Who wants to live forever?

The other day I was doing some shopping when I walked past a bus shelter. Over here we put ads almost everywhere, so no bus shelter is without one, two or maybe even 3 or 4 ads.

Last week they had put up a new collection and one was very prominently present. It was this Madonna for H&M one! At first I walked just past it, thinking ‘hey, that looks like Madonna for H&M!’ But then I thought ‘No hold on, that cannot be Madonna…..there is no wrinkle on her? So, I retraced my steps and went in for a closer inspection. There was no denying it, it certainly was Madonna, with no wrinkles, smudges or blemishes. Okay, when I looked really close I saw only one tiny line under one of her eyes (good that they left it there, if they had removed that too, she would have looked like a shop dummy) .
Man, how is that possible……she is 48 FGS!! Is this really what 48 looks like these days? Nah, I am not willing to believe that. This is either the work of a Photoshop-pro (can I get his number?) or a amazing plastic surgeon (no, I don’t want his number ;)), what else could it be? Kabbalah and a healthy lifestyle? I am really not sure that they can accomplish that! But there are, however other miracles coming soon! (in a pharmacy near you ;)).

Today I came across this: Live forever. - By Brendan O'Neill

“A Harley St plastic surgeon plans to sell an anti-ageing drug. But do you want to live forever, or perhaps to the ripe old age of 1,000? There was a time when beating biology to become immortal was the stuff of dreams.

Dr Jeya Prakash claims he has reversed the ageing process by injecting himself and his wife with a human growth hormone which has improved their memories and removed wrinkles. He now plans to open a clinic offering the anti-ageing treatment.

For staying young is a fantasy long indulged by navel-gazing billionaires who spend a small fortune to become cryogenically frozen upon death so that they can make a comeback in the future when medical science has moved on.

And it's the stuff of fairytales. Various mythical stories tell of a Fountain of Youth, a mystical spring that grants eternal vitality to all who drink from it.

These are pipe dreams. For most of us getting older, frailer and eventually popping our clogs are simple facts of life.

Now, however, there is a growing band of scientists and philosophers who truly believe that biological boundaries can be pushed back, allowing humans to live to 200, 300, 1,000 and maybe even longer.”

Full story here.

Honestly, I think it’s great if they really invented something that will improve people’s memory and maybe remove a few wrinkles, but do we really want to live for a 1,000 years? That is a mighty long time, isn’t it? Well, I don’t have to worry about that. According to the article, I can count my blessings when I reach the blessed age of 100. But how about you, yeah you younger people, do you want to reach your, for example, 200th birthday? (That must be one gigantic birthday cake, how else are you going to fit 200 candles on there)

Migration complete!

Well, at least for now. Not sure what to think of it all, really. Okay, changing your template is a lot easier now, but I see some differences in this template now. Oh well, it will grow on me I guess. I am not ready to pick another one…..yet!

How a village idiot had a blast and burned roughly 800 calories.

Well I went to the other two festival nights and I hate to say it, but there isn’t all that much to tell about Saturday. The revue sucked, or at least I believe it sucked! Couldn’t see or hear a thing, so who knows, it might have been great…. I don’t know!

Then there was a big band playing, but I found out that it wasn’t really my thing. Still I decided to stick around a little bit longer because I didn’t want to miss the DJ set. I wish I missed it now though. All the other acts had begun later than scheduled so they pulled the plug (literally) while the DJ’s were just getting started. No juice, no music, no party! Bummer!! But still the night wasn’t a total waste…..there was a beautiful sky to watch and I wouldn’t have spotted that if I had opted to stay at home.

Sunday was sooooo much better. I stayed home in the afternoon because then they had street entertainers, jugglers and kid stuff, which I had seen last year. Nice to watch, but not every year! The night however was superb. Slagerij van Kampen played and this is probably the most original band of Holland. You never before heard or seen drums like these. Self-willed and swinging, overwhelming and spectacular. Not everyone’s piece of cake, but I love them and I’ve seen play before in theatres. Nothing beats a drumbeat, but hey, that’s just my opinion :). They played for about 90 minutes, so most of the evening was gone after they had finished. But the night was still young and I still had a lot of energy to get rid off, so again I stayed on for another DJ set, 90’s now (all 90’s music, so wrong but at the same time sooooo familiar). I couldn’t help myself as soon as the opening beats of “Everybody Dance Now!” filled the tent I started to dance and didn’t stop for two hours. Man, I LOVE to dance, even if it is on my own. Sure people look at you (but who cares), like you crazy or something (after all, you are doing something that people just wouldn’t do), but they soon got used to the idea. I even convinced some other solo goers to dance too…..pff, at some stage we even formed a group of our own. Amazing fact of life, a lot of people feel better in a group :)

Another amazing fact of the evening, everybody can dance to 90’s music. There were elderly people doing some ballroom steps to Vanilla Ice (?! I don't know how, but they did :)), my peers were dancing in sets of two like we used to do way back when, younger people danced in groups with their purses and coats in the middle, teenagers doing their thing all separately and all over the place and of course there were kids running around with a big smile on their face. Oh and let’s not forget there were onlookers too, you recognize them when you see them. Those people (mostly guys) checking out the dancers, beer in hand and an accessional head nod from time to time! :)

I had a grand night out! And I might be known as the village idiot for the next couple of days/weeks, people sure looked and smiled at me kind of funny today, but hey, I had an amazing night and who cares what they think! Who knows, they might even be a little bit jealous ;)

Announcement: Tomorrow, I am going to mess around with my template, I want to use the new Blogger Beta stuff so..... who knows what might happen. Maybe I’ll be back later in the day or maybe, just maybe.... my blog will be lost for ever ;)

Cartoon Tuesday: PMS?

Mind, body and soul sessions (#11)

Free your body and your mind will follow ;)

Exercise is one of the best medicines in the world, and it's totally free. It has long been seen as a way to maintain physical fitness and help prevent high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and other diseases. But now evidence suggests that exercise has a positive effect on the levels of certain mood-enhancing neurotransmitters in the brain. It may also boost feel-good endorphins, release tension in muscles, reduce anxiety, boost your confidence, gives you a distraction, help you sleep better, improves your sex drive, decrease depression, make you feel better about yourself and your body and reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. In addition exercise also increases body temperature, which can make you feel more at ease and peaceful. Wow, so many changes and it gets even better. All of these changes in your mind and body can improve such symptoms as sadness, anxiety, irritability, stress, fatigue, anger, self-doubt and hopelessness.

Your body was not designed to sit all day, it was designed for other things like hunting, gathering and running. This doesn’t mean you have to start hunting now, but it does mean that your body needs to move and stretch to stay in shape and flexible. And don’t think you have to sign up at the gym either, because exercise doesn't have to be vigorous to be beneficial. Ordinary activities such as cleaning the windows, climbing the stairs, gardening and house cleaning all qualify as exercise. Some people may feel the need to work up a sweat and get red in the face to feel satisfied with their workout, go right ahead if that makes you feel better, but it's not absolutely necessary. Again...... it all comes down to what makes you feel good.

Research suggests that it may take at least 30 minutes of exercise a day for at least three to five days a week to significantly improve your feelings, but smaller amounts of time (10 – 15 minutes) will improve your mood too.
So, if you decide to give this a try*, identify what you enjoy doing. Figure out what type of exercise or activities you're most likely to do. And think about when and how you'd be most likely to follow through. For instance, would you be more likely to do some gardening in the evening or go for a jog in the pre-dawn hours? Go for a brisk walk in the woods or around your neighbourhood? Or how about this one: dancing around your living room while your favourite music is playing? What ever you do, choose a form of exercise that you enjoy and then do it for 20 minutes (or more, if you want). Oh, and don’t make this about performance, it’s all about fun! Try to fit a short routine into your schedule. Again it doesn’t have to be vigorous or a long workout, a 10 minute walk will do too. Note how you feel before you exercise, and note how you feel after. I bet you are going to feel sooooo much better :)

*If you are new to exercise or have special health considerations, be sure to consult your doctor first

Lying hips, The Beatles and some comedy

This weekend my local theatre is having a small theatre festival to kick off the new theatre season 2006/2007. They have been doing this for years now and it hasn’t always been great. At times the weather was really horrible (okay not their fault), other times they did invite actors/bands/artists who weren’t known to most of the audience, so no one showed up.

This year they have changed some things. Instead of doing everything in the open air, they have tents now (quite handy, because it has been raining for weeks) and they have really improved on the acts too, they have a great line-up….hooray!

Yesterday was opening night. At first I didn’t want to go, because all my theatre going friends had engagements elsewhere this weekend, and some things are just not as much fun when you go on your own. But during the day I developed an itch, the kind of itch you cannot scratch, so by the end of the afternoon I decided to go after all.

First off, I went to see Dutch Stand-up comedy. Okay, I admit it, it’s not as cool as American or English Stand-up, but they have been improving a lot over the years. It was a bit disappointing to find out that the only English guy wasn’t there. I had been kind of looking forward to see Adam Fields (a Londoner living in Amsterdam) again, but like I said he wasn’t there. But hey, I still had a great night and I got to see Vincent Geers, Wilko Terwijn, Kristel Zweers and Jasper Valstar, so I am not complaining :)

After the comedy, I went to one of the other tents for something completely different…..The Beatles, or to be more precise The Beatles Revival. A group of Beatles look-a-likes from Prague. It’s kind of strange to watch them, because it’s almost as if you are transported through time or something. Very strange! Of course I have never seen The Beatles live, but I’ve seen all those old TV appearances and these guys from Prague really become The Beatles when they are on stage. They have everything down perfectly, the steps, the accent, the looks, the manners…..everything. The spectators loved it! Oh and I liked it too, even though I am not a Beatles fan.

After all this it was time for some here-and-now fun. There was an after party! A DJ mixed some music together, so the end result was a mixture of ‘80’s ‘90’s and new music! Great fun! There was one downside though. I have discovered that hips can lie, or at least tell a whole different story. A 40-something (no it wasn’t me, honest! ;) lady was trying to gyrate her hips like Shakira does in the video clip, but she wasn’t very successful. For some reason her efforts resembled a gyrating broomstick. But hey, who am I to complain she was having the time of her life.

Well tonight there is a revue, a big band and some musical stuff. Let’s see if it’s just as good as last night :)

Jump around!

What is the first thing you do when you enter a hotel room? Some might check the bathroom first but I always check the bed first! It’s important to find out if the bed is hard, soft, lumpy or even downy. And as it turns out, I am not the only one who thinks that checking the bed is important. I came across this site Hotel Bed Jumping HQ and according to them the best way to test a bed is with a major jump ;) Cool pictures and videos.

Cartoon Tuesday: Size....

Mind, body and soul sessions (#10)

Go for real Happy Meals.

No, no, no, I am not talking about McDonald’s Happy Meals here. I am talking about food that will make you feel good and happier.

We live in a fast-paced world; everything has to happen immediately, right now and quickly. Some of us don’t even take the time to enjoy a nice meal anymore. Eating has become something you do while you are doing something else. A lot of people eat while they watch TV, work on their computer or read a book. Where is the pleasure in that? How can you savour your meal when you are not consciously eating? Some people are so preoccupied, they don’t even taste what they eat and that’s a real shame. Food needs to be enjoyed.
There are even some people around who have never ever prepared a real meal in their life. Why would you, in this world where fast-food is widely available? Well, because it’s fun and relaxing and because you get to pick and choose all the ingredients yourself.
And of course there are people in this lose-weight-fast culture, who get caught up in the latest fashion diet. What’s going on here people? Why are we losing sense of what food is really meant to do? Food is not the enemy, food is our friend.

Every day we need good food to nourish and power every cell in our body. Just like a car, our body needs the right kind of fuel to function properly. Every cell needs a steady supply of energy to perform optimally and that energy comes from each bite we take. Sure our bodies can manage to survive on insufficient or mediocre fuel, but why not go for the best performance possible. Believe it or not, you are what you eat, emotionally and physically, so give your body the best fuel available.

To get you started, here are some nutrition guidelines to boost your energy levels and to make you feel better.

• Eat a combination of carbs, protein and fat at regular intervals to keep your energy levels high throughout the day.
• Eat healthy snacks every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar level stable.
• Drink water and keep water handy at all times. Dehydration cause tiredness and makes you feel hungry.
• Avoid caffeine, sugary sodas and sweetened drinks.
• Eat plenty fruits (or choose fresh juice if you don’t like eating fruit) and vegetables.
• Fried or fatty foods can make you feel lethargic. Choose natural and unprocessed foods.
• Choose whole grains and complex carbs over refined grains and sugars.
• Increase your sources of protein with nuts, seeds, fish, beans and tofu.

There are all sorts of rules and guidelines out there and some of them might work better for you then others. Give them a try and find out what works for you. To much trouble, try this. The most basic thing you can do towards eating better is to ask yourself at every meal, is this food going to make me feel better or worse? Try guidelines and think about how your body feels at the end of the day.

Savour every bite and enjoy your meal!!

Off with their heads ;)

A couple of weeks ago, during the heat wave, I had a lot of trouble sleeping. On one of those nights I decided to get out of bed to watch some TV. Bad idea, nighttime television is quite similar to daytime television…. a lot of rubbish. I ended up watching one of the Dr.Phil episodes about cheating/infidelity. Big mistake! During the show I got more and more annoyed by the guests (mostly women) and their definition of cheating. Their definition differed completely from my views, it was actually a bit scary, and after watching for a while I wasn’t even sure what cheating meant anymore. So I looked it up.

According to the dictionary:
1. cheating - not faithful to a spouse or lover;
2. unfaithful - having sexual relations with someone other than your husband or wife, or your boyfriend or girlfriend;
3. infidelity
a. Unfaithfulness to a sexual partner, especially a spouse.
b. An act of sexual unfaithfulness.

According to Wikipedia:
Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than his or her lawful spouse. In many jurisdictions, an unmarried person who is sexually involved with a married person is also considered an adulterer. The common synonym for adultery is infidelity as well as unfaithfulness or in colloquial speech, cheating. It was also known in earlier times by the legalistic term "alienation of affection".

After reading this I felt quite relieved. Cheating was still cheating *sigh of relieve* IMHO cheating occurs when bodily fluids are exchanged. Quite simple, and easy to remember :) The women on the show however had the most amazing list of things they considered to be cheating. I don’t want to bore you to death, so here is the shortlist:

• - looking at a female,
• - talking with a woman,
• - flirting with another woman,
• - having a female friend,
• - having coffee/lunch with a female,
• - touching/stroking/petting/hugging a different female,
• - kissing another woman on the cheek,
• - calling a woman on the phone,
• - sending emails to another woman,
• - talking about personal stuff with a woman.

Really, if all of this is considered to be cheating I can honestly say, in hindsight, that all my b-friends cheated on me in one way or another. What’s wrong with having a female friends or talking with other women? In my opinion every man needs at least one female friend and every woman needs one or more male friends. We can learn so much from each other. Who knows, we might even understand each other one day ;)

Of course this whole thing made me curious, so here is a little question for you *. Where do you draw the line? What’s your interpretation of the word cheating?

* [answer if you want too, skip it when you don’t feel comfortable]

Cartoon Tuesday: some guys.........

Huh? Middle aged!?

Last Saturday I was at the library trying to find some of the books which are on my “to read” list. Of course most of them weren’t available (as usual) or lost in some archive …boohoo! But hey, that’s what you get when you have to go to a library. Sure, I could just buy the books, but I read too much (I am a book addict) to buy them all. It would simply cost me a fortune.

But back to the books I was looking for. One of them was a Dutch book called “Op de helft”. When you translate that into English you get something like “Halfway”. This book contains interviews with Dutch celebrities, who are in my age group. It’s not that I want to learn more about those celebrities, I think it’s interesting to find out how others look at life at this age.
It was quite a miracle, but they had that book on the shelf right there and then. Hoorah! So I wrote down the specifics, finding a book in the library can sometimes feel like going on a quest, and walked over to one of the bookcases which hold all sorts of informative books about life etc. Life is quite complex so there are a lot of books on the subject :) To make things easier (uhum) they have created all sorts of sub-categories. Still, it took me a while to find the book I was looking for, but when I finally did it left me a bit dumbfounded. Was I seeing things? Did they actually had the nerve to label this book as being part of the “middle age” section? No, I’m not talking about Middle ages here, but middle age!! Come on…..that would mean I’m middle aged too :( Totally dazed I left the library!

When I got home (with my book of course) I was still a bit perplexed. Am I really middle aged, living in the period they call midlife? Oh, such a shock to the system! My, my, my, I am old, over the hill, past my sell-by date*. This all might sound totally weird to you all, but I never think much about my age. I actually need to think when someone asks my age. I never ever thought about belonging to a certain age category! But I did some research and there is no denying it:

middle age
n.
The time of human life between youth and old age, usually reckoned as the years between 40 and 60. Also called midlife.

Middle age
is a non-specific age when a person is not old, not young, but somewhere in the middle

“Middle age is youth without levity, and age without decay”

Oh, just in case you are wondering……I did not depress me. Okay it did, but just for a few minutes. Now I am back to normal. Hey come on…..They can put a label on me, but I still can make sure it doesn’t stick :)

(* No I am not! :) But isn’t that the thing you supposed to say when you discover something like this)

Mind, body and soul sessions (#9)

Just relax!

After 8 weeks of “hard” work I think it’s time for some relaxation. In today’s busy world, relaxing sound like a luxury, an indulgence, something you can easily live without because who has the time anyway. The contrary, however, is true. Relaxation isn’t a luxury, something inappropriately silly that only people with hired help can afford to do. We are all able to free up at least 10 minutes a day for some relaxation. Why you ask? Because… we need time to relax. Relaxation is just as important to your happiness and health as eating, getting enough sleep, exercising and adopting a positive lifestyle. Conscious relaxation gives you more energy and focus. Planned relaxation calms anxiety and helps your body and mind recover from everyday rush and stress.

Now, you might think you relax everyday, in front of the TV for example, but that isn’t relaxing at all. Watching TV is a passive activity and believe it or not, relaxing should involve taking some sort of action. So as of today engage in some relaxing activity. It does not have to be something time consuming, just give yourself 10 minutes or so. Visit your sanctuary and just sit there for a while. You might find that just sitting there is calming and uplifting. Or do something different. Go to a park or just take a walk around the block. Feel the sun on your skin (or rain if it’s raining ;)), breath in the air, hear the wind rustling the leaves and just enjoy the experience. If you can’t leave the house, open a window and smell the air. Wow, that’s a whole different smell, isn’t it? Or get some aromatherapy going! No, nothing complicated. Just peal an orange and let its citrusy scent revitalize and refresh your spirit. And if you want to go all out…..treat yourself, take long hot soak in the tub. Light some candles, put on some relaxing music, unplug the phone, switch off your cell-phone, put some nice scented salt or bath oil in the tub and put the world on hold for 15 minutes or as long as you like! Enjoy :)

Mind the ……..Mushroom!

I am one of those people who loves mushrooms. I am not talking about shrooms or magic mushrooms here (yeah, I know I am boring ;)), I am talking about plain old mushrooms, champignons, button mushrooms. I like them sautéed, in salad’s, on pizza’s, in soup and sauces etc..Yum, yum…..yummy!

Recently, however, I’ve discovered I sometime react very strange to mushroom. Yesterday I ate some creamy mushroom soup, store bought this time, accompanied by a French baguette with herb butter. Again yummy! But 30 minutes after I’d finished my meal the strange reaction kicked in. It all starts with feeling very sleepy and it’s a hard struggle to keep my eyes open. With a little help from my friend Mr. Coffee, I was sort of able to win the battle but not completely though. About 15 minutes later my brain just shuts down or something. I can function, walk around, read and do stuff around the house but it really feels like I am doing it like a zombie. The body is there, the mind is off somewhere else. You can compare it with zoning out, quite a freaky feeling. At the moment I still feel the same way but I know this will wear off during the day. About 24 hours later I’ll be back to my normal self. So, if this post is absolutely rubbish ….please, feel free to blame it on the mushroom.

But here is the thing I don’t get. Magic mushrooms contain Psilocybin which, among other things, can make you feel very sleepy. “Normal” mushrooms do not. So why does my body react to this soup as if I've eaten shrooms. Do they put magic mushrooms in store bought soups? Am I allergic to mushrooms all of sudden? Has anybody heard of such a thing? If you have, please let me know!

Cartoon Tuesday: Love and Marriage?! (The End)

Mind, body and soul sessions (#8)

Be your own best friend and treat yourself accordingly.

What would happen if you approached someone and insulted them by saying things like: "You’re stupid! You're ugly! I hate you! No one really likes you! You're a really sad person!" Well, apart from getting slapped, you're also quite likely to hurt their feelings.

Now envision what would happen if you said things like this: “You’re a great friend! You’re beautiful! You’re a great person! You’ve a great personality!” The chances of getting slapped are probably nonexistent in this case; maybe you’ll get hugged instead, so much better ;) No, you probably won't get hugged (such a shame) but it will empower the other person.

Let’s change the scenario. Imagine yourself on the receiving end in both cases. Which one do you prefer? Probably the latter (or not, if you are into the whole SM-like beat yourself up sort of thing). Believe it or not, words are extremely powerful! There is that old saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" and that my friends is one big lie. Negative words can certainly hurt you, cut deeper than a knife and create wounds that can last you a lifetime. Positive words however have the amazing power to heal those wound and create a better you.

Change the scenario again (again? yes again!). Get your butt into gear and walk to the nearest mirror. Look at yourself and start repeating a negative statement to yourself over and over again. Something like “You’re ugly!, You’re ugly!, You’re ugly!, You’re ugly!” How does this feel? Almost certainly not nice (big understatement) and a bit absurd, because who in his right mind would to something like this. Well, here is some news for you; a lot of us have a tape of harsh criticism running endlessly in our heads. In addition your mind exposes you to tens of thousands thoughts per day and if you’re not really happy a great part of your thoughts are most likely negative. Negative thoughts trigger the release of stress chemicals that make you feel even worse. Years of negative thoughts can lead you to negative beliefs about yourself and your life and these negative beliefs can lead to negative habits and a miserable life. Now who would want that? So stop those negative statements and negative affirmations… You can't be happy if you talk to yourself in negative ways…..time for a change!

Let change the scene. Go back to the mirror, look yourself in the eye and express loud and proud “You’re so beautiful! You’re so beautiful!, You’re so beautiful! You’re beautiful! (Oh, I feel a song coming on “You are beautiful, not matter what they say” – Christina Aguilera :). Oops, sorry for that….back to the serious business) How does this feel? Maybe still a bit weird and silly but it will also make you feel much better. Conscious repetition of positive affirmations will in time lead to positive and empowering thoughts, which will lead to positive beliefs about yourself and your life. In turn those positive beliefs will lead to positive habits and they will lead to a life of happiness and success.

And that people, is the power of positive affirmations! Hooray!! Okay, but what if you are a negative thinker? The answer is simple….. CHANGE! Pledge to pay close attention to your thoughts and take conscious control of your thought process and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. If it does not work for you right away try this. Think of it in computer terms. When you think of something negative, bring up a new screen and start typing a new positive message.

Examples of wrong/right messages:
I’m no longer depressed
I’m happy!
I hate my body with all its sagging/flabby bits
I accept body as it is!
No one loves me
I am deserving of love and I am loved!

So start paying attention to your thoughts and start using positive affirmations for personal growth and self improvement. It’s all a matter of repeating positive statements to yourself over and over again and keep repeating them until it is subconscious process.

I am going to leave you with a few guidelines to make the whole process as effective as possible:

• Don’t look to the future, it’s today that counts. Don’t say “I’ll be happy one day” Say “I am happy right now, today!”

• Make sure your affirmations are positive! Say “I feel great” instead of “I am no longer down”

• Make sure the affirmations make you feel good. The better you feel, the faster you will notice a positive change.

Now go on, give it a go! You can do this, you are intelligent, you are a beautiful human being, you got what it takes, you have a great personality, you are capable, you are caring, you are an amazing person and you are loved. Go on…….get happy!!

Just when you think there is nothing interesting out there…….

You come across some interesting stuff. Like the blufr site for instance. They promises to bruise your ego one bluff at a time :)
So, what is blufr? Blufr is a new trivia-type game that hopefully gets people of all ages addicted to learning obscure facts. There's no evil agenda. Just play and keep playing. Each bluf shows the percentage of people who were fooled by it.

As you continue playing, you’ll notice your blufr score going up or down. When you’re done playing, click "claim score" and enter up to three initials. If your score is high enough you'll show up in the "top scorers" window.

Here is a blufr example:

Jay Leno's famously large chin is due to the insertion of a metal plate after a 1982 motorcycle accident. Powered by Answers.com: free online dictionary and more

Okay, not your thing? Well, how about some online shopping then?
I found this great Transparent Canoe-Kayak. I know, I know it’s a bit expensive but you can watch the fish go by while you paddle :)



Or maybe, just maybe you are one of those people who always wanted to speak Irish with a flawless accent. Well then, here is some news for you…….. Irish accent spray!! Check it out!


And when you think you have seen it all, you find out you are wrong ;)

How about some treadmill ballet to end this post.


Have a great evening!!

Life experience list

I know it’s bad. I’ve only posted one fresh post and now I am already copying stuff from other blogs. Does this make me feel bad? No way, because I like this :) I copied this from Kat’s blog. It’s a list of 150 key life experiences and all you have to do is bold the ones you have achieved. If you want to copy it too, be my guest :)


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink - there were only 5 people there at the time so that was doable
02. Swam with wild dolphins – but I want too
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula - one of my friends has pet tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone - more then once
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it - if you don't mean it, don't say it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea - that was a bit of a scary experience. I was on a really small boat in a storm....but I survived.
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise - that brings back sweet memories
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables - I used to grow so many I had to give most of it away
18. Touched an iceberg - Does one of the biggest glaciers on earth count? Probably not!
19. Slept under the stars - Oh....memories again ;)
20. Changed a baby's diaper - Yuck!
21. Taken a trip on a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Got drunk on champagne - I don't drink all that much so getting drunk on champagne is very cheep in my case :)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity - Did that once, not doing it again
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope - impressive!!
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - Don't ask
27. Had a food fight - pie is food?! ;)
28. Bet on a winning horse - I only won 25 euro's
29. Asked out a stranger - His answer: "no, thank you! I don't know you".....ehmm duh!
30. Had a snowball fight - I love them....
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can - couldn't talk the next day!
32. Held a lamb - only a few hours old...Ah, so cute!
33. Seen a total eclipse - well I think I did a couple of years back. I can't remember if it was a total or a partial eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster - Who hasn't
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - I do that all the time ;)
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment - need I say more
39. Had two hard drives for your computer - call me crazy!
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced - And I am never doing it again if I can help it
42. Had amazing friends - I have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country - not by choice, it was an accident …honest! ;)
44. Watched wild whales - no but I want too
45. Stolen a sign - No I didn't.....honest ;)
46. Backpacked in Europe - It's all part of growing up in Europe :)
47. Taken a road-trip - done this in Europe, the U.S. and Canada
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach - I Love it!
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland - no but I will some day
52. Been heartbroken for longer than when you were in love - No comment
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them - and it was a fun experience
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow - and drank the milk too
56. Alphabetized your cds - I thought it was a great idea at the time
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke – If you can call that singing :) Okay it was fun and awful at the same time
59. Lounged around in bed all day - memories again ;)
60. Posed nude in front of strangers - I did not pose!!
61. Gone scuba diving - around Aruba
62. Kissed in the rain - Sweet!!
63. Played in the mud - the sticky kind
64. Played in the rain - Who hasn't when you live in Europe
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites - in Greece
70. Taken a martial arts class - taekwondo, wasn't my thing
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party - A wedding reception.... I had a great time!
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch - Yum....I want to make cookies now!
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage - I sat on stage as an extra, not sure that counts!
85. Been to Las Vegas - a couple of times
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship- Several times
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over - and than moved back "home" after 3 years.
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge - twice
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking - I sang even louder when I saw someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback - Not doing that again....scary!!
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart - and I am not proud of it
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild - Yum!
118. Ridden a horse - Often!
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon - Only went halfway down
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S.
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat - In a African restaurant
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language - when you travel don’t forget to bring your hands and feet
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair - of course!....who wants to be (sort of) blond ;)
147: Been a DJ - that was fun!
148: Shaved your head - it was an accident, but in the end it did grown on me….
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

Beware (non flirting) single female xing!

I don’t know what has been going on lately, maybe heat induced raging hormones are messing with people’s heads, but it seems I have turned into a non stop flirting threat apparently!

Last week one of my friends celebrated her birthday. We (her friends) think it was one of the big ones but we are not quite sure because she is very secretive about her age. Anyway to celebrate in style she had arranged a picnic complete with parasols which was nice because it had been 36º C / 96,8º F again that day. Of course there was other stuff too. Wine, beer, bread, sandwiches, a mini barbeque, water, salads etc. and she had brought something else along too……. A new boyfriend! Hooray another one! ;) Not a real surprise because my friend goes through boyfriends like others devour a bag of Cheetos. It has gotten so bad by now that we (her friends) stopped paying too much attention to the guys. Oh, we talk to them and are nice and friendly but that is about it. Why bother with the whole getting to know each other business, when we are probably not going to see him again anyway.

The picnic was a great success and even the new b-friend was quite nice (in a friendly sort of way). He actually had some things to say, a.k.a an opinion…. Now that was a first! (she usually goes for the shallow silent type). We (he and I) had a very interesting chat about current events - and I don’t mean the weather ;), music and festivals, photography and much more. Very interesting and again, with that I mean the conversation and not the guy! So not my type :) When it was time to go, I said my goodbyes and hugged/kissed my friends and I pecked the new guy on the cheek too and said it would be nice to talk again sometime. (Exit single female!)

When I returned home the light on my answering machine was blinking! My friend (the birthday girl) had left me a message and it went something like this “Hi, I don’t appreciate what you did today! You probably haven’t got a clue what I am talking about, so I’ll explain it to you. You were flirting with my b-friend the whole time!! He and I didn’t spend any time together because of you. And you pecked him on the cheek!!!!……YOU NEVER DO THAT!! (she has a point there) And now I hear you are going to meet again behind my back!! (I am?? That’s news to me!). Long story short…..I think it is better we don’t see each other for a while. And don’t think about calling me back because I won’t answer the phone. Thanks for ruining my birthday!” (Exit drama queen!!) I was totally flabbergasted after this message! Did she actually believe I was interested in this guy? Yes, according to some of my other friends. Weird! She knows he is not my type and it’s not like I’ve hooked up with one of my friends’ b-friends before….. so what is she thinking :-| And what exactly constitutes flirting anyway? If I talk to, smile or compliment a guy is that flirting? If the answer is yes, I should probably stop having any type of contact with guys because there was this other occurrence too.

During the heat wave I was forced to skip my usual exercise routine. So instead I walked or rode my bicycle in the evenings. At the end of every trip I chilled out by the river near my house. While I was sitting there I watched the boats and people go by and I greeted them. The people that is, not the boats! One evening a guy stops running and sits down besides me and says “I want to make on thing clear…. I am married!” Okay, now I am confused (keep in mind that I only greeted this guy the night before…. So I said “And?” He “well, I believe you are single and I just wanted you to know that I am off the market”. More confusion on my part! First of all, why does this guy believe I am single and second …… what is he thinking?! Does he actually believe that he is God’s gift to women or something? Man, I would rather go for a bag of Cheetos and I don’t even like Cheetos! I am not quite sure, but I think I actually said that to him :)

Perhaps by now you are thinking I was actually flirting but the whole greeting and smiling thing is all part of the random act of kindness program:

• Smile and say “hello” to someone you don’t know.
• Compliment a stranger about something they are wearing.
• Pay a compliment at least once a day.

Maybe I should get a specially made t-shirt!

Hmmz… only I am not quite sure if it would warn people off or attract even more people ;)

But seriously…. I am still a bit puzzled, so here is a question fo you: what (in your opinion) exactly constitutes flirting?