day) And when the girls get back, the three of us have dinner, story time and bedtime.

I know I have some more shots of the girls playing in the living room, but you get the general idea. This is what we do most days. I get really bored of doing the same thing all the time, and I jump on any chance we get to hang out with other people, but it doesn't happen very often since I am car-less.

I do manage to stay sane, however, because we are getting much much closer with the paperwork for Alex's visa, so we're just waiting now on the interview date. It doesn't sound too intense, so let's all just keep our fingers crossed!

And that is my life. Undoubtedly simpler than you imagined. but simply special!

Ever Wonder What my Kids Look Like? - Wordless Weekend

TIP OF THE WEEK - Kids, Bribes and Winnie the Poop

I said I could get her to look at the camera. I never said she'd be happy about it.

Bella has come to expect chocolate every time I take her picture, otherwise she ignores me and my dear camera, which makes me even more annoying (oh, how I wish there was a good translation for the word "pesada" in English, because this is the perfect word to describe what I'm like with my camera - somewhere between "heavy" and "annoying") If only she'd just learn to put up with me for a few minutes so she could then get on with her preferred activities.

Singing

Having a conversation with me probably about King Kong and his friend,the giraffe, who often come and visit us at dinner time because they are cold and hungry and want to eat french fries.

That's where my little friend bribery comes in. Yes, I'll admit it. Bribery and I are chummy. I use things like chocolate and tv to encourage Bella to be my photography model (BAD MOMMY!) But they work... sometimes... for a limited time. Even with the bribes, I still can't get her to actually look at the camera.

So, today's Tip of the Week is Getting Them to (at least) Look in Your General Direction.

My newest tricks are either singing with Bella (she loves Five Little Pupkins and The Wheels on the Bus at the moment) or I say something that I want her to repeat and then make up a funny ending that she's not expecting. To get these shots, it went something like this -

Me: Say "I love mommy"

Bella: I wub mommy!

Me: Say " I love Papá!

Bella: I wub Papá!

Me: Say, "I love Winnie the Poop"

Bella: "ah ha ha ha! I wub Winnie the POOP!"

She was so done by this point. This is the closest I came to having her interact with the camera.

I hope this helps someone! Have a fabulous weekend!

And this little munchkin is a challenge as well! If all else fails, have someone stand behind you and make silly faces and noises. Works like a charm.

Hotties Part Dos

I didn't really have to tell them to do much posing. Although, I think I told Luis that he was "The Man" in this one.

These two are so ridiculously good-looking, it kills me. They are my friends who... well, it's a bit more complicated than the second half of a short sentence. 

 Here goes...

Nora - ON FIRE!

Nora is from the UK. We met here in Valencia while doing the Cambridge Celta course to become English teachers. She lived here for about two years (is that right, Nora?) and then took off in search of new adventures in Costa Rica...and adventure she found! ; ) 

Enter Luis. 

I swear, model material! Look at that smile!

Luis was a student in one of her classes who showed her the real Costa Rican way of life.

Somehow she convinced him to leave sunny, tropical Costa Rica to move back to England with her (I bet all she had to do was wink at him. Have you seen her?!!) where they both found real, proper, responsible jobs.

I can't stand how cute Luis is in the background of this one! I smile every time I see it.

Doesn't this make me look like such a detail-aware photographer, with that little old couple, barely in the frame. How cute are they? That was a total accident. Sssshhh! Don't tell anyone. ; )

 They are now a "cheesy" married couple living in Cambridge, and being real proper, responsible adults who are planning their celebration wedding for 2011. On the side, Nora is the famous "Nora the Kitchen Splorer" who always taunts me with her yummy recipes that I know I'll never have the patience, nor the ability, to make. And Luis is Mr. Splorer. He gets to eat all her yummy food and laugh with her. I bet he takes care of most of the technology in their house too, as he's a computer genius.

I love these two. They are so easy-going and fun to be around, and it's so obvious how much they love each other. They make romance look easy, and they made photographing it a snap. Just looking at each other or laughing together made for these incredibly romantic images. ( Hey, thanks for making me look so good, guys!)

Last year these two came to visit while I was pregnant and cranky and chasing around a toddler. We live in a residential area outside of the city with not much to do around here. They had no problems whatsoever hanging out and going with the flow. No stresses. No complaints. They are just pleasant people who I love being around. I wish they could come and visit me once a month. Everyone needs a little Nora and Luis in their life.

Nora and Luis - The Ridiculously Good-Looking Couple

Nora and Luis are here visiting!!! We went out and did a quick photo-shoot Saturday evening. We are going to take a few more shots tomorrow as the sun hid behind the buildings an hour earlier than I had anticipated. DOH!

Here's a little peak at how ridiculously good-looking they are, though. I don't think you have to be much of a photographer if your subjects are this attractive.

Look for more photos of these hotties on Wednesday!!

Why, God? WHY??!!!

I just spent 45 minutes taking gorgeous pictures of my dear Juji. I made up the bed, put the antique bedspread on that Paquita's mother made, and then I pulled down our pretty white mosquito net, and began shooting away - snap after snap of cuteness overload. Julietta was hamming it up for the camera, being adorable times three, the room was lit up from the afternoon sun. I was loving it and I thought everything was coming out beautifully.  It looked that way in the LCD screen (though I never zoomed in to be sure).

When I uploaded it up to Lightroom - all the droolified, squeezable, cuteness was marred by the BLUR. Snap after snap of BLURRY OVERLOAD. GASP! squeak. cry. wine. .moan. pssssssssst DEFLATE.

You may not see the blurry blur. It may not be too clear. But the focus should fall on Juji's eyes, instead of on her ears. (you may also not know that when the moon and stars align properly in the second week of October, I bust out in rhyme without warning,  for no apparent reason).

Here you go, I zoomed in really close so you can see what I mean.

If Bella could see this, I bet I know what she'd say. She's say, "No gusta."

WHY OH WHY OH WHY??! They are such sweet shots too. You know what? I'm blaming it on the camera. It has absolutely nothing to do with me being a novice. ; ) Nikon D80, you have foiled me again!

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!!

And just to show that we do get along when the conditions are right, here are a few LESS blurry images. They still aren't tack sharp, but I'm in no position to start beef with my camera. One can dream on puffy white clouds about the Nikon D700, right? One can dream.

This is how I like to see eyes in every. single. picture.