married life: our three month anniversary!

So it's been three months already. Time flies! 

I've heard many times people say marriage would change us. That we would become alienated from some of our friends, distant to each other. That marriage ruins everything and nothing would ever be the same again. I never worried about that, you know. If there is something in this life I'm sure of, it is the truthfulness of our relationship. And if something is to go wrong, it would be absolutely ridiculous to blame it all on marriage anyway. Still, the huge amount of time people spend on worrying about other people's stuff never ceases to amaze me. Seriously. 

Anyway... we had been living together for three years when we got married. We were very happy, but we also struggled a lot financially during that time. A lot. And, from time to time, we thought those problems would never go away. Those were really hard times. We made it through, though.

We decided we had to get married about six months earlier, and we would do it our own way. We're Christians, so we knew exactly why we were doing it. As for me, it would have been perfectly okay to get married on a Wednesday morning wearing regular clothes, because the dress and the big time celebration is not what marriage is all about for us. But again, that's us. We ended up tying the knot on a beautiful Saturday with our family and a couple of friends, a nice not-at-all-white dress and the absolute understanding of what we going for.

So, I've been a wife for three months now. Yeah!

Lucas is so proud to be married… "my wife this, my wife that" - it's so cute. . He has always been an off-the-scale good boyfriend. He has an amazing personality: he is thoughtful, good-hearted and incredibly forgiving. He is also funny, sarcastic and… very, very stubborn – those are the things that make him human, you know. :) 

I've always thought romanticism is all about being thoughtful and unselfish. He has always treated me like a princess. He offers to pick me up from work, especially on rainy days :), even if it means he will be stuck in traffic for a long time as he drives through the city center. He buys me the most delicious delicacies on his way home from the office. He cooks for me. He lets me choose almost everything we buy for the house. The thing is, since we got married, he has been surprisingly romantic. Apart from everything he has always done, he actually expresses in words how lucky he is to be married to me. So, at the end of the day, marriage did change us. For better.

***

A desperately cute video just to celebrate.

Seriously one of the most precious things, ever. 
Truly is what life is all about.


Here is another post about us.

I hate cooking. (there, I said it! Again.)

Do you know what people say about small mistakes having huge consequences?

We often eat lunch slowly while talking and watching the news. The thing is, yesterday, when we started clearing the table and walked in the kitchen (the kitchen door had been closed), there was so much smoke we could barely see though it. We had left the pan with cooking oil on a hot burner. We opened the windows, burned scented candles, left vinegar on a bowl... basically tried everything we knew to make that horrid smell go away.

I have never been responsible for any major kitchen unpleasant incidents before, you know - well, except this once that I left a sandwich in the microwave for too long many years ago. It wasn't fun either and it probably caused the kitchen to smell just as bad. Burnt bread smells like... well, burnt bread. But that's not the point. The point is I hate cooking. I've said it before, I know that. Only now I know I'm not alone: I've just ran into an article about this old book for people like me. However, I don't think any kind of self-help literature could ever change my innate anti-cooking feelings...

And I am not sure I'd like them to change to begin with.

I actually believe people like me must speak out!

Stand up, cooking haters! Fear not!

Say it loud and proud: I hate cooking!  

I remember the first time my friend M. came to visit me after I had moved out from my parent's house. This happened many years ago and I used to have this very hectic schedule then. I worked long hours and the busyness of life didn't leave much time for me to worry about food. She is an awsome cook and I told her I managed to get by without cooking that much. I also told her I was used to eating out most of the time and that I bought lots of frozen foods too. But when I said I didn't even know how to make plain white rice, she was so shocked she couldn't stop laughing at me. She took me by the hand to the nearest supermarket, bought some rice and chicken and taught me how to cook my first meal. 

And that's how I ended up cooking the same meal almost everyday for over a month, so proud I was of my new cooking skills. :)

But I quickly got tired of it and went back to my unhealthy non-cooking habits.

Not that my mother didn't cook, just in case you're wondering. Of course she did. She still is the best cook on the planet, you know. But I never wanted to have anything to do with the kitchen. And by the time I moved out, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give my cooking skills a minus 3. I guess nowadays it'd something like a 2. :)

Anyway, I hope the Ghost of Cooking Future won't be haunting us much longer.

I hate cooking. (there, I said it!)

We left cooking oil in a pan on a hot burner while eating.

I was ready to write a super nice post this afternoon, but I'm not in the mood for it anymore. I guess I'll be delighting myself with the new skunkish aroma in the house instead.

... And did I mention I hate cooking? I did, didn't I? 

our honeymoon · Copenhagen

As I told you before, we spent our honeymoon in Scandinavia. I said I would write more about it and well... here it is!

The only plans we made for our trip were to buy plane tickets and make a reservation for a hotel in Copenhagen, since we were surely going to spend at least three days there and also, because it was going to be the first nights of our honeymoon, we wanted something nice. :)

Nyhavn canal

old buildings

our hotel in Copenhagen (this image is from their website)

Copenhagen really is a beautiful city. I loved the colorful old buildings facing the canals, the old boats, the people. Danish people are sooo laid back and they all seem to have bicycles. Some of them ride big black old-fashioned bikes... super charming! Those people actually wear a suit and cycle to work! I mean, I don't think I could ever do that but, hey.. that's me. Of course in my world suits and bicycles kinda clash, but I'd be just a little more concerned with the smell, you know... :)

Anyway, they park their bikes outside their offices, coffee shops, apartment buildings, etc, which is also interesting, because when there are no bicycle parking u-racks, they simply leave them leaning on the building walls. No locks. 

Isn't it cute?

* images taken from copenhagencyclechic.com

the bakery we had breakfast at

This was only the beginning of our trip. I loved Copenhagen and we have great memories of this place, such as having breakfast at this nice bakery in the city center (should have taken a picture of their cupcakes, though). However, the best part was yet to come: our road trip through Sweden and Norway.

flying ninja cookie eaters

These boys took a while to find us. We started feeding them months ago and now they come asking for food every single day. You see, most dogs aren't that obvious when they're hungry: they come to our living room window and make enough noise to make sure we know a) that they're there and b) that it's time for lunch. It's a shame I haven't been able to put it on video yet (I guess they have camera fright - these videos were taken from another room thanks to the power of zooming).

We usually feed them bird food and crumbs, but I thought it would be interesting to give them one whole cookie this time.

This is what happened:

Flying Ninja Cookie Eaters from Luisa on Vimeo.

And then this:

mine mine mine from Luisa on Vimeo.

They're just like kids!

splitscreen love story

So I was thinking about what I could possibly post on a dull Monday like this... And it was then I remembered that I had stumbled on this nice video the other day - cool stuff! Hope you like it.

Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.

wms with lovely tapas

We had a great time yesterday. I enjoyed every minute of what was destined to be a dull Saturday. As I've told you before, I am a winter type of person and when summer arrives, I get a little more bitter than usual (I know I'm weird), especially because we live 350 km away from the nearest beach - not that I love going to the beach, but it is definitely the most effective way of putting up with our Spanish summer. However, the second and more practical option is to live inside a heatproof apartment with our powerful air-conditioning system always on - I am pretty sure this machine of ours could cool entire cities! 

Anyway, yesterday we decided to pretend it was snowing pretty heavily outside and we watched a movie cuddling on the sofa, with my favorite kind of wine and these homemade tapas my husband carefully prepared for our weekend movie session. Isn't he the cutest?

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE « action

I don't care for action movies all that much. As for John Travolta, I'm voting for this look instead of his usual shaved face. Bad boy.

success .: the making of :.

You've probably already heard the story of the Mexican fisherman. But in case you haven't, here it is:

An American businessman was standing at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish. 

"How long it took you to catch them?" The American asked.

"Only a little while." The Mexican replied.

"Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The American then asked.

"I have enough to support my family's immediate needs." The Mexican said.

"But", the American then asked, "What do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said: "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds you buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. And instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own can factory. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked: "But, señor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied: "15-20 years."

"But what then, señor?”

The American laughed and said: "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions, señor? Then what?"

The American said slowly, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…"

***

from Stuff no one told me 

I was talking to a friend the other day about our plans for the future. She had been laid off a couple of days before and she was really disappointed at how (she thought) her career was heading nowhere. At some point of the conversation, she said something like: "Sometimes I feel I am never gonna be somebody". That statement really caught my attention. I mean… Really, dude??? Come on! Really??

I do understand why people care that much about their jobs. I do, really. Because I am ambitious and I do care. But I also know there is more to life than work and money. A lot more. My priorities in life are totally different at this point in my life, I guess - not that I am saying I am a better person for that. But I would never think I am a failure because I didn't turn out to be freakin' chief executive of a great company. I have heard the want-to-be-somebody speech from other people before. I know what they mean: there is nothing wrong with it per se. But I also feel like some people forget they should also succeed in their personal life (first - and if they have one). Or else they will be miserable all the same. Only they won't see it coming until it's too late – and it comes with interest.

Don't get me wrong: I think it is okay to want to become the next Bill Gates, the same way it is perfectly all right (and just as respectable) to be a stay-at-home mom or dad. I just don't understand how failing to be the best could ever cause anyone to believe they are losers.

I like what I do, you know. I don't wake up in the mornings in a bad mood because I have to go to work and I am really grateful not only because I have a job right now, but also because I am able to do something that I like. It feels a lot better that way. However, I don't work because I love to work. And neither do I work only because I have to. I do it because work should be part of everybody's life at some point. It defines your character, it helps you grow and accept responsibilities. Earning my own money has always been liberating and fortifying, but that's about it.

Now, luckily for me, work is only work: I work to live, I don't live to work. Work is only a small part of my life and it is a means to an end. If I lost my job or if my career didn't go the way I wanted, I would never feel that bad. I love life and everything in it. I guess things get a lot better when you have a successful personal life. It helps you think everything will be okay, even if it doesn't seem to.