Two words...

Dear Blogworld,
I have not forgotten about you, and I do have SO much to tell you!
It is just that reality is kicking my ass right now...

FINAL EXAMS!

See you soon and love always,
Annika

P.S. For those wondering, the picture is not of me, I have not transformed into a bald black man with a yellow shirt.

The Summer Feria of Andalucia

Every town and village in Andalucia has its own feria or fair and it was my town, Rotas, feria last week. Now I have to admit that the Spanish really know how to have a good time! Sherry, wine, tapas and dancing all day and night, it was marvelous! Below you can see me enjoying a gigantic cup of tinto de verano.




It is a huge event and the Spanish look forward to it all year. Women spend a lot of time getting ready in the traditional sevilliana dress, it is a sea of color! The feria concept originated in the middle ages, and was the principal means of interchange of local products within the kingdom.




The streets outside of town are closed of and during the day horses are paraded along the streets and a lot tapas are consumed. At night it turns into a huge block party and the fair shifts to become a public fairground with a traditional amusement park with lots of rides for the children. Below I show of anther gigantic cup, this time mojito, and the pirate dog Andre won me at one of the many prize winning stalls!




Also at night is when most restaurants and bars have parties in the "casetas" (tents) they set up, complete with fully stocked bars and dancing floors. Yeah, living in Spain totally rocks!

Le petit heaven

One day strolling around the rose city of Toulouse my husband was determined to show me this store his mother had taken him to last time he visited.

When he finally found the place he told me to close my eyes before getting up to its window. He did the 'tadaa!' and I opened my eyes. In front of me was the fantastical world of the most amazing chocolateir I have ever been into!



I love that my husband knows me so well! Wondering around the place I felt like I was in a daze. It was impossible to take it all in. And how could I choose from this chocolate art?
I mean just look at these marzipan fruits and vegetables, they look so real!



We ended up buying a small bag of pralines and truffles (which we had to eat as soon as we purchased them, only to prevent the melted mess of course...!) each and a bag of chocolate covered gourmet coffee beans.



Every bite was highly emotional! And yeah, of course we don't have any left over... Ah, until next time my sweet chocolateir!

Graduation crisis in the sun

Whoa! I guess I have not felt like blogging in awhile huh?

It is all good here in Spain though, last week I was busy laying on the warm sand and soaking up some rays dude!
Unfortunately this week I am just busy with school again... Nearly done though! May is my last month of school and then I have my Bachelors degree, whoohoo!

The only problem that the end of school seems to bring is that I have fallen into some confused midlife crisis! What now? Now that I am going to be graduated, what is my next step? Do I really have to grow up now?

The horror! I automatically in panic started to think that going for a Masters degree would be so much cooler then Bachelors... But that would be based on the fear of "the graduated from college" void...

I have gone from panic and to embracing the possibilities, or if you prefer, embracing the chaos! Have a lot planned for this summer including starting to work on my book, learning Greek and French and also plenty of travel. Come fall we will see how the book is going, I might be ripe for actually starting to look for a "real" job by then.

I have so many dreams and the perfect opportunity to fulfill a lot of them, now I just have to prioritize and be creative! Hmmm... Or procrastinate! Don't you hear the beach calling my name?

Walking around a 'Toulousian' suburb

Every night after dinner we explored this neighborhood.





Just walking around the suburbs in Toulouse was sometimes a treat.





Houses were gorgeous, spring in full bloom and loads of friendly cats.







We would hear singing and classical music streaming from the houses, smell the culinary skills of the french and say "bonsoir" to the people we would meet.





In this region it is rude not to be polite, it is really the little things that make the difference!

French connections

While in France and then on returning I have realized many things. Here are five examples;

1.That the Captain did not cure me...
The flights to France were fine, but going back to Spain I was scared poopless! I guess the Captains cure only works if you spend the whole day prior to your flight preparing. Now I need suggestions on what to try next... Valium?

2.That sometimes I blogging felt like something I had to do and took up way to much time...
So now I am going to read a book, watch a movie or spend all night walking around town, and if I do not feel like blogging I wont blog that day, or week or whatever! Or if I feel like it I might blog 3 times a day!



3.That sometimes all you have to do is ask...
The weekend the husband and I went to France we were supposed to go to Portugal for a long weekend. Due to this last minute change of plans we lost our hotel booking and it was non refundable. My mother told me to email the hotel and just ask if it was possible to use the room another time instead of getting money back. I did and they actually said yes!

4.That my husband has some amazing strength...
And an unique way to look at life and living. To celebrate his mothers life instead of morning the loss. I admire his faith and feel like the luckiest woman alive! Everyday we choose to do something his mother loved and ended up having a lot of smiles among the sadness of the situation.



5.That I adore France...
And especially how everything illuminates through the little details they spend their time on. Everything was in the details, the buildings, the food, the gardens, the fashion, the people. Just the tiniest thing could make the difference between OK and WOW!

Hola back!

I am back in Spain and back in the blog world!
And ooooh me' goodness, do I have a lot to tell you?!!
Don't touch that dial!

Has the Captain cured me?

Tomorrow I will be flying to Toulouse, France.

The past couple of years I have had a hard time with flying... So today I spent a couple hours (or more) taking a free online fear of flying class! It is called Fear of Flying Help Course by the cool Captain Stacey Chance.
You know what? I actually think that it helped! The real proof will be tomorrow of course, but after all that information I received there is not much to worry about and no reason to be scared! I really recommend it to anyone who has a hard time like me. And I will let you all know the results!



I will be gone for awhile, will try to fit some blog time in here and there but my first priorities are taking care of my husband and his family.
It is a shame that the trip isn't under more fun circumstances, but I am going to try and make the most of it, I know that is what the fun spirited Vera would have done too!



Wish me luck tomorrow and if you believe in praying, please pray for the family!

Δεν ελπίζω τίποτα. Δε φοβάμαι τίποτα. Είμαι λέφτερος.

This post was inspired from a friend on facebook posting a Nikos quote, so I had to search for more!
My dear lovely readers I grant ye the Greek wisdom of Nikos Kazantzakis (1883 - 1957), author of the fabulous Zorba the Greek and mighty philosopher;

"In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can."

"A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free."

"I expect nothing. I fear no one. I am free."

"Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality."

Vera

My beautiful mother in-law is dying.
The doctors say she only has about a day left to live.
I wish the world had more people like her.

She sees beauty in everything, wakes up every morning looking at the world through untarnished eyes. Never taking anything for granted, always smiling and dreaming, it was contagious. Seeing the world and its beauty everyday as if it was the first time she had ever seen it.
I wish you all could have met her, I am so blessed that I did.

I am so thankful that she taught her son about the beauty in life, to love in the unique way that he does. And how, thanks to her, he never wastes a single precious moment of enjoying and truly living life.

Thank you Vera, there are so many ways to describe who you are; your passion and curiosity for life and ability to create laughter will always be here, your soul never tainted or spoiled!
I will miss you so much.

Insane endorphin photography

Last night a friend and her husband and my husband and I were having a conversation about kettlebells:
"Oh yeah we have some kettleebells over at our work..." My friends husband said when we got to talking about our training.
"Oh no, you do not understand honey!" My friend said to her husband, "These guys are in a whole separate group, its not just weight lifting, its like they are part of a tribe!"
"yeah, you have the ones who do kettlebells on one side and on the other side, the ones who don't" I added jokingly.
"Indeed," My husband said "we belong to the kettlebell tribe". And we high-fived each other like the dorks that we are.

I just loved how my friend looked at "kettlebellers" as a tribe, I have never really thought about it before in that way. We all have something that instantly bonds us, we all understand the crazy addiction to the cannonballs with handles. I wonder, is it the same for other activities? Like marathoners and such? Probably, and I guess the kettlebell folk just have a reputation for being intensely addicted...

Talking about kettlebells, I had the worlds best workout today! I started with a 3 mile run feeling light as a feather and practically smiling during it all. Came home and started with my 16 kg kettlebell, I was feeling so strong and powerful! Am I the only one who takes a photo after a wicked workout?



It is like I try to capture the endorphins on film or something, like it should transcend and shine through the photo and every time I look at it its purpose will be fulfilled by remembering how awesome I felt at that exact moment! Yeah, I am probably not alone. There must be more "insane endorphin photography people" out there... right..?

Red wine, paella and Birthday cake

Last night the husband and I celebrate the United States Navy Chief Petty Officers 117th Anniversary. I have to say that I am not one for dressy formal things, I prefer jeans and relaxation. Below are some pics of us all dressed up (believe me, it is worth documenting!);




But last night turned out to be unexpectedly fun! The celebration was held at the gorgeous quarters of the Command Master Chief and his Mrs.





It was just e really relaxed feel to a usually stuffy event. It was a great bunch of people gathered (already knew many of them so no polite chitchat necessary!), short speeches, gorgeous red wine and deliciously scrumptious paella and Birthday cake!




Also as you can see above, a lot of smiles and love!

The ethically challenged me

Yup, that is my award!
Beautiful and talented Ashley over at Awful Beautiful Disarray handed it to me awhile back, make sure to check out her blog, its full of delight!

The Meaning :
Sweet Blog Award is an award for blog which you think is so friendly and make you enjoy to visit it often.

So now there's two things:
1. I give this award to ten people
2. The people I give this award to need to make a post about the award(include the picture & the person that gave it to you!)

I deleted the other rules, yes, I am morally corrupt.

I would love to hand this award over to five blogs. (I know... the morally challenged me is taking over!) I make sure not to miss a single post from these ladies:
Johana at The Mercurial Wife
Office Girl at Tired but writing
Nicole at One Significant Moment at a Time
The Fabulous Mama at Fabulous! (pasta not included)
Michelle at her blog Michelle Dennis Evans

Who guessed that I am studying theological and philosophical ethics and morals right now?!

Photographing Easter; Religion, Romance and Chocolate

My Easter Was:

Beach...

Romance...

Friends...



Chocolate...


Bbq...


Painting eggs...



Picnic...

Religion...






Easter Aloe...

...and so much more!