Hi guys and gals......

It has been a while, I know, so I thought it was time to fill you in on some developments.

I am doing fine healthwise (thanks for asking). I visited my doctor again last week and I am off the meds now, but I still have to pay attention to what I eat and drink. I can have tea and coffee again (only 2 or 3 cups a day) and that cheered me up a lot. But I still have to be careful with spices, fat, alcohol and focus on portion sizes. If all goes well, I can go on with my life, but if the symptoms return, I'll have to go back and probably see a specialist :-( I am not looking forward to something like an esophagogastroduodenoscopy…….brrrrr!

I went to a Flickr Meetup the other day, which was fun. I had a hard time deciding whether or not I should go (poor weather conditions and health) but in the end I went and had fun. I was nice meeting some new people although some of them are photography nutters or as someone else called them; people with a passion!

I had a really fun birthday yesterday (thanks for all the birthday wishes). I got some nice flowers, cards, theatre tickets, a voucher to buy concert tickets, money to put in my camera fund, a dinner invitation, candles, chocolates, perfume and a nice bottle of wine.

Of course I did some other things too, and the regular life stuff happened but I am not going to blog about it……..in fact, I have reached a decision; after 2 years and 3 month and 670 posts, I am going to quit this whole blogging thing. As some of you know, I’ve been thinking about this a lot for quite some time now and I think it’s the best thing for now.
When I started blogging it was al about using and practising my English, later on I just wanted to make people a little happier and smile a bit more. I hope I’ve managed to do that from time to time. Right now I feel I can’t do that anymore, I lack inspiration and the drive that is needed.


I suspect I'll come back to blogging one day. Maybe I’ll pick up where I left off or maybe I’ll start something new. Right now, “Everything is open,
Nothing is set in stone”

So, I am off, drifting around like driftwood for a while :-)

Take care of yourself, smile a lot, laugh often, think happy thoughts, dream as if you’ll live forever and live as if you’ll die today.

Hugs to you all, and thanks for visiting my blog.
This is Dakota signing off,…… na-nu, nanu!

Service announcement.

I've been feeling a bit off-colour for a few days, varying from being just fine when I sat around, to crap if I did anything at all. I had no further symptoms until last night. So, I guess it’s official…..I am sick and off to bed! See you in a couple of days. Have fun everyone!

Time sneaks up on you, like a windshield on a bug.

I know I haven’t been around much this past week. Let’s blame life, it just gets in the way ;) No not really, I am just too fricking busy. I had to go to hospital with two of my friends last week. One got the all clear and the second one has to get more tests done. Then I got sick on Saturday and the icky feeling stayed with me most of the weekend. And now my Mum’s birthday is coming up and I am trying to arrange all sort of stuff at the last moment. So,

but I'll BBL!

Hello people, I am back (again)!

Well, sort of.
I’ve decided to not give up my blogging addiction ;) just yet! But….. yep, there is always a but, I am going to do things differently. From now on I am not going to post like clockwork anymore. So what does that mean? It means that some of the recurring elements (like the cartoon, the MBS-session, the weekly finds) will show up less frequently or might even disappear forever, but hey, you would still have me ;). It can also mean that I am going to post (even) less, because I am busy doing other things, but hey…..I (like you) have a life to live :)

Anyway, like I said before I am back with a recharged battery and tons of energy. Isn’t it funny how a life can start to change in just 14 days? Some of the highlights and low points.

I changed my exercise routine around. I've started doing something I actually can’t do, so it’s a bit of a challenge, but I guess everyone needs a bit of a challenge in his/her life. I’ll tell you all about it next week.

At the moment I am working on a freelance graphic assignment and it has been a steady strain on my time, but I’m not complaining, it actually has been great fun. The deadline is next Tuesday, so don’t expect a lot of blogging activity right away.

My counter crossed the 10000 page loads and I wasn’t even there to see it! Okay, not a real highlight but I never thought it would reach a 100 let alone 10000.

I also entered a photo contest, a “worst photo contest” to be precise. Who knows, I might even win first price – your worst photo ever on canvas! Okay, to be honest, I don’t think I am going to win but it’s like they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained ;) It’s just for fun!

I had to visit my dentist last week and I was not looking forward to it. I was sure there was something terribly wrong with one of my molars, but it was just a superficial thing. After a bit of sanding, grinding and polishing, the molar looked and felt like a million dollars again. Woohoo!

And then there was the low point. Last week my mum told me she might have skin cancer :( They had removed a bit of skin earlier for testing but apparently not enough. So they are going to do another skin biopsy next week. Hopefully they can tell us more after that.

Okay, that’s it for now! It’s nice to be back :)

Happy Easter!

Why did the Easter egg hide? He was a little chicken!

I just popped in to say hello and wish you all a Happy Easter! I am still enjoying my blog break and I can actually feel the energy flowing back into my body. Woohoo…..it feels great! Friday I’ll let you know what my plans are.

Have fun …….CU L@er!
xoxo

Weekly finds – part 12

The other day I came across the "Now and Then" photo-pool on Flickr. What they do is this. They look for an old photo, try and find the place and recreate the shot so you end up with a “now & then” picture. Interesting to see how places (and people change) over the years.


More photos but these are a bit strange so let’s place these in the “Odd!” category ;) Shakeskin. How does it work? People place a camera in front of them, shake their face or Prrrr at it (they do what?), take the picture and send the result to the website. Some pictures are hilarious. Take a peek and don’t forget to check out the Prrrr section.

This weeks video: Harry Potter – the lost tapes!
Nah, it’s Harry Potter and the mysterious ticking noise!





As a kid I liked to play with my Spirograph and now I found this little gadget, not as cool as the original but fun too!




And that’s all folks, the last “Weekly finds” edition (for now). Well, to be honest, this is going to be my last entry (for now). I am quitting (for now)! Man, there are a lot “for now’s” in that little piece of text, aren’t there? :) But I am not sure if I am really going to quit or if I am just going to have another one of my (regular) breaks. Right now, I am not in the mood to blog and I truly believe there isn’t that much to write about anyway….. so, why bother. Maybe it’s time to get a life, spend some time doing other things, be outdoors more or maybe, just maybe it’s time for a change. Like I said, I don’t know yet, but I will let you know sooner or later. I’ll probably be back in a week (or two) to let you all know what my plans are.

In the meantime take care, enjoy spring and life, be kind, don’t forget to smile and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do ;)
C U l@er!

xoxo
Dakota

I was going to post something really spectacular…….honest!

No, I was NOT! The weather is much too nice (clear blue sky, sunshine and 16º C) to stay indoors. No way, am I going to sit here and stare at my computer screen. It’s time to clean up my garden! So I’ll be out getting my hands dirty! Oh and I will try (and I do mean try, so don’t expect too much) to come up with something I can post tomorrow :)

Woohoo….finally!

Believe it or not, but I’ve done it! I’ve repaired everything, once again :) Hopefully all will keep working for some time now, but I have my doubts. I have a sneaky suspicion my PC is not going to last another year. But hey, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it :)

In other news…..it’s December 5th today and that means it is Sinterklaas. Here is a picture, I took some days ago, of the guy. He is not looking too pleased, but I bet he will be pleased today because this is his day. In this little country called Holland, we celebrate the name day of Saint Nicholas (don’t ask me why ;), it’s just a fun tradition). Anyway, the evening of December 5 is called pakjesavond ("evening of packages"). Traditionally, presents are ingeniously wrapped, and are therefore called surprises. Also, each present is accompanied by a poem from Saint Nicholas.

I haven’t seen any surprises yet but, I was quite surprised when I found a chocolate letter and kruidnoten in a pair of shoes this morning. Rumour has it, Sinterklaas came by last night and left all that lovely stuff in my shoes. Hooray, at least someone thinks I am not naughty….I am nice :) One thing though, he left all the goodies in my running shoes, maybe he is trying to tell me something!

Enjoy pakjesavond or, if you are not Dutch, have a nice evening :)

Dear readers

Just a short message to let you all know, I am still alive :) My PC on the other hand is not doing so great. Yesterday I tried to install Windows on my new HD but as it turned out my original CD was scratched and dented and wasn’t willing to cooperate at all! After a lot of grrrrr’s I finally managed to get XP installed, so today I need to get my ADSL working again, update a lot, install my security again and getting all my files back into place. I’ll probably be back tomorrow!

Thanks for all the nice and helpful comments and Steve thanks for dropping by.

Ouch! No Mind, Body & Soul session this week.

Yesterday I had a bit of a freak accident. Ouch!! No blood was spilled, no body parts were broken, but the right side of my body is bruised. I am okay, it just hurts! So, I am taking a couple days off to let my body heal! BBL :)

Service announcement for those who miss me ;)

Ladies and Gentlemen….

I am taking some time off!

Yes, it’s that time again. So, I’m going to take a chill pill ;) and just relax for a couple of days. I’ll probably be back in a couple of days. I’m still going to post Sunday’s “Mind, body and soul sessions” because I’ve almost finished writing it anyway :).

In case you get bored, here are some interesting finds…. Enjoy!!

Lost and found photographs
Time tales is a collection of found photographs. Found at flea markets, thrift shops, some are scooped up from streets and alleyways, fallen from an overstuffed bag or torn pocket. Others turn up in a cabinet’s hidden compartment, found while wandering the rooms of an abandoned house. Now the photos exist by themselves, lost in time. Time tales does not want to reveal their mysteries. Time tales asks to be the new home for lost photos, a resting place, for the nameless and the lost.

Air traffic controllers
These disturbingly funny conversations allegedly all took place between air traffic controllers and pilots around the world. Have a pleasant flight.

Wonders of the world
Wondering about your next holiday destination? Maybe the Hillman Wonders of the World list can help you. Consult this top 100 ‘must see’ destination site, fly around the world and cross off all the destinations you have visited already

Don’t browse……swarm!
Swarm is a graphical map of hundreds of websites, all connecting to each other. It updates itself every second with where people are going and coming from. As sites become more popular, they move towards the centre of the swarm. Website traffic is symbolized with thin lines. Each time you see a line appear, it means someone has moved from one site to the other. You can gauge how many people are swarming around based on the number of lines. Swarm is a useful tool for browsing the web, not searching it. You need to come here with an open mind and you may find some really cool stuff.


Take care, stay cool, drink fluids and enjoy yourselves!
C U L@er!!

My message to you :)

Okay....

I’ve made up my mind. I will be back on Monday, February 27th.

Taking a break!

I am taking a break from blogging for a while.

I don’t know when I’ll be back, could be in a couple of days, could be next week or next month.

No special reason, I just need some space, get some fresh ideas and perspective. I hope to “see” you all when I get back :)

Trouble in Blogland?

I don’t know what’s going on, but comments seem to disappear from my blog. Just so you know….. I didn’t delete them :)

Wow!!

I just noticed that my statcounter has passed the 1000 pageloads point. Wow again!.
When I started this blog I never thought that I would reach this point. In the beginning I didn’t even had a counter on this, so I always thought that no one was reading this. As it turns out quite a few people are reading this stuff, glimpse at it, or are just passing by. I just need to say it one more time…….WOW!

Hi Honey, I’m back!

Woo Hoo! I’ve done it and to my own amazement everything works, even the things I added myself. Well, the Blogger-people told the truth. Changing your template is easy….way too easy!

I’m back and I really like this new look

It is time to say my goodbyes.

So Goodbye!! It was nice meeting you all :) Hugs!

Huh? But why? Are you immigrating to a place with no internet service or something? Nope!! What then? Oh, nothing that drastic and I hope to be back soon, preferably this afternoon. :), but I it’s better to be safe then sorry. I was taught never to leave without saying a proper goodbye, so at least I did that.

Okay enough with the suspense. I’m not going anywhere, at least not intentionally. This afternoon I want to attempt to change the outlook of my blog. According to the instructions, that is easy…..too easy even. But I don’t trust instructions all that much. Who knows maybe my blog will disappear in a black hole or something and will it be lost in internet space for ever. I hope not, but if that happens I want to use Arnold’s famous line: I’ll be back!!

Well, I said my goodbyes, gave an explanation, I guess it is time to try this :)

See you soon!

I started messing with

my blogtemplate this afternoon and finally made the changes I was looking for.

Now I’m going to enjoy the sunshine for a few hours. This is probably the last sunny day with summer temperatures in autumn. So I will update my blog this evening (my time) :)