A lot's been going on lately - actually, not a lot, but a few things that have kept me busy and concerned for quite a while.

First, the finals. I did very well in the first two, now I'm studying for the other two (well, not right now, obviously XD), but I'm there. I'm sitting for Phylosophy on 17th and then Psychology on 18th. It's gonna be a rough couple of days, but I hope everything will go well. :D

Then my mum sprained an ankle. Nothing that she can't just make better with a few days' rest and medications, but it's my mum we're talking about here, and she can't sit still for two minutes in a row. XD So, to make a long story short, she's upset because medications are affecting her stomach, her ankle still hurts and it depresses her not being able to walk as she always does... *sigh* As if I didn't have enough with myself... XD *note to self: stop thinking bullshit and focus. XD*

Oh, another thing (completely random and unrelated to all the importatn stuff above). Lately I've been thinking of dying my hair. It's been a while since I last did anything drastic with my hair (the blond highlights I've got now can't be considered drastic) and I'm feeling the itch. Thing is, I can't find the right colour that'll make me scream "THAT ONE!" in the middle of a shop. XD I don't want to try light browns - they barely show with my natural hair colour and it's a waste of money AND time. Black is definitely out of the question, unless I wanna look like an Addams' family member. So I'll go for a blonder shade.

Not Timo-like blonde, no. XD

But a dark, golden brown would be welcome, something that will add some light to my usually very pale face. So stay tuned. It might never actually happen, or it could happen tomorrow. I'm full of surprises. XD

Oh, btw: I need a job. DESPERATELY. Working with my sister is fine, but I need a proper job with proper money, and I'm TIRED of applying to a million positions I could be great in, and never getting even a call back. Life sucks. *grumbles*

I haven't written anything about me in a while... Not that there was much to write about, though! The last two weeks of classes before the winter break were absolutely mad. Exam after exam, presentations, assignments... but I survived. :D And out of ten subjects, I passed eight (and that's because I still haven't got the grades of the other two ;) ), some with better grades, others with a very much appreciated 4. XD

I feel very happy about it. Accomplished :D I had set this goal of passing all the subjects in this period and I'm very happy that I achieved it. Now, my next goal is to pass all subjects at the end of the year and prepare the finals. Which kind of intimidates the hell out of me - they're TEN FINALS after all, but I'm particularly worried about three of them: Grammar, History of Literature and Theory. But I guess I should stop worrying and enjoy my free time while I can. :D

Talking about free time, I'm loving them, because this winter break is longer than expected and I have A WHOLE MONTH OFF! *SQUEE* What the hell am I going to do with so much free time, I don't know. XD I should start reading 'Don Quijote de la Mancha' but I refuse to. I know, I know... Bad me. But it seems so boring, really... At least the other books I had to read ('El Poema del Mío Cid', 'Lazarillo de Tormes') were SHORT. This one isn't. *grumbles* I should sit doen and write some letters too. But being the HUGE procrastinator that I am, I don't. XD

So guess what I do with all this time in my hands?

I knit.

XDDDD

I've been trying to learn to knit since I was a kid. I kinda got a hold of it when I was 11, and then never tried again until a couple of years ago, when I promised Santiago to knit him a scarf like Harry Potter's that he's still waiting for. XD

On Friday, I got this urge to start knitting again and slowly began to remember how everything was done. And to surprise you all with my incredible talent, not only do I knit normally (with two needles), I also knit crochet style (I don't know if that's the name in English, but it's when you knit with this needle that has a hook in one end). I pestered my mum so much about it and I got her SO frustrated when I couldn't get it right, that she bought me a magazine with the basics and a few models to follow and she then asked to please stop annoying her. But then she couldn't stop laughing at the weird things that I produced, so I guess she enjoyed it! XD

Oh, I've been writing a bit too. I was quite surprised the other night when I sat down and one or two pages flowed very easily. Of course, I tried again last night and that DIDN'T happen, which doesn't really surprise me. I set this goal of writing a few chapter of this fic I've got going on for years now, and maybe, just maybe, start working on some of the ideas I've got. My characters would appreciate it. XD So, if you've got any effective ideas that could work to set me working in my writing again, I'd love to hear them! :D

Yesterday I got an sms from my sister telling me:

'Tomás needs pictures of his grandparents. It doesn't matter how old they are'

So, later last night, mum and I threw ourselves into the task of finding a picture of her and my dad. She finally settled for a picture of their wedding in which she looks like she came out straight from Swinging London (it was 1968 after all! XDDD) that I swear I'll scan as soon as I get it back, but the important thing is that things we'd forgotten we had appeared again, and one of them was our collection of foreign money.

We don't have that much of a collection, really... a few notes and some coins, but I was REALLY surprised to find this among the latter. ( Check it out! )

...that I'll most likely miss Germany's match because my mum will insist on watching the BORING Argentina-Switzerland match. *grumbles* I seriously CAN'T relate to this team, not since Basile is the coach. He might have been good 15 years ago, got the team without losing for 30+ games and all, but I'm not that sure how good that could be now. And the worst of all is that, if I didn't hear wrong, he wants Riquelme back in the team. *headdesk*

Anyone has a spare bed in Germany for me? XD What about you, Timo? If you don't have one, we can share! *tries to smile innocently*

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

#1: I see John Taylor's 'Made in the 80s' boots EVERYWHERE! And I mean ( these boots: )

And...

( #2: my mum fancies Hitz. XDD )

Please God, let this day be over soon! I can't wait for it to be 10 PM, and I'm sitting home relaxing after having a good presentation (and watching Sing Blue Silver - any excuse is good to watch it again XD).

My part for the presentation is done. I practiced last night and realised that with my part only, we'd cover the entire hour, so I'll speak to the professor and leave something to him. Got a cute little flash cards with notes scribbled down to check just in case I get lost or nervous, and got copies done of a small Renaissance chronology. I NEED for this to over or I'll swear I'll explode. Fanatic much, as my mum says? XD

By the way, I'm most likely going to the movies tomorrow with my nephew Santiago to see POTC: At World's End. I still need confirmation from my sister, but I'd say it's pretty probable. :) I can't wait to see Keith Richards as Jack's father. That will be... hilarious, to say the least! XDD

Well, wish me luck!!!

Nadia. :D

Not to be bothered by what people does. I can't control it. There's nothing I can do about it, what's the point on worrying?

And above all, not allowed myself to be bothered by my mum when she is bothered herself by what my sister and my brother do or don't do.

Actually, it's not my entire family. It's my sister. And it's not as much about what she does, but rather about what she doesn't.

Does she stand up for her son? No. Does she make her husband respect his own son? No. Does she make him respect her? *SNORT* And because she doesn't, we have to put up with all the bastard's crap and issues.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A long time ago, checking the family's photo collection for the millionth time, I found a picture of my grandmother and grandfather in their honeymoon, back in 1945 (the date in the pic says 'August 3rd, 1945'). It wasn't the first time I saw it, of course; when I was a little girl, I used to love to sit down and go through the collection for hours. But, the last time I saw it, something clicked in my mind.

( So these are my grandparents. )

Today, mum and I went to my sister's. There's nobody home, actually; they went away last Friday and their not come back until this Friday, so we used that to go there and get some of the stuff we left there when we moved almost eight years ago.

(For those who don't know the whole story, when my mum, my brother and I moved to this apartment in 1999, we had to leave a lot of stuff we really didn't use in our apartment, where my sister moved. She and her husband always complained that, seeing as the top half of both closets were full of our mess, they couldn't stuff their own in, but we couldn't care less. XD)

So we went, we surveyed the mess, and came back home with three big bags FULL of books, school stuff and many other things, and two small boxes. As always, seeing as I'm the only one who's patient enough to do it, I was assigned the task of checking what things were worth keeping, and what not. Boy, the things I found there...

School notebooks and folders, mine and my brother's and sister's, and my mum's as well, books (including my mum's collection of erotic literature XD), dolls I used to play with when I was a little girl... all of them brought back memories of my time in that apartment. :D

We moved there of January 2nd, 1991, and seeing as the apartment was my mum's and we weren't renting anymore, we never imagined we would leave that place. That's why we gathered so much crap over the years. :) I spent the last years of my childhood there, and I left my teenage years there when we moved, so having those things again has really made me think of those years. My first school book ever, the couple of My Little Pony that I owned, my godfather's flared trousers that I fit in once when I was 12 and never again, my diary, even my very first attempts of writing a story, I found them all today. It was really nice to see them all, and having them with me again.

I found this little book that I loved, called "My First Day Of School", in which a little squirrel isn't too happy about going to school until he finds the positive side of it. I even found my old German activity book called 'Wer? Wie? Was?' and God, I don't remember a single thing. LOL As for my diary, I knew I had left it there, and I was desperate. There wasn't much written in it... I got it when I was 11 and I wrote only a few times, but I didn't want anyone to find it! Knowing my sister, or even worst my brother-in-law, I was positive they would read it if they found it. When I stumbled with it, I couln't help but remember my mum's words when I told her I wanted a diary. "What do you want a diary for?" Mum, sometimes, you just don't understand. :)

I need some time to reacquaint (sp?) myself with all those things... I just wanted to share the first impression while I try to get rid of all the damn dust they had on when we unearthed them. :D

ETA: another thing I found and that I forgot to mention here, was my first poster ever. It was a Soda Stereo poster, a very big Argentinian band. I bought when I was 9 and I couldn't believe I still had it. *wipes tear*

Hi, Santa.

Yes, it's me again. I promise I won't bother you anymore, I just wanted to remind you what I asked for this Christmas.



Yours, Nadia.

ETA: Herr Hildebrand... I'D SO DO YOU!

**

Talking about Xmas presents, mum and I just finished shopping for the kids today. Actually, I went out with her and we saw a few little things they might like, and we bought them. One of the things I bought for Santiago is a Kiss poster. Yes, Kiss. The rock band. Apparently, he saw them on TV (their make-up era) and is now fascinated with them. And me, being the cool aunt that I am, I bought him a poster, because the DVDs were too expensive LOL My little boy is growing up! *SOB*

On November 25th 1988, my dad died. I was 7 back then and, in a way, being so young stopped me from wondering what would happen to us next, or how life would be without my dad. I still felt the blow, don't get me wrong. I just felt it different, I guess. The truth was never softened for me - how could that happened, when my dad died in our house? I was never the poor little girl without a father either, and I've repeatedly told my mum how much I appreciate that. Try to picture this: a 39 year-old widow with three kids aged 20, 14 and 7. She either tightened the rules, or hell would break loose.

When my dad died, everyone told my mum "Don't worry, Nora, we'll help you with the kids." Did we ever get that help, in any way? No. In 18 years not one of my uncle's did anything for us, and the only person who ALWAYS helped us, until the day he passed, was my grandfather. Everything we did, every thing we have, our education, were achieved through our efforts. My mum had the hardest time trying to make everything work over the years, but we never lacked anything. Maybe we didn't have great luxuries, but we had everything we needed. These last 18 years made us who we are today, and I can't help but wonder how different things would have been, had my father lived longer.

I don't have many memories of him. He was bald, and I used to comb his remaining hair in funny ways. Every Sunday morning I would stand by the bathroom's door and watch him shave. He taught me how to ride a bike; first he tried getting rid of one of the training wheels, but when that didn't work, he took both off, pushed me down the sidewalk, and the next thing I remember is him and my brother cheering because I had FINALLY nailed it. :D (I was 7, by the way. Slow. :D)

He was only 52 when he died. He hadn't had an easy life, but he made it through. Football was his life: he played in every amateur team he could find (and we have tons of pictures to prove it :D), and I'm sure he played up to the last days of his life - he had a heart condition (the Chagas disease), and he had to stay active and fit. Said heart condition was the cause of his death, anyway. He was very honest, and loved his family.

I just wish I could have been given more time with him.

I was out with my mum (already looking for Christmas presents for the nephews, mind you), and I found this very cute stuffed tiger with batteries that plays the electric guitar and sings "Bad Case of Loving You" by Robert Palmer.

Wait, I just made the connection... Tiger, Robert Palmer... JOHN TAYLOR! LOL

ETA: I also saw a frog that sings What A Wonderful World. I want one. *pout*

And because I haven't done a proper update in quite a while. :)

How's everyone doing? I'm doing great - vacations can do wonders for people! I was doing pretty well, just playing lazy for two weeks before I had to go back to work and face the fact that, most likely, the place is going to close at the end of the year, when my body played this tiny little dirty trick on me yesterday: I felt like crap. I don't know to put it, because I have no idea what happened to me, but I was dizzy, my whole body ached, I felt feverish and I spent most of the day in bed. Could it be that my 100th attempt to start a diet this year got me sick? LOL

Believe me, I felt horrible. I began to feel ill on Monday night and went to bed early, but couldn't fall asleep because I was cold - fever, obviously; I've lost the count of how many blankets I have in my bed! When I finally fell asleep, I woke up about three times during the night, and ended up getting up at 5 AM because I couldn't sleep anymore. I watched some TV, hoping to get sleepy again, but instead, I began to feel bad again, so once again, back to bed.

That was pretty much my day. I got up for about two hours and chatted with epee_girl, but I had to go back to bed. Last night I was sure I was going to feel even worst today, but guess what? I'm much better :D Oh, I still feel a bit dizzy, and my back still hurts like yesterday, but I'm definitely doing better. I was supposed to go to my sister's house today and pick up some important mail (they are away on vacations) but I prefered not to. Tomorrow I hope to feel even better and then I'll go.

Talking about my sister... As I said before, they left last wednesday on vacations. They went to Buenos Aires for a couple of days and now they're in Córdoba. The province of Córdoba could be considered the bridge to the north of the country, I guess. So, with that in mind, they did something we have been wanting to do for a long time: going to Sumampa, a little town in the province of Santiago del Estero where my dad was born. ( Check the map for some geographical info )

The idea was to try and find copies of my dad's birth certificate, and probably a copy of my grandparents' wedding certificate, anything that could be useful to try and find out where my grandfather came from (we know he was Lithuanian, but that's it). Also, we're trying to see if it's possible to apply for the Lithuanian citizenship. So yesterday, after this more than quick trip to Sumampa (I guess spent about two hours there LOL), my sister called me and told me that she had got copies of our dad's birth certificate and copies ouf our grandfather's death certificate (what's the right name for that in English?). Both things are great for our plans, and even better, my grandfather's certificate even has his mother's name. Now that's more than we expected! Apparently, our surname (or the most similar form in Lithuanian) is quite common and it made very hard to find the right person who could be any sort of relative. But now, with this new info, who knows? :) I'm a genealogy freak, can you tell? LOL

So, after leaving Sumampa in a rush, guess who kept smsing me to tell me he was bored to death? Yep, Santiago, my dear nephew. He was SO bored he had hijacked my sister's phone and kept smsing me things like "HELP! I'M BORED! RESCUE ME!" LOL After three messages I supposed she caught him and he sent me a last message "I can't send any more messsages. Bye" Ouch! LOL

I guess that's about it... I haven't done really much but try and get some rest - the second half of the year is going to be... *shivers*

In case you someone was wondering :)... I haven't given up on my LJ, I just haven't had the time nor the energy to update it. Everything's fine, mum's surgery went great and I'm on holidays at the moment, so I might sit down and do something useful like updating this. :D See ya!

I started typing this entry about yesterday and the computer died on me. I was so frustrated that I decided to give up and try again today. Here I am.

One thing is for sure: I'm pathetic when it comes to update this thing. It's always in my mind to make at least a short entry, but the most of the times I sit in front of the computer and use my time to do other stuff. Like researching for my fics :)

I've come to the conclusion that I love doing the research as much as I love doing the writing part. You get the chance to learn about many things, especially if you consider my tendencies to put my characters through hell before they get some happiness. :P

I've been doing fine. Besides of four of my cousins from Tandil (and a friend) came to MdP without warning, I'm fine. *LOL* One good thing about living in a small apartment is that you can't have people staying with you. I know they're family and that I should be happy that they came to visit (and above all, that they stayed at my uncle's) but I wasn't. I like them, I love spending some time with them, but that's it. And above all, I guess like pretty much everyone is this world, I hate being forced to spend time with someone I don't want to.

I just sent an email to my Polish friend Mariola. She just got engaged about a month ago, so I wanted to get some updates on how everything's going.

Did anyone catch Orlando Bloom at the Golden Globes? I had my squealing fan girl moment when I saw him there... and without Bosworth. WOOHOO!

Vero, a.k.a. epee_girl is back from holidays, which gave me the chance to post my super homemade birthday card. I can't believe something so simple as what I initially planned to do took me about 5 hours!

Another person who's back... CARMEN! My lovely friend Carmen came back from Italy, where she spent 3 weeks eating like a pig, according to her own words. *LOL* Cold this be the much expected return of the Terrible Trio??? *evil grin* What say you, dyoselin?

I'm back at work. Bye bye to my holidays. But as weird as it may sound, I think I missed it. Especially if you consider that my boss is away and won't be around to stop me spending my time either reading fics, writing my own, or doing covers. What a responsible person I am! *LOL*

I'm thinking about doing some pic spams... Let's see what pictures I can find!

Hi!!

It's been ages since I last updated, so I decided to start the new year in the right way... And, at least, try to make a little update. ;)

The holidays went fine. I spent Christmas with my sister & co at her in-laws' house. I must say that we grown ups of the family don't usually exhange gifts... Other than my sister buying me something - I'm her goddaughter. :) So all the presents go to the kids. A Harry Potter movie for Santiago along with some clothes and other toys, and Tomás was extremely happy when he got a Barney doll that is almost his size. He hugged the doll close to him and didn't let go - he now sleeps with Barney and even went to the doctor with him. ;P

As for New Year's Eve, we spent it at my sister's house. Thing is, my brother-in-law was in his usual self. Meaning: he was a pain in the ass, being generally rude and all. To make it all worst, it was hot as hell here yesterday (and today) so he was all moody because he was hot. Well, if he paid attention to his wife and lost all the extra weight he has, he wouldn't suffer that much, but... The only good things of the night were seeing John Taylor on tv introducing Gwen Stefani at the Billboard awards :D and the strawberry champagne. *grins* I only drank a little, I swear!

Today, we went for lunch at my brother's house; many of Julieta's family would be there, so they invited my mum and me to go as well. I didn't think we'd have a lot of fun with people we barely know, but we were wrong. Guillermo, my brother's friend (who happens to be Julieta's cousin) was there with his wife... and his guitar, so he could play with my brother. I think it's time for me to explain that none of them really plays; Guillermo's learning, but my brother gave up on that a long time ago, so it was fun seeing them... and hearing them. :P

As for me, I'm fine. Determined to lose some weight now that the holidays are over and there are no delicious things begging to be eaten in the house. :P I'm on holidays until January 17th (WOOHOO!!!) so I'll try to update more often. *yeah, right!* :P