2010

A new list for a new year.

Hula always makes a list that matches her age.
But that would be too dearing for me.
I don't want to put 40 things on my list.
Let's see what will come up :
Here we go.
1. Go to the beach. Okay, not original, I go every year but I am craving the sun.
2. Paint new paintings. Make Mateo paint this summer on a big canvas.
3. Grow my hair longer.  I will take a picture of it now and take a picture again in one year.
4. Visit Annona in Miami or New-York.
5. Spend a weekend with my brother.  Could that be possible Mouli?
6. Take a new class.  I don't know about what but something new.
7. See my friends more.
8. Make it a priority to walk a lot.
9. Read at least 12 books.
10. Try a lot of new recipes.
11. Decorate with Vicky for her new house.
12.  Have a healthy new baby.
13. Work less.
14. Go out with M more often to restaurants, just us two.
...
more will come...still thinking about it.

being sick

Nobody likes being sick but for me being sick always means staying in bed.
Since I have started being a mom, I haven't spent many days in bed - there is always too much to do with Mateo around.
And staying in bed means having food and drink on the mattress, books and magazines around all around, eating at weird hours, looking like crap but not minding.  I love it when the bed looks like a battlefield.
I spent the whole day in bed and I loved it.
Being sick is for me the only way that I can get quiet.
I realize when I am sick how busy my life usually is.
Doing this and going there.
Working and e-mailing.
And preparing supper.
And doing, doing, doing...
I realize how much I love to do nothing.
I am often sick over the holidays.
I think it is a way for me to calm down and think about the new year.
To refresh the energy.

I loved my day and I think I feel much better.
Night will tell me if the coughing has calmed down.
M had an outing tonight which was perfect too, it gave me more time to do nothing.
I say nothing but I started reading a book (Sarah's key- Annona buy that one too!) and cried for most of the day (thank you Isabelle!) and I wrote in my journal.
M gave me the idea of making a collage and that is what I did.
I also watched an episode of Six Feet Under.  I love that show because it makes you realize how lucky we are to be alive.
And made me want to write a list about all the things I love...
Number 1 : I love babies.
Which brings me back to Mateo again, will I ever stop writing about this sweet child?

first wedding anniversary

One year ago, M and I were crying at the beach.
One year ago, 40 people came to our wedding.
One year ago, I decided to share my life with a great man -
who happened to buy me a wonderful and chic anniversary gift last week ;)
LOVE YOU M

it is dark and cold outside

I wish I could take a plane and go to the sun.

a white photo shoot

you like it?

chico #2

Can you see him on the top left corner?
Chico #2 is Mateo's fish.
I killed Chico #1 by cleaning the jar with too harsh cleaning products.
Chico #2 does not seem to be too strong either. 
He lies sideways all the time.

Mateo loves him anyway.

our man is running now

He makes us so happy!

our Christmas decorations

not much but nice and happy

another thing on my list

make a cake !

maybe not like this one - but this picture gave me the idea.
See what this mom did !
I am so jealous!
Thanks for the tip Dominique!

my christmas list

I made my Christmas list last week!
Not the things I want to receive as presents but the things I want to do during my Christmas holidays.
I have about 20 things on that list which the first is :
I want to go and see 5 movies. 

The first one will be : Los abrazos rotos
I know I will love it.
Pedro Almodovar + Penelope Cruz = Pure delight for me.
I am sure my mouth will be open wide.

Can't wait to see her again.  If I would be a man, I would travel the world to find a woman like that!

A man writes, lives and loves in darkness. Fourteen years before, he was in a brutal car crash on the island of Lanzarote. In the accident, he didn't lose only his sight, he also lost Lena, the love of his life. This man uses two names: Harry Caine, a playful pseudonym with which he signs his literary works, stories and scripts, and Mateo Blanco, his real name, with which he lives and signs the film he directs. After the accident, Mateo Blanco reduces himself to his pseudonym, Harry Caine. If he can't direct films he can only survive with the idea that Mateo Blanco died on Lanzarote with his beloved Lena.

Look at that ! There is Mateo ! ;)

new words

Matito is speaking more and more.
About a month ago we counted how many words he said.  We counted 30.
Now, a month later, I am sure he has doubled that number.
And if we counted all the words he understands, we would be in the hundreds.
I have never been the type to count things (sorry Claudia :) !!) but I surprised myself monitoring his progress.

A few of his funny words :
Oh boy - he says screaming when we change his diaper full of poo (my mom taught him that!)
Ho! Ho ! Ho ! - he imitates Santa Claus

A few of his translations :
couti - for camion
kaya - for bicyclette
eau - for lait
papi - for papillon

and strangely enough, he does not know how to say his name !!!

Jungle

Annona asked me for book suggestions this week and I tried to remember a great book I had read that was not from a French author  (that was hard - since I mostly read in French..) but then I remembered a book that I picked at random on a shelf at the municipal library and that I devored from the moment I started...

I think the book is special in my heart since I read  it when I was in Italy at a wonderful beach called Forte dei Marmei - my first vacation with M.

a review : 
"Ce livre est vraiment une petite merveille, pleine de fous rires et d'émotions dont on ne sait pas si elles font du mal ou du bien. Ce qui fait la force de cet ouvrage, c'est que tout sonne vrai, on sent que c'est du vécu. Au final, même si ce livre est fabuleusement romanesque, on a l'impression que l'auteur, Monica Sabolo, parle de notre vie, d'une adolescence qu'on a vécu il n'y a pas si longtemps. Et donc, que notre vie aussi aurait pu être un roman. Quand on a l'impression de n'avoir rien d'exceptionnel, ce livre fait un bien fou à l'ego..."

Hope you find it Annona.