Let me tell you why I blog

I blog because I need it.
I blog because of my mom, my most faithful reader.
I blog because of Nicolas, to help him remember.
I blog because I need to keep a record of my thoughts.
I blog because I take pictures.
I blog because I forget.
I blog because of the amazing community of bloggers out there.
I blog because I can.

Sometimes I wonder how much longer I will blog. I find it sometimes difficult and challenging, but then I get a comment that encourages me, or I get a job offer because of what I do, or I get an award by a fellow blogger, and then I know that I will keep on blogging.

The sweet Lost in Sicilia awarded me with a Honest Scrap Award and to be honest, it made my day! I had been thinking about closing the suitcase for good, and then I get a nice pat in the back. So thank you, thank you very much.


This award requires that I write 10 honest things about me, so here we go:

-I am jealous of those who cook with ease.
-I love to eat, this is the main reason why I run.
-Did I tell you that I like wine too? A lot.
-I am a dog person. Cats are just too cold.
-I have a lot of projects in my mind, few of these see the light of day.
-I am afraid of lightning.
-I am a romantic fool.
-I want a tree house. Again.
-Making things makes me happy.
-I clean while listening to music. The dancing, shake your hips, sing out loud kind of music.

There you have it. Now, time to spread the love and award some special bloggers:

Milanese Masala
Frutto della Passione
Burnt by the Tuscan Sun
Italy Tutto
Scattered Moments

What is your line?

The wonderful Becca has a new site for Write on Wednesday. This is a great place to share ideas about writing, the creative process, and the motivations behind our words. I am very excited about this forum, and I think I will participate often.

Today, there was no Cucina di Nicola, as this week is the last week of school, and I have been playing chauffeur to all the social events leading to the last day of Nicolas' school: TOMORROW! He is graduating from elementary school, and moving into scuola media, a big change for all of us.

In lieu of my usual recipe, I am going to try an answer Becca's questions:

Have you found your line yet? Do you think you have one? How do you go about expressing it?

The answers to these questions lay hidden in a corner of my mind. I have always been creative, and when I was young I would dream of becoming a writer. Back then, I wanted to write children's books, stories full of surprising characters, colors, and made-up universes. I wrote my first short story for a national contest when I was 10. I was very surprised when I did not win!!! -Can you say self-confident?

I kept on writing, sometimes in a diary, sometimes in random pieces of paper, sometimes I did not. I do not claim to be a writer, as I have not the focus, nor the talent; but since I became a blogger, I have become motivated by the creative process again.

So, what is my line? I have started a short story that focuses on a woman my age, facing a mid-life crisis of sorts, looking at her past for answers to her future. The short answer is that I write about me, what I know, what I am, what I would like to be. It might not be worth publishing but it sure is therapeutic! I love to sit at the computer, open my secret file, and just write away. I do not stop to think about my so-called public, as I do not expect these words to see the light of day anytime soon. This is liberating.

I have also written about my country, my hometown, my family. These are all extensions of me. I guess I am still getting to know me, and in doing so, I just write and rewrite my history.

I have found my line, and I am happy about this. I write what I know, I write to know.

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

100th post giveaway and blog action in one!

Here at Suitcase Contents we are celebrating the big ONE O O. Please, come on in, have a glass of wine, eat some "salatine," get comfortable, and let's start the conversation and the gift giving.

As far as the conversation goes, I am going to get a little serious first, but I promise we will carry on with the party. Some of you might remember my post about the problem that is electronic waste. When I wrote about it, I mentioned that I was going to design a button that we could post on our blogs, which will be a reminder and a pledge to safely recycle our own computers. It took me a while to figure it all out, but I did it! This is the image:



Now, if you click on it, it will take you to the information page, where you can learn a lot about the solutions to e-waste, AND get the code for the button.

When thinking of a giveaway for this post I decided that I wanted a computer related gift, as I am celebrating the joy of blogging and its community. Bloggers not only use computers, you know, for blogging, work, and keeping in touch with family and friends, but we LOVE the silly things. We take them everywhere we go, and we personalize them as much as we can. (We love them so much, we won't let them end up in a landfill.)
So, what to give? I definitely think that a Unique Skin will be a fantastic addition to any laptop, don't you? I first saw this product at Design Sponge and I decided I had to make one of my own. OK, what if you do not own a laptop? The creative minds behind Unique Skins have created all kinds of products, from skins for your cell phone to your MP3 player and beyond. These skins (adhesive-backed vinyl pieces pre-cut to fit your electronic device) are as original as you want them to be. If you are the creative type, you can design your OWN skin, upload the image to the site, and truly personalize your gadget! They also have a fantastic library full of images ranging from nature shots, to patterns, to flags and solid colors for those of you who focus your creativity in your writing. These folks are so nice, that they have donated a custom laptop skin, shipped anywhere in the world, to one of my readers.

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post. I will choose one winner from all comments on Friday, June 6, at 8:00 AM (Italian time GMT+2), comments will be open until then.

Before I let you go, I want to share with you one gift that I got recently from the wonderful Nonizamboni at Peacock blue. If you have a moment, take a break and enjoy the wonderful world that Noni creates at her blog, with its eclectic mix of great writing, beautiful images, and random thoughts.

Now it's time for the party favors, and I am more than happy to award the excellence in blogging award to:

The creative Amaretto Girl, a fellow artist, and wonderful spirit. You will be inspired, I promise.

Bethany, excellent writer and fellow expat that brings a smile to my face every time I visit her, while making me think about big and little things.

And my new discovered blog pal Becca and her well written blog, full of insight into everyday life. Worth a visit!

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.

La cucina di Nicola: Donuts.

Last Wednesday while stopping at Judith's place, I was pleasantly surprised by her latest installment of "la buona cucina Americana." This recipe for donuts is so EASY it just screams: MAKE ME!
I have been told that I am a good listener, so I couldn't refuse such loud request. Right there, on the spot, I decided this recipe was going to be this week's recipe at "la cucina di Nicola." (By now, you might have figured out that cucina means kitchen/cooking in Italian.)
I did not change a thing about the recipe, this being our first time making donuts, it was a great success! I will have to watch the oil temperature more carefully next time, as some of our donuts got some "abbronzatura Italiana."
Nicolas invited his good friend over to share in the goodness of one of his favorite American sweets. To celebrate the food and its origins we just had to use some red, white and blue sprinkles. We did not forget about Italy, as we used NUTELLA for our frosting.
We all liked them a lot, so much that they almost disappeared before my photo shoot! I got a couple of good pictures (you can hardly see the bite on that donut on the back, can you?)

AMERICAN DONUTS MADE IN ITALY

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?

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.

You make my day

What do you know? I have been awarded a *you make my day award* by Nonizamboni which pretty much makes MY day! Thank you very much.
I started reading Noni's blog: Peackock Blue via Sunday Scribblings and I just *love* the precious pieces that this incredible woman writes. You should stop for a visit.
Now it is my turn to pass this award forward, make sure you take some time to browse these great blogs as they are worth every second of your time:
Michelle of Bleeding Espresso needs no introduction. If you have followed my blog for a while you know that I look up to Michelle for inspiration. She is smart, funny, a blogger's blogger. I have fallen in love with Calabria through her words.
My new friend Paola has created a masterpiece of a blog. In My Life is not just a blog about cooking, it is so much more! It is a fresh respite in your daily routine. It is a beautifully crafted place to talk about family, love, health and last but not least mouthwatering food.
Jenn from Something to Say is a mom with many talents: she writes, she sings, she takes photos, and she does it all well. I can count on Jenn to bring a smile to my face any day.
Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy is another source of inspiration. Her energy and talent just burst from the screen. She is a gifted photographer and traveler extraordinaire.
What are you waiting for? Click away!