Random Saturday #15: Let's talk about horses!

Hello my dear Readers,

Welcome ones again to my Random Saturday. Hope you have all been well this week and I'm glad to see you again, and if you're visiting Random Saturdays for the first time, nice to meet you.

This R.S. I would like to talk about an animal that I love and admire with all my heart and soul - horses! I've started working full time at the Santo Horse Riding ranch, and as a result I've been meeting more and more people, who either wish to go to a trail ride, take a picture on a horse, or impress their friends or girlfriend with how good riders they are.

Worth noting, that two out of two persons, who came to us just o impress their friends/girlfriend, did not know a thing about horses, and wouldn't listen to me, when I tried to tell them that they cannot just take a horse and run, without first learning how sit straight on a walking horse! Thankfully, we didn't have any bad incidents.

So, let's talk about horses.

The first and most important thing to remember about horses, is that they are live animals, they have their own brains, which means they have their own thoughts. Each horse has its own character, and just like you and me, they have their bad days and good days (yes, it's true!). Treat horses with respect, especially if you don't want to get hurt by them!

A lot of people think that riding a horse is the easiest activity in the world. Yes, it is not really hard when you are just going for a walk, on a well trained horse, that has been desensitized to everything that can scare it, accompanied by an experiences rider. But if you want to run on a horse, and you've never done it before, don't just assume that you will do fantastically great! If you really want to run on a beautiful white horse on a beach, invest time (and money) into horse riding lessons!

Don't use the horse, as a way to impress your friends and boyfriend/girlfriend… unless of course you are a great rider and can do amazing things on and with the horse. Don't just go to ranch, asking for the wildest horse there is, to ride it freely in an open field!! Do you even realize what will happen to the owner of the ranch if you fall down and get hit real bad? And I'm not talking about a broken hand… Just… don't do it…

You should also know, that the horse does not really care how cool you believe you are. If you cannot control the horse, if you hurt the horse too much, and if you don't do what your instructor is telling you do, you will most probably, like 70-90%, fall of the horse. Wanting to impress someone by riding a wild horse without having any riding experience in the past, is like wanting to impress someone by break-dancing without knowing how to do it! In both cases, you'll just end up making a fool of yourself…

Want to impress your girlfriend or boyfriend, with something that has to do with horses? Ask him or her to start horseback riding lessons together! After all, it is not bad admitting that you don't know how to do something…

I guess that has been bottling up…

Never go behind the horses hind legs, especially if you don't know the horse. All horses kick, some of them on purpose, because they don't trust people, some of them because a nasty fly has been bugging them, and you were standing too close to the back leg that was trying to get rid of the fly at the wrong moment.

Horses used for tourist rides, don't mind being pet… they might not enjoy it as much as we (want to) believe, but they don't mind it. Don't start pulling on the horses ears, nose, main though…. they will mind and will show it in a painful way.

Horses love treats, so if you plan visiting a ranch or horse riding center, you can bring an apple or a carrot with you. Before giving the horse a treat thought, ask its owner if he/she doesn't mind you doing so.

Horses feel everything!! I mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Sometimes they know better what you feel, that yourself! I don't mean feelings like love, passion, hunger, but feelings that fear, insecurity, anger. You might be able to hide your panic from your trainer, but you will never hide it from the horse you are riding. Better inform you trainer that you don't feel really comfortable on the horse, so he or she could help you overcome that fear, before the horse bucks you of.

Horses are amazing, smart and beautiful animals. Be gentle with a horse, and it will reward you with all its trust. J

That's I felt I wanted to share with you about horses!

As always, thank you very much for reading! I wish you all the best!

And the song of the week will be:

Random Saturday #14

Random Saturday #14: The Random Saturday that unexpectedly came on Sunday!

Hello my dear Readers.

How have you been?

I did not forget to post the Random Saturday #14 yesterday. I got it ready, almost ready to upload, just to realize I have no internet. Taking internet connection from the phone didn't do the trick, so I postponed the R.S. 14 for today.

I also had another topic in mind for R.S.14, but today I got a sudden inspiration to write a short story. I used to love to write, and still write stories from time to time, but this will the first one the world will see. Enjoy J

The Girl and the Horse she never owned

There once lived a girl who fell in love with a horse she never owned. They met by accident, or by fate, and a strong friendship between them begun. They spent each morning together. The girl would come to the stable, say good morning to the horse, share her morning apple with the horse. She would groom the horse, while telling her news. She would ride the horse, where the horse would teach her to be patient, respectful and understand without words.

The girl didn't have a home she could call her own. She didn't have many human friends, didn't have any fancy clothes or habits. She didn't care about loud companies, flirting with boys or trying to find a husband and built a family. The girl didn't dream to become rich and powerful. All the girl needed was that white horse she really loved.

The girl shared with the horse her deepest secrets, her happy moments and her regrets. She would confess to the horse what she was really afraid of. When she didn't want to spend time with the humans, she would hide in the horse's stable and read her book, or just look at the beautiful white horse. The horse didn't mind having the girl around. Although the horse didn't understand much from what the girl would say, the horse was kind enough to make the girl feel like she had the best listener to talk to. The horse always let the girl cry on her shoulder, and never told anyone that the girl cried.

And while the girl's and the horse's bond grew stronger, the girl and the horse got separated. As unexpected as their meeting was, their separation was expected even less. The girl could not see the horse anymore. The girl could not groom the horse anymore, nor ride the horse. She didn't have her friend to tell her secrets, or a shoulder to cry on. The girl was devastated…

But there was nothing she could do, as she never owned the horse…

The girl decided not to love again someone that wasn't her. The girl decided to forget about horses all together. She got married, then she got divorced. She moved far away and got a good job. She would buy beautiful clothes and drink cocktails at a bar. She would laugh at stupid jokes and take selfies with her friends. But nothing filled the void.

She never could forget the horse completely. At nights, she would lay in her bed, in the dark, and think about the beautiful white horse. She would wonder if her friend would remember her, if they would ever met again. Would the horse still let her share all her secrets? Would the horse want to hear all the stories the girl had to tell?

So the girl decided to wait, the girl decided to hope, that one day she would be reunited with the horse, and she would once again have her best friend by her side. She went back to working with horses, and found some new good friends. She would tell to the other horse about her beautiful white horse she never owned.

When those really sad days would come, the girl would look through the pictures of her beloved white horse, and dream of the moment she would be able to see her again. That thought made her smile and she did.

The end.

That's all J

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a great beginning of the week.  

Random Saturday #13

Random Saturday 13: Everything happens for a reason…?

Hello my dear Readers.

A love salad from Katerina from Secret Cafe! 

Hope all of you are well and everything is going good in your life. As you are reading this, I'm having a small vacation in Athens. Decided to fly there for 3 days, to see my family before the summer season begins.

This past week was a great week for me. I've been spending my days at the Santo Horse Riding's ranch in Akrotiri, interacting with the horses, sitting in the sun, reading my book, and contemplating on life. The horse that I'm currently training is having some great progress, which makes me incredibly happy, and I've had the opportunity to make some really interesting thoughts about life.

I've been thinking mostly about those small incidents in life, that can greatly influence ones future. Isn't it amazing, how meeting one person in your life, a person that you might not even see more than a couple times more after your first meeting, can change your whole life?

I've been thinking about my own life. I met a person seven years ago, let's call him mr. D., that made me come back to Greece (I lived in Moscow at the time of the meeting). By coincidence, that person had a friend who knew my childhood horse riding trainer. I started going horse riding again, after I met up with the trainer, which resulted in me getting my first horse riding students.

Because of Mr. D., I followed my then dream and studied sound-engineering, where I met ex-husband. Because of him I came to Santorini, as he didn't have a job at the time, and I was willing to let my horse related dreams on the side, just to be with him. In Santorini, again by coincidence, I got a wedding planning job. A couple years later here I am, trying to make my own wedding and event planning company.

Furthermore, my ex husband worked for a short period at a hotel, who's owner had a horse, and had it at the first horse riding facility in Santorini. From there I met my current colleague in Santo Horse Riding, who later introduced me to the person I'm working for at the moment, and the guy I'm happily dating at the moment.

All those completely unrelated meetings and events, ended up in me having a great progress with my life dreams and goals! If you just think for a moment, that if seven years ago, I decided to ignore mr.D when I first met him, I wouldn't be having my own wedding planning company, nor I would go back to horse riding and now have the job of my dreams.

No wonder there is a saying that everything happens for a reason.

Why am I writing all this, you may ask? Simply because I want to prove a point. No matter how hard times may seen, or if you feel that you are at a "dead end" point in your life, you should always remember, that this is not the end of the road, and that whatever you gain at that particular period of your life, can influence your future for the very best.

Life gives you opportunities all the time, sometimes they just lay there for everyone to see, sometimes they hide behind really stressful and unpleasant situations. Still, they are there for you. A simple decision, like going for a walk instead of staying at home, can end up in you meeting the right person or getting the best idea for a better future! Don't miss out on opportunities, just because you think (although you might feel the opposite), that they will be a waste of time. They might end up being the breakthrough in your life!

No matter how bad a situation ion life may be, you should always take it as a lesson. However bad it might seem, it will be part of your life experience and can prove to be of great help in the future. Try to stay positive and keep an open eye for any life lessons there for you. Life lessons, that will help you succeed in the future.

I guess, what I want to say is, don't focus on the bad times but think about what good can come out of it ;) 

This is all I have to say this Random Saturday. Be happy and don't miss the little opportunities life gives us!

Thank you very much for reading! I wish you a wonderful weekend!

The song of the week: 

Random Saturday #12 || Random Saturday #14

Random Saturday #12: To Speak and to Listen!

Hello my dear readers!

I'm terribly sorry for being absent for the past two Random Saturdays, but at some point I ended up having 3 jobs, only one of which paid me some money (in case you wonder, it was the bakery, the horse riding, and Cardoon… with the bakery giving barely enough money to sustain myself), and I just didn't have any willpower to force myself spend a couple more hours at the computer, instead of falling asleep.

The good news are - I quit the bakery job, for various different reasons, one of which is not being able to pay enough attention to my sweet Cardoon Events' blogs. Then I took a week to relax after everything I had to endure at that amazing job, and now I'm back on track!

While being at the job, and from some other various incidents of my life, I've started thinking how important it is to speak and to listen. It is not a coincidence, that this particular phrase is present at the ready wedding vows that are used here in Santorini.

Why I believe speaking, or in other words letting people know what is going on in your head, and listen to what others have to say to is so important? Because we have a mouth, two ears, and an evolved brain!!

Everyone is different, everyone has his or her own reaction to life situations! For example, if someone brakes a glass, one can cry, other can laugh, some might swear and some might ignore it and just clean the mess. We all have our own triggers, and when we are not letting the people around us know about our triggers, bad situations might occur. To give an example, again, I have a weird attachment to my coffee cup, whether that be at my house, at the office, or anywhere else I might drink coffee frequently. So if I choose to have a certain cup for my coffee, it will make me feel uncomfortable for someone else to take said cup for their own coffee. How I see it, I'm obliged to inform my coworkers about the coffee cup situation, to avoid any stupid conflicts in the future.

But it's not just with coffee cups and other minor peculiarities each and everyone has. When in a relationship, if something bothers you, you should tell your partner about that, rather than just lashing on him/her out of the blue, after keeping all your negative emotions bottling up. The other person might not notice that an certain action is annoying to you, and with you telling him/her that, will help solve the problem without any fights.

At your job, you should speak to your employer and coworkers about any problems and concerns regarding the job you might have. Yes, not all bosses like to hear complaints from their employees, let alone do something about then, still, if it is something, that can improve your quality of life at work, or even better your results at work, why not discuss that with your boss? Solve your problems, before they become bigger!

Speak up your mind, don't be afraid to express your feelings. The only way for others to understand you, is by speaking to them! Verbal communication in us, humans, is the key for better understanding!

As important as it is to speak, it is equally important to listen to what others have to say! Don't interrupt midsentence, don't start arguing before thinking about what the other has to say, don't ignore. Sit and listen to what the person next to you has to say to you, silently!

Sometimes all we need to do, to make someone else's life better is listen to his/her story. For example, you life partner might had a long day at work, and really, like reeeeeally needs to complain about all the bad things that happened. Let her/him speak to you. Don't make suggestions, don't tell to just get it over, don't try to avoid the conversation telling that everyone have bad days. Make a cup of tea, or even better, a cup of hot cocoa, and listen to your other half.

If you are an employer, a manager, or you are in any high position at work, listen to your employees. Just because you have power over the people you work with, does not mean that you should disregard what they have to say. Sometimes, you can get the best idea from a person least except, or solve unpleasant situations that make everyone's life difficult. And of course, if you are an employee, listen to your boss. Maybe they have to be hard on you, because the previous workers didn't pay attention to what he/she had to say, causing easily avoided problems.

Before criticizing, or plain ignoring, what the other person has to say, wait and think about it. We all think differently, that's why we don't always agree with each other. Ask for clarifications (coming back to the speaking part real sneaky) if you don't understand something, invest some time into thinking over the opposite opinion. You will be surprised when you realize that, more often than not, the only reason you disagreed in the first place, was because you just didn't try to look into the logical part of what was said, but reacted only because of emotion.

I can go on and on for a long time, so I'll stop here, hoping I've made my point.

Why am I saying all this? Because at the job at the bakery, the most problems with the boss and the stuff, happened because either someone didn't speak, or someone refused to listen. The same goes for my personal relationship. After we started talking with my boyfriend more about our feelings, and listening to what the other has to say, we've been much better and happier with each other.

That's all I have to say. I would be glad to discuss this topic further with you, so feel free to leave a comment your opinion bellow J

Thank you very much for reading! Have a great Sunday!

Ow!! Right!! The song of the week :p 

Random Saturday #11 || Random Saturday #13

Random Saturday #11: The depths of Randomness

Hello my dear Readers!

Hope everyone of you is feeling great, and getting over any difficulties life can bring with a smile and positive thinking.

I almost didn't post a Random Saturday today, as I had yet another morally challenging week. I don't really want to get into details at this point, as I prefer to leave it to a future Random Saturday, when the events of the last two days won't be as hurtful as they are at the moment. No need to worry, everything ended up just fine…

Instead of telling the amazing story of my Thursday and Friday, I decided to explain to you why I chose to name the Saturdays' blogs Random Saturdays. Well, the first reason is obviously because I

write about anything but weddings, but there is also another good reason for the "Random" in my Saturday.

My life is random in general. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way, sometimes in a funny way. I was even created randomly! My parents had an amazing night in July of 1989, never thinking about the consequences. Long story short, five months after that night they got married, four months after the marriage I was born… Their marriage didn't last long, for the record, and my life has been random ever since!

To give you an example of the randomness, I once helped a girl who was abused by her boyfriend and run away, so I let her spend the night at my house, so she didn't have to sleep outside. She went back to him of course, which wasn't really my business, until said boyfriend called me and started threatening me, because she had run away once again. Yes, I had given her my phone number, just in case, and she was stupid enough to give it to him. After the threats, I received a phone call from a police station to see a certain police officer for the missing girl case. Thankfully, I took a different road to the police station, just to realize upon arrival that there wasn't any police officer with the name given to me on the phone. I smiled, and went home. The boyfriend of that girl probably tried to trick me so he could meet me halfway to the police station and attack me… which never happened, as I decided to found my own way to the station, instead of following the instructions! Moral of the story, don't give your phone number to stupid strangers…

Another brilliant random thing that happened, was how I met my horse riding trainer from my childhood. The person I was dating at the time had a friend who played the piano in a country band. One day, the pianist told us to watch a video from a live performance that they had. To my surprise, the lead singer of the band was my childhood horse riding trainer, with whom I had lost contact for more than 7 years. This whole random event resulted in me getting into horse riding again, starting going to competitions, getting my first two horse riding students, and now working at Santo Horse riding in Santorini.

A third example of the randomness of my life has to do with my grandmothers death. She passed away in September, and on the day of her passing I had a wedding to supervise. I learned the news during the reception, but had to still have my happy face on, as I was working at the moment. This messed me up a bit, but I'm professional than emotional.

I first spoke on the phone with my aunt, then tried to reach my father, who didn't reply. Approximately 20 minutes after I tried calling my father, an unknown number called me, and because I was tired and emotionally messed up, I didn't think it could be anyone else but my father. I answered the phone and had a weird conversation with the person I thought was my father. We spoke in Russian and the conversion ended in the person getting frustrated. I didn't think much about it, as I believed that my father was just feeling sad really sad over his mother passing, and couldn't bear my weirdness that night.

A while after the strange phone call, my actual father called me. When I asked him if he had called me before, he told me that he hadn't. I mentioned that someone called me from a French number and for a reason I thought it was him, to which my dad replied that it was probably my cousin who supposedly was in France at that point. When leaving wedding to finally go home, I tried calling the strange number back, only to get a reply from a French speaking dude who yelled at me "I don't need you" in English and slamming the phone.

The next day, when I spoke with my cousin, and asked him if he had called me last night, I learned that he didn't call me, that at the moment he was in a train to England, and that he didn't even have a French cell number any more. I asked then my uncle, if he had called me from any French phone number, to which of course he replied that no, as he didn't have any French numbers, and no reason to call me from one, as he has a Greek number. Sounds logical to me.

To this day, I still wonder who was that mysterious man from France, who called me to tell me in perfect Russian that my grandmother had died. FYI, I have no other relatives in France rather than my cousin, who lived there for some years. It's random, it's creepy, it's weird.

Such events may happen to a lot of people. Some call it fate, other call it destiny, I call it randomness. My life's randomness goes so deep, that I reaches Davy Jones' locker. And because my life is filled with random events, I decided to call my Saturday blogs "Random Saturday", to share with you all this randomness.

Thank you very much for reading, and stay safe my friends!

Not to forget, here is this week's song. 

Random Saturday #10 || Random Saturday #12

Random Saturday #10: Feeling like a Marshmallow…

Hello my dear Readers,

How are you? How have you been? Is February treating you nice (you can reply in comments… don't be shy ;).

Ah… I feel terrible for not posting anything on Thursday, even though I said in the socials that I would… I really was out of ideas for the blog and was terribly tired to think of anything good. I didn't post anything on Friday either, which I mentioned in the socials as well, because I had the chance to spend some time with my beloved

boyfriend… and frankly, I wanted that more than writing a blog.

I've been tired lately, because I had to find a job until summer season would begin, which I did. I run out of funds to support myself…so now I'm temporary working at a bakery!

No, I don't bake anything. I sell everything! I also make coffee, clean, etc. etc. It is both fun and exhausting!! The plus side is that I lost some weight while working there, something I wanted to do anyway, because I'm too tired and too busy to eat anything, and because I'm standing all day. Also, I finally learned how to make coffee!! Woohoo…

It's a job for a month or two, still I kind of wish for it to end already. I cannot focus on things that I like the most, like promoting Cardoon Events, think about weddings and events, and on horses.

The fact that I don't have enough time to prepare the blog posts makes me nervous. This, combined with my efforts to train a horse I really like, and have some personal life, have sucked all the energy out of me. This is why I feel like a marshmallow… and I don't like marshmallows!

I have some really interesting articles for the future I can't wait to write, and I'm really disappointed that I don't have the time or energy, or both, to sit and work on them down. I want to write about some amazing wedding venues Santorini has, make 4 blog posts dedicated to wedding photography and two good photographers of Santorini, wedding flowers, and so much more!

I also want very much to start my research on weddings in Kefalonia. It is such a beautiful island, more people need to know about it! It has some amazing places for weddings and events, it’s a pity that it is not another cool place for a destination wedding. Kefalonia also has really good prices for weddings, like amazingly good! You could actually have there a wedding for more than a 100 persons for less than 20.000 euro!!!

Have you ever wished for the day to have 48 hours? Or to be able to leave without sleep without going insane? I know I have, and this what I wish for now. Sometimes it feels that the 24 daily hours are not enough to complete all the tasks I have set for the day. This feeling gets even stronger when you are working without any days off, which often happens in Santorini.

But, it is just temporary, and at least I know how to make all kinds of coffee now J Always look at the bright side, right?

Thank you very much for reading and I wish you a great day!

PS: I'm starting a new thing on Random Saturday, which will be the song of the week :) 

Random Saturday #9 || Random Saturday #11

Random Saturday #9: Say it with a song!!

Hello my dear Readers.

Today and at this very moment, I feel really tired and nothing interesting comes to mind for this Random Saturday. This is why I decided to make a music post, which will include 10 songs that perfectly represent my way of thinking, at least at this period of time.

1. Human - Rag n' bone man

2. The truth about love - Pink

3. Ironic - Alanis Morissette

4. Together - The Raconteurs

5.Can't Sleep Love - Pentatonix

6. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

7. I'm no superman - Lazlo Bane

8. Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin

9. Run Boy, Run - Woodkid

10. Always look at the bright side of life - Monty Python

Music has always been, and will always be a good friend of mine.

What is the song, that describes you at this point of your life? 

Thank you very much for listening J

You have my best wishes!

Random Saturday #8 || Random Saturday #9

Random Saturday 8: Animals are great!

Hello my dear Readers!

In today's Random Saturday, I would like to talk about my furry little friends!

I have two dogs. Well… one and a half, as one of the dogs is taken care of by both me and my landlord. My black, beautiful, lovely dog is Noir. I know her since she was 3 weeks old. Back then she looked more like a small bear cub than a puppy. A real cutie! When she was finally old enough, I took her home and she has been making my life brighter ever since. She's a half breed, and has an amazing and loving character. We’ve been together for almost six years now, and I couldn't feel anything but proud of that.

The second dog, named Bobo, or Bobik, or Fountoukos, is an incredibly lucky dog. I've He was abandoned in my yard on May 22nd 2015. I remember getting back from a wedding, and seeing something small running to hide under my car. I showed him to my landlord, and we both fell in love with him. I believe he couldn't have asked for a better home, two homes to be more precise. Everyone loves him, he gets yummy treats all the time, lots of hugs and attention, and is in a company of three of other dogs and a cat. He is this energetic, crazy little mate!

I also have a cat, whose name is Lion - O. Ever since I came to Santorini, he has been living the cat's dream life! He has all the privileges of an indoor cat, but he can also roam all day in the fields, hunt, climb on trees, and get in cat-fights. I'm not particularly happy about the last one, as I've already had to visit the vet for wound treatments a couple of times. Yes, he is castrated, by remains a manly man of a cat, so there is nothing I can do to stop him proving his manliness to other cats. Thankfully, he has his two bodyguards, my dogs. He's also have had a broken tail since birth, so his tail looks like a question mark, which I find cute!

This amazing trio has been a great company for me, for some time now. They keep me warm during the cold, winter nights, they keep me entertained at all times, and they never keep me inside the house for too long, which is good thing. Admittedly, they are not the best companions with whom to engage in a philosophical conversation, but they are great listeners whenever I wish to share my bad day with someone.

They have taught me patience. All those little "accidents" that might happen, really teach you to control the anger emotions. In time, instead of bursting in anger on them for breaking something, I started dealing with it with humor. It is not their fault after all, I should've know to place my things better around the house. With cats and small dogs, you learn to mind you steps. You also become more responsible, which is really helpful in life. My pets made me a much better person.

I'm truly grateful for having this amazing trio in my life! However hard a day I could be having, they always manage to cheer me up!

This is all for today. Hope you enjoyed.

Thank you very much for reading and you have my best wishes! 

Random Saturday #7

Random Saturday 7: Winter Blues...

Hello my dear Readers!

Hope you all have been well this week.

This morning was quite challenging for me, to be honest… Actually, the last month has been getting harder and harder for me. Although I feel perfectly well physically (finally), emotionally I've been having a drop, which today had one of its peaks.

It took me four hours to kick me out of bed. I didn't want to do anything, even today's Random Saturday. Eventually, I convinced myself to get out of bed, go for a run and go on with my day. Now, that I'm writing this blog I feel the urge to crawl back to bed and spend the rest of the day watching youtube videos, which of I won't do, as I like to choose work over bed to get over such times.

Yet… even though I know what is the cause for this emotional drop, it is becoming harder and harder to keep up with my daily tasks. Still, I try my best to stay positive and joke about this whole situation. Also, I started training a foal, so it could get accustomed to a halter, so it has been keeping busy and away from gloomy thoughts.  

To be completely honest, ever since I decided to open my own wedding and event planning company, I had a number panic attacks. I get doubts on the decision of starting my own busyness, I have doubts that I will be able to pull through in such critical for the world time. I guess it is a normal feeling, when taking the first steps to a professional independence, so I try not to over think it. I've invented so many ways of motivating myself to go on, that I might write a book about it one day.

Whatever the hardships might be though, I won't stop trying to make Cardoon Events one of the best wedding and event planning companies in Greece, because, as the band "Queen" says "We'll keep on fighting till the end!"

It has been only two and half months since Cardoon Events started, so it would be unfair of me to ask for great result in such a short period of time. It is amazing to know that there are couples contacting me, more and more people are reading this blog, and all the social media are slowly growing. This shows progress, and I'm really happy about it. Every new follower I get on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, fills me with the same excitement I felt as a kid when opening the presents from Santa Claus.

I guess I can start putting some more effort into Cardoon, so I won't feel like I'm procrastinating too much. Everything will turn out good, I know it, because well… I really don't have any other choice. Hehe :p

I also perfectly know that I get the "Winter Blues" around this time of the year, so it is kind of normal for me to get pessimistic! I am a sun and warmth powered person, so winter has been hard me for many years now. We have been having sunny days all week in Santorini, but it wasn't warm enough for me. This made not want to leave my warm, cozy bed, and go outside doing useful staff. I really miss the long, hot, sunny days… they are almost here… almost… here…..aaaaaaah….

On the bright side, I've been hired to work at the "SantoHorse Riding" for this summer season, and it has been a dream of mine to work with horses again, ever since I came to Santorini. If any of your wish to meet in person, you can do so there :p. And no, this won't interfere at all with my work at Cardoon Events. The owners of Santo Horse Riding know that I will be going on some wedding this year, and I will still be able to do all the planning from the stable. I'll have the best office view with the horses around me, the sun, the fresh air! This certainly makes me happy.

I'm terribly sorry that I've been whining for the second Random Saturday in a row, but since wedding planners are human beings too, we are bound to have our sad days, weeks, months. An in any case, Random Saturdays were meant to be a way of you, getting to know me better as a person, rather than just a professional. You'll just got to know the whiny side of me. J

I would like thank all of my friends, who have been on my side from the very beginning of Cardoon Events. I'd like to thank them, for keeping up with all the long faces, frowns, pessimism, panic attacks. They help me turn all that to a positive and energetic attitude towards what I'm doing. At the of the day, I always fall asleep with a smile.

I also want to thank you, my dear reader, for supporting what I'm trying to do, by reading this blogs.

I wish everyone a great evening or day, and a great week in general! 

Random Saturday 6 || Random Saturday 8

Random Saturday #6: Full Moon...Arooooo!

Hello my dear readers.

Hope all of you have been well this week, and any surprises you had were pleasant!

As you probably already know, last Saturday there was a party at Secret Café, which I of course attended! It was great! What you didn't know, is that on the same night, there was a snow storm in Santorini (!!!) which dressed all of Pyrgos in white! While driving to the party I almost forgot that I was on an island in Greece, and felt that I was in a northern country going on a winter adventure!

  

Never could I imagined, that I would be playing snowball fight in Santorini, or seeing snowmen on everybody's car. For three days, the mountain of Pyrgos, the "Profitis Ilias" where the monastery is, was white. It was magical, and here is a picture to prove it!

maaaaagical!!

 A couple of days later it felt like the last days of spring. It was sunny and warm, and nothing reminded on the annoyingly low temperatures of the weekend.

… we need to be more careful with the climate, as the weather makes no sense any more…

Also, this week we had a full moon, and I believe I almost transformed into a werewolf. No, I didn't become all furry, didn't grow a tail, and didn't run on four legs, even after the Saturday's party. I just got the nasty, angry, easily angered and easily crying werewolf spirit... ah, good times!

NO!

It was the first time the moon had an impact on my mood, and honestly I wish for it to be the last. I would go from calm to angry to crying to calm again in ten minutes! Everything was upsetting me, minor things would make go "hulk" (I didn't smash anything… not physically at least), and I would cry over a broken biscuit.

This whole phase lasted from Monday, when I realized that I didn't want to leave my house. I was getting worse and worse with every day that passed. At some point, I even started to annoy myself, so I begun to look for a logical explanation to this whole behavior. I didn't find it, of course, until yesterday Katerina told me that on Thursday there was a full moon, and I was probably influenced by it.

It made sense, I accepted the fact, I was happy that I found an explanation, and I'm finally on the road to recovery. Hooray!

If the full moon is not to blame, then the only other logical explanation is that my Anger, Fear, and Disgust were in charge of my emotion control mixer, while Sadness and Joy were trying to bring back my core memories. You know… like it happened in "Inside out" with Riley.

If you didn't understand the reference above, I will kindly ask you to see the movie within the next 48 hours. Thank you!

After this fun and unforgettable week, I want to share the following thoughts with you. If all of a sudden, your loved one or a friend goes coo coo, and if of course there is no medical condition to explain what it is happening, don't start calling him or her crazy! He or she are probably as confused as you are, he or she does not know what is happening or why suddenly all those emotions cannot be controlled, whatever methods are applied. All he or she needs is a hug, a hot cup of chocolate or tea, a blanket and a 10-season series to calm down the nerves and don't let that person leave the house. Don't try to give alcohol… it does not help at all. Be patient, be understanding, and choose your words carefully.

Personally, I'm glad this week is over, as no one followed the instructions above.  

Thank you very much for reading, and I wish everyone a great weekend. 

PS: In case you find this blog too silly... blame the moon!! :p

Random Saturday #5 || Random Saturday #7

Random Saturday #5: Don't be afraid to smile!

Hello my dear readers!

I hope everyone had a positively unforgettable new year celebration and that 2017 has been good to you so far.

Today is the name day of Giannis, which is the Greek version of the name Johnny, so I would like to wish a happy name day to all of the Johnnies in your life!

In dedication to this day Secret Café in Pyrgos is organizing a party - "Johnny's Day" ! I can't wait for it! I haven't been to a party in a while and I really need to go to one, so yes.. I feel pretty excited!

I decided to dedicate this Random Saturday to Katerina, the owner of Secret Café in Pyrgos, a really good friend of mine and an amazing person in general. I won't get into detail about her life, because well… its personal information, but I'll just say that whatever unpleasant surprises life brought her, she is still strong and smiling. She never gives up and have achieved amazing things. She is an inspiration to me.

I met Katerina when I was working across the street from the her coffee shop, at the wedding planning office. That period of time wasn't the best for me, not because of the job, but because I was already feeling that my marriage was falling apart and would soon end. I wasn't smiling a lot and didn't really feel like interacting with people. Whoever moody I was, every time I went to get my morning coffee, Katerina would greet me with her big, honest smile, which would make me smile even if I didn't feel like it. She was one of the few people I didn't mind interacting with.

We became friends this summer. To keep myself away from unnecessary stress, I thought of the "morning coffee" ritual (not a creative name, I know). Every morning, before stepping my foot into the office, I would always first go to Secret Café for my morning cup of coffee. With every day that passed, and the more we would chat, we started bonding. It didn't matter if I had a good morning or a bad morning, she would always manage to make me smile and change my attitude to a positive one, even on the day when my car broke on a crossroad…

Getting ready for "Johhny's Day"

It always amazed me, and still does, that she always stays positive and is always smiling, whatever might be going on in her life. In summer, she was working at a hotel and at Secret Café. She was working for almost 16 hours or more every day, and never ever lost her enthusiasm for life. I admire that in her, and she helped me a lot be positive myself.

Through her, I realized how important it is to have such people in your life, and how a simple smile could change your day and make it better. I wish everyone could have a Katerina in their life! I learned how to confront any troubles life can bring with a joke and a positive attitude. She always helps me with advices, listens to my problems and always cheers me up! I never left her coffee shop in a bad mood.

Katerina is the person who is never afraid to smile!

When you visit Santorini, make sure to pass by her coffee shop. Its name is Secret Café and it is located in Pyrgos, right next to the pharmacy. She makes great coffee by the way! ;)

Stay positive, don't lose your smile, and have a great Johnny's Day!!

Random Saturday #4 || Random Saturday #6

Random Saturday #3: Lock your car please... tired people are at loose!

Hello my dearest readers!

Today I woke up with an amazing mood, full of positive energy! It was raining for 3 days and today the sun finally showed its warm face. Got reason to be positive.

I was thinking yesterday about what to write today and remembered the time when I entered the wrong car. It took almost five minutes to realize that it wasn't my car. Thankfully nobody saw me…

I have an old Hundai Atos. I never lock it because honestly I don't believe anyone will think about stealing it… it's a really old car. But just to be on the safe side, I always park the car next to new, fancy cars, so that even if someone decides to steal a car from the parking lot I left my Atos, the will take preference in a newer and better car. Another important detail to know about my car, is that in summer my driver's window did not close at all. I simply couldn't roll it either up nor down, as the mechanism was broken leaving it was stuck in the middle. My passenger's window was also always left open or half open. But even if I close the window, it never closes correctly, and as a result a gap is left between the door and the window.

This information is crucial to the story, trust me.  

It was the beginning of June, a really busy period for wedding planners, as it is a popular time to get married in Santorini. I was working for 14 hours that day, and you can imagine that I was really tired when I finally could go home. I left the wedding venue at 23:30 or later, drove the office's car back where we parked it, hopped into my car, threw my bag to the passenger's seat and took a minute to relax.

It was chilly that night, for me at least, a person who manages to get cold in August in Greece. Knowing that my passenger's window would be open, my first action was to close the window. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it was already closed! I was 100% sure that I didn't close it before leaving to the wedding. I spent some seconds staring at the closed window, while my brain was trying to process the information. "Who is the kind gentleman who saw my open window and decided to close it for me" I thought. Not only this kind gentleman closed the window, but he did it perfectly, without leaving any gap between the window and the door. It wasn't an easy task, so I really appreciated his effort and thanked him.

Then I noticed a small heart hanging next to the window. "Do I have a secret admirer?" I thought smiling to myself (a "smart" thought…) "Could it be my kind boyfriend, who decided to come all the way to Pyrgos to close my window?". That thought was immediately discarded, as he was probably in Akrotiri all day, and wouldn't come all the way to Pyrgos for a window. I definitely had a secret admirer! (again… what a genius conclusion)

A sudden thought came to my subconscious, triggering the first panic attack. I reached for my window -the driver's window. It was closed as well!!! It was impossible to close it!! The window crank handle was broken! I broke it myself!! Did the kind gentleman, my secret admirer, managed to close the driver's window with his own bear hands? Who was that knight of closing strangers' windows??

As embarrassing as it might feel admitting it, the thought that it was in a strangers car didn't even closely passed through my head.

"Someone robbed me!!!" this was the second panic attack. "I knew that was going to happen eventually! Everyone probably already knows that I leave the car open, and someone took the opportunity to rob me. I'm so stupid…secret admirers and stuff… who would ever come to do such a thing for me? But what is there to rob from my car? It has absolutely nothing of value!". Those where the thoughts that passed through my mind at that exact moment.

I grabbed my phone and switched the flashlight on. I turned the light at my car mats. There weren't there. But they weren't missing also. There were mats on the floor, but not mine. My brain popped an error message at that point and refused to function. "What kind of thief would steal my own mats, and replace them with different ones? It makes no sense". I was puzzled. Something wasn't right here… (duh!)

During all summer, I always had a bag with me with clothes, as I was staying at my boyfriend's most of the nights.

Third panic attack! I turned to light the back seat. The bag wasn't there. The robber took my bag with my clothes! Why would anyone take a backpack just with clothes in it? Just… why?? Where is the logic in that?

And then… I noticed a sweatshirt that I failed to recognize. It wasn't mine.

Nothing made sense at the moment. I was baffled! Why would a thief put a great effort into closing my windows, hanging a small heart, replacing my floor mats, taking my bag with women clothes inside, and leave a male sweatshirt. What in the starts was going on?!

I switched my attention the seats! Those weren't the seats my car had in the morning! It wasn't possible for someone to change all of my seats… Suddenly, my inner idiot was pushed aside and the logic part stepped in - "This is not my car!!" … (well no s**t Sherlock!)

I took my handbag, stepped outside the car, looked across the parking lot to find my own car and make sure no one saw me, double checked that it was indeed my car, got inside and drove away.

I still feel kind off embarrassed that it took me so long to figure out the obvious, but hey… a 14 hour working day is no joke! In my defense, I wouldn't expect that there would be another daredevil (or a stupid enough person) who would leave his car unlocked!

That's all with this story. Keep your cars locked, and if you don't check your license plate before entering the car… just to avoid any misunderstandings J

I don't have a picture to share with you today, so here is a picture of my dog standing on top of my car's rooftop (he thinks he's a cat… or a goat… I haven't figures out yet).

I wish everyone of you a Merry Christmas, lots of love, health, and many - many happy moments!

Have a great day!

Random Saturday #2

Random Saturday #2 - I am not a morning person!!

Hello my dearest Cardoonistas!

You are not many (yet), but it means the world to me to know that there are people out there, who spend some of their time to read my random thoughts… and my efforts to have a serious blog. I thank you all from my heart!

On a less sentimental note, this week I had a revelation: I am not a

This is what you lose when being  at early bird! *evil laugh*

morning person! I've tried to become one, I've put so much effort into it over the years, but it was time to face the truth. I'm a creature of the night late mornings. When I quit my job at the wedding planning company I worked, and no longer had to go to the office every morning at 9 am, I promised myself that I will still be waking up early, to get some work done. I kept my promise, until I realized that my muses wake up at noon, so even if I got to work at 10, I still wasn't able to get productive.

So one morning, as I was enjoying a warm cup of coffee, I decided to embrace who I really am - a late bird. A came to peace with that. Even my blog statistics push towards that direction. When I posted my Thursday blog at noon, I did significantly worse than those posted at midnight. I officially pronounce myself a night owl.

This is actually one great perk of being an adult. I can arrange my day schedule in a way, that I will use all my creativity and my willingness to work in the most effective way. Or, to say it less poetically, I can sleep in without being accused of being a lazy butt!

On Sunday I decided to play with the boys. The boys are the nieces of my beloved boyfriend… on the day, there were four of them, and they where around the ages of 8-9 years old. We played waaaaar!!! I died a lot… mostly because they didn't follow the rules of the game, if there were any anyway. Still, it was fun!! I was running around with a plastic gum making "pshiou pshiou" noises. Just like during my childhood… I'm a serious wedding planner, I promise!!! 

Of course, I got sick after that. I guess I still need that adult which will shout at you from the window "Put on your coat or you will get sick!!!". It wasn't the best idea to run around for an hour with just a jacket on. I didn't even had my scarf on. And it has not been really warm on Santorini lately, which is not helping at all to get better. I can say I regret my Sunday decision to take my coat off.

A piece of advice to all of you adults who are still children at heart, don't take off your coats when running around remembering your younger days. Play responsibly… being sick is not fun.

Enjoying the view, while waiting for my flat tire to get fixed. 

This week is also the week of practical knowledge. I learned how to change a flat tire on a car! And I even had the chance to do it twice, as the exact next day after I got a flat tire, my friend got one to!! Amazing eh? I certainly feel excited to finally know that I won't ever get stranded in a far away location, just because I got a flat tire. Make sure that your spare tire is inflated though…

As you can see, here on Cardoon Events, we not only give advises that have to do with weddings, proposals, and other fun events, but also give advises on various topics from everyday life :p !

Stay with us for more insights of a wedding planner's everyday life.

I wish a good night to those who are ready to go to sleep, and a great day to those who are just beginning their day.

Sincerely yours,

Not your everyday wedding planner ;) 

Random Saturday #1 || Random Saturday #3