Saturday, September 14, 2013

Camera Dump: SeaWorld, Mini Golf, and more

Even though summer is over, I'm glad the weather here doesn't reflect it yet. I like being able to still dress 'summery.' Although I like fall clothes, my legs always seem to become dry and eventually itchy when I wear pants (except for my stretchy/leggings type of pants) so I'm still digging the shorts weather.

Anyway, we had such a busy and fun-filled summer that I figured it was time to unload my camera phone. I really am going to work on actually taking my camera around with us more often. Initially we were researching a DSLR to buy but I think I'm going to start using what I have and gradually work my way up to a camera with more capabilities.


We vacationed with some friends who also have boys ranging in ages of 2.5 and newly-turned 5 and 6 year olds but I didn't feel like including the one picture we all took together. I didn't like my pose.

Shamu was absolutely AWESOME!


 
After being splashed by Shamu and looking like we had jumped in the pool fully clothed, we moved pretty far back, as seen in the bottom picture. It was still an awesome show! I highly recommend!


The middle picture on the right: How did that squirrel get up there and how is he going to get down?!?
Not included are pictures of me having fun in SeaWorld or any of our go-carting pictures.
We had soooooo much fun racing go-carts with our boys coaching as passengers but unfortunately my husband's phone slipped out of his pocket while we were racing and it was stolen.
He went back to look for it literally 5 minutes after we had gotten finished with our round. Hundreds of pictures and videos gone. He hadn't saved anything to the cloud and hadn't yet downloaded the "Find My Phone" app.
Don't make the same mistake!!!!!


We, of course had to visit San Antonio's downtown Riverwalk in the evening and it was beautiful. My husband had some really nice pictures on his phone. {sad face} The top picture is of our boat ride on the Riverwalk. We had dinner at a restaurant called Mi Tierra. I am a really picky eater when it comes to tacos. (My husband thinks tacos from anywhere are good.) But MI TIERRA has the best tacos in the world! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. In the entryway of the restaurant, where normally a seating area is, there was a bakery that sold authentic Mexican desserts. And that huge space was packed. I almost thought it was a bakery, but the ambiance definitely said restaurant. Its a local favorite, even for the San Antonio Spurs players.
The bottom picture is of the State Capitol in Austin, TX. We love stopping through Austin! It's such a cute, artsy town. We had some yummy burgers and shakes at a local favorite called, Hopdoddy Burger Bar. We were too busy enjoying the ambiance, décor and food for pictures, but the next time you're in San Antonio or Austin, check out those restaurants.





Miniature golf is always all about the celebration dance.
Miniature bowling is fun too but doesn't get a celebration dance.

Me and my mom. A red lip always does the trick for me.

This year was my sorority's 100-year celebration, and my line sisters and I were also celebrating our 10-year anniversary since first pledging. I love these girls so much and being in DC was pretty awesome! (DC is great in general too). I wish I were more active in my community like I used to be but I'm still navigating my life as a wife AND mom. During my blog break, I self-reflected on my hobbies and my passion and it does involve helping my community in some way. Now I just have to figure out how to do that with my current day job as a SAHM.
Some of these ladies have lived in Japan, Brazil, gotten master's in the UK, are successful fundraisers for non-profits and more. I'm so proud to know them!
Ten years after I pledged, my mom pledged. It was pretty random and I'm so happy for her. She'll be retiring this year but with our sorority, she'll still be doing plenty of work. She loves to mentor youth living in at-risk environments and she's pretty well-known in that particular demographic where she lives. I'm sure she'll continue that form of work within our sorority. So we all were are part of 'painting the town red' that weekend!
Now if only she would've pledged 10 years ago or more, so I could've asked for money during those college days, haha. {straight face}


Have you done a camera dump lately?

Monday, September 9, 2013

My New 'Do

Its about that time of year again, where I notice that my hair is growing at a snail's pace, so I chop it off!
 
I'm not really feeling, or should I say wasn't really feeling, the length in which my hair was and I have been seeing the short natural hair tapered look for months now and of course I got that 'itch.'
You know that 'itch' you get when you need a change in your look?
 
My itch usually comes every 2-3 years but sometimes it comes sooner when I'm feeling lost or stagnant in an area of my life.
Right now, I'm tired of living in an area with such a lack of diversity and I'm tired of my hair not growing.
Not to mention, I'm waiting until the end of the year to really put some money into and further develop one of my special interests. And that is definitely keeping me mentally anxious.
(By the end of he end year, I'll be able to pay for it in cash as opposed to doing any payments.)
 
Anyway, I checked out Pinterest for some inspiration and showed the picture to my stylist and voila. I'm in love.


 
Now I'm trying to convince myself not to put some highlights in there....but then again, just give me a few weeks.