#the rest was spent taking plenty of pics for santa! ;)

[britishchick09]

my dad had a santa event today with lots of kiddos, a fry bread truck, coloring pages, some survey, a guy who sounded like kermit, so much wind...

and a fire truck! :D

[katsens-writing]

Holiday Headache

A/N: Sorry this is so very late guys. I’ve been getting adjusted to my new job and new work schedule. This is a little piece I wrote for @bitchassbucky‘s holiday writing challenge. It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, so I’m a little out of practice. I hope you enjoy it and if you want to be added to my Marvel taglist or any of my taglists, just send me an ask or shoot me a message! (To anyone who read it, the epilogue to See You Again is coming soon I promise. Thank you to all for bearing with me!!)

Content: Loads of fluff and a little bit of harmless mischief.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader if you squint

Word Count: About 1.8k

Masterlist   Buy me a coffee? :)

~

     “No, Peter, on the other side, next to Pepper,” you directed. “That’s it. Harley! Stop messing with your sweater and hold still!”     “Why am I doing this again?” Harley complained, pulling on his itchy sweater. It was green with shiny, silver tinsel-thread glinting throughout it.     Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes, explaining for the hundredth time. “It’s for the Avengers’ latest public campaign to wish everyone a safe holiday season.”

     “Again, why am I doing this?” Harley grumbled flatly. “I’m not an Avenger.”     “You’re doing this because it’s a family photo and you’re part of this madness, kid,” Clint grinned as he straightened his elf ears.     Harley’s brow furrowed and his jaw fell open indignantly. “I never signed up for any of this!” He protested.     Maria gave an explosive, exasperated sigh and turned to the young man. “Harley, so help me if you don’t stop whining I’ll web your mouth closed!” She gritted, pointing to the web-shooter on Peter’s wrist. Peter snickered, glancing at Harley.     Happy turned to Peter, narrowing his eyes. “And if you don’t stop moving I’ll web you to a chair.” Peter’s face fell and Harley smirked. Happy rolled his eyes. “I swear, Morgan should be babysitting you two.”     The two boys frowned and looked down at the little girl in front of them. Morgan just looked up at her brothers and gave them the brightest, most angelic smile, her curled, brown hair hanging down her shoulders and down to the big, golden ribbon tied in a bow on her back. Her eyes sparkled in the soft glow of icicle lights decorating the mantle behind them.     “Well, why isn’t Y/N in the picture then, huh?” Harley retorted, shaking his head as if coming out of a trance. He swore Morgan’s smile was hypnotic. If you weren’t careful you’d end up taking her to the International Spy Museum, something Pepper had forbidden after the last time Natasha babysat her. The last time someone stared at her smile for too long, Morgan was seconds away from convincing Bucky to steal her a panda from the National Zoo.     “Hey, someone has to take the picture!” You grinned, looking over the top of the camera on its stand at Harley. He opened his mouth to protest but you had already shifted your attention back to the rest of the group. “Peter, scoot a little to your left, I want to be able to see your whole sweater. I’m no expert but I know the menorah has more than six candles. There you go, perfect! Wanda, step back a little... a little more... right there, stop! Good.”     As you continued moving everyone around and giving directions, you didn’t notice Tony watching you closely. You told everybody that you needed to take the picture, saying you had an eye for things like that. That part was true, but in reality, you had offered to take the picture when you overheard Tony and Pepper discussing the campaign the week before. Tony had plenty of gadgets that could have taken it, but you seemed excited about the idea, so he agreed. Now though, Tony suspected there was a reason you didn’t want to be in the picture and he thought he might know why.     Tony sighed. You had only joined the team a few months ago, but anyone on the outside wouldn’t have known. You got along great with everyone around the compound, connecting with them right away. It may have only been a few months, but already he couldn’t imagine what the team would be like without you, and he knew he wasn’t the only one.     At the Avengers’ holiday party last week, you spent most of the night sitting at the bar in the ballroom, talking with Maria and Pepper. Whenever the team went out after a successful mission, you usually stayed behind, volunteering to do the report for SHIELD. Whenever they had nights in, you’d slip off to your room when you thought no one would notice. It seemed no matter how well you got along with the team, you felt like you didn’t belong. Tony could understand why you might feel that way but he really wished you didn’t. He’d been reading your file since you joined the team. He hadn’t finished it yet, but he knew if anyone deserved to feel like they belonged somewhere, it was you. Tony shook his head lightly as your voice broke through his thoughts.     “Vision, if you could--”     A snickering caught your attention and you turned to glare at Sam and Steve, laughing on either side of an irritated Bucky. You crossed your arms and glared at them. “Am I gonna have to separate you three?”     “No, you won’t,” Steve answered quickly.     “Sorry, Y/N,” Sam apologized. “Bucky was just saying how the picture would look better with you in it.” Bucky elbowed him in the ribs, his face reddening slightly. Steve snorted.     “Oh, I don’t know,” you replied teasingly, peering through the lens and hoping the camera hid the light blush forming on your cheeks. “I don’t think I could top Santa’s reindeer.”     Steve rolled his eyes good-naturedly and Bucky smirked to himself.     “Hey!” Sam protested, lifting his hands to adjust his antlers. “I’ll have you know, we are Santa’s best-looking reindeer.”     “You know, they’ve got a point,” Tony spoke up, giving you a slight start. He had barely said a word since you started arranging everyone for the photo. “Not about the reindeer thing,” Tony rolled his eyes. “But you really should be in the picture. You are an Avenger after all, and part of the Avengers family.”     “Thank you!” Harley threw his hands up in exasperated vindication.     Your cheeks flushed a little, lowering your eyes. “No, I’m fine, really. Someone has to take the picture and besides, nobody would know who I am.”     Rhodey snorted and jerked a thumb at Scott. “You think they know who he is?”     “Oh, come on man!” Scott whined, the tiny bells on his hat jingling as he tipped his head back in frustration. “I turned into a freaking giant, multiple times even!”     Bruce shook his head with a reluctant sigh. “This is why I don’t do group pictures.”     “Come on guys! I would like to be done sometime before New Year’s.” Natasha groaned.     “Natasha is right,” Thor agreed. “The sooner we get this picture done, the sooner we can get out of these uncomfortable clothes.” He scrunched his face as he pulled at the collar on his sweater.     “Hey now, I think you look very handsome in that Christmas tree sweater,” you chided with a grin. How Tony had managed to convince everyone to dress up for the picture you would never understand, although judging by his, Pepper’s and Morgan’s regular dress clothes, you suspected there may have been a misunderstanding somewhere along the line...     You scanned over the group one more time, eyes narrowed in focus. “Okay... I think that’s it. Now everyone, smile!” You grinned in emphasis as you spoke the last word. “Hold it...” After a few seconds, the camera flashed. “Ok.”     Everyone sighed, their muscles relaxing. “It’s about time,” Harley grumbled. Maria rolled her eyes.     “Wait...” The chatter fell as everyone froze and turned to look at you. Harley’s face darkened with a look of murder on his face. “We need to take one more, Scott blinked,” you continued. A collective groan came from the group and Hope elbowed Scott in the ribs. “And Rhodey, stop acting like Clint’s ears poked you in the eye!” You scoffed, glaring at the two.     “Hey!” Clint’s brow furrowed as he turned to Rhodey.     “That’s what you get for saying my Kwanzaa socks don’t count as dressing up!” Rhodey countered.     “Nobody can see ‘em!”     You pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed before shaking your head. While you were distracted by all the bickering and squabbling, Tony leaned forward and whispered something in Peter’s ear, all the while keeping an eye on you. Peter’s eyes widened a fraction as he sat up straight with the faintest nod and a small glint of excitement in his eye.     You straightened and smoothed out your red and white striped dress before clearing your throat. “Ok guys, one more time. Five seconds, ok?” your eyebrows arched. “Just keep it together for five more seconds. You guys ready?”     After a few seconds of shuffling and murmuring, Tony answered. “I think we’re ready, Y/N.” He and Peter exchanged a quick glance while you set the timer on the camera.     “Ok, five...” In a flash a web shot out and wrapped around your wrist, catching you by surprise. “Wha-- woah!” Before the cry left your throat, you were yanked forward. Narrowly missing the camera, the force of the pull spun you around as you stumbled into the group... and right into Bucky.     On instinct, Bucky threw his arms up to steady you and ended up catching just as you tumbled into him. “You ok?” he asked as you looked up and shook the hair out of your face. Flustered, you opened your mouth to answer but you were cut off.     “You’d better smile Y/N, ‘cause I’m not standing for another pic!” Harley gritted through a forced smile. Shocked, you turned to face the camera just as it flashed. Once your eyes adjusted again, you stood up to straighten yourself out.     Bucky lowered his arms awkwardly, letting them fall to his side before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Uh, sorry.”    “It’s ok,” you replied flustered, quickly tucking your chin to hide your embarrassment and your blushing cheeks.     Bucky looked at you in confusion. “You ok?” he asked again. “What happened?”     As you straightened your dress you noticed the web tangled around your bracelet. You frowned and turned to Peter but before you could say anything to him, Tony interrupted. “Let’s check out the picture, huh?” he suggested.     “And that’s my cue,” Harley spoke up as he made for the exit. “I need to stop by the library before it closes for the holidays.”     “I’ll come with you,” Peter offered a little too quickly. “Happy Holidays everyone!” He called over his shoulder as he followed Harley to the door.     You watched him with narrowed eyes before shaking your head with a sigh. You walked over to the camera and with a few taps you brought the picture up. “Wow,” your eyes widened. “That’s--”     “Not bad,” Tony peered over your shoulder. “Not bad at all actually.”     You turned to him incredulously. “Are you kidding? It’s terrible! My hair alone--”     Tony grabbed the camera out of your hand and started toward his office. “Hey FRIDAY, remind me to send this to the ad agency first thing tomorrow.”     You blinked, stunned, as Tony walked away with the camera. Bucky rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly again as he looked at you, wincing sympathetically.     “At least it’s only for the holidays,” you muttered under your breath as you walked away, rolling your eyes resignedly. “I’m already gonna be out of town. I’ll just extend my trip through New Year’s.”

~

Tags: @bla-369 @myworstdays @parkerspicedlatte

~

[animatedaf]

2020 was utter hot stinking garbage for everyone, but on the bright side for me all that lockdown time led to this becoming one of my most productive years for art, animation and livestreams in ages! Let’s deep dive into what I got up to this year! (All the bold text will link you to what I’m talking about)

January

I was pretty lax in the art department for the last few months of 2019 so late into Jan I focused on getting back into the swing of things with pretty simple illustrations of my OCs ViVi and BomOink and some pretty speedy game fan arts. I also did two livestreams on Lucky Hit.

It’s always nice when a fan art is seen and loved by the characters creators!

February

To keep my arty farty juices flowing I had a go at a couple of re-draws of old art which came out rather nice! I managed to keep the momentum going with fan art of Marza’s ghostly mascots which did rather well on Twitter when they shared it! I did CherryT a Valentines card and this toonme thing, but no livestreams this month.

March

My illustrating ramped up as soon as the UK lockdown hit including a re-draw of art from my childhood, a Twinbee fan art that was shared by the creator of the characters, some 80′s yogurt nostalgia and a DTIYS reminding everyone to Wash their drills hands! I also did 4 livestreams on Lucky Hit.

Lucky Hit was the most active it has EVER been this year!

April

With lockdown in full force we decided to finally do Lucky Hit Podcasts via discord which was such a fun way to keep in contact with each other we did one almost every week of the rest of the year! I also started some new livestream shows on there including eShop Car Booty and Spelunky: To Hell with it!

Artwork slowed down a bit, mainly joining in on the #SixFanArts trend with two sets of characters, a birthday card for CherryT, a quick vector job for Dreamcastic channel and I started working on a Spelunky sprite of myself for the livestreams.

May

Another slew of illustrations this month including one for Mermay, another childhood redraw, taking part is a very popular DTIYS, and the first of many touch ups of older art. May was also our busiest month on Lucky Hit ever with new shows like Make It Double! 

June

June kicked off with two illustration commissions in a row, followed by ViVi for an art style challenge, some more fan art and a couple more touch ups of old art. There was also plenty more livestreams and podcasts.

I think it was this tweet that caught the attention of a certain community manager!

July

This month was mostly spent on two animation projects: one freelance for a client and the other a shot for Frontier Psychiatrist Reanimated! Outside of yet more livestreams and podcasts, I also got an email about what would become my biggest illustration commission ever...

August

...a massive 11-character group pic for SEGA Forever! This was what I was working on most of this month, along with finishing off the animations I started in July. I returned to work after the lockdown but also continued with weekly podcasts and livestreams including a new series focused on Amiga games. 

September

Mostly spent still beavering away on the SEGA illustration between work. I also put out a re-draw of some art from my teen years and kept the livestream train chugging along including one for the Sonic Fan Game Expo.

October

I re-designed my logo from what was always just a head and hands to a full bodied character called Gaga Kun followed by a short animated loop of him for the credits sequence of FP reanimated, which was steamed on my newly opened Twitch channel!

November

I finally finished a ViVi in another art style piece, did two more commissions and started another freelance animation. Frontier Psychiatrist Reanimated launched on my Birthday! Oh and Mr.Chips.

December

Non stop month! The first half of this month was spent finishing off a Christmas animation for a client, followed by Birthday art for my friend Murry Curry, an OC Illustration for a Newgrounds Secret Santa and a ViVi Christmas artwork. I also hit affiliate on Twitch, did a Lucky Hit podcast that aired on Radio Sega and the Sega Forever commission finally released! A redraw of some Puyo Tetris art also did super well on Twitter!

Previous years: 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016

[readexplorerepeat]

International Travel with Kids part 1... It is Possible!: COLOMBIA edition

We love to travel abroad.  Last summer we packed our bags and took a plane to Colombia. This beautiful, diverse South American country had so many things to offer, we should’ve planned for more than the two glorious weeks we took.

We traveled with four kids, ages ranging from 8 to 4. Let me tell you, yes I was nervous at first because for three of the kids, it was their very first time on a plane. We spent the weeks before the trip preparing them for any possible scenario. Fortunately, although they are little, they are smart kids. We went over safety rules, different foods, how to behave on a plane, cultural differences, language differences, and safety rules one more time. I was satisfied that they had learned at least a little after my constant (almost obsessive) repetition. By the way, we budgeted our finances in order to travel with the whole family.  It takes effort, but it's totally worth it! (click here for how to budget to travel).

The day came. Five adults, four kids, lots of bags…. Well, not really, we tried to travel light.  We knew we had an eight hour layover in Panama, so we were prepared. (See What to pack TIPS when traveling with kids ). We had activity books, portable DVD player, cards and little games for them to play…and snacks; plenty of plane-friendly snacks. BUT, we didn’t count on the almost infernal heat at the non-air conditioned airport. Neither one of us had ever traveled through that airport before, so we didn’t know what to expect. Apparently the airport was under construction and only a very small part of it was air conditioned. Well, needless to say, we spent 7 of the 8 hours in the AC area. The kids were comfortable enough and really tired by the time we got in the last plane to Colombia. They all fell asleep.

When we finally arrived to the city of Pereira, one of the main cities in the heart of the“Coffee Triangle”, we realized that hubby’s bag was missing!. The airline in Panama failed to transfer it to the next airplane. After the aggravation of setting up a lost-bag claim, we were greeted by some of our family that lives there. They had also rented a bus to fit us all and transport us around. 

We had to accommodate all of us in a small three bedroom apartment. It was tight, but it wasn’t terrible. It was hot thought (thank God for fans and micro-fiber cooling towels). We toured the city the first day with no problems. We also had to shop for hubby’s clothes since he had nothing to change into.  Note to self:  sizes in other countries are slightly different from the US.  Large there is NOT like a large here. 

We quickly learned the lesson in apparel shopping, but not before we had already purchased some items.  That didn’t stop us from having fun. 

Our first destination was a natural hot-springs pool park of Termales of Santa Rosa, up in the central mountain range, about one hour from where we were staying. It was hot in Pereira, but this place was cool and comfortable, although it got a little cold at night fall. The hot-spring in this area was a natural volcanic spring that flows from an impressive waterfall at 158° and reaches the pool area at 104°.  Once the water enters the pool it is combined with cold water to make it comfortable and soothing. You can even smell the volcanic residue in the air. It was amazing and the kids loved it. 

DESTINATION #2

After this day experience, we went to a sports/waterpark complex called Confamiliar Risaralda- Parque Consota, and stayed in a beautiful cabin while enjoying a semi-private pool and all the amenities of the park. Fresh coffee was served each morning by their friendly staff dressed in typical- coffee region attire.  In the meantime, hubby’s luggage was still in limbo.

DESTINATION #3

Way into day four, we were able to recover the luggage, along with the comfortably fitting clothes of a 6’5” man.  He was happy, and we moved on to the next destination; a country house outside the Pereira.  We relaxed for two days laying in hammocks and cooking out in the outdoor kitchen.   The kids had a wonderful fenced space to play around and breathe in the fresh air and also fishing.

DESTINATION #4 was a Coffee-themed amusement park.  We all enjoyed this place tremendously.  Filled with roller-coasters, water rides, theater, music, and eco-friendly walks, this coffee-themed park was both informative and fun.

Back in the bus to:

DESTINATION #5

Kids are singing, and we are all admiring the view.  We arrive to “Salento” and first on our list is horse-riding in the Cocora Valley, part of the central Andes Mountains.  Horse-riding in the Andes was, in my opinion, what the kids (and the adults) enjoyed the most.  The gorgeous views of the mountains, and the small colonial town of Salento, Quindio, with its multicolor colonial architecture were breathtaking.  Salento also had dozens of small stores full of handcrafts and souvenirs for tourist.  The locals are friendly and the food is fantastic. (Read our blog about the local food!).

We spent the rest of the days in between walking around the city, shopping, and eating local food.  The kids behaved great and we felt safe and confident to even go out at night (we got a sitter for that ).

Read about the interesting encounters (with pictures), and the adventure back home… which includes a complication, in Part 2.

Also stay tuned for a complete list of what to pack when traveling with kids.  See more pictures in our gallery (Pics & Art) tab.

DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? LET US KNOW! PLEASE COMMENT OR SHARE BELOW:

[travel200899]

Talk about neglect! It has been over 5 months and i have not posted on my blog site. My apologies to my readers ( if there are any!). Not to say that I have not been busy, on the contrary, the new years resolution was to travel every month and that has been achieved so far. It is hard not to achieve that one when you work in the travel industry.

Every year I take a trip with my creator. We went back and forth deciding where to go. Pacific coastal drive was on our agenda till Trump messed up our plans by simply “being”. Right now I am sitting in my favourite place in the world, my living room, looking out at the pouring rain, drinking a cup of original and pure Kangra tea and gearing up to put my thoughts in words.

This trip was simply AMAZING and wouldn’t have been as easy as it ended up being if it were not for my loving in-laws. They were kind enough to set us up and lend us their lovely home in Nerja. Now, nothing was planned… I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, the rest depended on how well my mum would take to cities. Turns out, I realized very soon, that tourists infested towns/cities and clicking pic of the same old touristic joints wasn’t something that mum was interested in. It made it way simpler for me to hence plan out our itinerary and see the beautiful villages of Andalusia and share them with someone I dearly love.

First stop : Nerja and Frigliana

Nerja, pronounced – Ner-kha NOT Ner-ha but ‘kha’ ( k and h are pronounced together, if that makes sense.) 68 kms east of Malaga lies this amazing little  resort town of Nerja. This was our starting point for all the subsequent trips we took. There are plenty of places and areas of interest in Nerja itself, that I’ll leave for you to explore. The Balcon De Europa is a must if you are visiting Nerja. The views are incredible and it gives you a great sense of where you are and what King Franco experienced. We decided to go pay the – cueva de nerja ( caves of Nerja) a quick visit. Cueva de Nerja, a nearby cavern with unusual stalactites and stalagmites, hosts popular summertime concerts. It’s also known for its paleolithic paintings, viewable by guided tour. The entry fee was €10 per head. Since the tourist season is yet to start, there was no problem as far as gaining access to the caves was concerned. No flocking of eager tourists, no rush in any way. The afternoon was spent exploring the beautiful little village of Frigliana or ” the white village” which is at a distance of less than 20 km from Nerja. The quarter is made up of steep cobbled alleyways winding past white houses resplendent with flowers.

Capileira

Capileira is the  highest of the 3 villages in the Poqueira Valley with the back drop of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Only at a distance of 80 km from Nerja, a must visit for those who are in love with nature and hiking. Known as the Santorini of Spain, this place is the perfect spot to visit if you wish to be taken aback by the dramatic setting and fascinated by the beautiful labyrinth of narrow whitewashed streets, splashed with colour by geraniums, and wide open to spectacular views down the gorge and up to the snowy peaks of Sierra Nevada.

Alora and Ronda

111 km west of Nerja lies the quaint little hilly town of Alora. Easily accessible by hourly train service from the city center in  Malaga ( only 40 kms west of it), this makes for a good day trip for all my Flight Attendant friends who wish to explore a new place, and get their dose of daily exercise in. The climb into the village is pretty steep and the walk up to the Alora castle is beautiful. From the castle you’ll be able to admire the beauty of village with the mountains in the back drop.

The cliff hanging footpath Camino de Rey  is located at El Chorro in the municipal district of Alora.  Continue another 75 km and you will reach the birthplace of modern bullfighting and the oldest town in Spain- Ronda. The most conspicuous feature of Ronda is its location on a big sandstone hill that is cut in two by the El Tajo gorge, in which the  Guadalevin rivers runs some 120 m below. The views of the gorge and the surrounding countryside are breathtaking, and worth the visit in itself. Hiking down into the gorge is very much possible, make sure to have the right gear and right camera equipment.

Iznajar and Almodovar del Rio

140 km North of Nerja likes the lakeside gem of Iznajar. Meandering streets of this flowery village will lead you to its 8th century castle next to its 16th century church. On your walk up to the castle you can stop by the Patio de las Comedias and enjoy a cup of cafe frappe while over looking the picturesque landscapes below. What was really enthralling was the orange trees lining the streets in all these little villages that we visited. Not only did they add colour and character to the beauty of these villages, but also provided a weary traveler some much-needed Vit C along the way.

Further north of Iznajar, some 125 km away, past the historic and the touristy town of Cordoba lies this round castle of Muslim origin in the town of Almodovar del Rio. Built by the Arabs in the 8th century, this castle underwent a lot of wear and tear and finally was restored to its current condition ( while maintaining its original integrity and look) under the architectural direction of Adolfo Fernandes Casanova. The only reason I remember his name is due to the mention of Adolf(o) and Casanova together, bridged by good ol’ Fernandes. The entry fee to the Castillo is €8, giving you access to the priceless view of the town below.

Baeza and Udeba ( 10 km distance between the two towns)

227 km to the north of Nerja, in the Jaen province of Spain lies the “Olive oil capital” town of Baeza (UNESCO). We happened to be there on the day of the celebration of Semana Santa. The Holy Week of Baeza was declared Fiesta of Tourist Interest in 1980 and of National Tourist Interest of Andalusia in 1997. We were lucky to arrive right on time to witness this first hand, and to capture the inspiration behind the garb made popular by the KKK ( for all the wrong reasons!). The Cathedral of Baeza is also an essential attraction as is the Town Hall, which was declared a national monument. Both these towns reflect Renaissance style that visitors could believe they are somewhere in Italy.

Out of the 8 provinces of Andalusia, we were able to explore and drive around 4, covering the provinces of Malaga, Granada, Cordoba and Jaen and I have to attest that not only were we smitten by the varied landscapes of these regions we drove through, but the most that stood out was the hospitality of its people and their friendly approach and openness, making it one of my favourite places to visit over and over again. This love affair isn’t over, it just started :)

Beautiful villages in Andalusia Talk about neglect! It has been over 5 months and i have not posted on my blog site.