Miss Euro Blogger - Bursting the Bubble

So far, 2017 has been a mixed bag in many ways. There has been the good: a wonderful marriage, a beautiful home, opening my own language service business, fulfilling friendships and the ability to continue following my passion of writing. Since I mentioned a mixed bag, here's the bad: three different allergies, a thyroid lump and significant food intolerances that severely impact my quality of life - and the pocketbook. All of this has led to a rollercoaster of emotions that I have a hard time controlling and masking around others. On a particularly sad day, my health issues make me lethargic and make me feel like I'm missing out on 'life', my husband asked me what would make me happy. I know that professional fulfillment is one of the things that make me happy but it's nothing that can be forced and I can only continue to pursue it as much as possible. I tried to remember if there was one thing, one event, one life stage that made me particularly happy. And the...

If you could spend 5 minutes with someone who is dead, who would you choose? I would chose my dog Jake. We only spent four years together because he was already 10 years old when I adopted him and after three years, his health  deteriorated rapidly. He crossed the rainbow bridge after being diagnosed with a brain tumor and his body functions shutting down one after the other. I was never as mentally and physically healthy as I was when I had Jake in my life. I did not have a cold or even a headache while I had him. I did not miss a day of work or university. I was fit because I had to walk him several times a day. Whenever I was stressed or sad, he cheered me up with a smile or dropping his favorite ball in my lap to play - or by simply rolling onto his back when sleeping, which always made me laugh out loud. I certainly never understood why he loved laying down on my yoga mat when I was doing my pilates exercises. Whenever I lifted my legs up to the ceiling and then back down ...