I love watching US sitcoms and dramas and will not miss an episode of my favourite tv programs. You will probably think I don’t have a social life.
I think I do...with my special tv friends……not really, only joking, I would not stop myself from going out because of something on tv, I would just record it on my Sky+ (like Tivo) and then watch it all on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. We are quite behind in the UK in terms of schedule compared to the US, so please don’t spoil any endings for me!!!
This is my schedule:
Mondays: America’s Next Top Model
Tuesdays: The OC
Wednesdays: Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives,
Thursdays: ER, Grey’s Anatomy
Fridays: Jericho
Saturdays: The Amazing Race
Sundays: So You Think You Can Dance
And any free time can be also devoted to The King Of Queens, Two and Half Men, Everybody Loves Raymond, Laguna Beach, etc, etc.....
My lovely friend Tinsie is trying to convince me to also watch Battlestar Galactica, but she must now see from the above schedule, that I just do not have any more space in my life or in my Sky+ hard drive for one more series :). Even though she does say it's brilliant!
This is one addiction I don't want to be cured from. I know it's escapism, but it is sweet sweet escapism. And I also read a lot and write this blog, as you know, so I am not just brain dead in front of tv every day, ....well maybe every other day!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Health kick
I have started this year with the resolution to eat more healthily as my doctor AND my dentist both said I should give up eating so much sugar. I just love and crave sugar so much that it has been quite hard. I took this chance to improve my overall eating habits as it has been quite long overdue.
So my plan so far has been:
Minerals: Zinc (for energy boost) and Magnesium (not sure for what but I read somewhere it's good for me)
Fruits and Veg: I try to have 5 portions a day, sometimes I only manage 3 or 4
Tea/Coffee: never liked coffee, so that was not hard to give up. I subsituted my twice a day cups of Earl Grey tea with herbal tea, peppermint usually.
And instead of the customary FOUR spoons of sugar, I have cut down to two.
I am also eating this probiotic yogurts and try not to eat crisps, and instead I eat nuts. Which is not as bad.
All this seems to be working in terms of energy levels as I have always felt so bummed and tired all of the time. What I really really miss though is cakes, lovely sweet cakes....
Also I am going to try and going to my gym, I am paying a monthly fee membership that expires in May, and I feel so bad that I am not going and wasting my money but, after a hard day at work who wants to start running on a stupid machine???
Speaking of exercise, I was buying a birthday card for a friend the other day and I read this very funny card that said:
If God meant for women to exercise, He would have put diamonds on the floor....
That's funny and...exactly how I feel!
So my plan so far has been:
Minerals: Zinc (for energy boost) and Magnesium (not sure for what but I read somewhere it's good for me)
Fruits and Veg: I try to have 5 portions a day, sometimes I only manage 3 or 4
Tea/Coffee: never liked coffee, so that was not hard to give up. I subsituted my twice a day cups of Earl Grey tea with herbal tea, peppermint usually.
And instead of the customary FOUR spoons of sugar, I have cut down to two.
I am also eating this probiotic yogurts and try not to eat crisps, and instead I eat nuts. Which is not as bad.
All this seems to be working in terms of energy levels as I have always felt so bummed and tired all of the time. What I really really miss though is cakes, lovely sweet cakes....
Also I am going to try and going to my gym, I am paying a monthly fee membership that expires in May, and I feel so bad that I am not going and wasting my money but, after a hard day at work who wants to start running on a stupid machine???
Speaking of exercise, I was buying a birthday card for a friend the other day and I read this very funny card that said:
If God meant for women to exercise, He would have put diamonds on the floor....
That's funny and...exactly how I feel!
Relocation Relocation
We love Paris so much that we decided to move there and start a family!! This is something we decided around NYE when we were there for the fourth time together. What we felt time and time again towards this beautiful place was too strong to ignore.
Of course we are not naive or stupid and we know that relocating to a different country is very hard - after all I have done it once and my husband has done it twice (we are the experts!). He moved from Germany to Paris, where he lived there for two years, and from Paris to London. I have moved straight from Italy to London.
So we know, it's not all roses.
But listen to our reasons:
-Wonderful Weather: proper winters, but also real summers
-Lovely Food: great bread, tasty cheese, meat and fish, veg and fruit and the best pastries and cakes in the world
-Schools: their system is closer to the Italian education system, as in state schools can be better than private ones
-Beauty: well you cannot argue with this, Paris is indeed beautiful
-Language: love French, and did study it back in school for 3 years - hubby knows it perfectly (lucky him)
-Location: closer to our families in Italy and Germany - and also two hours by train to London
-Jobs: my husband will spend 3 days a week in London for his job and the rest of the time he will be in Paris. I will be with little baby (hopefully) and will go to veg and fruit markets and cook lovely meals and go to museums and explore Paris and write a book (ok, I am daydreaming now.....:)
-Art: with all the museums and churches, I am sure we'll never be bored of being tourists in the city.
-Cinema: we love French movies, always did and always will
More than all of the above, I felt a feeling in Paris that I only ever felt in Rome, and a feeling that after 10 years I have never felt in London.
A feeling that I belong. And that is worth more than anything to me. My husband feels at home wherever he is, but I just don't. I feel very attached to my italian roots and always missed my country and Paris is closest to Rome I could ever get.The only thing I need to work hard for is to get my French back in gear....not easy I know, but I am motivated.
Also another aspect I have considered regards children: I always felt sad that my children would grow up so different from me in the UK from the way I grew up in Rome. In France they would have a very similar childhood to mine, language aside, and I will feel closer to them that if they would grow up in London.
Lastly, I have a cousin that lives in Paris, whith her kids and her French hubby. We are not extremely close, but only because we never had a chance, as she is lovely and I am sure that she can help me feel less isolated during the first few months in the city. I feel a bit like Carrie in the last 2 episodes of Sex & The City when she moves to Paris....but then she hates it, so I hope it will work out better for me!!
What do you all think, is this a crazy idea?
Of course we are not naive or stupid and we know that relocating to a different country is very hard - after all I have done it once and my husband has done it twice (we are the experts!). He moved from Germany to Paris, where he lived there for two years, and from Paris to London. I have moved straight from Italy to London.
So we know, it's not all roses.
But listen to our reasons:
-Wonderful Weather: proper winters, but also real summers
-Lovely Food: great bread, tasty cheese, meat and fish, veg and fruit and the best pastries and cakes in the world
-Schools: their system is closer to the Italian education system, as in state schools can be better than private ones
-Beauty: well you cannot argue with this, Paris is indeed beautiful
-Language: love French, and did study it back in school for 3 years - hubby knows it perfectly (lucky him)
-Location: closer to our families in Italy and Germany - and also two hours by train to London
-Jobs: my husband will spend 3 days a week in London for his job and the rest of the time he will be in Paris. I will be with little baby (hopefully) and will go to veg and fruit markets and cook lovely meals and go to museums and explore Paris and write a book (ok, I am daydreaming now.....:)
-Art: with all the museums and churches, I am sure we'll never be bored of being tourists in the city.
-Cinema: we love French movies, always did and always will
More than all of the above, I felt a feeling in Paris that I only ever felt in Rome, and a feeling that after 10 years I have never felt in London.
A feeling that I belong. And that is worth more than anything to me. My husband feels at home wherever he is, but I just don't. I feel very attached to my italian roots and always missed my country and Paris is closest to Rome I could ever get.The only thing I need to work hard for is to get my French back in gear....not easy I know, but I am motivated.
Also another aspect I have considered regards children: I always felt sad that my children would grow up so different from me in the UK from the way I grew up in Rome. In France they would have a very similar childhood to mine, language aside, and I will feel closer to them that if they would grow up in London.
Lastly, I have a cousin that lives in Paris, whith her kids and her French hubby. We are not extremely close, but only because we never had a chance, as she is lovely and I am sure that she can help me feel less isolated during the first few months in the city. I feel a bit like Carrie in the last 2 episodes of Sex & The City when she moves to Paris....but then she hates it, so I hope it will work out better for me!!
What do you all think, is this a crazy idea?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
My Dad the painter
Three years ago my dear Dad has become a painter! I am not sure how the idea came about but one day he just started painting on potato sacks stretched over wooden frames and using not acrylics or oils but any sort of colour substance he could put his hands on. From his first attempts to the latest ones, he has progressed immensely and has used better colours, but still paints on potato sacks!
I am the least creative person in the world, so I was bowled over by this creativity of his and hope that some of it might have passed on to me also! All his life he has been a very hard worker with a truck company and drove his truck for many years all over Italy and Europe, also sometimes touring with the theatre and bands/musicians. But before all of that he was always very good in building furniture and restoring antiques, so in a way I am not surprised he has come back to his first love, which is being creative and expressing himself through art or simple labour.
Over Christmas I have helped him to create his on webpage at the Saatchi Gallery, to help him showcase his art.
Here below are some of his paintings:
I am very very proud of him and I hope I can help him to achieve his dreams as he has helped me as a young girl!
I am the least creative person in the world, so I was bowled over by this creativity of his and hope that some of it might have passed on to me also! All his life he has been a very hard worker with a truck company and drove his truck for many years all over Italy and Europe, also sometimes touring with the theatre and bands/musicians. But before all of that he was always very good in building furniture and restoring antiques, so in a way I am not surprised he has come back to his first love, which is being creative and expressing himself through art or simple labour.
Over Christmas I have helped him to create his on webpage at the Saatchi Gallery, to help him showcase his art.
Here below are some of his paintings:
I am very very proud of him and I hope I can help him to achieve his dreams as he has helped me as a young girl!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Road Trip
Sorry for the long absence, but I had no internet at work. Today is the first day I was actually able to use it after a few minutes last week. Enough to check a couple of blogs and my emails!
It has been frustrating to say the least and made me realize how much I cannot live without it anymore.
Our road trip was fantastic and made us want to take more and more trips in the future. Also the time with my family was great and I enjoyed spending time with my little nephew Roberto.
Here are some photos of our trip
Civitavecchia, port of Rome
Anguillara and the lake of Bracciano, Rome
Bracciano castle
Rome
Follonica, Tuscany
Aosta, Valle D'Aosta, on the border with France
Nantua, France
Nemours, France
Notre Dame, Paris
Tour Eiffel, Paris
That's it! This was our journey which ended with NYE in Paris. The next day we drove to Calais and took a ferry for Dover, England. Of course I had forgotten my passport back at the hotel in Paris, 3 hours drive away, but the lovely lady at the port let me travel anyway, just with my driving licence for identification.
I must have looked desperate!!
It has been frustrating to say the least and made me realize how much I cannot live without it anymore.
Our road trip was fantastic and made us want to take more and more trips in the future. Also the time with my family was great and I enjoyed spending time with my little nephew Roberto.
Here are some photos of our trip
Civitavecchia, port of Rome
Anguillara and the lake of Bracciano, Rome
Bracciano castle
Rome
Follonica, Tuscany
Aosta, Valle D'Aosta, on the border with France
Nantua, France
Nemours, France
Notre Dame, Paris
Tour Eiffel, Paris
That's it! This was our journey which ended with NYE in Paris. The next day we drove to Calais and took a ferry for Dover, England. Of course I had forgotten my passport back at the hotel in Paris, 3 hours drive away, but the lovely lady at the port let me travel anyway, just with my driving licence for identification.
I must have looked desperate!!
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