Off to Las Palmas!

Little vacation for 2 weeks.

9/184

I ♥ faces Week 25: “Just For Fun”

“Ewwwwwwwwww, nasty rain.”

 Check out the other “Just For Fun” pictures on I ♥ Faces page.

Photo Contest

 My Home Sweet Home is hosting a photo contest giveaway sponsored by Energizer and National Geographic. The winner will receive a one-year subscription to National Geographic magazine and a sample of Energizer lithium batteries.

I'm not sure if I can enter both pictures, but let’s give it a try.

Nature

People/Cultures 

8/184

7/184

6/184

5/184

4/184

3/184

2/184

1/184

It’s only 184 days left until the end of the year, but I still want to do the project. And next year i will start from 1.01.

I’ve been tagged!

I've been tagged by Louise .
I have to list 6 unimportant things that make me happy:
1. Rain
2. Strawberries
3. Hugs
4. Sea
5. Lightning
6. Children
I have to tag 6 people - Alex, Mihkel, Kadi, Rita, Signe and Piret.

Project 365

People will often say that their whole lives flashed before their eyes after they experienced a traumatic event. Perhaps it’s a bit morbid, but we think that sounds pretty incredible.

Why do it?

Taking a photo a day is a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider doing it:

• Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!)
• Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.
• Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day.

Tips on How to Do It

Bring Your Camera Everywhere

Yes, everywhere. Get in the habit. Grocery stores, restaurants, parties, work, and school. Going to a movie theatre? Snap a pic of the flick with your phone–there are photo-ops everywhere. If you have one of those tiny tiny cameras, you have no excuse not to have it in your pocket all the time. And if you don’t? Camera phones are a great substitute.

Don’t Stop, No Matter What

This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.

There will be times you’ll think there’s nothing interesting left to take a photo of, and times you’ll think you didn’t do anything exciting enough to take a photo of. There’s always a great photo to be made.

Get out of the house and take a walk. Or stay inside and look around. Take a photo of something important to you. Take a photo of the inside of your house so you can see how your taste has changed over the years. Take a photo of anything, just don’t stop.

N.b. It helps if you’ve told your friends about the project and asked them to follow along. Their encouragement will keep you going!

More details on the project 365.

My 101 in 1001 days

Start Date: June 20, 2009
End Date: March 17, 2012

*In progress
*Done!
*Fail

My 101 in 1001 list in no particular order.

1. Read 4 books in Spanish (1/4).
* La princesa y el plebeyo by Nora Roberts

2. Get my drivers license.

3. Read 250 new to me books over the 1001 days (8/250).
* Confessions of a shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
* My Estonia by Justin Petrone
* Minu Hispaania by Anna-Maria Penu
* Brick Lane by Monica Ali
* Country Lovers by Rebecca Shaw
* Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steel 
* Heiresses by Lulu Taylor
* Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison

4. Learn about the country I live in (Spain).

5. Go on a walk at least onve a week.

6. Improve my knowledge of world history.

7. Go on a picnic.

8. Go snorkeling or scuba diving.
9. Donate 1000,000 grains of rice via freerice.com (6360/1000,000).
10. Enter a photo contest.

11. Do at least two posts a week on my blog (56/286).

12. Donate blood at least 3 times (0/3).
13. Wash dishes after every meal immediately for 3 months.

14. Spend at least one day a week away from the computer for a month.

15. Start a conversation with a stranger.

16. Get off unnecessary mailing lists.

17. Bake something once a month for a year (0/12).

18. Run at least once a week for 2 months (0/9).

19. Organize my photos.

20. Work out 3 times a week for 6 months (0/72).

21. Get up before 8.00 am every day for at least two weeks (0/14).

22. No junk food for one month.

23. Host a dinner.
24. Don't swear for a month (0/30).

25. Go five weeks without eating chocolate (3/5).

26. Make one new real friend.

27. Kiss in the rain.

28. Don’t eat white bread for a week.

29. Visit 5 museums, galleries, or exhibits.

30. Watch a movie from the year I was born.

31. Send someone a postcard when I’m on vacation.

32. Learn how to use Photoshop/ PaintShop.

33. Eliminate use of plastic bags while grocery shopping.

34. Go vegetarian for a week (0/7).
35. Eat 10 things I’ve never tried before (4/10).

36. No alcohol for four months.

37. No eating after 8:00 p.m. for one month (0/30).

38. Plant a vegetable garden.
39. Learn how to tie a tie.

40. Have a photo shoot with a professional photographer.

41. Taste sushi.

42. One day of each week, do not watch TV (72/143).
43. Do 100 sit-ups without taking a break.
44. Ride a camel.
45. Host a party.

46. Drink nothing but water for 1 month (0/31).

47. Start and maintain a blog (weekly ) (28/143).

48. Comment on someone else’s blog 3 times a week for a month (0/15).

49. Take a photo every day (193/1001).

50. Watch 50 Movies on IMDB's Top 250 list (39/50).

1) Casablanca

2) Up

3) The Matrix

4) Wall E

5) Forest Gump

6) American Beauty

7) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

8) Slumdog Millionaire

9) The Elephant Man

10) Some Like It Hot

11) Ladri di Biciclette

12) Sin City

13) Braveheart

14) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

15) Batman Begins

16) Jaws

17) No Country for Old men

18) Gladiator

19) Die Hard

20) The Sixth Sense

21) Kill Bill: Vol. 1

22) Kill Bill: Vol. 2

23) Finding Nemo

24) Ratatouille

25) The Lion King

26) Toy Story

27) The Incredibles

28) King Kong

29) Little Miss Sunshine

30) Frankenstein
31) The Dark Knight
32) Terminator 2: Judgement Day
33) Back to the Future
34) District 9
35) Roman Holiday
36) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
37) Mulholland Drive
38) Monsters, Inc.
39) Toy Story 2
49) Avatar

51. Spend at least one hour outdoors every day for two weeks (0/14).

52. Do 50 push-ups without taking a break.
53. Recieve map postcards from every US state. (44/50)
54. Post a video on the internet that has me in it.
55. Take a picture in a photo booth.
56. Eat at 6 new restaurants (5/6).

57. Go swimming in a sea at night.

58. Name a star after someone.

59. Learn photography.

60. Take a yoga class.

61. Visit Italy.

62. Get a job that I like.
63. Start the morning with exercise everyday for 2 weeks (0/14).
64. Go one week without complaining.
65. Spend two days in silence (0/2).
66. Watch the sun set 20 times (13/20).
67. Work through Spanish grammar book.

68. Take 10 bubble baths (4/10).

69. Go to a spa 5 times (1/5).

70. Go to church at least once a month (2/31).

71. Clean/organize closets at least once a month (4/31).

72. Get a plant.

73. Read the first book of the Twilight series.

74. Have 1000 comments on my blog (1000/1000).

75. Get my diploma translated and validated.

76. Participate in Earth Hour.
77. Go to see the wreck of the American Star.
78. Eat breakfast for 500 days (70/500).
79. Learn sign language.
80. Buy and maintain a Bonsai tree.
81. Go skinny dipping.
82. Try rock climbing.
83. Get my hair cut in a different way than usual.
84. Own fish.

85. Wear shoes, not flip flops every day for a month.

86. Make the bed every morning for a 3 months (0/90).

87. No Facebook for a month (0/30).

88. Attend a concert or a festival.

89. Get my eyes checked.

90. Go outside just to watch the stars 10 times (3/10).

91. Frame and hang new pictures.

92. Lose x kg to get to desired weight.

93. Blog everything I complete on this list (1/101).
94. Floss at least once every day for 3 months (0/90).
95. Sunbathe on a nudist beach.
96. Improve my geography knowledge enough to score over 500,000 points on the Traveler IQ Challenge (0/500,000).
97. Spend 33 days without touching a computer (9/33).

98. Get a pedicure and manicure.

99. Take a road trip in Spain.
100. Look over this list at least once a week (4/134).
101. On day 1001 publish a new 101 in 1001 list.

101 in 1001 days

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

More information in Day Zero.

Something to start with

I wasn’t happy with my blog design and therefore searching for the ways to change it, but nothing did cope with my expectations. Finally I arrived to Adori Graphics blog - Louise. As I saw, that she is doing free blog makeovers, I decided to ask one. I got the answer next day, filled in the form and then the process started. She agreed to do 2 makeovers + buttons or changes later on if I want to. I have to say, that she is amazing. I still can’t understand how she made my blog as I wanted, actually much much better than I imagined. I would recommend her to anyone; she is really talented and helpful. Thank you Louise, for helping me with my blog, I’m really grateful. =)

I visited Lanzarote in my Erasmus time in 2007 for 3 days, but now I have been living here for some time now. As I have my new and cool blog design now, I decided to start blogging again.