End of the year meme -round two

We interrupt this extended vacation to provide you with a most appropriate meme. An end of the year meme! I really enjoy going over all the incredible events of 2008 and crossing items from my invisible list. It is a good time to reflect, and to look back. It is time for the quiet before the new.

I hope you had a great year, and I wish you all a wonder filled, bright and clear new year.

Now for the meme goodness...

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? I became a U.S. citizen! This is so incredibly good that I am not going to add anything else to this answer.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I do not make them, but I kind of get into the idea of bringing change into my everyday with some success.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes. My American sister Connie. Baby Zane is now the youngest of the grandchildren, and he is loved by everyone.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, what a blessing.

5. What countries did you visit? I had to travel to the US four times this year (because of my citizenship application), and we managed to go back home to Colombia too. We did some traveling in Europe as well: France, Switzerland, and Germany. I could have added the Czech Republic to this list, but I did not go. Remember?

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Last year I wrote about wanting my US citizenship, my Italian permesso de soggiorno, and a car, and guess what? I got all three! So this year I am going to spread my good luck and say that I want my mom and my mother in law to be able to travel to Italy to visit us. I will like to visit Morocco too.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? December 19, the day I became a citizen of the U.S. November 4 is a very close second.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I started painting and teaching again.

9. What was your biggest failure? I did not go through with a business project.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Good health in general but for the frequent colds that seem to follow me everywhere. I blame planes, wouldn't you?

11. What was the best thing you bought? My iphone. I never wanted a phone that was more than a phone... Now, I am a fan, no, wait, I am a groupie! I love the little gadget, with its music holding power, its podcast providing service, its cheerful reminders, and its fantastic memory! I really LIKE this fancy phone, there is no way around it.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Once again Nicolas takes the prize. He tries hard and makes us proud. What a gift.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Could it be the Bush administration again?

14. Where did most of your money go? Traveling (see #5).

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The U.S. elections, and off course OBAMA!

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? Nothing comes to mind.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? Happier, fatter and richer (I have a salary now!)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Painting, there is always more painting to be done.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing over legal paperwork.

20. How did you spend Christmas? With close family in the States, eating Colombian food, singing, and dancing. We also had a lively political discussion until the wee hours of the morning.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Yes, with my life.

22. What was your favorite TV program? We do not have cable TV in Italy, so we buy American TV programs by the season. We bought Heroes, and now we are hooked. Take into account that this is our only TV entertainment!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No.

24. What was the best book you read? The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Buika.

26. What did you want and get? My beautiful Francis! Francis! espresso machine. SOOOO lovely. She is mine!

27. What did you want and not get? A new PR (personal record) running the Bogota Half Marathon. I hope to get it this year.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Lars and the Real Girl, which is actually a 2007 film, but a 2008 one for me.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 42 and I had breakfast with my boys, coffee with Pien, a quiet day of painting and dinner with my girlfriends. A great day.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Nope. Nothing is missing. I am a very happy woman.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Learning from the Italians, I am including a lot of classic items with great accesories like these boots, aren't they lovely?

32. What kept you sane? Running and writing my blog (it gives me perspective)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Just writing his name makes me happy: Barak Obama.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? All of them!

35. Who did you miss? My mom always.

36. Who was the best new person you met? New? It will have to be my ceramics teacher. He is smart, funny and very good at what he does.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. There is always room for CHANGE.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar." (Traveler, there is no path. We make the path by walking.)

I might be the last one

This flickr meme is doing the rounds, and it is so much fun that I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I have seen it at many of my favorite places, first at Michelle's, then at Erin's, and last at Joanne's. I may have missed some others, but these are great examples, so go take a peek!

The meme works like this:

• Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
• Using only the first page, pick an image.
• Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into mosaic maker.



QUESTIONS
1. What is your first name? Beatriz
2. What is your favorite food? Arepa con queso
3. What high school did you go to? Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
4. What is your favorite color? moss green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? George Clooney
6. Favorite drink? Mojito
7. Dream vacation? India
8. Favorite dessert? Apple pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Artist
10. What do you love most in life? My son
11. One word to describe you. Colorful
12. Your Flickr name. BeatryFer

A great book meme.

Since I started this blog of mine, many things have happened.

I have made incredible friends that I have never met face to face. Everyday we visit each other through our blogs, and everyday I have the pleasure of their company. I have been inspired, moved, surprised, and enlightened by their words and comments. I look forward to their posts, and I am delighted when they come and visit me. One of my favorite places in the blogosphere is Anno's place, for I love the way she writes, and the truth behind each and every one of her words. You won't be disappointed if you visit her. You can sit out in her yard while a chicken roasts over the fire, talk about books, and travels, all while sipping a great glass of wine. What are you waiting for?

You are back? Good, because Anno tagged me with a great meme about books. You have to love a meme about books!

I have also learned what a meme is, and if you want to know more, just follow the link .

But i digress. Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

The nearest book is On Beauty by Zadie Smith, here are the three sentences:

Howard closed his eyes and drank deep from his glass.
'Howard, the music -' said Kiki, turning to Howard at last. It was amazing to see her words and her eyes entirely unconnected to each other, like a bad actress.

The third sentence is telling, for Ms. Smith works with words to paint pictures of her characters and their relationships. I like this book, I like the play of opposites, the broken stereotypes, the cultural clash. I like the smart language, the knowledge that this is not just a writer's world, but a factual, real possibility. I believe everything Ms. Smith tells me, and the way she chooses to tell everything.
I am half way through the book, so I still have a lot of things to discover. Well, I have to go read now...

I almost forgot rule #5! This is an open tag, play along if you feel like it, but please let me know. I would love to read what you are reading.

Tag you are it!

I have been tagged for a Six Word Memoir by Bee in Italy, and as of 04/15 by Curiosity Killer too. This meme reminded me of a great post that I saw at Bleeding Espresso, and I quote:

SMITH Magazine, self-described as “a home for storytelling,” challenged readers to write six-word memoirs inspired by Ernest Hemingway, who, when asked to write a six-word novel, came up with “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

I liked this idea of using just six words to sum a life, and I had to write my own:

Talk with accent, think without one

I suggest you visit Michelle at Bleeding Espresso for other fantastic memoirs. Going back to the original tag from my friend Debbie,the rules are:

1. Write your own six-word memoir (In this case, six independent words.)
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.


My words are:

Impulsive

Assertive

Romantic

Creative

Strong

Fun

I will leave this open to anyone who wants to play along.

What is your six word memoir?

I love

When I saw Anno's list, I was moved and inspired. Here is my (heavily edited) list of the things I love.

I love waking up to a new day. The smell of coffee. Snow covered mountains outside my window. Good morning kisses. My husband's whistling and my boy's messed up hair.
I love rainy days. Watching raindrops dance through breath-fogged windows. Drinking a hot cup of coffee. Wearing my favorite sweater. Listening to the water find its way down the roof.
I love a good party. Salsa dancing with my friends. Singing loud enough to wake up the neighbors. Listening to Cumbia drums beating in sync with my heart.
I love talking to my friends. Laughing out loud. Sharing a good meal. Crying together.
I love a trip, near or far. Airports, suitcases, and maps. Leaving what I know to find something new, if even for a day. Being a foreigner, having an accent.
I love languages. Rolling Rs, guttural Hs, sliding Ss. The origin of words and their meaning.
I love the smell of the places I know and love. Bogota, mountains and smog. Popayan, wood and rain. California, sun and smoke. Italy, coffee and wine.
I love Museums and churches. Great silent spaces. Art filled walls.
I love running with my dog, breathing harder with each step, and getting to the end. Morning light, fresh air, and purple flowers on green fields.
I love beautiful things, color, texture, and the imperfections of a handmade object. Eames chairs. Bicycles. Gaudi's architecture . A cinquecento.
I love solitude, silence, and the night sky.
I love getting letters, e-mails, and surprise phone calls. Friends, old and new. People, life's characters, imperfect beings.
I love creativity. Everyday makers, The barista, the baker, and the florist. Artists, writers, and teachers.
I love hugs and holding hands. Sharing a glass of good wine with my husband, talking and listening. Waiting for the night.
I love my mother's voice and our conversations about nothing and everything. I love the town where she lives and where I grew up, white houses, old street lamps, roofs extending over sidewalks, green windows and church bells.
I love jumping in the water in the ocean because it is frightening and beautiful. Watching a campfire, feeling its heat close to my skin, and carrying its smell in my clothes.
I love writing, drawing, painting, starting something new. Cooking with my boy, talking while flavors mix. Reading a good book, finishing it, thinking about it for days afterwards.
I love to be surprised by the things I do not know. A word, a recipe, a story. Learning, living, and making mistakes.
I love looking at my reflection in the mirror and recognizing the woman that looks back at me.

Meme

I have been tagged by my new blog-friend Jo of Frutto della Passione for a meme. This is quite an interesting way to get to know other bloggers and for you to know some facts about me. The rules for this meme are:

-Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
-Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
-Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and links to their blogs.
-Tell them that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I met my husband while rock-climbing. I was the lead and he was my belayer (the one that kept me secure.) Fitting, isn't it?
2. I organize my cutlery and my kitchen knives by size. Freaky, anal, call it whatever you want, but I like order in my kitchen.
3. I always read magazines from back to front.
4. I have been to the top of the Ritacuba Blanco 5,330m (17,487'). # 46 on the list of 50 Most Prominent Peaks on Earth.
5. My favorite movie is Pulp Fiction. Love it or hate it, there is no middle ground here.
6. I am double-jointed, my thumb can fold backwards at a 90 degree angle. (pictures upon request!)
7. Some of my work is in the graphics collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

I'm tagging my friend, neighbor, and new blogger Bee in Italy. Artist extraordinaire Amaretto Girl. Food Goddess Paola. Ultimate Blog Party pals Kristen and Curiosity Killer. Anyone else who will like to do this meme.

End of the year meme

It is a new year! I am a little late to welcome it from my little corner of the blogosphere, but better late than never, right? As it happens I have been inspired once again by Sognatrice and I am going to follow her lead and tag myself with this "end of the year meme". For all of my friends that read me and are new to the blogging lingo, a meme is a list of questions that you see on a blog which you decide to answer on your own blog. You can also be tagged by someone else to do it. Then someone else might see it and answer it, and so on. You can tag someone to do it as well. I liked this particular meme as it allows me to reflect on a great year. Here we go...

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? I moved to Italy, ran a half marathon with my husband, started a blog -in English, made apple pie, learned "some" Italian, read a self-improvement book, went on a girls trip with friends.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I do not make them, but I kind of get into the idea of bringing change into my everyday with some success.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No, but my friend Claudia is pregnant (remember she had to miss Paris?). 01.13.08 Update! My "American sister Connie is pregnat too!!!

4. Did anyone close to you die? My husband's dear aunt Chila. She was the eldest of eleven, the mother figure to all surviving siblings. She was always happy and she knew how to take care of everybody. Her house was the heart of the family, you could always count on finding many people at her table, eating and laughing with her. She is dearly missed.

5. What countries did you visit? This is the best part about this year! I went to Colombia in the spring, and in the summer we moved from the States to Italy. We have visited a little of Spain, France, Switzerland, and of course Italy. La dolce vita!

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? My US citizenship, my Italian permesso de soggiorno, and a car -if it is not to much to ask!

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 26, the day we left California for Italy.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I have become a better person , a positive one, a happier one.

9. What was your biggest failure? I expected to speak fluent Italian by now.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? It was a healthy year but for the little toothache that went to France.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My new camera. We have planned for so long to get a good camera. I just love the fact that I can play with it, changing lens, using it as a manual camera. We are just getting acquainted with each other, but I can tell that we are a good match.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My son Nicolas'. He did not want to move to Italy; he was so sad when we left California! You should see him today, a popular boy with an open mind. He goes on these long car trips with us, with no fast food, no playgrounds, no theme parks, no kid appeal, and he still loves it! He has matured so much, and we are very proud of him.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I can't decide between president George W. Bush and president Hugo Chavez.

14. Where did most of your money go? Food... Moving? Packing? Eat out. Lodging? Eat out. New home? Unpacking? Eat out. New country? Italy? EAT OUT!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our big move to Italy, ah... the possibilities! Traveling, learning a new language, eating great food, drinking really good wine, and changing pace. All of this with my Nicolas and hubby. Mocha too, of course.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? Jarabe de Palo's "Mi piace come sei" This is one of my favorite Spanish groups singing in Italian for the first time. It was played on the radio all the time this past summer. It became my song, as I felt that even my favorite singers where making the transition with me.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? HAPPIER, thinner and some would say poorer if we take into account the status of the dollar compared to the euro. I feel richer though.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Art.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Cleaning.

20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas eve with Nicolas and Fernando, having a Colombian meal and waiting until midnight to open one present. It was quiet but nice. Christmas day with new friends sharing an american meal of turkey, sweet potatoes, apple and pumpkin pie. Homesick!

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? With Italy.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Monk when I was in the States, we don't watch much TV anymore.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No.

24. What was the best book you read? "Bel Canto" by Anne Patchett.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Kiko Veneno. Thank you Chema!

26. What did you want and get? A new laptop, not just any laptop, but a Mac-book. I always wanted a Mac. Thank you mi amor.

27. What did you want and not get? A permesso de soggorno.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I wish I had seen more movies this year, but with all films being dubbed in Italian, I don't enjoy them as much. I have rented some good ones and I would say my favorite is The Namesake.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 41 and I had a week-long celebration that included dinner with my new girlfriends the weekend before my birthday, a nice dinner with my two loves on my birthday, and a weekend trip to Paris to meet with my childhood friends the weekend after. I can't wait to turn 42.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If I could have my good friends from California with me.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? A learning curve from the informal sunny beaches of southern California to the fashion conscious winter of northern Italy. Not that you will see me wearing D&G any time soon.

32. What kept you sane? Running and writing my blog (it gives me perspective)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Al Gore and his Nobel peace prize.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? The release/non release of hostages by the Colombian guerilla.

35. Who did you miss? My mom always, my American family, and all my great friends back in the States.

36. Who was the best new person you met? This is a difficult question since I have met so many great people. My friend Pien tops the list as she is generous, funny, inteligent and such a good friend. My neighbor and landlady Rossana is a close second as she is always helpful and takes good care of us all, not a bad Italian teacher either.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. We are like plants in a pot, we should carry our roots wherever we go. I did not think of this metaphor on my own, but it was told to me by my friend Cata's husband: German. Thanks!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Alberto Cortez' "A mis amigos" a great song about friendship. Thank you all my friends and have a great 2008.

A mis amigos les adeudo la ternura 
y las palabras de aliento y el abrazo 
el compartir con todos ellos la factura 
que nos presenta la vida paso a paso. 
A mis amigos les adeudo la paciencia 
de tolerarme las espinas más agudas 
los arrebatos del humor 
le negligencia, las vanidades 
los temores y las dudas.