Romeo i Julietta

There are few things in this world that I love more than ballet (as I am proving by trying to train it two times a week - operative word being TRYING). Since it was my best friend Katja's birthday few days ago and she shares my passion for ballet (among other things like Russian literature), I decided to get us tickets to the Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet in the Slovak National Theatre (SND). The last time we went to ballet to see Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty we were incredibly disappointed - it was unbelievably amateurish. But this time SND managed to surprise us. Romeo and Juliet was very good, fast-paced, beautifully and professionally choreographed and let me tell you, the fact that men and especially Romeo were serious eye-candies didn't hurt either (as I can prove by one picture). I managed to sneak one photo at the end (obviously I am too cowardly to break the rules even for one harmless picture, so I got some from SND). If you ever get stuck in Bratislava with nothing to do, I can't recommend this ballet enough. I am already considering going to see it for the second time with my mom.

The last picture is of my gift from Katja (yeah, it wasn't my birthday but I got gifts - that's Katja for you). My beloved Bulgakov AND history reading. Yey.
Reading: Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot
Listening: The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet

Little Things

Life's made up of little things. Like a cup of espresso or a once-a-month delivered magazine from UK. Or the everyday moments with the love of my life. We were in the kitchen talking and laughing while my man was grinding the coffee beans for the fresh coffee. We were excited about the cakes my mom sent us and contemplating when I am going to cook us vanilla pudding (next hour or next five minutes?) At that moment I realized how happy I am with this guy. And how much I appreciate that he is mine. Last night he woke me up from my nightmare (creepy little ghost-girl) and hugged me and was willing to fall asleep with me in his arms (we never do this). Yesterday he listened to my why-the-f***-is-everybody-asking-me-when-I-am-getting-married-and-having-children rant. (Seriously, people, you need to back off! and stop asking me this three times a day, every day!) And even after seven years I love him more and more. How amazing is that?

(We have amazing espresso machine but for the purpose of grinding the coffee I discovered this long-forgotten coffee mill in our kitchen that I swear is from the communism era 30 years ago that still works perfectly. When my parents found out that we use it they had quite a laugh about it. But if it's not broke...)
Reading: John Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men, A Very Short Introduction to The First World War

Autumn Walk

Today the weather was exceptional as noted by my man as he was hanging the laundry (yeah, lucky me, he voted that part of laundry as his chore :) ) so we decided to go out. Since I cooked lunch (Paleo zucchini quiche), baked a cake (Paleo brownies) and we have excellent espresso at home, we were unable to make any other plans like - go for a lunch, or go for a coffee/cake and decided just to take a stroll. The walk was for me a bit nostalgic. It is getting worse here in Slovakia for people trying to run their business (us) and we are once again reconsidering the notion of moving to Bratislava, Prague or Vienna. But I am not sure what to do with my business and if, after all, I want my children to grow up as little "Pražáci" (since Prague is the most probable place we'll move to if we have to). I love this city and I love that I have my family, friends, choir and ballet here. But (and that's the problem) - but will a better life await us elsewhere?

Currently reading: Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms, A Very Short Introduction - Classics
Currently listening: Birdy - Fire Within

Mushroom picking

Yesterday I got a call from my man asking if we wanted to go mushroom picking with his friends. I said why not? The weather was Okeyish, it wasn't too muddy or cold, and the forest we went to wasn't very far. And although I didn't want to get my hopes up, I was pleasantly surprised. After two hours of traipsing through the forest my basket was full and even the sun decided to show up just before setting. I begged my man to drive me to my parents to show and share some of the mushrooms (at the end they didn't want any). But the views while we drove to their house were amazing. I smiled like an idiot while thinking to myself: "I love this city". (I think I love this city the more, the more the possibility of us having to move looms over us :( )
And thus I had scrambled eggs with mushrooms for dinner, breakfast and dinner. But alas, there are no more.

I had only my HTC (or as I like to call it "C" - cause letters HT are gone) to take the pictures. The beautiful navy espresso cup is from Butlers - I finally got them in Prague in six colors - yellow, orange, red, turquoise, navy and lime-green. They are sooo gorgeous and always cheer me up! And the weird things on the last picture are bell peppers spread with bio liver pate (well, I have to improvise since we don't eat bread).

And the last - last picture are my two money guzzling beasts: silver Valkyrie and black Audina (funnily enough they are both "girls"). And THIS girl is thinking about getting rid of them and purchasing something small and CHEAP! And then I am thinking about next shopping trip to IKEA or just another trip to Prague with golf gear and realizing why I bought combi in the first place.... Somebody in this family HAS to have a big car and it's not going to be my man who has no interest in the cars the way I do. (I looove cars and driving, I could and I DO it every day even though it would be cheaper to ride a bike or take a bus to my workplace!!! My man has a small, red, 10 year old Yaris with only 50000km under the hood he inherited from his grandfather who can't drive anymore. And even though his friends make fun of him for his girlfriend having a better car, he likes his Ultimate City Mobile - UCM as he likes to call it and has no urge to compensate...)

My autumn wishlist

Autumn is here and like every autumn I have this huuuge urge to make wish lists. So here are my currents obsessions:

1. Steve Madden Stockhlm Boots To say I have a mild obsession with these would be an understatement of the century. I've been eyeing them for few months now. Unfortunately, Steve Madden doesn't ship to Slovakia (which might have not been such a problem), but they don't accept any cards other than US or Canadian. AND they don't sell these anywhere BUT on stevemadden site. The more I can't have them, the more I want them! And when my man told me: it's just shoes, honey - he got the evilest eye ever. 'nuff said. 2. Michael Kors Watch Let's just say I have only a silver watch and thus I have to eschew golden accessories. With these I wouldn't face this problem. (Yeah, to have my problems... ;) ) 3. Peter Watson's Great Divide Yes, there is a book on this list. Yes, it is nonfiction. Yes, I want it bad. 4. VS Suede Pumps I don't even know how many times I searched for gray suede pumps on amazon. And all of a sudden Victoria's Secret has them. Another reason to love them. (Not that I need any more of those :) ) 5. Ice Skates There is a new ice rink in Nitra and I MUST get a chance to skate this year. And since the last pair of ice skates I bought are in Moscow, I need a new ones. 6. Cable sweater Red, navy blue or dove-gray - it doesn't matter, I want me some cable knit sweater this autumn. 7. Belt I need me some serious belts! - since I lost the belly fat ALL my belts are useless and this one is called Valkyrie (the name of my first car) so it's very fitting. 8. Navy bracelets The most amazing Kiel James Patrick merchandise to remember the summer in the dreary winter months. They are all SO gorgeous. 9. Espresso cups Finally, we have a great espresso machine and the best coffee in Slovakia I could find. And now I really want some beautiful espresso cups, too. These come in many different colors and I am going to buy them all next week in Prague. Jupiii. 10. Apron Yep, it's an apron. And with tour eiffels. With the amount of cooking I am doing these last few months, I think I deserve to be pretty in the kitchen. 

Slovak Wedding from Choir Perspective

Wedding season is on and our choir got a first gig this year this Saturday. I love to spy on the wedding from our "bird" perspective from the balcony and this time I grabbed my camera. Of course I snapped a few picture of us, the choir.

There were the usual Wedding marches, Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You and Clare Benediction and Frisina. The bride was beautiful and radiant and obviously everybody was having a good time. We got "výslužka" (gift of food - I can' stress how amazing this Slovak wedding tradition is - you get a box of desserts and cakes and some alcohol!!!). We got three Sacher tarts and three bottles of rosé wine from very grateful father of the bride. And, of course, we stuffed our faces ASAP. It was delicious! When is the next wedding, please?

Shake it like you mean it!

I have a new toy. Looks like this. And yes, unfortunately, I am already at that stage of my life when my toys are kitchen appliances. Sad sigh.

I have loads of recipes for shakes, smoothies and frappes. They range from superhealthy:

after workout:

to the most decadent drinks like: (shout-out to amazing Irey from Eat drink paleo and her recipes!)
Raspberry Mojito Frappe:

1 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries, 6-7 mint leaves, 1 tsp coconut or maple syrup, 1/2 cup orange juice.

Apple Cinnamon Pie:

1 cup Granny Smith apples, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, 1/4 cup cashews, 1 cup coconut milk

My First Shake:

1 banana, 200 ml coconut milk, 200 ml milk 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 espresso coffee, 1 tsp salted caramel

Any other ideas for amazing drinks to make in blender out there?

5 Thing I Wish I Had Known 10 Years Ago - Running

You know that Eureka feeling you get when you figure out finally something for yourself and you are incredibly happy with the feeling "NOW, I KNOW!" I absolutely love those. But unfortunately afterwards I think to myself - I wish somebody have told me about this before.
This is my first edition of Things I  Wish I Had Known 10 Years Ago. This time about running.

1. The fastest and best way to lose weight? Running.
This is the most important advice I wish I've gotten years ago! Running is definitely the best fat-melting exercise and gives you gorgeous legs and butt, melts away that stinking love handles and floppy arms.

2. Run 10k. Run more.
I used to run three, four or maximum of five kilometers. And I thought I was doing the most I could. But then my man did his first 10k. And few months after that, when I was already running frequently, I decided to try it. Just to try it, mind you. If I felt exhausted or injured or couldn't go on, I would just stop. But I ran and ran and ran. It was amazing - I found out I could do it! 10km sounds incredibly daunting. But it is not. If you are a frequent runner, you should definitely try to run longer distances.

3. First km is the hardest.
When I leave the house, I already know how much I want to run. But no matter if I run intervals or distance, I found out that the hardest and laziest is my first km. I also found out that I can't give up and that it will eventually get easier.

4. Run intervals
Running long distances is OK, but there is nothing better for weight loss, flat belly and speed than intervals. Sprint as long and as fast as you can, then just walk it out. Repeat. My little trick when I feel unable to sprint anymore? - I start to pump my arms. Your arms move in opposition to your legs to keep you in balance. When you start to pump your arms, your legs will start to move faster.

5. Your biggest enemy is your brain
Your legs will move, you will make another step and another. It's your brain that will try to convince you you can't do it anymore. (Of course in the case when you are not injured!) There were times when I felt like I can't do it anymore, that I just wanted to stop, that I just wanted to go home. At the times like these I always force myself to think about something else. And then I realize that I have already run another km. My brain got distracted and my legs continued to move.

30 Day Squat Challenge

What is life without a little bit of excitement to it? After successfully finishing my March Running Challenge, I decided to try a new challenge in May:

Finishing the March Challenge

I did it. I DID IT! I ran EVERY SINGLE DAY in March! It wasn't easy. There were days when I was seriously doubting my decision. When I was cursing myself and calling myself a big idiot! But I ran anyway. And I found out that I could do it.

I ran in the horrible weather we were experiencing this March. When the wind was so strong it was biting my skin, when the snow was hitting my face and I had to run with my head down. When the snow was melting and my trainers and socks were soaking wet. The rain, the snow, the wind - I weathered it all. 

I ran with three hangovers. Even though I felt pretty terrible, I still ran.

I ran when I was feeling really under the weather and I was so sure I was going to be sick the next day. Well I ran anyway, and guess what - I wasn't sick the next day and I felt great.

I ran when I got a pretty nasty eye infection, I ran when I got my period. 

I ran when my knee started to hurt, I ran when my one foot bone was hurting with every step.

And I still ran.

And after a while even my dairy started to spell - I DID. I DID.

Yes, I wasn't able to ran at least 10 km at my Distance day. I wasn't able to shed the 2 cm of my hips and thighs or see the magical number 56 kg on the scale. BUT my body DID change. I can already see the end results. And I am faster and stronger. All in all I have to say it was an amazing, incredible experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

And I have already started on my April challenge. Run 25 days in April. :) See you next month.

And remember: 

March Challenge

March is my most dreaded month of the year. As an accountant I am working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. So, naturally I am not able to fit anything there. I usually just wake up in April into spring like a hibernating bear. But this year I decided to change that. I am trying to finally lose those 10 kg I put on in the last ten years. I managed to lazily and slowly lose some of the kilos already. But I decided to really jump start my weight loss and finally reach my goal.
So I challenged my lazy self and also promised myself to run EVERY SINGLE DAY IN MARCH.
I alternate between distance and interval running every other day. My limits are simple. I have to run at least 10 km for distance and 5 km intervals with speed more than 7.5 km per hour. Lucky for me there was a perfect running weather this past week.
But I am slowly getting sick of my outfit:

So I decided that if I DO finish this challenge, I will reward myself with new running outfit and shoes.
Something like these:

source: http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/

Only thing standing in my way is myself. Wish me luck!

Romantic weekend with my ... brother?

Few weeks ago my man arranged a romantic Valentines weekend getaway in the Tatry mountains. Three days of (not only) skiing, spa and great food. But, we have this saying in Slovakia: "Človek mieni, pán Boh mení" as in "We may make our plans, but God has the last word." and unfortunately, my boyfriend got stuck in Frankfurt because his dad is sick. Well, what to do? I was in no mood for romance without him. It was too late to cancel, most of my girlfriends are living out of town or are married or in a relationship. And then I remembered my brother. Recently single and heartbroken and brooding over his breakup. What better way to cheer him up? So I invited him along. We decided to spent two days without thinking about work and doing what we, the Slovaks, do best: drink, eat and relax at spa.

Lomnický peak at High Tatras

I got the short stick in our family

Doing nothing... my favorite

When we checked in with our IDs, I realized that with our same surname, it looked like we were married. LOL. And we had this waiting for us in the room:

How about NO?

But spa was amazing. Well, let's face, it was freezing outside, February is the start of my busiest season at work and I didn't have to work for one weekend and I've just had Pina Colada. Of course, I felt amazing. 

Spa... Oh yeah! Chipping away my reading list.

Later, we decided to check out the disco scene in Tatras. I absolutely adore Humno bar in Tatranska Lomnica. If you ever decide to go to High Tatras, you definitely have to check this place out. They have the best burgers ever! And they have this little weird thing going on - there is Cadillac Escalade hanging from the ceiling about the dance-floor. I have NO idea why. 

At Humno bar... with Cadillac Escalade hanging from the ceiling behind us.

Even though it looks like that it was just us, we had our fantastic friends with us - they weren't couple either, so at the end the romantic weekend was just a long party.
If you are ever in Slovakia for skiing or spa, you should check out Grandhotel in Stary Smokovec. 

Rome - the holy part

Like everyone else I have many dreams. But some of the dreams I didn't even knew I had, and when these kind of dreams become reality, it's more than amazing. In the wake of pope's resignation this week, I decided to go back into the past (ha! two months) and share my unknown dream that came true - in December I was in Vatican with my choir and on 2nd of December we were at General Audience of pope Benedict XVI. where he personally addressed us. And as I was standing there and the pope spoke directly to us in Slovak and then as I was signing Tu Es Petrus to him, I wondered - how did I get here? How did I, a person who is not even remotely religious, get here, in front of the pope and with this amazing group of people.

Official photo of Psallite Deo at General Audience - this is what pope saw...

...and this is what we saw

I would call myself a passive Roman Catholic. I know the Catholic church and I feel at home with the religion but I could hardly call myself a devout believer. But I am a devout lover of music AND choir music and, fortunately, a longtime friend of our choirmaster. And so I am in this choir of young people, some of them five or ten years younger than me, (ex)students of Catholic school and now my best friends for life.

This is us - Psallite Deo

Our choirmaster, or Maestro as we like to call him, studied Organ music in Rome for two years. This unassuming guy is incredibly talented musician and unbelievably awesome person. Thanks to him and his huge number of contacts in Rome and Vatican city, we had this once in a lifetime opportunity to sing at the aforementioned General Audience. BUT! That's not all. Being so talented and great choir ;) we sang the Sunday mass at 6pm in St Peter's Basilica and we had a concert at ...Ihavenoideawhatthenameofthechurchwas... kidding... kinda.... aha - Church of San Pantaleo. 

After Sunday mass at St Peter's Basilica

As Roman Catholics (plus me) we visited the most important and beautiful churches around Vatican and Rome. And as regular tourists we went to see the Sistine Chapel. What was out of the ordinary, when you know somebody who knows somebody and that somebody is pope's sacristan, you get to see Vatican city from a different point of view. And you may even go to the Sistine chapel alone, with nobody there but you. And  you may even have the chance to take few (riiiiight, few) pictures there, even though it's forbidden. And you may even have a chance to sing there. (You know that story you know your grandchildren will absolutely hate to hear because they will hear it million times? Well, THIS is going to be my story.)

Sistine chapel

....to be continued

Book Addict

I may have a little problem. I am a book addict - or is it a reading addict? Hm, I really don't know. What I do know, is that I read A LOT. I read every day, I read with every meal, I read after I wake up and before I go to sleep, I read while waiting for somebody or in line. I usually read three to four books in a week. (I counted it!) I will not step out of the house without a book.

yep, sums it up nicely

And thanks to the generation of smart phones I don't have to. I have this cute little reading app on my phone called Aldiko where in few years I managed to collect around 400 books. And that is the crux of the matter. I started to read only ebooks, and mostly romantic novels at that . But I happily continued purchasing "real" books, mostly classics. Mind you, I started to read them, but somehow I never really finished them.
But when my man started to joke around that the numbers of book I am currently reading is undoubtedly double-digit, I told myself - that's enough!
Other people have New Year's Resolution like: lose weight, save money, get a better job... My New Year's Resolution was simple: Read less. Or if you have to read, finish one of the many books you have purchased in the last years.
Since January 1st I finished these "real" books:

And I am currently reading these:

yay, for having books in Russian and Slovak there - pretty uncommon for me

I am still reading on my smart phone and since New Year's I have finished many more books. But I decided not to count the ebooks. ( Just last Sunday I finished three... what can I say, I was feeling pretty sick). I am still an addict, but I believe that I am on my way to recovery. And lets pretend that there is no package with 6 books waiting for me in the post office tomorrow.

Life lessons learned

I have spent the last few days running around a little bit crazy, trying to "get done" everything before the big trip. But yesterday I got to calm down a little and I had an amazing chat with one of my guy friends. About life, love, marriage, expectations and men and women. While we were talking, I realized that I had to share this picture:

It really is that simple. :)

PS: The author is Jesse Cline.