Time to make my return to the world of writing

If you have been wondering where I suddenly disappeared to after posting my last piece, then wonder no more. I´d like to reassure my readers, some of whom have kindly been leaving me messages during my rather lengthy departure, that I´m still alive and that, more importantly, I´m back. This time for the long haul.

That said, I feel it´s only fitting that I fill all you lovely readers in on what I´ve been up to the past few months. I smile to myself as I type the words “few months”, realising that next month marks my year long absence. Once the dedicated little blogger, accustomed to posting once, maybe twice a week, I became quite disloyal to my followers, I hope you do forgive me.

Right, time to get the ball rolling and answer that big burning question: why has my absence been so lengthy? I won´t bore you with all the details, just introduce you to the wonderful new journey I have found myself on.

I moved
As you might remember, if you can cast your minds back to almost a year ago, I was living and working in Córdoba. An idyllic city that managed to steal my heart from the very moment I stepped foot on it´s narrow, little streets and, if I´m honest, still hasn´t given it back to me!

Well, brace yourselves. I know this will be hard to believe, considering how much I raved about Córdoba, but I no longer live in the dreamy city I grew to call my home. I made a tough decision in May of last year. After a rather gruelling period of weighing the pros and the cons of living in Córdoba. I did it, I made the decision. I decided to move nearer to my family in the Valencian region. After a difficult year I decided that being near my loved ones would be the best move for me, even if it meant leaving a part of me behind.

So I did it; packed up my things, handed in my notice and started applying for jobs. Such a daunting experience. I had become so comfortable in my surroundings, both in work and my social life, that the sheer thought of change terrified me. However, I stayed strong, did what had to be done and, guess what, I´m still here to tell the tale!

Some very wise people, who these people are I will never know, have said that a change is as good as a holiday. And, while it hasn´t all been a bed of roses, I´m inclined to agree with them. Change brings up so many experiences and emotions that you never knew you could have, and they´re not always positive.

Having made a huge move before, when I left my beautiful home country to come to Spain, I thought that I had it down. I naively thought that all it involved was moving my mass of possessions from one part of the country to the other. Oh, how foolish of me.

Instead of being filled with hope and anticipation, like I had experienced in my last move, I was filled with a mixture of fear, uncertainty and apprehension. I was leaving behind a life that I absolutely loved and diving into the unknown without the ability to swim-terrifying. However, this time I knew that, unlike the last time, I had my loved ones around me to mop up the puddles of tears and kick my ass into gear when it needed to be.

That said, I´ve finally started to raise my head above the water again. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a mere three months, I´m settled. The puddles of tears have dissipated, the fear has subsided, the uncertainty – gone. In its place, thank god, lies a new love, going by the name of Murcia, and a new found hope and happiness. At last, I´ve come out the other side and, you know what, it might even be better than the life I have left behind.

So, that´s it. That´s all I have to offer you as an introduction to what comes next.

You may be wondering, what exactly have I achieved since my last post, apart from bettering the economy with the amount of tissues I needed to mop up the tears. Well, that´s easy: happiness, peace and hope.

I left behind a city I loved, friends who supported me through the toughest time in my life, a job I loved and security but I´ve gained so much since. I´ve gained a new found love for yoga, a passion for photography that I always knew was there but never gave myself the time to pursue, a wonderful new job and a bunch of great colleagues to go along with it, love and support from my family, some new friends, new activities and adventures and lots of visits and Skype chats with my friends.

Córdoba will always have a strong hold on my heart. The beauty of the city, the amazing adventures I had and the fantastic friends I made and miss terribly. However, now I´m ready to let go of my feelings for it ever so slightly to make room for the new adventures I´m about to embark on.

Where does that leave my blog? Well, I´m excited to be back writing again. It´s amazing how much you miss writing when you have to take a break from it. I´m filled with a new found enthusiasm for my blog again. I also have a lot of exciting adventures coming up which I can´t wait to share with you all. So, for now, to give myself a chance to get back into the swing of things, learn how to write again and all that jazz, I will only be posting once a week.

Welcome to Murcia

I want to thank you for your continued support and understanding during my absence. I look forward to sharing my journey with you and to reading about yours.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you in my next post.

Giana xoxo

Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal

After a long hot summer the last two weeks in Córdoba were a welcome break for some, I say for some as I´m pretty sure I didn´t appriciate it as much as the natives! For two weeks straight we have experienced Cordoba´s equalivent of stormy season: lots of thunder storms and heavy rain.

As much as I love listening to the sound of the rain beating off my window when I´m all tucked up in my nice warm bed with my hot water bottle, and believe me I do love it, I was glad to wake up this morning to a nice sunny day.

I think what I love the most about heavy rain is it´s ability to completely change the atmosphere. The change from the high summer temperatures to the lower winter temperatures is never an easy change, in fact it can be rather shocking to the system. However, throw in two weeks of stormy weather and, while unpleasant at the time, it makes it so much easier. The air seems fresher, cleaner and lighter than before, granted it´s colder but there is something really nice about the cool crisp air.

So; with the rain comes change: a renewal of the atmosphere and the temperatures. To capture this renewal I have decided to share some photos of Córdoba after the rain! My way to celebrate it´s departure and welcome the new season. I hope you enjoy!

Here are some other posts on this weeks challenge; be sure to check them out:

East of Malaga

What´s (in) the picture

s1ngal

The Accidental Kansan

Eat, travel, photograph

Create A Beautiful Life

Le Drake Noir

To see what other bloggers have come up with for this weeks challenge click here.

What did you think of this weeks theme? Did you have fun with it?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo

 

 

 

Time to face reality: I only have time for one post a week!

Image taken from google images, click here to be brought to the page.
I feel so blessed, as I´ve said numerous times before, that I have met so many nice and caring people through the blogging world. I´ve been missing for a while as I´m struggling to find a balance this work year between work, new courses I´m doing to improve my career, writing blogs and finding time for my family and for me. It´s times like this that I really wish there were more hours in a day but I have to learn that I´m only human and can only do so much, take a leaf from my own book, one day at a time, and learn to stop trying to achieve everything. Who knows maybe then, when I stop putting so much pressure on myself, I might actually achieve what I want to achieve!

I guess what I´m trying to say is I´m not telling myself that I´m going to write three posts a week anymore because what ends up happening is: I don´t get time to write three, end up feeling guilty and therefore end up not writing anything. So; I´m reducing my goal. I going to write one post a week as a minimum and if I get time I will write more. I think it might actually work out better for me, if I don´t have yet another deadline to meet then I might actually be more productive! We´ll see!

Thank you to everyone for being so patient with me and understanding that sometimes, no matter how much we love doing things, we just don´t have the time for our hobbies.

I´m starting out on a good note today, I came down with a bad cough and sore throat on friday which forced me to take a day off yesterday and do absolutely nothing. It´s funny how our bodies let us know when we´ve had enough even when we don´t realise it for ourselves. Anyway, today I feel all the better for it, I feel rested and ready to write. So I plan to make the most of this new-found energy and write a few posts, The first one, being this one, to explain my new approach to this blog, the second one being the weekly photo challenge as it seems to tie into my new start and the third one, one which is long overdue, an awards one to thank and acknowledge those of you who constantly support me, even when I don´t always have the same dedication as the rest of you; no matter how hard I try!

Okay, enough rambling, and time to get on with my writing but first a spot of lunch with some friends! I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday, wherever you are, and that it´s a relaxing one!

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

Another great photo challenge this week, what a great way to get back into the swing of things again! I´m glad to say that the stresses and strains of the last few weeks have finally subsided and I finally have time to breath again and actually do what I love: blog!

Thank you everyone for your patience, I will be posting three times a week starting from today. Not as frequent as before, I know, but have less time at the moment! Looking forward to getting back into it now and also to catching up on all the posts I have missed!

So without further delay here is my humble attempt at this weeks photo challenge. I hope you enjoy!

We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think when the mind is pure. Joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. 563 BC – 483 BC Buddha.

So that´s it from me for today, next post will be up on Tuesday. Hope you´re having a fantastic Sunday!

To see what other bloggers have come up with for this weeks challenge click here.

What did you think of this weeks theme? Did you have fun with it?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo