weekend in Athens!

yes, yes, yes!!!! this afternoon i am leaving for the weekend to visit my boyfriend in Athens!

yes, it has been more than 3 years of travelling back and forth but i still get so excited every time i visit him!

Athens during Christmas is a really magnificent city, worth visiting just to walk around the center, see the gigantic Christmas tree, the lights, the colours the music!

Since all my relatives from my father’s  side live in Athens, i have been spending my Christmas there for almost my entire life. it is the period of the year i think i enjoy most! this year, unfortunately, my family will be spending the holidays at home so this weekend might be my only chance to enjoy Athens in Christmas.

let´s hope my boyfriend comes to my city to spend the holidays this year!!!! please please please God, make it happen!!!!! it would be the best Christmas present ever!

off i go now to get ready for my trip, see ya in Monday!!!!

have a great weekend!

that’s what i’ve been waiting for…

my favorite director, my top actress, an amazing true story about the first Greek female philosopher (and first female mathematician), a great cast and a beautifully selected filming location.
this is huge and i just can’t wait to see the movie and fully review it for you guys!!!

anyone know the release date in Greece???

ancient Greek philosophy

you & me

sitting comfortably on my couch, with my laptop on my feet, i come to think why no one around me knows this blog exists. not even a soul! how weird and cool is that?

well, a couple of years ago a gave blogging a first try but it was really not a successful one. i had invited everyone to join in and it was quite a disappointment when i stopped blogging after a while. i told myself i wouldn’t blog again but my need to write never ceased, leading me to drawers filled with endless pieces of paper  and mini journals here and there. 

and so the time came when i felt i could do this again, because i really wanted to. this time though, i would do it in my own terms, with my rules. my inner feelings told me not to share this with anyone i know, but to open myself to the world, to new people and horizons without the limitations of my present. my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my Facebook friends, no one knows about this endeavour and i am quite proud to be keeping this part of myself exclusively. 

i want to connect to people who share some of my passions, my points of view,my hobbies. people who have an opinion about what’s happening around them, who value life’s little things and strive for quality in all it’s forms. i think all of these can be found universally, so why constrict myself?

you  are all welcome in my little home…i hope you find it warm and cosy because i really want it to be this way!!  help me discover the treasures to be found out there and let me know something about yourself!

so much to do, so little time!

sooooo, it has finally started getting cold around here….well, not really cold but it’s quite enough to put us in the holiday mood!!!

yesterday i had a very blah day, filled with tons of work and no fun. at this point i should just give you an outline of the things i have to do at work until the end of next week. let’s see:

• prepare EVERYTHING (including, files, papers, education etc) for our end-of-the-year internal procedures’ inspection, in accordance with our ISO obligations. the inspections are being carried next Wednesday and Thursday and i am fully responsible of everything being perfect before, while and after they happen. following the inspection, i have to prepare my inspection report and make sure that all other inspectors hand me theirs so as to work to work on statistics, conclusions and extract from them part of the agenda for our meeting at the beginning of the year (mid January). i can´t even start to describe the pain of it all….
• preparation of the agenda, general planning including accommodation and transportation for the visit one of our biggest German suppliers next Monday & Tuesday. i am also responsible for organizing our meetings, business lunches, dinners and everything else that comes along…quite a drag don’t you think?
• wrap up all marketing activities of the year until the budget meeting in January.
• make sure that certain payments have been made until the end of the year
• start planning the budget meeting.

there´s more but i think you are by now in the borders of desperation yourselves. about now you must be wondering what the hell i am doing in this company i work for….well that´s a very good question but an equally tough one for me. let´s just say i belong in the general management team but i am also the TQ manager. alas, i have big responsibilities concerning both positions.

in between all that, this Friday i am going to Athens for the weekend visiting my other half, while i still haven´t made plans on my holiday vacations. (aaarrrgghhh!!!!) thank God i can really relax when i am with him since he always puts some serious effort on it.

and let’s not forget, somewhere around this madness i want to:

1. visit our local library in search of books on Heraclitus & Xenophanes (new post to follow )
   
2. do some necessary christmas shopping
3. get a hair cut
4. take my wonderful BMW for service
5. work on my genealogical  photo album (new post to follow )

there are just not enough hours in the day, guys! should i mention i need to see my friends who are about to kick my ass for my non show? i would do the same in their position possibly….

oh well, let us go where our feet take us, until they can move no more!

You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.   -Epicurus

(photos of my high school, my neighbourhood and my city)

my miracle foods: kiwi

The kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi in some parts of the world, is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa andhybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia. The Actinidia is native to South of China.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	255 kJ (61 kcal)
Carbohydrates	14.66 g
Sugars	8.99 g
Dietary fiber	3.0 g
Fat	0.52 g
Protein	1.14 g
- lutein and zeaxanthin	122 μg
Thiamine (Vit. B1)	0.027 mg (2%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2)	0.025 mg (2%)
Niacin (Vit. B3)	0.341 mg (2%)
Vitamin B6	0.63 mg (48%)
Folate (Vit. B9)	25 μg (6%)
Vitamin C	92.7 mg (155%)
Vitamin E	1.5 mg (10%)
Vitamin K	40.3 μg (38%)
Calcium	34 mg (3%)
Iron	0.31 mg (2%)
Magnesium	17 mg (5%
Phosphorus	34 mg (5%)
Potassium	312 mg (7%)
Zinc	0.14 mg (1%)
Manganese 0.098 mg

kiwi is one of my most preferable fruits. it makes my mouth water from the delicious juice, it gives me the minerals and the vitamins i need. moreover, it helps my bowels function clock like!!! i love eating kiwis all year long if possible, cut in small slices, accompanied with a large glass of fresh water. mmm……

my miracle foods: tahini

tahini : Tahini (Arabic: طحينة), zhimajiang (芝麻醤), nerigoma (ねりごま), טחינה (tahina or t’hina – Hebrew), Tashi (τασιή) in Cyprus or sesame paste is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. Middle Eastern tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 89	(371 kJ)
% Daily Value 1
Total Fat	8g	12%
Sat. Fat	1.1g	6%
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	5mg	< 0.1%
Total Carbs.	3.2g	1%
Dietary Fiber	0.7g	3%
Protein	2.6g
Calcium	21.2mg
Potassium	68.9mg

truly valuable food…i usually eat it on bread mixed with a little honey and cinnamon. pure heaven!!!!!

despite that, you can use it in so many different ways (with oats, yogurt, dips or even smoothies). i just love it!

review of the day: New Moon

here i am, after a long, quite tranquilizing weekend, in which i did the following:
1. christmas decorating (yayyy!!!)
2. made a cappuccino cream dessert with chocolate chips that i truly enjoyed
3. caught up on my next-in-line philosopher, Parmenides
4. went to see New Moon with one of my girlfriends

the latter is the subject of this post.
Twilight caught my attention early on and won me over with the great photography, the smart lines, the interesting effects, the beautiful soundtrack music and of course the new faces that gave the story a new level.
that was enough for me to sit and read the twilight saga books, all in once (it took me roughly 3 weeks).
i realized the author, though not the most fascinating one of our time, had a rather talented descriptive way of telling a story from a women’s point of view that many of us were drawn to.
the quick story lines, the awesome scenery and the love struggling itself is enough to keep you reading until the end the Eclipse (third book). after that, she just lost me completely in a chaos of mind blowing pain, incoherent dialogues and too much drama for me to stand.
so, i was curious enough to discover what the second movie had done to my remembrance of the book.
it was all quite expected.
the production, obviously more budgeted, presented great effects as well as the efficient direction of an experienced man on the field (Chris Weitz) . despite that, i discovered that he just could not project the woman’s point of view and the emotional attachment that the previous director ( Catherine Hardwicke) did. this was a crucial point for me.

the second obvious thing was the very, very bad performance on behalf of the two main stars (Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart). they totally lacked passion, interest, emotional involvement and skills in this movie and i just don’t see why Weitz did not put some money and effort towards that. however, Taylor Lautner was the indisputable star of the night, giving an amazing performance and bringing to life a character with depth and a multi leveled personality trapped in an extraordinary captivating face (and body). the rest of the actors were equally skilled and that quite saved the film.

the music of the movie let me down and the dialogues could have been better chosen from my point of view.

all in all, New Moon was consistent enough as a sequence to a highly estimated Twilight, while managed to deliver the story though not in the depth and essence that i would like to see. i believe that the majority of the fans appreciated this movie more than i did, but still, it will keep me motivated for another 6 months until the third movie is out.

favourite corners of my house!!!

shiny morning everyone!!!

it has been raining non stop since yesterday but i don’t really mind. my mind is on Christmas, mini trips and gifts!!!

since i feel upbeat today, i thought i could let you into my house (well just parts of it) through pictures of some of my favourite spots and/or items. i have kept my house very minimal, avoiding too much furniture or heavy decorations. i feel good in it and i just hope i will not be living myself for too long!

soooo, below you can find:

part of my living room before christmas decorations (will post new ones as soon as i decorate!)

my favourite winter blanket in the world!!!

it is bright orange, it is soft and so warm!

winter days wouldn’t be complete without it

my favourite Macbook of course

next to it you can see some other favourite little things like my camera in her black leather box, the tv controller and the houses’ telephone.

my crazy cow chair!!!!!!

all my friends love spinning themselves around while sitting all over it. it is amazingly comfortable and the colours match the rest of the room perfectly!

sitting by the fireplace, the Twitty that my sister gave me.

in front of it, a black and white picture of me from when i was 3 or 4 years old. i just love this picture…

the white, modern type chandelier in my guest room.

the package -type curtains are wonderful and thick enough to keep unwanted sunlight out of the room.

on top of my mini library sits

one of the painting that my father brought me from a recent trip to Cuba. the colours are perfect with the room and the curtains next to it! the painting is complimenting by the AUDI TT miniature (early gift from my love)

the other paintings – gifts from cuba.

i just have to hang them on the wall…god i am such a lazy ass!

part of my bedroom. i am totally in love with my photo player frame!!! i just load it with photos and fall asleep watching it play them one by one!

the color in the wall is a mixture of 4 different shades!

close up of my sconce. i have 4 of those all over my room and they look amazing when the Swarovski crystals light up.

really romantic…

ta daaaaa…:))))

please do not comment on my tidiness right now, i like it free style (hehehe i convinced them!)

part of my dressing room (yes i am lucky enough to have one of those). on top self i keep my various bags and i have covered the walls with a beautiful flowery wall paper which i have to show you in another photo.

as you can see, i love colors…

part of my shoe rack. this room is right next to the dressing room so i decorated with the same wallpaper which is more clearly seen in this photo. unfortunately, this room has not enough space for my shoes so i have to store them in boxes as well

leather chairs in front of my kitchen bench – bar.

i really fancy them but this picture sucks…i have to take better pictures of it to show you.

last but not least, my bathroom!!!

actually, this is my beloved shower extra double edition (yes i made a special order to have these dimensions). it is really cool because one of our favourite things with my baby is taking showers together. this shower has loooots of rooms for both of us so it’s great!

that’s it for now!  i hope you enjoyed the pics and my cozy home . i will come back with more of my christmas decorated house!

xoxo

family time…

oh my what an evening…tonight i had dinner with my father and a very fruitful conversation concerning business, the economic crisis, hr tactics and management skills.

all of that while drinking new wonderful Beaujolais sent to us directly from France!!!!

without realizing, we finished the bottle and i found myself in a very sweet, nauseating mood, making me speaking and laughing more and more and more…that’s what alcohol does to me ladies and gents, i laugh and i talk and then i laugh and talk some more!!! hic hic!

anyhow, i came home about half an hour ago and it comes without saying i am beat enough to decorate my house

 my parents are such a huge part of my life! they are my best friends, my cornerstones, my closest people in the whole world.

i wish i could express to them how grateful i am for the person they turned me into and how much i love them!!! 

my mom was an economic analyzer but she stopped working to raise me and my younger sis. it was the greatest gift to us but such a sacrifice for her! it cost her in multiple levels (she developed mild depression which took her years to control). despite that, she never regretted the choice she made. do you think i will ever stop feeling juuuust a bit guilty for leading her to that choice?? she is the best mom in the world and i adore her, but i wish she was just a bit less fragile. 

my father, a very strong and successful businessman, never let my mother out of his sight, making sure she was never sad. he did everything in his power to provide a fantastic life for our family. he has always put himself second behind all of us, being our rock, our friend, our companion and entertainment! i look just like him, i think like him and many many times i act like him so i could never really see him as anything less than a hero! 

my sister, Eve, is 22 and she is nothing like me. she loves her friends, freedom, going out every night and staying up late. that’s like everything i am not. she is truly sincere and honest and she has the purest soul i have met in my life.  though different, i see now that growing up, we have come closer as personalities and characters. i was the quiet one while she had a very wild puberty which cost our family a lot of fights and tears. the years have passed now and she is a very smart mechanic engineer with a bright future in front of her. she has all the friends i never had and i have a man who is all the friends i could ask for. he is a mechanic engineer as well so they have quite an interesting relationship )))  

my sister’s birthday is coming up in 12 days….anyone up for a gift suggestion???? i love you so much sis, bless your loving heart!!!