365 days project 2. Day 34. Thank you

   There are times when you can't do everything alone no matter how much you want to do it all by yourself. Sometimes the project is way bigger than you anticipated and if you've also never done this before, you can be sure you'll need someone with experience... or at least people who are willing to help just because two, three or four heads think better than one :)

   I keep thinking back at the wedding every day and I always find something new to be thankful for. Today I am thankful for my bridesmaids who were always by my side, making sure everything was under control and I wasn't stressed. And thus I was the most relaxed bride ever. I could just dance and have fun and I owe it all to them. Man, bridesmaids are a huge blessing!

   These days we're rushing all around town to register our first car that we bought just last weekend. It's all so new and different to me since I've never done this before. Oli is not Romanian so he has no idea how this process should be solved either, therefore we need my dad, brother and even mom for the rescue. Today mom, Oli and I went to an inspection with the car and I am so thankful we were able to go there together and support each other through every new stage. Thankfully, it all ended well.

   Life just wouldn't be the same without help when we need it. And the most beautiful times are the ones when help comes when you don't expect it. That's when you know who truly cares about you. 

  Thank you, bridesmaids and family for making my life so much easier and keeping me happy! You're the best!

365 days project 2: Day 16. tiME

   Time. An hour can feel like a year or like a minute. When you're looking forward to an event it feels like time is dilating and when you're planning for another can make it feel like it's shrinking. Isn't it funny how the same amount of minutes can take so many shapes?

   These days, more than ever I can't wait for time to pass faster until this Friday, the 25th. My girls and I are going "somewhere" for a weekend to celebrate my Bachelorette Party. I have NO idea where I'm going, who exactly is coming and what is happening there. I just know it will last for a weekend and no matter how much I tried to find clever questions to get some clues I couldn't get them so here I am, reaaally hoping time passes faster so Friday can come sooner. On the other hand, there isn't much time left until the wedding and the paperwork for marrying a foreign citizen seems way more complicated than I initially thought. So natually I hope I'll have enough time to solve it all before the deadline. 

   One person wishing for time to both shrink and dilate. Now that's something you won't see every day, I bet :)

365 days project 2: Day 13. Right here, right now

   Close your eyes. Listen. Feel. Can you hear the birds chirping? Can you feel the sun on your skin? Everything's happening Right Now. Spring is in full bloom. Look around. What's new compared to last week? When was the last time you paid attention to what was happening to you Right Then?

   Today I remembered some experiences happen just once in a lifetime and I want to fully live them. This is the place (picture) where I'll celebrate my wedding in less than 2 months: Wonderland. 

   Today we tasted some food for the big event. Many other people tasted the same food in the same time as we did. How many of them did it automatically because it had to be done and how many of them lived the experience to the fullest? No one knows. But once I got outside of the venue and I looked around I saw THIS: beautiful and elegant, ready to receive brides and grooms and their families celebrating their big day. 

   I'm so excited! We're one step closer to the wedding. I hope it'll be sunny. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Until then I want to live in the NOW and enjoy this feeling for 2 more months :) It'll never come back. 

My second 365 days journey - Day 1. A new beginning

Dear diary,

   There comes a time when you realize life passes you by and the only things you left behind are some photos of meals you cooked and cute stuff you've seen. I'm right there. 

   Compared to all the past years, there's a wedding approaching in 2 months. My wedding. The one I always dreamt of planning and decorating in such a way to make all my dreams come true. I've always been passioned about weddings. I would LOVE to decorate weddings for a living... Mine is on its course. Almost everything's done and my main projects (2 albums I've been working on: one - 30 years of marriage for my parents and the other one - the second year of life for Carl and Aaron) are done as well. I feel I need a new challenge. Something to keep me on my toes. Something to make me open my eyes wide and look around searching for beauty. Something to make me talk to myself more and rediscover myself now, at almost 28 years of age....

   Minutes ago I was watching the wall above my computer. The one with many wonderful photos I took along the years that make me proud to have witnessed such amazing beauty and that I was lucky enough to capture it in pictures. And that's how I realized. I took all those photos long ago. And now I'm going on through life turning into a wife to be. One that is not even ready to have kids. One that desperately needs to find the artist within herself. So here I am. Starting another project. Another 365 days of daily photos and thoughts. And what day could be better chosen than 3 years and a half apart from the first project? :)

                Let's see what changed in all these years... Here's to a brand new journey!

Very excited,

D.

20 wonderful memories of 2015

Dear diary,

Another wonderful year has passed and this time I succeeded to do things I always wanted to but never had the chance: I moved out and I went to Canada! But these are only two of the best memories I gathered this year!

At the beginning of the year I wanted to be "right here, right now and enjoy the journey that goes on". I think I mostly achieved my wish and I'm proud of that :)

What happened this year?

1. We went to Baisoara to a friend's cabin right after New Year's Eve and we had so much fun!

2. I moved my office at the kidergarten from the big building where all the kids are to the small building where I felt secluded at first but where I feel very peaceful now. Changes are good.

3. I moved in with Oli, my fiancé! After amost 27 years of living with my parents, it was a welcome change. I was able to decorate the new place exactly like I always wanted and truly make it my very own cozy home. We had friends and family over for my birthday, Easter, housewarming party, Thanksgiving and Christmas and I loved decorating the place for all these occasions!

4. I applied for the Canadian visa for 8 hours on my birthday and I got it a week later! Woo-hoooo! It was a loooong and complex process that actually took months, but I did it! 

5. We had Oli's family over in Cluj for the first time ever and we traveled with them around the country to see the Mocanita in Viseu de Sus and Castelul Corvinilor in Hunedoara!

6. Oli and I visited Sibiu in a romantic getaway weekend and we loved it! I fall in love with that city every time I see it!

6. I went to my first wine tasting and it wasn't as pretentious as I thought! I really enjoyed the presentation and the wines!

7. I went to another summer camp as a teacher but this one was small and ended rather badly with all of us being sick. Nevertheless, I loved the kids and the places we saw together!

8.  Oli and I went to 2 weddings together: one with friends and the other one with the family. It was fun!

9. I went to Canada for the first time in my life and before that I also saw Munich and Reykjavik! I loved every second of my summer trip abroad!

10.  I started my 4th year as a kindergarten psychologist. Who knew years would pass so fast? I was disappointed, I wanted to give up but people around me supported me and gave me the trust I needed to go on. Working in the educational system is very difficult and not always rewarding, but I know now I should focus more on the kids and their joy of seeing me rather than on the adults around me.

11. We went out to picnics with my family! Even though they weren't as often as the last years, they were relaxing and fun and we still kept alive our traditions of picking snowdrops and mistletoe! I realized I only feel completely at home when I'm out in the nature!

12. We traveled to the Czech Republic and to Slovakia with our friends! I realized I don't like the big capitals like Prague but I loved Olomouc and Bratislava!

13. On Nov 7th, Oli and I celebrated our one year anniversary since we got engaged!

14. This year I made 6 Advent calendars for my friends and I started late, as usual. But I'm definitely getting better and better at it! :D

15. We had Hans and Dana twice in Cluj this year! They came back for Oli's birthday and we also celebrated Christmas early with them! Wonderful times!

16. I made a 30 years anniversary album for my parents. I worked on it for 3 months and it was definitely one of the most complex projects I had ever taken in, but it was worth it. We now have a lifetime of memories on paper!

17. Oli and I spent our first Christmas at our own place and we decorated it so beautifully: not only with one, but with 4 Christmas trees!:D We went caroling with my family and we reconnected with some relatives we haven't seen in a long time.

18. We went on with the wedding planning. We had a "Save the date" photoshoot too! We can't wait to get married in less than 5 months!

19. I cooked a LOT of new things and I feel I'm getting better and better at baking! 

20. This year all my dreams came true! I have my dream home, my dream husband to be, my dream job and my dream life all in all! I am so very thankful for everything and I can't wait to see what 2016 will bring!

Personal motto for next year: "Stressfree... carefree... happy!"

Very excited,

D.