Riots in Egypt...

Reading about riots in Egypt reminded me on a 10-days-adventure-through-Egypt we took in 2008. We traveled there in August when the temperature was highest (in The Valley of the Kings it climbed to 48°C) and we traveled almost 1000 kilometers cruising the Nile – our starting point was Cairo and our finish line was Aswan. The scope of Egypt itself is magnificent – river Nile, the Pyramids, extraordinary history and above all - magnificent people; those of you who traveled there, know that :)

So I dug up some old photos I took on that journey for those of you who weren’t so lucky to travel there yet:

Personally, temple that impressed me the most was Temple of Edfu:

The best way to explore Nile is on a felucca (Egyptian sailing boat):

If you feel like getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning, traveling three hours in a convoy throughout desert you will be rewarded with  breathtaking beauty of Abu Simbel temples:

On a day trip to nubian village we visited their school, sit at their homes, swim in the Nile and drank coffee: 

Last but not least, Egyptian people. Their favorite saying “Only for you my friend, special offer…” can be heard from every corner: 

101 in 1001 - my list of 101 goals to complete in the next 1001 days

I’ve never been good with resolutions. I love the idea of making them but I usually fail at the discipline required to keep them. During my “reading the Internet” quest in finding proper literature for my master thesis I came across idea/movement that tickled my imagination – “101 in 1001”.  The purpose is to a list of 101 goals you want to accomplish in roughly 2.75 years. So I decided to make my own 101 list :)

How come I’m posting this? Cause, if it stays on paper somewhere in my drawer I would probably forgot about it and I don’t want to do that – this way, because it’s out there where everyone can see it, I am in a strange way “obligated” to fulfill as much goals I possibly can :)

START DATE: January 1, 2011

END DATE: September 28, 2013

      1.       Complete an MBA in Marketing (I already attedned all classes so I „just“ have to write my master thesis)

2.       Buy weekly planner and organize myself once-and-for-all (completed, 06.02.2011)

3.       Have a camera always with me

4.       Launch a blog (completed, 22.01.2011)

5.       Post on blog at least twice a week for three months (completed, 10.05.2011)

6.       Take a hot air balloon ride

7.       Ride a quad

8.       Take a ride on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle

9.       Learn how to ride a Jet Ski

10.   Learn how to ski (completed, 25.03.2011)

11.   Go on a rock fest

12.   Jump from an airplane (with a parachute, of course)

13.   Read two books a month for a year

14.   Have a date night once a month with my husband for an entire year

15.   Visit my parents once a week for an entire year

16.   Visit my grandparents once a month for an entire year

17.   Have coffee with my brother once a month for an entire year

18.   Treat my brother to something nice — he deserves it :)

19.   Go dancing-all-night-long once a month

20.   Have a sex-and-the-city night on the town with my girls once in three months

21.   Go to the theater once in two months for an entire year

22.   Go to the gym 3 times a week for an entire year (regardless the weather conditions or more-interesting-things-to-do)

23.   Flatten my tummy (by going to the gym three times a week)

24.   Have defined arms like Jasmine Star

25.   Go on a picnic

26.   Take a photography portrait course (completed, 10.04.2011)

27.   Complete a Photoshop tutorial

28.   Research a well-known wedding photographer (completed, 30.05.2011)

29.   Launch my own Web site

30.   Shoot my first portrait sessions

31.   Shoot my first wedding

32.   Shoot my first engagement sessions

33.   Shoot my first maternity sessions

34.   Improve my website search optimization

35.   Learn how to make slideshow-photography-videos

36.   Go one week without TV (completed, May 2011)

37.   Eat fresh fruits at least three times a week

38.   Go to MSU Zagreb

39.   Put a bun (or two) in the oven :)

40.   Create a easy-to-search cookbook with my favorite recipes

41.   Start a herb garden on our balcony

42.   Plant climbing plants on our balcony (and make sure they don’t wither this year…)

43.   Bake a pie. From scratch.

44.   Clean out my closet (completed, 03.04.2011)

45.   Swim in the ocean

46.   Go to a concert of an artist I love (completed, 08.06.2011)

47.   Donate blood at least twice a year

48.   Take a road trip with my husband and stop along the way (completed, June 2011)

49.   Take a road trip through wine roads of Istria with my maid of honor

50.   Go to Sarajevo (and eat best ćevapi)

51.   Stay at a luxury resort and go to the spa

52.   Sit and watch a sunset somewhere cool (completed, 26.06.2011)

53.   Spend two weekends/year while home without touching the internet, email or anything work related

54.   Travel to Dubrovnik

55.   Travel to Cuba

56.   Travel to NYC

57.   See a musical on Broadway

58.   Buy myself a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes

59.   Travel trough Europe (completed, June 2011)

60.   Visit Ana in Paris

61.   Buy a book at Shakespeare and Company

62.   Put aside 200 kn a month (for rainy days)

63.   Create a collage of prints of our honeymoon trip to Madeira

64.   Watch all 100 movies on AFI’s 100 Greatest American Movies list

65.   Start a 365 Project (Take a Photo a Day) and finish it this time :)

66.   Select and develop photos from our travels (Egypt, Madeira, Paris, Ireland) and sort them into albums

67.   Take pictures of my grandmother

68.   Take pictures of my mother

69.   Read 12 business books in a year

70.   Go to IKEA and buy missing accessories for our flat (photo frames, carpets…)

71.   Make a list of stuff I miss in the kitchen and buy them (pots, wok…)

72.   Purchase Macro lens

73.   Purchase Zoom lens

74.   Purchase Canon Speedlite Flash (completed, 20.04.2011)

75.   Figure out flash photography

76.   Decide if I want a Facebook Fan page & start one if so

77.   Learn how to prepare fish

78.   Learn how to prepare cheese strudel (family recipe) (completed, 12.02.2011)

79.  Learn Lightroom software 

80.   Read a classic literature book I haven't read before

81.   Learn Spanish

82.   Go apple picking

83.   Go olive picking

84.   Leave a gift on a friend's doorstep

85.   New home project: romantic balcony (with candles and flowers and pillows…)

86.   New home project: new chandeliers

87.   New home project: living room at seaside house

88.   Throw a party for someone

89.   Treat my parents to dinner

90.   Treat my in-laws to dinner

91.   Go to riding school

92.   See national park Plitvička jezera in spring

93.   See national park Risnjak in fall

94.   Cook meal two times a week for six months

95.   Visit Venice Carnival

96.   Camp at national park Mljet

97.   Find time to read newsletters I prescribed to once a week

98.   Explore park Maksimir throughout all seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter)

99.   Learn how to cook beans with sausages

100. Travel to Peru and visit Machu Picchu

101. Bake a new cake every week (preferably, chocolate one cause life is soooo sweet) 

Blog about what makes you happy...

So... hello again :)

I have a confession to make - I have absolutely no idea how to do this… In last two weeks I’ve read so many advices on how to blog and what to write about and how often should you post – I’ve gotten lost in all this reading… nevertheless, during that process, I run into some pretty cool blogs – you can check them out under “My Inspiration”… I have a hunch that that list will grow and expand every day.

Long story short, I decided to follow one of the advices and to write about what makes my heart sing every day, all day long… with this in mind – meet Tomislav, my husband. I could write an essay about how awesome he is and what is he like but I think that deciding to spend the rest of my life with him speaks for itself… 

People Come in Your Life for a Reason...

 

This is me...

A year ago I received a mail that tickled my imagination… The goal was to make a list of 25 facts, habits, things or goals that describes me. Something that initially seemed quite easy, at the end turned out to be quite a hassle... So, here it is, my list...

1. worship life 
2. worship nature
3. worship freedom
4. love people (although i don`t understand them always and sometimes they get on my nerves...)
5. enjoy (mucho mucho) dancing (there is no better feeling then dancing all night long...)
6. enjoy reading (anyone read good book recently?)
7. adore kids (can`t wait to be parent one day)
8. loooooooooveeeee to cuddle...
9. loooooooooveeeee to kiss and to be kissed (know that feeling of warmth that overwhelms you entire body when you kiss with someone special? i wanna feel like that every day all day...)
10. simply looooveeee the smell of morning coffee
11. travels...i could trave all my life and never come home... 
12. home...i want to make special home one day (that will draw me back from my wanders)
13. i love my friends (everything about them) and i try to show them that as often as i could...or as often they need that...
14. music...i have song for everything that happened in my life...life would be grey without music...
15. movies...best thing mankind made...
16. imagination...life without imagination is not worth living...
17. familiy...love them...miss him...
18. love laughing till your muscles hurt badly and tears start running down your face :)
19. crying...the bast catalyst - after you cryed your eyes out, world seams like a better place...
20. cooking for people i love 
21. feeling like a kid again and having 1000 questions about everysinglething ("I have only one question...")
22. dreams...what would drive us forward if we didn`t had dreams? 
23. waking up in the morning next to the person you love
24. learning new things and crafts (making something with your own hands...excellent feeling)
25. eternal question: if i call you, will you come?