10 Honest Things

I was tagged by Anastasia to reveal 10 honest things about myself. So here goes.
1. I hate to drive and I rarely use my car in the city.
2. When I invite a lady out to dinner, I feel very offended if she offers to pay the bill.
3. I don't like skinny women or women who eat only salads and low-fat yogurt. They look permanently ill.
4. I am a very introvert person, I don't easily open up to others and I prefer to keep certain things to myself. However, I honestly hate keeping up appearances.
5. What relaxes me most after a long day at work is a glass of red wine, a good book and Billy Joel's music.

6. The most valuable possession I have is an old gold cross given to me by my grandmother a few days before she passed away.
7. I enjoy visiting museums. In fact I can spend hours exploring them as I believe it's the best way to learn about a country's history and culture.
8. I can occasionally tell a white lie if I feel the truth might hurt soemeone I love.
10. I do my best not to be bossy with my children although sometimes I can't avoid it.

Now I am supposed to pass the tag to 7 bloggers but I'd rather leave it open to anyone who would like to share 10 honest things about themselves.

Heather's Apple-Zucchini Muffins

The first time I heard about this kind of muffins was on Heather's blog. So I thought I'd give her recipe a try and see what happens. Well..here they are and , beleive me they are delicious! Please be lenient, that was the first time I've ever baked apple-zucchini muffins but they are soooo tasty! Here's Heather's recipe:

Apple Zucchini MuffinsAdapted from Easy Gluten Free Baking from Elizabeth Barbone1 cup white rice flour1/2 cup of sweet rice flour1/4 of cornstarch1 tablespoon of baking powder* Please note that if you are using a mix, or if you are making these using regular flour, this is where you will pick up from 6 Tbs butter (vegan works fine with this recipe) 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup of applesauce, OR 1 egg 3/4 cup of milk (almond, coconut or rice can be substituted) If you are using large fruit like cranberries, blueberries or raspberries, you will use 3/4 cupIf using grated veggies or fruit like apple or zucchini, you will use 1 to 1/2 cups.For the apple zucchini muffins I added in 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of nutmegPreheat over to 350Whisk together dry ingredientsIn a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar for one minuteAdd egg or applesauceBlend wellAdd half of the dry ingredients and mix until dough formsAdd milkAdd spices of choiceIn a small bowl, coat fruit with the cornstarch and fold into batter along with 1/2 cup of oats if desiredSpoon batter into muffin tins and either freeze or bake for 15-20 minutesFor frozen muffins, the cooking time may be a bit longerRemove and cool.

Future Perfect

Our vision for the future might hold one of these two possibilities. We could be dreaming about some enjoyment that hopefully lies ahead, or worried about some looming hardship. Often the enjoyment in our lives is put on hold, we just need more time and money. We just have to work a little harder. Too many things can go wrong with this and we may not be able to do it later for various reasons. If we put off our enjoyment of life until later, it may take longer than we think, or it may never happen the way that we envisioned it.

We should not throw away our precious todays in anticipation of good times, not when we can have days of enjoyment and satisfaction now. Perhaps it's time for an examination of our style of life and our wants and needs, now and for the future. It is good to imagine a happy future and make plans for it but we should not put off the happiness we can have today. So why not live each day as if the future plans may not materialise.

"We are never living, but only hoping to live; and, looking forward always to being happy, it is inevitable that we never are so." - Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Worrying over something that is going to happen will make our lives stressful and less happy. After examining an upcoming difficult or seemingly disastrous situation, if there is something that can be done to improve on it, do it. If not, and the event cannot or should not be avoided, then accept the fact and start thinking about something else. Worrying about it will not only be a total waste of time but it will increase anxiety, and things will seem even worse than they really are. "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly." Buddha (BC)

I believe that we are the architects of our own future.You have the choice to choose your career, the country you live in, the friends you hang out with, how you go through life (half empty or half full), even the food you eat tonight and the music you listen to. I know that is not entirely true because there are people who do not have these choices, but in my opinion, as long as you have your health and your freedom, then you have all these choices available to you, even if it requires some time and work to get the means to be able to make the choice . Every choice you make right now has an impact on your future and the future of many others. Whether you want to accept this or not, it is true.

The thing with choices is that you will never know if a choice leads to success or failure until after the time. Even if the choice has the best chance of future success (like going to college to get a degree), success is not guaranteed. There is no sense in worrying about the outcome of a choice. Once you are able to accept this, then you are more free to make a choice and have the attitude of “I made this choice, and I am going to do everything as best as I can, and things will turn out the way they do”But…if you don’t know what you want, where your passions lie, then how can you make the right choices for yourself?

We all aspire to a happier life and certainly a happier future. To achieve this, we need to think positive, make choices and sometimes take risks.

Modern Technology

Technology has always been an important part of life since the 19th century industrial revolution. Through the years these advances grew until we got to the most important piece of technology in today's society, the computer. Computers are present in every area of our lives. They help save lives in the medical field, they have connected the world turning it into a global village.Our economy depends on computers, cash registers, banks, the stock market. These are things that people in the past could not even dream of. Five years ago, I couldn't even imagine using my mobile phone like a computer or having an ipod instead of a walkman or having an interactive whiteboard in my classroom! The advances of modern technology have definitely transformed my life a lot, mostly in a positive way. To what extent has modern technology affected your lives in , let's say the last 10 years?

Attica in Flames

Attica has been burning since yesterday and here in Athens we are all glued to the TV waiting for some good news but the winds make things worse. Many people have lost their homes, others are carried to the hospital because of breathing problems and there are those who refuse to leave their area hoping that they will save their properties. It seems that the fires are caused by arsonists. This is what angers me most. I am safe at the moment although I live very near the areas where the fires broke out. The weather forecast says that the winds will calm down tomorrow. Let's hope that tomorrow will be a better day and that all the fires will be under control.

Back from the Holidays

All good things eventually come to an end! Although my summer holiday was much shorter than last year, I made time to forget all about work and personal worries and..recharge the batteries. I spent most of my holiday time in Mykonos, which is very unlike me as I hate the husltle and bustle of the island and I hate ..clubbing as well. Apart from its worldwide reputation of an island that never sleeps, Mykonos has also got its unique beauties. I stayed at a quiet hotel, near Ftelia - the best beach for windsurfing which is one of my favourite sports. Mykonos is also called the Island of the Winds and is ideal for the sport. After swimming and windsurfing, I had lunch at "Akri" - one of the best tavernas in the area of Ftelia at about 9 km from the Hora - the centre of Mykonos. The truth is, I only went to the centre once only to have dinner at Chez Maria but spent most of the evenings in my hotel room reading or listening to my favourite music. I went to bed early, before 11 pm and got up early to go swimming or windsurfing. Mykonos can be a very quiet place. It depends on what you are looking for. Now how about you? Did you have a nice holiday?

Romantic Weekend

Here I am back from a very relaxing and very romantic weekend at Coral Bay in Paphos. As I needed to have both my flat and the school refurbished, I had to split my holidays in weekends rather than take 10 days in a row. So, after Protaras it was Paphos. We stayed at the Coral Beach Hotel in a beautiful suite with a private terrace furnished with umbrellas, sunbeds , a wooden coffee table and a small rattan outdoor lounge. Alkis and I had the time to relax and unwind while enjoying the sun and the sea. Before leaving, we also visited the Bird and Animal Park at the nearby village of Peyia where an albino wallaby kangaroo was born 8 weeks ago. This is the 4th wallaby in the world - the last one was born 30 years ago in the UK. Only the birds live in cages with the exception of two parrots whose home includes a huge umbrella to protect them from the sun and the rain. All other animals live in their natural habitat in spacious places and are well taken care of by the staff of the park.

Getting to know each other

I have been...indirectly tagged on Anastasia's blog, so here goes:

If you've been tagged or you are reading this, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging 25 other victims. You have to tag me so really you just need 24 more people. To do this on Facebook, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your title as "Getting to know each other!", tag 25 people including me (tagging is done in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish. To do this on Blogger, copy and paste this in a new post and tag as many people as you like.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00 am

2. How do you like your steak? well done

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Fifty dead men walking

4. What is your favorite TV show? Everybody loves Raymond.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? India

6. What did you have for breakfast? a cup of tea and tost

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Greek and Indian

8. What foods do you dislike? sushi, beans, frogs legs, spinach

9. Favorite Place to Eat? To Kafenio and 48 The Restaurant

10. Favorite dressing? caesar, blue cheese, olive oil & lemon

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? A silver mercedes

12. What are your favorite clothes? casual, blazers and shirts

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Patmos island

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 empty

15. Where would you want to retire? At Galaxidi

16. Favorite time of day? morning

17. Where were you born? Athens, Greece

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Basketball

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Not sure

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? No idea...

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? All of them

22. Bird watcher? No

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning

24. Do you have any pets? 2 dogs and 1 cat

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I'm off on holiday as from next week!!!

26. What did you want to be when you were little? Fisherman

27. What is your best childhood memory? My grandmother's cooking

28. Are you a cat or dog person? both! I love both cats and dogs.

29. Are you married? No, I'm divorced

30. Always wear your seat belt? YES!

31. Been in a car accident? Yes

32. Any pet peeves? violent sports, lies

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? salami, pepperoni, mushrooms, corn, extra cheese, tomatoes

34. Favorite Flower? lillies, daisies, poppies

35. Favorite ice cream? chocolate, lemon, strawberry

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Goodies

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Never failed

38. From whom did you get your last email? from my daughter

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? ???? Attica

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Sent flowers to my girlfriend

41. Like your job? I love it

42. Broccoli? Not really.....

43. What was your favorite vacation? Last summer at Sifnos

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My brother and his wife

45. What are you listening to right now? Nothing

46. What is your favorite color? blue

47. How many tattoos do you have? None

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? Open

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 9: 51 am

50. Coffee Drinker? Yes - greek coffee and espresso

A Virtual Cruise to the Greek Islands

It's been unbearably hot these last few days in Athens with the temperature going up to 40C yesterday. In the city centre, it felt like over 40 at about 2 pm mainly due to the many buildings made from glass, concrete and metal which tend to create a burning hot air mass. Unfortunately, I had to drive to the centre as I had an important business lunch. Otherwise I'd have certainly driven to Galaxidi where it is much cooler. The city of Athens is practically empty today as most people went off to the beaches or the nearby islands for the weekend. I've still got 2 weeks at work before I go on holiday for 3 weeks in August. I wish I could take 5 weeks off like last year, but due to the recession and some new contracts at work, I can't allow myself this luxury. At the moment, I'd rather stay indoors in the air conditioning and dream of the Greek islands! So let me take you on a virtual cruise to some of my favourite islands.

The island of Ikaria - Valeta

From Greece

The island of Amorgos

From Greece

The island of Astypalea

From Greece

The fishing port on the island of Sifnos

From Greece

Artemonas on the island of Sifnos

From Greece

The Power of Will

There are times in our lives when we feel wreckless and depressed because of various circumstances that affect our peace of mind. Consquently, we develop a low self-estime and think that there's nothing really that we can achieve. There was a time in my life when I felt completely useless and unable to resist temptations like surfing the internet, chocolate or simply eating too much and mostly fattening and unhealthy foods. With the help and support of some good friends - one of them is a very successful psycholigist - I started to seek ways to strengthen my willpower and self-discipline. This did not happen from one day to another but it was a slow and gradual progress depending on perseverence - a topic I talked about in a previous blog.

Perseverence helped me to stick to my goal . So I gradually started cutting down on the internet, on chocolate and on food - my three main addictions I was unable to resist to. Physical exercise and meditation kept me going. I went on a diet and lost weight while at the same time I adopted a healthier eating pattern, I stopped bringing chocolate home - I used to consume a bar every day! - and also cut down on the internet for my entertainment. There were times I really felt like giving in to one or more of the above temptations but in the end I managed to control them instead of letting them control me. It was certainly not easy to achieve these goals, it took time but in the end I learned that when there is a will there is always a way.