Feeling of the Day...

[ via we ♥ it ]

Feeling of the Day...

[ via we ♥ it ]

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.  

- Author Unknown

Feeling of the Day...

[ via GOODIES GOODIES GOODIES ]

If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, 

a circle of sections, held together but separable 

- each segment distinct.  

- Letty Cottin Pogrebin

Birthday Girl...

The best thing about having a birthday - and no, getting one year older certainly isn't - is getting all these nice things - and my sister making a cake a for me! I know how little she likes baking so it's kind of a sacrifice on her side. But she absolutely outdid herself this year. Although I love making all that fancy stuff, when it comes to eating I like it simple and fruity. I totally love the cake!

 with candles

 ready to eat...

 a closer look to the inside

And here are some pics of the lovely things I got. A lot of Russian and Uzsbekistan and Kirgistan related things. For those who don't know yet: I'm going to Central Asia (Kirgistan, Kasachstan, Uzbekistan) for one month this summer, travelling around with my friend Ines. You guys certainly know I'm a bookworm... Also got some money to stock up my travel budget... ^_^ Thanks to all of you! It was a great night last night!

And getting up this morning was really great too. My sister arranged everthing on our dining table, including the cake and her present. I felt happy like a little child...

gift table

beautiful flowers from my sister's boyfriend

Kirgisian love stories and a handmade travel journal

more books... Russian and Spanish stories

 cookbook from the times of Ludwig II.

 my ticket to the Onegin ballet in Bratislava

cupcake-shaped kitchen timer and more Russian stories...

and Polish vodka in the background...

 salt & pepper in porcelain Matrioshka style

travel budget supplement from my sis and her bf

Feeling of the Day...

[ via protège moi mes désirs ]

The family.  We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.  

~ Erma Bombeck ~

Feeling of the Day...

[ via we ♥ it ]

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.  

~ Marion C. Garretty ~

Feeling of the Day...

[ via Raising Figure Skaters ]

Feeling of the Day...

[via we ♥ it]

Sisters never quite forgive each other 
for what happened when they were five. 

 ~ Pam Brown  ~

Feeling of the Day...

[via we ♥ it ]

If you carry your childhood with you, 
you never become older.  

~ Tom Stoppard ~

Family Business...

So, last night my sister and I stayed over at my parents' place. The reason for that: my sister's name day (saint's day) - our Mom really loves to celebrate things like that. She made lasagne (okay, so I begged her to do that) and my sister's favourite cake (with pudding cand strawberries).

Just a few "hard" facts about that...

1. My sister's name day is in March. I googled it a while ago though and found out that the official nameday for Janine (which is Hebrew for Johanna/Jane) is August 17 but never mind anyway...
2. MY name day is August 8. I usually forget about it - every single year. Last year I remembered shortly before Christmas... speaking of priorities. hehe
3. Mom didn't even think of mine until yesterday morning...

But hey... we had a nice family dinner and really funny evening. I can't remember the last time all 4 of us watched a movie on TV together - with the usual response of Mom, my sister and me: falling asleep in front of the TV! Luckily, our parents bought a new sofa (together with a matching armchair) last Christmas that's big enough for all of us! My sister and I argued about who's got the blanked first, naturally (we actually have 3 of them but the other 2 were put away in the cupboard and no one wanted to get up).

Oh, and of course Mom and I had to bug my sister about texting with her boyfriend for at least an hour. We had a lot of fun, she din't like it that much obviously. (And since we are sleeping right next to each other - only a thin wall in between - I know that she called him before going to sleep. I mean... they are going to see each other today (again). Can't be THAT hard to overcome being seperated for just a single day. He basicly lives at our place anyway - unless he's at work.)

Before drifting away us 3 ladies were loudly discussing the day - which still drives Dad crazy. We usually awake somewhere between 11 and 12PM only to move on into the real bed. Not before we had a real crazy toothpaste-fight in the bathroom. I had to laugh so hard I almost choked on a gulp of water! I guess Dad isn't used to so much action and entertainment anymore - he told me that next time we come over he's gonna move out into my apartment... LOL

Another thing about being "home" (with Mom and Dad)... I don't know when I went to bed so early the last time (okay so anything before 0:30AM is actually early for me). I forgot, though, that my old room's window faces a major street and quite obviously I'm not used to traffic noise at night anymore. Nevertheless, I'm quite well-rested today!

In my apartment my wiondow faces the backyard with the garden. There ARE other sounds, though. There are 3 other apartment blocks facing the same yard. I can tell what TV program my neighbours watch, when they are on the phone, arguing... or having sex! Not that I want to know, though... It's just hard to ignore.)