Showing posts with label 100 Day Challenge II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 100 Day Challenge II. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Dom/A house

Dziś zupełnie nie o robótkach...

Today absolutely not about crafts...


Przearanżowałam nieco moją Tablicę Marzeń (chyba taka polska nazwa będzie najlepsza dla tego projektu), stworzoną w ramach
Wyzwania 100 Dni. Niektóre elementy pozostały z poprzedniego sezonu, ale dodałam dużo nowych, bo tym razem zmieniły się moje priorytety.

I rearranged the Vision Board for my second season of 100 Day Challenge. Some elements stayed there but I also added some new ones according to my new priorities.


Pamiętam, jak dobre kilka lat temu nasza znajoma siedziała u nas na kanapie, w mieszkaniu, które wtedy wynajmowaliśmy na Powiślu, i płakała, tak bardzo chciała mieć dziecko. Już. Natychmiast. Tu i teraz. Instynkt macierzyński ją pchał i szarpał za rąbek spódnicy. (Miała wtedy 20 lat, była w połowie studiów, bez pracy, bez mieszkania, bez tzw. perspektyw. Miała też rozsądnego chłopaka, który gasił te jej wybuchy. Potem zaszła w ciążę z kimś innym, ale to zupełnie inna historia...)

I remember when several year ago our friend was sitting on the couch, in a flat we rented, and she was crying because she wanted to have a baby. Right now. Immediately. Here and now. Maternal instinct was pushing her and pulling the hem of her skirt. (She was 20 at that time, in the middle of the studies, no job, no flat, no perspectives. She also had a very reasonable boyfriend who tried to calm down her outbursts. She then got pregnant with someone else, but that's a different story...)

Od jakiegoś czasu czuję się tak, jak prawdopodobnie czuła się owa moja koleżanka. Tylko nie chodzi o dziecko - chodzi o dom. Chcę mieć dom. Potrzebuję. Muszę. Teraz. Nie w odległej przyszłości, nie w marzeniach, nie na emeryturze. Niebawem. Już tej wiosny. I nie mieszkanie, jakkolwiek duże/luksusowe by ono nie było. Właśnie dom. Z ogrodem. Chcę grzebać w ziemi, sadzić kwiaty, zrobić kompostownik, wytyczać ścieżki i rabatki, posadzić pnącą różę i posiać cukinię. Zaprosić znajomych na weekend do mnie - na grillowanie, leżenie na leżakach na tarasie, rozłożenie koca na trawie, podglądanie ptaków, chcę ich żegnać koszykiem warzyw i bukietem ziół.

For some time now I've been feeling what she probably felt. But it's not about a baby in my case - it's about the house. I want a house. I need it. I must have it. Now. Not in some distant future, not in my dreams, not when we'll retire. Soon. This Spring. And not the apartment, irrespective of how big/luxurious it would be. Just the house. With a garden. I want to work in the soil, plant flowers, make a composting place, create paths and flower beds, plant a rambling rose and sow zucchinis. I want to invite friends over for a weekend - for a barbecue, for resting on the deck chairs or on the blanket laid on the grass, bird watching, I want to greet them farewell with a basket full of vegetables and a bunch of herbs.

Nie jestem typem osoby, która musi mieszkać w mieście - nie chadzam do klubów, nie biegam po centrach handlowych, większość zakupów wszelakich i tak od lat robię wysyłkowo. Zamiast wyjść gdzieś wieczorami wolę zostać w domu z książką lub robótką. Jestem nudna? No cóż, dobrze mi z tym. *^v^*
Za to coraz
bardziej denerwuje mnie wiecznie hałasujący sąsiad który mieszka nade mną, ludzie zaglądający mi w okna (bo to parter), ciągle brzęczący domofon (bo to pierwsze mieszkanie na klatce, więc dzwoni sobie każdy - hydraulik, facet z ziemniakami, ulotkarze...). Potrzebuję mojej spokojnej, odosobnionej przestrzeni.

I'm not the city type of person - I don't go clubbing, I don't spend time in the shopping malls, in fact I've been doing most of my shopping online for years now. I'd rather stay inside with a book or knitting than go out in the evening. Am I boring? Well, I'm quite comfortable with that. *^v^*
Moreover I'm getting more and more angry with a constantly noisy neighbour above me, people peeking into my flat through the windows (it's a first floor flat), entry phone ringing all the time (it's a first flat in the block so everybody chooses to call me - a plumber, a guy with potatoes, a leaflet boy...).
I need my own calm separate space to live.

Czuję, że od jakiegoś czasu nic nie jest dla mnie ważniejsze od tego domu. Co mnie trochę przeraża, bo zmienił mi sie sposób myślenia, kompletnie nastawiłam się na ugruntowanie, ukorzenienie, osiedlenie. Być może jest to pierwszy krok do posiadania potomstwa - można by powiedzieć, że czuję potrzebę budowania gniazda, a jak się już wybuduje, to wiadomo - można zaludniać. I w końcu czemu nie? A czas w moim przypadku - tak jakby najwyższy.

For some time now I've had a feeling that nothing is more important for me than this house. Which is terrifying because my thoughts completely changed, I'm aiming at grounding, having roots, settling down. Maybe it's the first step towards having children - you can say I feel the need for nesting. And when you build a nest - you can populate it. And why not? It's high time for me.

Nigdy wcześniej nie myślałam o domu - zawsze mi się wydawało, że jakoś gdzieś będziemy mieszkać, w jakimś mieszkaniu - wynajętym czy po rodzinie. Nie miałam żadnych planów, oczekiwań - teraz sobie trochę pluję w brodę. Bo kupienie mieszkania 10 lat temu było o niebo tańsze niż jest teraz, a teraz moglibyśmy to mieszkanie sprzedać z dużym zyskiem i kupić ziemię i dom. Tylko, co mi teraz da takie gdybanie?... Pokierowałam moim życiem w taki a nie inny sposób i mogę mieć pretensje tylko do siebie (albo sobie dziękować). Lepiej działać i myśleć pozytywnie. *^v^*

I've never before thought about having a house - I always knew that we would live somewhere, in a rented flat or with a family. I had no plans or expectations - now I'm a bit angry with myself for that. If you bought a flat in Warsaw 10 years ago, it was much cheaper than today, so we could have bought a flat then, and now sell it with a good profit and buy a piece of land with a house. But what's good about saying now "I could have done this and that...". I led my life the way I did and only I am to blame (or to thank for). It's better to act now and think positive. *^v^*


Na koniec jeden z rogów mojej Tablicy Marzeń - dobrze jest czasem przypomnieć sobie o ważności tego zdania: *^v^*

And last but not least, one of the corners of my Vision Board - it says: "Enjoy the moment!". It's good to remember how important this sentence is! *^v^*


W sobotę jedziemy z agentem oglądać wnętrze domu na działce obok działki Dziadka. *^v^*

This Saturday we are meeting with the agent to see the inside of the house on the land next to Grandfather's cottage. *^v^*

Monday, March 10, 2008

Manifesting, manifesting!

How was your weekend?
Mine was very busy, because we had some friends over for dinner on Sunday, so I was shopping, cleaning, cooking, ect. It was a total success apart from the fact that I still have so much food left that I might feed twice as many people as there were visiting... I must work on my estimating skills! *^v^*
For a dessert I prepared a white chocolate & cranberries cheesecake in two versions: with cranberries and with cherries, and I must admit I like the latter version even more! ^^

I also did a bit of knitting since the last time, the sleeves of Azalea's (doesn't it sound like a name for some geographical structure, "the Sleeves of Azalea" is the famous rock formation in this region, *^v^*) are almost ready. In fact, it is a great idea to knit the sleeves first, because when you finish the body of the sweater, the only thing to do is to sew it together and voila! At least it works for me! *^v^*
I also found online and ordered two more skeins of yarn for Robert's Durrow.


Now, onto the big news!
As you know, as part of the 100 Day Challenge (season II) I'm trying to manifest different things in my life, one of them being the place to live - our own perfect apartment or a house. I don't really have a specific image of the place because I believe that if it's perfect for me it will come to me, in whatever form it is.
Now, let me tell you that something magical and great is unfolding in front of my own eyes - there is an opportunity for us to buy a piece of land.
Yes, a piece of land! *^v^*
What are the pros?
It's fairly cheap, relatively big, it's next door to the cottage of Robert's Grandfather's, it's about 1 hour by car far from Warsaw, and it has a direct access to the lake. The LAKE!


We are going to talk to the banks now to arrange the credit for it, travel there next weekend to see all the papers and see the land itself (we often passed by it while being on vacation at the cottage but didn't really pay much attention to the size of the plot, ect), talk to the owner to reduce the price a bit.

It's still a long way to ownership. There is a mountain of paperwork to be gathered and hours of thorough thinking about it. But the opportunity is there, right in front of us, it opened at this very moment and we are going to try and grab it! *^v^*

There is no house on this land and if we buy it there probably won't be a house there for another several years. But that's okay, we can wait and one never knows what future may bring.

If I were a typical superstitious Polish person, I wouldn't say a word about it until the moment we signed the papers, because I would be scared I may jinx the whole transaction. But I'm not typical! ^^ And I believe that when you state your wish out loud, the Universe can hear it and help you with fulfilling it. How else could It know what you wish for and help? So, I'm saying out loud, if that's the land perfect for us, let us have it, please! *^v^*

Wouldn't you like to have the view like this from your craft room or living room? *^v^*

Friday, February 29, 2008

100 DC - season II

Have a cookie and read on! *^v^*
(recipe later in this post)


Today is the first day of my second 100 Day Challenge. I promise (myself) to be more concentrated on my goals and the means stay the same: meditating, exercising, affirming, keeping a journal, keeping my eyes and ears open to the world that surrounds me.
This challenge will last till Sunday, June 8, 2008.


Here are the things I want to manifest in my life:

I want to loose weight and be fit again. Mainly for the sake of being fit, because I was really unpleasantly surprised during my recent holidays when I had big problems with walking up and down the hills and even tall stairs!...
I want to sell my paintings. Yes, I really want my "children" to go out and meet the world. ^^
I want to manifest an abundance of money into my life. I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck.
I'll be still working on manifesting a new place to live, this wish has a huge potential!
And one more thing - I want to manifest a new me, not afraid of traveling by car. Yes, I'm scared of car trips, not as a driver but as a passenger, irrespective of who's driving, and longer trips are a nightmare to me... I don't know why, I've never been in any major accident (and the one I was in seemed rather funny when it was happening...), so I have no idea about the source of my fear. But anyway, the season of travels is coming and I don't want to suffer anymore.

GO! *^v^*



Now, the recipe for the cookies (taken from the blog of one Polish cooking enthusiast ^^):

Cookies with white chocolate and dried cranberries (and raisins)

- 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tspn of baking powder, 1/2 tspn of salt, 1 cup of oatmeal - mix together,
- mix into a soft cream: 125 g of butter, 1/2 cup of dark muscovado sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar,
- add 1 egg and 1/2 tspn of wanilla extract,
- add dry ingredients, mix everything well,
- add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, 1/2 cup of nuts (walnuts, pecans, ect), 3/4 cup
of white chocolate chips or 1 crushed chocolate bar. (I also added some raisins).

- form a dough (it will be sticky, don't worry), put it into the fridge for about 15 minutes,
- then heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsjus/375 degrees Fahrenheit, put a baking paper on a tray
- with your hands form small round cookies and place them on a baking tray, make sure you leave about 1 inch between them because they grow during baking!
- bake for 15 minutes in 180 degrees Celsjus/375 degrees Fahrenheit, when they are ready, take the tray out and let the cookies rest for a while, they will get harder.

Be prepared for a wonderful smell of white chocolate melting almost immediately when you place the baking tray into the oven! Next time I may reduce the amount of sugar (they are REALLY sweet in this version), experiment with milk chocoalet instead of a white one and maybe add some more nuts or sunflower seeds/other dried fruit.*^v^*
Smacznego!


PS.: Look who's here! *^v^*