My Gardening Project (Part 1)

Hi guys! As I told you, one of my Summer goals is to put up a nice garden in my house. It's a project that has taken me a month so far and seemingly will last a lot longer, but I'm really enjoying it, so far so good!

This project has two parts, the first one being taking care of the potted plants. It all began when I was given a plant and my dad said "Why would they give you a plant if it's going to die?" On that exact moment, I decided that plant wasn't dying any time soon. I took care of it and put it with my mum's plants, but the other ones looked so bad I decided I would take care of them too.

The first thing I did was visit my grandma. She is 95 and loves plants, so she told me what I had to do with each one. She was really happy to help too, because at her age it's hard to feel useful if you need to have mostly everything done for you. So it was a win-win!

For some of them it was just getting rid of the dry leaves and watering them, but I had to put some in bigger pots, cut off many branches and refill some pots. The cacti were particularly hard! This process took me an afternoon and a morning, but I finally managed to fix all the problems and ended up with a promising selection of plants. Some of them are still damaged, but I think with the right treatment they will end up being as healthy as the otheres. Here's how it looks:

 

 

That's it! Have a nice week!

A big big hug,


Acqua

Top 10 Places I Want To Visit

If you know me, you'll know I love traveling (for instance, I plan on visiting Tuscany, Prague and Latvia these following months), and I can't have enough. I do get nervous before and think "maybe I should stay and not get in trouble", but once I'm away I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It's hard to narrow down the places I want to visit to my top ten, but I think everywhere is worth visiting! In no particular order, here are the 10 places I'd love to visit.

1- Greece
I'm a huge fan of the Ancient Greek culture and I would be delighted to visit Greece. I went to the British Museum the first time I visited London and it all led to the Parthenon statues. I just stood there as if someone had cast a spell on me! I'd visit them all: Athens, Delfos, the islands... and I know it's technically in Turkey, but I have a fascination for Troy as my final project for high school which I spent a year working on was about the Iliad, so I'd love to visit it as well.

2- Israel
I want to learn Hebrew and I'd love to visit Israel as religion is something very important in my life and I would be able to go back to the roots, which I think religion really needs because it has gone off the rails in some cases. I think Israel, although dangerous right now, would be beautiful.

3- Scotland
I LOVE SCOTLAND! I want to see everything: the cities, the green wilderness, the smallest islands, the lakes and, of course, all the Harry Potter nerdy stuff. Being from an area quite different than the rest of its country myself, Scotland does hold a special appeal because I feel identified with them, it has this similarity which I think would make me feel even more comfortable.

4- Ireland
Okay, admission done: I want to see everything in the British Islands! I just love everything there. Ireland seems such an amazing place to visit because of the beautiful nature and beautiful people. Just bring it on!

5- Tuscany
I love Italy. I've seen Rome and I've been to the Piamonte area four or five times. And as a big lover of art, Tuscany just sounds like the perfect place. The landscapes are beautiful and the culture is too. I just can't wait to see it this Summer!

6- Versailles
Here is a place I really, really want to visit. I can't fathom how large that place is. It sounds like such an interesting spot, most importantly, with a lot of stories to tell; and, as you know, stories have always been my weakness! I'd love to see how it's organised and witness how big it is.

7- The Philippines
My love for Lea Salonga brought me to love the Philippines. I plan on learning Tagalog and visiting it one day! The landscapes are among the most beautiful in the world in my opinion, and the people and mixture of cultures add that cultural spice that you need when you visit something. I just can't wait until I can put a foot in there!

8- China 
I've studied Chinese for three years now, and I've had the opportunity to learn about China's culture and the most beautiful spots to visit. Contrarily to most of my classmates, I can't see myself living there, but I'd love to spend some weeks discovering as many things as I can. China is such a gem with so much to offer!

9- India
This is the one I've been the most hesitant about. I have a friend working with children in the streets of Bombay and she's really excited about it, and this is something I'd love to do. Moreover, I think India's art and culture are absolutely stunning, and its diversity mindblowing and really interesting. As with China, I feel like this huge country has a lot of hidden gems I'd love to discover.

10- New York
Musical geek, Broadway bound. You know me. You know Broadway would be a dream come true. I love musical theatre with a passion and now that I've seen three West End shows, it's time to get bigger. And, of course, who wouldn't like to visit New York? For this girl living in a corner of the Mediterranean Sea it would be unbelievably cool. Just you wait, NYC!

That's it then! I'm really fascinated about these places and I hate that I had to leave others like Australia, California and Austria out of it.

What's the place you'd like to visit the most?

A big big hug,


Acqua

Summer Goals 2016

Hello everybody! How are you?

Summer is finally here, so it's time to start spending time at the swimming pool, on the beach... and Summer also means we have a lot of time to kill. I wanted to put up a list of 6 Summer goals so I use that free time to actually do something. Here are my goals for Summer 2016!

1- Take care of my garden
So, my house has an inner open space with trees and plants, but my mum and dad don't really care about it (they're pretty busy and it's not their priority) so I've decided I'll put up a nice garden. I started by taking care of all the plants and flowers in the flowerpots, which took me several hours (they all look fantastic now though!) and I'm cleaning up all the weeds and plants that grew on the ground. And there aren't just some. The whole ground is covered by them and I've spent a lot of hours to only take out maybe 1/5 of them. I'm on my way though, and I'm determined to spend upwards of hours on it. It's my biggest Summer project!

2- Host dinners with my friends
One of the reasons I'm cleaning up my garden is that I want to have an open space so I can organise dinners for me and my friends. No excuses because I'm too lazy, or I'll regret not seeing them later!

3- Not get stressed out from my many jobs
I'm working on a Summer school during the mornings and I have several English and Violin students to teach in the afternoon. I love every single thing, but I tend to stress too much over them, so I just want to keep it calm and have a good time!

4- Go to the swimming pool often
I love swimming. It's my favourite sport. But some times I avoid going because I'm too lazy, even though I'm really happy when I get there. I've bought a ticket so I can go to the local swimming pool any time I want, and I plan on using it a lot! (I'm actually going now.)

5- Deal with a certain person better
You know me. It's really hard for me to hate someone. But there's a girl that just has the power to make me mad every time she opens her mouth. I don't like how she treats children, I don't like how she treats me and I don't like how she treats her friends. She's always acting as if she was the only one who does every single thing right and doesn't have any concept of responsibility or commitment. She just has a really negative aura and I find myself falling into negativity when I'm around her. I'll try to avoid it, because she works with me and I can't avoid her. We'll see.

6- Improve my Italian
I'm going to Tuscany with my family! It's a place I've ALWAYS wanted to visit and I'm really, really excited about it. That means I'll have a great oportunity to practice my Italian and improve.

That's it! Have a nice Summer and enjoy the holidays, I sure will!

A big big hug,


Acqua

Update & Tips Against Stress

I'm SO SO SO sorry! I know I was meant to post last Monday, but I got home after 11 PM because I had a meeting and all I could think of was having dinner and going to bed. I felt so bad when I realised I hadn't posted...

As you know because you're all in the same situation, the end of the school year brings lots of exams and projects and everything just keeps piling up. I also work and study music at the same time, so it can get quite overwhelming. If you've been here for a while, you'll know that I've suffered from anxiety before and, even though it wasn't triggered by the studying and working-related stress, the tips I used to overcome it are also useful for this time of the year, so I thought I could share them and some of my studying methods with you :)

1- SLEEP. Get some good, long sleep. Your brain and body won't work otherwise. When you're sleeping is when the things you've studied soak in and settle into your brain. If just one day you need to sleep less, it's okay, but NEVER less than 5-6 hours. Under no circumstances.

2- Don't do the same thing for a loooong period of time. Some people tell me they've spent the whole weekend locked at home to study THE SAME FREAKING SUBJECT. I admire them because it's something I can never do, although I can't help but think after a while, time isn't as useful. Your brain can get stuck, and you can't force it to go further. If you really have so much to do, maybe switch the subject, or do a different kind of work. And in most cases...

3- Take some time off. Have a nice, bubbly bath. Do some yoga (I've just started and it's really useful). Go for a walk, breathe some actual air. Go to the cinema. Go to have dinner with friends. Just do exciting and calming things between the studying.

4- Plan what you want to do and reward yourself when you complete a task. Even though I'm not always able to follow my lists and schedules, making them is very practical because it allows me to view everything that has to be done. That calms me down quite a lot.

5- Find what works best for you. Everybody has different ways of studying. Just keep trying things to see what works with the way your brain is built. Don't assume that because someone else studies in a certain way, this way will work for you. Find your own method.

6- Finally, be smart and see what your teacher wants. A question can be answered in different ways depending on the teacher that's going to correct it. Every teacher is an individual who considers certain things more important than others, and you need to pick up on that. Get to know who you're dealing with!

That's it! I hope you'll have a relatively nice and calm exam period :) And I'll see you on Friday with my May Favourites!

A big big hug,


Acqua

My Evening Routine | Collab with Beth May

I'm not good with keeping routines. But when I come home from a busy day, I like to calm down a little bit, so I try to find some time to relax and take care of myself, which I tend to leave at the bottom of my priority list (that's something I'm trying to change!)

I usually come home after having gone to Uni, to work and then to take a singing/ violin lesson or sing in one of my choirs, so I come really late and exhausted. The first thing I do is light a candle and take a long shower. I use the Pantene Aqua Light shampoo and the Pantene Repair and Protect conditioner. Every two days I also use a hair mask, Bonté's Repair & Protect, which I've been using lately and really love. I cleanse my face using Bonté's Cleansing Gel.



After that, I take my laptop and do my homework because I haven't been able to until that moment. Later, I have dinner with my family and then we watch some TV. If I still have homework to do I finish it while we watch something that doesn't distract me, and then I go to sleep.

Before going to bed, I make sure that I brush my teeth and take care of my skin. Depending on the day and how my face is, I use Bonté's Purifying Tonic, Facial Moisturizer and/or Purifying Attack. Then, I braid my hair, set some alarms (I'm a heavy sleeper and it's really hard for me to wake up!) and finally go to sleep.



I hope you have enjoyed this post! If you want to check Beth's, go here. And if you have some questions for me you can leave them in the comments, because I'm going to do a Q&A post next Friday :) See you on Monday! ^^

A big big hug,


Acqua