Out and About with Papa

This past winter and spring has been somewhat Hubby-less as he has had a couple of extra jobs he could only work at late in the evenings or on Saturdays. Therefore, it was with joy and excitement that Bia and I headed out with him last Thursday for a day together in the countryside/mountains. He had a small job to complete in a beautiful part of the country, so after he had finished we had the rest of the day to spend together among grass, rivers and hills.

Experiencing flowers for the first time! She also loved walking barefoot on the grass. I got to make her very first daisy chain! 

"That mountain over there is... (insert mountain's name)"

What a joy it was to go out once more among the beauty of creation with those whom I love best!

Hubby should finish the extra jobs soon, hopefully before the summer ends, so I am looking forward to more outings with him and Baby! ♥

Happy New Year

Dear family and friends,

While the previous year transitions have not meant anything else to me other than time with my family and plenty of music and laughs, for some unknown reason, I have looked forward to changing to 2016 very much, and was very expectant. Now we are here I feel unexplainably joyous and excited, and, excuse the cliché, but I literally can't wait to see what is ahead of us.

To all of you, many blessings and much happiness in this new year we've started. I hope your time is full of everything you need and may you be showered with love!

Three Weeks...

...of Mediterranean beaches to walk along and pine tree forests to hike.
...of sunny, mild weather and not too cold temperatures.
...of bird watching outside the kitchen window at the diverse little 'uns that come to pick at fallen olives.
...of visiting old friends and enjoying catching-up conversations over a cuppa.
...of walking among cobbled streets in old towns and (yes!) taking pictures of worthy-of-note details.

...of staying at my parents' in my old childhood home!

This trip has been long-awaited and hoped for, and it doesn't seem real that we are actually here, that we've actually been here since Monday! Time is flying and I am trying desperately to enjoy every second of our stay here. I know that the parting day will come and we will ask ourselves, WHERE did the time go? Therefore, here is me, leaving in a rush so that I can drink in the beauty of time in Catalonia.

Wedding Pictures Pt. 3: Getting Ready (Details)

The one year milestone is definitely behind us. We had a beautiful First Wedding Anniversary in Bulgaria (more to come on this, perhaps...), and my expressions of "I can't believe it!" and catchings of breath are over (or perhaps not so frequent).

However, I still enjoy going over the wedding pictures so much! I enjoy writing these posts because I get to look at them once more and each time I remember a small detail I hadn't noticed before. I love the small details that give meaning to a bigger picture, so these pictures are special to me.

Without further ado...

Hairclips and other things...

The special rose-centered accessory that the ladies who sewed my dress gifted me with.

Watching, waiting...

Tying...

Learning how to tie one's tie...

My lantana outside in the garden... so beautiful!

The rings...

The rings on my father's guitar... (Daniel plays the guitar beautifully)

My grandmother's pearls (which I've wanted to wear on my wedding day ever since I received them) along with
my father's guitar and my sweet Verdi, a life-long friend.

My sister attaching the rings to the cushion...

One of my bridesmaids playing the piano...

My sister checking my brother's tie...

Adding baby's breath to the bridesmaids' hair... *-* What a lovely idea!

Oh, what I'd give to re-live the whole day again... so beautiful, so precious, so unforgettable! ♥

Wedding Pictures Pt. 2: Getting Ready (Him)

I can't believe that almost a year has passed since that happy day... it will sound cliché, but walking in the shoes of those who've said it before, now I know it's true: it seems like it was yesterday. Where has time gone? It flies by too fast...

What better time than now to get lost in memories and flash back to the past, to one joyous day I will always remember?

He, also, was getting ready for the day with a tummy full of butterflies... 

I can always trust him to choose stylish, classic, elegant shoes! (Yes, I'm a shoe fan person...)

*-*

What a dreamy suit!

Trust him to add a personal twist to his attire... he didn't wear the traditional tie, but a cravat.

I've always loved his hands... the hands of a hard-working, caring man.

Did I say dreamy before?!

He got to see a sneak-peek of our engagement pictures (they'd been taken four days before!). Not fair. :P

*Sighs*... what a man. 

My word, I can't believe this day was almost one year ago! It's still so fresh in my mind!

Wedding Pictures Pt. 1: Getting ready (Her)

Today marks the 11th monthaversary of our wedding day... only one month to go for our first anniversary! How time flies...

Late as it is, I still have to fulfill my promise of posting some of our wedding pictures. They were taken by a school-friend of mine with whom we've had good talks and discussions and sharing on the subject. He is quite good at this business, I'm sure you'll enjoy the pictures I share.

As usual, I will follow the "no-faces" policy, so if you're interested in seeing all the pictures, let me know. [smile]

Without further ado, here's part one of the day... she's getting ready for the big occasion!

First dream come true... hair-do, check.

My all-time hair-dresser did a wonderful job with my hair!

See that ring? It looks a little lonely... will soon be joined by a second one! *-*

Finishing touches... a gift from the ladies who sewed my dress.

Surprise! Everyone's at the bride's house!

The dress also came true, thanks to a custom sewer my dad unknowingly told me about.

Check!

Lace-up back... check!

My Mum helping me dress... check!

The perfect white, not-too-high heeled, classy shoes... check!

Rhomboid net stockings... check!

My Mum placing the veil... *-*

Another dream come true... a gift from the parents of one of my bridesmaids, friends from before I was a teenager!

Next coming up... he's getting ready!

Those Were The Days

They don't do these wonderful things for children anymore!

It happened

It seems that lately I am relying too much on the "better late than never" expression. I should have posted this announcement some seven months ago! However, as we didn't have engagement pictures back then, it is just as well that I waited.

So, what happened, you wonder?

This did:

On the 3rd of January 2014 the man of my dreams asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I said YES!

How did he manage to pick out the perfect ring?!

Then, this did, about five months later:

On the 7th of June 2014 the love of my life and I said "I do" together and started our life as a married couple.

Do you realize what this means? This means I'm no longer living with my parents, but with my husband in our own sweet little flat some three thousand kilometres away. It means that I get to cook, clean and do laundry all by myself. It's no longer "helping mother", it's just me. It also means that I get to spend every day with the one that my heart loves for the rest of my life! I know it's cliché and cheesy, but... it is like having a slumber party every night with your best friend and you talk about everything till you fall asleep!

And people... I'm loving it!

Babysitting in English

My Mum and I share the babysitting of a little German girl whose parents want her to learn English from an early stage.

She has just turned three years old, and is a little treasure to have around. The little darling is full of fun and spunk. Sometimes I'm surprised how such a tiny person can have so much energy inside of her at six and seven p.m.! She keeps me on my toes constantly.

She loves crafts, so a couple of days ago I was trying to come up with a different idea. We've worked a lot with colouring, play-dough, stickers, etc., and the challenge was to think of a method I hadn't used with her yet! As it was raining, my Mum suggested we had a rain-themed afternoon, and suggested several songs and poems about rain. She also mentioned colouring in an umbrella, and it was then when my light-bulb lighted.

Every time I hear the word umbrella I think of the family one we had a long time ago. It was rainbow coloured, and so big that all seven of us fit walking underneath it with Papa in the centre, holding it. From this memory I got my inspiration.

First, I drew the umbrella. I've always considered myself a disastrous drawer, even when it came to simple things. However, the drawing came out pretty well, so I scanned and printed to keep the original.

Then I armed myself with rainbow-coloured tissue paper and a stick of glue, and waited for the time when she'd come.

I had coloured in a small circle in each section of the umbrella to indicate what colour should be used in each. The idea was to tear small pieces of tissue paper, make balls out of it and "colour in" the umbrella this way.

She had tons of fun. At first, the pieces she tore were huge, and consequently, so were the balls. Later she started to tear smaller pieces as smaller spaces on the umbrella were left blank.

The beautiful end result! Such a lovely, rainbow-coloured umbrella! I am not sure who had more fun while doing this, if her or me. 

Anyone who'd like the scanned version of the umbrella need only ask! 

Students and Rubber Bands

I have never felt sorry I got into teaching English.

Yes, there have been tiring, stressful, exasperating, patience-exhausting times, but fortunately not very often, and the good times have by far outweighed the bad ones. Every week something happens in one class or other which leaves me so happy, touched or thankful that it makes everything worth it.

Excuse the quality of the picture... both my cameras let me
down at the same time, and I had to take this pic with my
iPhone, which doesn't have a good camera.

An example? These days something new has become trendy and it is huge among the children, very much in style: bracelets done with rubber bands (to see a basic example, click HERE). Well, this week two of my girls from completely different ages, classes, and even days, have given me this as a gift! My ten-year-old gave me a yellow and black bracelet on Wednesday, and my six-year-old has given me a Spring-coloured bracelet and ring today (because we're studying Spring in English together [smile])! They're such sweethearts...

This is why I love teaching.

Please, please

It's already March and this Dreamy girl is busy, busy. Too busy, in fact, to remember to log out when she uses other people's computers...

Please, Dreamy girl, please post something new.

Wannabe Crònica

A principis d'hivern vam començar a fer proves d'exàmens de Selectivitat a Llengua Catalana. Aquell dia havia acabat abans d'hora un exemplar on hi havia una crònica titulada Estrelles i Diamants a Nova York que em va barrufar molt (sí, Lara, me l'has enganxat. Gràcies :P), i enduta per la inspiració i pels records frescos d'unes vacances ben merescudes a Romania vaig començar a escriure el que llegireu a continuació.
Aquest escrit va començar volent ser una imitació de l'estil de la reportera que l'havia escrit, Bibiana Ballbè. Malauradament, en el procés d'escrit crec que ha evolucionat un pèl i no sé si acaba de cenyir-se al gènere de crònica.

Dedicat als meus dos acompanyants d'aquella nit, el Daniel i la Georgiana, i és clar, al meu professor de Llengua Catalana i Literatura, Jordi! Sé que m'he fet esperar, però aquí ho tens!

Without further ado...

***************************************************************************

Fa fred. Estic segura que tinc el nas més vermell que el color del cel ara que es pon el sol, i fa estona que he deixat de notar les orelles. Quins acudits, recollir-se els cabells en aquest clima! Ara bé, és poc pràctic patinar sobre gel amb la cabellera solta.

L'aire és fresc i pur, quelcom  normal i esperat aquí, però la seva fredor crema en inspirar a través del nas. Cada cop que surt aire per la meva boca es forma un nuvolet tímid que ben aviat es congela sobre la bufanda que porto cobrint-me mitja cara. La temperatura és hostil i agressiva, però la pista està plena de gent gaudint dels encants de l'hivern.

Ara que ve la nit, és interessant veure quin tipus de gent es queda més estona, i qui marxa. Mares o pares surten per la porteta carregant un nen petit, o agafats de la mà de criatures cansades. En picar de peus al terra de goma per espolsar el gel enganxat a la fulla del patí el deixen ben brut, i segurament relliscós.

Els que queden som persones ben diverses. Ben a la vora un xicot patina pacientment i lenta al costat de la seva noia, que s'aferra més a la tanca que no pas a la seva mà mentre aprèn a patinar. De tant en tant el noi, tot murri, s'aprofita de la seva inestabilitat per agafar-la per la cintura o abraçar-la per darrere. Que bonic.

Donant voltes per la pista incansablement hi ha la parella experimentada que sembla fer-los-hi la guitza mentre salten, donen voltes a l'aire i cauen, amb tal gracilitat que no semblen fets de carn i ossos, sinó de goma. Una mica més enllà, lents i agafant-se de la mà - que romàntic, penso -, hi ha un senyor i una senyora grans que patinen amb prou elegància. Com enganyen les aparences!

I jo... jo he vingut amb una amiga i un amic, però tots tres ens hem separat, cadascú al seu ritme. De tant en tant, patino al costat de la meva amiga tot xerrant, i després coincidim tots tres en algun lloc de la pista. Llavors comentem la jugada d'algun patinador, o l'estat del gel. Després d'una estona descansant i xerrant, tornem a voltar...

Al centre de la pista hi ha un grapat de nois joves que aprofiten l'espai lliure per experimentar i fer una mica el ruc. En diuen free style. Entre ells hi ha el meu amic, amb els pantalons tant mullats de les vegades que ha caigut que m'agafa fred només de veure-ho.

Segueixo donant voltes tot i observant, de vegades lentament, atenta als moviments tècnics d'algun expert. D'altres, al ritme de la música, perduda en algun món imaginari, inconscient del que m'envolta. Llavors desperto. Miro i em fixo en el que hi ha al meu voltant, notant-ho tot, cada olor, cada rialla, cada moviment, cada onada d'aire glaçat, i resto convençuda de la idealitat del moment, sabent que estic en el lloc i el moment perfectes.

Somric a l'aire.

Mountains and Sea

Wherever I looked, my surroundings were beautifully green and vivid, but also uncomfortably humid and stuffy. A constant, light drizzle insisted on falling as we made our way towards my friend’s grandmother’s old finca. As I was climbing the steep, rocky path with my black backpack stuffed with clothes, two books, a Bible, and several other things on my back, and carrying a heavy bag full of kitchen utensils, first with my right hand, and then with my left, all the time I was singing the habanera “Mare, Vull Ser Pescador” in my head. Sometimes I would forget myself and even sing out loud. “A un poble de pescadors, entre el mar i la muntanya…”

I have no idea why that particular song was stuck in my head. I was going up a Colombian hill, and the surrounding area, steep, grassy, rocky and alive with different sounds and colours could hardly remind me of the seashore. It was too far off that picture. However, on I trudged, short of breath and sweating, or glowing, as my Mum would say, under the layers of extra clothes, but happily murmuring “Mare, vull ser pescador, vull ser pescador i no frare, que sóc fill de pescador, i malgrat el teu dolor jo tinc les venes salades… mare, vull fer-me a la mar, mare, vull fer-me a la mar, i que em bressin les onades…”

No one seemed to mind my breathless humming.They probably didn’t hear it, anyway. Everyone was too busy carrying their load and minding not to slip.

Such a walk! Such an experience! Still, the most vivid memory of it all, besides the spectacular flowers and the exertion of that loaded twenty minute trek uphill, was singing that song and wistfully remembering the beautiful, lulling sound of the foamy waves crashing on the shores back home.

Me Today

~Toodles! =D