Kissing Super Mario

Sometimes writing a blog — as opposed to being what I used to be,  a news reporter — is very much an Augmented Reality.

The stories can be very real, or you get one like today’s, with a 3-D-ish photo of me kissing Super Mario in “augmented reality,”  one of the mind-blowing virtual reality games available on the new system. All, after a day of hanging out in every 12-year-old’s version of the Promised Land, Mother Ship or Microchip Mecca — Nintendo U.S. Headquarters, a 300,000-square-foot wonderland just outside of Seattle.

I played the Atari Pong. In the ’70s.  And now this.

I am going to tell you all about the new Nintendo 3DS, the hot new and amazing 3D game system, but give me a few days. Today, I am going to tell you about some of the people I met during the Nintendo Brand Ambassador Summit — a collection of 100-plus people from across the country whom Nintendo flew out  to the gaming Mother Land. (Myself included, claro.)

The crowd was diverse in age, race and background and as I met and spent time with as many as I could, I gathered up cards and URLs to share them with you.

Following is a list of interesting and wonderful people whose sites are worthy of a closer look.

Kayley Hyde is 19 and has been doing YouTube videos on her popular Owls Say Hooot for five years. She’s traveled the world because of her channel. We should all have been as poised at 19.

Ilina Ewen writes Dirt & Noise. Why that name? She is raising two boys and they’re all dirt and noise. I loved her essays, her humor, her smarts. The cool bonus about meeting Ilina — she is friends with a dear friend of mine who also lives in Raleigh. The world is small. And wonderful.

Food in Jars is a super site about canning written by Marisa McClellan, who has a forthcoming book on the subject. Check out her lemon curd post. Que rico!

Gretchen is Texan Mama, a mother of 5 whose blog tag is “Even the Chaos is Bigger in Texas.” Go hang with her.

Jamie Ann is a Chicago native of Mexican background. She’s Etsy-obsessed, single, crafty, smart.

Maria Young has multiple channels on which to connect — everything from Twitter to YouTube to Tumblr. She’s Mexican and African-American, a single mom of two, who is smart and kind and bold. Loved her.

How can you not visit a site called Use Real Butter? Meet Jen Yu. Check out her Asian recipes and more.

Field Trips with Sue is about travel with kids in the Atlanta Metro area, perfect for you Latinos in the South, or thinking of visiting Atlanta.

Sex, Love & Liberation, a smartly written site by a talented woman, Ev`Yan, with whom I did not speak, but whose site I am enjoying. (May not be totally safe for work…)

Operation Nice by Melissa Morris Ivone, a Philadelphia graphic designer. You can spot the nice on Melissa from a mile away. Read her blog. Feel good.

And, last but not least, the four Nashville bloggers whom I traveled with…and with whom I got stuck in Denver for 24 hours. I could not have gotten waylaid with nicer, more interesting people.

Tori from Baby Bloomr

Calie from Broccoli Cupcake

Jamie from Blonde Mom Blog

Lindsay from Suburban Turmoil

There now…lots of reading for you.

And, if you have the new Nintendo 3DS, let me know.

Disclosure: I work as a Brand Ambassador for Nintendo via the company, Brand About You. My trip to Seattle was compensated and I received a free Nintendo 3DS. As a Brand Ambassador I am unpaid, but occasionally receive free Nintendo products for review and personal use. All opinions expressed are mine.

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But, what to do with all those apples?

I have a favorite recipe that I was going to share for a Crunch Top Apple Pie, but then I had a BIG THOUGHT.

As you know, Que Rica Vida sponsored both me and Carrie to go to the Blogalicious 2010 event in Miami last month. They also provided us with gorgeous I-love-you-more-than-I-love-myself iPads. (Thanks again, Que Rica Vida!)

They have just recently created a Que Rica Vida app for the iPad and were hoping we’d try it. (Umm…..YES!)

So, I grabbed my new do-you-know-how-much-I-love-you iPad and installed the QRV app.

And I did a quick search for “manzana.”

And to my everlasting delight, a plethora of apple recipes popped up.

I’m a totally visual being and as I started perusing the apple recipes, each one looked better than the last.

My eye finally landed on this baby:

Look at this recipe for the Apple Streusel Cheesecake (my best translation). It even has photos (without which I couldn’t function, but that’s not important right now) and there sits the all-my-dreams-have-come-true iPad giving me the baking directions, on my counter top, as I cook. Brilliant.

I have a stack of apples, so I plan on working my way down the “Manzana” search.

I may or may not have drooled on the did-I-tell-you-how-much-I-love-you iPad. =D

Buen Provecho!

This and many other recipes can also be found on the Que Rica Vida website.

Pastel de Queso Streusel de Manzana y Canela

Ingredientes:

Modo de preparación:

Información Nutricional:

1 Porción:405 Calorías (205 Calorías de Grasa);Grasas 23g (Saturada 14g);Colesterol 110mg;Sodio 210mg;Proteína 9g;

% de Valores Diarios:Hierro 8%;

Opciones de Carbohidratos:3;

© 2010 ®/™ General Mills Todos Los Derechos Reservados

[In the interest of full disclosure: General Mills and Que Rica Vida provided us with the iPad, but we were not compensated for this post. We just happen to think they're uber-cool. Thanks again, GM and QRV!]

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Un poquito mas:

1. Que Rica Vida – Dulce de Leche Crepes
2. Time Traveling via A Cuban “Frita”
3. Del Alma: Gracias a la Vida

Alberto Ferreras is a guy, but he has just written what promises to be one of the most popular Chick Lit books of the summer — a quick read story about a Cubanita with a big butt who feels real fea, but is — like her name — a Beauty.

I was three-quarters of the way finished with Beauty the first night I cuddled up with her. She’s comfortable, warm and fun,  in that way that gorditas are supposed to be. Like many other reviewers, I could not stop thinking about the fact that this guy got into a girl’s head so well. Too bad Ferreras is gay because he’d be the perfect guy for a girl.

The book is funny and smart and the only beef I have with it is that B, as she calls herself, falls for a dude who has barely given her a sideways look and I cannot help but wonder why so many books for women create that scenario.

OK, whatever. I forgive Ferreras this because he does include some smart love-yourself and 12-step wisdom that anyone can follow. So, buy the book, support any good book that promotes a Latina contributing to the fabric of our country, even if some of that contributing is working as a, ahem, “comfort” provider.

I don’t want to spoil it for you and honestly, I’m in the mood to talk more about Ferreras because I was so happy to learn he directed and produced the popular HBO series Habla, a series that makes me nearly pee my pants from laughing so hard. If you haven’t taken a look at the shorts on YouTube, go there now para que veas for yourself.

Ferreras, who was born in Spain, is a multi-talented guy. He’s a journalist, a song-writer, a performance artist who calls himself “Dr. Truth” and answers questions posed by strangers. Many women he has found, come to Dr. Truth to ask “Am I Fat?” which inspired Beauty’s issues. After reading about him, I want to have a cafecito with him.

Some good posts about Ferreras and the book elsewhere here and here and here.

Enjoy.

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