A Year...

The changability of life is an issue that will possibly never cease to intrigue me. Life that moves,changes,evolves somehow. As most people, I have a little "End of the Year" ritual - I assess the year that has just gone by and ponder upon valuable or less significant changes I would like to see in the coming year. In other words, I think...way too much. Nevertheless, I have always found this sort of meditation on life really handy in giving me better direction, more precise goals, aim better and, one would hope, make things better each year. Sometimes I manage,sometimes I fail, sometimes I learn from it all. This year has been incredibly difficult on so many levels, but I stand here with a smile on my face, a tranquil and serene smile, because I now know for a fact that what doesn't break us, makes us stronger indeed. A year ago I made a set of good intentions and resolutions for 2007. I randomly stumbled upon them again this morning to discover, to much of my surprise, that, with the exception of improving my French, all of them did come true!! May be not in the way I had thought those things would take place, but eventually they all happened and I am much better off as a result! But this is certainly not meant to be a paternalistic, condiscending message of victory, but an attempt to keep on trying to improve. If I could give a title to this year like one gives a title to a book, it would probably be "The Year of the Second Chances" - rarely does it happen at my young age to be given an opportunity to be transferred back to their life when they were half the age they are now and facing people and circumstances with a newly acquired sense of maturity, stability, experience and self confidence. I feel truly blessed for this. I truly do not want to mess it all up this time around. So here it is to second chances and the experiences which have made us the people we are!

Happy

I know you are already hearing the legendary song by the Rolling Stones resounding in your ears right now as I mentioned "Happy" (that's of course, if in the Beatles/Rolling Stones diatribe you were not a Beatles fan!) Rock on! The young lady in the picture, on the contrary, is my wonderful dog, Happy. She is the 'daughter my father never had', the life of this house and the cause of a heck of a lot of laughter. Jeez, I mean we are not stereotypically "pet-people", but ever since we have had her as a family pet we have experienced so much...well...happiness! Doh! Happy is also how I feel right now. Do you ever fear that changes are going to kill you,that if life takes a different turn from what you had expected you'll die of remorse and heartache? Well,not necessarily. Sometimes it's true: what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Happier. So here it is to change and life unexpected twists!

"Shaddap You Face!"

I felt we can all always do with a little 'cheering up', a short moment of happiness and positive, worry-less thinking. So here it is a little gift of """"Italian""""" joy! This song makes me smile every time I hear it - likewise I pray that it manages to bring a wee smile onto your faces as well. And to anyone who doubts us, mocks us, for any thought that hunts us and makes us sad, lets implore that emotion to "Shaddap You Face"! (Hey!)

Life Is Beautiful

Meet beautiful baby Daniel Kenshi McKee born on June 29th,2007
My 24th Birthday
The Sinivirta family with gorgeous baby Saku Luucas, 15th June 2007

Come With Your Dancing Shoes On!

My birthday do is a mere two days away and the prep is getting a little hectic...that aside, I am looking forward to a night of celebration, seeing mates from all walks of life and DANCE MY LITTLE SOCKS OFF!!! (Thanks to la Cayetana Altovoltaje for putting the music together!) So, got your dancing shoes ready?

To Be Brought to the Light

Today, it is a wonderful day! This morning at 6 am (2 pm local time) my best friend Rie gave birth to their second child, Saku Luukas Sinivirta ... ok, ok, I may be biased, but you've gotta admit this baby looks gorgeous and incredibly sweet!!! Mommy and baby are well and daddy and big bro Riku were happy to meet the new addition to the Sinivirta family! So proud of you guys. Love you more than words can tell. Auntie, Ivonne xx
"To be brought to the light" is how the Italians call birth. Never paid much attention to it until I watched "Under the Tuscan Sun"..beautiful expression, isn't it?

Would You Please Big it Up for RIKU Superstar! Un Applauso per Riku Superstar!

Meet Riku Marcus Sinivirta, who is turning 3 today!!!!

Riku is Taneli and Rie' s, my best friend, first born. I only met Riku once in person when he was one week old. Flabbergasting to think that that little bundle of joy has now become a gorgeous little man! So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, wee Riku.

Lots of love, auntie Ivonne xx

Vi presento Riku Marcus Sinivirta che compie 3 anni oggi!!!

Riku e' il primogenito di Taneli e Rie, la mia migliore amica. Ho conosciuto Riku in persona una sola vota quando aveva solo una settimana. E' scoinvolgente pensare come quel piccolo batuffolo di gioia sia ora uno stupendo piccolo cucciolo d'uomo! Quindi Tanti auguri, piccolo Riku!

Con tanto amore, zia Ivonne xx

The Sound of a Good Week-End

Yes, more than 'the sound of a good week-end', it is the lack of sound, in my voice, this morning that makes me reminisce on an hilarious week-end in London, baby, London! For my frequent readers, you may remember the tales of our funny Arabian night in the beginning of May with some newly met friends from London whom we ended up exchanging a visit with this bank holiday week-end. The whole thing was quite surreal - confusing the night for the day, the scorching rain like we were in the middle of December, making friends with singers, waiters and random strangers, running in the rain at 3am, having breakfast at 5pm..totally awesome! Good times, good friends. So, without further ado, here is a photo diary of the week-end (saves me time, really)... Hope you all had a nice bank holiday too!

A typical British summer day in London..The Sweetness: Tiziana & Linda, best friends from school! Dancing in the Tube station..as you do...
Wanted?Cueing outside "Ain't Got Nothing but the Blues" in Soho for nearly two hours..freeeeeeezin'!
Worth the wait!

Meeting Oscar Wilde and Dorian Gray, aka Wayne and Tim. It was a rather surreal experience - for starters, we were in an underground, prohibitionist mid-20's America style Jazz club in Soho. Got chatting to this two random guys who ended up being quite a pair, not to mention that both me and Linda (who hardly know each other at all) thought that Tim (in the middle) looked like Dorian Gray..indeed a fictional character out of a book..the weirdness!!!
Singing the Italian national anthem at the top of your loungs? Priceless. The Sound of a Good Night indeed!

An Arabian Night

Back, I am back, I am back! After a brief pause from the blogworld I am back with the tales of one of the best nights out of the past few years.
We change; we grow; we mature and evolve, but I believe that deep within we all crave for an unaltered desire to be at peace with oneself, with the grown-ups we have become and to still laugh wholeheartedly, like little toddlers. I think that is what Sunday was all about. Despite having had a late one the night before (simply to accommodate my friend's urge to watch Spiderman 3), I woke up early to a beautiful sunny day, went for a short-lived jog, had breakfast, went to church, talked to people, had lunch, preached to a lovely group of senior citizens (a captive audience of fifteen 90 odds!). Went to the pub to watch the Chelsey-Arsenal match (even cheered Arsenal for the first time in my whole life! - congratulations, Man Utd!), leisurely walked to a coffee shop for some tea, had an Indian in Rusholme, then headed to the local Arab cafe for some mint tea. We did not have a single drop of alchol yet were as giddy as one can be - we even got told off by the owner..it was like being back in second grade! Class. Drinking mint tea throughout the night. I suddenly felt like an adult, like a proper little person yet with comparable energy, laughter and joy to that of a little child who does not worry or reminisce about yesterday and has no fear of tomorrow, who at the core of her innerself knows her blessed state. Indeed I am truly blessed.

**thanks to Titi', Lily, Dr Cipolla and Stefano!** the girone of return in London, babe!**

"If You Are Happy and You Know It...Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!"

I know,I know:I haven't blogged for a whole four days and, indeed, it does feel like as if I was missing a limb or had been fasting for weeks or something!!So here is a little riview of the week-end. First of all, here is a little after-gig review... I had got some tickets for Stefan for Christmas to see New York band "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" which eventually we saw on Friday at the Academy. Although slightly clinical in their approach with a remarkably warm audience, they delivered:big time-they played a few songs from the new album,which only came out in the UK at the beginning of last week,so nobody really knew them though they were really quite catchy; then the old stuff came on and it was wicked awesome!I laughed,jumped and sang at the top of my lungs like no-man-business!Loved it! Saturday was such a "chilled- out"day. Don't you just love it when the telephone is disconnected, you don't have any plans for the day, it's cold and gloomy outside and the alarm ain't gonna go off and you are there,snuggled under your warm duvet, sleeping like a baby until your body has had enough of this heavenly bliss?! I do - sleeping still remains one of my top ten most favourite life activities! Thank God for sleep!!! Spoke to my mom, had a catch up with a few mates, watched Friends on T4,went to the cinema to see "Blood Diamond", had a take-away with friends..pure bliss! Sunday morning, church as usual,lunch with friends,watched a movie together,got home,chilled out for a little while,went out to a fancy-pansy pub with the boys, had a jolly good laugh.. and now it's Monday and,although it is blinking cold outside and I am at work, I am taken by surprise by an unexpected sense of wellbeing and happiness, dare I say. Even the guy deliverying free papers on Market Street stopped me to remark on how happy I looked - guess I must be. And for all this I am truly grateful: "Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed Thy hand has provided. Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!"

Thought you deserved a wee taste of 'Clap Your Hands Say Yeah' - so here is a video of my fave song by them:ironically, "Is This Love?" -Enjoy! Also,mainly for Jay and Mike's information, the Manchester Phoenix won three games in a row,including two consecutive wins against the scary Belfast Giants-so I hear! Guess this link is necessary:well done!