The Proposal

On the 10th of April 2011 I received...and accepted...the most important proposal of my life...Yakof asked me to marry him!!! It was all so unexpected that, looking back, sometimes I wonder if it ever happened, until I look at my gorgeous reminder - THE ring.

I had just parked my car in front of the main door, having just spent the morning at the fair Me am Chic for book signing. I called Yakof to get downstairs so we could have lunch somewhere in the sun as it was a beautiful day, and was quite pissed off when he asked me to go up, especially given the lift was not working!!

I did not see him as soon as I opened the door as his face was covered with a huge box - he announced it was our anniversary gift (oopss I did not get him anything) :)

I was overwhelmed with joy when I started opening the box and realised he had bought me a Moncici - he had remembered how much I loved the one I had when I was little. Half way through getting the monkey out I realised there was something hanging from its hand and as soon as I saw the first word "Marry" I realised what this was all about.

I turned around to see Yakof holding a small red box with THE ring...his hands were trembling and his eyes full of expectations. I could barely breathe let alone talk when suddenly I realised he was expecting my answer...which was undoubtley YES.

In our relationship marriage had never been a priority as we were content being together and sharing our lives...the only nice plus it will give us that we can call each other husband and wife, as we already felt that towards each other.

As regards to the wedding date...that's still a question mark :)

100 Women 100 Stories - A Journey Through Words

8th March 2011. Women's day celebrated it's 100th anniversary with events held in more than one hundred countries. On the day I was standing at The George Hotel in Paceville, amongst another ninety-nine women, expecting the start of the press conference which would launch my book.

It was the day which would mark the end of a special journey, an unrivaled experience which will never be erased from my mind and my heart.

Everything started on March 8, 2010 during the Women's Day Lunch organised every year by Mr. Vassallo, Chairman of CareMalta Group and CEO of Vassallo Builders. During her speech, Natalie Briffa Farrugia, CareMalta's CEO, mentioned that 2011 would be marking a centenary from the first celebrations of Women's Day. Her wish was to be able to commemorate this day with something special, like the collection of 100 stories from women who resided in CareMalta's facilities. Her eyes had a special spark, reflecting the wish for a dream to become true. She looked over in my direction and a smile curved her lips - could it be I was getting the right message here?!

Natalie was aware that I had started a journalism course and had a passion for writing and deep inside, hoped that I would catch this challenge - and I did! A couple of weeks later she asked me whether I would wish to embark in this new adventure and I accepted whole heartedly.

I started interviews in June 2010 and carried on till the end of the year. I met 100 incredible women, women who warmly welcomed me as if I was a member of their family. It was fascinating to hear their stories and an honor for me to have them sharing their lives. I was given a key that opened a door to a whole different world, completely different to what we have today, but yet so real.

These women are an inspiration - they dedicated their lives to one common cause - loving their families. They all went through very difficult times : war - famine - poverty - lack of opportunities - sickness...yet they all made it, in some way or another, never loosing themselves along the way.

Holding my book for the first time had an overwhelming feeling over me - I could not believe that I had managed to realise another one of my greatest dreams, even now I have tears running down my face when I recall it. I have to thank my CEO for trusting me with this project as well as all the women who made this book an amazing one. Needless to say, Yakof walked all the way with me, constantly encouraging me.

The press conference went smoothly, I was impressed by all the praise the book was being given. Now that it's over I feel a sense of accomplishment and yet, I do miss those women as, every time I walked out of their rooms, I felt a complete sense of peace. I learned a lot from their experiences and hope that, those who read the book, will appreciate and be inspired by them.

Feature on The Times of Malta

http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20110309/local/stories-of-ordinary-women-who-lived-extraordinary-lives

Feature on Business Weekly

http://www.maltabusinessweekly.com.mt//news.asp?newsitemid=10799

My book published!

It's becoming real...my first book will be published soon!! I still can't get a grip with the fact that it's really happening, this wonderful adventure will soon reap its fruit.

Honestly, I never dared to dream of having a book published...it surely is every writer's goal. When I started my journalism course with the London School of Journalism I did it with the aim of writing travel features. Not in a million year would I have guessed that my first feature would be on Panick Attacks and that, soon after, a book was going to follow. I am so grateful to the people who believed in my and gave me these opportunities.

The launching day of the book will be on the 8th of March 2011. 100 women have shared their stories with me and these stories will be published for the celebration of International Women's Day centenary.

I just felt the need to write this post...my next will be a detailed description of how things happened.

Change of views

It's funny sometimes how you end up taking decisions which are the complete opposite of what you had vowed yourself not to do!

This was my case when I decided, together with Yakof, to buy a house. I had gone through this ordeal some years back and the memory of the exhilaration I felt when I was free from all debts is still very fresh in my mind. I promised myself not to fall again in this trap as the feeling of living day by day, doing impulsive decisions, like going for a couple of days abroad, without worrying that you have a mortgage to pay, was priceless.

Irrespective of all this I did, once again, fall into the trap!

Well I guess in some ways I have to be proud of myself as this decision has meant that I have conquered my fears, which were turning out to be quite exhaustive. I had numerous arguments against not buying a property ranging from loss of freedom to being materialistic and so on.

All these arguments melted off when I stepped in my home. I never thought I would find the ideal place, as much as I had never thought of finding the ideal man. I should have known better, given I did find the ideal man around four years ago.

Four months down the line from that decision I still have no regrets. Mind you it's one hell of a job to juggle between decorating a house, paying the loan and all the bills and in the meantime still saving for travelling. Somehow I am managing, probably because I really want to make everything work out fine and maybe because I am a sucker for challenges. At the end of the day things really work out the way you want them to be, I do believe my will power is strong enough to make things happen.

It's quite late now, nearly one o'clock in the morning but it's now that my muse triggered after having booked my second flight for this year and having taken a look at my bank accounts!