Cartoon Tuesday on a Wednesday: searching for Mr. Right

Oh and in case you are wondering….I didn’t sign up for a dating site! I haven’t even tried it, but how about you? I am always curious about these things, so did you ever give it a go? Did it work for you? Answer if you want, or just ignore my nosy questions! :)

Life never stops to amaze me.

Isn’t it amazing how you can have a really lousy Sunday (or week actually) and an almost perfect Monday?

Yesterday I spend most of my time reading (a very depressing book, which I have locked away in a very deep cupboard now) and surfing the web trying to find more gift ideas. I actually found a couple of brilliant suggestions, but some are actually a bit too expensive so that depressed me even more. By the end of the afternoon I was getting so depressed I was getting ready to lock myself away in a cupboard too. But I didn’t! I turned the computer off and cooked a nice meal, enjoyed it and watch some old funny and romantic comedies.

Today I felt a lot better. My run, this morning, went amazingly well. My hay fever has disappeared now that the temperature dropped and that is helping a lot too! Afterwards I had a shower and folded my laundry while listening to the radio. It’s Pinkpop weekend and again, none of my friends (sometimes I wonder why these people are my friends) wanted to go, so radio, TV and internet is all I have to keep track of the festival. This morning I heard this (skip to 00:35) and all I can say is ……goose bumps! Although it made me feel I was really missing something, it also made me wonder what the band (Krezip) was feeling at the time. It must be amazing to sing just one line and then be drowned out by the crowd. Superb!

In the beginning of the afternoon I hopped on my bike and went to the local discount garden centre. It’s a really nice trip and the wildflowers growing next to the bike path really put a smile on my face.

This Highland cow (her sisters were around too) broadened my smile even more. So much nature (on the way back I saw and heard a woodpecker too) in a city! Woo hoo….it just blew the last lingering gloomy feelings right out of head.

I bought four cheerful flowering plants and jumped on my bike again for the pleasurable ride home. I didn’t get very far at first though, because a car pulled up beside me and followed me at a low speed (I really hate it when people do that, but maybe that is just me being paranoid). As it turned out the guy just wanted to ask directions. He had to go to the racket centre. So I pointed him in the right direction and he said ‘but I just came out of that street and didn’t see the centre’.
Me: ‘Well, you must have missed it then, it’s just across the street from the garden centre’
He: ‘Really, I didn’t see it’
Me: ‘But you must have, there are a gazillion cars parked in front of it. There is some sort of paranormal fair going on’
He: ‘Oh, that’s where I am going’
Me: ‘Guess you shouldn’t bother then’
He: ‘Why?’
Me: ‘Well, if your gift can’t feel all that paranormal energy, it’s probably useless’
He laughed really hard and said: ‘your right! But I am just lousy in finding my way, I am lucky if I can find my way home again’
Me: ‘Get rid of your gift and just get yourself a Henk Henk (a bit of Dutch humour, the thing is actually called a Tom Tom Go)’.
He laughed again and totally agreed. Next he turned the car around, thanked me with a big grin on his face and left. So nice to make a stranger laugh and smile like that!

On my way back I started thinking about my Mom’s upcoming birthday and all the gift ideas again. I am still having a hard time picking the right one, but I do think I have a solution if I can’t make up my mind. When every attempt to pick and choose fails, I’ll probably do this. I’ll get a gift box and fill it with 75 cards(or envelopes). On every card I’ll write an idea (of course I would cheat and write some of them down more than once). I’ll give the box to my Mom and let her pick five cards, with the option to swop them if she doesn’t like her first pick. Next she can pick her own present from the five cards. Maybe not the best solution, but at least that way I’ll be sure she gets a gift she really wants.

Suggestions anyone?!?!

My Mum is celebrating her 75th birthday next month.....hurrah! She is at that age where finding a special birthday gift is quite difficult because she has everything she needs or wants. I asked if she had any wishes but she could only come up with this: A washing machine! Not my idea of the perfect gift because a) she can easily afford to buy one herself and b) I don’t like to give household appliances as a birthday gift.

So at first I thought about throwing her a surprise party, but she isn’t in a party mood right now. She lost two of her closest friends over the last few months and I know she would miss them too much.

Next I thought about a moonlight diner cruise because she had been talking about those for months now. Earlier this week I even checked the dates and rates only to discover today that my Mum had already booked one of the moonlight cruises because she wants to celebrate her birthday there :( Well, that isn’t helping.

She doesn’t need or wants any perfume or beauty products because she can actually drown someone in all the stuff she has. She doesn’t want any jewellery because she can fill a cave like the one in “Pirates of the Caribbean 1” with the all bling-bling she has. She doesn’t want books, CD’s or hobby materials. So what’s left?

Suggestions anyone?!?!

Video: You-ou-ou!....... (Oops!)

Cartoon Tuesday: Is that a problem? ;-)

Look what I Found!

Sing it back
Want to send something special to someone, or want to waste some time…. Try this! Write some lyrics or copy an existing one and hit the play button :)

How fast are you?
Find out with this How fast can you type-game


Let’s dance
I love festival and I visit a lot of festivals websites. The LollaPalooza Festival is probably the best because besides festival information you can create your own Palooza head, like this one

Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com
Hit the play-button


Let me tell you a secret
There was a time people went to church to confess. These days it’s all online and for the world to see. Check out these true mom or true bride confessions. Some of them might be a bit shocking.


Oh, and for those of you who are still wondering (as if). Here’s the thing you’ve all been waiting for (as if)........ The one in the middle is yours truly :)

Education Now.

"There are currently 115 million children globally who receive no education at all. 860 million adults in the world cannot read, two thirds of whom are women.

115 million children are denied a basic human right, the right to an education. Without an education, children, families and countries are consigned to poverty, let down by a string of broken promises from the international community. Oxfam is campaigning for governments and institutions to really put their money where their mouth is and make the dream of education for all a reality."

If you want to support them go here. They don’t want your money, all they want is your signature (or a photo) so they can present them during the next G8 meeting in Berlin.

Oxfam asked Dutch folks to upload a school class photo onto their site, so I did and here’s the one I uploaded :)(please don't laugh ;))

The Class of 1978

Cartoon Tuesday on a Wednesday: Sweet.........

Behind closed doors – a trip through history.

Last Sunday I had a bit of a different Sunday. I went to the historical museum Het Schielandhuis in Rotterdam. The building itself is mighty interesting because it’s the only 17th century building left in the city centre of Rotterdam (all others were bombed during WWII.). Once, this was a city palace but since 1986 it’s a museum and these days a tiny dwarf surrounded by giant new shiny office buildings. But hey, I wasn’t going there for the building, I was going for the exhibition Behind closed doors.

From the flyer:
“Closed doors can keep nosey people out. Chinks, windows and keyholes however, can make you nosey! They can make you want to sneak a peak. In the museum doors will reveal the secrets of classic and modern lingerie. Concealed or see-through, functional or presentable. Behind closed doors we find that doors and lingerie have a lot in common. With one difference though: Lingerie often changes the thing it conceals.”

It was pretty interesting to see how women have been changing their appearances throughout history with a little (or should I say a lot) help of lingerie. I can imagine that an isolation cell can be pretty tormenting and uncomfortable, but I don’t think people felt a hell of lot better when they started wearing corsets to gain the perfect silhouette. They needed a lot more here, and a lot less there and it had to be done….willing or unwilling. They were probably thinking “No pain, no gain!”

The most fascinating corset I saw was a metal one. It was made in 1620. I can’t imagine ever wearing that with any comfort. (it’s the black one in the tiny picture). Oh and they had a chastity belt from the same period on display too.

One other thing that really left me flabbergasted was the copper waist belt Ethel Granger (one of the famous tightlacers) used to wear. In the end, the Guinness Book of World Records listed her as having the smallest waist on record at 13” (or 33 centimetres). Now how scary, or should I say freaky, is that?

Of course there was lots more to see; the history of the underpants for example. Did you know women weren’t allowed to wear underpants with a crotch at some point in history? Sorry, I can’t remember why that was right now; it had something to do with religion or something. I also saw some knitted (wool) brown granny panties which were made during the war. Can you imagine wearing knitted knickers? I can’t!
And let’s not forget the hoop-skirts or crinolines, those things were impossible to move around in. They had a mock-up one you could try one :)….(so glad I am never going to wear a wedding dress). They didn’t have a mock-up pannier or a bustle though :(

Anyway, there was a lot to see and it wasn’t all history. They had the Wonderbra, the gell filled bras, the sportsbra, the butt lifting panties, you name it and they probably had it. Oh and of course they had some items from the famous Dutch lingerie labels/designers Undressed by Marlies Dekkers and Der Kommissar by Annelies Nuy.


After enjoying a spot of lunch (and a little flirtation with the waiter) I decided to see the other exhibitions too. So I went to see Rotterdam designs, Dutch Celebrities; razor-sharp caricatures by Paul van der Steen, and a exhibition about rebuilding Rotterdam after WWII and Rotterdam, a bird’s-eye view; a strange collection of bird-houses.

When I finally left the museum I discovered that weather had turned out quite nice (nothing like they said it would be) so I went for a walk, rediscoverd the Walk of fame and the cutest celeb on there!

Oh, and I also discovered this sign, great advice in my opinion :D
After that I jumped on the metro (a.k.a. rapid transit, underground, subway, tube) and went home. The end of a perfect Sunday :)

An inconvenient ……….time!

It has taken a while but now it is finally happening. What is, you might ask. Well, my local movie theatre is showing “An inconvenient truth” for free, absolutely nothing, zilch euros. Hooray! According to the initiator it’s important that all the residents of our little city go see this movie. I totally agree, so hooray again!
But then I noticed something strange…. The movie will be shown on weekdays at 3:30 PM. How stupid of them! Do they really think people are going to take the afternoon off so they can watch this movie? If they truly want everyone to see this, they should have picked a more convenient show time. Idiots!!

Cartoon Tuesday: It might take a while.....

What’s on your desktop?

This question was asked by beautiful Boo and here is the answer.

It's the inside of a tulip and although the photo isn’t perfect the warm colours make me feel happier :)

Mind, Body & Soul Sessions (#35)

Get active, take part.

Too often we become a spectator in our own life. We start to worry about all the things that are gone already instead of focussing on all the new experiences that can be gained. For some reason we start to save things in life and no matter what the reason is, it’s always the wrong reason. We save our faults because we don’t want to be imperfect, our emotions because we don’t want to be hurt (again), our looks because we don’t want to look old or disorderly and dirty. Unfortunately all this saving will get us nowhere. All we end up doing is being a bystander instead of a participant in the great thing we call life. So, stop saving and get active! Step away from the sidelines and take part in life. You’ll probably have more fun than you can shake a stick at.

Five ways to start participating:

Don’t believe you are to old to try anything new. Embark on a new adventure, try a new sport, buy a hat, change your hairstyle, get a new hobby or how about love?

Are you having a rainy day? Saved stuff for it? Well, now is the time to use it!

Every now and then, do something silly or out of character. Jump up and down on the bed (don’t if you have a slatted bed base – use a trampoline instead). Build a large sandcastle, fly a kite, put a bounce in your step and skip.

Use your worldly goods and share them with others, in the end we all know you can’t take them with you when you go – a coffin doesn’t have any pockets.

Don’t hold back your feelings. Set your emotions free, especially those of love and compassion. Okay, it might be scary and you might get hurt, but you also can get something unbelievable in return. So, go ahead, live a little. You know what they say “nothing ventured, nothing gained”

Have a great Sunday!

This week’s odd finds!

Be heard, be noticed, be safe and sound.
Cars and pedestrians often collide with cyclists on busy streets because they just can't hear an approaching bicycle. Imagine, if your bicycle could sound like a Harley? You would definitely get their attention. They say “Our products will improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. At the same time they will add some fun, creativity and important information to your daily commute.” Useful or just rubbish, you decide! Anyway, as kids we used to do this. -->
A cheap and easy solution!



Another useful or strange gadget: The iGrill or GiPod. "Grill or roast plus enjoy your favourite tunes from your iPo".




If you like old photos, this might interest you the 100-year-old photo blog




Annoying or what?

Today’s lesson: How to give a great man to man hug to your closest friends and family without getting that awkward feeling!

Smoked chicken and avocado tortilla.

Type: Fusion, easy

Serves: 4

Preparation time in minutes: 15

Contains per single serving:
495 calories, protein 28 g, fat 9 g, carbohydrates 38 g


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or a light version)
125 ml sour cream
300 g smoked chicken breast, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
10 small carrots, sliced
3 tablespoons mint, chopped
1 ripe and ready to eat avocado
1 lemon, squeezed
1 spring onion, chopped
4 Wrap tortillas (the larger size)

Method:
Mix the mayonnaise with the sour cream.
Add the smoked chicken, the red onion and the carrots and stir.
Season with mint, freshly ground pepper and salt.
Slice the avocado in half, remove the pit and cut it up evenly, sprinkle with the lemon juice.
Heat the tortillas, follow the instructions on the packet.
Spread the chicken salad evenly over the tortillas, place the avocado on top
Scatter the spring onions.
Add some more salt and pepper to taste and fold the bottom of the tortilla up and then fold the left side over to the right (or whatever way you fancy) and turn over onto your serving plate.

Enjoy!

Tip: I forgot to buy the carrots so I used tomatoes instead. Delicious!

For all the Peregrine Falcon viewers.

Last Saturday one of the chicks died because of malnutrition. That’s very sad, but I guess that’s nature for you! Anyway, I just discovered they’ve added a topic on the discussion forum for non-Dutch-speaking people (in other words, it’s in English), so if you want to keep up to date just go here.

Koninginnedag!

Like I told you yesterday, I spend most of my Monday celebrating Koninginnedag! I came across this description of Koninginnedag and it actually says it all:

Queen's Day
Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) is the royal birthday bash. It is celebrated 30th April (birthday of Queen Juliana) when there is some chance of dry weather, since the ruling monarch's (Queen Beatrix) true birthday is in January when the weather is guaranteed to be inclement. Many cities turn into a large flea market for the occasion. The Dutch save up their old junk and try desperately to sell it tax-free on this day. There are infinite street stalls, selling all types of food and beverage, spread throughout the town centre. In larger cities, the crowds are unbearable and at
times unruly. An atmosphere of orange (the royal colour) prevails as many celebrators dress in orange-coloured clothing and wear silly hats. There are parades, live bands and other forms of public entertainment. All in all it is definitely an occasion to be experienced ... once. (http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/bericht/89420)

Above they mention some chance of dry weather. Well, we had that; it was another glorious day. I say another, because we’ve been having summery days for quite some time now. It actually feels like we just skipped winter and spring all together and jumped right into summer. The temperatures jumped from 12 to 25º C in just a matter of days. Downside though, we're experiencing some drought! I can’t even remember the last rainy day, but according to the internet it was March, 22. Anyway, there was nothing but blue skies, yesterday.

I also told you earlier, I was going to the free market or flea market but I ended up seeing more gigs then junk (although some bands can be trash too).

The first band I saw is called the Amazing Stroopwafels. I’ve seen them a gazillion times already, because there simply is no avoiding them. They are everywhere! No, they are not, but they always get an invite when there is some sort of celebration here, so it just feels like they are everywhere. So, I watched for a couple of minutes and then moved on. Maybe I shouldn’t have because I stumbled upon this little scene.

You can’t actually see them, but it’s the Baden Powell band (you guessed it… a scouting band). I was actually a bit mesmerized by the guy standing in front of them. He just looked like one of those evil drill sergeants. I felt quite relieved when they eventually marched off.To be honest, not because I was that impressed by the guy, but because another band called K-bam could start their performance.

(front)

(back)It’s just an average cover band but fun was had by everyone, young or old, average folks, skater dudes & dudettes and even bikers.

On one of their breaks I went to see another band called Pluis & de Struikrovers (Pluis & the Highwaymen). Sound like a cute name, but they are actually a bit of a metal band. Not really my thing, but I just had to take a picture of the lead singer, not sure why though ;)

On my way back to K-bam I spotted this Queen (it’s not extremely visible, but she’s wearing a little crown) and her King.

This was all I saw from the free market, piles of left-over junk nobody wants.

Or did I just make a mistake there. Apparently people do want left-over junk just as long as it’s for free (must be a Dutch thing ;))

(another pile of left-overs)

Anyway it had a lovely Monday, I hope yours was quite enjoyable too :)

Cartoon Tuesday: Infidelity