Helping Create Success
At Kozmo, time seemed to have stopped. It is a haven in the heart of Budapest where you can disconnect and unwind after a long day.
Personalized service and a great cuisine will make your stay a wonderful experience in a world rich in details in a warm and friendly environment.
I love the basketball lifestyle, especially since it allows me to travel and visit new places. Sometimes, these places I would never have thought of going. Now I can tell you about a place where little Gnomes rule. Do you feel like making the visit with me?
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “
Let’s enjoy this magical experience of getting to know this wonderful city in the southern part of Poland. I tell you my dear readers, what a pleasant surprise Wroclaw has been!
City with many different architectural styles, an old part of town, new neighborhoods and places where time has stopped completely.
It’s a perfect place to spend a great weekend with family, or a nice getaway for couples.
It’s impossible to walk around and not feel moved by your surroundings. You might browse through many streets in this polish city, where there are as many as 180 bronze statues of Gnomes. These little creatures “rule” the city and it is one of the main attractions. If you want to make a collage of selfie photos with all of them, you might need a lot of space on your SIM card.
This beautiful city offers opportunities for adventurous types, like myself. River Oder cuts through the city and gives it the powerful image along with many bridges the cross quite imposant body of water. There are 12 islands that the river created within the borders of the city, and there are as many as 100 bridges that make Wroclaw known as Venice of The East. Where, of course, you can find another collection of Gnomes.
I highly recommend to use some comfortable shoes to go around because you can walk some serious distances, depending how active you want to be.
Wroclaw (Breslavia) (Wrocław) Ciudad en Polonia
If you are interested in architecture, you should visit Rynek square that should please you well. The more you walk, the more you get to see and the more you will love it. You will see renaissance and gothic facades of the buildings, some of them well kept, some of them, well, not so much. To my surprise, there was a lot more to see even outside of the city center, where you can usually find most of the sights to see.
And then, there is the gastronomy. Another positive thing about walking is to create appetite and there are plenty of places to conquer your hunger. You can literally find any type of restaurant with a variety of quality, just like pretty much any big city. Meaning, you can eat like a kind and you can also go low cost with pretty good quality food. Your choice!
I have heard great stories about club life and being able to go out literally all night, all the way to the morning. Unfortunately, we live in a pandemic and all the clubs are closed, but it is something that would really make me come back and experience it.
Maybe a visit as a couple will be in order once things get to normal. I can’t wait to be able to sit outside, drinking my beer or glass of wine, and feel the great scenery of the city.
I already know that I will be coming back soon enough, and anyone, who is in Germany or Czech Republic, should definitely consider visiting Wroclaw. You will not regret it!
When you have a career like Lubos it’s hard to know from where to start, but like always we will start from his early beginnings.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “
We could see it in his eyes. The end was near and the spark of life, that our dog possessed all his life simply was not there anymore. Those days, when Maximus would be jumping around just to greet us by the door or energetically chasing his toys to get our attention, were long gone.
It is funny how we become accustomed to simple things, take them for granted over the time and at the end we realize its great value when we lose it, or when we are about to lose it.
I think something like this happened to our family when our Maxi got diagnosed with a genetical heart condition this spring. It came as a very unpleasant surprise, if I say it mildly, that our healthy-looking Coton could depart from our lives very soon.
Maxi recovered quickly after being treated in Barcelona emergency for pets and sent home along with prescription for heavy medication. A reality check for all of us followed: our dear four-legged family member would spend rest of his days getting drugs. We knew that his time here with us was approaching to its end, we just did not know how long it would be.
Max would not even skip a beat and kept being the same dog as always. His playful demeanor kept us in good spirits and he never made us feel that there is something wrong with his heart. Medically speaking of course.
It is an irony that someone with such a big heart would die because of it.
Maximus was there when both of our children were born, he greeted them and, in many ways, he felt like he was supposed to protect them. He always showed affection toward them, and in this last stage of his life, he would cuddle against them more often.
I suppose that he felt a need to show his love more often, and I am sure that he got it from us in return as well.
Trip to the emergency for the third time within past 12 months was not a good sign. We were preparing ourselves for the possibility that it could be the last one. Once we got there, and received the hard news about his bad condition, we had to make the toughest decision that I pet owner must make: to let your friend go, to stop his suffering, to put him to sleep. We all knew that it was the right decision but somehow it did not feel any less painful.
We were blessed with a great doctor who dealt with the situation with an exceptionally good manner. She was practical but at the same time, she understood that we stood in front a very delicate decision, a sad one too. When we left the room, and hugged our Maxi for the last time, we waited for five minutes for the final ordeal to take place.
When she came out, our eyes were all wet and puffy. And then she told us something so warm, that we really did not expect:
“I have seen many dogs in my career, and I can tell when a dog has had a good life or did not. I am certain that Maximus gave you a lot of great memories and that he lived a good life. He is in peace now.”
We left the clinic in tears. Her warms last words were nice but obviously not enough. We spent our ten-minute drive home in silence. Deep in thoughts, reminiscing, remembering and mostly just feeling sad.
And then there was still one more thing that we had to do. We had to explain to our kids that Maximus was ill and that he died in the hospital. With foresight, we prepared them for that possibility on many prior occasions.
We all deal with death differently, and one must be careful when you explain it to the young children.
Their idea of death can be sometimes downplayed or exaggerated.
So, we tried to explain in minimal detail the whole ordeal and kept repeating all the positive things that have happened, and what was good for Maxi.
By doing that, we started to remember all the great stories. Suddenly, we talked about life more than about death, we smiled more than we cried.
I think that Maxi would be incredibly happy to see us there together, wiggling his tail every time his name would be mentioned in our conversation. He would feel our love and how much we are going to miss him.
Throughout my life I have had change come at me when I least expected it.
I am pretty good at making decisions, when something feels right for me. I am also not scared of change, when I can see the road ahead or when I believe that it will be good change.
However, like so many other people, when we don’t know what will happen, we tend to wait to create change until we have to or we hit a “pothole” on life’s journey and we have to stop and reflect on where we are going. Even when we know it is time for change, even when it hurts to stay where we are, when we long to grow emotionally, mentally, personally and professionally, even then we tend to wait.
But what are we waiting for?
Even when we long to feel better and get healthy, we tend to wait to clean up our habits, until something happens where we simply have to.
WHY TO WAIT?
Why are we so scared of challenging ourselves?
For the past 18 years of my life and changing cities, meet new culture, new people, I realizade that, people are create in kind of custuming and culture and they are fraid of changing.
What if we could look forward and wonder what we would do with change, rather than what change would do to us?
It is possible to create a life we love, but it starts with seeing change as a journey. It starts with having the courage to look inside and discover you own special, silly, beautiful, funny, clumsy, awkward, lovely self. And then there is also the dark side of ourselves, the parts we want to hide and the parts we don’t love because they are not so fluffy, or sweet, or pretty.
The thing is, nothing about being human is ever perfect.
“Life is not about perfection, it is about discovery….” In my experience it has been a “trip to me”— an open door to “me” discovering my whole self.
You learn that self-nourishment extends beyond eating healthy. It’s a beginning that extends to the whole self, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Changing from the inside out.
You feel the love and power that comes with the understanding that you can own your “emotional” real estate—the whole self.
When we approach big change in our lives from the inside out, it means we unearth, understand and then begin to address the thought patterns and limiting beliefs about ourselves and our world that got us here.
That’s really how and when we begin to change the behaviors that we adopted as a result of that thinking that are no longer working for us.
That’s when we begin to unlock our power and address the underlying problem and not just the outer symptoms. And that’s when we are truly able to create long-term change.
Embracing the Change From the Inside Out!!!! “SO I INVITE YOU TO JOIN ME FOR SOME CHANGE”, be the change you want to see in the world!!
By Keilley Lee Marques
When you have a career like Lubos it’s hard to know from where to start, but like always we will start from his early beginnings.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “
Sometimes, we are so keen on making plans, short term, or long term, and we don’t realize that so often, life makes plans for us. Or in other words, we are just reacting to the situations that we are thrown into.
Right now, I am in the middle of adjustment to our “new home” that is surprisingly not located with the borders of the United States, as we planned. Instead, I am in Brno, Czech Republic, trying to figure so many different things, regarding my kids, school, getting settled and thousands of other things to be taken care of. Luckily, I am equipped with the basics of the language (for those who know little bit about the local tongue, IT AIN’T NO JOKE), so this transition is not as hard as it could be.
My husband took an opportunity to come to Brno to be part of the new project, to stay active during this difficult period of time. Covid 19 pandemic has been hard on virtually everyone, and like I mentioned before, it has rearranged plans for many.
So, I am here, at the outskirts of second biggest city in Czech Republic, looking at the field of sunflowers that are almost all dead. School just started, and our kids are thrown into a brand-new environment, almost new language. New everything. But they are great, they do not sweat it as much as we adults would.
They are young, they adopt. They look at the bright side, and maybe we should take a note, and behave like them.
I feel truly fortunate that my husband has a job, we live in a safe place and pretty much everything is taken care of. Not everyone can say that. I am sure that Brno offers more things to do, and it is not going to be only about basketball this season. I am excited to get to know this part of Czech Republic, Moravia, the land of local wines. Let’s go!
Sometimes, we are so keen on making plans, short term, or long term, and we don’t realize that so often, life makes plans for us. Or in other words, we are just reacting to the situations that we are thrown into.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “
Right now, I am in the middle of adjustment to our “new home” that is surprisingly not located with the borders of the United States, as we planned. Instead, I am in Brno, Czech Republic, trying to figure so many different things, regarding my kids, school, getting settled and thousands of other things to be taken care of. Luckily, I am equipped with the basics of the language (for those who know little bit about the local tongue, IT AIN’T NO JOKE), so this transition is not as hard as it could be.
My husband took an opportunity to come to Brno to be part of the new project, to stay active during this difficult period of time. Covid 19 pandemic has been hard on virtually everyone, and like I mentioned before, it has rearranged plans for many.
So, I am here, at the outskirts of second biggest city in Czech Republic, looking at the field of sunflowers that are almost all dead. School just started, and our kids are thrown into a brand-new environment,
almost new language. New everything. But they are great, they do not sweat it as much as we adults would.
They are young, they adopt. They look at the bright side, and maybe we should take a note, and behave like them.
I feel truly fortunate that my husband has a job, we live in a safe place and pretty much everything is taken care of. Not everyone can say that. I am sure that Brno offers more things to do, and it is not going to be only about basketball this season. I am excited to get to know this part of Czech Republic, Moravia, the land of local wines. Let’s go!
Acai bowls are like a smoothie in a bowl with toppings. Some people go to 16 Handles and load up with froyo and toppings, others go to Pure Green and get a healthier but equally tasty acai bowl. They’re similar concepts — both are refreshing frozen treats. Acai bowls get their name from their base, which is usually a combination of frozen acai, banana, some sort of liquid like coconut water or almond milk, and sometimes other fruits or nut butters. These ingredients all get blended together like they would in a smoothie, and the frosty deliciousness is then poured into a bowl, ready to be topped.
The toppings are where things get really interesting. You can pretty much top an acai bowl with whatever strikes your fancy: granola, peanut butter, toasted coconut chips, chia seeds, sliced fruits, and the list goes on. Possibilities are endless!
Yes, you’ve seen it all over Instagram and on menus in smoothie shops and juice bars far and wide. Do you even know what acai is though? What makes acai so beloved? Is it really that healthy? Is it a superfood? Don’t worry, acai does live up to the hype.
The acai berry is most famous for its insane amount of antioxidants. In fact, acai has 10 times more antioxidants than blueberries– pretty crazy, huh? People love antioxidants because they fight all the nasty free radicals that get into our system on a daily basis. So with every bite of your acai bowl, you busting up all the damage pollution and toxins have wreaked on your system over time.
Acai is also super high in vitamin C, making it great for your skin and your immune system. You can skip juicing your oranges and grapefruits when you’ve got that acai bowl lined up for lunch.
One of the most celebrated benefits of the acai berry is its superb level of antioxidants. Seriously, this little purple berry is so jampacked with antioxidants it’s practically an edible wrinkle cream. Antioxidants are compounds that fight free radicals in the body and help prevent cell damage. Free radicals are dangerous compounds that can attach and bind themselves to normal cells, thus damaging them. They are often caused by harmful external sources, like smoking, toxins, and pollution. When we ingest foods bursting with antioxidants — like the acai berry — their antioxidants are released through digestion and travel through the bloodstream and into our cells.
Acai berries actually boast more antioxidants than blueberries or strawberries and ten times more antioxidants than red grapes. They are extremely high in anthocyanin (antioxidant compounds like resveratrol and ferulic acid), which helps lower cholesterol and fight those nasty free radicals. Acai berries are so powerful that they actually contain more anthocyanin than red wine, 10 to 30 times more in fact. One the best acai benefits is its antiaging properties. Because the acai berry is full of antioxidants, it’s very beneficial to skin care and wrinkle prevention by slowing and sometimes even reversing aging caused by oxidative damage.
The acai berry is super high in Vitamin C, which we all know is the best flu fighter around. Is your cubicle mate constantly coughing and sniffling?
Are you taking the train to work with thousands of germ infested commuters? Skip the glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and go for an acai bowl instead. Stop reaching for the airborne; acai is the new immune booster to beat. Acai berries may even fight cancer. A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that acai’s polyphenolic compounds reduced cancer cell proliferation by 56-86%.
They believe that the acai’s potent phytochemicals penetrated cells on a molecular level, halting the spread of cancer by killing off the tumorous cells before they could multiply.
Are you feeling the dread of bikini season fastly approaching? Feeling less than stellar about your weight? Are you hitting the gym every day and still not seeing the number on the scale drop? Then your favorite acai benefit might be its abilities to aid weight
Are you taking the train to work with thousands of germ infested commuters? Skip the glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and go for an acai bowl instead. Stop reaching for the airborne; acai is the new immune booster to beat. Acai berries may even fight cancer. A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that acai’s polyphenolic compounds reduced cancer cell proliferation by 56-86%.
They believe that the acai’s potent phytochemicals penetrated cells on a molecular level, halting the spread of cancer by killing off the tumorous cells before they could multiply.
So, at the end of all this, are acai bowls good for weight loss? Yes! Just follow Casa do acai. Watch the sugar content of your bowl, make sure you include a good amount of protein, and don’t over serve yourself! Make them at home by yourself or head to your local Casa do Acai and pick one up today!
I know it seems like there will be no party for the New Year´s Eve this years!
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “
In the next few paragraphs, I would like to share a piece of my life story. Some aspects of my life that not many people know but those things formed me as a person, the kind of adventurous and entrepreneurial woman that does not stop dreaming. What is the origin of my love for travel, my desire to discover new things, and try to learn new languages. Some dreams were shattered along the way, but the new ones arose from my way of living, and my way of wanting something more out of life. That is, maybe, the part of Keilley, that I would like to share with you now.
My mother was the source of my love for traveling! My parents split up when I was about two years old and I don’t have any real memories of my father, maybe only that he traveled for work often, and one day, well, he simply didn’t return. He worked as a promoter/producer of forro band, a type of music well known in the northern part of Brazil. He worked with big names in the industry at that time, and he became a well-known producer.
My mother was a gospel singer in Bahia. Part of her job was to visit churches in different cities and towns, located in my native Bahia. We started to move around when I was about three years old and we visited many churches.
My older sister also took on singing gospel and I took the opportunity to preach. I like to talk about God with people already at that young age. I remember many occasions when I could talk with someone about God, and their eyes would get misty, maybe because my words were coming from my heart, and were not polluted by adult thinking. So we kept on traveling, meeting more people and getting to know more places.
My mother was always on lookout for a better job, better conditions for her three kids (yes, I have a younger brother as well), and to allow them to get the best education possible.
My mother was a gospel singer in Bahia. Part of her job was to visit churches in different cities and towns, located in my native Bahia. We started to move around when I was about three years old and we visited many churches.
My older sister also took on singing gospel and I took the opportunity to preach. I like to talk about God with people already at that young age. I remember many occasions when I could talk with someone about God, and their eyes would get misty, maybe because my words were coming from my heart, and were not poluted by adult thinking. So we kept on traveling, meeting more people and getting to know more places.
My mother was always on lookout for a better job, better conditions for her three kids (yes, I have a younger brother as well), and to allow them to get the best education possible.
Modeling was around me, since my sister worked in the industry and won several beauty contests in Brazil, and it affected me in my early years.
I wanted to follow her footsteps, learn how to walk, dress, and all the other things.
My body wasn’t built to walk on catwalks, and my large breasts were not taken as a great asset in the industry.
My development started early, as soon as when I was ten years old, my chest started to form and didn’t stop growing until I was well in high school. It is not easy for a teenage girl to have her dreams crushed because of her big breasts. It was not only about modeling. Children at school often teased me about it, giving me a hard time, for something that I should be proud of from the very beginning. But at that time, it felt a little bit more as a curse, since it made my dreams impossible.
Around that time, volleyball came to my life, and made me forget about the modeling. Something that served me as an escape, soon became my love.
I put all my energy into becoming as good of a player as I could have possibly be. I felt the passion for the game, and my rapid growth only kept on motivating me more. Soon enough, I could also see pleasant results on my body, which was a great “side effect” of practicing hard every day.
Playing volleyball completely changed my perspective on life and by the age of 14, I ended up totally falling in love with the sport. Soon enough, my younger brother would join me, and we practiced together quite often. The routine of practicing and everything that was around it, made me feel great, and my taste of exercising was cultivated in me since that age. I started to play volleyball professionally, taking the sport more seriously. I went to Curitiba to get to another level. In that city were one of the best teams in the country, more opportunities to develop and get exposure. I did many tryouts and my experience grew rapidly. I got to meet many different types of managers, coaches, and when I look back now, it really prepared me well for the future.
Some time later, I went from indoor volleyball to beach volleyball. It was a new experience, and also a new opportunity for me to travel. Even to the foreign countries.
The emotion was immense. I couldn’t believe that something that I loved so much could open more doors from me.
When an opportunity to play in Europe professionally came by, I didn’t hesitate. When I crossed the Atlantic, and I landed in the Charles de Gaul airport in Paris, I felt an urge of thought, maybe a feeling, that I would never return to Brazil. That Europe would be my new home. It is a sensation hard to explain, and in my native language (Portuguese), we call it “a matter of skin and heart”.
I was enchanted with the old continent.
Every country, every city that I have lived in or visited, made me feel awesome and I never felt like leaving this place.
Spain would become my headquarters, since I learned the language quite easily, and it was not hard to fall in love with the climate and the local gastronomy. Looking back, all of this happened because of my passion for volleyball, and I am eternally grateful for it. It shaped me into a person that I am today!!
By Keilley Lee Marques
Building a brand has just become easy with Keilley Lee Marques. A name that is all over, describing various fields including digital and influencer marketing. If you look out for maximizing efforts for your brand strategy, ours is the name to look out for!
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