Spring cleaning?

Just look what I have just received from my friend D. today. Isn't it a marvellous beginning of another long weekend? (May 1 is a Labour Day in many European countries, including Italy). And despite the fact that I need to work on Sunday (but just a few hours) since we always let our students come to school to study the last weekend before their finals, I cannot wait for the picnic we're organizing in Pantalica tomorrow! The day should be warm and sunny so I'm going to take lots of pictures (no, I didn't forget about the pics I still need to post from the Palazzolo excursion)! Anyway, enjoy:

CLEANING HOUSE FOR 2009

Last Week I threw out worrying, it was getting old and in the way.
It kept me from being me; I couldn't do things God's way.
I threw out a book on MY PAST
(Didn't have time to read it anyway).
Replaced it with NEW GOALS, started reading it today.
I threw out hate and bad memories,
(Remember how I treasured them so)?
Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too, threw out the one from long ago.
Brought in some new books too, called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.
Threw out I might, I think and I ought.
WOW, you should've seen the dust.
I ran across an OLD FRIEND, I hadn't talked to in a while.
His name is GOD the Father, and I really like His style.
He helped me to do some cleaning and added some things Himself.
Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE,
Yes... I placed them right on the shelf.
I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door.
I FOUND IT- it's called PEACE. Nothing gets me down anymore.
Yes, I've got my house looking nice.
Looks good around the place.
For things like Worry and Trouble there just isn't any space.
It's good to do a little house cleaning,
Get rid of the things on the shelf.
It sure makes things brighter; maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.

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Sport and books. Decisions to make.

It was a beautiful loong weekend (5 days!). I got some rest, went to the beauty salon for a relaxing massage and a body scrub, went to the gym to find out about the classes they have on the offer (after 3 months of doing nothing, I start to feel the urge to move, dance, jump and work out again). On Saturday there was a sunny warm day here so we decided to go on an outing to Palazzolo (pictures to follow soon) to see the marvellous Greek Theatre (for those who are interested, take a look here), we had lunch in one of the local trattorias and then we went out with friends in the evning to admire Ortigia by night.

Yesterday one of my private lessons in the afternoon was cancelled and so I decided to go to another gym with Flo (who enrolled there 2 months ago). We did 1 hour of ABS and I must say that I personally prefer some dynamic courses like Step, Dance Aerobics, Hi-Lo, Funky, etc... ABS is just too static to my liking. It is supposed to tone your muscles. Apart from 15mins of indoor cycling, we did some weight lifting (good for shaping your arms and shoulders) and abdominal exercises. Plus, until January I did the acqua fitness which I loved but which this term starts quite late, at 8.00 p.m...So now I have this decision to make: which one should I choose?Do you go to the gym, girls? Which courses would you reccomend?

It's been two weeks now since I started considering buying some books from Amazon. My list is quite long, so I'd like to choose 5 books only. Have you read any of these? Can you give me a piece of advice, please?

1. Twilight (Twilight saga) by Stephenie Meyer (I saw the film and really liked it)
2. New Moon (Twilight saga) by Stehenie Meyer (let's see if the continuation is as good as the first part).
3. The Appeal by John Grisham (together with my bf we collect Grisham's books and this is the last one missing in out collection).
4. A Room with a View by E.M.Forester (I need to read sth classis at times)
5. Howards End by E.M.Forester (see above)
6. An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender (because the new film with Jessica Alba is based on it)
7. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (because the new film with Keira Knightley is based on it).
8. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (oh, he is such a popular writer now!)
9. Fireworks by Elizabeth H. Winthrop (I read her debut novel entitled December and I was really fond of it).
10. French Milk by Lucy Knisley (it was recommended by Jo from "The Cup of Jo" blog)
11. Marley and Me by John Grogan (I still haven't seen the film but I'm almost 100% sure I'll love both).

So please help me on both topics... Thanks soooo much! Ciao ciao! Jo.

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G8

So it's the third day of the official G8 summit in Siracusa. I have never seen the city as clean, as cured as now. In 1 month the government of the city has done more work than it has done during the whole year. The roads have been repaired, the buildings renovated, some new art exhibitions and museums opened... Wow! I have some pictures to show you. Doesn't this city look amazing?

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A carefree Wednesday...

Today is a beautiful day although it's raining on and off the whole day. The reason why I like it so much is that my school is closed because of the G8 summit and I'm not going to work until Monday next week! So today I woke up quite late, ay 8.30, had my corn flakes with milk and latte caffé and went to the beauty salon I like quite a lot. I had a body peeling and massage done and it felt great! : ) Then I paid a visit to my bf's parents and went to the gym to ask about courses and prices (I gave up acqua gym and aerobics lessons because of my exam and now I hope I can take it up again). Afterwards I came back home, had my lunch and had a 1.5h nap... Isn't it called a paradise? : )

Today I wanted to share with you three fantastic, in my humble opinion of course, tv adverts. They both consider 2 famous (and wonderful!) brands: Calzedonia and Intimissimi. I love them ever since and I even remember checking on their collections when I lived in Poland. Now their shops are everywhere and I can't imagine my life without their lingerie, tights, socks, tops, etc.. Not only do these brands propose these marvellous pieces of clothing but also they have taste and intelligence when promoting their products.

The first advert (Intimissimi) has just come out and it advertises the new line "Basic". I usually do not like ads in which you can see naked bodies, sexy blond girls and nothing else apart from them on the screen. This one shows a girl, and only her but I reckon she is not vulgar or smutty at all. Plus this fabulous music. Just take a look:

The ad is fresh, ingenious, the girl is young and beautiful.

The second add is still of Intimissimi and was produced by a famous Italian film director, Gabrielle Muccino. Here I'm putting a link of the extended version (in fact it's a short film) It stars Monica Bellucci.

The last one if from 2008 and promotes Calzedonia. Some can say it's a bit corny but in my mind it's not. I like it because of the choice of scenes. It doesn't show just a life of a girl/woman. It shows these particular moments that we all hope to live one day : )

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Sth nice..

Today I wanted to post these two amazing clips. These two songs have been with me all last week and everytime I switch on MTV, they're there, waiting for me : ) The first one features Beyoncé. Doesn't she look amazing in it?

The second one is by an Italian singer, Malika Ayane. This clip reminds me a bit of Why by Annie Lennox. Don't you agree?

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I did it!!!! : ))

I passed the exam! I am soooo elated! Well, it wasn't as difficult as it could be but anyway the Sundays spent at home paid off well : ) It was a multiple choice test with 100 questions and 4 answers for each question. At the end they released a paper on which it's stated I passed and on which they inform that I cannot expect an ufficial certificate from the University before 5 months after the exam... This is the Italian red tape. Anyway, just after the exam we went to do some promised shopping in the Catania city center. I didn't buy much, just received a simple pair of shorts and a top from Tezenis , both in orchid lilac colour:



Not much as you see, but that's ok. We were wandering in the center with my bf, took some pictures which I wanted to share with you.


First some funny things...

1. Can you imagine this guy being in charge of any regional institution? Can you imagine him governing sth bigger than his own life? Being in charge of anything at all? Well, fortunately he wasn't elected but not so long ago the city was flooded with these images...

2. Italy... Fashion and style? I thought so too, but with time I started to have some doubts... Do they really wear those, you ask... Well, unfortunately yes...



And then some pics of the beautiful center of Catania. isn't it marvellous?












In the end we meet some friends and went to this typical Sicilian restaurant, where in the menu you could read (in English and Sicilian):


Everyone took pizzas...


apart from me... I had pasta with fiori di zucca (pumpkin):



...and that's me at the end of the looong day with Flo : )

Must say it was strange to have the whole Sunday free : ) So we went to the cinema to see La Matassa, an Italian comedy with 2 famous comedians: Ficarra & Picone. It was ok. And today back at work again...

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Exam.

So the day is finally coming... Tomorrow at 3.00 p.m. I'll sit another exam in my life. I feel weird, the last time I took an exam was... hm... 2 years ago? Sth like that. I'm not used to all this fuss about it anymore. It doesn't mean I'm getting nervous (at least not yet), but I know that I have worked hard for the last 4 months (dedicating almost every Sunday to study) and I would hate to think it was wasted time and that I could have gone for a walk or met my friends instead of sitting at home and swotting.

The good thing about this exam is that my bf took a half a day off for me, so he's accompanying me to Catania and then we can stay the whole afternoon together wandering aimlessly and maybe doing some little shopping ; ) And then.. (if I'm not too angry, depressed, disillusioned, etc.) we could drop in on a quiet restaurant or a fancy pizzeria : ) Yoghi e BooBoo is my favourite :)

And even if I leave the exam room completely dissatisfied, the day after I'll start thinking about organizing our weekend trip to Milan and I won't think about the exam for at least one week. The next exam date is scheduled for June so I have time...

OK, wish me good luck, I go to watch Everwood. I'm starting the second season now (I know I know I'm late!) and I can officially declare, I'm addicted : ) I got hooked just like I got hooked on Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters and Prison Break ... : ) Oh, talking of which, when are they going to show the 17th episode?

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Easter Monday.

So today it's Monday. Fortunately not this kind of Monday you hate. This Monday is nice.. in Italy you can either spend it with your friends on "scampagnata", which stands for a picnic in the countryside (which today is hardly possible as it is raining cats and dogs here) or you can stay at home and do nothing. I opted for the latter and so I stayed in my pyjamas the whole day today (apart from a short walk to the harbour with my bf since the rain decided to stop just for 30 mins), and I revised for the exam... The Doomsday is on Friday this week!! I start to panic but I keep telling myself that I can treat it as a try, not the final exam. Nevertheless it would be a failure for me. I don't remember failing an exam since I was at the university. Of course there were also C's and D's but never E or F. At least I don't remember any. Of course it's my first exam in Italy, I don't have much experience about how I should approach it, etc... Well, we'll see. Too early to be worried. Instead take a look at the pics taken on the Easter Sunday on one of my bf's family's properties dated back to 1905. It was fun, we had a big family lunch, we opened the chocolate eggs which contained some toys and games and then we played Cluedo with my bf's little cousins. Three times. I won once! I liked it : )

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Happy Easter! : ))

I want to wish a Happy Easter to everyone! : ) Enjoy the time spent with your closest family and friends! From Jo.

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Violet rocks!

There's this great "article" on style.it "Viola, what else". Since I love this colour as much as pink, let me, let's recup and add the the "must have" list:

1. Look at these lovely shorts!

OVS, 26,90 euros, style.it

2. And what about these shoes? The only problem is the price...

Alberta Ferretti, €452, 00, style.it

3. For warm Spring/Summer nights...

0039 Italy, €69,00, style.it

4. Ok, I already have a pair of violet sunglasses.. But look at those!!!Vogue, €94,00, style.it

5. And this cute purse for the coins in the retro style? Violet leather looks great!

Morellato, €42,00, style.it

I really hope to do some shopping sooooon : ) Maybe next Friday, just after the exams in Catania? Would be great!

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Preparations.

Well, I feel much better today. Not perfect well, but I'm recovering step by step. The good news is that I have finally bought the plane tickets for my parents to come to Sicily and we've also decided to go to Rome! So today I've booked the hotel in Rome! It looks cool, very stylish : ) Just take a look! Hope my parents will like it. I want this holiday to be unforgettable for them, really. I love booking the hotels. I think with time I became very picky and choosyand there are more and more things which I consider important in a hotel. One the other hand, with time I also gained some experience. It should be close to a metro station or a bus stop, there should be a good cleaning service and breakfast. It should be in a quiet surrounding so that after the whole day of sightseeing it is possible to sleep and rest during the night (which is sometimes difficult to find in the the city centre), the technical problems (air conditoning, heating, etc) should be resolved immediately, etc...

Today in the evening there will be the second meeting of the "condominio" in my appartment to decide about "the future of our building entrance"... We'll see...

This week the University in Rome confirmed that my final exam will take place in Catania in the end (there's sufficient number of students who declared they wanted to sit the exam there). I feel relieved, no need to book tickets, going to Rome, finding the right bus, etc. But... it's in... 8 days now! I start to panic! The Easter weekend will be soooo tiring! Fortunately according to the weather forcast there is suppose to be the rain and the temperature will drop significantly (it already has, I think).

Ok, it's quite quiet in the office at this time of the day so i think I'm going to revise for the exam now.

Have a nice evening! Jo.

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...

I wanted to talk about the weekend... the microwave oven we have bought, the nice dinner we had some friends on Saturday... and about the sea shells I collected during the first springtime walk at the seaside on Sunday. But I can't. It's all about the earthquake in Abruzzo at 3.32 a.m. today... I woke up at 7.15 as usual and the first thing I heard on the radio was this news. Nothing unusual, I thought, there're some minor earthquakes and earth movements all the time in Italy (it lies on the area of tectonic activity). The journalists always try to make a mountain out of a molehill, they tend to exaggerate, nothing wrong with it, I just got used to. Then, during work today, I sometimes opened the Repubblica or Corriere della Sera website to check the latest news. The number of victims was growing from five to 20, from 20 to 40 and at 4.00p.m. it reached 85. I came back home, turned on the tv and these are the images I saw:

I remained speechless... The whole afternoon program Pomeriggio Cinque which usually shows the Big Brother images, the VIPs having fun at parties or discover new romances among actors, politicians and tv presenters was dedicated only and exclusively to this horrible event. I don't have words to describe the tragedy. It's 150 peoplle killed now, other 1500 casualties and an endless number of people who unexpectedly became homeless. People who went to bed last night and woke up with terror. What did they think? Did they understand immediately it was the earthquake? How do you feel if you want to run away from your own appartment but you can't because the walls have collapsed, there is no way to get out, you are trapped and the only thing you can do is hope someone somehow will hear your screams and prays and will eventually get you out of there. How do you feel if you manage to get out by yourself and you're standing in front of the pieces of bricks and mass of concrete which the day before you were so happy to see after a long day at work or school and which you called Home? How do you feel if you survive but your family don't..?

I can't imagine answers to all these questions. I want to ask another one, though. How is it possible that in the XXI century it's still impossible to forecast situations like these? They say it's impossible. With all the intelligent technology, super potential computers, advanced machines, it is impossible??? So what's possible? Only the negative things are possible? Economic crisis, world tragedies like fires in Australia, or the earthquake in Abruzzo..? I'm angry, disgusted and disillusioned. With technology and progess. Speak soon. Jo.

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Thursday.Finally change.

It started off very very well! First, early in the morning I received a phone call from my bf informing me about the amount of money I receive from the insurence company after the accident I had with my Smart. It was over my excpectations to receive 417 euros for the tiny scratch my car has! Of course the cost of my lawyer (=my bf) is included in it.

Next, my boss finally agreed on the dates of my holiday in July! I called my parents and told them and we'll see if they decide to come this summer...

After that another phone call from a student who cancelled the lesson (=free afternoon). I can't really remember a totally free afternoon. So what I did? Nothing. I was watching tv and these corny afternoon programs for housewives. It was GREAT!

And now I'm rushing off to meet my friend and either we go to the cinema to see He's just not into you or we just find a nice bar/pub and have a Happy Hour together (it's been now 2 weeks since we met last time so there's a lot to catch up!)

Have a nice evening, everyone!

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A manifest.

So it's Wednesday today. Middle of the week. Cannot wait for the weekend to come since the amount of stress that has been in the air recenly just reached it's peak, I think. And the worst is that it's not only work but things that break at home all of a sudden (the microwave oven doesn't work, the gas tank that we use to cook and to warm up the water in bathroom stopped functioning properly AGAIN), films that I watch that talk about killing, the end of the world, inexplicable events (The Happening), no luck when looking for a parking space in the morning. Plus this meeting with the boss today who told us about sth like 90 students coming here in May-July period... It will be a loooong, exhausting summer, I can feel it.

Well, of course it cannot be always perfect. there are good days and bad days. Well, the former have been going on for too long I think. That's why I'm saying ENOUGH! Enough bad words and news, noisy people, stressful mornings and boring films. Let's say Hello to openess, tolerance, smile, laugh, wisdom, courtesy, politeness, good manners, education, witty jokes, brilliant films, good friends, positive thinking, optimism, culture, art, beautiful dreams and peace.

I promise myself and anyone here that I'll do my best not to get angry or stressed from tomorrow. I'll do my best to smile more often and to count to ten before uttering some dirty words (which, I confess, I have been overusing recently).

I'll do my best so please keep your fingers crossed

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