Corner View: Music

This is what Jr. has been singing around the house lately! ;)
Well... not EXACTLY like il grande Andrea... but more like "paaahtihoooo, pahtihoooooo"
And I'm proud to say that he sometimes asks to watch "pahtihooo" on youtube instead of "Bob the builder".  Maybe I can convince the teacher in our "Music for Toddlers" class that instead of "Mari took a shower" we're ready to incorporate Italian Opera into the repertoire...

More corner views here!

Read more...

Corner View - Bridges and Backroads

Is it Wednesday already!????  SERIOUSLY!??

I completely forgot then saw some lovely bridges in my blog news feed (switched from google reader to Bloglovin in anticipation of google reader shut-down) and this bridge immediately came to mind!

This is in Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa.  We were there few years ago on a big Family Trip. 




Great theme Joanne!
More corner views at Francesca's.

Read more...

Corner View: Architecture

Canal in the Jordaan

Ohhhh Amsterdam... I'm not a photographer, but then again Amsterdam will look gorgeous on anyone's photo.
I can't believe I live in this country! :)
This one was too easy... :) :) :)

More corner views here.

Read more...

Corner View - Spring!!!

Romp-around Costa Rica

It's no secret that Spring is my absolute favorite time of the year!  My first blog was called "Sempre Primavera" to embody my mission of keeping that wild energy that descends upon us in Spring throughout the year.  And surely enough with this Spring came another boost!!!  And I can't wait any longer I must say that I'm working on two awesome new projects!!!

My bff (code name: Kaya) and I are embarking on a new adventure!  And her and I have been on quite a few over the years... let's reminisce shall we?

California - when I was scoping it out to move there... and had plans to say with this boy I met on the internet... haha don't worry, he lived with his very lovely parents, and his mom made us lovely coffee, and it all worked out wonderfully and the boy and are are friends to this day!  But yes, Kaya had to accompany me on this important journey.

Sardegna and Roma - beach, moon, boys, cappuccinos, SHOPPING, repeat!

Key West - jet skies, cocktails, beach, sunsets, para sailing... repeat! Oh yeah, and we stayed at a nudist resort... totally by accident!

Costa Rica - pot wholes, Imperiales (beer!), beach, spa, hot springs, monkeys, rappelling down waterfalls, quading, and zip lining!

French countryside for New Years Eve with the husbands....

...and many more... even though we only lived in the same state during High School and College, somehow we managed to keep up with our crazy ruckus even cross state, even cross CONTINENT!  So it only makes sense we start this project together.

Introducing On The Same Page Blog!



















































































It'll be an international lifestyle blog with a mission of helping us all make the world our village!  What does that mean?  Well throughout our adventures we learned that our 'global neighbors' have tons to teach us and when we experience each others' lifestyles and learn from each others' wisdom, we can in turn make our own lives more interesting, fun, happy, full, adventurous and exciting.  With this blog we hope to continue discovering the world and meeting our global neighbors!


All this is still in very starting phase and our awesome genius programmer is working hard to make all the 'information flow' details work like magic... but I can give you a tiiiiiiiiiny tiiiiinyyyyyy glimpse.... www.onthesamepageblog.com .
We are aiming to do the big roll out in the Fall!

Omg!!!! Right!???

Well, and just because you've been so nice and patient reading through all my bla, bla... I will tell you about a SECOND project in the works....

Vito and I are expecting baby #2!!!!
EEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

Haha, and NO it is not a belated April fools, it's real people!  We're half way there at the moment.  Super excited!!!  :) :) :)  We tried to explain it to Jr, and now he walks around pointing to his OWN belly and saying: "Baby in the belly!" Hm.....

Ta-da!  Now that's what I call SPRING!!!!!!!

More Corner Views here.

Read more...

Corner View - Feet

Sorry to do this, but we're going back to the archives...!  This post has been written literally a few days after my ARRIVAL to the Netherlands.  I'm trying to reaffirm my right decision of leaving the US to come be with this Dutch man... based on examining our... shoes!  Deciding that if our shoes make a perfect pair (quartete?) then surely we do to.  Hmm... yeah, this reminds me to make an appointment with my hair salon,  my blonde highlights need to be refreshed, because I can't seriously talk like this and not be a Blonde.  :-P

More corner views here.

Read more...

Corner View: Hands

My grandpa and grandma's hands.

When I saw today's corner view topic I immediately remembered this picture.  My grandpa has darker, tough manly hands that have managed construction projects on many famous monuments in Kiev.  My grandma's hands were soft with almost translucent skin.  (She passed away a few years ago.)  There was also a secret to my grandma's hands, they were magical.  No really.  She could place her hand on your forehead and your headache would go away.  She literally could heal with her hands.  Later in life when she lived in NY, it was medically confirmed that my grandma's hands had a very high biosphere, or energy field.

The whole family was of course very excited to hear such confirmation by medical doctors of something that we all knew about grandma.  We asked if that's something one is born with...  something divine.  Doctor  was equally puzzled.  And indeed it's a good question.  Was my grandma really born with a heightened energy field or did it grow overtime because all her life she laid hands on people really wanting and wishing that their pains would go away?  To me of course my grandma always has been and will be remembered as completely magical!

Corner View theme by: Joanne
More corner views here.

Read more...

Corner View: Potatoes with... EVERYTHING!

Yes, everything!  Even with champagne for BREAKFAST!  That's a fritata in my plate.  Yummy!
My theory on potatoes is very simple.  Just eat them!  Carbs?  Yeah ANDDDD????  Sophia Loren used to reply to compliments on her banging figure by simply stating: "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti."  Well I reply to adoring exclamations by thanking potatoes.  Well actually in my case, I can thank spaghetti, potatoes, steaks, and all kinds of other foods, I don't like to discriminate or give too much preferential treatment to any one food.  ;)

I really don't like it when people complain about their bodies.  Why? That's so boring and unproductive.  If it's something that can be helped and you want to help it, then do it, don't complain about it.  If it's something that can't be helped like your height or shape, then what's the point being unhappy about it!?

What makes you really beautiful and attractive is how you see yourself and your life.  Being happy is the one and only factor that makes you either incredibly attractive or not. Yes you should be neat and dress nice, these are basics, but what makes you HOT, sexy, beautiful, is the way you feel and act.

There is something to be said for the big fake "American Smile".  IT WORKS!  Force yourself into a huge smile for a minute and you will feel happy.  Idiotic a bit too, but happy nevertheless.

I'm militant about insisting on everyone being happy and if they're not I send them for a run around the block.

So yeah that's right, potatoes with everything!!!!
More corner views here.

Read more...

Corner View: Simple Pleasures

This is a picture of our little supplies stash for NYE 2010 spent in the French countryside.  A cozy dinner for 6 with fruits of the land and sea beautifully paired with 5 champs.  I love the simple life with it's simple pleasures!

Oh-laaa......  

Read more...

Corner View: Morning, Noon, Night

Ahhhhh... is what you say while laying on a beach listening to the waves and feeling the breeze and the sunshine.  We had a perfect getaway for some sun in the winter in the beautiful Cape Verde Islands.  We were too lazy this time to do anything besides the strict schedule of beach, nap, pool.  But I can't wait to come back again and do some island hopping there.

morning

noon (2 hour nap - not pictured) 

night

 Like I said... ahhhhh.

Now back to snowy Holland :)

Hosted by Francesca
Invented by Jane

Read more...

Corner View - Serendipity

Serendipity means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it. (wikipedia) 

Here we are exercising our love for travel by hanging off the boat to see glaciers in Patagonia.  (Don't worry, no ginger haired guys were hurt while taking this photo).

I'll start out by saying that I COMPLETELY DO NOT BELIEVE IN SERENDIPITY.

I believe that 'happy accidents' happen when you're moving towards something, working on a goal, and pushing along in a certain direction... then... seemingly by accident, but ONLY seemingly, little things happen to propel you forward.  Serendipity? Luck? No way, it's just what happens when you work hard for something and keep your eyes open. 

So did I meet Vito by "accident"?  Some may see it that way.  Though if you peel just one tiny layer you'll see the intricate web of activities that pushed us together.  But that's a story for another day!  

Today is Serendipity, so to answer the question of how I met Vito, I will simply say: Sure ok, he dropped out of the sky into my lap!  No literally, he flew over from the Netherlands to NY to take me out to dinner. :) 

We both worked for the same client just in different departments.  I in NYC and he in Amsterdam.  After a few months of working via email, and a few phone calls that made me conclude he was rude, and him that I was a man (?!???)  we somehow got past it and figured out that we had lots in common, especially love of travel, that we were same age, and so on and so forth.  Then Vito flew over to hang out with me for a long weekend!  It was Easter weekend and precisely a year later on the following Easter weekend I moved to the Netherlands.

Tada!  (Serendipity is such a romantic concept... let's believe in it for just one day)  We can go back to our militant, systematic selves tomorrow!  (Me? militant and systematic?? Yes! Because it's so action oriented, I find being "serendipitous" too passive for my taste.) 

Lesson kids: Look up!  Good things DO drop from the sky accidentally or on purpose.

Play with us next week!!!
Corner view theme by  Kari
Hosted by Francesca
Invented by Jane

Read more...

Corner View - ENERGY!!!

Energy!

I define myself by this word!  Energy is the only answer to this thing that we call life, it is ALL we have!
(Hands in the air menacing... at something... bolt of lighting is heard.... somewhere)

Ok, so the drama aside, it's time to reveal a secret.  While everyone that knows me is amazed by my seemingly boundless energy, what they don't know (well actually they ALL do) is that it all comes from a very well defined source.  The fountain of youth?  Pretty close!

COOOOFFFEEEEE!!!!!

Transformation takes place from the very moment the delicious nectar hits my lips.  Life starts pulsing through my veins.  My brain starts registering sounds and sights begin to acquire focus in my eyes.

One VERY satisfactory espresso had by me in the Loire Valley... I took more pictures of it then the castle we were visiting.  I know, I need to discuss this with my toxicologist.  And hey! at least I leave out the sugar, see above diagram for evidence.  Boy, this is like the longest caption ever in the history of the world... No, universe!  Yeah!! 

Even when I was pregnant, I continued drinking one small cup of coffee in the mornings.  After a day and a half of abstaining, I determined that it was safer for the unborn child if I went ahead and had my coffee.

Oh, and please, don't ever, EVER, mess with my coffee...

Corner View theme:  ME!!! 
Hosted by Francesca
Invented by Jane

P.S: Come play with us next week!!  See next week's assignment over at Francesca's.

Read more...

Corner View: "oh my, ... this is horrible!"

The other day I had a conversation with a co-worker who I considered "my age".

Me: So what's new and exciting?
Him: Oh this weekend I had a love story with an older woman.
Me: Oh yeah?  How did you meet her?
Him: In a bar, she was just visiting.
Me: Aha... so how old is she?
Him: Thirty four
Me: .....................
Me: What!???????????
Me: What do you mean OLDER woman!?????????????
Him: ....um... I'm 27....
Me: YEAH AND!????
Him: ....um....... she is like SEVEN years older then me...
Me: STOP TALKING!!!!!!!!!!! JUST STOP TALKING!!!!!!!!

Later at home...
Stomp feet... to the kitchen
Older woman.... OLDER WOMAN!?!???!!!!!!!
Oh my...this is horrible...

Open the cabinet and throw all glasses on the floor............
Corner view theme by Tania
Hosted by Francesca
Invented by Jane

Read more...