Happy B-day Iuliana and Adi...

... cheers to another great year ahead and many more afterwards!!!

Iuliana did you turn 24 or 25, I keep forgetting?!!! You don't share your birthday with anybody famous that we know, you are unique... but as a tidbit in 1431, May 30, Joan of Arc was burned after being convicted of heresy.

Adi though, there are plenty of personalities borne on June 1, among them, Marilyn Monroe!

How did you spend the day...something romantic or you had a big bash?

Fashion Show

Coni got the invitation from the General Consul of Turkey to US and after lingering if to go or not, we decided to attend the show and the reception afterwards. It was an interesting evening and worth the effort! The collection was inspired from the Ottoman Empire era with a touch of modern, all done in the Turkish tradition. Some of the dresses were quite daring, but then Turkey is a modern, open minded, Muslim country. The reception was OK, good food, including, to my surprise , stuffed cabbage (sarmale) which I thought was a Romanian tradition....and of course baklava and plenty of fruits. They had all kind of alcoholic drinks, but I had only champagne which went well with everything I ate, especially the berries. We met a lot of people, I didn't know that the Turks are so friendly.

At the end, when we went to say good bye to the General Consul we took a picture with him and somebody with a newspaper from Ankara said that they will publish that picture. Probably they liked my curvy figure....ha..ha...ha... So, pretty soon check the newspapers in Turkey to see me! Corina, Iuliana and everybody else, I double dare you to top my performance!!!! The grand finale with bridal dresses, but I don't understand the black dress in the middle... is it for the merry widow (vaduva vesela)?

The embroidery, not only on these dresses but on all of them was exquisite...

This outfit I liked it the best!

The first group on the catwalk....

Memorial Day

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer. It is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May, and commemorates US men and women who died while in military service.
It is also used as a time for family gatherings, picnics or barbecues.

In NYC around this day takes place the Fleet Week. Ships from all aver the world come into the harbor and parade on Hudson River.
I've seen it on TV and it was very impressive. So, we decided to go and see life the ships, especially when we found out that this year the ship open to visitors was Iwo Jima (named after the island in Japan, were in 1945 took place the famous battle). Unfortunately it was a big joke and a waste of time. We took the information from the official site, which turned out to be all wrong:

- First, it was mentioned that the ship was docked at pier #48, but instead it was the pier at 48th Street, which is in the opposite direction.

- Second, on line was posted that the visiting hours are between 10am to 5pm, and finally, when we arrived at the pier although was around 1pm, we were told that visiting hours are up and to try again the next day at 8am, which we didn't do.

On top of all this, it was very crowded and too much security. After so much trouble, we didn't know how to leave the area faster!

So, we spent the first 2 days of the Memorial Day week end walking in heat and humidity followed only by bad luck!!! The 3rd day though, along with Puiu, we stopped at Corina and Kevin 's place and we had a much more pleasant time!!!

Happy B-day Mom and best wishes to Sts. Constantine and Helena!

1. May 21 is my mother's birthday. Earlier today, I and Corina called and wished her happy birthday. She sounded great and she said that she feels well . I've seen some recent pictures of hers, and I have to say that she looks good too! Dear mother, through this avenue also, we want to wish you once again good health and many and happy returns! You share the day with Tudor Arghezi (Romanian writer) and the first female President of Ireland, Mary Robinson!

2. May 21, the Romanian Orthodox Church is observing Saints Constantine and Helena. It is customary that all the people named so, to celebrate the day partying along with friends and family. So, to my husband , Constantin (Coni), and my aunt Elena (Nana) all the best!
Pentru fam Preda - am sunat-o si pe Nana sa-i uram toate cele bune si era in mare petrecere. Toata familia Balan era acolo, inclusiv tanti Angela, voi cum de nu erati? Nu v-a invitat sau nu ati vrut sa va duceti? Coni va multumeste pentru felicitare si urari. Pa!

Block Party

It is a tradition that all summer long, every Sunday, the City to be the host of different festivals. Today was one in the area where we live, known as Murray Hill. It was the same as at the Romanian Festival, the only missing things were "sarmalele and micii" and of course the Romanian folkloric music.

Instead we had a quartet playing classical music, a rock band or...

... even the blues brothers..

The food was plenty and for every taste: chicken, hamburgers, BBQ meats...

...or skewers...All in all, it was a nice way to spend your Sunday near home!

The three musketeers!!!

Coni and his tennis partners. The picture is altered with the help of a new software. It is kind of funny , what do you think?

Happy Mother's Day!

To all mothers and especially mine , all the best wishes of happiness and good health. I love you mom!

On the second Sunday of May, here in the US is celebrated Mother's Day, a day to honor mother. Americans, on this day spend approximately $2.5 billion on flowers and $1.5 billion on pampering gifts, like spa treatments; also this day generates about 8% of the jewelry industry's annual revenue.

We were invite to spend the day with all the mothers in the family in Long Island, at Nina and Edy. I'm sure we will have a nice day, the weather is nice and so is the company!

Again to every mother, Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy B-day Sergiu!

Happy birthday and many more returns! Good luck in your future endeavors from all of us: Dana, Corina, Coni and Kevin.
You share the day with Lucian Blaga, Romanian writer and philosopher, Ion Tiriac Romanian tennis player who turns today 70 and Billy Joel American singer (River of Dreams).
Look at you now at 14 years old!!!

.....and then, as the "Cool Boy"!!!

Comix

Together with some friends of ours which are visiting us from Vienna(Austria) - Lukas and Alina (Coztea and Tavi's daughter -Coni's colleague from college), last night for a little bit of variation we decided to go to a comedy club . The show could've been better, but after a couple of drinks nobody was noticing the stupid jokes and we were laughing and having a good time, so overall everybody was pleased and we decided to do it again , but this time in Vienna!!!

Coni , Alina and Lukas...

...and Kevin , Corina and I...

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

President Bush greeting a group of dances in a last year Cinco de Mayo parade....

It is not Mexico's independence day, but is a well known holiday celebrating the victory of Mexicans in the Battle of Puebla when France was trying to invade Mexico. Here, in the US the day is an occasion to become accustom with Mexican heritage and culture. There are parades and fiestas with Mariachi bands, traditional food -tamales, guacamole or salsa - and drinks....of course everybody enjoys a glass or two of Margaritas. I like the best the strawberry-lime one!

Romanian Festival on Broadway

Targul s-a tinut chiar pe langa unde locuieste Corina, downtown at Bowling Green. Le parea rau ca nu pot veni si ei (ma repet - sunt plecati la nunta varului lui Kevin in Punta Cana)...poate la anul, who knows!

Prin targ... a fost OK, ma asteptam sa fie tiganie si sa plecam repede acasa...

Eu si dl Stefan ne-am prins in hora....

Coni checking things through the fair...

Lume multa , si dupa cum vedeti nu numai romani! Frumos era sa-l vedeti, dansa de mama focului pe muzica populara...