My Little Zebras

Anyone who knows me (and Nick), knows that I love Goodwill. I love the thrill of the hunt. Thanks to Mum for that. Once you find that something special it's like winning a mini Jackpot! But it's not just the feeling of victory that I relish, it's also finding an item that can still be used or reinvented into something new. Those hidden treasures have stories within them (sometimes dust and dead bugs that you have to clean out) and being able to share a part of history makes it all the more exciting.

Last night as I was looking for things that are PINTERESTING I found this Pin:

I've seen stuff like this before. Never really got around to do it. I'm not really much of a painter either. Buttttttttttt.....Despite the fact my high school art teacher gave me a pity "A" in art class and called me out on being the worst "artist" ever, and despite the fact that my self portrait looks like this:

 I decided to embark on this "revamping random Goodwill finds" project through painting!! Yikes.
I thought they turned out pretty good considering my clear lack of experience.

You can VOTE on your favorite Zebra in the Comment section. Should I give one away? Ok. Whichever one has the most votes will be given away.

HAPPY FIESTA TIME ZEBRA

 

COTTON CANDY ZEBRA

 Magical Metallic Midas Zebra with Sparkles

After I finished making these zebras and their fanciful names for some reason My Little Pony was all I could think about. Specifically, "Bronies" was on my mind. I have not watched it (yet?) Should I???



In other news THIS is CHOKA's new favorite drink. Refreshing. Easy recipe. The Empire approves. Drink and you will experience Friendship is Magic on a whole new level.

I call it....

RASPBCELLO.... RASPBELLO....LIMONBERRY...Thingy

Or

Raspberry Lemon Drop

I guess I don't know what I call it yet but it's good. I made it two different ways. Here's the first way:

1 1/2 shot of Limoncello Liqueur  oh go ahead and make it 2 shots.
Add Sparkling Ice Lemonade Raspberry  to taste
Add Ice
Couple of raspberries for GARNISH

Woohoo you're done. Drink up. Then try the second one...

2 shots of Limoncello Liqueur
Raspberry Juice  ( if you buy frozen raspberries and let them sit in the fridge the juice accumulates in the bottom of the bag, just add to taste)
Couple of raspberries for Prettiness



Now Drink Up... And don't forget to vote.

 

Hothlanta- Snowjam 2014

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....

The light "wintery mix" turned into somewhat of a snow storm for Atlanta. No one decided to close schools, everyone went to work because the weather was fine in the morning, and by midday the entire city was in SNOWMAGEDDON mode.

That morning was different than most mornings. Usually I wake up around 7 or 8 and check the phone for weather. Next, I check Instagram and Facebook to see if any of my friends had anything extraordinary happen to them while I was sleeping. Lately, aside from the pregnancy epidemic that seems to be spreading fast, my friends have NOT been doing a very good job of entertaining me via social media (Get on that would you guys?) I tend to open the blinds before I have breakfast to let in the glorious sunshine. But not yesterday morning. Yesterday morning, I did not check the weather, I did not check Instagram or Facebook, I did not open the blinds before breakfast.

I was clueless to all of the craziness happening outside of my apartment until about 2 pm. I woke up around 10:30. Went straight to the kitchen, ate breakfast, started work, and right around 2 o'clock decided it was just too dark and dismal in my apartment. I opened the blinds and to my surprise the world outside was covered in white!!! Beautiful, magical white snow. I giggled to myself. Atlanta normally doesn't get snow, and when it does the snow rarely sticks. But here the ground was covered, the trees were covered, the air was very quiet and still aside from the birds chirping away. Birds seem to love the snow!

 See how pretty it was??!!

Then I thought to myself I should check on my friends, see how they are enjoying the snow! And again I was surprised. I've lived in Metro-Atlanta most of my life, we don't have the road gear for snow like Northerners do. Our snow is like a 90s boy band- it's beautiful and marvelous and you just want to eat it all up, and then the next day it's gone without a trace, only to be remembered decades later when you're chatting with your girl-friends over a game of Sequence. Remember that time....
Anyways, even though I'm an Atlanta native, I was still surprised at the madness going on. Friends were stuck in traffic for hours upon hours. While my sweet, serene day was going perfectly, everyone else was experiencing some sort of Hoth meets Walking Dead (more traffic pics there).

Kind of realized how serious it was when my I talked to my mom and she said it took her 2 hours to drive 10 minutes, then two minutes later my aunties were checking up on us to make sure we were ok. Then this morning heard people were still stuck out there! The thing with Atlanta driving in snowy weather is not the snow- it's the ice. The black ice is horrible!! So naturally in true Atlanta fashion when it snows this is the next thing that happens:

Despite the craziness and the miserableness that happened to other people, it was nice to see humanity still has some kindness left. Stores staying open to give people shelter, people walking out to the highways to offer food to those stranded. There was also plenty of entertainment via social media statuses. Some of my favorites....

"...hold on I gotta pour out my pee bottle.."

"SnowJam 2014. "Ain't nobody got time for dat""

"good for her...but I am NOT having my baby in the snow!"

"I honk my bus just hit a var."

"Have people gotten cabin fever on the bus and started eating each other yet?" 

"The Great Winter Battle of Mercer has subsided. The shattered remains of snowbears litter the campus grounds, their life-blood melting into the fields. The students were victorious. I'm trudging through the snow drifts to document the carnage. If you are a survivor, I'd like to document your experience during the #snowpocalypse."

"Welcome to Atlanta where the Georgians say...we been stuck in traffic like all freakin' day. Big beats, icy streets, see pedestrians roamin'....and no one's gettin' home 'til 8 in the mornin."

"SNOWPOCALYPSE!!! Errbody save yerselves!!"

"I stocked up for MEGA Winterpocalypse Snowmageddon KILLSTORM 2014. And by stocked up I mean I got wine."

"I'm sorry, I'm from Georgia- I only use salt for cooking and margaritas."


Of course, the seemingly endless memes kept me laughing throughout the day...

It was the best of times for me, it was the worst of times for those that had 14+ hour commutes. The sun has been out all day and the snow- just like that 90s boy band - is starting to fade away.  Snowjam/Snowpocalypse/Snowmageddon 2014 you've been great. "Don't really wanna make it tough, I just wanna tell you that I had enough (ooh ooh) It might sound crazy, But it ain't no lie,
Baby, Bye, Bye, Bye."

Stay Toasty Hothlanta!

How to Take A Good Selfie- CHOKA Lifestyle

I've always been obsessed with having a camera around. When I was 11 or 12 it was the Kodak disposables, when I was 16 it was my good 'ol Polaroid, when I was 20 it was my dependable Canon PowerShot, at 23 Nick got me a Holga and Diana +, and  then came along my iPhone camera and of course I've always stolen Nick's Rebel whenever I get a chance.

When I'm not working on CHOKA or working on my writing- I'm taking pictures or pinning pictures. The natural course of progression has led me to  become addicted to selfies. (No, I'm not in love with myself) The selfie capturing tends to happen more because I work mainly from the house, am alone for the most part of the day and have no one to take pictures of except myself! Instagram has not been any help with this addiction. If you only knew how many photos I took of myself before I uploaded that selfie. YIKES!

Some people think that selfies are bad for human confidence and objectifying women. I think they can be great for creativity and learning how to use your camera.  I also think that when you take a selfie, it should be different than every other selfie you've ever taken. It should NOT involve duck lips unless you are making fun of duck lips. And it should not be the same close up picture of your face and hair over and over again weeks after weeks. It should not interrupt a funeral, memorial or religious service. It should probably not interrupt dinner or any meal for that matter unless the food is that amazing and you have to document it or if you are eating alone (If you're eating alone it's probably because all your friends left you since you were taking too many selfies). Anyways, you can read my How to Take A Selfie Below.... after you scroll through my categorized selfies.



Hair Selfies
Took these because my hair was different than it usually is (straight, partially combed, or in a ponytail/messy bun).

The Car Shot (after an extras gig. I liked the hair and the makeup)

The bow that I would never wear...  

The hair that I would never go out in public with, but thought it was crazy enough to post...

The one day my curls turned out exactly how I wanted them too :O

Shadow/Serious Selfies -Ok, so the next group of selfies are because of lighting/moodiness/playing with camera effects...

Brainstorming Face

The Lamp Casting Shadows

Imagining Sunny Days

Shadows and Water

Now the last grouping is my personal favorite. Like I mentioned before, I am at home ALL freakin day long,  by myself. I never thought I was really into dressing up when I was younger, but now it's pretty fun. And, I've never really been into makeup and hair so any attempt at doing my makeup and hair is shotty at best. The next group of selfies are the result of craziness that I get when I have writer's block or a very serious case of procrastination.

In Character Selfies

The Nerdy BookWorm

The Snotty Circus Performer

 The Inquisitive Clown

The Mermaid

The Crabby Grandma

Maybe I'm a Zombie, Maybe I'm Not...

Oh here's a selfie of me before I started writing this blog this morning...

So I'm definitely not as cool as THIS GUY and I try not to take THESE types of selfies (although I struck out on the car one, but that was only because I was on the way home from an extras gig and forgot to take a pic there I promise). Our CHOKA page is supposed to help inspire and show you how we do things. Here is my guide on How To Take A Good Selfie:

1- Check for boogers. No boogers? Good, you are ready to go.

2- Take a couple of practice shots so you can get an idea of what the lighting is like and where you want your head/face to go. Know your good angles/sides.

3- Try to keep your eyes open.

4- Make sure you don't have a double chin, or triple neck, unless you are purposely trying to be funny.

5- Maybe add a prop or two.. 

6- Or a nice background... The toilet does not count as nice background.

7- Distort your face, yell, or laugh really hard before you actually take the picture. It makes your face muscles relax and take a more natural picture.

8- Add a filter. Unless you are a hipster or a Vogue model and #nofilterneeded applies to you

9- Add a witty caption. Give your photo a name so that people can kind of guess as to the story behind it.

10- Don't post the photo unless it has something to give to your followers. Is it aesthetically pleasing? Is it funny? Does it tell them something about you? What are you wanting to convey to your audience through your selfie?


Now go have fun and take some selfies. And tag me in the selfies you took so I can see if you followed my How To Guide or not...