My love's birthday :)

In order to surprise him, I actually planned a celebration for the night before. Saturday afternoon he was in Oxford singing with the choir, after the performance he caught a lift home with Nat and Trav.  They kindly let us use their apartment. Of course he was clueless that they were my accomplices. :) So when they told him on the way home they needed to stop by their house to pick something up he wasn't expecting anything. Several of us were waiting inside with the lights off. 

He had a big surprise and we all loved seeing his reaction.

We had a great meal, chatted, played games, and just enjoyed being with great friends.

It was a fantastic evening and loads of fun!

The cake in the making...

He sure can make me laugh!

Beauty in the eyes of a child

This week I read an article that I found fascinating. It reports on an experiment carried out in a Washington D.C. metro station. Joshua Bell, one of the world's most well known classical musicians, took his Stradivarius violin, laid out the case in front of him with a bit of change in it, and started playing. I hidden camera captured the whole experience. He played for nearly a three quarters of an hour, some of the most technically challenging and musically brilliant pieces while commuters rushed past.
The results were shocking. Over a thousand people passed during that time, and only 7 people took even just a few minutes to stop and listen.

"If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?"  


"There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away."

If you want to check out the article and the videos, here is the link. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

It seems that despite how old and wise we may have become, there is always something we can learn from a child. It's no wonder that in the bible Jesus talks about children so often and he said in Matthew 11:25 "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children." 
Jesus even went so far as to say "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matt 18:2
Maybe today we should try to look at the world from the eyes of a child and find the beauty and appreciate the things we so often pass by each day.


Just a note - this photo is one of the dear orphan girls that I looked after in Romania. Her life has been anything but easy, and yet she taught me so much about patience and perseverance, and the the courage and happiness she held onto inspired me. I hope to see her again and see how she has grown. 
You will always be in my heart Mirela! 

Lunch anyone?

Here is lunch I made friday, just thought it all looked too yummy I had to share :)

And in case you are wondering, it also was quite tasty! :)

Special memories

Where to begin?

So much has happened the past week.

Sunday ~ A day to remember love, hopefully it's not the only one in a year that people do that! ~ 

Valentines was a special day for us. One we won’t soon forget.  We started out the day in Windsor, shopping together, and just enjoying each other’s company. Aldar was very patient as I shopped for jeans, which I must say, usually takes far longer, but this time I found a pair that fit and I could afford reasonably quick. It was a rainy grey day outdoors so shopping was a fine way to spend the morning. We headed for home in the afternoon only to find that our beloved car was out of gas. Of course we discovered this en-route to the gas station. Unfortunately (or was it?) we were stranded on the side of the road. So Aldar headed out to get directions to the nearest gas station and soon returned, but instead of a can of gas in his hand, he had brought me a rose! I do love his spontaneity! He had asked for directions in a florist shop, how great is that?! :D  So I waited again with the car while he ran 2 kilometers to get us a can of gas.Poor guy, he really got his exercise that day.  

Later in the afternoon I went to the local indoor pool with a couple other ladies. First time I’d been swimming in a long time. Swimming is a great way to relax. When we got back our husbands had surprised us by preparing the most exquisite (not sure if this is proper usage of the word) meal ever! It was a four course meal with candles and roses and music and all the works. J

Aldar no longer can use the excuse that he can’t cook. ;) The food was absolutely delicious! Best I’ve had in ages! I am posting some photos of the food, sorry the lighting was a bit dim and I couldn’t seem to find the right setting on my camera. Photos don’t do it justice, the food may I repeat was AMAZING!!!  

 Here are the men cooking. :)

 Aldar making the heart in my soup :)

 The table setup, complete with candles, roses and the most amazing bread and bread-sticks to go with the soup!

Mexican salad with guacamole and goat cheese.

The main dish - Thai Eggplant, yumm!!

And finally dessert -apple something rather with cream on top ;) all I know was it was incredible good!

Such a great night with friends!

Yep, still in love!!!! =D

So there ended our very special day full of memories, I’ll have to write about the rest of the week another time. For now it’s goodnight world!