Traveling with pets ...

Hello my dear friends .... August arrived and with it vacations !!! I am back home and just enjoying the easy livin :)  We finally ( Marco my puppy and me )  survived the long trip . From Thessaloniki to Athens it was fine , as we took our work bus and were traveling together with my colleagues . But from there to Klm we had to take the public one . I don't know if you know how difficult it was to carry a pet with you . Some years ago ( not many ) they just put them into the luggage and they did not care at all . Many of the poor little souls did not survived . So , good thing is that since some time the law changed and the bus company ( which is private ) had to also change the bad habbits . They now have to have specific schedules in which pets are allowed to travel in their box . For Marco it was the first time he ever saw a box . But he was just great . 

So when we arrived at the bus station we saw another box with an puppy in it . I was very lucky as next to me there was a lovely old lady which adored dogs . She did not stop talking to Marco and telling me her story of life , sweet little lady <3 . In the middle of out trip we picked up the inspecting officer and both puppies barked once . Like wuff and that's it . He started yelling that one dog has to go to the back side .... but we just did not took notice of him . As he finished checking the tickets he sat next to the bus driver and that's were the party begun . The driver started talking to him very loud , telling that when he saw the two dogs he just wanted to shout out and he got just sick from them . That he now has to disinfection the bus and it is all stinky ...... I really had to focus and stay calm cause I wanted to get over there and slap him . I would have loved to tell him that he should be the one to get an disinfection as he was stinky and dirty . A few bus stops before home he started yelling that we had to use a gag and that is were I could not hold myself anymore . No one had a problem with the dogs , all passengers were so friendly but unfortunatelly he was one from the beasts left . How can he be allowed to ride this specific *with pets jorney * ??? The law forces him to take pets but they should really control the drivers . As soon as we arrived I complained about him . They told me that unfortunatelly there are people like him and I just shouldn't pay attention but I do . And I will get things further .....  Anyways ... now we are in Paradise City , enjoying our vacations and the beautiful greek Summer with much food and relaxing hours at the beach .

Sadova beach 

Sadova beach 

Greek gemista 

Freshly picked tomatoes from the garden 

Have a beautiful day and for all of you being on vacations ...enjoy it !!! Love , Hugs & XXX

about clean eating ...2

After my disappointment over losing all my pictures in here I decided to make a fresh new start !  Lately I am searching a lot about clean eating and trying to make this part of my life . Of course I have my ups and downs but that's ok , I guess .  One think that is hard for me is dairy , means milk . I love milk ! Even thou I buy the 1,5 % fat one , lately almond milk takes most of the regular intake . BUT , I don't like it as much . Everywhere I read about how yummy almond milk is ...well , maybe it is just me and I get used to it but right now I treat myself with a half and half serving . Other than that there are a lot of delicious recipes on the internet about clean eating .  My favorite was the super clean and vegan chocolate cake ! Never thought that it would be this tasty and it is so easy to prepare .

 All you need is : 250 g grounded nuts ( hazelnuts , almonds - whatever suits you )  250 g dates or figs  70 g unsweetened cocoa powder  and  1/4 water  Put the dates or figs with water into the blender , mix till it becomes like a paste . Meanwhile mix the nuts with the cocoa powder in a bowl , insert the fig or dates paste , stir well . Put it into a tin and into the fridge .  You can eat it right away but I like it cold . Anyway , I like to try out new dishes and  of course having my cheat meals :) Here are some of my "clean" dishes  Quinoa Salad 

 Fresh spinach with quinoa 

 Oatmeal with cinnamon and frozen raspberries

 Dried fruit snack 

 Lettuce salad with soya beans and chicken 

My morning smoothie with rasberries , banana , apple , strawberries and spinach 

Any tips , recipes , infos are very welcome !!!! I hope you all have a beautiful day  as always  Love , hugs  & XXX

..all pictures lost..

Hello my dear friends ,  just a short note to tell that I've lost all pictures on my Blog . $#@ Blogger and Google should fix this asap . I wanted to hide my pictures from the Google+ - Picasa Album and thats what happened . All my pictures are lost . So pls be careful that something like this never happens to you . I am very mad but there is nothing I can do . 
Have a nice day everyone 
Love - Hugs  & XXX

about clean eating and crochet ... :)

Hello my dear friends <3  It's been too much time since I last bloged .... I just realized   But work / exams / seminars keeps me very busy with almost no access to the internet that is why I instagram more often . So go ahead and follow me on instagramm @juliasblog :)  Well , summer is already here and I try to do something for a healthy toned body . As I already told you I try to do some walks / workouts ( not enough this past month ) and eat as clean as I can . We bought the Smoothie 2go Blender from Kenwood and it is the best !!!! Every morning I am preparing my smoothie . I am obsessed with apple/banana/strawberry/rasberry and spinach . It keeps me full till lunch ! Also a lot of herbal teas , in the morning pu erh tea and through the day cold fruit with mint teas . They are so delicious and energizing. Last week I made my favorite snack which is dried apple slices . I can't find them here in Greece and waiting fror my Mom sending them from Germany takes too much time . They were yummie BUT ...it takes a loooong time to dry them out . I put them into the oven at 50 degrees for about 6 hours ! Next time I will hang them onto a string for a couple of days . 
Fav smoothie , dried apple slices , favorite teas 

walking and some fitness 

marco got a haircut 

what I see during my walks ... no filters 

My new passion and stress control is crochet . It is so relaxing and you can make beautiful things . My first project was this T-Shirt . I sew the lace on the back and cut the fabric out . 

Second project and I am very proud of .... my vest ! What do you think ???

I hope you all have a beautiful day ....full of Sunshine - Love & Happiness Hugs & XXX

This and That and That and This .....

Hello there my dear friends <3 First of all look at this beautiful rose from my moms garden !!! So fresh and precious and shows me that yeah spring has arrived ! Everywhere blossom , colors and life . It is my favorite time of the year and I can't get enough of it . I am busy as always and the days are running fast . So do I , as I am walking my way through time . My goal now is walking about 10 km a day . I feel better and better every day . I am walking in the mornings for about 45 min with Leslie Sansone and take long outdoor walks in the evening . A few days ago I bought some new walking shoes and I am in love with them ! They are so much 80's and the color is wowwww !!!! What do you think of them ????

As I am back home for Easter vacations I can't get enough of the beach , walking along with my mom , chatting about this and that . My parents will be going back to germany after Easter and we try to spend as much time together as we can . Still after this many years of coming and going the separation is hard every time ! 

And here is the Love of my Life !!! Marco ! He is a poodle toy , 6 monthss old and the cutest creature ever ! He can take away every stress , bad mood and sadness . See for yourself .....

Well , that's for now ! Have a great day everyone and as always  loads of  Love - hugs & XXX

1. week of the 30 days walking challenge !!!

Hello my dear friends ♥ I finished my first week of the 30 day challenge " walking with Leslie Sansone " and I feel great ! Today is my rest day and I can't believe that I already miss my walking . On Monday I decided to download her "Walk it off in 30 days" program from the Walk TV on her store . This program is based on 6 days a week . Mo , We & Fr you should do the 30 min burn workout . It's 30 min of brisk walking with warm up , cool down + streches . Leslie is wearing hand weights and so do I . I started with 1 pound on each hand and in a few days I am going up to 2 pounds. On Tue , Thu and Sat you go for the strength training with weights . It is called firm 30 . The workout starts with a brisk walk to warm up for about 5 min and goes straight to weights . 10-12 min are standing exercises and after that you continue on the floor . I use for this workout 4 pounds for each hand . The firm section made my leg muscles sore for about 4 days . I could hardly sit on a chair or get up but as I said I really wasn't into sports . How do I feel after a week ? Full of energy , I already feel some parts of my body toned and stronger then ever !  For any of you interested in this workout here is the link from her Website and where you can download it . As I live in Greece there is no way to go out and buy one of her Cd's and waiting times from Amazon were far too long .

This week my FitBit Pedometer counted 32 miles of walking , isn't that great ? Have a lovely Sunday everyone Hugs , Love & XXX

30 days Challenge , walking with Leslie Sansone

Hello my friends , again it's been a while..... scary how fast time passes away !!! My Blog entry today is for all of you thinking about getting from a couch potato ( ME) to a more healthy and fit person . Since a few weeks I find out about Leslie Sansone . I started walking 1 mile a day ( just of curiosity ) and I never really thought that it would be so much fun and motivating . After a few days I tried the 2 mile walk and since a few days I do the walk away the pounds 3 miles with some weights for the upper body . I really see some tiny changes on my body but what really matters is that I do feel great , I have so much more strength and energy and I can't skip a day because I need to walk !!!  That's why I started a challenge on Fitbit . The group is called 30 days Challenge , walking with Leslie Sansone . Feel free to join , it would be great to encourage each other and talking about our progress ! The Challenge is starting tomorrow ! Hope to see some readers there ! Have a beautiful Sunday everyone . Love , Hugs  & XXX