August - zdaj gre pa čisto zares!

The Final Four...

So it begins - the final countdown to the big day. Contrary to the name "A BridalBlog" I decided that today was my turn to go first and write something. And going through this website, I realised that 1 August was a day when truly great things have happened. (the arrival of the first slaves to the USA, the discovery of oxygen, the birth of Herman Melville, the birth of Yves Saint-Laurent, the last diary entry of Anne Frank, etc.). 

And today is a big day for us, because it is giving us the chance to learn a vital lesson about patience and perseverance. What happened was our car broke down and is now being repaired by Kristina's uncle. Hopefully, the surgery will go well and we'll be back to cruising around the country in our little Peugeot. :) Nostalgia aside, that car was our main means of transport and being left without it throws a serious spanner in our getting-around-and-doing-things works. But rather than giving in and whining about it, we try to make the best of a bad situation and look on the bright side of life.

Our bright side of life :)

But why consider this important in our preparations for marriage?

Life's a piece of shit

When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

source

OK, maybe the lyrics are a bit harsh and life isn't a piece of shit (at least not for all of us all the time). But the point is: life has its ups and a bunch of downs. And Kristina and I have decided to celebrate the ups and get back up after the downs together, with today, 1 August, giving us the perfect opportunity to put that theory into practice. Especially since we're going to have a busy weekend (come listen to us sing this Sunday at the church of St. Nicholas in Bizovik) and a car would have come in very handy.

Aljaž  - wishing for a hitchhiker's guide


Dan, ko se vse obrne na pozitivno stran

Tako, avto je popravljen, hvala stric Matic :)
Ko misliš, da gre čisto vse narobe, pomaga, da človek malo zadiha in pogleda na težave iz različnih perspektiv.

Z Aljažem sva ravno prišla s Koroške in že zaplanirala dneve do nedelje, ko naj bi se vračala tja. Zelo na hitro sem se zmenila za prvi plesni termin s sosedo (petek ob 14.00), za katerega je v kolobociji z ostalimi obveznostmi in odvisnostjo od avtomobila kazalo, da bo propadel. Žal bi zelo težko v najin urnik spravila kak drug termin, ki bi bil sprejemljivo zgoden pred samo poroko, a kot kaže, se vse vedno uredi v najboljše dobro!

Plesna učiteljica Valentina Pšag je oseba, ki mi je v zadnjih treh letih najbolj blizu, pa se kar nekajkrat zgodi, da pravzaprav ne moreva v miru poklepetati, čeprav sva sosedi. Zelo sem vesela, ker sem si dovolila zadihat in ne preveč skrbeti za avto in ostalo (kazalo je zelo slabo, vendar se je k sreči dalo hitro popraviti). Ko sem tako vsa v skrbeh klepetala z Valentino, me je še posebej v dobro voljo spravil klic duhovnika, ki naju bo poročil. Jože Kastelic, za katerega sva v času spoznavanja ugotovila, da je SKUPEN dobrotnik obeh najinih družin, je bil prav takrat na Koroškem (verjetno na ogledu in kakem sestanku glede same poroke, ker sva si ga "izposodila" od drugod). Rekel je, da moli za naju in mislim, da je to tisto, kar je zares pomagalo. 

Tako sva včeraj popoldan preživela najbolj čudovite ure učenja plesa! Po večernem skoku v Ljubljano na pevsko vajo sva dobila nazaj popravljen avtomobil in presenetljivo prijeten dan zaključila v družbi sosedov, ki so naredili hišni piknik. HVALA za take ljudi in HVALA za ČUDOVIT dan!

Kristina (tokrat na drugem mestu objave :))

APZ poroka - APZ Wedding

Veste kaj? Tokrat morda res zadnjič omenjava APZ, o katerem vedno znova piševa. Kar ne gre drugače. Pred kratkim sva izvedela za še eno APZ poroko, ki bo le nekaj tednov za najino, kako lepo!

Foto: Željko Stevanić

APZ poroke (ko se pač poroči prava APZ-jevka ali APZ-jevec ali celo APZ par :) ) so vedno nekaj posebnega, če ne drugače po svoji glasbeni plati. Zbor s svojo zares kvalitetno glasbo, ter seveda obrazi, ki jih ne boš nikoli v življenju pozabil, saj si z njimi delil svoja tako rekoč najlepša leta življenja ... Da ti tvoj posebni dan polepša čudovita družba, s katero si več let prepeval, švical na odru in trdo delal na vajah, spoznaval tuje dežele in ustvaril večna prijateljstva, to je res nekaj neopisljivega! 

Upam, da bodo lahko del tega začutili tudi drugi svati, ki bodo na cerkveni poroki slišali naslednji repertoar skladb:

• Poročna koračnica 
• Pozdravljena zemlje ti blagoslov (Lojze Mav) 
• Gospod, usmili se (Missa in honorem S. Josephi, J. Pogačnik) 
• Taaveti laul nr. 104 (Cyrillus Kreek) 
• Aleluja (Trošt) 
• Bogorodice devo (Rachmaninov) 
• Bogorodice devo (Schnitke) 
• Gospodi (Schnitke) 
• Poj ljubezni (Darlene Zcshech, solo skladba) 
• Otche nash (Schnitke) 
• Jagnje božje (Missa in honorem S. Josephi) 
• Beati quorum via (Stanford) 
• Ukuthula (afriška) 
• Deep river (Ringwald) 
• Aleluja (Handel) 
• An Irish blessing (Moore) 

Žal se morava opravičiti splošni publiki (svatom), ker ne bo veliko slovenskih pesmi (razen seveda zunaj kakih slovenskih ljudskih, ki pa so včasih zaradi naših čednih narečij tudi kar težko razumljive). Rada poveva, da nama je od vsega cirkusa okrog poroke in oblek in še vsega ostalega pač najbolj pomembno to, da na poroki slišiva najine izbrane pesmi in APZ Tone Tomšič Univerze v Ljubljani. Tiste res posebne skladbe bova predstavila (prevedla) kar tu na blogu. Da boste vseeno lahko vedeli za kaj gre.

Še 32 dni.

If Music Be the Food of Love

From the very beginning, the one thing Kristina and I wanted for our wedding was good music. So the decision to ask our friends at APZ Tone Tomšič to help make our big day truly special seemed natural. This was the setting where we first met in 2011, when I joined the choir and where Kristina spent a little over 6 years. The choir is very experienced in singing at weddings, so we believe that even our quite substantial wishlist (see Kristina's post above) won't be too difficult. :)

But when Kristina and I took a closer look at the church where our wedding ceremony will take place, I found that there will be more than enough room for another choir - KAPZ Mohorjan, where I sang for 7 years and was the setting where I first encountered choral singing. Being a part of that choir also made it very difficult for me to make the decision to join APZ TT, since I knew that juggling both would prove nearly impossible. But that decision came after careful consideration (not two mention the 2 years of nagging to come and join APZ from Barbara Slivnik :P ). In the end, it was probably the pragmatical side of me that prevailed. 

My calculation was that during my time in APZ Tone Tomšič I would encounter at least 100 people of my age from every conceivable professional field imaginable. The next logical assumption was that it was statistically necessary that at least one of those people would help better my life in some way. And I could not have been more right! :) But now the time has come to leave the ranks of APZ and move on to new adventures, most likely featuring my friends from KAPZ Mohorjan.

And just so you'll know what our wedding repertoire will be all about - here's a translation of the one of the songs
(thank you, Matej Velikonja, for showing me this wonderful piece :) )

Psalm 104: 1,24
Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!
O Lord my God,
Thou art very great.
O Lord, how manifold are thy works!
In wisdom hast thou made them all.
Glory be to Thee, O Lord,
Who has made all things.
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Now and evermore.
Amen.
source: http://www.gregorywbrown.com/music/psalm-104-from-taaveti-laulud-cyrillus-kreek/

Aljaž - sing for the moment

S poroko spodbujava slovensko gospodarstvo - Helping the Local Economy by Getting Married

Sledi malo daljše razmišljanje o tem, kam in zakaj dajemo svoj denar. Razložila bova tudi, kaj imava v mislih, ko rečeva, da s poroko skušava spodbujati slovensko gospodarstvo.

Včeraj zvečer sva imela z bodočim možem dolgo debato o Bogu, Palestinsko-Izraelskem vprašanju in smislu najinega skupnega življenja. Vse je bilo pomešano, razvilo pa se je iz zavedanja različnih vojn na svetu, krčenja naravnih virov in Aljaževe zgodbe o zgodovini sveta (spomnim se, kako rada sem imela zgodovino, vendar sem veliko tega enostavno pozabila ter zato z zanimanjem poslušala Aljaževo razlago).

Za najino poroko sva že v samem začetku načrtovanja rekla, da bova z nakupi skušala spodbujati vse, kar je slovensko. Odziv prijateljev je bil tudi ta, da sva si torej izbrala drago poroko! Kar malo me jezi to prepričanje. Kako je možno ter v čem je smisel, da je slovenski proizvod pogosto dražji od izdelka iz tujine? Si lahko midva SLOVENSKO vseeno privoščiva? Bova sploh dobila to, kar si želiva?

Veliko razmišljam ...

Nekaj tednov nazaj sem od Vesne Vuk Godina slišala, da je vsak nakup politično dejanje. Takoj sem se strinjala z njo, mislim pa, da sem šele včeraj zvečer dojela, kaj to v resnici pomeni. Aljaž se je v svoji razlagi dotaknil tudi dejstev, da svetovne korporacije, ki jih na tem mestu (še) ne želim imenovati, izkoriščajo NAŠ SKUPEN svet in za tem stoji en sam cilj: PRODAJA – IMETI VEČ! Morda se vse skupaj pomeša še z željo po oblasti, vendar tudi tu zadaj je verjetno skrita zgolj težnja po tem, da ima nekdo več kot vsi drugi in te težnje pravzaprav ne razumem (mi jo lahko kdo razloži, lepo prosim). Mislim, da opisana težnja v določenem človeku – posamezniku nastane zgolj takrat, ko ni zmožen omembe vredne čustvene inteligence. Verjetno se mu to zgodi zaradi napačne vzgoje, življenjskih travm, ki jih ni uspel predelati, ali pa (najbolj pogosto) splošne brezbrižnosti, zgovarjanja, da sam ne more ničesar spremeniti (in zato še naprej kupuje samo tisto, kar je najceneje, in se ne udeležuje volitev). Joj, kako smo zemljani postali skrbeči le za lastno rit!

Kaj ostane pri prizadevanju imeti več kot drugi (lačni afriški otroci, onesnažen zrak, izsekan gozd, vojna opustošenost) človeštvu očitno sploh ni pomembno. Načeloma ima Slovenija kar se tega tiče še srečo. Ker je majhna, ni tako tržno zanimiva. Pa vendar se že čutijo tudi prizadevanja, da bi naše vodno bogastvo privatizirali, torej prodali NAŠO pitno vodo! Verjetno tistemu, ki bi zanjo dal več denarja. Dragi Slovenci, se zavedate tega?

Sprašujem se, ali je Slovenija ena redkih držav, kjer obstaja trend kupovanja lokalnih proizvodov in zakaj. Kako močan je ta trend? Zakaj še vedno zahajamo (žal tudi jaz) v trgovine, kjer kupujemo tuje (tudi prehrambene) proizvode (v akciji!), ter s tem pod vprašaj postavljamo lastno zdravje, kmetijstvo in gospodarstvo? Ali lahko z zavedanjem, da je v Sloveniji MOŽNO ustvariti blaginjo njenih prebivalcev, to dejansko tudi izpeljemo?

Danes zjutraj sem se zbudila sama od sebe nekaj minut pred sedmo uro. Budilke torej danes nisem potrebovala in koliko je še stvari, ki jih imam, pa jih pravzaprav sploh ne potrebujem. S termometrom sem si izmerila telesno temperaturo, saj se učim naravnega načrtovanja družine. Da ne bi zbudila Aljaža, sem po prstih odšla v spodnje nadstropje v kopalnico in se zavedla, da v svojih prvih minutah dneva potrebujem: stranišče, toaletni papir, milo, nekaj vode, zajtrk in nato tale računalnik in internet, če želim svoje razmišljanje deliti z vami. 

Pravzaprav pa za svoje lastno življenje ne potrebujem veliko: obleko, streho nad glavo, vrt, kjer si pridelam nekaj hrane in ljudi, ki me imajo radi.

Kaj pa potrebujete vi?


The Ultimate Question about Life, the Universe, and Everything (D. Adams)

Yesterday I realised that I've come to miss serious political debate, so when the chance for that came with Kristina, I felt the 2 and something hours just flew by. The evening was marked by a brief summary of the situation in the Middle East, especially the Palestine-Israeli conflict, and how, in essence, the whole affair is a fratricide. I also came to remember how much I like history and my ability to tell a story (with a willing audience, of course :) ). What I found especially gratifying was the fact that even my 11 year old brother managed to peal himself away from the TV to listen to my 20-minute tall tale. 

A pessimist might be duped into thinking that the whole world is just everybody killing everybody else. And sometimes it is. And it seems that humanity has become an expert in making up the most contrived reasons for finding new and ingenious ways to kill our fellow man. But taking a deeper look into the situation reveals that the reasons for all the mayhem are usually very "earthly", with the most common being greed. Rest assured, however, that I'm not going to lecture you on how "greed is an evil deed, and sharing is caring". People should figure that out for themselves.

Kristina and I have decided to do our best to stop multinationals from exploiting those bits of our planet that still have something to offer, and to focus on Slovenia. Right now, our home needs all the help it can get in bringing back hope to people, who often seem to have given up in light of everything that's going on. 

When we told a friend that we want our wedding to be "as Slovene as possible", his response was something along the line of "you've picked a pricey option". That may be the case, but, as Kristina has already pointed out, each purchase we make is a political act. And we chose to empower Slovenia with as many decisions as possible.

Aljaž - feeling like politics should be for everyone

Poročna torta - The Cake

Tina Ilar, ki je v zadnjem letu postala odlična samostojna slaščičarka, me je povprašala, kdaj pridem v tem blogovskem pisanju do poročne torte :)

Naj povem, da moja prijateljica peče torte za vse priložnosti, makrone, "cupcakes", piškote, pite, potice, štrudle in slano pecivo. Njene stvaritve imajo poudarek na sezonskih sestavinah nabranih na vrtu in v naravi. Če ne bi bila pot iz Ljubljane do Koroške tako dolga, bi z veseljem svojo torto naročila pri njej, tako pa bo morda priložnost le za nekaj suhega peciva. Naročilo za torto sem namreč že oddala.

Slaščičarka Tina Ilar: najljubša torta Hansa Moserja,
Cvetličarna Flamingo Lea Ilar s.p.: vrtnica

Okrog tega nimam prav veliko povedati, ker ne vem, kam sem "pospravila" zapisane dogovore okrog torte, najbrž je nekje doma v Ljubljani. Prihajajoči teden je zadnji čas, da spraviva vse skupaj na kup in dorečeva nerešene zadeve ...

Po priporočilu prijateljev, ki sta se poročila na Koroškem, sva se odločila za torto lokalnega ponudnika. Na kmetiji Medved imajo registrirano dopolnilno dejavnost na kmetiji in sicer C10.710 - Proizvodnja kruha, svežega peciva in slaščic (zanimivo mi je zadevo zapisati s šifro, ker trenutno malo raziskujem tudi področje dopolnilnih dejavnosti na koroških kmetijah).

Petra N. Pšeničnik je večkrat priznana ustvarjalka tort in peciva, zato praktično nisva imela drugih ponudnikov v mislih. Pri obisku na kmetiji, kjer sva z Aljažem oddala naročilo za torto, je možno preko fotografij in modelov videti, kako bi torta lahko izgledala. Aljaž si je zaželel neko ekstra stojalo za torto, vendar meni ni bilo všeč. Ker je bilo čutiti nekaj slabe volje, sem želela slišati in povedati argumente za in proti. 

Mogoče je bilo za tisti dan preveč vsega (če se prav spomnim smo na isti dan v prisotnosti njegovih in moje sestre rezervirali tudi gostišče in dorekli meni večerje ...), zato sva raje naročila kar neko klasično trinadstropno torto kvadratne oblike (brez posebnega stojala). Spodnji rob vsakega nadstropja torte v beli barvi bo (verjetno) okrašen s temnozelenim trakom, vrh torte pa bosta krasili dve sončnici. 

Okusi torte? Kolikor vem bodo borovnice (po koroško so to ČRNICE), čokolada in še nekaj, kar imam nekje zapisano.

Toliko za enkrat. Objavo bova dopolnila s sliko torte na poročni dan :)

One square meal a day...

They say that cake is the most important meal of the day. Well, maybe not everyday, but on 30 August that will certainly hold true for me. :) As mentioned by Kristina, the full details of our wedding cake have gone AWOL, but we do now that the cake will be a square, triple-tiered, chocolate, blueberry, and mysterious flavor masterpiece made by Petra Navodnik Pšeničnik.

But enough about the cake. A thought has been going through my mind these past several days about the importance of alone time in a relationship. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with Kristina, but there can come situations when we've both had "too much of a good thing". One of the occasions which demonstrated this phenomenon was exactly the day, when we were picking out our wedding cake. That day had been filled with wedding-planning activities, the cake appearing last on the day's menu. So when it came time to talk about it, I've maybe had just a little bit too much of everything and just wanted to unwind. The lack of that possibility most likely caused a short circuit between us. That's when I realised that "me" time will be essential in our relationship (goes for both of us).

So, although I did miss her, it wasn't too bad the past two days, when she went to Ljubljana on some errands, while I stayed in Koroška, healing a bee sting to the the foot, which caused massive swelling. I guess running around barefoot isn't without its perils. Being alone gave me the time to think, to be at my most effective in terms of work, and to have another one in a series of honest heart-to-hearts with myself. The situation called for it, and I've discovered that I'm right on track with my life. :)

Aljaž - having my cake and eating it soon

Cerkev sv. Petra na Kronski gori - St Peter's atop Kronska Gora

Odločitev za cerkveno poroko nama je bila obema logična, saj sva oba verna in poroka pred Bogom in ljudmi je za naju smisel celotnega cirkusa. Vse ostalo je celofan in v zadnjih dneh, ko računava stroške in skrbiva za prihodke, si to večkrat ponoviva. 

Cerkvena poroka naj bi bila po nenapisanem pravilu v župniji neveste. Ker sem se od doma selila že pred nekaj leti, ne čutim nobene posebne potrebe, da bi bilo to v domači cerkvi v Bizoviku. V Bizoviku nikoli nisem zares želela živeti. Zame je to enostavno preveč (in hkrati premalo) mestno okolje. Vedno sem si predstavljala, da bo moja poroka nekje v naravi. V mislih imam tudi zelo konkretno cerkvico sv. Petra na Vrhu nad Želimljami, kjer me je Aljaž v začetku letošnjega leta presenetil z zaročnim prstanom.

Kmalu sva oba vedela, da najina poroka ne bo na Vrhu nad Želimljami in na koncu tudi to, da ne bo v Ljubljani, ker sva si želela skromno civilno poroko in razkošno cerkev, kjer bova lahko pri samem obredu prisluhnila najinim prijateljem iz zbora APZ Tone Tomšič, v katerem sva se spoznala. Takega pevskega zbora pač ne spraviš v vsako slovensko kapelico :)

Sočasno z odločanjem o primerni cerkvi je rasla tudi skupna želja, da po poroki zaživiva na Koroškem in tako sva se odločila za Cerkev sv. Petra na Kronski gori, ki jo že kar redno obiskujeva pri nedeljski sveti maši. 

Izbrana cerkev je na poti med Slovenj Gradcem in Dravogradom pomembna orientacijska točka Mislinjske doline. 

"Že od daleč jo uzremo, vso samozavestno, z dvema zvonikoma, ki štrlita proti nebu in se ponosno razgledujeta na starodavni Št. Janž ter Otiški vrh pod seboj. Cesta, ki se pri Št. Janžu odcepi k sv. Petru, nas pripelje prav do cerkve. Na 856 metrov nadmorske višine je enkratna razgledna točka. Prav gotovo je tudi ta razgled vplival na graditelje, da so se odločili postaviti cerkev na tem kraju." (citiran zapis: Franci Petrič)

Isti avtor je zapisal tudi ljudsko zgodbo o nastanku cerkve: "Na Kronski gori so bili v davnini pašniki, kjer so se pasle ovce. Pastirji so opazili, da so se vedno zbirale na vrhu. Čeprav so jih razganjali, so jih vedno znova našli na istem mestu. To so si začeli razlagati kot znamenje, da naj na tem kraju pozidajo cerkev. Cerkveni predstojniki pa niso bili temu nič kaj naklonjeni. Prišla je posebna komisija iz Ljubljane in odločila: "Tu cerkve nikoli ne bo!" Ko so se zvečer vračali na konjih nazaj, pri Taumbirtu v Št. Janžu konji niso hoteli naprej. Ustavili so se in obrnili nazaj proti Kronski gori. To je bilo tudi za nasprotnike zidave znamenje, da morajo na vrhu postaviti cerkev."

Cerkev je zgrajena v baročnem slogu, po predvidevanjih naj bi jo načrtoval Janez Fuchs iz Maribora (avtor razkošnega stopnišča v mariborskega gradu). Njena velikost priča o tem, da je bila glede na majhen kraj oziroma župnijo verjetno načrtovana kot romarska cerkev. Ker je cerkev zelo velika ima celo dva kora, enega nad drugim. Petje zborovskega repertoarja, ki ga bova objavila do konca tega tedna (dirigent APZ Sebastjan Vrhovnik ga dodeluje v nekaj malenkostih), bo tako res nekaj veličastnega. 

Pravi koncert! Vabljeni :) 

Where do I begin?

After a few days residing in our future flat, it was time to go into detail about the location of our wedding. You guessed it: it's the pretty red church in the picture! :) All kidding aside, the church of St Peter is HUGE!, especially when you look at the fact that there aren't many people living nearby. So Kristina's argument that it was originally intended as a pilgrim church makes a lot of sense. 

The church is an impressive landmark and is even more striking when viewed from up close. I won't go into detail about its construction, suffice it to say that it seats enough people, it has to balconies, an almost new organ, and is big enough to house a marching band if Easter should surprise us with rain. :) It's a place with great acoustics, and that's one of the reasons we chose it, since the music during our ceremony was one of the prerequisites for our wedding in the first place. It was our wish from the very beginning to have good music accompany us into wedlock, so an well-sounding church with enough room for about 40-50 singers was a must. At this point I would like to thank the singers of APZ Tone Tomšič and KAPZ Mohorjan, and the conductor Sebastjan Vrhovnik, for their willingness to make our special day that more special.

But I've also spent a lot of time thinking about our plans and goals for the (distant) future, especially when it comes to business. The wedding isn't going to finance itself, and considering the problems that come from money (or lack thereof), Kristina and I have to frequently remind ourselves that the really important bits of 30 August really don't cost that much (if anything at all). But I've come to realize something in the past few days: making money is an ongoing effort, and just like anything else in life, the more you do it, the better you get at it. And now I'm currently in the process of coming up with a winning money-making idea while looking for the right tutorship and building my very own dream team. So if you fit the bill, you know where to find me. :)

Aljaž - a finishing beginner

P.S.: I'm sorry I didn't include any photos or youtube links this time, it's just that nothing popped up. My bad.

Koroška! - Carinthia!

Pa sva že spet tu, na Koroškem, kjer se bo 30. avgusta dogajala tudi najina ceremonija! :)

Nisem se še "znucala" :)

Danes sva začela urejati najino skupno gnezdece na naslovu Aljaževe družine. Predvsem imam željo po čiščenju in urejanju omar, malo pa tudi načrtujeva za naprej. Že pred časom sva se namreč po tehtnem razmisleku (SWOT analiza glede na pričakovane realne možnosti lepo prosim!) odločila za skupno življenje na Koroškem (trenutno s pomočjo njegovih staršev v samostojni hiši z vrtom med Slovenj Gradcem in Dravogradom). Po poroki si bova uredila stanovanje v zgornjem nadstropju hiše (manjka najina kopalnica in kuhinja, ki sta pogoj za preselitev), kjer živijo vsi njegovi, torej tudi moja bodoča tašča :) ... Da ne bo kakšne pomote, Aljaževa mami je prekrasna oseba. Nekako sva si sorodni duši, prav tako pa mi je in mi bo (skupaj z možem) še pomagala pri moji poslovni poti in prav veselim se tega. Vseeno pa si z Aljažem želiva, da bo to kratkoročna rešitev za najino bodočo družino (želja je, da sva tu 3 do 5 let, potem pa NA SVOJE!). Saj poznate tisti rek, da tašča ne sme v copatih na obisk - za dobro vseh sostanovalcev. Kaj pa vem, verjetno drži.

Po poroki bova načeloma še ostala nekaj časa v bližini Ljubljane, kjer imava najeto skromno garsonjero. "Biti na dveh stolčkih" me sicer zelo nervira, saj včasih ne vem, kje sem zares doma. Vedno kaj pozabim vzeti s seboj in nikoli ni nič pospravljeno. Pot do Ljubljane (kamor me veže predvsem nedokončana magistrska naloga, posel in glasbena šola, pa seveda stik z mojo družino in prijatelji) je sicer dolga, vendar predstavlja tudi svojo prednost, saj se pogosto ravno na poti na Koroško ali proti Ljubljani z Aljažem pogovarjava najbolj pomembne stvari :)

Koroška me je očarala kmalu po tem, ko sem bila z Aljažem prvič pri njemu na obisku. Božič 2013 sem praznovala v krogu njegove družine in začela na raznih družinskih praznovanjih spoznavati tudi njegovo ogromno žlahto, tako da osebno potrjujem: tukaj vam ne more biti nikoli dolgčas. Preden se je med nama z Aljažem karkoli začelo tega konca Slovenije nisem poznala (čeprav je bil moj solo Music for a While v izvedbi APZ Tone Tomšič prvič na odru prav na Prevaljah :) ), ko pa sem bila tam, sem začela prepoznavati njene potenciale, ki nikakor niso majhni.

Sproti vam bom povedala še kaj več o Koroški, potem pa vas povabim na izlet :)

Ko sem že v elementu za "pucanje", pridem še kam?


A Fresh Start

After a few days in Ljubljana it was time to go back to my home region of Carinthia (no, we didn't go to Austria, just check this link). After avoiding it for a couple of days, it was time for me to keep my end of the bargain and writ my section of this blog. Which I'm doing now. Obviously. :)

It was a quite difficult decision, but in the end, Kristina and I decided to ultimately move to Carinthia after getting married. But let's not get carried away: there's still much to do before that can be accomplished. First and foremost: we both need to formally finish school (we'll do our utmost to make that happen by the end of this year). Then the time will come to sort out our "love nest". Our first domicile will be located on the top floor of my parents' house, but we plan to move out on our own in 3-5 years. 

But enough about our house (ta-dam... in the middle of our street... :) ). It's time to talk business. Kristina and I have recently joined a small group of would-be regional entrepreneurs in the hopes of moving the stalemate that has Carinthia's youth at a standstill. A vast majority of people chose to stay in Ljubljana or Maribor after graduating, or even leave the country all together (brain drain). That is why we were glad to take part at the round table discussion on building an efficient and modern 4-lane highway to the region, organised by one of the local youth groups. The debate highlighted some key hiccups still plaguing the issue. 

Let that be enough for today, I think I've spent my creativity already. You are cordially invited to pay us a visit sometime. Carinthia is not difficult to find, just don't get too caught up on all the potholes. :)

Aljaž - moving from house to the same house

Vzeti si čas - Taking the Time

Hej!

Malo sva zaostala, vsak dan pač ni časa za pisanje. Tudi danes delovni dan raztegujeva v večer, saj si želiva, da bi bilo najino delo kar se da uspešno. Dopoldan sva sestankovala in imela kasneje tudi pomemben poročni opravek (za kaj gre, bo povedal Aljaž), dobila pa sva tudi motivacijo, da delava naprej, čeprav nama včasih ni jasno, kako se bo vse skupaj izšlo. Kakšen dan nama gre obema zelo dobro, včasih pa morava drug drugemu malo bolj pomagati, da izpolniva dnevne in širše zastavljene cilje.

Še vedno imam občutek, da delam preko celega dneva in prav vsak dan, a za premalo efekta. Pogosto pred spanjem v glavi premlevam, kaj vse bi bilo še dobro narediti. Verjetno je tako pri vsakemu podjetniku začetniku. Podjetništvo je sicer res zanimiva, a hkrati tudi zahtevna izkušnja, pa sem vseeno vesela, da sem se že sedaj odločila za to pot. Po dobrem mesecu dni mojega podjetništva pravzaprav vidim, da komaj pokrivam stroške, a po svoje je tudi pozitivna ničla uspeh, kajne? Pravi uspeh zame osebno pa je to, da sem si preteklo nedeljo uspela vzeti čas za odklop. Bilo je naravnost fantastično!


Aljaž je bil pobudnik, da se v krogu njegove družine odpravimo na Uršljo goro. Zdi se mi, da sem že dolgo potrebovala tak podvig. Da s svojim telesom dosežeš nek cilj, je to najlažje zares začutiti, če greš v hribe. Pot navzgor ni bila preveč zahtevna. Ravno prav. Vreme se je kar držalo, ker pa ni bilo napovedano, da bo sončno, tudi ni bilo veliko drugih pohodnikov. Na poti sem se dobro nadihala in opazovala vse okrog sebe ter razmišljala, kako lepa je naša narava. Malo pred vrhom je bilo v travi veliko materine dušice. Spet se je v meni prebudila strast do nabiranja zelišč. Tudi fotografirala sem kar veliko. Ker sem bila na Uršlji gori prvič, sem bila deležna tepeža (in obljube da bo na Triglavu huje), po katerem sem po slovensko zavriskala v dolino!


Pot navzdol je bila bolj naporna, noge so se mi ves čas tresle. Z Aljažem sva premlevala, kako bi redno športno aktivnost vključila v svoj življenjski ritem, zraven sva tudi popevala. Prišla sva na idejo, da bi svojo poroko prijavila na katero od oblik množičnega financiranja na primer Kickstarter. Seveda je to ena od malo manj realnih možnosti financiranja, vendar pa: zakaj pa ne?


Ain't no Mountain High Enough

Following a few days sans writing, it's time to get back to our blog. I've missed it, to be honest. Still, these past days were memorable to say the least.:) 

First, there were the football World Cup final and third place matches, and congratulations to Germany on their fourth title. Well deserved, in my opinion. But to avoid being a mere spectator when it comes to sports, it was time to introduce Kristina too one of the finest pleasures my home region of Koroška has to offer: hiking. Thus, Sunday was marked by a family excursion to Uršlja gora Mountain, one of the most noticeable landmarks in the region. The mountain is 1699 meters high (5,574 feet for all you imperialists:) ) and features a radio  and TV transmission tower at the top, which can be seen from very far away. At the top of the mountain, the hiker is surprised by a church, the church of St. Ursula, which gave the mountain its name and is the highest situated church in Slovenia. And before anyone starts accusing me of brutality based on the photo in this blog: I dare not go against tradition and fail to baptize anyone reaching the top of Uršlja gora for the first time. :)  The hike also sparked our debate on how to incorporate physical activity into our daily routine. 

Monday brought back preparations for our wedding, starting with footwear. We managed to get a great deal on two pairs of PEKO shoes, which follow our philosophy of supporting Slovenian brands and Slovenia's economy. Then came my big moment: selecting a wedding suit. With the help of a very capable employee at the SENS store in Ljubljana, I managed to pick out what I believe to be my perfect suit (or maybe it picked me?). Anyway, today I got the correct trousers to go with the jacket, and now, lacking just the waistcoat and tie (or preferably cravat), I'm all set to get hitched and look great doing it. :)

As is customary with our (almost) daily routine, we had the debate of how to finance the rest of our wedding. And after reading news about the now infamous potato salad on Kickstarter, I had a similar idea. If crowdfunding is willing to support such a zany idea, surely people will be willing to support us on our start of a common path? To be honest, the idea might turn out to be a flop, but you never know, stranger things have happened in the past...

Aljaž - always a good sport