.:survival mode on:.

tough week... 

little patience...

one step forward...

three steps back... 

hoping this one goes better than the last one...

Thais's new vice...

.:the one when it is hard being a grown up:.

hectic! that is what the last month or so has been... when you embrace being part of your toddler's school life your free time takes a turn... a huge turn... a "let's-try-and-keep-it-all-together-making-it-work-the-best-way-I-can" less free time... 

ok, let's say I let the bird feeding/playing/free time up to the hubby... because it implied in more cleaning time for me... the vaccuning went to a minimun, as I decided running was more important than getting rid of cat hair... the time at home has been employed in playing with the kiddo, and cooking/eating... 

My in-car time has grown exponentially as I got a position where I need to be in Padova frequently for meetings... meaning I'll be learning to drive in the highway, pretty soon... yeah, scared to death... why? because I tend to make pretty bad decisions when under pressure... frogs and geckoes accidents would attest to it... 

anyway, the craziest part of it all? I'm missing her growing!!!

this morning she went to her growth wall and told me: "mamma, disegna con la penna il quanto sono cresciuta nel quadro della zia margot?"

yep! she realised she's grown quite a bit since the last time, because now she can see herself in the mirror without the help of her stool... WHEN did that happen? she is totally independent when choosing her games and putting them away... her bedroom is more organised than any other part in the house... 

and I'm freaking out on how fast time is flying by... I wish I could buy time to cope with everything... I wish...

.:musicography - part 15:.

and we are back! you thought this series would be over, didn't you?
the moment asked me to post this song...

last year we spent a year in Brazil... it was momentous... it was memorable... it was bittersweet... I used to sing this song as one of my daughter's lullabies (now she asks for three different versions of "do you wanna build a snowman" and "let it go", I know, why do they grow?!?)... anyway, it was a different year for people all over Brazil, they were moving (internally too), speaking their minds, raising awareness for what was not working right... it looked like the country was boiling something worth fighting for...

and then came the world cup, and elections' year... the result became known yesterday... what can I say? I cling to the idea that there is still a country that remembers what is to stand up for what you believe in... I want to know that there are still people willing to fight and, more importantly, to UNDERSTAND what it is they are fighting for... I'm wishing on enlightenment, and now, where I am, with the news I read, all I can do is hope...

"mas sei, que uma dor assim pungente
nao ha de ser inutilmente
a esperança dança, na corda bamba de sombrinha"

.:run to the hills:.

ok, now, how dumb is the idea of run and hills in the same sentence?!? I know... worse even: how dumb is for a person with asthma deciding to take the route suggested by a vertically challenged person after listening to you rolling with laughter at a toddler's unplanned joke about her height?!?

yeah, thought so too... sooo... week 2 was a complete failure (well not COMPLETE, but as in was abandoned halfway, more specifically when all the way looked like thisVVVV)

on the minus side, I turned off the track for week 2 10 minutes in... on the plus side, I didn't turn back and put on week 1 track again after the 5 minutes warm up... yeah, and this is for the sake of honesty...

also, for the sake of honesty, I spent half training plotting on how to get back to my MiL for suggesting this road, and the other half considering it would be a wise think to carry my inhaler on the jacket pocket... yeah... and just because I'm that pig-headed I completed the half hour all the way up, starting to come back down only when it was cool down time...

now, as I know most of you don't care a bit about the running updates and are here only to keep up with the pea's growth I'll drop a photo from this week's events...

uhum, autumn has settled down... and hubby is going fishing on saturday, so you know what they say, sub him into happiness so all the fish gets cleaned ON the boat... ;) guess sunday it will be white wine then...

happy beginning of the weekend for you!

.:chocolat:.

a quick update to say that there's still hope in the world!

this morning I didn't manage to have my cup of coffee (I know, outrageous) before darting out of the door pulling an enraged toddler by the hand into a brand new day... my escape route was to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate while reading a bit and waiting for the library to open in about an hour...

so, there I am, sipping, reading, yawning, repeat, when a gentleman arrives - and by gentleman I mean a REAL gentleman who must have been about 80... he is surprised by a young person (oh, how that warmed my little heart, young? me? snif, snif) reading an actual book (paperback, printed letters, cover and the whole thing) instead of texting... despairing thought acknowledging that books are taking the same route as vinyl aside, we engaged in conversation... he told me about his new found passion: taking part in a choir, "voci de pasubio", and I complimented him because the choir is an actual sensation all around... we talked about books, and cups of coffee, and rainy autumn mornings...

by the end of the hour he was happy to have found such a pretty amiable young lady (awnn, how people used to be  flattering in the good old days) and offered me the chocolate... I thanked him and we parted ways, smiling...

the autumn mornings are always a little veiled and damp and cold... yesterday I managed to go out and get to train a bit... it was the third day up the hills around here... so I guess I'm quite ready to move on to week 2... ^^

the afternoons are usually warm and bright, but the dark arrives all too quickly making me lazy and willing to sleep pretty early... that is the season...

.:it's a hard pets' life:.

... in our household...

first of all, I'd like to remind you of our cute cat pet friend: Flea

she's a cutie, isn't she? a kitten, full of energy and sharp claws and teeth(or should I say fangs for their efficiency?)


at this stage of life she's come to understand that our little lady is not to be pestered on, and when she decides to play nicely the best way to make it out is to endure whatever comes your way as bravely as you can manage... run not, fight not!



yeah, our cat has decided that the safest place to be is among sweet little pea's toys, maybe she can just pass by unobserved... or not... but it is worth trying (well, with a tireless toddler around you'd better try anything to preserve your sanity)...



and then, when all is peace and quite let me introduce you to Poly (the parrot, yeah, how original! it was supposed to be Circus, because, you know, a cat and a bird in the same small apartment?!? "flea circus"!!! hellooo... but alas, I was outnumbered, so Polly it is... )

she arrived at our humble abode yesterday, and let's just say that running in the afternoon to scape a little bit the chaos that has installed itself at home was a REALLY good idea... ;)  (ps.: that gig is going pretty well, if I may say so... when I get to the end of it I just want to start over again... ^^ I'll let you know as soon as I hit the part in the program where I want to kill whoever got it planned... )

So, now we're in the count 4X1... Female domination... buahuahua... the pets have behaved so far, but let's be honest, the've been around each other for barely 24 hours... so here is hoping for the best (as in, the cat doesn't eat the bird, the toddler doesn't decide to make the bird fly or teach the cat how to hunt)...

a pretty ordinary life... =)

And just because I couldn't help republishing an old photo after uploading the last shot... the eyes are still the same... lovely little lady...

.:run, baby, run:.

ok, I didn't think it would be that much fun... I expected tiring, boring, torturous, instead I really enjoyed it... sure, I didn't get to the running bit yet, but the first day was reaaallly enjoyable, guess my humour and the attitude helped a little (as well as the playlist I got singing - yeah, can you believe it? I could even sing through it, I'm telling you, great!)

PS.: picture from the road taken today (but not from today because I'm not that coordinate to run and take photos simultaneously)

guess this was too much endorphine for one day... ;)

so let's get to some fun conversation...

#1 - on my bike incident (no it was not an accident, as it was pretty ridiculous to even be considered so)...
Me: I fell off the bike
Hubby: how?
Me: I hit the sidewalk
Hubby: again: HOW?!?!
Me: (*in a pretty low voice) a gecko was crossing the street
Hubby: you got scared?
Me: (*even lower voice) nope... didn't want to run over it
Hubby: can't believe it! Not to kill a gecko
Me: what? it is an animal... it is like when we are in the car and I tell you to swerve because there is a cat ahead
Hubby: uhum... and how many times did I swerve..
Me: none... but you are heartless
Hubby: no, if it is "kill wild life" or "pain and suffering" always choose "kill the wild life"!

#2 - when one of our neighbours waved from inside his car while we were walking by the street.
Me: who was it?
Hubby: Bob (fictional name)
Me: which one?
Hubby: what do you mean which one?
Me: there are two in our building.
Hubby: I know it, but did you miss the car he was in?
Me: no, I saw it all right. a dark car...
Hubby: vanessa, one antonio drives a ford, the other one drives a bmw...
Me: ok, I see where you're going... (pause) so which one was that?

.:back to school:.

Hey! long time no see!

we've been busy bees with back to school week(s)... as it is her first time ever the introduction to academic life here happens in four stages:
1. one hour with parents + one hour alone
2. three hours alone
3. lunch at school
4. lunch + nap time at school

all of this is spread in a time spam of three weeks... so far we've reached stage three, and the first melt downs... I'll spill the beans and give more details when our routine has been better settled...

for the time being I'll leave with a photo for each each of school life...

first day - can you say fake smile?!

the cutest ever BFF!!! ^^

see you soon! (or not...)

.:trekking adventure:.

Today here is a holiday: ferragosto... Actually, nobody has any idea why it is a holiday... All they know is that you can get to wave the summer goodbye by eating together with your friends and enjoying some time "al fresco"...

That is what we set out to do this morning, when we found the most uninviting weather... A summer storm, in the middle of the mountains... Yeah, thumbs up mother nature! Fortunately, one of the friends in the group had a house nearby, the only drawback was that only jeep and suvs could make it through the road... Uhum, minor drawback, considering we could go fishing in the plain where we should have lunch together... Problem is: it was pouring! A fifteen minute walk through pebbles and mud with a backpack and a two-year old is not very advisable... Oh, did I tell you we were in the mountain? Like 800m up and above... Not like Recoaro, still you wouldn't want to try rumbling down the slope... ;)

So, off she went by car... Once we were done eating there was sun... I mean a hot-heart-warming-burn-your-face-kind of sun... ^^ so we went from 12° in the morning to 32° in the afternoon... Anyone feeling like it cannot possibly be the same day as one hour ago? We did... She was ecstactic playing with two parrots and a chow-chow, running around with other kids and attempting to climb up the fence to see the mountain slope (sure, minor heart attack for me here)...

We had a great time, no photos because nobody wants her daughter to go wandering around in the wild jumping off cliffs to get a closer look at the waterfall or the "cute little stream of water, mummy!!!"

On our way back I am glad to report that she made it down back to our car all by herself (running and jumping against my better judgement, still kind of difficult to keep pace with a backpack holding you back...) and me? So happy to know we go go treeking without me having to carry her all the way, sure, better try up the hill before going long distances though... Just to be sure... ^^

.:you can take a girl out of the big city:.

... but you can't take the big city out of the girl...

*discalimer: the photos are in the end of the post, if you want to skip the reading it has nothing to do with them... 

don't get me wrong, I love living in a small town, it has its perks... everything is close at hand, every body knows each other, which means the chances of your kids getting lost is almost zero... you get to enjoy the authentic flavour of the earth (not the earth itself, but things growing in it, but you sure got that)

but then again, that is the life they know... because people who live in a province will most often than not be - how should I put it? - provincial... daaaa... groundbreaking, yeah? they will get involved in their neighbours' life like it were their own, and they won't even notice when they are doing it...

need examples?
exp. 1 - in the bus (yes, THE bus because there is only one line that comes into the neighbourhood where I live, and it makes its appearance every 55 minutes)

Random neighbour (meaning the old lady lives in the neighbourhood, NOT near my house, mind you) - Hey, Vanessa! What are you doing going around? Don't you have to prepare lunch?

Me (shocked) - yeah, but you see, I'm around. So if you feel like inviting me over for lunch that would be great!

RN - oh, well, I see. Nice seeing you.

Me (sweet smile) - yeah, always a pleasure.

exp. 2 - retelling of the previous event at the in-laws.

MIL - But you could have told her what you were doing.

Me - uhum. I COULD have, but didn't feel like doing it. It is my life so I guess I can decide whom I want to share it with, don't you think so?

MIL not so happy about it, but hey, she must have remembered I gave her a cute granddaughter, so she decided not to push it...

exp. 3 - while preparing to go on holidays I notice we are running out of condoms, not a good thing, so I head to the drugstore (yes, THE drugstore because, guess what?, there is ONE in  the neighbourhood and as it is run by a family they close for the holidays... charming, isn't it?)
I grab what I need and wait in line...

the pharmacist - Oh, I see you are not trying for the second one. Why not?

what I felt like saying: "not really. This is for my wallet, just in case, because I didn't want to get pregnant and birth a child with brown eyes having in mind both my husband and I have blue eyes, how weird would that be, huh? actually, if I had to grade it, it would be almost as weird as this conversation."

what I really said: that's just how it is, but I'm sure that if I get pregnant you will be kind enough to tell me, you seem to be ahead of the news around here... *twink, twink, smile, smile*

sometimes my mouth just gets loose and goes off by itself, it usually unleashes hell, sorry about it, but why can't people just take care of their lives and be happy about it?!?

I'm even more sorry about my daughter being a teenager in this godforsaken small town... life should be hard for them... When the time comes, I need to remember to get her the condoms so that she won't get assaulted by the nosy provincial people...

.:now, for the photos, 3 months of summer:.

cousins playing

First day of school

a sunny day (or the garden before I killed it) 

every indian needs a sidekick for reading marathons

dancing with camilla

Let's ride!

Going to school

my tomboy

watching the cat (or giving her mother a heart attack)

biking to school

new found love for the swings

what do you need to do the shopping? oh, right, your tiara!

.:musicography - part 14:.

Predictable? Yes.
Perfect? Most certainly.
cheesy? What is worthy in life that hasn't got a little cheesiness to it?



this is a lullaby of a million and two the pea listens to me singing at night...
(depending on the time of the year the list of choice may include "I saw mommy kissing santa claus" just because... ;)

.:like mother, like daughter:.

The sweet little pea is a big deal around here, guess you'd know that... What you must not know about is that about once every hour she goes off crying... Why? Domestic accidents... Stupid things, like kicking the foot of the table, or hitting your shin hard against the chair... I'm used to it... I'm no stranger to it as matter of fact...

Rumour has it I've stumbled on light poles (they are just impossible to spot in advance); almost hit a horse while read-walking (because how can you stop reading the fourth novel of the harry potter series when it is your first reading and you're less than 40 pages from the end?!?); stumbled on a tree root, slided on a puddle, stuck my foot in a hole and fallen breaking my glass and ripping my skirt (progressively, one right after the other) in front of "colégio militar" when students were streaming out of the gates... Somebody out there must have wet their pants while scheduling the event, great sense of humour...

So it is just predictable that I would understand immediately when I hear her crying/complaing/going oh,oh... Today it was the couch... It just came out of nowhere... The dialogue was as follows:

*her crying holding her nose, while my husband was literally rolling with laughter.
Me: what's happenned, dear?
Her: I hurt my nose.
Me: How?
Her : The couch hit me.

*I hold her to cuddle a little and check if the nose is all right...

Him: it was hilarious, really. One second she was walking straight, then she stopped to say sth and changed direction out of the blue hitting her nose on the couch... How can she manage sth like that?!?
Me: it is normal.
Him: oh, yeah (laughing) for you two...
Me: you should know it by now, things just appear out of the blue.
Her: yes, the couch came and hit me.

A daughter to my own heart! ^^

.:musicography - part 13:.

When I was prego I put on more than 20 kilos, and as a matter of fact, I only cared about it when my doc would complain about me not following the diet and so on and so forth... Really, I was fine, the baby was fine, so what was the trauma?

That period is sth unique... Can't explain... It was the closest to magical I could ever get, so it would bother me when people would start up a conversation saying: don't worry, you'll get back in shape pretty fast... My mind went about sth like "I am not worried about it (apart from doc appointments when I would most certainly be told off - and nobody likes that) you are..." I was thriving... How can anybody think about appearance when something so spectacular as life is happening in the most evident way?!? Clearly Italians can... 

And even though this is the setting for the music selection, no mafia related motives were included for my picking it... :p

.:musicography - part 12:.

some people certainly saw this one coming... but this is not about her, I'd rather not... this is about him...

funny how you fight all your adolescence to be anything different from your parents and, still, one fine day you wake up and BANG you are every bit just like them... and surprisingly? you wouldn't change it for the world...

I have intricate degrees of both of them waved into my being... so much so that it is difficult to decide whether it was me choosing to be this way or they planting the seed day after day over the years...

That time of our lives was hard... on all of us... we endured... we fought... we received the blow... we stuck together...

she had her way of loving openly... but he, he loves fully, givingly, extremely, but silently... sometimes it can be difficult for people to spot it, they overlook it... but if you pay just a little bit of attention to the small details it doesn't matter that his voice is so loud and grave... it makes no difference that he storms around if he believes to be on the right...

because he loves, more profoundly than most people I know... and I'm really lucky to have him around...

I guess this was the hardest part of leaving Rio again... having to leave him behind...

this song is for him, each and every time I sing it... now and always... 

.:about being an indian:.

more often than not posts here are about the pea... this one as well... ^^

it is no mystery she has been having a hard time adapting to separation when I have to go away... I'm happy to report that today was the first day she waved goodbye happily and told me:

"Ci vediamo dopo, mamma. Perchè torni sempre." (see you later, mommy. because you always come back.") and it feels great to leave your daughter while she is sporting a smile, rather than fighting the caretaker with all her might while screaming her lungs away...

Hot weather is calling to us... and this post is a picture happy one... excuse us if it takes a little to load, and each picture has a little something scattered there, disconnected from the other (mostly), but telling her story all the same...

walking to the in-laws. 

her: Guarda, mamma. ci sono le api, fanno il miele per thais. sono brave le api.

(look, mommy. There are bees, they make honey for me. They are nice the bees.)

Skills: eating an ice-cream cone with minimum waste - accomplished!

"Mamma, ho imparato a fare le capriole!" 

*or so she believes... ;)

Watching "Grease" more specifically "Grease Lightining"

"Ohhh, hai visto che ballano?"

picking her up at school, I find her with different clothing...

me: ti sei fatta la pipi addosso, thais?

lei: non, ho giocato...

me: e perchè ti sei cambiata?

Maestra: ha giocato con il fango.

lei(a big great smile plastered on her face): si! ho giocato con il fango e mi sono divertita tantissimo!

*yep, I can tell how much fun she's had from her shoes... 

Lei: Dove andiamo.

Me: andiamo in biblioteca.

Lei: cos'è la biblioteca?

Me: è dove abitano i libri.

*her answer to that was the smile you see in the picture... ^^

Lei: Guarda! Sono un treno! tchu tchu, café com pao, café com pao... 

*walking to school

"Wow! c'è la mia ombra che mi segue!"

*One week before picture coming back home I see all her friends coming out of school painted with moustache and beard or whiskers... she hates face painting... when I see her not a speckle of paint on her face.

Me: hanno colorato i tuoi amici?

Lei: sì.

me: come mai non sei colorato anche tu?

lei: ma io sono thais, non sono un gatto. e non ho i baffi.

*yesterday she comes back home with indian painting on her face. Last week they were working with the lost boys, this week is the indians (all from peter pan - the first week was for peter and tinker bell, I gave her wings, they gave her a magic wand and fairy dust... uhum, three days to get all the glitter off of her hair)

Me: wow, sei un'indiana.

Lei: sì. hai visto? oggi ho i baffi e cantò e ballo nei fallò... 

apparently being an indian is way better than being a lost boy... I have to agree with that one... ;)

.:musicography - part 11:.

Buble proves that something good can come from canada (in spite of what you heard cartman say)... my husband and I have a deal: I get michael and he gets claudia schiffer... for me it is quite fair, considering all of us are happily married and with cute kids the odds are in our favour... ^^

as for the choice of the song, I wanted to tackle sinatra and new sinatra in the same blow, but "you're nobody till sb loves you" didn't speak to us at all... we were somebody, and good happy somebodies, before meeting... I guess for us falling in love was an important part, but not the whole... it changed our axis, and that is the best explanation I can come up with... both times we just had to sort out our priorities... things fell into new life boxes so that the whole of it would still make sense... but first there was only the two of us, then there was the pea in the mix, and I can tell you, falling in love with those two felt great, and feels great every time I allow it to resurface...

why every time I allow? because it is a choice... I can choose to marvel in the small tidbits that make me love them or I can focus on every annoying habit that drives me up the walls... It is quite easy to go one route or the other, and truth be told, I'd rather go the route that makes me the happiest... ;)

a toast for the perfection of life in its own imperfections, and for having people that make you sing like nobody is watching you (because, hello, who doesn't make a fool of himself when singing to a favourite tune? and yes, we've been know to scare people in the highways because of our - my - crazy singing habits... in his defence, he still needs to learn some, but is very supportive and can embrace craziness in his life like a champ... =)

.:musicography - interlude:.

This song hasn't made it to the official list, but it is too much to go unacknowledged... I guess everybody knows at least one Don Juan, don't we?

if you want to skip to the actual song go to 3:08' (but the whole of it is worth your time, that is my humble opinion... ;)



ps.: the little pea's vocabulary doesn't cease to amaze me... last things for the record:

mer 16 lug
me - cosa è successo all'asilo oggi?
lei - sono stata investita con una bici.
me - da vero?
lei - sì. marco mi è venuto adosso con la bici e sono caduta. Mi sono sporcata.
me - e lui, cosa ha fatto?
lei - è andato via. poi è venuta la maestra e mi ha tirata su.

later, visiting the cat
*the cat kind of attacks her... no permanent damage, mind you, but she starts to cry...

Zio Albano - ma cosa ti ha fatto la gatta?
lei - la lizzie mi ha assalita.
Zio Albano - però. ti ha fatto male?
lei - sì. ma è già passato.
Zio Albano (to us) - assalita, ma dove va a prendere queste parole? ci sono dei quarentenni che non sanno neanche cosa significhi assalita...
me *thinking - I, too, wonder...

.:musicography - part 10:.

laura pausini, song in italian... hmmm, guess this one is quite self-explanatory, isn't it? <3
the lyrics are also great, if you care to read and understand (or google it) be my guest... just the simplicity of life, and all those analogies are meaningful for me, to the heart...

oh, yeah... almost forgot the lovey dovey photos... sorry, but we have great moments together, not great photos... ;)
enjoy it!



"La nebbia che si posa la mattina 
le pietre di un sentiero 
di collina 
il falco che s'innalzerà 
il primo raggio che verra` 
la neve che si sciogliera` 
correndo al mare 
l'impronta di una testa sul cuscino 
i passi lenti e incerti 
di un bambino 
lo sguardo di serenita` 
la mano che si tendera` 
la gioia di chi aspettera` 
per questo e quello che verra` 

rio - 2007

Io canto 
le mani in tasca e canto 
la voce in festa e canto 
la banda in testa e canto 
corro nel vento e Canto 
la vita intera e canto 
la primavera e canto 
la mia preghiera e canto 
per chi mi ascoltera` 
voglio cantare 
sempre cantare 

Rio - 2007

l'odore del caffe` nella cucina 
la casa tutta piena di mattina 
e l'ascensore che non va 
l'amore per la mia citta` 
la gente che sorridera` 
lungo la strada 
i rami che s'intrecciano nel cielo 
un vecchio che cammina tutto solo 
l'estate che poi passera` 
il grano che maturera` 
la mano che lo cogliera` 
per questo e quello che verrà

Bassano - 2008

io canto 
le mani in tasca e canto 
la voce in festa e canto 
la banda in testa e canto 
corro nel vento e canto 
la vita intera e canto 
la primavera e canto 
l'ultima sera e canto io
per chi mi ascoltera` 
voglio cantare 
sempre cantare 
cantare... 

Cabo Frio - 2009

io canto 
le mani in tasca e canto 
la voce in festa
e canto 
la vita intera canto...
corro nel vento e canto
io canto
la vita intera e canto
io canto
per chi mi ascolterà per chi mi ascolterà"

Cabo Frio - 2009

the song says it all: "for this and what is to come, I sing... ^^

"per questo e quello che verrà, io canto..."