Underground Cathedrals & Books & something else

We're going to see some underground cathedrals (see also here) this coming weekend: I can't wait as I love that area. My partner has found a very romantic place to stay. He is pretty good at it ;) We'll be back on Monday afternoon... I can't miss Pilates. I guess I'll need to work out next week:

- tomorrow: lunch with my best friend (pasta with zucchini, mint and fresh ricotta plus dessert);

- Saturday: lunch to celebrate my dad's birthday at a well known (and very good) restaurant not too far from where I live. Dinner with friends (homemade pizza);

- Sunday: Piedmontese cuisine at lunch and dinner, namely not so light food and excellent wines.

- Monday: + 3 kg!

I've just bought two novels written by very good Italian writers: Niccolò Ammaniti and SandroVeronesi. I don't know if their books have been translated into English. Google them, Ammaniti's and Veronesi's books are always worth reading. 

I've been busy lately and I haven't had time to write about a meeting with someone I haven't seen for more than 20 years. She gave me a picture of us when we were 10 years old ... good memories and nostalgia. I'll write soon about it.

I am far better now than last summer which is unusual as one always feels great on holidays. It is possibly related to several aspects. My mom, who has been suffering from a chronic disease for a long time, is doing very well. I can't quite believe it, she is a different person. I love her so much, we are very close and it's great to see her living again. She is busy renewing her house and seems very excited about it. Pilates and Feldenkrais have changed my perspective and I have been changing... for the better (as one of my colleagues told me yesterday). We have been planning our life together and after 13 years I can see major changes coming up. We'll move in together very soon and hopefully have kids. 

Have a good weekend :)

What's going on here

• it' raining but it's ok. I'm planning to do some yarn shopping tomorrow and we'll go to the movies so I don't need the sun, do I? However, big boy does otherwise our walks will be much shorter. I can tell he is a bit annoyed already.
• I've had very good feedbacks from people I worked with last week. I'm really pleased as it was quite a challenging job :)
• flights are booked to visit my friend in Warsaw. On one hand I'm looking forward to see her, on the other I feel guilty because my partner will be staying at home. He knows we are very close so I'm sure he is fine with it.
• I think I know where I am! Finally I've "wrapped up" my thoughts and PART III will be posted soon.
• Pilates classes will start on Monday and I'll be righ there, front row. Hopefully, I'll do some Yoga as well.

Sleep tight

September 1st

I have:

1. 14 days to write a paper on a topic I don't like at all. Procastinating is not an option anymore. I should start thinking/writing right away but apparently I'm surfing on the Internet instead of focusing;
2. to stick to my plan. It's going ok. I have cut down on travels, except for a couple of days in Rome in September and perhaps 3-4 days in Warsaw (November, I'm planning to visit my Polish friend). My partner will have few days off in October and I'd like to go to Istambul. We will see, we haven't decided yet as it depends on my job commitments as well. The "pregnancy plan" is still on the horizon, we will work on that! Pilates and Yoga classes will start in October, in the meanwhile I enjoy long walks with my big boy and I'm doing my best to increase consuption of integral cereals and healthy food (i.e. the crumble!!). I'm keeping this blog updated and I'm even more aware now that I DON'T have reasons to complain.

You don't have to take me

seriously when I'm premenstrual as hell. I've always had bad premenstrual syndrome as I have everything that is described here (scary, eh?). I get depressed, I cry, I have mood swings and I feel really tired not just for a couple of days before my period but for 7-8 days. Moreover, I gain weight (1- 2 kilos before my period) as I give up my long walks habits and I eat a great amount of pasta and bread. I can tell you that it's a real nightmare and I should seek out treatment methods. Everything was fine when I was on birth control except for migranes with aura which is why I'm not on the pille anymore.

Anyway, I haven't forgotten my radical self care plan and I'm still commited to my writing as part of the overall "plan".

I enjoyed my summer holidays in Tuscany even though my partner joined us for a very short period of time. I read, walked and ate delicious and healthy food for the first two weeks then I was too hungy to stick with my plans and I gave up my healthy habits ;). That's the beauty of it, isnt' it? Betrayal! I read great books I would highly recommend to my lovely readers but -to my knowledge- they haven't been translated into English. It was a bit strange to read in Italian and it's even more weird now to write in English again after a real Italian summer surrounded by Italians words and thoughts only. I have to "warm up" my English, it's a bit rusty.

I'm suppose to be working on a paper and other stuff but I feel lazy after three relaxing weeks. I spend my days re-reading (I read it when I was 20, in my mid thirties it has a different flavour) Anna Karanenina, thinking about the future, checking emails, complaining for everything etc.

I'll do some housekeeping on the blog later on. Stay tuned!

Radical self care

So now I have this plan (yet again! But this is something I am fully committed). I've recently come across this concept of radical self care which basically means a period of time devoted to one's self as far physical and pshychological balance are concerned. It's a lifestyle which entails self care tailored to one's specific emotional, psychological, physical needs.

My radical plan starts this month and ends (does it have to end?!) in 2011.

1. What do I aim to achieve? I don't have specific goals (except for one, see the next point) as I don't feel unbalanced. However, we all deserve at some point few months to "heal" or recover from ... life! It doesn't mean that I'll quit my job, but I'll cut down on stress avoiding travels and commitments which are not inherently necessary. I am lucky as I can -to a certain extent- decide what I have and what I don't have to do. 
2. Priorities. I/we do have one priority which is getting pregnant soon. This perhaps relates to the first point as one doesn't need stress if she wants to get pregnant. My gynechologist says that this is the very right time to try as -after the surgery- I am now ready to have a baby.  It might take from one month to a year so I definitely need a long term radical self plan! I will also try not to read all those books about pregnancy because I really want to embrace this experience in the more natural way.
3. Physical and psychological strenght. I enjoyed Pilates very much, I'll sign up again for Pilates and also for Yoga classes at a tiny studio I really like. Moreover, long walks with big boy... which I had to stop few days ago because of the weather. It's too hot for us, we prefer air conditioning ;) While yoga enhaces the mental and psychological strenght, good books play a significant role too and I'd love to learn from inspiring books as much as I can.
4. Food and diet. My diet is, I think, very balanced. However, I should cut down on sugar (few months ago my glycemic index was a bit high) and increase the consuption of integral cereals.
5. Finding simplicity through inspirational resources such as Zen Habits and RowdyKittens. This is very important to me and I'll put all my efforts to "downsize" my life.
6. Writing, namely keep this blog updated as it is part of my self care! Blogprolific means thinking about my life, exploring private stuff and sharing. It's been a stimulating journey so far.
7. Enjoy what life brings me. I have no reason to complain.

Plans

I've been so focused on writing lately that I need to "do something with my hands" (as I use to say. No, I don't use feet to write but I overwhelmingly use my brain and I need a break!). My plans for the next days include:

• make focaccia (well, buy focaccia) topped with mint, feta cheese and eggplants
• make (not buy) a tasty vegetarian pizza
• bake blueberry or rapspeberry sponge cake
• make something else I don't know yet but I'm sure it'll be good
• unplug from the Internet for at least -say- 24 hours
• walk, walk and walk with my big boy
• listen to my body
• read a book in ITALIAN (can't wait)
• get rid of things/ideas that are not significant to me
• enjoy every second spent with my partner
• create!

Let's get started.

New template & summer plans

I hope you enjoy my new blog template. I love it! I'm aware my big boy face doesn't really fit with the flowers so I'm planning to remove it but it's hard as he is so cute up there and makes me feel at home. I'll give my readers few days to adjust ...

We have found a place to stay this summer with the dog. It's an apartment in Tuscany not far from the seaside and with a big terrace. There is also a garden to share with other tenants. The landlady is fine with the dog, perhaps because she doesn't know the size? Well, she didn't ask! We got to know her last year so she trusts us and as long as we don't leave big boy alone at home she is ok with him. I'm really glad we have found this place, I love the area: there are 8 kilometres of "free" beach (not sure this is the right word in English. How do you say? I don't mean a naturist beach but a beach that is not private) in a coastal park. It's unlikely we will spend the whole day laying in the sun because of the dog though. But I don't mind, I much prefer to have him with me, there are plenty of things to do anyway.

My main concern is that my partner won't be able to join us and I don't want to spend three weeks without him. He will have to work this summer, we don't know yet if he will have one week of vacation at some point. If he doesn't, I won't stay there for three weeks in a row. 

We are going to the moutain this weekend, I'm looking forward to relax before a really busy week. I feel much better off the pill: stronger, less nervous and even more feminine.

Have a good weekend.

Let's face it

I'm stressed out, tired and definitely need a break from work. I met 3 deadlines and I still have one to meet by April 20th but the London journey makes everything more difficult. However I can't function anymore if I don't take at least 1 day off. Guess what? Today I am OFF. I have checked my emails but I haven't replied (what a big relief!) and I'll do my best to relax although I know what I'd need to feel better. I should go on vacation to an exotic place (maldives? mauritius?) with my partner, lay in the sun, swim in an amazing sea, eat delicious food (mango, passion fruit, coconut, fried banana) and make love every single day and -this is the most important thing- forget both my mobile and my laptop at home. In order to escape ASAP for -say- 18 days we need a good excuse. We should consider marriage, my love. Let's plan a very long honeymoon and say goodbye to stress, family and friends for a while.

*UPDATE*
[instead of planning marriange & honeymoon I'm going to a new spa with a friend for 1 hour today. Can you believe it? What the hell can I do in just an hour? She's about to leave and has only limited spare time...]

Red and random thoughts

Hi there, I've just met the second -and most important- deadline. Oh my, it has been stressfull and tiring but I am satisfied with my work. I know it's not "perfect" but I am proud of what I have done. So proud that I was off this morning to change haircut + color. I have fancy (very light) red nuances and I can't wait to see my friend's face in less than an hour. My partern likes it (well, via skype he says that I look good). I know these are trivial matters but after a whole month spent on historical books and quite complex topics I need to think about hairs and nails to relax.

I have trip plans for April and May. I'll be in London for a week right after Easter. It's a biz trip but I'll have a couple of days off to visit the city. We're  going to Sicily at the end of April to enjoy the sun, food and lovely places we're planning to see. It will be short but we definitely need to spend time together, besides Sicily is one of my favourite islands.

I do also have plans for the weekend. I'll make a chocolate pear cake with mascarpone instead of butter and I also would like to bake some bread. I NEED to use my hands as my head has had enough serious thoughts. Last sunday we went to the lake with our big boy and it wa so great. He had a blast and we had fun too. It's such a joy to see him running freely.

I have back and neck pain as I've spent a great amount of time in front of my laptop lately. I'm not going to spend 5 more minutes, have a nice week end. Ciao

Check up

Everything seems just fine. I'm not on Lupron anymore and I do feel sensual again. Today I've realized that my breast is still where is supposed to be: I'm not as flat as the kitchen table as few weeks ago. My hormons are almost back to normal and all is well healed. 6 months on birth control and then we can try to get pregnant.

I'm thrilled even though I don't take for granted that it will be easy. Hopefully we'll try this summer, we're planning to go to the mountain and relax, walk and focus on us as much as we can. At least I'm planning this kind of holidays but I mentioned to him my ideas and he seems fine with it. I have never been to the mountain in the summer (I love the sea) but this year I really want to get stronger and fit before my belly gets too big to walk for hours. I appreciate how well my body handled the surgery, it definitely deservers more attention and love.

The most important thing is that the surgery went well and that I don't have to take this shit. Cheers! I'm a woman again.