Howdy!

Acest week end a fost....boring, boring, boring....
Sambata a trebuit sa mergem la cumparaturi de mancare. Nici o placere! Totusi dupa aceea a fost OK, deoarece ne-am oprit pe la Corina si Kevin, pentru ultima oara in Hoboken. Am stat de vorba la un pahar de vin si niste fried chicken, apoi am jucat Wii. Coni a castigat la Bowling, dar eu am fost mai buna la Dancing with the Stars! Vedeti cateva poze mai jos...
Duminica, vremea a fost urata, innorata si din cand in cand a si plouat, asa ca am lenevit prin casa, iar seara ne-am uitat la televizor, la Oscare(81st edition of Academy Awards). Alta plictiseala! Eu jumatate din show am dormit, m-am sculat insa la timp sa vad ca premiul pentru cel mai bun film a fost castigat de "Slumdog Millionaire". Nu l-am vazut, dar numai ideea ca actiunea se petrece in India ma face ca nici macar sa nu vreau sa-l vad. Sunt destul de satula de tiganii nostri!!!

Corina playing Wii bowling...

...and Coni doing the same thing. Next time I will make sure to have pictures of myself and Kevin too!

The final scoreboard...

Have a nice Presidents' Day !

Presidents' Day is a Unites States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February. Although only George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (actually this year on Feb 12 was his bicentennial anniversary) were born in February, Presidents' Day is a day to honor all the presidents. It started in 1880 as Washington's Birthday - a homage to the first president and was changed to Presidents' Day in 1980. Being a federal holiday, schools and government institutions are closed. The private ones depends, every company has its own policy, for example Stock Market is closed, but the stores are open and have big sales! Corina has the day off, but not Kevin!

Valentine's Day - evening

Rockefeller Plaza with General Electric (GE) Building with its famous Rainbow Room
After a romantic early dinner we went for a walk on 5th Avenue to Rockefeller Plaza. Nice! Everything was lit in red, including the statue of Prometheus (in Greek mythology he is the one who brought the fire on Earth) . Also the Empire State Building was all red with a little bit of white (I won't post a picture, you have to imagine it!)

Prometheus and the Skating Rink in front of GE Building

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is a traditional holiday on which lovers express their love for each other by exchanging notes in the form of "valentines". The day was named after early Christians martyrs named Valentine, although the first association with romantic love was recorded in the Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. The first poet to mentioned Valentine's Day was Geoffrey Chaucer in his poem "Parlement of Fouls", followed by many others including Shakespeare - through Ophelia's words:
"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning bedtime
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine."
Modern Valentine symbols include also hearts , doves or the figure of Cupid (Roman God of love).
Romania started celebrating Valentine's Day in recent years, but also has its own holiday for lovers named "Dragobete", celebrated on Feb. 24. It is named after a character from Romanian folklore, Dragomir, the son of Baba Dochia with her 12 coats (the symbol of impatience for the return of spring) Part of his name is the word "drag"(dear) and dragoste (love).
This year, I asked Coni to be less romantic (not that he usually is!) and instead of flowers to buy me a memory card for my new camera... and I, I got him a card and for myself something from Victoria's Secret!
You ladies - Corina, Iuliana, Vali - how was your day and what did your "Valentines" give you?

Hello fam Preda...

Pentru ca nu ne-am auzit luna aceasta , in loc de e-mail postez acest mesaj cu noutati despre noi. Suntem bine si asteptam primavara! Week end-ul acesta aveam planificat sa mergem la ski, dar pentru ca a fost cald (15 grade C) ne-am schimbat planul si in loc, am ajuns la ocean in Conny Island. Vedeti cateva poze mai jos. Corina si Kevin au fost sa viziteze apartamente, caci vor sa se mute din nou in Manhattan. In rest... eu la cura de slabire, voi posta prin martie primele rezultate, iar Coni cu stresul din cauza boilor de la Mexim. Nu avem ce face ,vrem s-o mai lungim pe aici, asa ca trebuie sa-i suportam!
Voi ce mai faceti? Dar mama? O voi suna si eu, probabil mai aproape de 8 Martie. Copiii au inceput din nou scoala, nu-i asa? Cu apartamentul, a-ti inceput sa vedeti lumina de la capatul tunelului? Dar cu garsoniera, o mai aveti?
Si in general, cum o duceti in conditiile crizei actuale? Va afecteaza personal? Am vazut la televizor (vedem pe internet Antena 3) si ne-am sperat: lume amarata, batrani murind la usa spitalelor din cauza indiferentei doctorilor sau bagati la inchisoare pentru nimic iar criminalii eliberati si tot felul de alte nedreptati, hotii si talharii la toate nivelele inclusiv escrocheria cu petrolul din Marea Neagra si cu ascultarea convorbirilor telefonice. Cred ca Ceausescu rade sau plange pe unde este! N-a fost impuscat pentru asa ceva? Ce zice lumea de ce se intampla in Romania, sau nu se mai agita nimeni, au devenit pasivi la atatea magarii! In fine, vom vedea ce-o mai urma...
Va pupam pe toti!

Pescarusi lenevind la soare

Noi...

... si un apus de soare la Oceanul Atlantic!!!

Groundhog Day

Today is the day when the most famous of groundhogs, Phil, weighs in on when the spring will come. It is a German tradition, brought here in 1887. The legend says that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 - the Christian holiday of Candlemas (Purificaton of Blessed Virgin) - winter would last another 6 weeks, if not the spring would come early. Adi, do you remember? Teta was telling us about such a tradition, but with a bear's shadow.
So, early this morning in front of revelers gathered at Gobble's Knob in Punxsutawney, PA (near Pittsburgh) it was announced that Phil has seen his shadow, for us that means the spring is not near and the winter will linger for six more weeks!!!