Day 85. Rush

   There are times when we all rush: to buy the things we need, to get to work or to school, to eat, to think, to take decisions. We rush and then we fail. We fail to see the beautiful little things around us, to find the right choice, the one that will definitely make us happier and healthier. 

   Today I was in the mall with my family. As always, my dad rushed to buy the things he needed and then he was planning to go straight home. I never liked that. I want to look around and wonder, especially NOW, before Christmas:) If I were rushing all the time, when would I have the time to see what's new, to observe the good discounts and so on? 

   So, I prefer to take my time and enjoy a peaceful life. I'm sure we can wake up earlier in order not to rush to work/school and we can also plan to pay more attention to the world around us. You'd be surprised to see how many little things show up when you're taking your time:)

Day 84. Christmas is coming to town

    I'm really enjoying every moment I'm spending in the kindergarten:) Everything is so new to me even though 20 years ago I was a kid too. 20 years! Wow! 

   Today I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the teachers in the kindergarten have started to decorate their classes for the beautiful month of Christmas. There were cute snowmen, fluffy snowflakes, colorful tinsel and Christmas balls everywhere:) 

   The teacher in the photo chose to decorate the Christmas tree with the kids. You should have seen them waiting in line full of enthusiasm to give the teacher a Christmas ball for the tree:) It was magical:) The way Christmas should be. Pitty the prettiest part are the preparations and that Christmas passes so fast. But meanwhile, let's enjoy the preparations!:)

   Starting with Monday, I'm directing my attention towards Christmas gifts for my family!:) This year, I can really afford it:) I can't wait to make them happy! They deserve it for being so great:)

Day 83. Life without music

  

 I don't always listen to music. Actually, there are days when I don't listen to music at all being so busy and caught up with work stuff. Nevertheless, I know where to find it when I feel like listening to it and I love the fact that there is a specific kind for every emotion I have. 

   Today I was in the mood for carols since I woke up. All day I hummed "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" and I wanted to listen to some more carols but I couldn't. I realized the speakers from my office aren't working. At all. And it's sad cos in that cozy retreat I have, life's on mute. Then I imagined: "How would life be if there wasn't music... at all?" Music empathizes with us, soothes us, embraces us, it even teaches us and it makes us dance. How would life be without dance? Dull, that's for sure. 

   So, let's listen to music more often and enjoy it as much as we can. Music is life and life without music is death on repeat.

Day 82. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

   Now I really have the feeling everything begins to look like Christmas around me. The kindergarten's halls are all packed with beautiful Christmas trees, lights and decorations and my office is now READY for Christmas:) 

   I worked very hard and it took a while until I was happy with the result, but now I am really proud:) I can't wait for snow to fall over the city like in a beautiful snow globe:) 

   For now, my office is my cozy, wintery retreat and I'm loving it:) I like the fact that problems fade away there and I hope kids will enjoy it too:) 

Closer look of the Christmas tree:)

Day 81. About second chances

   

   Each day we have to be creative, starting with what we're eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner, what we're wearing that day, how we're going to school/work, how and when we study for the exams and so on. Today I realized that not always the first idea is also the best. Rushing only leads to facing the bad outcomes of our own decision. That's why we should take our time and ponder more often about the costs and the benefits of that idea and the decision that comes with it. If that doesn't help, second chances might.

   Luckily, in my case, it was just about decorating the Christmas tree from my office in blue, silver and white. Bad call. It looked somehow odd in the end. Pitty I was so enthuziastic about having a second Christmas tree this year that I didn't take time to think if I really liked the result. I just wanted something different and I went with the flow. In the end I had mixed feelings... On one hand, I was disappointed about my blue idea but on the other hand I was happy to have my best friend over and decorate the odd Christmas tree together:) At the end of the day, I gave myself a second chance. Second chances are good sometimes.

   So... all the blue and silver Christmas balls are history (call me perfectionist - also, the photo looks better than reality, trust me). Tomorrow is going to be a brand new day for decorating: Red and White this time:) And it's going to look gorgeous. Santa is red and white, right? He must know something^^

Day 80. Equilibrium

   Life's all about reaching balance. In the very moment some people die, some kids are born. For all the things we don't know, there are things we already do and some other people don't. 

  We should never give up. We should keep fighting til we reach our own equilibrium. Til we're at peace with ourselves. No matter if that means we have to struggle a lot until we reach that point. Struggling keeps us alive and kicking. And it makes us better.  

Day 79. Food, glorious food

   Why buy meals if you can have homemade pizza, cakes or delicious dishes? Homemade food brings people together.

  I don't know about you but in my case the whole family helps create something yummy. My father peals and cuts, my mom and I fry, boil, stirr or bake and my brother tastes and says if something else has to be added. While we're cooking something special we always talk about things we didn't have time to talk during the week: plans, worries, solutions and we always end up laughing about something.

   The time spent in the kitchen with my family is when I realize I feel blessed to have them around:) 

Day 78. Keep calm and...

   

   ...breathe. Stop the anger passing through your body. Avoid the source of anger and change your thoughts. The others don't HAVE to be the way you want them to. 

   Being angry doesn't help you and it doesn't help the others either. So chill. Get away and instill positive thoughts in every corner of your mind. 

  Try to hold on and give sense and significance to everything that happens to you. Breathe. 

Day 77. Pride and prejudice

   People are different and they each have their own opinions and their own tastes. We know that already. It's the weird strong beliefs that some people have that shocked me today. 
   I announced the kids the dance class was about to start when a little girl of about 4 years old became very upset and told me she didn't want to dance because her mom thinks "dance is such a stupid thing to do" and "our Lord doesn't like us to dance". 
   Can you imagine how many times that mother had to repeat those two sentences to that little girl so that she would strongly believe in it and behave accordingly? I know how christians are. I've been there, I've done that. And I still consider myself a christian, just not a fanatic one anymore. But doing this to a child is, in my opinion, destructive. It's one thing if YOU, the adult, believe something because of your experience and the influence some people had on you and it's another thing to force your little one to believe in the same things as you do, to set boundaries so tight that he couldn't be free anymore. 
   I bet that little girl has more rules than rights and I'm honestly sorry for that. Yes, you might say: "Why does it matter if she's happy like that? Why does it matter if her parents love her and give her everything she needs to grow up and be on her own?" You know, this beautiful life God gave us each is not only about the basic needs. It's also about discovering the outer world and setting your own particular rules to guide your life around. 
   I'm amazed some people can be like that when they say they believe in a loving God. Isn't it written in the same Bible we all believe in that “I have the right to do anything, but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything but I will not be mastered by anything?" (1 Corinthians 6:12) It's the purpose you set that makes it a sin. How can a little child sin while dancing? How can dance therapy be a sin or even ballet? And how can someone get to be a dancer without jumping and dancing around the room since he was so little he could barely walk? There are many people in the world who would tell you that dancing saved their life when everything else was ruined.

   But in the end, it all comes down to pride and prejudice and it's a pitty. We should think twice before acting and even three times before telling our child to stop dancing because it's a stupid thing to do. He can't make his own decisions yet so why not let him explore and know the world first and only HELP him make good decisions?

Day 76. Why we love kids

   I know some people don't like children, so here are some reasons that might make them want to change their mind:

1. Kids remember your name very easily if you make them feel important and you play  funny games with them or if you show affection. Next time they see you, even if some weeks have passed, they will greet you with a joyful voice, calling your name and saying: "You're heeeere, what are we doing today?" 

2. After you've seen them some times and they really know who you are, their first reaction when they see you again is run to you and hug your foot and say "I love youuuuu".

3. They are very honest when expressing their feelings. You can immediately notice if they're sad because they miss mom, angry because someone took their toy, frustrated because you don't allow them to play whenever they want or happy to see you. And when they're happy, they're really happy. 

4. They're clumsy. They often fall from their chair, forget to clap when they should or bump into one another while dancing. But they don't think about people judging them. They laugh and move on:)

5. They're asking funny questions. They want to know everything that happens around them, like: why they can't go in the same bathroom together boys and girls, why their voice is still perfect after shouting so much but their teacher's isn't, etc.

6. They're very intelligent and memorize everything that interests them. And they like to be challenged in showing you what they know.

7. They don't need big presents to be happy. They're more than happy if they receive a colored dot and a praise when they did something right.

   Only two months and a half have passed and I'm sure more reasons are to come:) I realized I couldn't have a better job. I feel complete like this:)

Day 75. One of those movie moments

   Today I had my last class with the kids from my high school. It was ambivalent. Very nice and rewarding but also very intense and full of shouting too. We had some activities together and they went by just as you would expect some 4th graders to react at 2 PM after a day of classes. Nevertheless, at some point, close to the ending of the day, they  all broke into a noisy mess. It was more than I could normally handle. And I showed it to them by ending everything we were doing. They immediately noticed and I could read on their faces that they were sorry. But I couldn't just leave it at that. They wouldn't have learned anything yet. So I went on and after some moments of complete silence, I told them what I felt. That I was sorry we had to end our meetings like that... being upset and not happy and thankful. And then I let them go home. So they started packing their schoolbags and then they slowly left the room. I started being disappointed that they didn't really feel sorry for what they did for leaving like that.  

   Some minutes passed and while I was thinking about what had just happened questioning myself if I did the right thing, the door opened slowly and, ashamed, all the children stepped inside and told me with a cute guilty face that... they were sorry. One of the girls was teary and that moved me very much. It made me almost cry. They did learn their lesson in the end. 

   Sometimes it's all about taking the right decisions at the right time for people to learn something valuable. So today, I was the bad teacher, but that moment when they came back regretting, that was one of those moments you can only see in movies:)

Day 74. Lack of sleep

   I don't know about you but my days of being a night bird are coming to an end since I started working. I'm also behind with my TV Shows and reading is a delicacy only for bus time.

   Even though, these couple weeks I had to work late and also get up early so you can figure out how happy I was in the morning. Today was one of those mornings. But this time I tried to think positive and take out the benefits of these things: being able to help brings you more satisfaction than one or two more hours of sleep, and in the end, this situation is temporary. 

   But... I have to admit. I think I need a vacation. I can't wait for Christmas holidays to be here already:) New, huge Christmas tree and more decorations arrived in my house today! Yaaaay!!! Let it snow!:)

Day 73. Lovestruck

   I looked up the title in the urban dictionary. It fits perfectly for how I felt today. Not related to a person, though. It's related to the amazing, beautiful clock in the picture above. I met "him" in a hypermarket here in my town and I fell in love with it. I knew I had to get it. The price was extremely convenient as well but then... I took a minute and I started thinking: "Where would I put it? It doesn't fit with the rest of my room. It doesn't necessarely fit in my office at the kindergarten. I don't have my own place yet... It would definitely fit in a romantic kitchen with lots of plants. Nevertheless, I don't own that kitchen yet." So I eventually decided I had to break up with the idea of purchasing the clock. I had regrets and I've been thinking about it ever since I left the store... I still really want to have it. I can't explain why. I just know I do... and one day I will have it.

   This happens to us all the time. Walking around window shopping and suddenly laying our eyes on something extraordinary. That's when we know we're lovestruck. And we can't rest until we buy that amazing thing. Do we really need it right then? Of course we don't. But something inside us is yelling: "That's ME, that's exactly what I would pick if I looked for that. I want it! I want it now!" And maybe there should't be any second thoughts because it's so rear the chance when you find something as extraordinary as that. Be it shoes, accesories, clothes, books, decorations, furniture or many other things. 

   If you take the decision to follow your brain instead of your heart, just like when you fall for a person, your heart won't rest until you get what you want. So, forget the brain and follow your heart. You probably won't find that particular thing when you'll be looking for it and having the chance of finding it all of a sudden, when you least expect... that gotta be destiny:)

Day 72.Big Brother

   Even if we don't think about it very often or even if we don't like to admit it, we're always under careful supervision. Our brain helps us make our first impression about someone in a matter of seconds so it's enough to simply pass by someone on the street. You're immediately framed and put in a category. And then, there are people around you who know you from different places. And they're watching you. Your every move. They want to be like you or they want to be different. 

   We're never alone. The others are watching and many of them are also judging.

   Never judge someone by their appearance. Learn to know their soul first and then decide if you want to be around or not:) Prepare to be surprised!:)

Day 71. Colorful heaven

   I don't know about you, but I admire painters SO much! I wish I would have been able to create such a beauty with my own hands. Nevertheless, one has to settle for the gift he received when he was born. Was it random draw? Was it destiny?

  Today I got the chance to see some works of a painter from my own city: Octavian Popescu. Very very talented! I looove his landscapes and his flower paintings!:) 

   So, this afternoon I stepped into heaven for a bit and it was heart melting:)

Day 70. Getting ready

   This morning, dear Autumn showed me she's getting ready. You know how women are. You have to wait a lot till they're ready. But I think Autumn is a nice lady and she'll be ready soon. Ready to hand over the world to her sister, Winter. 

   Oh, dear, I can't wait to meet Winter. I can't wait for Christmas to be here. Happy, happy, joy, joy, there are only 39 days left!!!:D I bought lots of decorations for my office and I can't wait to use them:) Call me crazy, but my inner child is bursting with joy:)

   

Day 69. Home is where...

   ... your heart is:) We all know this saying. Today I thought about how important it is to be surrounded by your loved one, your family and your friends... that money, no matter how much it is, it will never make you as happy as being surrounded by love. 

   So, I choose love over money and this is my life quote:

"Nu bogăţia, ci liniştea colibei tale te face fericit." (Moara cu noroc - Ioan Slavici)

"It's not wealth but peace within your house that makes you happy." (Moara cu noroc - Ioan Slavici)

Day 68. The best years

"The best years of our lives are the ones we didn't live yet."

   I read this quote today in the amazing book I'm reading on the bus (Call from an angel - Guillaume Musso) and it made me smile:) Many times we find ourselves longing for the past, wishing for it to come back to life thinking that it was definitely better than the present. We all know they say present is a gift and we should cherish it, but I never thought the best is yet to come:) 

   We've all had good years and those are the ones we daydream about when our rollercoaster is going down, but instead, we should close our eyes, breathe and tell ourselves the best is yet to come:) That's how we know the ride is going up again, that's what keeps us alive:) 

Day 67. The road is long

   Sometimes all we want to say is "It's too much." Some situations exceede our knowledge and we're left behind with no idea how to get out of there. Well, it's a long way to wisdom and experience helps a lot. You can't pretend to know it all from the beginning, even if you have theoretical knowledge of how things should work. It's no rule it will. 

   What we could do is get out of the self pity mood we're in and try to solve the situation without complaining. Complaining doesn't help. It just gets you stuck there. So, get up and look for answers. You'll be amazed to find out that many times the answer is within you. 

Day 66. Fix you

   We're all broken one way or another. Problems, worries and disappointments, they all break us up. But it's up to us to fix ourselves to be able to smile again. 

   We need to focus on the things that we DO have and be thankful for them instead of worrying about the ones we don't, we need to stop the gloomy thoughts and start trusting life again because she wants to embrace us and we should let her. 

Let's be creative and make the best out of what we have now:)

Day 65. Pay it forward

   Today I realized I want to help. More than I usually do. I don't have big plans. I just want to make a difference. Christmas is approaching and I love being Santa. I want to make people happy:) 

   I know I should start with myself first. So I decided I want to be happy. I wish to be like a tree in autumn. Leave my rotten leaves behind and move on. Be better. Shine. And change the world I'm in. I want to pay it forward and so should you. It turns around when you least expect and when you need it the most:) 

So let's help. Let's look around and give a bit of ourselves to people in need. 

Day 64. The teacher within the child

   

   Even if seen as innocent, naive and without knowledge, children possess a lot of wisdom. Today a girl made me wonder. She raised emotions in me and when I left I was troubled. How could wisdom enter such a small body?:) 

   Many times, all we have to do is stop and listen. Listen to the children around us and learn. It's precisely their innocence that makes them wiser than the grown ups. Children are very suitable teachers. 

   So let's listen to them more carefully:)

Day 63. The beginning of a purple winter

   There are only 45 days left til next Christmas:) This year it's gonna be a purple winter for me and I've been planning this since last year so I'm really excited about it!:)  

   Christmas is definitely my favourite holiday of the year but usually the most beautiful part of it aren't those proper 3 Christmas days since they pass so fast you can barely feel them but the "I can't wait for it to be here", the preparations part, the shopping spree for gifts and decorations:) The thing is that we feel those 3 days differently at different ages and as we grow older we lose the sparkle within and we start seeing Christmas as a necessity. 

   So this year I realized it's exactly the shopping spree that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside no matter the age, the going in the supermarkets and fairs and looking for the proper decorations. This is what gets me in the Christmas mood. This and, some days, the winter air that announces it. 

   You'd say that all these are the wrong reasons for liking Christmas. I know. I've been there, I've done that. But in the end it's not "how it should be" that matters, but "how YOU feel it should be". Christmas is such a beautiful holiday that is not worth it spending the days before it feeling guilty for liking the Christmas decorations more than singing carols. I love carols but, let's face it, they're "stronger" when you're a child. So let's just keep the inner child within and upgrade our love for Christmas in the way we know best. For me, it's all about making my room pretty for those 3 days that pass so fast:)

So let the Christmas shopping spree begin!:D

Day 62. Sweet escape

   I bet you thought I was gonna say I'm a chocoholic. As weird as it sounds, I wish I was. That would have given me a purpose in life, like collecting angels. So... no, I'm just an average person who loves eating chocolate pralines once in a while to make her life prettier. Isn't that how most of us do it? Isn't chocolate our sweet escape along with reading and watching movies? Girls know what I'm talking about. 

Chocolate makes the world go round:) Thank God for the people who "invented" it:)

Day 61. Do it differently!

   I used to like a TLC commercial very much: "Everybody is doing something in a certain way. Who says you have to be like them? Do it differently!" Today, I did it differently and it mattered. It still does. It makes my office more vibrant, more autumn-y, more me:) And I like it;)

P.S. Here are some of the wall stickers I bought for my office:) Hope you like them:

Day 60. God rays

   I'm so lucky to live "at the end of the world"!:) Each morning God is blessing me with a new breathtaking scenery! Today it was God rays!:)

   I loved God rays since the beggining of my interest in photography along with lonely trees and flower macros:) For me they're the living message of His love and peace and that's how we should live as well: sending away love and peace to the people around us:) 

Day 59. In awe

   I didn't love autumn when I was little or when I was a teenager. I didn't love autumn even 2 or 3 years ago. I couldn't see beyond. All I looked at was the downside of it. Of course we can find reasons NOT to like something if you really for it. Today when going out with my family I was AMAZED, extatic, in awe. For minutes all you could hear from me was OMG this is amazing! 

   So now I decided to embrace it. Since I've got this photoblog I grew with autumn around me and I looked more carefully at her and now I understand her and I like her. So much that I would LOVE to get married in this time of the year (the beginning of November). I know it's a high risk since it might very well rain but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Wow! I would have never believed I was going to ever say this: I LOVE autumn!<3

Day 58. DIY

   I think most of us love DIY pages we see on the internet but how many did we really DO it ourselves? We just fave them and stack them somewhere on our page or on our computer and that stays like that for a long while if not even forever. 

   That's my case too. I guess I'm just not motivated enough and I keep postponing putting the ideas into practice because "I'll do it when I'll have my own place. That place is gonna be AMAZING." 

   Today, however, I laid my eyes on a rock I once brought home and I immediately thought I wanted to start working on a DIY idea: an owl I've just seen on a cute page. So, above is my version and below, the original:

Let's be less lazy and more practical since they're cheap ideas we should take advantage of;)

Day 57. Challenge accepted

   Usually kids love to draw. They love it when you build challenges for them. So I challenged a girl today but guess what: the girl gave ME a challenge too. So... Challenge accepted! I did my best but it's still very 5 year old-ish:)) Even though, I enjoyed drawing by her side while she was drawing something for me. At the end of the day she was in awe with my drawing. Talk about appreciation. Or maybe kids lie easily:P

Day 56. Guilty angel

   It's been almost a year since it began... the treasure hunt for angels:) I've always loved them for one reason or another, be it because I believe in guardian angels or because of their special appearance and their mystical aura. 

   I've never been too much into collecting stuff though. I only remember collecting callendars but I gave up easily on that one so this decision began like a childlike game of Christmas and it still is one. Each time I find new angel decorations and I enrich my collection I get extatic just like a child... but after purchasing the angels there comes the guilt. Sometimes I think it might not be worth it since it's not a basic need. I'm human. I was raised a certain way. A way that prices the value of food and shelter. Nevertheless, inside myself there's a different part of me who screams at the top of her lungs because she wants attention. I want to listen to her too. So I allow myself to buy some angels from time to time. After a long while, today I bought some and it felt good:) 

   In the end, it's all about balance. After watching a show today and seeing how shopaholic people are, I call myself pretty healthy:) So, let the angel treasure hunt continue:) Out with the guilt:)