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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Breathe that pain away

It's so heart wrenching seeing your child in pain for which you can do nothing. These past two days, Gregory had some bad teething pain. Yes there are teething gels to use or panadol syrup which is meant to help but none worked! So there I was with him writhing in my arms, screaming, red in the face and sweating in pain. Sometimes his tightly shut eyes would open and the look of despair and fright he gave was agony in itself. The feeling of guilt, helplessness and frustration flooded me and was aware of my body all held tight with tension. I could do nothing apart for hugging him, talking to him soothingly, sing and cradling him.....but he didn't seem to even notice. Then suddenly I remembered that he can sense all my emotions and so he was more likely to feel frightened and confused if I am frustrated etc. So I willed my body to relax, breath deeply and focus my love on his little body while I continued to cradle him & talk soothingly to him that all will be fine soon, and eventually he calmed and slept.

I can't truly say if that helped and calmed him or if the pain had finally subsided. I'd like to think it was the first one...stranger things do happen after all. I only pray that these blessed teeth break through quickly and his pain comes only once a day like so far; any more frequent and I shudder at the thought.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Planet Green

As my green commitment continues and I try to convince as many people as possible to do their bit, here are 2 links of great importance which I hope you will find the time to go into!

The first is ways to spring clean the house without using all those detergents and how to choose the stuff you don't want and spread it around as to be reused, recycled and reinvented. The second link is a kind of extension to the first with some recipes to clean the house using natural products you can easily find and not spend a lot of money.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/spring-cleaning/spring-cleaning-basics.html

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/assemble-a-green-cleaning-kit.html

Earth day should be every day and not one day a year or just that one hour during earth hour. Every little helps to protect the land we live in. IF we don't we will soon end up with no place to live in....think about it!

Sweet Dreams



Last night rather then getting my sweet sleep, I stayed reading a book which is quite fascinating. While reading, I sometimes stopped to watch him sleep, especially when I heard movement from his bed and this is what resulted from all my musings:

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Looking at you
While you are sleeping
I wonder.....



Your peaceful face
Your even breath
and suddenly a smile appears.



You open slightly up one eye
And I wonder what you see.
Is it angels as they say or memories of our past day?



Your peaceful face
Your even breath
And suddenly all this disappears



You toss your head from side to side
It seems you are afraid.
Of what or who I do not know
What 's in your head my dear?



Sometimes a cry escapes your lips
Creasing your face as if in pain.
what happened love what did you feel?
I wish it to go away.



And as adruptly it all appears
It all fades away.
And your peaceful face, your even breath returns
And I wonder.......




Sunday, April 26, 2009

First time Gregory enjoyed his bath!

This weekend we went for 1 night in a hotel...the room was soooo nice and the food delicious! We also made use of the indoor pool and Gregory enjoyed his first swim in the warm water. We put him in the jacuzzi and when the bubbles started to fill up he wondered what was happening. But the expression was surprise fascination mingled with a bit of fear yet enjoyable experience. It was such a happy feeling knowing he was having fun in the water as usually he screams blue murder whenever we go to give him a bath. Unfortunately we didn't take the camera with us at the pool but we did have it with us in the room and when we washed him later that evening, we took videos of him and I uploaded one here :) as for the first time he enjoyed a bath. So now we figured that since in the baby bath he screams, we won't use it anymore and instead give him a bath in our bath like we did in the hotel.

Also for the first time I think since his birth, we had dinner & breakfast in a restaurant with him quietly asleep. It was such a relief that he didn't cry. I really loved our family weekend and I really relaxed and had so much fun. My only disappointment was when I tried to book a manicure and told me they were fullybooked. Guess it was my fault however that I didn't prebook it!

Gregory is also practicing a lot on coordination as he tries to grab things and when he manages he tries to put it in his mouth. It's an incredible experience seeing him develop and doing something new every other day.

My other cousin Analise which was also pregnant had a boy as well this Friday.....congratulations to my dear cousin for a new addition in our family. Gregory has another boy with whom to play and I hope we will all meet up together at our own grandma and see them play like we all used to do ourselves when younger.

But enough on babies a bit of humour to my readers. So as I said we went to this hotel and there was a paper in the folder with all the info you find when you go in a hotel which said that his was an eco hotel. The reason of this is that they tell us patrons not to put towels on the floor everyday to be washed and so according to them they are being environmental friendly! well now I do not think its a question of being eco and more a question of spending less money on linen cleaning! Its putting the responsibility on patrons and them doing nothing else to help the environment. A disappointment from that point of view, but on the otherhand its the first hotel that I know of in Malta that tries in its own way to help, so maybe I should congratulate them as well!!

Also here is another video of Funny daddy!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Eco friendly shops

As promised earlier this week, here is a list of eco friendly-fair trade eshops which you can use to buy products from.

http://www.rainforestrescue.com/ - you can click daily to help save the rainforest & you can buy some nice stuff at reasonable prices and cheap shipping rates (they deliver all over the world).
http://www.welovefrugi.com/ - this is a great shop for us with young children as they have organic cotton clothes for our little ones fairly traded. The rates are normal not expensive and the shipping really good. Just bought some stuff from there for Gregory!
http://www.novica.com/ - part of the national geographic magazine, it has some beautiful items on sales all fairly traded. Not so cheap but looks very high quality (never bought from there).
http://store.gxonlinestore.org/ - some nice things and priced good but shipping a bit expensive in my opinion.
http://www.biomelifestyle.com/ - has really nice products for the home. Prices are good & so is shipping. Bought from there!

Well there are much more shops then I had thought that sell fair trade & eco friendly and still have to go through them hehe but at least you already have a few from where to choose :)

Happy Shopping!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

a dose of humour

Read this blog post and it really made me laugh. For the whole thing go on the following link:

I awoke this morning to a chorus of "It's MY turn!" "No! It's MY turn!" "No. It's MYYYyyyyYYY TURN!" ad nauseum.
Sighing, I flopped the covers onto my sleeping husband, stood up out of bed, and stumbled down the hall. The boys didn't even notice me until they heard a stern voice behind them say, "No one gets it."
Turning away from the computer screen they'd been fighting over, both boys stood up and faced me, protesting emphatically.
"But Mom…""But he said…""But it's my turn now…""But I wasn't finished with my game…""But YOU SAID when it's a new day…"
I searched through my brain for Lecture On Sharing #247, pulled it out of its file folder, and launched ahead. But halfway through my breathless monologue, something unexpected, though not entirely unfamiliar, happened.
My torso turned to lead. My arms and legs got very dizzy very fast. Sounds began to muffle of their own accord. My head floated away from my shoulders. The blackness started at the edges of my vision and moved steadily inward from all directions.
I looked at the boys and said, "I'm gonna pass out


http://www.5minutesforparenting.com/359/a-dose-of-humor-parents-are-so-weird/

Recipes

Did the hereunder recipes and came really delicious so thought of sharing them out with you.




Creamy Chicken with Spaghetti




2 Sliced Chicken breasts


2 teaspoons paprika


1 teaspoon cracked black pepper


250gr cream cheese


1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese


1 chicken stock cube


1 cup water


1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil


1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint


40 gr butter


spinach spaghetti ( even normal is fine)




Combine chicken, paprika and pepper in a bowl; mix well. Blend or process cheeses, stock, water & herbs till almost smooth. Heat butter in pan cook chicken then add cheese mixture and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add pasta to boiling water cook till tender & serve with creamy chicken.




Strawberry Meringue pie




pastry for single crust pie


2/3 cup sugar


3 tablespoon corn flour


1/4 teaspoon salt


2 cups milk


3 beaten egg yolks


2 tablesppon butter


10 oz sliced strawberries ( 3 boxes)


4 teaspoon cornflour


Meringue for pie





Pastry: 11/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup shortening/lard, cold water


Stir flour & salt, then cut in shortening till they come like small peas. Sprinkle a bit of water and toss with a fork; repeat till all is moistened. Form dough into a ball and on a lightly floured surface flatten it with your hands and open rolling from centre to edge. Ease pastry into pie plate (9in.). Prick the sides & bottom with a fork and bake in 450 degrees oven for 12 minutes. Let it cool.



Pie filling method: In a saucepan combine sugar, 3 tbs cornflour & salt. Stir in milk and cook stirring constantly over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. stir 2 more mins. Take a cup of this mixture and add it to yolks then return to pan and gently boil for another 2 mins. Remove from heat stir in butter and vanilla and pour into cooled (don't worry if its not mine wasn't and came great) pastry shell and cover surface (surface touching the waxed paper or plastic wrap)and leave to cool. Meanwhile, combine strawberries & remaining cornflour cook stirring constantly till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and again cover and leave to cool. Then spread cooled strawberries on top of the pastry with cream and top it up with meringue. Bake for 12 mins or till meringue is set and golden.


Meringue: 3 egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (you can use baking powder if you don't have it) & 6 tablespoon sugar.


Combine ingredients apart for sugar, add sugar gradually a tablespoon at a time and beat on high speed in mixer about 4 mins or till stiff peaks form.





Monday, April 20, 2009

What a rainy day!

Been raining since 9 am here and so remained stuck inside feeling cold and envying my warm blooded son ! Was going to the library fetch a couple of books and return others, but didn't relish the idea of taking Gregory out in such dismal weather and especially knowing I won't find parking anywhere nearby (would have taken the bus but then again with this weather....). So stayed inside trying to find eco friendly and trade fair shops on the net- I will give you a list of them sometime this week. While playing with the little bugger whenever he was awake :P

In the post today I received a letter, card and a nice gift from my friend Katja from Germany. Dearest Katja you will soon receive a letter back in reply and thank you sooooo much I loved your gift and all useful for me :) I also take the occassion to wish you a nice wedding day ( though nearly a month left for it) and feel so sad that I won't make it. As you said we will sure manage to meet again I am sure!

Today looking at a soft toy Gregory received from my parents on his baptism I saw it has a beautiful message which I decided to copy here:

When I look into your eyes
I see a part of me.
You are the newest blossom
On our family tree.
You're so full of life
Growing bigger every day.
You are my gorgeous grandson
Giving me joy in many ways.
Strange enough, although the soft toy has a big grandson written on it, it was done in pink..... maybe the person concerned was colour blind LOL.
Today I will cook creamy chicken spaghetti, if it comes good I'll post you the recipe.
Good day to all!

vote for the Azure Window

alternative energy bill in Malta

Found this article which is very interesting and with which I agree.....although a lot of talk's been going on re alternative energy nothing concrete happened so far. We need a plan and fast as global warming is not waiting for our prime minister to decide before more damage is done!

http://gozonews.com/item/ad-asks-for-energy-plan-to-be-made-clear/

Saturday, April 18, 2009

postal disgrace, James & more

After 3 weeks, my new mobile (from the UK) arrived! It is really nice and a big thank you goes to my hubby who got it for me as a birthday/anniversary present ( and at least came in time for both). It is really really small and light. It lights up on the outside really cool and of course it is also a walkman (though so far no music). Well from all my previous mobiles (3) this is the one I like most and not because it has a few features more than the others but mainly coz its really small and light.

Apart for the above postal late delivery, I have also been waiting for a package to arrive from the US which hasn't got here either. I also just bought some clothes for Gregory, let's see if they will arrive in time to fit him!

Changing subject....Yesterday me, my mom, Gregory & little Rebecca took off on a mission to find floor cushions in Malta. So in I believe the biggest shop in Malta for soft furnishings I found the floor cushions but no covers for them. Disgusting!! But there is the asian shop with so many sweet things and the furniture is really beautiful. As for the floor cushions they should have them in about 3 weeks so will go have a look then.

Yesterday, me and Greg also met the new addition to the family- James aka Jim :) he is a cute little blighter and looks just like his mommy with a lot of black hair, pouting chubby lips and the sweetest eyes. Daniela took out her little boy yesterday for the first time after the hospital and it was actually a beautiful day to do so, as it was a nice scorching day. However she packed him in a cocoon pushchair for extra heat, plus 2 thick blankets and of course he over heated :) nothing serious just got red in the face. Daniela also worries a lot about him which is so different from her character prior to giving birth. I hope to meet more of her now and we can exhange notes :)

By the end of the day Greg was quite tired since he didn't sleep a wink from midday till 9 pm and slept solid the whole night till 7 am apart for a small break of 10 mins around 5 am for a tiny bit of feeding. It was stunning to see him so nicely asleep and us sleeping happily for a whole night no less hehehe (doesn't happen that often nowadays!).

Today my little watcher is in pain mainly his tummy and sometimes his teeth but at least he is actually sleeping a lot in between. Right now he is sleeping on his daddy's lap but doesn't look really peaceful as his brows are furrowed together. I hope he will manage to have nice dreams at least. The day is overcast and coldish again and I'm suspecting that the sudden temperature changes are effecting him and its why he is getting a lot of tummy ache again these past few days.

I am off now to bake a cake though don't know yet which type of cake :) no doubt I will let you know.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Its 1235 hrs here in sunny Malta. After 3 days of bad weather we are back to hot and sunny and I think hotter then before. That of course means that by mid May the sea will be reasonably lukewarm and can jump in :) to my cousin Priscilla's satisfaction!
Gregory is trying to sleep but this teething business is waking him every 5 mins or so; but we had a good morning......after an early breakfast on the breast he practiced smiling and kicking at his mom, than at 915 hrs we took off for a nice long walk which passed a very nice Chapel known as tal Hniena and down along the promenade towards Wied iz Zurrieq. It was fantastic and Greg started baby talk with enjoyment till half way through. At this point he wanted to sleep but my little one wants darkness to sleep so took him in my arms put the blanket over his head and he drifted off in no time. After, I could place him back in his pushchair and proceed. We got home at 1100 hrs and it was time for his lunch and nappy change and now trying to sleep more; which I hope he does to practice some belly dancing before my lesson tonight and do more yoga.

Speaking of which, yesterday I was really happy as I managed to stay in crow pose for 3 seconds and my heels are nearly touching the floor when I do downward facing dog. Also yesterday my darling husband bought me a lavender plant which I have placed in the bedroom balcony to have its sweet smell envelop our dreams.




Found this article which applauds conservation efforts, I hope you think so too!






Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Yoga Journal - Yoga Basics Column - The Spiritual Process

Yoga Journal - Yoga Basics Column - The Spiritual Process

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What I learned in nearly 3 months of parenting

  • A crying baby tires you quicker then a day at the office overloaded with problems.
  • Playing with your baby whenever awake even if he's quiet is essential for his development.
  • Going out for a walk calms baby and mother.
  • Never make lists of what you intend doing everyday; it only makes you frustrated when for the hundreth time your little one wakes up and you can't do what was on your mind.
  • Time alone is essential for your sanity and the wellbeing of your family & time alone with your partner is also essential-but don't talk only on the baby it defeats its purpose!
  • If you are tired and so frustrated your baby will feel the frustration ending himself more frustrated so before handling your crying baby make an effort to relax and sound soothing.
  • Dancing with your baby will give you energy, makes you feel happy and will calm your little one
  • Asking help from family & friends when in need is not a crime, nor a sin. You are still a good parent but everyone needs help once in a while.
  • Accept all advice given to you but go with your instinct. Everyone's idea is good if it works for them!
  • Enjoy every moment with your baby....they grow quickly and they change everyday of their lives!!

Polar bears and climate

I found this article on dot earth which is very interesting on how climate change is effecting Polar bears and that they are projected to decrease significantly in the very near future due to loss of habitat. Here is part of the article and if you'd like to read it all you can click here:

In summary, polar bear
numbers probably increased in some areas during the 1970s and 1980s, and perhaps
even into the 1990s, because of greater protection from direct human
mortalities. They now are declining, or soon will be declining because of loss
of habitat. Polar bears, like other species of wildlife, cannot survive without
suitable habitat. To suggest that increases in polar bear numbers because of
harvest controls has some relationship to projected decreases in response to
losses of habitat only serves to distract the reader from the issue at
hand.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Heart and Home: Follow me...

Heart and Home: Follow me...

This is so nice and so true.

basic steps to reduce climate change

Every little helps and so here are 8 tips to help reduce climate change.I hope you try them all to give the max but some or even one is better then nothing!

Light: replacing normal light bulbs with energy savers, saves 150 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Drive Less: walking, biking, sharing transport or plain public service help reduce gas consumption and a pound of carbon dioxide for eacg mile you don't drive!

Recycle: now we have recycle Tuesdays you have no real excuse except laziness! Recycling your household goods saves 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Checking our tyres: when our tyres are properly inflated, we save gas and for each gallon of gas saved, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide do not happen.

Hot water: to heat up water takes a lot of energy, using cold water for our washes saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Avoiding a lot of package: when buying stuff, prevent waste from being created and choose consciously. When buying products with few packaging, you are saving on money, reducing your garbage by 10% and carbon dioxide by 1200 pounds.

Plant a tree: we were meant to do this on the birth of Gregory but so far we haven't done it. To redeem ourselves, I will have to tell Dave to plant 3 one for each missed month! A single tree absorbs approx a ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime...so it is essential to plant trees especially when there is a lot of treeloggers around. If you got nowhere to plant them, please remeber the 34u campaign going on in our country which is a good enough wat to help the environment and our island!

Electronic Devices: Simply turn off any eletronic device not in use and save thousands of pounds in carbon dioxide!

You can also stay informed on more thing by going to this site earth911.com but no fear I will update regularly on these issues! As Earth 911 say, together we can and do make every day Eath Day!!!

Lazy or not?


Today I was meant to arrange a bit the house as I do think it looks messy and do some belly dancing practice among other things. However, its 1340 hrs here in Malta and so far I only did just a little bit of tidying up. My excuse can be that my son is not settled today..its either tummy ache or teething ache. Well right now he seems quite nicely settled for a longish nap -or I hope so- and I can do everything I was meant to. Yet here I am reading other blogs, finding tips on parenting and writing on my own blog instead. Did I mention that was feeling lousy all day? Just feeling no energy what so ever.... for which I should do some yoga to fill up on it hehe. Well its lazy day today and I will not worry about all the things I should be doing and ain't doing!

The thing is little Gregory has had a few days with a lot of wind, which sometimes it hurts and so he cries and its happening night time and I feel conked out at that time and remain tired during the day which creates a vicious circle. At the same time he is also teething and the pain he gets is horrible so I also have some hours or minutes not always the same of intense crying and no teething gel is working! Tried also aromatherapy but had no luck so far....maybe doing something wrong? Don't think I'm complaining, I ain't really, just need to adjust yet to this new situation and find new ways to calm my puppy. So any suggestions you moms are very welcome!

Monday, April 13, 2009

The Baptism


Yesterday, Easter, was also
Gregory's Baptism. We woke early morning to colic cries and to discover a cold,
cloudy, windy day which didn't bade well! However the rest of the morning
proceeded at its usual rythm; with Gregory sleeping most of the morning. The
afternoon though, didn't promise good as Greg wouldn't sleep and knew that
therefore by 5pm he will be over tired. In fact he slept for maybe 20 mins prior
to us all leaving for the church.


The wind by then had increased in its ferocity and we had to bring out the
coats again - we had already put them away for Summer as had been having warm
weather up till the day before!

St Paul's Church in Rabat is only 5 mins away by car and being Easter, the
church was beautiful all decorated in flowers. Anyhow, soon after the ceremony
started Greg decided he wanted an early meal but didn't cry when I wouldn't
oblige and simply looked around him interested in his new surroundings. Later
on, he pooed a really big, smelly one and thought now he'll cry as he wants his
nappy changed, but he kept quiet. By now it was time to pour water on his head -
symbol of purification from the original sin-and as soon as the water touched
him he opened a big mouth and screamed the place down for the rest of the
ceremony (which thanks to the Lord was only a short bit left).

Dave insisted amid these protesting shouts from his son to take photos, I
obliged wi
th one and here is the result...a screaming baby and a grim looking
mother! After all this hassle we took the newly Baptised boy to my parents' home for a little party. We changed and fed our puppy and hoped he'll settle
down but as my previous predictions, he was now over tired and all the noise
generated from a dozen people chattering away was not enjoyed by Greg who
continued to cry driving me insane. In the end managed to sooth him down
by leaving him in my sisters' pushchair (as I forgot mine) and stayed rocking
him away for the rest of the party.

We didn't manage pictures of this occassion though Dave tried several times
to convince me to take some but didn't want to continue upsetting little one;
but we do have video footage of this nice occassion. The cake which took a
lot of my patience to decorate, was cut by his cousin Brendan and by 7.30 pm, we
decided to leave for home for Gregory's deserved night sleep in his own
bed.

His full name is Gregory Anthony Celestino Paul. Gregory because from the
moment he was born, he prefered discovering this new world instead of sleeping
like most babies and as this name means watcher, we thought it quite
fitting. Anthony, because he was born on the death anniversary of my
grandmother Antonia. Celestino chosen by his godfather in respect of
Greg's grandfather and so Dave's father who holds this name. Paul, also my
dad's name but mainly chosen as its the Pauline year and he was baptised in St
Paul's Church.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Chocolate Crinkles recipe

Chocolate crinkles at front and figolli at the back
Dave said they taste great....and when yesterday I tasted them I had to completely agree with him. I was on a penitence of no sweets for the whole of lent so couldn't taste them before! I was dying to try them, figolli and the Madeira cake I did for the Baptism but managed to keep it and am so happy I did. But enough of my ramblings and here is the recipe!
11/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 squares unsweetened chocolate melted & colled
2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
sifted powdered sugar
In a mixing bowl combine granulated sugar, oil, chocolate & vanilla. Stir together flour and baking powder, stir into chocolate mixture, cover andchill in fridge for 1 hour. Using a table spoon of dough everytime turn into balls roll in powdered sugar and bake in a greased baking sheet for 10 mins in 375 degrees heated oven.
HAPPY BAKING!




Our Puppy

Good morning people! Me and puppy are on our nice cozy carpet...he fast asleep after his 6 am activities and me as you can see busy updating my blog! Six A.M is one of his favourite playtimes with a lot of smiles, cooes and of course loads of arm and leg waves heheh.


Here are some pics we took yesterday evening and this morning :)


























Wednesday, April 8, 2009

babies & baking

Greg's right next to me waving arms and legs in his baby gym and smiling at
the animals attached :) I just baked a Madeira cake for his Baptism on
Sunday which of course still needs decorating and about to bake some chocolate
crinkle cookies as well. Thought of finishing of my morning baking with a
strawberry pie but decided to do tomorrow or Friday (so maybe there will still
be some on Sunday and I can taste it).

Today he's looking really cute in this green outfit some friends gave us;
and there it goes all peace shattered as his crying starts filling the
house. His eyes full of tears seem to say but why you ain't doing nothing
for this pain? and as suddenly quiet reigns again as his teething pain subsided
to nothing. Cradled in my arm he's now nearly asleep...or rather snoozing
as he doesn't sleep long hours...just that half hour or so...enough to clean the
kitchen!

But Greg has a new cousin as my own cousin Daniela had a baby boy this
Monday night. Knowing her, she'll probaby name him Jim for Jim Morrison of
The Doors. Can't wait to see the new addition to the family....

Saturday, April 4, 2009

My growing within

Since time immemorial, I sought out something but didn't know what. I
felt most at ease in nature and always had difficulty interacting with
people. I always had a kind of clear vision of how I wanted my life to
proceed...in the sense of knowing my next step but not of why; like always
wanting to work in the natural world but being that impossible in our islands I
then focused on tourism. I still don't know why really but I see this
stage has come to an end and I must now change direction. I had been
feeling this urge for a number of years really but never took it up. Now
with Gregory's birth, I see this more clear and finally I am confident that my
next step is to be a yoga instructor. I don't know yet how I will achieve
that end but I am sure to get there when the time is right.

This sudden clear vision culminated strangely enough maybe with me reading
a book...The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. I had read this book
when I guess was about 12 years and remember it had left an impact on me.
Somehow, while searching for books to read the name came back decided to read it
again. The book is fiction but the insights are real. While reading
it, a lot of images and ancedotes crossed my mind and on finishing the book this
morning I felt clear in my way and a big urge to tell you all about it.

When I think about it, especially the last few insights I can see how real
they are. In yoga, chinese medicine for example, energy is said to be the
source of our wellbeing. In all religions as far as I am aware,
unconditional love is the most important thing and especially to love God freely
and truthfully. When you read on health, experts say that the more you eat
fruit & veg and the less you consume meat your health improves. We
have a bigger amount of people aware in the need to save the environment! It is
all real and it's all been with us a long time but no one ever connected all
together or rather probably it's more accurate to say not a lot did. If
you do, you can see life as a better place to live and basically this book its
what it's all about.


Once more on reading this book it left a great inpact on my thoughts and
ideas. I understood more the book actually and helped me feel secure with
the idea I had been toying around re yoga instruction. I suggest and
recommend you read this book and hope it leaves you feeling energised and alive
as it did me.

Some who will read will probably laugh and think this is all fanciful and
that possibly I am going gaga :) but I have to say that since I started
practicing yoga in a class again and had the benefit of a teacher to help me, I
felt more in control of situations were usually I flounder and feel more
confident in interactions with other people and generally have been discovering
a different me. This book I feel has helped me to discover a bit more of
myself, a further to step in my life :)

Namaste to all

Friday, April 3, 2009


Just got back from my yoga class which was a
wonderful experience. The asanas were demanding on my body but not too much;
just enough to make my body feel so alive that by the end of the class I felt
elated, happy and in balance with my inner self.




Yoga is a great way to relax, find balance in my
life and give me core strength in my body. I only wish to start finding again
time to do a home practice something which at the moment is really lacking as I
spend most of my time either playing with Gregory or reading among other things
and suddenly the day is over. At least I still do country walks and some
meditation while feeding my little pup!


Back to some mundane things, today I did a pea soup which came really good and so decided to give
you the recipe:


1 big onion chopped
1 big potato chopped
450 gr peas ( frozen)
750ml water
vegetable stock crumbled

Heat some butter in a pan, when melted add onion
and stir till softens. Add the potato stir for another 5 mins, add the
peas, water andstock bring to the boil then simmer for 15 mins. When ready
liquidize and should you wish before serving add some fresh mint.
However, I personally prefered it without the mint- Enjoy!!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Teething, crying...the joys of parenthood at 2 months

My little puppy started teething! From my
point of view that's good as it means he's developing normally and as it should
be. On the other hand, it means endless hours of days and/or nights of
ceaseless crying as his gums swell and hurt till finally his teeth push through
and emerge. And the worst hing is that you can't know when they will
emerge....it could be in a week or in 6 months' time!

I imagine Gregory trying to understand why he is
suddenly hurting so much in the mouth and why mummy and daddy do nothing about
it except hug him and sing do re mi. At least he still smiles a lot in
between bouts of crying.

To add insult to injury this Saturday he starts his
injections, so we will probably have a bad day and will be looking more forward
to our evening date with Gabs & Dodo for dinner. I actually hope he'll
be fine and be able to take him along with us.

Today during our usual hour walk I saw he didn't
sleep at all. He snoozed a few minutes but mainly watched the world
passing by. He now also shows us frustration and also that after a day out
and about enjoys arriving home and stay in a quiet house in bed with his mum and
dad. Oh and he prefers to sleep in a darkened room or at least darken his
immediate surroundings. So many things it really keeps you in
awe!



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Figolli recipe

Being that in about a weeks' time its Easter, here is the recipe for figolli- Maltese Easter sweet.



For the pastry: 800gr self raising flour; 12 oz sugar; 12 oz margerine; 1 lemon rind; 4 eggs; some vanilla essence.

Rub flour to margarine add the rest of ingriedents to form a soft dough. If needed add some milk.

For the filling: 400 gr ground almonds; 400 gr sugar; 2 egg whites; some almond essence.

Combine all ingriedents together. You'll probably need some water to get a sticky kind of dough.

Next roll out pastry cut forms and place in a well floured baking dish. Spread a 1 cm thick layer of the almond filling onto half of the pastry shapes leaving a bit of space around the edges, and cover each one with its corresponding half. Press edges together and coat with milk and bake in moderate hot oven approx 20 mins. or till golden brown. When figolli are cooled cover in melted chocolate or sugar icing.

This makes around 4-6 figolli


The Idea

Hello everyone,

Why did I decide to start a blog? One of the reasons is
I enjoy sharing my thoughts and this is the easiest way. Also hopefully with the
blog, I will broadcast more info about things at heart like the environment. So
anyway here I am and I am really looking forward to hear your own thoughts.

I have signed my welcome with NAMASTE. It origins from the
Indian subcontinent and is commonly used in yoga as a salutation at the end of a
class. Taken literally, it means "I bow to you". The word is derived from
Sanskrit (namas): to bow, reverential salutation, and
(te): "to you". When spoken to another person, it is
commonly accompanied by a slight bow made with hands pressed together, palms
touching and fingers pointed upwards, in front of the chest.
Free Orkut and My Space Namaste Graphics Glitters

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Breathe that pain away

It's so heart wrenching seeing your child in pain for which you can do nothing. These past two days, Gregory had some bad teething pain. Yes there are teething gels to use or panadol syrup which is meant to help but none worked! So there I was with him writhing in my arms, screaming, red in the face and sweating in pain. Sometimes his tightly shut eyes would open and the look of despair and fright he gave was agony in itself. The feeling of guilt, helplessness and frustration flooded me and was aware of my body all held tight with tension. I could do nothing apart for hugging him, talking to him soothingly, sing and cradling him.....but he didn't seem to even notice. Then suddenly I remembered that he can sense all my emotions and so he was more likely to feel frightened and confused if I am frustrated etc. So I willed my body to relax, breath deeply and focus my love on his little body while I continued to cradle him & talk soothingly to him that all will be fine soon, and eventually he calmed and slept.

I can't truly say if that helped and calmed him or if the pain had finally subsided. I'd like to think it was the first one...stranger things do happen after all. I only pray that these blessed teeth break through quickly and his pain comes only once a day like so far; any more frequent and I shudder at the thought.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Planet Green

As my green commitment continues and I try to convince as many people as possible to do their bit, here are 2 links of great importance which I hope you will find the time to go into!

The first is ways to spring clean the house without using all those detergents and how to choose the stuff you don't want and spread it around as to be reused, recycled and reinvented. The second link is a kind of extension to the first with some recipes to clean the house using natural products you can easily find and not spend a lot of money.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/spring-cleaning/spring-cleaning-basics.html

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/assemble-a-green-cleaning-kit.html

Earth day should be every day and not one day a year or just that one hour during earth hour. Every little helps to protect the land we live in. IF we don't we will soon end up with no place to live in....think about it!

Sweet Dreams



Last night rather then getting my sweet sleep, I stayed reading a book which is quite fascinating. While reading, I sometimes stopped to watch him sleep, especially when I heard movement from his bed and this is what resulted from all my musings:

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected






Looking at you
While you are sleeping
I wonder.....



Your peaceful face
Your even breath
and suddenly a smile appears.



You open slightly up one eye
And I wonder what you see.
Is it angels as they say or memories of our past day?



Your peaceful face
Your even breath
And suddenly all this disappears



You toss your head from side to side
It seems you are afraid.
Of what or who I do not know
What 's in your head my dear?



Sometimes a cry escapes your lips
Creasing your face as if in pain.
what happened love what did you feel?
I wish it to go away.



And as adruptly it all appears
It all fades away.
And your peaceful face, your even breath returns
And I wonder.......




Sunday, April 26, 2009

First time Gregory enjoyed his bath!

This weekend we went for 1 night in a hotel...the room was soooo nice and the food delicious! We also made use of the indoor pool and Gregory enjoyed his first swim in the warm water. We put him in the jacuzzi and when the bubbles started to fill up he wondered what was happening. But the expression was surprise fascination mingled with a bit of fear yet enjoyable experience. It was such a happy feeling knowing he was having fun in the water as usually he screams blue murder whenever we go to give him a bath. Unfortunately we didn't take the camera with us at the pool but we did have it with us in the room and when we washed him later that evening, we took videos of him and I uploaded one here :) as for the first time he enjoyed a bath. So now we figured that since in the baby bath he screams, we won't use it anymore and instead give him a bath in our bath like we did in the hotel.

Also for the first time I think since his birth, we had dinner & breakfast in a restaurant with him quietly asleep. It was such a relief that he didn't cry. I really loved our family weekend and I really relaxed and had so much fun. My only disappointment was when I tried to book a manicure and told me they were fullybooked. Guess it was my fault however that I didn't prebook it!

Gregory is also practicing a lot on coordination as he tries to grab things and when he manages he tries to put it in his mouth. It's an incredible experience seeing him develop and doing something new every other day.

My other cousin Analise which was also pregnant had a boy as well this Friday.....congratulations to my dear cousin for a new addition in our family. Gregory has another boy with whom to play and I hope we will all meet up together at our own grandma and see them play like we all used to do ourselves when younger.

But enough on babies a bit of humour to my readers. So as I said we went to this hotel and there was a paper in the folder with all the info you find when you go in a hotel which said that his was an eco hotel. The reason of this is that they tell us patrons not to put towels on the floor everyday to be washed and so according to them they are being environmental friendly! well now I do not think its a question of being eco and more a question of spending less money on linen cleaning! Its putting the responsibility on patrons and them doing nothing else to help the environment. A disappointment from that point of view, but on the otherhand its the first hotel that I know of in Malta that tries in its own way to help, so maybe I should congratulate them as well!!

Also here is another video of Funny daddy!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Eco friendly shops

As promised earlier this week, here is a list of eco friendly-fair trade eshops which you can use to buy products from.

http://www.rainforestrescue.com/ - you can click daily to help save the rainforest & you can buy some nice stuff at reasonable prices and cheap shipping rates (they deliver all over the world).
http://www.welovefrugi.com/ - this is a great shop for us with young children as they have organic cotton clothes for our little ones fairly traded. The rates are normal not expensive and the shipping really good. Just bought some stuff from there for Gregory!
http://www.novica.com/ - part of the national geographic magazine, it has some beautiful items on sales all fairly traded. Not so cheap but looks very high quality (never bought from there).
http://store.gxonlinestore.org/ - some nice things and priced good but shipping a bit expensive in my opinion.
http://www.biomelifestyle.com/ - has really nice products for the home. Prices are good & so is shipping. Bought from there!

Well there are much more shops then I had thought that sell fair trade & eco friendly and still have to go through them hehe but at least you already have a few from where to choose :)

Happy Shopping!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

a dose of humour

Read this blog post and it really made me laugh. For the whole thing go on the following link:

I awoke this morning to a chorus of "It's MY turn!" "No! It's MY turn!" "No. It's MYYYyyyyYYY TURN!" ad nauseum.
Sighing, I flopped the covers onto my sleeping husband, stood up out of bed, and stumbled down the hall. The boys didn't even notice me until they heard a stern voice behind them say, "No one gets it."
Turning away from the computer screen they'd been fighting over, both boys stood up and faced me, protesting emphatically.
"But Mom…""But he said…""But it's my turn now…""But I wasn't finished with my game…""But YOU SAID when it's a new day…"
I searched through my brain for Lecture On Sharing #247, pulled it out of its file folder, and launched ahead. But halfway through my breathless monologue, something unexpected, though not entirely unfamiliar, happened.
My torso turned to lead. My arms and legs got very dizzy very fast. Sounds began to muffle of their own accord. My head floated away from my shoulders. The blackness started at the edges of my vision and moved steadily inward from all directions.
I looked at the boys and said, "I'm gonna pass out


http://www.5minutesforparenting.com/359/a-dose-of-humor-parents-are-so-weird/

Recipes

Did the hereunder recipes and came really delicious so thought of sharing them out with you.




Creamy Chicken with Spaghetti




2 Sliced Chicken breasts


2 teaspoons paprika


1 teaspoon cracked black pepper


250gr cream cheese


1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese


1 chicken stock cube


1 cup water


1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil


1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint


40 gr butter


spinach spaghetti ( even normal is fine)




Combine chicken, paprika and pepper in a bowl; mix well. Blend or process cheeses, stock, water & herbs till almost smooth. Heat butter in pan cook chicken then add cheese mixture and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add pasta to boiling water cook till tender & serve with creamy chicken.




Strawberry Meringue pie




pastry for single crust pie


2/3 cup sugar


3 tablespoon corn flour


1/4 teaspoon salt


2 cups milk


3 beaten egg yolks


2 tablesppon butter


10 oz sliced strawberries ( 3 boxes)


4 teaspoon cornflour


Meringue for pie





Pastry: 11/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup shortening/lard, cold water


Stir flour & salt, then cut in shortening till they come like small peas. Sprinkle a bit of water and toss with a fork; repeat till all is moistened. Form dough into a ball and on a lightly floured surface flatten it with your hands and open rolling from centre to edge. Ease pastry into pie plate (9in.). Prick the sides & bottom with a fork and bake in 450 degrees oven for 12 minutes. Let it cool.



Pie filling method: In a saucepan combine sugar, 3 tbs cornflour & salt. Stir in milk and cook stirring constantly over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. stir 2 more mins. Take a cup of this mixture and add it to yolks then return to pan and gently boil for another 2 mins. Remove from heat stir in butter and vanilla and pour into cooled (don't worry if its not mine wasn't and came great) pastry shell and cover surface (surface touching the waxed paper or plastic wrap)and leave to cool. Meanwhile, combine strawberries & remaining cornflour cook stirring constantly till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and again cover and leave to cool. Then spread cooled strawberries on top of the pastry with cream and top it up with meringue. Bake for 12 mins or till meringue is set and golden.


Meringue: 3 egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (you can use baking powder if you don't have it) & 6 tablespoon sugar.


Combine ingredients apart for sugar, add sugar gradually a tablespoon at a time and beat on high speed in mixer about 4 mins or till stiff peaks form.





Monday, April 20, 2009

What a rainy day!

Been raining since 9 am here and so remained stuck inside feeling cold and envying my warm blooded son ! Was going to the library fetch a couple of books and return others, but didn't relish the idea of taking Gregory out in such dismal weather and especially knowing I won't find parking anywhere nearby (would have taken the bus but then again with this weather....). So stayed inside trying to find eco friendly and trade fair shops on the net- I will give you a list of them sometime this week. While playing with the little bugger whenever he was awake :P

In the post today I received a letter, card and a nice gift from my friend Katja from Germany. Dearest Katja you will soon receive a letter back in reply and thank you sooooo much I loved your gift and all useful for me :) I also take the occassion to wish you a nice wedding day ( though nearly a month left for it) and feel so sad that I won't make it. As you said we will sure manage to meet again I am sure!

Today looking at a soft toy Gregory received from my parents on his baptism I saw it has a beautiful message which I decided to copy here:

When I look into your eyes
I see a part of me.
You are the newest blossom
On our family tree.
You're so full of life
Growing bigger every day.
You are my gorgeous grandson
Giving me joy in many ways.
Strange enough, although the soft toy has a big grandson written on it, it was done in pink..... maybe the person concerned was colour blind LOL.
Today I will cook creamy chicken spaghetti, if it comes good I'll post you the recipe.
Good day to all!

vote for the Azure Window

alternative energy bill in Malta

Found this article which is very interesting and with which I agree.....although a lot of talk's been going on re alternative energy nothing concrete happened so far. We need a plan and fast as global warming is not waiting for our prime minister to decide before more damage is done!

http://gozonews.com/item/ad-asks-for-energy-plan-to-be-made-clear/

Saturday, April 18, 2009

postal disgrace, James & more

After 3 weeks, my new mobile (from the UK) arrived! It is really nice and a big thank you goes to my hubby who got it for me as a birthday/anniversary present ( and at least came in time for both). It is really really small and light. It lights up on the outside really cool and of course it is also a walkman (though so far no music). Well from all my previous mobiles (3) this is the one I like most and not because it has a few features more than the others but mainly coz its really small and light.

Apart for the above postal late delivery, I have also been waiting for a package to arrive from the US which hasn't got here either. I also just bought some clothes for Gregory, let's see if they will arrive in time to fit him!

Changing subject....Yesterday me, my mom, Gregory & little Rebecca took off on a mission to find floor cushions in Malta. So in I believe the biggest shop in Malta for soft furnishings I found the floor cushions but no covers for them. Disgusting!! But there is the asian shop with so many sweet things and the furniture is really beautiful. As for the floor cushions they should have them in about 3 weeks so will go have a look then.

Yesterday, me and Greg also met the new addition to the family- James aka Jim :) he is a cute little blighter and looks just like his mommy with a lot of black hair, pouting chubby lips and the sweetest eyes. Daniela took out her little boy yesterday for the first time after the hospital and it was actually a beautiful day to do so, as it was a nice scorching day. However she packed him in a cocoon pushchair for extra heat, plus 2 thick blankets and of course he over heated :) nothing serious just got red in the face. Daniela also worries a lot about him which is so different from her character prior to giving birth. I hope to meet more of her now and we can exhange notes :)

By the end of the day Greg was quite tired since he didn't sleep a wink from midday till 9 pm and slept solid the whole night till 7 am apart for a small break of 10 mins around 5 am for a tiny bit of feeding. It was stunning to see him so nicely asleep and us sleeping happily for a whole night no less hehehe (doesn't happen that often nowadays!).

Today my little watcher is in pain mainly his tummy and sometimes his teeth but at least he is actually sleeping a lot in between. Right now he is sleeping on his daddy's lap but doesn't look really peaceful as his brows are furrowed together. I hope he will manage to have nice dreams at least. The day is overcast and coldish again and I'm suspecting that the sudden temperature changes are effecting him and its why he is getting a lot of tummy ache again these past few days.

I am off now to bake a cake though don't know yet which type of cake :) no doubt I will let you know.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Its 1235 hrs here in sunny Malta. After 3 days of bad weather we are back to hot and sunny and I think hotter then before. That of course means that by mid May the sea will be reasonably lukewarm and can jump in :) to my cousin Priscilla's satisfaction!
Gregory is trying to sleep but this teething business is waking him every 5 mins or so; but we had a good morning......after an early breakfast on the breast he practiced smiling and kicking at his mom, than at 915 hrs we took off for a nice long walk which passed a very nice Chapel known as tal Hniena and down along the promenade towards Wied iz Zurrieq. It was fantastic and Greg started baby talk with enjoyment till half way through. At this point he wanted to sleep but my little one wants darkness to sleep so took him in my arms put the blanket over his head and he drifted off in no time. After, I could place him back in his pushchair and proceed. We got home at 1100 hrs and it was time for his lunch and nappy change and now trying to sleep more; which I hope he does to practice some belly dancing before my lesson tonight and do more yoga.

Speaking of which, yesterday I was really happy as I managed to stay in crow pose for 3 seconds and my heels are nearly touching the floor when I do downward facing dog. Also yesterday my darling husband bought me a lavender plant which I have placed in the bedroom balcony to have its sweet smell envelop our dreams.




Found this article which applauds conservation efforts, I hope you think so too!






Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Yoga Journal - Yoga Basics Column - The Spiritual Process

Yoga Journal - Yoga Basics Column - The Spiritual Process

Posted using ShareThis

What I learned in nearly 3 months of parenting

  • A crying baby tires you quicker then a day at the office overloaded with problems.
  • Playing with your baby whenever awake even if he's quiet is essential for his development.
  • Going out for a walk calms baby and mother.
  • Never make lists of what you intend doing everyday; it only makes you frustrated when for the hundreth time your little one wakes up and you can't do what was on your mind.
  • Time alone is essential for your sanity and the wellbeing of your family & time alone with your partner is also essential-but don't talk only on the baby it defeats its purpose!
  • If you are tired and so frustrated your baby will feel the frustration ending himself more frustrated so before handling your crying baby make an effort to relax and sound soothing.
  • Dancing with your baby will give you energy, makes you feel happy and will calm your little one
  • Asking help from family & friends when in need is not a crime, nor a sin. You are still a good parent but everyone needs help once in a while.
  • Accept all advice given to you but go with your instinct. Everyone's idea is good if it works for them!
  • Enjoy every moment with your baby....they grow quickly and they change everyday of their lives!!

Polar bears and climate

I found this article on dot earth which is very interesting on how climate change is effecting Polar bears and that they are projected to decrease significantly in the very near future due to loss of habitat. Here is part of the article and if you'd like to read it all you can click here:

In summary, polar bear
numbers probably increased in some areas during the 1970s and 1980s, and perhaps
even into the 1990s, because of greater protection from direct human
mortalities. They now are declining, or soon will be declining because of loss
of habitat. Polar bears, like other species of wildlife, cannot survive without
suitable habitat. To suggest that increases in polar bear numbers because of
harvest controls has some relationship to projected decreases in response to
losses of habitat only serves to distract the reader from the issue at
hand.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Heart and Home: Follow me...

Heart and Home: Follow me...

This is so nice and so true.

basic steps to reduce climate change

Every little helps and so here are 8 tips to help reduce climate change.I hope you try them all to give the max but some or even one is better then nothing!

Light: replacing normal light bulbs with energy savers, saves 150 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Drive Less: walking, biking, sharing transport or plain public service help reduce gas consumption and a pound of carbon dioxide for eacg mile you don't drive!

Recycle: now we have recycle Tuesdays you have no real excuse except laziness! Recycling your household goods saves 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Checking our tyres: when our tyres are properly inflated, we save gas and for each gallon of gas saved, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide do not happen.

Hot water: to heat up water takes a lot of energy, using cold water for our washes saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Avoiding a lot of package: when buying stuff, prevent waste from being created and choose consciously. When buying products with few packaging, you are saving on money, reducing your garbage by 10% and carbon dioxide by 1200 pounds.

Plant a tree: we were meant to do this on the birth of Gregory but so far we haven't done it. To redeem ourselves, I will have to tell Dave to plant 3 one for each missed month! A single tree absorbs approx a ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime...so it is essential to plant trees especially when there is a lot of treeloggers around. If you got nowhere to plant them, please remeber the 34u campaign going on in our country which is a good enough wat to help the environment and our island!

Electronic Devices: Simply turn off any eletronic device not in use and save thousands of pounds in carbon dioxide!

You can also stay informed on more thing by going to this site earth911.com but no fear I will update regularly on these issues! As Earth 911 say, together we can and do make every day Eath Day!!!

Lazy or not?


Today I was meant to arrange a bit the house as I do think it looks messy and do some belly dancing practice among other things. However, its 1340 hrs here in Malta and so far I only did just a little bit of tidying up. My excuse can be that my son is not settled today..its either tummy ache or teething ache. Well right now he seems quite nicely settled for a longish nap -or I hope so- and I can do everything I was meant to. Yet here I am reading other blogs, finding tips on parenting and writing on my own blog instead. Did I mention that was feeling lousy all day? Just feeling no energy what so ever.... for which I should do some yoga to fill up on it hehe. Well its lazy day today and I will not worry about all the things I should be doing and ain't doing!

The thing is little Gregory has had a few days with a lot of wind, which sometimes it hurts and so he cries and its happening night time and I feel conked out at that time and remain tired during the day which creates a vicious circle. At the same time he is also teething and the pain he gets is horrible so I also have some hours or minutes not always the same of intense crying and no teething gel is working! Tried also aromatherapy but had no luck so far....maybe doing something wrong? Don't think I'm complaining, I ain't really, just need to adjust yet to this new situation and find new ways to calm my puppy. So any suggestions you moms are very welcome!

Monday, April 13, 2009

The Baptism


Yesterday, Easter, was also
Gregory's Baptism. We woke early morning to colic cries and to discover a cold,
cloudy, windy day which didn't bade well! However the rest of the morning
proceeded at its usual rythm; with Gregory sleeping most of the morning. The
afternoon though, didn't promise good as Greg wouldn't sleep and knew that
therefore by 5pm he will be over tired. In fact he slept for maybe 20 mins prior
to us all leaving for the church.


The wind by then had increased in its ferocity and we had to bring out the
coats again - we had already put them away for Summer as had been having warm
weather up till the day before!

St Paul's Church in Rabat is only 5 mins away by car and being Easter, the
church was beautiful all decorated in flowers. Anyhow, soon after the ceremony
started Greg decided he wanted an early meal but didn't cry when I wouldn't
oblige and simply looked around him interested in his new surroundings. Later
on, he pooed a really big, smelly one and thought now he'll cry as he wants his
nappy changed, but he kept quiet. By now it was time to pour water on his head -
symbol of purification from the original sin-and as soon as the water touched
him he opened a big mouth and screamed the place down for the rest of the
ceremony (which thanks to the Lord was only a short bit left).

Dave insisted amid these protesting shouts from his son to take photos, I
obliged wi
th one and here is the result...a screaming baby and a grim looking
mother! After all this hassle we took the newly Baptised boy to my parents' home for a little party. We changed and fed our puppy and hoped he'll settle
down but as my previous predictions, he was now over tired and all the noise
generated from a dozen people chattering away was not enjoyed by Greg who
continued to cry driving me insane. In the end managed to sooth him down
by leaving him in my sisters' pushchair (as I forgot mine) and stayed rocking
him away for the rest of the party.

We didn't manage pictures of this occassion though Dave tried several times
to convince me to take some but didn't want to continue upsetting little one;
but we do have video footage of this nice occassion. The cake which took a
lot of my patience to decorate, was cut by his cousin Brendan and by 7.30 pm, we
decided to leave for home for Gregory's deserved night sleep in his own
bed.

His full name is Gregory Anthony Celestino Paul. Gregory because from the
moment he was born, he prefered discovering this new world instead of sleeping
like most babies and as this name means watcher, we thought it quite
fitting. Anthony, because he was born on the death anniversary of my
grandmother Antonia. Celestino chosen by his godfather in respect of
Greg's grandfather and so Dave's father who holds this name. Paul, also my
dad's name but mainly chosen as its the Pauline year and he was baptised in St
Paul's Church.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Chocolate Crinkles recipe

Chocolate crinkles at front and figolli at the back
Dave said they taste great....and when yesterday I tasted them I had to completely agree with him. I was on a penitence of no sweets for the whole of lent so couldn't taste them before! I was dying to try them, figolli and the Madeira cake I did for the Baptism but managed to keep it and am so happy I did. But enough of my ramblings and here is the recipe!
11/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 squares unsweetened chocolate melted & colled
2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
sifted powdered sugar
In a mixing bowl combine granulated sugar, oil, chocolate & vanilla. Stir together flour and baking powder, stir into chocolate mixture, cover andchill in fridge for 1 hour. Using a table spoon of dough everytime turn into balls roll in powdered sugar and bake in a greased baking sheet for 10 mins in 375 degrees heated oven.
HAPPY BAKING!




Our Puppy

Good morning people! Me and puppy are on our nice cozy carpet...he fast asleep after his 6 am activities and me as you can see busy updating my blog! Six A.M is one of his favourite playtimes with a lot of smiles, cooes and of course loads of arm and leg waves heheh.


Here are some pics we took yesterday evening and this morning :)


























Wednesday, April 8, 2009

babies & baking

Greg's right next to me waving arms and legs in his baby gym and smiling at
the animals attached :) I just baked a Madeira cake for his Baptism on
Sunday which of course still needs decorating and about to bake some chocolate
crinkle cookies as well. Thought of finishing of my morning baking with a
strawberry pie but decided to do tomorrow or Friday (so maybe there will still
be some on Sunday and I can taste it).

Today he's looking really cute in this green outfit some friends gave us;
and there it goes all peace shattered as his crying starts filling the
house. His eyes full of tears seem to say but why you ain't doing nothing
for this pain? and as suddenly quiet reigns again as his teething pain subsided
to nothing. Cradled in my arm he's now nearly asleep...or rather snoozing
as he doesn't sleep long hours...just that half hour or so...enough to clean the
kitchen!

But Greg has a new cousin as my own cousin Daniela had a baby boy this
Monday night. Knowing her, she'll probaby name him Jim for Jim Morrison of
The Doors. Can't wait to see the new addition to the family....

Saturday, April 4, 2009

My growing within

Since time immemorial, I sought out something but didn't know what. I
felt most at ease in nature and always had difficulty interacting with
people. I always had a kind of clear vision of how I wanted my life to
proceed...in the sense of knowing my next step but not of why; like always
wanting to work in the natural world but being that impossible in our islands I
then focused on tourism. I still don't know why really but I see this
stage has come to an end and I must now change direction. I had been
feeling this urge for a number of years really but never took it up. Now
with Gregory's birth, I see this more clear and finally I am confident that my
next step is to be a yoga instructor. I don't know yet how I will achieve
that end but I am sure to get there when the time is right.

This sudden clear vision culminated strangely enough maybe with me reading
a book...The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. I had read this book
when I guess was about 12 years and remember it had left an impact on me.
Somehow, while searching for books to read the name came back decided to read it
again. The book is fiction but the insights are real. While reading
it, a lot of images and ancedotes crossed my mind and on finishing the book this
morning I felt clear in my way and a big urge to tell you all about it.

When I think about it, especially the last few insights I can see how real
they are. In yoga, chinese medicine for example, energy is said to be the
source of our wellbeing. In all religions as far as I am aware,
unconditional love is the most important thing and especially to love God freely
and truthfully. When you read on health, experts say that the more you eat
fruit & veg and the less you consume meat your health improves. We
have a bigger amount of people aware in the need to save the environment! It is
all real and it's all been with us a long time but no one ever connected all
together or rather probably it's more accurate to say not a lot did. If
you do, you can see life as a better place to live and basically this book its
what it's all about.


Once more on reading this book it left a great inpact on my thoughts and
ideas. I understood more the book actually and helped me feel secure with
the idea I had been toying around re yoga instruction. I suggest and
recommend you read this book and hope it leaves you feeling energised and alive
as it did me.

Some who will read will probably laugh and think this is all fanciful and
that possibly I am going gaga :) but I have to say that since I started
practicing yoga in a class again and had the benefit of a teacher to help me, I
felt more in control of situations were usually I flounder and feel more
confident in interactions with other people and generally have been discovering
a different me. This book I feel has helped me to discover a bit more of
myself, a further to step in my life :)

Namaste to all

Friday, April 3, 2009


Just got back from my yoga class which was a
wonderful experience. The asanas were demanding on my body but not too much;
just enough to make my body feel so alive that by the end of the class I felt
elated, happy and in balance with my inner self.




Yoga is a great way to relax, find balance in my
life and give me core strength in my body. I only wish to start finding again
time to do a home practice something which at the moment is really lacking as I
spend most of my time either playing with Gregory or reading among other things
and suddenly the day is over. At least I still do country walks and some
meditation while feeding my little pup!


Back to some mundane things, today I did a pea soup which came really good and so decided to give
you the recipe:


1 big onion chopped
1 big potato chopped
450 gr peas ( frozen)
750ml water
vegetable stock crumbled

Heat some butter in a pan, when melted add onion
and stir till softens. Add the potato stir for another 5 mins, add the
peas, water andstock bring to the boil then simmer for 15 mins. When ready
liquidize and should you wish before serving add some fresh mint.
However, I personally prefered it without the mint- Enjoy!!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Teething, crying...the joys of parenthood at 2 months

My little puppy started teething! From my
point of view that's good as it means he's developing normally and as it should
be. On the other hand, it means endless hours of days and/or nights of
ceaseless crying as his gums swell and hurt till finally his teeth push through
and emerge. And the worst hing is that you can't know when they will
emerge....it could be in a week or in 6 months' time!

I imagine Gregory trying to understand why he is
suddenly hurting so much in the mouth and why mummy and daddy do nothing about
it except hug him and sing do re mi. At least he still smiles a lot in
between bouts of crying.

To add insult to injury this Saturday he starts his
injections, so we will probably have a bad day and will be looking more forward
to our evening date with Gabs & Dodo for dinner. I actually hope he'll
be fine and be able to take him along with us.

Today during our usual hour walk I saw he didn't
sleep at all. He snoozed a few minutes but mainly watched the world
passing by. He now also shows us frustration and also that after a day out
and about enjoys arriving home and stay in a quiet house in bed with his mum and
dad. Oh and he prefers to sleep in a darkened room or at least darken his
immediate surroundings. So many things it really keeps you in
awe!



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Figolli recipe

Being that in about a weeks' time its Easter, here is the recipe for figolli- Maltese Easter sweet.



For the pastry: 800gr self raising flour; 12 oz sugar; 12 oz margerine; 1 lemon rind; 4 eggs; some vanilla essence.

Rub flour to margarine add the rest of ingriedents to form a soft dough. If needed add some milk.

For the filling: 400 gr ground almonds; 400 gr sugar; 2 egg whites; some almond essence.

Combine all ingriedents together. You'll probably need some water to get a sticky kind of dough.

Next roll out pastry cut forms and place in a well floured baking dish. Spread a 1 cm thick layer of the almond filling onto half of the pastry shapes leaving a bit of space around the edges, and cover each one with its corresponding half. Press edges together and coat with milk and bake in moderate hot oven approx 20 mins. or till golden brown. When figolli are cooled cover in melted chocolate or sugar icing.

This makes around 4-6 figolli


The Idea

Hello everyone,

Why did I decide to start a blog? One of the reasons is
I enjoy sharing my thoughts and this is the easiest way. Also hopefully with the
blog, I will broadcast more info about things at heart like the environment. So
anyway here I am and I am really looking forward to hear your own thoughts.

I have signed my welcome with NAMASTE. It origins from the
Indian subcontinent and is commonly used in yoga as a salutation at the end of a
class. Taken literally, it means "I bow to you". The word is derived from
Sanskrit (namas): to bow, reverential salutation, and
(te): "to you". When spoken to another person, it is
commonly accompanied by a slight bow made with hands pressed together, palms
touching and fingers pointed upwards, in front of the chest.
Free Orkut and My Space Namaste Graphics Glitters