My January. What a month!

I haven't been blogging for almost a month. January is always the hardest time of the year, since I started University: I always choose to prepare as many exams as possible to be more relaxed during the rest of the academic year. Tomorrow I'll be sitting my last exam until June, so I'm pretty happy :)

So, here's what I've been doing this past month:

I've been baking..

..I've been loving books..

..I've had enough of books..

..I've gone on a work trip and seen snow..

..I've bought silly presents from Etsy..

..And I've carefully wrapped these presents and given them to the person I love the most.

Which were the highlights of your month?=)

07.01

Here's the pic of the day (unfortunately, I don't have that much time to think about blog posts these days :( ) :


"Day 7. 07/01/2010

This was basically my view for the entire day. A lot of work done, much more to do, but, in a few hours, I'll be relaxing with some of my dearest friends. Which will feel even better after such a long day. "

What have you been doing today? :)

06.01

I'm going on with 'Project 365'. I hope to be able to keep up with it for the whole year!
Here's today's pic, and its description.

"Day 6. 06/01/2010

This is the last day of Christmas decorations around the house. Tomorrow, our tree and much more will be taken back to our garage. It is so strange to see these days end, but beautiful. These were really special holidays, I think I'll remember them with one of my most joyful smiles."

Aren't you sad as well about putting away all things Christmas-y?

You can check all the other pictures here.

Feeling bad.

Today, it was a bad day. I had stomachache since I woke up (not a real stomachache, that stupid, strange, disgusting feeling), and I had to study. A lot. Which I did (I'm a good girl!). So, to make evertything a little nicer, I had a lot of teas..


..wore warm, colorful socks..


..and started a project :) I'm going to take a picture a day for the whole year!(or at least, I'm trying. But let's be positive!) The first pics are not that great..they were the only ones I had for the past 4 days.
You can se my work in progress here.

..And this is today's pic:

Things that can make your day.

Since my days mostly consist of reading pages on pages and translating from Latin (exam time!), silly things are enough to brighten my day. A phone call from Luca, reading blogs from time to time..and sweet treats.

So this morning (which started really early, by the way) a cup of hot coffee was perfect for studying. The sun didn't show up for the entire morning, and I was feeling cozy and warm in my giant sweater. (And a little sleepy, I must admit).


This morning coffee was accompanied by a (very) sweet gift I found yesterday night awaiting on my desk: sweet 'coal'! (Thanks, sister!)
I don't know if this is just an Italian tradition; it's usually a child thing (the Befana festivity, on January 6th: you are gifted with sweet 'coal' if you have not behaved well). It was good to taste some sugar in the middle of my Linguistic studies :)

Don't you usually eat when you have to work/study hard? It helps!:)

My December.

A couple weeks ago I went on a short trip to Paris with Luca. It was my Christmas gift for him: a much needed getaway from everyday life. Despite all the delays in departure/cold weather/illnesses, everything was magical. Therapeutical. It felt like coming back home.

This year, we are planning to visit more new places. London, New York. And maybe, next month we'll go back to Northern Italy, to the mountains. But my December was Paris: it was getting excited abou going to Paris, becoming frustrated with weather before departing for Paris, and going 'back home' to Paris.

Who knows what the next months will bring!I'm so excited about the new year. I didn't have much to put on my back and restart, but it feels good anyway to know that a new beginning has come, doesn't it? So I think I'll track down my months, like I did for December. It will be nice to take a look at them at the end of 2010.

Are you excited about 2010? What are you up to this year?=)

Things that can make your day.

Yesterday, I finally received a reply to an e-mail I had sent a few months ago. I thought this person would not reply, since my behaviour with him had not been so nice. But he did. It was an extremely touching message, he told me things he had never told anyone before, and so did I when I wrote him back.

In English, you only have one word to express affection. You use the same verb to express your passion for pizza as well as your boundary with your partner. It's like love is not well defined in your society. How could I express, then, the feelings I had towards that person yesterday? A man I barely know, who barely knows me, but seemed to understand better that many close people my situation a couple of years ago? Who took months to reply to a stupid e-mail I sent him because he felt that was the chance to find someone who would understand his troubles?

Is it a form of love, or not? And if yes, which form of love is it?
What kind of boundary is this, which spot does it occupy among the love I feel for my family, for my boyfriend, for books?

It's still surprising, to me, that things like this may happen. After all the disappointment friendship has caused in my sistem of values, there can still be a person who understands, in the purest and unconditioned of all manners.
This thing, yesterday, brightened my day.