On the seventh day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas, 

my true love sent to me: 

Seven swans a-swimming

Happy 2013!! Last night it was all good wishes, laughter and champagne, and today is time to look back, count your blessings and make New Year's resolutions. 

I looooove resolutions, even if I never meet them, but it is a great feeling to know you have a plan and a purpose!!

So without further ado, and with Paper 53 here come SiL' 2013 New Year's resolutions:

On the sixth day of Christmas

On the sixth day is Christmas

My true love sent to me:

Six geese a-laying...

...and on the sixth day of Christmas I apologize for missing yesterday's post and wish you all the happiest of years! May 2013 bring you what you need.

This year, rather than spend a couple of hours typing all my best wishes to my dear friends, family and colleagues, I will enjoy an afternoon with my favorite person in the world. Go turn the wii on, sister!

To all those special people in my life, all the best!!! 2013 already sounds thrilling doesn't it? So many plans ahead, and sooooo many resolutions soon to come!

Now I need to get ready for the big night!

Joy and success to you all!!

Such is Life

On the fourth day of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

Four calling birds

And, as anticipated... I am bringing you my favorite iPad App of all time: Paper 53.

It is free with limited access to its features, but it is more than enough to get a good idea of what it is about. After that you may end up spending 5,99 Eur for the basic pack plus 1,79 Eur for the color pallet. After that... Imagination unleashed. Paint, sketch, write, color... Unlimited possibilities.

It offers five different tools (see the pic below) and seven basic colors which can be turned in any color imaginable. I LOVE IT! Best 7,78 Eur best spent ever (not like that time I spent 7,99 Eur buying an ebook I already had in hard cover cause I mistook it with another...)


I used Nostalgio to make these collages btw, as every other collages I post here (also very recommendable).

And this is my magna opus so far... I wanted to make these oranges, but my laptop cannot keep the original iPad colors (humpf), so they will have to be two very round tomatoes...

Aren't they cute!

By popular request (in my democracy of two people), I am also sharing the full version of the forest shown above:

But it is the fourth day of Christmas and I should give you two more calling birds (apps, sorry).

So I got the artistic side of SiL, and now the fun:

One is free and provides endless fun at parties and other gatherings, the other quite expensive, but totally worth it if it allows you to watch Doctor Who and Torchwood on your way to work...

By the way, I wrote the first draft of this post in the Blogger app for iPad, and it was ok until I tried to integrate the pics in the post... Not sure whether the app would go in my recommendations list.

Please Blogger people, keep working on it. Thanks.

Hope you find this interesting!! Enjoy!

Such is Life

P.D.: Blogger app rocks, it was me that did not understand it while writing... Still needs improvement though.

On the third day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

Three French hens

... So much poultry I do not know what the poor girl did with all the birds her true love sent her for Christmas that year.

Oh, third day of Christmas... 

On the third day of Christmas

Such is Life sent you:

fastart!

My first attempt at fastart was mistaken by an apple or an orange, not very sure, so I hope this one is clearly unmistakably, a Christmas tree:

Date: December 26th.
Time of execution: 9 minutes.
Tools: MagicSketchpad - Brush on canvas.
Location: Dentist waiting room. Madrid

 

Enjoy!

Such is Life

On the second day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas 

my true love sent to me:

Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Second day of Christmas...

I feel inclined to post again!

Yesterday I gave you one webcomic today... Two videos!! Just because I am that generous.

As usual, surfing the net searching for fun stuff to show you I came across this video, and guess what? It turns out there are more that one or two Lego Star Wars Christmas Specials in Youtube!

This first video is the special for 2012, but there are many many more!
 

The second video... I am not sure whether I want to show you or not, I am torn between... No I am... This is confusing, I am not sure whether I like this video or not cause I am totally in shock and did not know it existed!

Baby Chewbacca is somewhat disturbing. 

I take no responsibility if your respect for the Star Wars Universe diminishes after watching this.
I am still trying to get over it.

Such is Life.

On the first day of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

After the Advent Calendar fiasco all that I can do is wish you a very merry and extraordinary Christmas!!

Of course I could also say I may try to compensate you for the dreadful lack of attention paid to the blog in the last few weeks but it would be a bit of a lie. Master Yoda says "do or do not, but do not try", so i will stay with the "do not" part. Better surprise you with a post than disappoint you with the lack of one!

Oh, the holidays, what a magnificent time. I still remember that not so long ago, Christmas meant exams, exams, exams, and study, study, study (and my mother repeating that word non-stop). At that time I looked for any excuse not to study, and in that search for excuses I found web comics!

Boy, some of the things I found were awesome, but with time, some of the ones I followed finished, and some others started to bore me (specially considering I finished my studies more than three years ago and I have not had the need to waste my time since then - not that I had that time to waste either-)

So on the first day of Christmas I give you the only web comic that has kept my attention and faith for the last four years:

http://thedreamercomic.com/index.php

Adventure, Romance, War.

Lora Innes is a genius.

Enjoy the read! Enjoy your holidays!

I may or may not be back tomorrow...

Such is Life.

and done! HAPPY 2012!

Who would have thought...

Who would have thought 2011 was going to be like this? Please raise your hand if your year was just as you expected. No one? Isn't that awesome?

I am only sad 2011 has gone so fast! So surprising, in an excellent way. If anyone had told me, January 1st, 2011, that I would be typing my last post of the year in my iPad 2 or that I would have my very own Jedi academy batch, I would never have believed it true. ;P

Last night I said goodbye to a year I will always remember, no matter how old I get. 2011 has been full of milestones, which pave my way to 2012.  And even if 2011 has taught us all something about the hard times and the need to adapt to change, the new year brings new opportunities to start again, in some cases, and keep fighting in many others. We will all be tested once again, and we will all leave many a new year resolution forgotten in the way, but such is life.

I am so glad I have 366 days ahead to make the best of them with you all!

Thank you for making last year so special, as always, I have my very special thanks, but this year I'll keep it in the anonymity: to the girl that sings and dances disney songs with me, the boy who always has some spare change to lend me, the girl that has made my phonecalls oh-so-cool, the girl that moved out of a yellow flat filled with good memories, the dear friend that wants me to read at her wedding, the friend that travels the world every nine months... thank you and HAPPY 2012.

I am so thankful you were part of my 2011, and I can`t begin to to tell you all what you mean to me and how much I hope we share a year that will steal 2011's thunder in my "top years" list.

I will be finishing now, repeating my thanks, to my friends and family, for being so amazing, for letting me in and be part of your 2011, words cannot explain the awesome.

HAPPY 2012!

Such is life.

Merry belated Chritsmas

Oh my my, this is embarrassing. Here I am, December 27 and wishing you Merry Christmas. At least I owe you that! I have no excuse, other than the truth: I have been caught up in learning how to use my iPad. It is so awesome that it can produce this: MERRY CHRISTMAS from Such is Life!

21 days for Christmas!

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa la la la la la la la la

Such is Life is ready for Christmas!

Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la la la la

 

It took me a little while to find the background and I had a personal fight with html and all, but here it is! With a new face, a new playlist and a new challenge now the Post-athon is over (and for the record, 1 post = 2 km, therefore I made it!), I have personally undertaken the task of getting you all in a Christmas mood.

Don we now our gay apparel
Fa la la la la la la la la

Here I was listening to Christmas carols looking for something to show you, so I went for on of my usual easy-post options, GLEE!

Troll the ancient yuletide carol
Fa la la la la la la la la

I started to search for the video of Deck the rooftop, which is nowhere to be found because it doesn't exist and I found this:

Up on the rooftop reindeer paws
Out jumps good ol Santa Clause

How "awesome" is this? This moments are those when you regret living in a big city and looking for a tiny apartment in that same big city instead of moving to the suburbs, buying a place with a garden and sharing with the world this display of seasonal joy.

Down through the chimney with lots of toys
All for the little ones Christmas joys


How I love to find a video and then pull the thread and find yet more and more interesting stuff, and so, I came up with the 7 BEST CHRSITMAS LIGHTS SHOWS (as can be seen on Youtube):

Ho ho ho
Who wouldn't go?


Underneath the video these words: "WOW!!! 4 Different Homes With Extreme Creativity & 1000's Of Outdoor Christmas Lights/Music - Thanks People!!"

Ho ho ho
Who wouldn't go?


Creativity is one of those things that mistakes genius with unbearable too often.

Up on the rooftop click click click
Down through the chimney with good St. Nick


Fa la la la la la la la la


Such is Life

Happy belated (though not much) 2011

- Dinner with family - Check!
- Unusual party with friends - Check!
- Breakfast/lunch - Check!
- Afternoon nap - Check!
- Belgian hot Chocolate - Check!
-  New Year's blog post - ... no? What happened?

I have no excuse, as usual, I've been caught up with real life.

It's not that I don't want to wish you all a Happy New Year, just that I've been getting lazier and lazier as of late and the result has been that I've missed my traditional new year's blog post for the first time in four years...


2010 has been difficult, as years pass by things don't seem to get easier, I did not expect that to happen, but I seem to have a little trouble coping with drama. Everyone around me has been through some ups and downs, and sometimes staying in the sunny side of life is more of a challenge than usual. Little by little you start to find out you may not be as good a person as you thought, and putting a blindfold over your eyes is the easiest way out in the short run, but not so easy in the long term. Still, as a whole, 2010 was a good year.

Baby steps at work that seem to lead me at an unusual pace towards I still don't know what, but something I certainly like. Family crisis that end up in this quiet and peaceful saturday afternoon. Victories and losses, love and other disasters, the fight against the elements, I have to confess putting it all in one blog post is a great responsibility, and I may not feel up for that job right now, I am still sleepy, and I am not that good of a blogger to keep everyone as interested as I wished.

So, after the self examining first paragraphs, without further ado, here it comes:

Happy New Year everyone! I'll be brief, I promise. To my sister, the online phenomenon, I hope 2011 brings you a very successful thesis, an even more amazing paper and a choice of post-doc up to your genius and standards (that meaning, nothing less awesome than Milan). I hope I'll be able to post our training success during 2011. And by this time, next year, we will proudly anounce how we ran for 10km on New Year's Eve (the popular San Silvestre Vallecana).

To my Sws, girls and boy, you are all amazing, and although 2010 brought us some drama in many ways, I am glad we have all learnt how to dance the rain. You always have a smile on your face and a willing ear and shoulder, and you all deserve the best for 2011.

To my school friends, to Ro, gone and come, 2011 is the time of change and challenges, so suit-up and start the new year with your usual smile you deserve the best of years!!!

To my favourite couple, I just hope 2011 sees us together more often either here or in Frankfurto, we will visit soon (no Ebbelwei Express this time, promise!!).

To my little sis overseas, I hope 2011 is plain awesome, just like she is. I miss you dearly and hope to see you soon, very very soon.

To Ines and Álvaro, the best of years, you guys are essential to keep my feet on the ground. 

To the amazing O'Donoghues and Whytes, all the best for 2011, a trip to Madrid must be part of your 2011 calendar!

Friends and coleagues, can't see you as just coleagues, thanks guys for making my long long days so much fun and a little less long.

To all the rest, to Ana, Alba and Inés, my dear Hoyas...

As always, please do not feel offended if I forgot to mention you, I still wish you all the best for 2011, may these new 525.600 minutes be AWESOME!

The end of the Decade

Hey guys, it's the end of the decade... decade!!! Ten years have passed and I don't think anyone of us realises just how much we have changed. I for one have spent the last ten years getting ready for the next ten, and the trip has been real fun... But enough of this "I am getting old" stuff.

As you all now the year is almost over and I feel compelled to write my now declared traditional end-of-the-year-happy-new-year post. I hope you all spend the next 525.600 minutes in the best way, and that 2010 is just as good as you want it to be.

Looking back, 2009 may have been one of the most decisive years in my life. Studies over, the start of my work life and the end of those good times in which you had 3 months of holidays in the summer. I have to admit to you and myself that I have not been at my best, that sometimes I have tried people's patience with my whinning and complaining, more this year than the years before, and for that I have to send a huge thanks to all those that have suffered me. Starting with my family, specially my bro (yeah, you all know my bro is a sister, but she is my bro), who may be the only member in my family to read this! Then of course my friends, my closest and best of best friends, who are always there for me no matter where we are or who is our boss.

2009 was awesome despite all the drama I've thrown into it. 2009 was Brussels and Croatia and Slovenia, and Prague and Seville, the ever fun Seville... 2009 was the last summer of iddleness and three months without my bro that clashed with the begining of my days as a lawyer... fun and confusing. 2009 has been this blog, with its few faithful readers and some others that drop by from time to time. 2009 has been the TURNING POINT. I think I am ready for the next decade with its own turning points included.

I can't finish this without making some particular aknowledgements... I want to wish the best of the years to all of you, my friends and not so close friends, friends of friends, friend's families and anyone with whom I have exchanged a few words this year (boss included ha!), but specially to these amazing people: Pau, Flagüer, Dul, Ale, Sity, Mary, Claire (no better way to start the year than with you!!) María (my newest friend and Bb partner), María (as always my oldest friend), Inés (for being strong with me), Ana, Inés, Álvaro, Juan... Marielle, Lorraine, Cathaye (we have plans in the next decade girls!!), to all my friends overseas, Sebastian for all you Like clicks, Matias and your plans to come over, to all those I have met in the last few months, those I haven't seen in months. To my ever present and sweet Ro, to all those I have meant to text but never have. To everyone and anyone... HAPPY 2010.

And here it is for one last time this year... Such is Life!