Nina`s Theories

New Blog Adress: Designs by NINA

2010-03-31T01:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Sorry to bother you all again but I have made this choice because lately I've trying to carry many different blogs, in spanish, english, about wanting to be a mom, about my theories, my future online store, etc...and I'm going insane!!!

So I have decided to simplify it by having only ONE Blog in English/Spanish

http://www.designsbynina.blogspot.com/

The topics will be the same: my love for decoration, cute illustrations, kids and the want to have one myself.
I would love it if you follow me there, like you have here, because all of this wouldnt be the same without you.
Cheers for this new begginning and lets walk together towards the future.
NINA

Customizable Art for Kids

2010-03-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

Just to tell you guys I'm opening an online store soon!!!
I'm very excited because this has been one of my dreams, since forever!

And now, I leave you with these customizable prints for kids.
They're fresh out of the oven!!! Hope you like them.

I have something to show you!

2010-03-09T03:12:00.000-08:00

I've been a very bad girl...
I said I was back, but I was not...
The thing is I've been really busy!
I'm working really hard to build my own company.
I've seen so many talented artists on the web, that I've felt envious and I decided to try it.
Hope you like them and I'd love to hear your opinion!

I'm sort of back...

2010-02-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well...
It's been a long time since I don't write in my blog.
A lot of things have happened to me...not good ones unfortunatelly, and so I decided to get away for a while.

But now that I'm back, I'll try to be a bit more constant.
Thanks to everyone who didn't unfollow,

and even though I didn't write one single post in a while, I read all of the ones I'm following.
I'm also looking for new blogs to read...so If you have one, make sure to let me know of the name and www.

NEW MOON

2009-11-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

Last night I finally convinced Boyfriend-Husband to come with me to the premiere of New Moon.
Well, I did't have to convince him that much, since he just loves going to the movies.
But let's face it, New Moon and Twilight are girlie movies.
I think 95% of the theatre was filled by women, young women, in which group I include myself ;)
And to prove that I present you with 5 good reasons to see this movie:

nº 1 - Edward (it was always you)

nº 2- Jacob (the kid has grown a bit)

nº 3 - shirtless Edward (imagine this with a tan)

nº 4 - shirtless Jacob (no need to imagine anything)

nº 5 - cute, sexy guys

(Can it get better than this?)

So, have you seen it yet?

What do you think of it?

How long has it been...?

2009-11-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

...since I last wrote in my Blog?
Probably not that long, but for me it seems like ages ago.
I don't normally have this problem, but lately have lots of other things in my mind, and I can't seem to write about them here.

I normally think about my posts long before posting them. I re-write them several times, and they don't come out of the oven without being really ready.
But today I decided it was enough! and so to stop this blocking period I'm writing from my soul and directly to this screen.

This week has been pretty quiet. Boyfriend-Husband has been away on a work trip (thank god only two days this week) and next week will be in Barcelona again, this time for a longer period.
But I'm quite happy because I already asked him to buy a few things for me in IKEA (yes, no ikea in valencia for now).
They're for my bedroom, which is white and beige.
Tell me what you think.
xox Nina

Gorgeous Blogger Award!!!

2009-11-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well...another award! And this one is all to myself...courtesy of Avery Spreading @You Don't Know Me. Make sure to visit her Blog and FOLLOW her!

She's awesome and she's been kinda blocked lately, so she needs all the support we can give her.

That being said, I want to thank everyone for their lovely words this week and explain that I couldn't get around to writing my usual Time Travelling Tuesday this week because of all the work I've had this past few days, but I promise next week will be a good one, so PREPARE!!!

One Lovely Blog Award!

2009-11-02T23:55:00.001-08:00

Today I'm very excited as I just found out Fabuleux gave me an award...and I LOVE awards!
So, first of all, Thank You Fabuleux passing this Lovely Award on to me, and make sure to visit her blog:
http://fabuleusevie.blogspot.com/

To accept this award: Post it on your blog together with the name of the Person who granted and his or her link. Pass the Award to 15 other blogs that you newly discovered & Remember to contact them and let them know.

And the award goes to...

1 INfertile Myrtle

2 My Latest Adventure

3 MadeByGirl

4 Green Meadow Lane ~ Custom Art and Decor

5 Life of a Busy Wife

6 Thinking Out Loud

7 Mama's Losin' It

8 Una Perra Vida

9 You Don't Know Me

10 The Daily Tribal

11 Love Letters by Cora

12 Leah

13 Katie's Illustration

14 girl, inspired

15 Diario de una (soltera, torpe y despistada) joven

Time Travelling Tuesdays: 2004 How I met Boyfriend-Husband

2009-10-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday November 6 and Sunday November 7, 2004

(Nina is 21)

NA: I've had a really bad day at work.
Today every customer was trying to piss me off, I swear.
Or maybe I'm just too sensitive, since I broke up with Ex-Boyfriend just a week ago.
But's it's ok. I'm better off without him. I'm better off alone.
It's my time to be free and enjoy my time in Barcelona.
Who knows how long I'll stay here...

It's 10 pm, which means I get to go home.
The bus is full of weird people, but I don't bother to look at them. Nothing interests me much these past days.
I just want to go home, grab something to eat and go to my room and read. Maybe I'll write something, we'll see.

As I exit the elevator, I know my plans will have to change.
Loud music comes from inside the house and as I enter through the door, what seems like hundreds of people welcome me to my own house. I can say goodbye to a quiet dinner and relax time.

I find my flatmate, Marco, surrounded by his friends and he explains he's throwing a farewell party since he's travelling to his country next week. Apparently he forgot to mention this to me. I have to mention that Marco and I are from the same country and all of his friends in this party (well, almost all of them) are from there too. I am inmediately not interested in talking to them. Nothing against my own country, but they seem to be unable to talk about anything else.

I desperately look for my other roomate, Marine, but's she's not home. Then I remember she went to pick up her friend from the bus station, who's visiting from France.
I decide to sit down in the sofa and write a text to a friend.
That's when I look up and see this cute guy staring at me.
He smiles. I smile.
He says something to me but I don't hear him, so he repeats it.
"You are phone addicted. Here you are at a party sitting in a sofa by yourself texting with your phone."
I don't know what to answer. I mean, he's completely right, but up until now this party seemed very boring.
I would have gone to my room, but I need to eat something, so I might as well stay.
Cute Guy tells me he's Spanish and he knows Marco from a decorating course and I explain that I'm his flatmate.
Someone calls his name, so he leaves me.

Mmmm...what to do.
I send a message to Marine and I tell her: Come home ASAP. There's this cute guy, and he's mine.
After a few minutes Marine and friend arrive and I tell her all about it. They agree he's cute and that I should talk to him, but I don't know how to do it.
So I decide to tell Marco I like his friend, and hopefully he'll help.
But when I approach hime and tell him, he just laughs at me.
I don't understand a thing and I ask him why he's laughing.
He explains that Cute Guy is a photographer, and he would never go out with a girl like me.
Normally I would feel really bad about it, but today I feel different, so I tell him, "We'll see".

After this, the party gets really interesting.
Cute Guy doesn't stop staring at me during the whole night.
When he passes by me he "accidentally" steps on my foot, or offers me a drink, or just smiles. Kinda boyish, but very cute.
But that's it.

It's past midnight and I decide to take matters into my own hands. I notice he's in the kitchen, so I walk to the fridge and grab a white chocolate truffle, my craving for the week.
He looks at me and says, "I also like chocolate late at night. If I don't have any at home I go to the 24hr store to get it, no matter the hour." I offer him one and we start talking.
Without realising, we talk for about two hours.
People come and go and start talking, but we don't care.
We seem to have a lot in common and there's obviously strong chemistry between us.

TO BE CONTINUED...

PD: Just so you know, Cute Guy is Boyfriend-Husband.
We've bee together since that day, and this year in November we'll celebrate our 5th Aniversary.

Now you're all invited to share your own story from the past.

You can post the link to your story in the MC LINKY box below.
And do not forget to participate in Next Week's Time Travelling Tuesdays.

We will be traveling back to 2002 or age 19 (which in my case are the same).

One Thousand and One Accents of Nina

2009-10-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

I always thought accents were something very curious.

Each accent is unique and irrepetible. A combination of a language and a person.
If we take my case into consideration, right now I have a rather interesting accent, if not indefinable.
More like a mix between an Andalusian, Canarian and Latin.
And that's without speaking in English. Could you imagine that?

I tend to adopt different accents, depending on the people I relate to.
Due to my job I get to speak to people from all parts of Spain on a dalily basis, so sometimes when I get home Boyfriend-Husband will ask me: "So, who did you speak to today? You sound Catalan (or Andalusian, Gallego, etc)."
I think this happens to me because throughout the years I have changed the way I speak, on PURPOSE.
For instance; in my country LL sounds like SH, but in Spain it sounds like an L, so I when I arrived I decided to change that.
At first it was weird, but finally I got used to it.
The next step was to differenciate the C from the Z or the S.
In my country there's only one sound for all of them (we are quite simple) and this actually took me a little longer!
Sometimes, when I talk fast (which is quite often) I end up saying real barbarities.
For instance I can end up saying: One Sousand Ninety Zeven.
And I'm the first to laught about it, so that's ok.

Another thing is when I speak in English.
During my time in Sydney I was very surprised about my english accent.
Even though I had been taking lessons for more than 10 years, the real test was to live there.
And I think I didn't do a bad job, since I worked and studied for 3 years and I took with me some good friendships.
It was funny because a lot of people thought I was russian (apparently my accent in english sounded russian) although I have never even been there.
But I think this has more to do with the fact that I have white skin, green eyes, and at the time my hair was a lot darker.
One thing I must say is that the Australian accent is quite peculiar, and I personally prefer it in young people that older people.
However, I unconditionally love the British accent and I believe it's one of the most elegants accents ever.

I also remember my first day of Italian class in High School.
I was a little bit behind the rest of the class since I had chosen this subject in the last minute.
The teacher was asking some questions to practice the verb Andare, and I raised my hand without thinking twice.
She thought I wanted to ask a question about the course, being new and all, so she said my name.
I gave her the answer in a perfect italian accent, with difficult words and all.
She was speechless, and after a few seconds she asked me how I knew the language and if I had taken any lessons before.
I said I hadn't but that my family was italian, so she inmediately thought in my house we always spoke italian, though there was nothing further from the truth.
My Dad had only taught me how to say finestra (window), tabola (table) and a few other silly words.
I actually never understood why my Dad never realised of the great opportunity we were wasting.

Even to this day I can't explain myself how I knew the answer, or even more misterious, how I could say that with such a good italian accent.
I guess deep inside of me there's some memory or genetic information that's keeped safe and waiting for the right moment to be used.
Accents are curious indeed...

I AM, I AM NOT

2009-10-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to participate in Writer's Workshop: My Daughter's Mother by Mama's Lo sing it, an amazing blog I'm following, and I choose Prompt nº 3 which consists of:

3.) Write a poem describing who you are and/or who you are not.

So, here we go...

I AM girly.

I AM NOT a little girl.

I AM sweet.
I AM NOT cloying.

I AM a perfectionist.
I AM NOT perfect.

I AM a daughter.
I AM NOT a mother.

I AM sensitive.
I AM NOT sensible.

I AM me.
I AM NOT you.

I AM.
I AM NOT.

Now it's your turn to stop by Mama Kat's Blog and participate.

http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/

What a doggie day!!!!!

2009-10-21T04:45:00.000-07:00

Boyfriend-Husband is in Barcelona shooting a fashion catalogue.

This means I have to go to work by myself in the bus (no more chauffeur for a few days), and it also means I must walk the dog 3 times a day!

Yesterday I woke up really early to walk him, and that was torture.

I was still asleep, and so was Patrick, who looked at me with a face that said "Mommy, why did you wake me up so early?"

Cute.

After that I prepared my breakfast and got ready to leave, and that's when I remembered about this ham bone Boyfriend-Husband had bought for Patrick.
He thought it was a good idea to leave him chewing something, that way he wouldn't destroy our house and would keep entertained while I was at work.
So I left him with his treat and left the house.
He didn't even look at me as I walked out the door...

By the time I came home , at midday, Patrick was histeric and I noticed his water bowl was empty.
So I inmediatelly took him out and he peed for about a minute non-stop in the first tree he came across with.
Poor thing.

Once back upstairs, I prepared my meal and ate it.
I also noticed that he drank a lot, I had to refill his bowl twice!
Then I tried to stop him from drinking more, but he wouldn´t listen to me...
After all I wanted to leave him some water for the afternoon.

I left the house again to go to work and when I came home 3 hours later Patrick was once again histeric.
I thought it was weird, but then I remembered that he had drunk a lot of water that midday, so I hurried and was putting on my sport pants when I suddenly heard a strange noise, like a fountain.

Oops!

He was peeing in the middle of the dressing room.
The worst thing is that he had this embarrassed look on his face, and it made me feel SO bad.

After that I had to clean the house twice! (I had forgotten all about the strong smell, when he was little) and then went for a nice and long walk.

So, conclusion, it's a bad idea to leave a dog alone with a bone, specially a salty one, as they tend to drink lots of water, and then it happens what it happens.

Time Travelling Tuesdays: September 11, 2001

2009-10-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday September 11 and Wednesday September 12, 2001

(Nina is 19)

It's already past midnight and tomorrow, or should I say today, I have an exam. I’m trying to sleep but I hear a plane flying close by. The noise is too loud, and it bothers me.

Then I remember our house is far away from Sydney's airport so I must be dreaming.

Minutes later, my flat-mate Mark comes into my room screaming and tries to wake me up. He's talking nonsense, something about a plane, a bomb.

I don't listen to him, he's probably just drunk again, so I tell him to go downstairs and leave me alone.

He tries to wake me up again, but I resist myself.

I hate it when he gets drunk, and lately he's always trying to sleep in my bed.

Finally he leaves the room and I go back to sleep.

But in my mind I know something strange is going on and even though I feel really tired, I think of getting up to find out.

So when Mark comes into my room once again, looking quite scared, but also very convincing, I know something important has happened.

We go downstairs and stare at the TV.

A huge explosion fills the entire screen.

My eyes can’t believe what they see and as soon as they mention the word New York my heart stops.

I think of my cousin’s husband, who was planning on going there on vacation.

I try to think if he is already there or if he will go soon, while I'm hoping the second one is the correct one.

Now I can not go back to sleep, so I decide to call Dad and he confirms that my cousin is not there yet, but was planning to go next week. Guess he'll postpone it for now.

The phone call gets cut off, but hearing his voice makes me feel instantly better.

This day will remain in our memories for years to come.

It's already considered the biggest attack since Pearl Harbor, which immediately makes me think of another movie to come.

Later on I find out there are two.

But the big question everyone is asking themselves is: Why?

And I'm feeling all of this without even living there, I can not imagine the feeling if I was american.

I wonder how many people lost their lives. (Now I know 2,993 people died in the attacks).

I wonder what was going through their minds while everything was happening.

No one will ever know it neither want to experience it.

Now you're all invited to share your own story from the past.

You can post the link to your story in the MC LINKY box below.
And do not forget to participate in Next Week's Time Travelling Tuesdays.

We will be traveling back to 2004 or age 21 (which in my case are the same).

Saturday Meme: Guilty or Innocent?

2009-10-17T02:25:00.000-07:00

Today it's the first Saturday I post.
It feels weird.
I normally do it from my workplace, at lunchtime, don't think wrong!
But today Boyfriend-Husband had to come to the Studio and I didn't want to stay home.
So here I was reading a series of blogs when I came across this meme, courtesy of Little Ms Blogger @A Little Blog About Nothing
and I decided to steal it...haha

The name is Guilty or Innocent?
You can only answer the question with Guilty or Innocent.
You're supposed to copy and paste this into your notes , delete my answers and type in your answers.

Let's play!

Asked someone to marry you? Innocent
Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty
Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent
Ever told a lie? Guilty
Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty
Kissed a picture? Guilty
Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent
Fallen asleep at work/school? Innocent
Held a snake? Innocent
Been suspended from school? Innocent
Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent
Stolen from a store? Innocent
Been fired from a job? Guilty
Done something you regret? Guilty
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Innocent
Kissed in the rain? Innocent
Sat on a roof top? Innocent
Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Guilty
Sang in the shower? Guilty
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent
Shaved your head? Innocent
Had a boxing membership? Innocent
Made a boyfriend cry? Innocent
Been in a band? Innocent
Shot a gun? Innocent
Donated Blood? Innocent
Eaten alligator meat? Innocent
Eaten cheesecake? Guilty
Still love someone you shouldn’t? Innocent
Have/had a tattoo? Innocent
Liked someone, but will never tell who? Innocent
Been too honest? Guilty
Ruined a surprise? Innocent
Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterwards? Guilty
Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty
Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Innocent
Joined a pageant? Innocent
Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty
Had communication with your ex? Guilty
Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent
Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Guilty

Now you know me a bit more...
If you decide to play, let me know, I'd love to see your answers.

Time Travelling Tuesdays: 1994

2009-10-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, December 6, 1994 (Nina is 12)

NINA: December is one of my favorite months of the year, it means Christmas, it means holidays and in my country it means going to the beach. Yeah, I know it must sound so weird, but things are weird around here.
However, this year I’m pretty sad about it, because it also means the end of the school year, and not any year, but the last year of primary school.
But let’s be honest about my sadness. I’m not sad because I’m finishing primary school. I am sad because I won’t see Leo anymore.
This past year has been beyond great.
Lots of happy memories come to mind (school trips, birthday parties, soccer matches, outings to the local mall and cinema) and specially my days with him, my beloved Leo.
You might wonder what it is so special about him, or even what it might mean for a girl my age to have a boyfriend.
But let me tell you, if you have to ask me this question, then it means you lost a huge part of being a teenager.
There’s nothing like that first love. Nothing is ever the same after that, nothing.

Of course I could never tell Dad about this, he would never understand it, nor did I expect him to, and that’s why I got so nervous when one morning he mysteriously asked me to his workplace to talk.
As I enter the room I am trembling and he has this weird smile in his face. He’s amused, but in a strange way.
I think to myself, this is it, I’m screwed.
My dad is a carpenter, and he’s famous around the neighborhood.
He specializes in furniture restoration and he’s working in a Victorian desk.
He asks me: “Guess what I found in one of the drawers?”
I don’t answer for a while so he tells me he’s found a found a photo and that this desk belongs to the mother of a friend of mine.
My mind goes blank, but then suddenly I know what photo he’s talking about! Oh my God!

About two weeks ago I went to this camp in which Leo and I had to kiss as a dare, and this girl who loves-hates me (and so do I) took a photo of us.
When we got back from the camp we had a fight (she’s so jealous she can’t be Leo’s girlfriend) so I know for sure that she did it on purpose.
A whole minute passes by and Dad is waiting for an answer, but I don’t know what to say.
He smiles and tells me he will leave me a week to think about it. Oh god, he’s not even mad. This is even worse than I thought.

A week passes by and I never mentioned the subject.
Dad asks me again to go see him and I still don’t know what to do. Finally he asks me: “So, you give up?”
I nod. What else can I do???
He opens the drawer and shows me the picture.
I want to die.
Three little girls, two blondes and one brunette smile to the camera.
No Leo and I kissing. I don’t understand.
I guess I felt so guilty about the kiss that I was convinced I was going to get caught.

Dad laughs and tells me, “It’s Marine and her younger sisters. You used to go together to Kinder Garden. I wanted to see if you recognized her. Her mom asked me about you. Marine goes to the French school now.”
I guess there's nothing like being free of a guilty consciousness.

Now you're all invited to share your own story from the past.
You can post the link to your story in the MC LINKY box below.
And do not forget to participate in Next Week's Time Travelling Tuesdays.

We will be traveling back to 2001 or age 19 (which in my case are the same).

Time Travelling Tuesdays: 1997

2009-10-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 27, 1997 (Nina is 15)

NINA: The day before yesterday was my 15th Birthday. In my country is tradition to throw a big party; the birthday girl wears a white dress (like a bride) and the guests dress formal.

It's like a being introduced to society , kinda like the Sweet Sixteen in America.

The entrance must be spectacular and it's mandatory to dance a Vals with the father and all the male classmates.

Oh God, how embarrassing!

I never liked my birthday, I was always mad when my family cheered me to blow the candles, so I was particularly scared of this birthday.

Thank God Mom and Dad freed me of such torture and booked me a wonderful trip to the Disney Parks in Orlando and Florida for next month.

However I did agree to a small and intimate party at home and to dance ONE Vals with Dad. The least I can do.

A week ago I started to suffer really bad stomaches, and the doctor told me it's due to nerves.

It's quite funny because my whole family thinks it's because of the upcoming flight (the first for me) but I totally know it's because of the damn party, even if it's an intimate one.

I couldn't even taste the cake, and it was my favourite, whipped cream and strawberries.

This morning I feel a lot better, so I'll try a little bit.

No party, no nerves. It's that easy.

Now you're all invited to share your own story from the past (no future travelling for now).

You can post the link to your story in the MC LINKY box below.

And do not forget to participate in Next Week's TTT.
We will be travelling back to 1994 or age 12 (which in my case are the same).

No! I do not want your f... client's card!

2009-10-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday I have to attend a friend's son baptism, so I'm buying the last pieces for my outfit: a deep grey coat and a pair of stockings.
I decided to enter this famous store, and as I'm always very polite, I greeted the sales assistant and the cashier.
I was looking through the racks searching for the coat, when suddenly a very short lady approached me and started talking to me. This is the actual conversation.

Short Lady:

Hi, Welcome to "name of the store" (I do not feel like promoting this place after what happened...)

Me:

Hello.

Short Lady:

Do you have our client's card?

Me:

Umm, no. I'm not interested in a credit card.

Short Lady:

Oh, but it's not a credit card, you don't have to pay with it to take advantege of our special client discounts.

Have you ever been informed about the benefits?

Me:

Yes, actually last time I was here I was informed, but as I said before, I'm not interested in carrying another card.

Short Lady:

Oh, then you were not informed correctly. You do not have to carry our card if you don't want to, just showing your identity card is enough.

Me:

I'm sorry, but it's not that, I just don't like cards.

Short Lady:

But you have lots of discounts. We send you

a catalogue with all the special offers directly to your house.

Me:

Look, I already have a card from another store, and they inform me of the offers aswell, but I only go to the store when I need something special, like what I am doing today. This is not my actual kind of store.

Short Lady:

But "that store" doesn't make discounts to special clients. And WE DO. In "name of the store" we are trying to reach a younger public, and we would really like to know your opinion.

So, I'll give you a form to fill in.

Me:

NO! I'm sorry but I do not want your (f...) card! (I didn't say the F word, but really wanted to).

And if you excuse me I'll keep on browsing. Goodbye.

I turned around, looked through a few more racks and inmediately got out of the store. I don't think I am ever coming back.

So, what do you think I should do?
Shoud I cut them earlier?
Or should a fill in a complain?
This is the 3rd time that this has happened to me in this store.
Am I the perfect target for this kind of situations?

Let me know what you think!

Time - Travelling - Tuesdays

2009-09-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Boyfriend-Husband gave me this book called The Time Traveller’s Wife.

For all of you who haven’t read it yet I highly recommend it, as it is quite original in its format, and very creative.
Even though I haven’t finished it yet, and I wouldn’t want to ruin it for anyone who’s planning to read it, all I can say is that it’s a love story between Clare and Henry, a peculiar couple that meet through the many times Henry time travels.

This whole idea got me thinking about my own life, and about those memories that seem forgotten, like for example, how was I when I was 6? What things I did I like? And what about when I was 3, or 2 or even the first day I was born?

I wonder how it would feel to travel back in time.

Or maybe the other way around.

What if I was given the opportunity to have a look at my future self?

Well, this idea seems unrealistic, but even though time travel can not be proved as something physically possible, I can always travel with my mind.

So, from now on and starting today, every Tuesday I will travel through time (past or future) and tell you all about what I see.

I would also like to see through your eyes, so I’ll give you the option to share your story in my blog.
Feel free yo share your story about other times in the mc linky box below.

Today’s destination goes back to when I was 8 years old.

Tuesday, April 5, 1990 (Nina is 8)

NINA: I just got home from school. I’m sitting at my desk doing my homework.
I prefer to do it before lunch so I can have the afternoon to play with Jessica. Mom is calling me from the kitchen, lunch must be ready. And judging by the smell, I’m not going to like it.
I finish the exercise, close the notebook and put it in the backpack.
As I enter the kitchen I confirm what I suspected, today is fish day...will see what I can do about it.
I sit at the table and try not to smell the food, but it’s quite impossible.
In a few minutes Dad will arrive from work, and he won’t like it if I don’t eat so I force myself to think of other things.

Today was an interesting day at school.
A new boy started, his family just moved from Colombia.
Jessica really likes him and won’t stop talking about it.
At History class Miss Julia made us sit together and work as a team. I think he likes me, but I won’t tell Jessica.
She can’t stand not being the centre of attention.

Daddy comes home and sits with us, which means no more time for boy thinking. Must eat this smelly fish...

Next Tuesday I will be travelling back to 1997. (Nina is 15)
You can either go back to that year, or go back to when you were 15.

Puppy Love

2009-09-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

This morning Boss asked me if it was worth it having a dog...all the hard work, taking care of him, going for walks at 8am in the morning freezing cold...and my answer was definitely YES!

I wouldn't trade Patrick for nothing in the entire world, he's the cutest animal I've ever known. Sometimes I even forget he's an animal and treat him like a little boy, or more like a very furry little boy.

He's there for me no matter what.

If sometimes I'm sad, he comes to me and gives me a kiss.

How is that not worth it??

In my opinion, people who say that have not experienced having a pet, and it's their loss, but anyhow I respect it.

So I thought today would be a great day to tell you a little bit more about PATRICK.

THE BEGGINNING

Two years ago I was eating at my workplace with some girls, when suddenly one of them told me her Labrador dog was pregnant, and she was looking for people to give the puppies to.

That afternoon I told Boyfriend-Husband about it, and after a "Are you totally out of your mind?" look, he tells me, "So, how do we name it?", and that's how we decided to have a dog.

Sadly, a few weeks after this happened I found out most of the puppies died, one of them was the one for me.

During the whole day I was devastated, I couldn't eat, nor sleep.

After this, I told Boyfriend-Husband I didn't want any puppy, ever! This was so painful I could not bear losing another one.

He knew exactly what I was talking about, for he had lost his own dog many years ago, and still could not look at his picture without tears in his eyes.

AN EMOTIONAL ROADTRIP

Even though I had said NO to puppies, in my heart I wanted one so bad that Boyfriend-Husband looked in the web and found that in one breeding farm they had a male golden retriever with the perfect age to be taken home, so off we went to Toledo (approx. 385km) to get our future puppy.

The trip itself was a marvellous experience, both Boyfriend-Husband and I felt like parents to be.

To think that we would arrive empty handed and leave with a furry baby to take care of was very exciting.

This would be my first dog, since my Dad had never allowed me to have one back at home, so I was very happy.

To add more excitement I hadn't wanted to see any pictures, nor did I know the hair colour, so it was very hard to imagine how he would look like, and even harder to think of a name, although we almost had it figured out.

The farm was in the middle of nowhere, so I was taking a few pictures, when suddenly I ran out of battery, I could not believe my bad luck! That's why te only pictures I have of that day are from my mobile, therefore, not great quality.

LOTS OF JOY

Once we arrived, the breeder, gave us his passport and other paperwork, and then showed us to a small office where a few dogs were in small jails (they were being picked up that same day) and another one was running like crazy and happily barking to the rest. That was my dog, Patrick.

He was so very cute! But enough about silly mommy words, I leave you with some pictures from the old days and a few recent ones.

Note: Patrick is now 2 years old, and still as naughty as the first day.

Totally Awkward Tuesdays: A movie storie

2009-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

This week I'm betraying my own blog, since this awkward moment didn't actually happen to me, but to a dear friend from my days back in Sydney (and it's not Polish Girl, just in case you're wondering).
I have actually decided to keep her name secret, as this story is really embarrassing and I intend to keep on being friends with her...

Lastly, just want to make sure you know this is not a "this happened to a friend of a friend, when it actually happened to myself" story. I would love to be able to say this happened to me, but that's not the case.

Last week Friend was shopping in the famous peatonal Pitt St. looking for something special for a date she had with a new guy she's dating, whom I'll call New Guy.
She decided to enter this huge Lingerie Store, that besides the normal stuff, has some very sexy items, as well as some naughtier toys.

Not quite knowing what to buy, she asked for help and one of the sales assistants suggested a few sexy outfits, and specially this new product, the Vibrating Knickers, which were very succesful due to their appearance in "The Ugly Truth" movie, currently in cinemas.

After lots of thinking, she finally decided to get the knickers and a couple of other items.
Back home she finished getting ready for the date (note: it wasn't their first date, but even if it was, no problem, right?) and decided to put on the vibrating knickers, you never know how the night might end...
As explained by the sales assistant, this knickers came with a remote control, which she decided to place in a small box with a cute ribbon, and inside her bag, and depending on the evening's outcome, she would give it to New Guy as a susprise or not.

At 9pm the bell rang and Friend ran downstairs and into the faboulous blue convertible.
Once on the road New Guy tells her they have to stop by his house, since he left his wallet with his identity card.
They arrive at the house, and New Guy invites her in. It's quite cold outside, and he promises there's no one home and that he won't take long.
New Guy runs upstairs, but before he comes back Friend hears a car's engine in the doorway, and before she can react a young girl and an older woman come into the house (she later finds out they're his mom and sister).
Friend gets so nervous she drops her bag, and to her bad luck, the remote control activates due to the hard bump, and in the middle of this already awkward situation they hear this intense noise coming from...her crotch.
Both women begin to laugh, and in that precise moment New Guy decides to join them, who doesn't know what to think of the situation.
Later on, Friend discovers that mother and daughter had just got back from the movies, where they watched the famous movie.
Oops!

Now it's your turn to share your awkward story.

All you have to do is write a post in your blog about it and post your link to the MckLinky box below.
Now we all can laugh!

The Good Wife's Guide: Lesson 3

2009-09-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

This week I was doing some research on the subject in the web when suddenly this text from 1960 came across, and believe me, it has no waste.
It's part of a Manual that was handed in Spain to all women who completed the Social Services in the Femenine Section (mandatory course, unless married).

Good wife's guide
Welcome your husband home with a delicious meal when he comes from work, specially his favourite meal.
Offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low tone of voice, relaxed and pleasant.
Be prepared: Touch up your make up, put a ribbon in your hair. Make yourself more interesting for him. After a long day of hard work he needs a bit of encouragement and is your duty to provide it.
During the coldest days you must prepare and light a fire so that he can relax in front of it.
After all, taking care of his needs will give you a great personal satisfaction.
Minimize any possible noise, such as a washing-machine or vaccum.
Greet him with a warm smile and show him you desire to please him.
Listen to him. Let him speak first; remember that his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
Never complain if he arrives late or if he goes out to dinner or other places without you.
On the contrary, try to understand his world of tension and stress and his real needs.
If you have a hobby, don't bore him by talking about it, for women's interests are trivial when compared to men's.
About possible intimate relationships with your husband, it's important to remember some marital obligations.
If he feels the need to sleep, let him sleep. Do not push him or stimulate his intimacy.
If your husband suggests the union, then humbly agree, and always remember his satisfaction is more important than a woman's.
When he reaches his climax, a small whimper from your part is enough to indicate any pleasure you may have experienced.

Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's quite interesting, specially since I know this still happens nowadays.

And I ask myself; What about those women who have kids and work and when they get home have to clean the house and cook dinner?
Who offers to take off their shoes or light a fire? Who awaits for them with a nice dinner, even after arriving 2 hours late from drinks with girlfriends?
I personally can not complain that much, (luckily I am not married to a neanderthal) but I do suggest we think about how it would be to live like this.
And even though I like to please my husband, and prepare nice home-cooked meals and keep a nice and cozy home, I do not imagine living like that. There's nothing I hate more than being told how to do things.

So, what do you think?

Totally Awkward Tuesdays: The Key

2009-09-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today’s TAT travels back in time to my days in Australia.

For all of you who don’t know it yet, I lived I there for about 3 years, and I must say Sydney is one of the best places to live. People are really nice, and let’s not talk about its magnificent weather or boys ;)
But even in a place like that, some things are always the same, and looking for a job or a place to live can be very stressing.

The job part was solved, a few weeks ago I had received a call from a famous Department store to work as a "folder girl".
In my attemp to not get bored to death in between t-shirts and pants, I suggested they hire Polish Girl (my Film classmate), and to my surprise they agreed, so every afternoon after school we would fold clothes at the ladies department.
Even though the store closed at 6pm, we would continue by ourselves until 8pm, and that was the best time, for we could chat all we wanted without being watched (although we had our suspicions and were convinced we could be watched and even heard through the many cameras on the store).
However, until 6pm it was agony, and a real test to my patience. Sometimes I would get so mad at people who messed everything up, I swear I could kill them (not literally). And I'm pretty sure they did it on purpose...or maybe I was just paranoid.
Maybe this job was not worth it if I had to spend all my salary in a Psycologist.

So, one day after the store was closed, Polish Girl and I were putting a new collection onto the floor.
All we had to do was was get the stock from the storage room and fold it neatly in the many tables our boss had prepared for us.
The only problem was that due to our short existence in the company, we didn't have a card key to enter the storage room, so Boss left the door open before leaving, and there shouldn't be any problem unless it closed accidentaly.
Which is exactly what happened in one if the many trips and both of us were locked inside.

So, what do we do now? Rapidly, Polish Girl remembers there's a hidden camera in the room, so we explain to the camera the whole situation, and when after a few minutes no one comes to save us we start to get a bit nervous.
We get carried away by our fear and start looking for food and water to survive the night (some of our co-corkers are known to keep some cookies and beverages in this room).

When we finally lose all hope to be rescued, a sudden noise from the outside makes us get up from the floor and run to the door, which opens, and 3 security guards come into our view.
We don't understand why, but they can't stop laughing, but after a while, they explain their version of what happened.

Apparently this is what they saw:
- 2 girls walk into the storage room
- the door closes after them
- they start talking to the cameras, but they can't listen to a word (confirmed, no audio on cameras)
- they start looking for something histerically
- they eat chocolate cookies and lemonade
- they're almost in tears

At this point they decide to come and see what's going on.
We are quite embarrassed by then, but trust me, it gets even worse.
They explain they don't understand why we didn't open the door, to which we simply reply we don't have our card keys yet.
Next thing I know, they come into the storage room and close the door behind them, and I think, Oh my god, what are they doing?
Have they lost their mind? Now we are all stuck in here! I look at Polish Girl, who is about to cry.
And that's when one of the guards opens the door, WITHOUT A KEY.

Apparently, we were so nervous neither of us stopped to think that we didn't need a key to get out of the room, only to get in.

Now it's your turn to share your awkward story.
All you have to do is write a post in your blog about it and post your link to the MckLinky box below.
Now we all can laugh!

Things that may happen while buying a sofa

2009-09-10T05:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I went with Co-worker and her flatmate to buy a new sofa for their apartment.
The budget was pretty low, and so were the options we had.

After sitting and lying in most of them (this is entirely new to me, since I never tried a sofa in my life before muying it, I know, it doesn't make any sense) they decided to buy a sofa bed.
The sofa it's ok, that's if you don't look at its horrible print (I mean, what were the designers thinking? Where they aiming for the "worst sofa award"? I'm sure they would win...) so they decided to buy only the structure.

When we approached the salesman, a very nice guy told us it was out of stock (maybe it wasn't that horrible...) so Co-worker proceeded to give him her address and telephone number in order to book one, and they would let her know when it was on stock again.

Very pleased with the purchase (or half-purchase) we decided to get a chocolate waffle.
Well, we didn't actually decide it, more like the flatmate almost made us do it...
Well, it wasn´t exactly like that, let's say he suggested it and we didn't say no.
Truth is the waffle was delicious! and after so much sugar we decided to go for a walk (read go shopping) and do some excercise (read try on clothes) and finally headed back to the car to go home.

Once seated in the car, Co-Worker informs us she got a funny message from an unknown number.
We look at her curiously and ask "who is it?". The message says "Have you got a Boyfriend?".
Flatmate and I look at each other and say in unison: "It's the guy from the sofa store. Oh my God"
Co-worker doesn't believe this theory (she has so many pickups) but we are convinced its him, so we beg her to answer as soon as possible.
Despite her insecurity she writes him back with our suggestion.
She's worried it may not be him, but I wonder, what does she have to lose? So I leave you with the text itself.
Answer from Co-Worker at 19:35: "It depends on how fast I get my sofa."
A few minutes passed and unfortunately we were getting to my house, so I couldn't know what happened after, but Co-worker promised to call me if she had any news.

This morning I asked her about the misterious message, and I am kind of dissapointed to know she didn't get any answer at all.
And I wonder, What's the point of sending the message in the first place?
So much bravery to end up being a coward.
This men nowadays...

Oh, and here is a picture of the super ugly sofa.

Totally Awkward Tuesdays: My Awkward Surname

2009-09-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, which means it’s Totally Awkward Tuesday hosted by Tova Darling.
I’m not sure whether we’ll find a story in her blog today, so let’s cross our fingers and pray for it.
Hopefully her threaten to quit Awkward Tuesdays was only a bad dream…

My story for today it’s not an actual story, but a series of episodes around my surname, which for the sake of anonymity I can not tell.

All I can say is that it’s Italian, and trust me, it’s quite awkward, but it’s even more awkward when people try to pronounce it, or make some sense of it, or just talk about it.

I’m not quite sure why they do that, I mean, you'll never see me talking about the Smiths or the Browns, but then, they’re don't have MY surname.

Sometimes I wished I lived in England, or Australia or any country where I could adopt my husband’s surname, but being in Spain, I have not such luck.

One of the many situations I wish my surname was different is during job interviews.

From my experience I know I can do it two ways: the hard way or the easy way.

- The hard way:

Interviewer: Mmm… your surname… is Italian, right?
Me: Yes, but I wasn’t born in Italy.
Interviewer: Where were you born?
Me: In (name of the country).
Interviewer: But your parents are Italian.
Me: Only my father, my mother is half-Portuguese.
Interviewer: But you lived in Italy.
Me: No, I’ve never even been there.
Interviewer: Mmm… I see…

- The easy way:

Interviewer: Mmm… your surname… is Italian, right?
Me: YES, I’m Italian.

And let’s not begin with conversations over the phone in which you have to give your personal details or your work email to someone.
Most of the times I rather ask for their address, so I can email them mine. Trust me, it's worth it.

Ok, so I fell guilty about not being able to tell you my surname, but I'll give you a few words that sound like it:
Cinderella, Caramel,Maribel...

My first award: Kreativ Blogger ;)

2009-09-06T23:48:00.000-07:00

This morning I was so excited to know that la aventurista passed an award on to me, make sure to check out her awesome blog My latest Adventure.

Thank you! This has definitely made my day!

Now, let's see how this works.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award (done)

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog (done)
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award (done)
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Ok, 7 things people may not know about me:

1. When I started writing this blog I was scared no one would read it (so glad it didn't happen...)

2. I don't like to put any sauce in hamburgers or sandwichs myself, but if they come with them, I'll eat them happily.3. I'm obsessed with decorating.

4. I like to eat cucumber with sugar (I highly recommend it!)

5. I must check, double-check and triple-check that I have my keys in my purse before I leave home.

6. Sometimes while talking I count the letters of each word.
7. Up until I was 15 years old I used to eat my pasta only with olive oil, not even with cheese (and I'm from an italian family).

Seven Kreativ Bloggers I'm Passing This On To:

1. girl, inspired
2. Working Girl
3. Life of a busy wife
4. A little blog about nothing
5. Setpford dreams
6. Confessions of a twenty something years old
7. little nothings

Totally Awkward Tuesdays: Kids, when?

2009-08-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

It’s been a year since Boyfriend-Husband and I got married.
Even though for us isn’t that long ago, everybody else has decided it’s time we have a baby.
They keep asking us this question, sometimes even before saying hi.
Often, I feel like giving each person a brochure, this way I won’t have to repeat my reasons over and over, which is something I find quite inappropriate.
Haven’t they heard of a thing called ‘private life’?
Boyfriend-Husband has a theory about this subject, and he’s serious about it.
According to him, many companies in the future will rent kids for special occasions.
They will offer many options, such as choosing their hair colour, raze, or age, etc.
This way, when couples without children have to go to a birthday, the beach or the park, they won’t feel out of place.
Many times we joke about the subject, and he even says:
Look, even in these travel brochures you can see it already.
This one, for example, says: Paris /4 days - 5 nights / 4* Hotel (Breakfast Included) / 1 FREE CHILD!

So, the thing is, last week we were invited to Boyfriend-Husband’s godson’s birthday.
The idea already freaked me out, since it is in this kind of situations, that I feel I should have a baby, or at least be pregnant.
Why is it that having a dog is not useful in these cases?
After all, they’re quite hard work, specially if they’re as spoiled as mine...

As usual, a big group of friends gathered to celebrate it (which means, eating, drinking and gossiping about everyone not present at the party).
We were hanging out when suddenly a couple (already with two kids) approached us, and as if there was nothing else to talk about in the whole world, asked us when we were planning to have a baby, to which Boyfriend-Husband answers.
-If you think that whenever I see you with your children, and your familiar and homy life you have going on I feel envious, well, I'm NOT.

We all stood there open-mouthed, even myself.
I surely did not see that coming. But I couldn’t say I didn’t understand him.
Next thing I know, we were saying our goodbyes, and in the car on our way going.
There’s no need to say they all had a new subject for conversation.

The Good Wife’s Guide – Lesson 2

2009-08-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

If you want something done in your house, do it yourself.
It doesn’t matter how many times you have discussed house duties, at the end of the day we are the ones who will end up doing them, unless we force them to.
Maybe we have an extra gene or something, but it seems we are born knowing everything about home maintenance.

Or for example about cooking.
Now, I know there are some men that are really good in the kitchen, but it’s not my case at all.
If you don’t believe me, pay attention to this.

Last night I asked Boyfriend-Husband to take care of dinner.
I warned him I wanted something light (you know, to get rid of those extra pounds we gained during the holidays).
But the real reason I warned him, is because whenever he says he’ll cook, we really have three options: Chinese food, pizzas or burgers.

So, I suggested he prepared some grilled meat and a very simple salad, to which he answered he didn’t know how to make one.
Sometimes I think men use this “I don’t know how to” excuse so they don’t have to do anything.
I mean, Boyfriend-Husband can cook a delicious Spanish Paella, and he doesn’t know how to make a salad?
Oh, please.
Can you believe this? How hard is? All you have to do is clean, cut and serve the ingredients.
You don’t even have to put any dressings. I can put it myself.

But in the end, I had to leave what I was doing and teach him how to make a salad.
I refuse to hear him say he doesn’t know how to make it ever again. No more excuses allowed.

Another big subject is laundry.
Why is it so hard for a guy to put his dirty clothes in the washing machine instead of leaving them on the floor?

Last week I was visiting my sister in law and she was showing me this funny email about a Manual for Men, kind of ironic.
One of the lesson was “From the laundry bag to the washing machine: That mysterious trip”.
There were a lot more and we were laughing our heads off when suddenly her older son comes home from the beach and without knowing what we were doing says: “Mom, where do I put the dirty clothes?”

You can imagine our reaction. The poor boy didn’t know where all the laughing was coming from.

So, probably boys are born with a special gene to be untidy and careless about home duties.
Thank god we are here to compensate.

And now, to end this subject with something nice I leave you with a few things every girlie house must have in order to be nice, besides clean.

Aromatic candles: they help to create a nice and warm environment, plus the perfume factor
Flowers: fresh, if possible. They look beautiful in white or glass vases.
Photos: Spontaneous and natural looking, of family, friends. They look nice in black or white frames.
All together in a composition o separate, like pieces of art. Imagination has no limits.

PS: Biçy the way, this reminds me of this song that goes like this:
"Does he wash up? Never wash up
Does he clean up?No, he never cleans up
Does he brush up?Never brushed up
He does nothing the boy does nothing"

Totally Awkward Tuesdays: Be Always Prepared

2009-08-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

Contributing with Tova's Totally Awkward Tuesday I once again leave you with my own awkward moment.

This one happened way back, when I turned eighteen years old, which now seems like a very long time ago.
I packed my bags and left my country (not the same as being deported, trust me) to become an international student at the School of Visual Arts, in Sydney, Australia.

My new family awaited for me at the airport and even though I had seen them in pictures, this was the very first time I saw them in flesh and bone.
A wide smile crossed my face when I saw the little white sign with my name printed on it (a secret desire of mine, seen on so many movies) and I immediately knew my dad had told them about it.

A series of hugs and kisses welcomed me and I could already feel that a new era was beginning.
One could say this family was like an English version of the old one.
However, I could never say Sydney is anything like the old version.
No comparisons allowed here.

The first day of class was bizarre.
A bunch of people were standing at the entrance of the two story building and above us all an old sign informed us of the name of the School.
I observed the group from the distance while I practiced in my head many ways of introducing myself, dared I walk over there.
A fair skin girl with dark hair beat me and walked towards me.
She was funny looking, told me she was from Poland and apart from our foreign accents, we seemed to have many things in common.
Her English was acceptable, just as mine, so at least we could communicate.
But as we talked to each other I couldn’t help but notice that we were the only non-Asian girls in the whole group. This looks promising…

As time went by, Polish Girl and I became good friends, despite her weird manners. Like for instance, sometimes she would call me at the oddest times just to chat or to ask me what I had for dinner, or any sort of existential matters.
In those cases I would leave the phone in the table and just let her talk, I know it sounds mean, but she didn’t realise, and I’m sure all she wanted was to be heard…

One morning, while on the bus going to school, I got an unexpected phone call.
Not many people had my number, so I instantly assumed it was Polish Girl who wanted to ask something like what I would be wearing today.
I couldn’t hear her very well, with the traffic noise and all, so I just let her talk, as usual.

The problem is that after 5 minutes into the call I realised it was not Polish-girl but a job interview. -Damn-

As quickly as I could (considering I was in a bus) I wrote the appointment details in my hand, though I couldn’t even get the name of the company straight.

How many companies could exist in Sydney by the name of Spike, or Speak, or was it Spika? Oh, forget it.

SOPHIE > JELLY > PINK

2009-08-21T02:44:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I will explain about this.
This is a funny thing I do unconsciously.
I often relate certain names with foods, or colours and vice versa.

It can start with one word and after linking it to others in chain we get to a last word that nothing has to do with the first one.

Let me put an example with the name Sophie.
Automatically I think of jelly, but not any flavour, it must be strawberry (raspberry is also allowed) and finally I associate it with a colour, in this case, pink.

Another generic case could be associating the name Hope with the colour green, and at the same time with a canons salad.

I invite you to send me your “Ninonims” this way.
Write a post in your blog about this subject and leave a comment in mine with your link.
I will be posting them as soon as they arrive.

I leave you with some examples:

Sophie > Jelly > Pink
Irene > Apple and cinnamon pie > Beige
Paul > Chocolate Coulant > Black

CUPCAKES!

2009-08-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

This week, according to The Good Wife's Guide - Lesson 1 it's cupcake time!
So yesterday afternoon I began my search of all ingredients.
Boyfriend-Husband is very happy with them, and as a prize offered to make some photos (in case you don't know it yet, Boyfriend-Husband is a photogrpher, so I cant't take credit for the pics).

Ingredients:
- Vanilla flavoured cake dough (in this case I didn't make it myself, I bought in the supermarket and it was ready to bake)
- Molds for Muffins (medium and small)
- Chocolate Sirope
- Sugar sticks and hearts to decorate
- Shredded Coconut
- Cherries in syrup

I leave you with the end results.

I hope you like them and try to make them at home!

Totally Awkward Tuesdays: Heavy Metal Guy Part II

2009-08-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

After the success of my last awkward moment, I feel like sharing with all of you the second part of this story.
For those of you who haven’t read it yet, I suggest you visit my “Oops” post in which I write about the beginnings of my difficult relationship with Heavy Metal Guy.

After meeting his girlfriend (Nice Girl)first handed, I could not let myself like the guy, but we became good friends and since I got a transfer to his section (nothing related to the fact that I really liked the him...)we spent most of the afternoons together.
He was quite interested in my culture and admitted to adore my accent (everywhere I go I have a different one, so it’s quite funny when people try to guess where I’m from).
I’m pretty sure foreign accents were his fetish, and just in case I didn’t mention it earlier, let me tell you that his girlfriend is from the same country I’m from.
As the good girl that I am, I don’t do to people what I don’t like being done to me.
But the fact that he was so gorgeous and insistent didn’t help one bit, so one afternoon after a long day of work I invited him to a beach party my flat mate was throwing.
To be safe I invited a good friend of mine, and while we waited for him to arrive I became very nervous and almost regretted inviting him.
To my surprise, the evening turned out really nice. He, same as me, brought a friend, so there were no awkward silences and we shared lots of anecdotes about the trips we made to several countries.
As people started to leave the party I became more nervous. What should I do? I was having such a great time, I didn’t want the evening to end.
So, Heavy Metal Guy invited me to stay at his place, which was walking distance from the beach.
In the beginning I said NO, but the more I thought about it, the more appealing it became.
So I decided to make a mental note of pros and cons.

PROS:
-I was far away from home and getting a cab would be very expensive -we had all drunk a lot, so driving a car wasn't such a good idea
-tomorrow I had to work at the store close to his house and I could go by foot

CONS:
-I didn’t have a change of clothes to go to work (but fortunatelly I always had an extra uniform in my locker)
-normally I wouldn’t stay at a guy’s house on the first date (but this wasn’t a first date, or was it?)
-I simply shouldn’t, but making excuses was easier

Finally, I decided to behave like the grown woman that I was, and I said YES.
What was wrong with staying over at a friend’s house anyway? (yes, I know, not very credible)
The next morning I was awoken by some noise in the kitchen and the smell of coffee. Heavy Metal Guy turned out to be a sweet boy, I thought. But suddenly he walks in the room and whispers to me:

Heavy Metal Guy: Don’t make any noise. My parents are at home.
Me: Your parents? You didn’t say a word about living with your parents (by the way, Heavy Metal Guy is almost 30 years old, I think it’s about time to be independent)
Heavy Metal Guy: Yes, but they’re normally at work at this time, it seems today they’re going a bit late. I must have breakfast with them, otherwise my mum will get mad.
Me: But I have to go to the toilette...
Heavy Metal Guy: Not now, I’ll tell you when...

And closes the door. I can not believe this. And on top of everything the smell of a fresh croissant is reaching the room.
I’m so hungry.
Suddenly a strange noise comes from the garden, it sounds like a hose (which is not helping to my ‘sans’ toilette situation) and next thing I know an old man is saluting me through the window.

Old Man: Hi darling, how are you doing?
I, without knowing what to do, answer.
Me: Hi, I'm fine, how are you?
Old Man: Good. Listen, tonight we are meeting your parents for dinner at that little restaurant by the beach. You and Rob are joining us, right?
Oh, holy mother. He thinks I’m his son’s girlfriend. What to do?
After a few seconds I decide to take advantage of the fact that our accents are very similar, so I decide to continue with the game.
Me: Yes, of course we’re going. I’ll see you tonight.

And I must say this conversation goes on for a long time...well, until Heavy Metal Guy comes back to the room and almost has a heart attack...

Boyfriend-Husband

2009-08-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

A lot of you might wonder why Boyfriend-Husband is not just Boyfriend or just Husband.
So here goes the explanation.

Approximately two years ago, after trying to convince Boyfriend-Husband to get married, he finally proposed, confessing that he had been trying to do it for a whole week, but we wouldn’t stop fighting (because I wanted to get married and thought he didn’t).

Once the engagement was public (meaning I would show my gorgeous ring a thousand times a day) the next step was to choose a date.
Following co-worker’s advice, we visited a Spanish “Masia” that we thought perfect for the big day and instantly booked the date.

NOW it was official.

The next thing to do in the getting married guide (why do you think pre-nuptial courses exist?) was to begin with the boring paperwork.
Knowing how obsessed I become with these things, and even though we still had a year ahead, it was time to start.

Because I’m not Spanish, my paperwork it’s more complicated than for the rest of the citizens.
Especially if we consider the fact that my passport was expired and then lost, and that getting an appointment in the Consulate is harder that getting a ticket for a Madonna´s concert.

After many frustrating phone calls and the kind suggestion from the secretary to go renew my passport in my own country (how I would do that without a valid passport, I don’t have a clue) I finally got an appointment and wrote it in my notebook, and put a reminder in my mobile.

The problem was that the appointment I was given was 4 months AFTER the wedding, and if you add the time required to go to the Civil Registration there was no way I would make it on time!
However, it was too late to change the date: the invitations were already printed, the restaurant was booked and my family had already bought the plane tickets.

At this point, I decided not to stress myself and continue to plan the wedding (a hard enough job already) and once all the chaos ended I would arrange all the paperwork.
Or that’s what I thought, since it’s been a year after the big day and they’re not solved yet.

So, how did we do it? You might ask.

Well, since the ceremony was not religious but civil, we hired an actor (this reminds me of that Friend’s episode in which Joey marries Chandler and Monica after getting a degree over the internet), who read a nice text and we said I do and were attacked by lots of rice.

No one would have noticed it was a fake wedding until I opened my big mouth (wedding nerves made me drink just a bit too much) and I screamed it at the top of my lungs.
An unforgettable moment...

So that’s why the concept of Boyfriend-Husband is born.
To the whole world we are a normal married couple (I don’t go screaming that my wedding was a complete lie anymore, oh god, what if they make me return all the presents?)
But in reality he’s still my Boyfriend (and I like that) and probably will be for a long time.

Oh, and they were happily ever after (sort of).

The Good Wife's Guide - Lesson 1

2009-08-12T02:58:00.000-07:00

Being a good wife requires lots of hard work.
You have to clean your house, cook lunches and dinners daily (thank god we have our breakfast at the coffee shop) and look fabulous at the same time!

I decided to create this (hopefully) useful guide so that all you new wives (or future wives) have an easier path into the domestic life!

One of the many things I had to learn over these past months is how to COOK, though I must admit I'm not very good at it yet.

Boyfriend-Husband and I love anything sweet (look closely at my profile picture and you'll know why I chose it).

So my challenge for this week is to bake these adorable CUPCAKES (I found this pictures in the net, and doubt they'll look remotely close to that).

In this case, the actual challenge consists of finding the shops where I can find the right ingredients, (cute cupcakes aren't that popular in Spain, I seriously don't understand why).
The word cupcake doesn't even exist in Spain!
They call it Magdalena, which in english means muffin, but it's not the same(Oh, and by the way, this is a forbidden word between Ms. Neighbour and I, since Magdalena is also a female name, which happens to be the name of her boyfriend's x-girlfriend!)

So, good luck to me! and hopefully will soon share my own pictures.
I leave you with this fantastic page full of yummy recipes!

http://www.cupcakerecipes.com/

Holidays!

2009-08-10T23:09:00.001-07:00

This will probably be my most photographic post!
And that’s because holidays are not real holidays if you don’t walk around with a camera taking pictures of absolutely everything (food, street signs, landscapes, people in front of landscapes...) I think you get the idea by now...

Anyhow, I will try not to make this into a boring photo album...

It all starts at Valencia’s Airport, destination PALMA DE MALLORCA.
It was a bit sad since two days before our arrival there was a bomb attack in the island, but life goes on, and since I only had a week off, I couldn’t change plans...

The flight seemed extremely short (let’s not forget I’m an International Girl ;)and I’m used to long flights, minimum 10 hours long).

Boyfriend-Husband and I each bought a book (he had forgotten his by the bedside table and I was looking for something fun to read, so I bought ANYBODY OUT THERE? By Marian Keyes. However I soon discovered it was not very “funny” but entertaining all the same. I won’t tell you anything else, just in case you’re thinking about reading it).

Once in the island we couldn’t help but noticing that there weren’t that many people around (I had to believe Boyfriend-Husband since it was my first time in the island – as you can see by now I adore the expression “the island”, it sounds so exotic-).
Our first night happened to be our anniversary (Hurra! I made it to the first year of marriage! Well, not legally, but I’ll explain this later in another post.)
We dined at a lovely restaurant, watching the Sea Walk, and then went for a… walk (there’s a reason why they call it that way…)

By day we would go to the beaches with the most beautiful and green water I had ever seen and by night we would visit the old part of the city and its monuments.

It was such a surprise when one of these afternoons, while walking by the old streets we found “Bar Coto”.
Of course I had to take some pictures, specially of its original menu (though a bit dirty, and if you don’t believe me, check this out).

The routine continued to be pretty much the same the rest of the week.
Going to the beach during the day, dining in cozy restaurants by night, and lots of caipirinhas in between!

Gastronomy speaking, there’s a few things we can not forget to mention: lovely breakfasts (coffee, croissants, and freshly squished orange juice), “panadas” (a traditional pie from Mallorca, very important that it’s filled with peas, believe me, it’s not the same only with meat), Canoli Canoli(a very high calories dessert. One question, Why do Italians always repeat things twice?), Caipirinhas (Brasilian alcoholic drinks), Sangría (Spanish alcoholic drink), Paella (Traditional Spanish dish, in Mallorca they mix fish with meat. I include it because Boyfriend-Husband says it was delicious, but I didn’t taste it for I don’t like seafood…yes, I know I’m weird), barbeque at friends house, cream filled Ensaimada (typical sweet from Mallorca)…Mmmm…many yummy things that I’m sure we bring back with us, as extra kilos!

I’m very glad to be back home, however, I wouldn’t mind going back for a few more days!

I'm back!

2009-08-10T02:16:00.000-07:00

Coming back...it's hard, but necessary.
Like that old saying: Good things don't last forever...or have to end, or something like that. I'm pretty bad at sayings...

If you want an expert, ask my collegue, she collects all those sugar sachets, the ones that have a famous saying in them, and you can't imagine how she gets if you forget to give it to her after using one...

This morning I woke up at 7:05 am (as opposed to the long hours of sleeping in the last 10 days) and got dressed in a hurry.
It only took me 15 minutes to get ready, but since I missed the 7:20 bus I decided to have a very healthy and yummy breakfast (one horchata glass (famous drink in Valencia) and a hot dog bun).

At 7:30 I went downstairs and after a few minutes of reading my holiday novel the bus arrived, I got in, and after a few minutes of many curves and lots of jumping (I swear this bus-drivers get worse and worse by the minute) I got off at my stop with a very sleepy face only a strong coffee could fix.

Luckily, some of my co-workers had already gotten to the office, otherwise it would have been quite sad to open doors and windows in absolutely loneliness.

When I got to my table found a very funny post-it from co-worker, who is now on holidays, which means that the next 2 weeks will consist of lots of working and no funny stories (must do something really drastic in my life so funny things will happen to me instead...seriously)
So sad to see her little mirrors without a guardian.

Oh, and Boyfriend-Husband and I spent the most marvellous holidays I could wish for,
I'll tell you all about them soon...

Totally Awkward Tuesdays: Oops!

2009-07-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

Contributing with Tova's Totally Awkward Tuesday (a great blog that every Tuesday shares an awkward moment, and invites us all to share it back )I leave you with this awkward moment of mine that happened long before I met Boyfriend-Husband.

In my old working-days at a famous Department Store in Sydney I fell madly in love with a guy from work that we’ll call “Heavy Metal Guy”
We worked in separate departments, but every time we ran into each other at the elevators we would stare at each other and smile.
He was very tall and handsome. Beautiful blue eyes, dark hair, a bit too long (now you can imagine why I chose the name, though he liked that music too).

One night I stayed working late on the scan-count and had to work with this girl whom I’ll refer to as Nice Girl.
She was really funny and sweet, and as the night went by one thing let to another and we ended up chatting about universities, music, and (of course) guys.

She told me she was dating this guy for four years and studying at NSW University. This job at the store was something she did for the extra money (just like me except from the boyfriend and money part).

I happened to notice that Heavy Metal Guy was close by and in a spur of the moment I confessed about my feelings for this guy I really liked, but didn’t know how to approach, and I pointed out to him.

Don’t know if it was destiny or what it was, but Nice Girl told me she knew him. His name was Rob.
They were classmates at Psychology, in their 3rd year and often studied together for exams.
Who could imagine it? (Heavy Metal Guy sitting in a Luis XV chair, asking people who lye in a divan a series of deep questions, or showing them those funny cards with b&w shapes that nobody understand). I couldn’t.

Unfortunately she also told me he had a girlfriend, but apparently things weren’t going very well between them (therefore all those looks in the elevators).

Now, what comes next I didn’t expect.

Heavy Metal Guy comes to our section.
I'm so nervoues I can't hardly breathe.
Nice Girl looks at me and we both smile.

Nice Girl: Rob, this is Nina. She works at Women’s Wear.
Rob: Hi Nina (big smile)
Nice Girl: Nina, this is Rob, my boyfriend.

Ooops…

It's not that hard, or is it?

2009-07-27T05:45:00.000-07:00

Although it was difficult, I finally convinced Boyfriend-Husband to give me a ride to work this morning (not without him reminding me of an old promise to get my drivers licence, which I still have on hold).

As a consequence, the poor thing had to get up an hour earlier to walk Patrick and try to start our old but dear motorcycle.
What would we do without her?

I’m assuming is a she... ;)

In spite of being in quite a hurry, we decided to stop by a Bakery’s and have a coffee.
And here goes the dilemma we come across every morning.

If we take into consideration that we always go to the same place, order the same thing, and to the same waitress:

Do you think it is SO hard to serve a cold-milk cappuccino and a tall cafe late?

I don’t think so. But it IS.

Let’s make clear that (according to my theory) this girl doesn’t like us, as she always serves us with a bad attitude.

But this morning it was even worse, for she had a Romeo sweet-talking her, and she wouldn’t stop giggling and flushing, and therefore more distracted than usual.

I try and stay positive thinking that if she gets a boyfriend she’ll be happier, therefore treat us a bit nicer. Though honestly I don’t think we’ll have such luck.

So, once again I end up drinking a very strong cafe latte (which really seems like it’s done on purpose) and Boyfriend-Husband his boiling hot cappuccino.

That’s why I come to this conclusion. The coffee may not be SHORT, but the waitress sure is SHORT-MINDED.

Just Lovely

2009-07-24T04:28:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a lovely collage courtesy of:
http://ohmishka.blogspot.com/2009/07/flickr-faves.html

Cultural Differences

2009-07-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

Another year and holidays are on their way.
As always, a lot of memories come to my mind around this time of the year.

This one in particular happened a few years ago, in the beginning of my relationship with Boyfriend-Husband, when decided to rent a car a travel all through Costa Brava.
So romantic...

Each morning the ritual World repeat itself:
Get a map and find a beach destiny, look for a small hotel (not very expensive), book a place to eat (not very expensive), make a plan of activities for the rest of the day, and by night: walk the old little streets, buy some artesian earrings or bracelet (not very expensive) and dine at a charming little restaurant (but not very expensive).

I think it’s pretty clear by now that we didn’t have a lot of money back then, but our adventurous spirit and newly-fresh love made it very thrilling.

It’s not like we have lots of money now...
And let’s better not talk about the love part...

This particular morning we were headed to “Cala del Sr. Ramón” (a small and private beach located between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa de Mar, though I’ve been told it’s not open anymore. Quite sad...)

The road going up the mountain was full of curves.
Boyfriend-Husband tried to distract me so I wouldn’t get car-sick while I tried to enjoy the scenery, unsuccessfully.

While getting to the higher part of the mountain we started seeing some repeated graffiti painted in the rocks.
Boyfriend-Husband and I came to the conclusion that they were painted by some excursionist that liked to leave an autograph whenever he passed.

In one of them he even dared add the adjective “Kaotiko” (Chaotic) before his name. How funny!

Boyfriend-Husband smiled while I exclaimed: “Well, he’s travelled a lot, hasn’t him?” after lots of km and still seeing the graffiti.

Of course we spent some awesome days.
While Boyfriend-Husband had a spectacular tan I looked like a freshly boiled lobster (and this considering I was under the sun umbrella the whole time!)

There were also the typical fights (at least typical for us), those that start after spending more than three days together and not much to do.

But the important thing about this story happens when holidays end and I return home.
Specially when I’m telling my co-worker about my trip and decide to tell them about my crazy excursionist and his mountain autographs.

Looking at their faces, and hearing their unstoppable laughs I begin to understand that cheeky smile on my Boyfriend-Husband’s face.
I’m mad. I can’t believe he would let me tell this to my friends.
How would I ever know what it meant?
Girls don't need to use these words in the normal world.

By the way, I think it’s time to explain that my crazy excursionist’s name is COTO (HUNTING GROUND).

Boyfriend-Husband laughs when I tell him about my embarrassing moment and swears he thought I knew we were joking the whole time.
Obviously I was not.

Rear-View

2009-07-08T04:13:00.000-07:00

Co-worker is obsessed with this one thing.

Every time someone comes to our office and gets the key to the bathroom (located just behind her) she HAS TO know who that person is.

I’m not sure what she gets out of it, but I’m thinking of strategically placing a few mirrors on her table, so she won’t have to turn every time.

It’s getting kind of sad to look at...

Can I try them on?

2009-07-06T05:50:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I decided to take advantage of the beginning of Sale’s season and went shopping.

My sole purpose was to find a pair of sandals to replace the ones I already have, which I must admit are already dying.

But I’m not looking for ANY kind of sandals.
I’m looking for comfy, simple and classic ones.

The ones you can wear for years and years to come.
The ones that never go out of fashion (probably because they never were).
The ones you can match with jeans, skirts or even dresses.

After many hours of searching, I end up at home, my bed full of unnecessary items, but no sandals in sight.

And that’s when I realise. Sandals are like men!

They come in different shapes, sizes and colours.
Their height can go from a modest heel to vertigo platforms.
They’re advertised in selected magazines or TV commercials and have exotic names such us: Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs or Christian Louboutin...

And I wonder, isn’t this enough for us?
Apparently not.

It seems what we really want are those we can rely on.
Those we see each other with a year from now, or even longer.
Those that won’t hurt us after a few hours of walking.
Those we will wear more than once and won’t stay in the closet forever.

In the end, what we really want are the old ones we have at home and have worn for so long.
We got so used to them we haven't even realised.
Problem is they're not longer available in the stores.

These are difficult time Girls, even to find the right pair of sandals.

Mmmm

2009-07-02T05:39:00.000-07:00

Lying in bed minutes before falling asleep.

Me:
It’s so nice when you’re SO tired that you can just close your eyes and fall asleep. Such a nice feeling.

Boyfriend – Husband:
Mmmm?

Me:
Like when you’re phone is dying and you plug it to charge the batteries.

Boyfriend – Husband:
Mmmm ???????

First Impressions

2009-06-25T04:06:00.000-07:00

Personal Information
-Gender: A girl, of course
-Date of Birth: a lady never reveals her age...ok, 27

Optional Personal Information
-Marital Status: it's complicated... (will explain in post)
-Spouse's Name: Boyfriend-Husband
-Children: Does my spoiled dog count?

Interests
-Interested in: World curiosities
-Looking for: Explanations
-Activities: Eating, sleeping and not sleeping...
-Favorite TV Shows: Friends, various Reality Shows(or how I call them: Who wants to be an actor/singer/model/TV host?)
-Favorite Books: The “happily ever after” or “divorced after the first year of marriage” ones (better not joke about this, too close to real life).

Employment History
-Position: Personal Assistant
-Time Period: Too long

Other Information
-Driver’s License: Not yet (but I will have to, or
Boyfriend-Husband will leave me for sure).

Professional Qualifications
-Certifications and Accreditations: Too many...
-Computer Skills: I can type while talking on the phone and eating a chocolate cupcake... Does that count?

Do you own a fashion, decoration or accessories shop?

2009-05-25T02:21:00.000-07:00

If you want your shop to appear on this blog,
either a logo, a link to your Web page or both,
please send me an e-mail named ADVERTISE to the following address:

ninastheories@gmail.com

so I can inform you of the different
options as well as the price list.

Characters

2009-05-25T00:40:00.000-07:00

Nina
I'm 27, happily married to a spanish photographer and mother of a furry spoiled, but very cute dog.
I love travelling, shopping and decorating.
This blog is my latest hobby, so don't be surprised if I change the design a few times.
I'm a bit obsessed by it...

Boyfriend-Husband
I met him in Barcelona five years ago.
I like to think it was love at first sight, even though it took him a while longer to realise.
He's a fashion photographer and absolutely adores Patrick.
For more details on the name Boyfriend-Husband read this post.

Patrick
Two years old, golden retriever.
He's the love of my life!
Sometimes I think Boyfriend-Husband loves him more than he loves me.
It's understandable, I love him more too...
Read this post to know more about Patrick.

Co-Worker
She's a very stilish girl with a bunch of funny gay friends. Always a very good source for the blog and a good friend.
Click here to read all posts about co-worker.

Who is Nina?

2009-05-24T00:34:00.000-07:00

First things first.

Nina is my alter ego, I prefer to keep my real name secret

so I can be absolutely free to write about anything I want,

and it's more fun!

That being said, let me tell you a little bit about myself (the real stuff, of course).

I'm a 27 years old (happily) married girl (though this marriage deserves an entire post) to a spanish photographer and we have a very spoiled dog named Patrick. (See Characters for more info).

After being deported from Sydney, I packed my Louis Vuitton bags and travelled different european cities in style (no backpacking for me).

Finally I decide to look for the ideal man in Spain (and sort of found it, in Barcelona)...

Join me in my mis-adventures as a newly housewife and mother (of my dog, no babies on the way for now)...

Spanish

2009-05-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Click on the following link if you want to read Nina's Theories in Spanish.

Las teorías de Nina

Adiós!!!!