Very important news and photos

Hello to all my sweet blogger friends.

One of the many reasons I have not been able to visit your blogs is because at the moment my life is in a turmoil.
I came home from Greece quite carefree and the only care I had was to put forward the remortgage of my flat. It is a long and painful procedure, for those who haven't done it, and it takes most of my free time.

The other thing that came out of the blue is that I might be changing jobs and be in the jobmarket soon. My department is going to get smaller and we were advised to start looking for alternative jobs. Although I am not afraid, I am very confident that I will find something inside or outside my company (the big H, for those of you who know) I am also afraid that I will once again start from the beginning.

I have been in the same company for seven years and I have built a stable and successful career. Just this week I got a commendation from a customer, which made me very proud.
I am looking for a managerial position now in the company, there is a role for which I drool and it fits me like a glove but there will be harsh competition for it. Although I have experience on the role I have not been a manager and there are other managers which will go after it. Wish me luck!

If that doesn't work and if I don't find a position in the Marketing sector, I am determined to look elsewhere. I am not going back to the shopfloor!!!! I had it for four years and it killed me.
My company is a very big department store in London, the most famous one (there! I said it!) and it's going to be just crazy during Christmas and the Sale and I don't want to be anywhere near the shopfloor. A good 9-5 job in an office in Marketing is where I want to be.
So if not in the big H, then in another company....scary....

Now, for some good news. When I came back from Greece I brought presents for Rachel and Pete. With all this palaver going about me I had absolutely no time to go to the Post Office to send it to them. I felt so ashamed.
But my good friends Mark T and Jill, fabulous bloggers and people both of them, were going to Joe's Pub. So I kindly asked them if they could take them and they kindly replied they could! What a sweet couple they are! Thank you both SO much!!!!!

And here is the proof that they gave the gifts to them! It's the jiffy beige envelopes that Jill is holding in the first two pictures, ready to give them to Rachel. The first two pictures are taken by His Excellence Mr. Ronzi.


And these last ones, most fantastic, are taken by the fabulous Elizabeth Solaka. Thank you both and sorry to steal your pictures, hehe.

You can definetely see Pete holding the envelope and I think you can see a little corner of the env. in Rachel's hands...
Thank you Mark and Jill soooo much!

Back to reality - and it feels good

You see, that's the thing with me. Ever since I moved to London, I consider myself having a permanent holiday.
So, I went to Greece and had a lovely time, and now I'm glad I'm back to my flat in London. Life's wonderful. If only I could afford (financially and time-wise) a trip to the USA to see my boys and Rachel, then it would have been just perfect. Unfortunately the circumstances, at the moment, stand that this would be impossible. Boo-hoooooooo.

So here are my holiday news:

• I went to two islands. Before going to Spetses my sister suggested we go to our cousins who have a house at Chios. Chios is an island famous for its mastic, the substance that makes chewing gum. So, as you can understand, I was chewing all day. The island is very beautiful and the beaches were magnificent. We were staying at a village called Vessa, where all the houses were made of stone, unlike the people who were really kind and smiling. It was a lovely holiday... Click here to see the slideshow from Chios.

• On the 6th of August I went to Spetses, where my mom welcomed me with open arms. I have missed her house so much, and esp. the view from her veranda, where every morning we would have breakfast, greek coffee and hours of small-talk. Really relaxing.
• The two nights with the full moon were just breathtaking. I couldn't believe how close the moon was, how big it looked. When it peaked out of the beautiful houses we all screamed. That time, I wished that next year I would see this full moon with someone special ;) Not that my family is not special, but you know what I mean, hehe.Click here for the slideshow of Spetses.
  
• 
  One night as we were going home my mom we stumbled on a little kitty cat. He was very thin and dirty, all black and with two beautiful blue eyes. Immediately and with no second thoughts we picked him up and we took him home to give him milk. The next day we were told by neighbours that he was taken from his mother and that he had a brother as well. The same night we found his brother. His brother is a gorgeous ginger cat with the same beautiful blue eyes. We took him in too. Then, after not much thought, my mother decided to keep them! As you remember, her cat died in the winter, so that made her feel really happy again. She called the ginger cat Aris and I called the black one Zikos (Zee-kos). They are two little mischievious adorable creatures.

That's Zikos on the left and Aris below right. Aris was wounded when we found him, but we have heeled him now and he is very healthy!

So that's it basically. I have been away from blogland for quite sometime, but I will visit your blogs as soon as I can. I have so many things to do and so many others that should be done, but in the first instance I will pop round and say hi to you all.

xoxoxo
M