31-Jan-2014

Around the World in 800 Days

If only I could spend my life travelling, exploring, wondering. Maybe one day I would be able to do so, I hope. In the mean time I admire people who actually are doing this. Like this guy - I don't know his name but he has this awesome idea of filming a one second of footage in each location. The result is pretty amazing and makes me wish, even more than before, that I could grab my bag and leave for a never-ending journey.  I really really wish I could do that now, especially since here, in England, is gloomy and raining. One day, one day.

Dream away for exotic places and wonderful days. 

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

30-Jan-2014

Conversation for Two

Today was my meeting with the Educational Psychologist. He said that I'm not stupid, with the opposite - I have shown extraordinary cognitive abilities. On the down-side my working memory is very weak and I have definitely have a dyslectic pattern. So far so good. But not really. Since English is not my mother tongue they cannot be sure that all my reading, writing problems are not provoked by lack of knowledge so I'm officially diagnosed with Special Educational Difficulties. Which is good and bad in the same time - I'm dyslectic but they cannot give a document for it. Oh well. What can I say? Life is life. I have lived like that so far - I cannot see a reason not to continue to do so.

On a slightly merrier matter - I drove to the airport and back. Not that is a huge distance - 30 miles or so but it was my first highway drive in England. I was SO excited. One of my room-mates was getting back in England from his extremely long Winter vacation (a 45 days one) and he needed a pick up. At first I was supposed just to be a companion for the driver on the way to the airport but half an hour before our departure time he said he doesn't feel like driving - he's vision was blurred and his head was hurting so suddenly I became the designated driver. The aftermath of the event is - we are all safe and sound, there is nothing wrong with the dear old car and I might get to drive more often than before.

Maybe the day wasn't so bad after all.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

29-Jan-2014

Guinea Pig

For almost year and a half in England I have become Jack-Of-All-Trades. It sounds funny but I've done so many odd jobs and I've been part of so many project that I really lost track. I just know that the pressure I put on myself to be self-sufficient and independent have made me do the most bizarre things I could've imagined. That would include all kinds of final-year projects where people will test my brain, will measure my abilities to do maths after drinking a glass of milk or whatever else they have in mind. So, today Mr. Boyfriend and I took part in one of those experimental projects. We were supposed to organise a trip for ourselves using a virtual system. For the sake of the research we chose Southern Spain and using searching engines found all of the details - plane tickets, car hire, room hire and daily food allowance. Bearing in mind that the idea of the project is to act as if you are to go to this trip - for real, we made a pretty decent plan. Leaving Friday morning and coming back Tuesday evening and seeing the best of SouthEast Spain - Alicante, Cordoba, Seville, Gibraltar and Malaga. The overall price turn-out to be £640 for both of us together and that includes splurging on hiring amazing one-bedroom flats, always with quite a view, and hiring a specific car that we want to test-drive.

I'm telling this story because a few weeks back I went on a rant how much I want us to go to a vacation in Spain, just the two of us and what he said was : "We don't have that much money to spare!". mind you, at the time I was trying to convince him to go there the tickets were half the price. Literally. After the experiment his words exactly were : "We should do this - it sounds like a great plan and it just so cheap!". So, if I manage to find somewhat of a stable job before April - we may actually go. I love when the universe gives me the key to my problems!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

28-Jan-2014

It's Raining Cats and Dogs and Hail

Don't we all just love English weather? It has been raining ever since Saturday afternoon, rarely stopping. And during the night - occasionally hailing. At least the hail is not big - the size of a half peas, otherwise would've been to bad for the poor dear car. Mr. Boyfriend is being nice enough to drive me to school and back since I'm practically blind when it's raining/snowing. I'm just blinking so much that my eyes are closed in most time. Not fun thing to do while you're cycling. Let's just hope that the rain will give us break any time soon.

On a jollier matter - my denim jacket arrived and it fits perfectly. It's slightly less ... thick than what I anticipated but nevertheless it's a great jacket. Can't wait to wear it with my extremely long black skirt. If Mr. Boyfriend is in good mood some pictures my appear here. If not -well, they won't.

Oh, I better go back to my politics worksheets since I haven't started them just yet and my seminar is tomorrow morning. That means one more lazy dinner with ready-made pasta and easy-peasy sauce form Stana's fast and furious kitchen. There won't be any pictures.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

27-Jan-2014

Thinking Futuristic

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before but I'm studying Politics and Sociology at University. It's not a very practically orientated course, as you may guess, and in the end you're left without "a profession". Or to put it not so harsh - you don't have a sure career path ahead of you. So after some consideration I took the decision to start learning how to program. It sounds funny when I put it this way but let me explain what I have in mind and what's the overall plan. So ...

Who? 

Mr. Boyfriend is currently working/ doing his PhD in Natural Language Processing  after a BA in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and won't be too much if I say that he knows how to do programming in at least 2 computer languages. He is the one targeted with the job of being my teacher. I have very little previous experience in programming - few years ago I did a project in Pascal for school. And that's it. My father, who teaches "Programming" at an university back at home, has always claimed that my brain is excellently suited for being a professional programmer but I just lack the mental preparation to become one. Well, I guess that he'll leap with joy when I tell him that I'm undertaking Python.

What?

For starters - Python. Mr. Boyfriend is convinced that the language is easy enough for me to understand it but usable enough to actually have some practical outcome from this joint venture. I like to think that if I manage to understand one computer language there is nothing that could stop me understanding a second one.

Why?

I want to be competitive when I'm at the job market. Yes, I speak two European languages fluently. And yes, I'm able to read and speak two more. And yes, my mother tongue is none of those four languages but this is not enough. I don't want to blend in with the masses, I want when I look for job to be distinguishable and to have an asset that no one else in my field has. And will make my life so much easier if I know how to process my own data and to do my own quantitative research.

Bonus points for spending more time with Mr. Boyfriend doing something he likes and he's good at.

So, wish me luck, I guess..

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

26-Jan-2014

Most Typical Sunday Roast

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

25-Jan-2014

Cashmere and Denim

I was planing on sharing my favourite healthy breakfast today but when I cut my avocado in two pieces - it was brown and bad on the inside. It's a pity because it was a nice big one and also - just yesterday when I checked it wasn't ready yet. Oh, well. I guess I'll do it another time.

So, Mr. Boyfriend and I went shopping today. For him, of course. Since I moved in with him, over a year ago, step-by-step I started improving his wardrobe. It's just that he doesn't really care about clothes and how he looks. His style used to be based on putting on the first thing he sees when he wakes in the morning. That, obviously, led to some quite strange combinations and eventually to my inconvenience. I'm proud to announce that now he looks almost stylish. Not "Olivia-Palermo's-Boyfriend" kind of stylish but you know - matching pieces, nice shoes, hats and scarves that look cool and so on. Just the other week we bought him his first cashmere sweater - he's 24 to be 25 and I decided that it's about time. Or it's even late?!

In the meantime I just bought a new denim jacket form eBay. I have always been a fan of all things denim, in particular jeans, shirts and jackets. I already own one but I decided that I'll leave it at home - I can't move all of my things in England, can I?! The new one it's a classical denim jacket - with the most typical buttons and the classic collar. I haven't had one of those since I was a child. Mine back home is more of a biker's jacket and it has a zip instead of buttons. It's a very nice modern update on the classical denim jacket. Let's just hope that the new one (a French Connection one) will fit me.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

24-Jan-2014

Wandering But Not Lost

Oh, let's go on an adventure. Let's travel where no one has ever been. Let's chase the sun around the globe and kiss at moonlight. Let's have fun and laugh until our cheeks start to hurt. Let's meet people who speak unique languages and learn how to say "I love you" like them. Let's try new foods and make funny faces tasting something strange. Let's forget about work, phones and money, let's runaway together and enjoy being somewhere we will be strangers. Oh, darling, let's go on an adventure!

Not all those who wander are lost.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

23-Jan-2014

Hackintosh

Have you ever heard about "Hackintosh"? No? How about "Macintosh"? Does that sounds familiar? Of course it does, we live on a planet ruled by iFanatics, either pro- or anti-. I live in the middle land. Yes, indeed, Apple produces some really cool gadgets but they are also way too expensive. At least for my budget.

However, Mr. Boyfriend is a big fan of their computers and it's really happy to use one of their gianourmous iMacs at work, claiming that they are the cutting edge and that he will not be able to work on anything else. That probably makes sense if you are in the programming business - he is. I'm not and I'm rather pleased with my 14' inch HP laptop running on Windows 7. It does everything I want, it's lighter that most of the laptops at the market and it was at a very good price. Before the import tax. I think I'll stick with it as long as I can.

Mr. Boyfriend's home computer is a whole new story. He used to own a laptop but he was using it as a desktop computer so he sold it and fixed an old Dell that he found at the rubbish bin with the idea that come September he'll buy himself a MacMini. But it's now January and Mac hasn't announced a new Mini so far. Than he decided that he no longer can use the poor Dell (that by the way is running on Linux - as his laptop was). The old generation MacMini-s are not cheap, although they are the cheapest Mac computer at the market. And then the light bulb turned itself on. What if he buys a Mac computer that is not manufactured by Mac themselves? Sure someone does that. After two straight days spent on eBay and hundreds of "I'll do it!" and "I won't do it!" today the Hackintosh arrived. He decided to stay home at the morning to wait for it. After it arrived he put it upstair in the bedroom, looked at it for a minute or two and then he left for work. Than after 3 hours all of the sudden he came back. Decided that he'll work from home, now that he has his new toy. You should've seen his face - pure happiness. I guess that means that from now on I would have a companion while I'm studying at home. Good bye, my lazy days.

What can I say - boys will be boys.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

22-Jan-2014

You're Not Stupid, You're just Dyslexic

One of the things I fear the most is having to write a piece of text without spell-checker. Ever since I was a little girl spelling has been a big problem for me. I had never had problems with the ideological, creational part of the work behind writing a story, an essay, a review or anything else but when it came to writing down the words correctly - this was the hard bit for me. There were some occasions  were I was unable to see that I wrote down my own name incorrectly. And everyone would laugh at me. Or would ask ironical questions such as - Are you blind? Can't you see what you wrote?

Dyslexia is not wildly popular where I'm coming from. There are no standardised test for proving that you are dyslexic and it is not acknowledged as a disability. You're just stupid because you're now 15 and you haven't learned how to spell. You'll be marked down and the teacher will write with big red letters under your work - IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO LEARN HOW TO SPELL!!!

Great, thank you for letting me know. I haven't realised that just yet. Thank you, Capt. Obvious!

Nevermind.

Today was my initial examination in order to be determined if I'm dyslexic or not. Based on the fact that they made me an appointment with a Educational Psychologist for next week I guess they decided that at least at first sight I seem like I am. We'll see what the psychologist has to say about that. I hope that everything goes smoothly. If it doesn't and he determines that in fact I am NOT a dyslectic person than my teacher would be probably right. I'll be just stupid.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

21-Jan-2014

Life as it is

Nothing interesting out here. Going to school, being part of a focus group for a 10GBP Amazon Voucher (yes, I'm doing even this), and went to the so-called "Re-Freshers' Fair". The "Re-Freshers' Fair" was the "Freshers' Fair" all over again.

I think I mentioned it earlier but last summer we did two weeks of road-tripping. The first one was around Bulgaria and the second one - through the whole of Europe. It was basically - Breakfast in Sofia, Lunch in Belgrade, Dinner in Budapest. And it was totally awesome. But due to our roaming in Europe I missed the opportunity to go to my university's Fresher's Fair. Not that in any universe I would've preferred the fair over the road-trip. Anyhow, I ended up not being part of any club, society or group whatsoever and during the whole 1st semester I missed that. Not a lot but I prefer knowing people than not. So when I heard that all the societies, group and club are introducing themselves again I knew I have to go!

And here is the aftermath of the event:

• I have been spending too much time with not too social people - now I feel awkward around groups of people
• There are too many people who either shower rarely or not at all
• The two societies I was excited the most weren't present - e.g. The Foodies and The Sewing Society
• On the other hand, I joined the Spanish Speaking Society, The International Students Group, The Read Between the Wines (book and wine appreciation club) and The Writers Club
• I was THIS close to joining the Cat Society but decided that maybe better not to
• Mr. Boyfriend and I are thinking of joining the Swing Club and to learn how to dance fancy 
• Or alternatively to start going to Kick-Box and to become really Bad-Ass!

So yes, it was fun. But let's not do it again.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

20-Jan-2014

Going Back to School

So, University started again. My mood is somewhere in between "Hooray! Why took it so long!" and "Oh-NO! I don't want to go!" To be honest, I really enjoy what I'm studying and find it very pleasurable to actually go to lectures and seminars. In the same time, now I feel more tired than I felt before the holidays which is a surprise, I guess.

I'm doing all new subjects this semester and this is really exciting. As I said already - I really enjoy my course so far. Sometimes the readings are a bit difficult for me, maybe because I'm a foreigner and English is not my mother tongue or because I'm easily distracted. Or maybe, just maybe, some of them are difficult. Like Marx for example - all his writing are really difficult to read since his style is complicated and ... tangled. He just jumps from topic to topic right in the middle of the sentence. Never-mind, it's still very interesting and fulfilling at the end of the day.

I honestly think that I just found the right subject for me, which, by the way, feels unbelievably good!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

19-Jan-2014

Know your limits

Mr. Boyfriend took me for a country-side bike-ride today and it was lovely. It's still find it rather hard to adjust the right speed for me, to go up the hills without getting exhausted or at the very least - to totally loose my breath. I'm better now than for example one year ago at this time but never the less I still struggle to do so. However, the weather today was just magnificent - the sun was shining, no wind what so ever and it was even warm. It felt like the spring is almost here. I just hope that it stays like that from now on since I'm back to Uni tomorrow and I don't really anticipate cycling to there while is raining and/or there's wind. We'll see, whatever future brings us.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

18-Jan-2014

Home is where your bike is

So, my friend left today. It rather quite around the house now, and I say this in a good way. I think I had enough girl-time for a while. It was kind of refreshing to have someone around me for the whole of the day but I didn't get to spent too much (read that as ANY) time with Mr. Boyfriend. That's why today after we dropped my friend off at the train station we went for a walk at the city centre, bought him new pair of trousers and a jumper, and eventually ended up having dinner at our friend's place. It was exactly what I wanted and what I needed - some time alone with him. And then back home he fixed his road bike while I was staying around and learning how to fix a bike chain if I had to do so. I actually realized that I grew keen on riding my bike and knowing how to maintain at least its basic needs. I can't imagine now not cycling - home is where my bike is!

Thank you Mr. Boyfriend for introducing me to the healthiest and funniest  way of going places.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

17-Jan-2014

Are we there yet?

What was supposed to be a night out with friends turned into a night in. Involving "Project Runaway - All Star Edition", a bag of crisps and little talks. Nothing new under the sun. Girls will be girls.

I was actually really tempted to do a fashion post today but somehow resisted. It was kind of easy, to be honest. Easier that it have ever been - I just got a fashion over-dose while my friend is visiting me. Even I have a limit for obsessing over clothes and shoes. I don't even want to look for boots any more. NO MORE FASHION, please! Let's talk about technology, and war, and guns, and bikes and cars, let's talk about football or even Starcraft. Anything but fashion.

Oh, and may I have a cold beer, please?

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

16-Jan-2014

Red Cat with a Bow-Tie

My friend is going to Taylor Swift's concert this February and since this is very special for her - she's planning a very special costume for the event. So today we spent the day working on the top. We started with a blank black top, red paint for clothes, half a meter of sparkle and some brushes. Now we have a red cat with a bow-tie. And lost of fun memories.

Cheers for friendships!

Add caption

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

15-Jan-2014

Chicken Soup (for the Soul)

Oh, I missed having a girl at the house. Now that I live with 4 guys it is really hard to get to do something girly or even just to go shopping without someone to pressure you to hurry. I have girl-friends here but they all are older than me and they have their carriers and not enough time just to browse around. So now, having my girl-friend visiting me I - is a bliss. We spend the day having fun, shopping, eating sweets, watching movies (that my room-mates won't see with me EVER) and so-on. Exactly what I needed before heading back to the gloomy world of Politics and Sociology...

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

14-Jan-2014

The Friends Zone

I have a friend from school visiting me from today until this Saturday. I might not be able to write posts as long as I would want to as frequently as I'm trying so far. I'm just really happy she is here and I'm trying just to spend some more quality time with her. Besides, she is one of the very few people that can spend most of their day browsing for clothes or shoes. Excuse me absence, please!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

13-Jan-2014

Best Smoothie Ever

This is the recipe for my favourite smoothie - thick, delicious, full of energy and good things. I really need something to boost my energy, to brighten my gloomy rainy days and to basically to cheer me up while England is showing it's Englishness at its fullest. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Ingredients:

• 1 Glass of Milk (semi-skimmed, almond, soy, the choice is all yours)
• 1 Ripe Banana
• 1 tbs Peanut Butter
• 2 tsp Cocoa Powder

How-To:

1. Cut the banana to chuncks and place it in the blender.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend together to a smooth drink.
3. Pour in your favourite glass, add some ice (if you prefer it cold) and enjoy this heaven in a glass!

Chop the Banana

Add the Peanut Butter

Cover with Cocoa Powder

Pour the Milk

Glass Full of Happiness!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

12-Jan-2014

Fajitas (and Guacamole)

I am huge fan of Mexican food. It's spicy, and colourful, and exciting, and truly delicious. And it's so not like the typical food that my family would prepare that I see it as something special, worth appreciation. I have been asking Mr.Boyfriend to go to Mexican restaurant for a while now but we can't find the time to do so. That's why tonight the Mexican restaurant came to us. We decided to prepare our own fajitas - simple, yet delicious Mexican wrap that has something to offer for everyone. And we drank some ice-cold Coronas with lime in them, so the whole Mexican experiences was complete blast!

Ingredients for Fajitas:

• 1 Red Onion
• 5 Chicken Drumsticks (or 4 Chicken Breasts)
• 1 Jar of Cooking Sauce
• Wraps
• Guacamole (recipe below)
• 1 Tomato
• Green salad (mine was Kale, Spinach, Pak Choi and Jugallo Nero mix)
• Soft Cheese (or Sour Cream)

How-To:

1. Start by cutting the onion and the skinless, boneless chicken to small pieces.
2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in deep pan and add them.
3. Stir well, until the chicken is slightly browned on the sides.
4. Add the sauce (mine was ready made from a jar *ashamed*) and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until thickened.
5.   
6. When the sauce is ready is time to assemble your fajitas.
7. In a pan heat up  a wrap for 2-3 minutes, until is actually warm.
8. Place it on a plate, smear with soft cheese (or sour cream) and one by one add your fillings - green salad, guacamole, tomato and your red chicken sauce.
9. I added some Jalapeños in my sauce but just because I love extra spice food. Roll the wrap, cut it in half. And ENJOY!

Ingredients For Guacamole:

• 1/2 Red Onion
• 1 Ripe Avocado
• 1 Lime's Juice
• Salt and Pepper

How-To:

1. Cut the onion to small pieces and put in the blender.
2. Skin the avocado (that should be easy-peasy if the avocado is well ripen), cut it and put it in the blender.
3. Add the lime juice and blend together.
4. Add salt and pepper to your tasting. And this is it.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

11-Jan-2014

I'm not taking my piercings off

I wish people were able to leave their prejudices at home when they go to work. Unfortunately, they even take more with them.
I went to work today, at the stadium for the 3d time now. And it was all going fine, besides the fact that was freezing there and I wasn't allowed to take one of the blue jackets for the personnel since the bossy lady decided that my black flats are not smart enough. I was probably supposed to wear something completely ugly, who knows. She never said what I'm supposed to wear, what smart shoes are according to her (meanwhile she was running around in the exact black flats as mine).
However, I went to my work-stand - a mobile draft beer selling stand and worked for good 2 hours before she comes to check how's everything going and realises that I have 2 extra earrings on my right ear and 1 on my left. And she asks me to take them off, right there, like it's the easiest, most sanest thing on earth to take your earrings right away. I said I can't, she said I had to leave. I did. And I don't think I'll be coming back ever again. The earrings debate was just the cherry-on-the-top.
Now, excuse me, I need to put my frozen and feeling-less feet in hot water before I stop being able to walk ever again. Bye-bye!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

10-Jan-2014

Running around

Don't run if you have bad knees. Like mine.

I used to be part of my high-schools athletics team for maybe 4 years, before and a while after my injury. Running has been a huge part of my life and I miss it every day. For over a year I've been trying to get the guts to start running again. Not to go back to competitions and being part of a team but merely as a hobby, a stress-relief, an amateur pursue.

Well today I finally went for a run. From home to the train station. This is 1.1km/ 0.7miles one way. Nothing too much. Just a short distance, enough for a first try. And that would it be - a first, and for now a last, try. I made it only to the train station and couldn't go back running. Had to walk since my knees started to hurt really bad. I wasn't just walking, I was limping. That bad. I'm still limping, slightly and hurts with every step I take.

So I guess I'll have to wait another day before I go for another run. Or I'll have to buy spare knees. Anyone have any idea where I can find some?

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

09-Jan-2014

Yoga!

I have always enjoyed moving, doing something interesting and creative with my body, trying to improve it. Besides that I love cooking and especially baking. By baking I mean muffins, cupcakes, tea-cakes, celebratory cakes, breads, cookies, cheesecakes, brownies, etc. Last year this was my escape from over-thinking my life-situation, money troubles, anxiety, missing my family and so-on. Let's put it simply - I wasn't at my happiest place last year. So I baked, ate, baked more, ate more and gained weight. It was hard for me to accept that I'm now 5 or even 10 kg more than what I have ever been and I got even more depressed. The depressed me is not fun to be around. At all!

I have history in dancing (modern and classic ballet) and in athletics but one extremely stupid injury stopped my dreams for actual carrier in the sports field. So last year, when I finally managed to put myself together, for the first time in my life, I faced the real and urgent need to loose weight. Fast!

Off course I cut all of the baked goods, I reduced my portions and left the mid-meals snacks but that wasn't enough. I needed a sport or an exercise program that will keep my interest for long enough, will be challenging but won't be to hard on my almost destroyed knees. I started with aerobics. It was easy on the knees, it had different levels of intensity so there was place for improvement over time and ... it was boring. 

So I decided to spice the things up with pilates, what apparently was the hip activity around the world this days. At this point I wasn't even considering doing yoga, I always assumed that it is not my field of expression - too humble, too serene, too quite and finding-your-inner-centre kind of activity. Besides that I was satisfied with the results of my aerobics+pilates routine - I was loosing weight, I was growing stronger. It was nice. And then the summer came, I went back home and it was too hot to jump up-and-down for 30 minutes as my aerobics required. What is more - the pilates part of my work-out wasn't challenging me any more and I failed to find a new one. I had to find something new that will help me keep the good results that I already had and it will help me go to the next level. 

And this is when I friend suggested yoga.

After a day-long You-Tube search of "Yoga for Beginners", "Doing Yoga for the first time", "Your first Yoga Lesson", "Yoga 101" and so on I decided that I'll give it a try. Best Decision I Could've Made! It took me awhile to find the right routine for me, to determine exactly how long I can do Yoga before I start to shake and my bones start to hurt. Just like with everything else - it takes time and adjustment until you reach the point of knowing what, why and how you're doing something. I was struggling with the basics at the beginning and I was feeling like some kind of fraud, saying that I do yoga but I can't even do a proper Downward Dog. Worst feeling! But I also felt that I'm actually improving, I was challenged, I was excited, I was eagor to get better, to be able to do more and more difficult poses. And then everything, and I really mean everything, felt perfect and just right for me when I found Tara Stiles. Ever since I found the You-Tube channel my yoga routine consists of nothing but different mixtures of her videos. This is not a "Go-Buy-Her-Books" kind of post, it is "This-Is-What-Fits-Me" kind of post and I'm completely bias in her favour simply because everything I want from yoga, all the reasons why I do yoga (besides weight-loss) are covered by her. Plus, she knits hats. How cool is this?!

For the past half a year, or more, yoga has been a huge part of my life. I've been doing yoga at home, at the summer house, at the open field (what a great place to have a yoga routine - at the open field where all you can do is stare at the mountains and enjoy your tree pose), at the beach, while at vacation, at the pool ( that was kind of challenging), at the side of the road, while on a road-trip, at the university library, at the green area outside the university library, everywhere. Really - everywhere! 

So, here are some snap-shot of today, while doing yoga at home. Gosh, it's harder and a lot more slippery without my yoga mat (lost somewhere around the house while we were moving from one bedroom to another).

Dancer Pose

Tree pose 

Bikram Tree pose 

Up-ward Dog pose

Down-ward Dog pose

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

8-Jan-2014

Bread

The bread you can find in England is toaster bread and for someone who's used to real bread (that actually taste like bread not like cake) this is not acceptable. So, since I moved to England I started helping Mr.Boyfriend to bake our own bread and occasionally I stared baking bread as well. The recipe is as easy as it gets and the results are great. Lets get started!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbs Yeast

1 1/2 tbs Sugar

1 glass lukewarm Water

1 tbs Olive oil

Salt

Flour (we usually mix White flour with some other type - this time with Seed & Grain Wholemeal flour)

How-to:

First thing - you need to activate the yeast. In a bow put the yeast and the sugar, stir and add the water. Put somewhere warm for 10-15 minutes or until the top layer of water is cover in brownish bubbles. It has to look like this: 

1

So, when your yeast is ready start adding the flour (pic. 2). Do this gradually, putting small amounts of flour at once so you can actually mix the ingredients (pic. 3). Stir everything with a spoon, do not put your hands in it at this point. The mixture would look more like a batter than like a dough (pic. 4).

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Then add more flour and keep stirring until your bread starts to look like the picture above (pic. 5). Then is time to, literally, get your hands dirty and to start kneading (pic. 6). Keep adding flour until the dough is not soft but not hard either. And it should not be sticky! Place it in oiled and sprinkled with flour bowl or baking pan (pic. 7), cover with clean towel and live somewhere warm (like your heating radiator) for 1 hour to rise. 

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After 1 hour your dough should be double in size (pic. 8).  Take it out of its bowl and knead it again. Knead for several minutes. Oil and sprinkle with flour the baking tray you want to bake it in and place the bread in it. Mix 1tsp vegetable oil with small glass water and cover the upper side of the bread with it (pic. 9). Do not use the whole mixture - you'll need the rest of it later.

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Cut few lines (or X-s) on your bread so the steam from the inside can evaporate easily (pic.10). Place the bread in oven preheated to 180 °C/ Gas Mark 4/ 350 °F and bake for 30 minutes. After those 30 minutes take the bread out, cover it with the water-oil mixture, increase the temperature to 200 °C/ Gas Mark 6/ 600 °F and bake for another 15 minutes.

Take the bread out, remove it from the baking tray and cover with clean towel for 5 minutes. 

And its ready to eat! 

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You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

7-Jan-2014

Dreams for Plans

Just a bit over a week we (my favourite travel companion Mr. Boyfriend and I) came back from a short vacation back home. I'm saying short but in fact was a little over two weeks so it wasn't so short after all. I guess time back at home flies differently. It was so nice to see my family and friends, to have nice long strolls with my parents, to sleep in my own bed, to play with my cat, just to be home. I kind of missed England after all, I just missed being here, I missed cycling and being responsible (well, kind of missed), I missed meals-planning and shopping at busy supermarkets. Well, I'm back here and  ... I want to travel!

Last winter we (Mr. Boyfriend and I) went to Paris for a week and it was a bliss. It was our first (only) vacation only by ourselves, we were free to do whatever we want and it was great. Ever since we came back from Paris I was dreaming for another escape from the gloomy reality. Yes, we did a cross-Bulgarian road-trip followed by a cross-Europe road-trip but it wasn't the same - we were travelling with other people and it was busy and noisy and stressing and so on. It wasn't this nice, personal, spontaneous, chill time that I've been dreaming of.

And I've been dreaming of going to Spain again. It is one of the most amazing places on Earth, it combines everything I like - amazing people, amazing cuisine, amazing weather, amazing history and culture, amazing language. It's the full package! So after a half an hour spend on the web-page of EasyJet  I found a few too-good-to-be-true destinations and any day now I'll start pleading to go at any of them this spring. Wish me luck!

And here are my dream-come-true destinations:

Alicante (22nd April - 1st May) - 50 GBP (return ticket pp)

Barcelona (23d April - 3d may) - 56 GBP (return ticket pp)

Faro /in Portugal/ (27th April - 2nd May) - 54 GBP (return ticket pp)

Palma de Mallorca (28th April - 3d May) - 50 GBP (return ticket pp)

Malaga (28th April - 3d May) - 52 GBP (return ticket pp)

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

6-Jan-2014

Behind the screen

So, I've spent the past few days struggling with picture-editing programs. I'm far away from being a pro at this and I don't know how to work with PhotoShop therefore I've been turning my life into living hell with the kind assistance of PhotoScale and Picasa. The most annoying part is that both programs have exactly one feature that I need that one has and the other don't. I think is about time for me to educate myself and to get to know how to use at least basic PhotoShop. And until this happens I would continue my battle with the easy and not-doing-the-whole-work programs. However, if I have a little bit of luck I might be able show you some of the pictures I've been working on no later than tomorrow. Behold.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

5-Jan-2014

Lazy Sunday

While I'm in England I don't watch TV and I don't buy newspapers or magazines. I use the Internet as a source for information, entertainment, communication, etc. So when most of the on-line magazines I read decide that they won't bother to post on Sunday I feel like someone stole my treat. It is completely understandable that everyone need a day off, but common guys we all know that there are web clients that will upload a desired article at desired time. Nevermind.
However, I'm equially lazy on Sundays. Sometimes deadlines are imposing hard work even on Sunday but I'm doing my best not to allow this to happen, at least not often. When I was growing up my parents and I always went out for a stroll on Sunday. When I was old enough to make my own going-out plans I would always leave the Sunday free - this is a day dedicated to my family, long strolls and late Sunday lunches, probably even a nap. It is just how things are at home and, to be honest, it is one of the best things. Traditions make families last. I love my family-dedicated Sundays and most likely when I have a family on my own I will make them part of the Lazy Sunday tradition. Well, I suspect that it won't be as charming for them as it would be for me... I'll have to figure this out but it won't be now. Now it's time for a long hot bath. 

Excuse me, I'm going to be lazy.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

4-Jan-2014

Adventure Awaits

The tickets for my grandparents' visit are booked and I'm thrilled! My Granny is the original GlobeTrotter, all women in our family live to travel and to visit places, but she is THE one, she basically measures time in journeys. Together with my Grandpa they travelled the whole of Socialist Europe back in the day when leaving your own country was close to impossible and after 1989 they continued to travel, covering all of the countries that the previous regime wouldn't let them visit. So far they haven't been only in Britain and the Nordics. That's why when I moved in England in September 2012 I promised her that they will come visit me as soon as everything is stable with me, with my education, with our place, etc. 

Britain behold, the grandparents are coming!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

3-Jan-2014

Heart-Shaped Chocolates in a Rainy Day

So, few weeks back, for my 20th Birthday, I received this heart-shaped mould. To be honest, I had no idea if I would ever put it in use since I'm not big on chocolate. However, this morning I woke up in a terrible mood due to pouring rain, horrible wind and a scheduled interview for NI Number. So I decided that this is the right time to lose my chocolate-making "virginity". After half an hour of trying bows and pans that actually match I started the adventure called "Melting chocolate in Water Bath". I must admit that it was quite the adventure - never ending stirring, adding the pieces of chocolate one by one, moving from bigger to smaller and then again to bigger hob, pouring equal amounts of chocolate in all of the holes, moving chocolate from one hole to another. Eventually the chocolate went to the freezer for good 12 hours and this is the result.

Otherwise, England acted so very English today and it rained the whole day, making it close to impossible to cycle to the Jobcentre for my National Insurance Number interview. Good thing there are cars and Mr. Boyfriend was kind enough to give me a lift. I'm one very lucky girl, I guess.

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...

2-Jan-2014

Homemade Pasta and Stana's Special Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

I love pasta, I simply do. And I love tomato sauce, this is a quintessential for my family and for me. So now that we have a pasta machine at home I simply couldn't resist making some past with meatballs and tomato sauce, all from scratch. I always feel so accomplished when I cook something from scratch, like I'm the best chef out there. Or at least that I actually know what I'm doing. To be honest, I was tiny bit scared from making my own pasta, because I'm picky and I like good food, so I usually buy the best possible pasta in the shop, just to make sure that I have covered all my bases. Luckily, it turned out that making pasta is so easy that even a baby can do it. Highly recommend trying and doing your own pasta at home, if nothing else it's an experience worth remembering.

Ingredients:

For the Pasta:

• 3 Eggs
• 1 Cup of lukewarm Water
• Flour (as much as it takes to make a not-sticky dough)

For the Tomato Sauce:

• 2 Tomatoes
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 2 Tomato Cans
• 2 Onion
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Olive oil
• Fresh Basil and Parsley
• Pinch of Sugar

For the Meatballs:

• 1kg Minced Meat
• 1 Onion
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup of Breadcrumbs
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Cumin and Basil

How-To:

For the Pasta:

1. Start by mixing the eggs with two cups of flour.
2. Then add the water, stir well and start adding flour, kneading the dough until it makes a nice ball, not sticky, not too soft nor too hard. It should look like this.
3. Let it rest for up to 20 minutes and than you can proceed thinning it out and cutting it in the desired form. I did tagliatelle using a pasta machine that thins the dough and cuts it in the desired shape. 
4. Alternatively you can go old-school and use a rolling pin and a knife. The taste of the pasta will be the same and both methods are equally time-consuming.
5. After you cut your past all you have to do is boil it (for best results add 1tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt to the water). Since it is a fresh past it takes only 2-3 minutes to be done.
6. When cooked drain and pour cold water on them to cool them of. And they are ready to serve!
   

For the Tomato Sauce:

The easiest most delicious sauce ever. According to my Mum - THE basic recipe.

1. Start by peeling and cutting the onions and the garlic cloves.
2. In a deep pan heat olive oil and add the cut vegetables.
3. Stir them every now and then until the onion turns transparent.
4. Add the chopped fresh tomatoes and add a pinch of sugar - that will prevent them from turning sour and unpleasant.
5. Stir well and let cook for minute or two.
6. Then add the rest of the tomatoes (i.e. those from the cans), add the salt and pepper and let cook until it starts to boil than turn down the heat for 5 minutes and add the diced bell pepper.
7. If you want you can add a spoonful of flour to thicken-up the sauce and still well. And this is it. Let it cool down for at least 15 minutes then puree it with a hand blender, adding the fresh spices.
8. Serve warm.

For the Meatballs:

1. To make those meatballs as healthy as they can be - bake them in the oven. Preheat your oven to  180°C/ 350°F/ 4 Gas Mark.
2. Dice the onion and mix all the ingredients together, making a smooth mixture.
3. With your hands form small balls, no bigger than walnuts.
4. On a baking tray put baking paper, grease just a little bit with olive oil  and put the meatballs.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until ready.

Et voilà ! 

Simple yet delicious dinner from scratch! I would recommend consuming it with red wine and fine company!

You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going...