Monday, June 25, 2012

One dry day ...

We had one dry day this weekend! Luckily it was on Saturday since my friend Noreen had planned her annual summer BBQ for that day.

The rest of the weekend we were busy with birthday parties and cleaning and just boring stuff in general.

Anyway instead of boring you with all the details here are a couple of pictures.

Al & Cat ... or the cosmic twins as they like to call themselves

Fi
 
The big boys

The little boys

The chef & some ladies keeping him company

The men, doing what Flemish & Irish & German men do best, drinking

The babies

The meat
Sangria mmmmh


Thursday, June 21, 2012

3 on Thursday - The name says it all


O my I can not tell you how much I LOVE the questions this week.  I have a slight obsession with names.  In fact, I’m busy doing research into what people name their kids and why.

I would love it if you could help me with my research. If you would like to help out could you please send me an email answering the following questions:

  1. Boy or Girl
  2. Full names (no surnames please)
  3. Did you name them after anyone? If yes, who and why
  4. If you didn’t name them after anyone why did you pick the name(s)
  5. Who picked the name(s)? Mom or Dad or both of you or someone else?
  6. The year they were born

Thank you so much!

Ok, back to the questions of this weeks: 




Names you would or absolutely would NOT name a future child.


I would have to say, at the moment if I had to have another boy I would choose from the following names:

  1. Callan – It means rock
  2. Smith – I like Smith cause it’s unusual as a first name but not something no-one has ever heard of before
  3. Eoghan (pronounced Owen)

Names that I would not pick for a boy (please note this is my own person al choice)

1. Phil
2. Bruce
3. Barry


If I had to name another girl I would choose from the following names:

  1. Keeva (Caoimbe) – No reason other than the fact that I like it
  2. Fynn – slightly different from the usual spelling Finn
  3. Quinn – No reason other than the fact that I like it

Names that I would not pick for a boy (please note this is my own person al choice)

1. Brandy – or any other drink related name
2. Gladess or Eunice or similar names
3. Paris – funny story years ago when I was expecting my husband really like the name (this was before someone made the name infamous) so glad we didn’t choose it.

I can’t wait to read all the other lists.  So please, link up!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Fun in the sun - WWTK # 59

So after a well deserved break they are back! Of course you know that I'm talking about Mamarazzi & Crazymama



null

Mamarazzi sent the following out:

Hey everyone...We Want to Know Q&A is BACK! We are so thankful for the little bit of time off but we hope you missed WWTK enough to come back and play with us.

This week Crazymama is asking the questions and here is what she sent me:

Let's talk summer. Ours is in full swing and the temps are rising (we got up to 114 on a few days already) So this weeks questions are about keeping cool and other summer delights.

I can't wait to hear if i'm the only one living in hades and the only fat girl swimming. 

Don't you just love her? I know I do and I cannot wait to see everyone's answers and catch up with y'all. 

Q&A


(1) What is the usual summer high temperature where you live?

If there is one thing I really miss about living in South Africa it’s the summers. Belgian summers are notoriously bad. Last year was a total wash and so far it looks like this summer is going the same way.  We can have the odd warm day of say 27ÂșC/80°F but it’s rare.

This is what it normally looks like ... sad hey!



(2) How do you keep cool? Do you have central air?

No need for that here. There is central heating everywhere but since it never gets warm enough there is no need for air con, unless you are at work, offices and shops have it.

(3) Do you swim? If you get in the water do you get your hair and make-up wet?

I swim and I get my hair wet …. I don’t have a lot of airs about me. A lot of the tomboy in me survived into adulthood.  If I’m at the coast it’s pointless trying to do my hair as it gets 10 times more curly than when I’m in-land and when my hair is short like now I really don’t give a toss.

(4) What is your favorite summer look? As far as outfit , shoe choice and  hairstyle? (Pics are rad or just describe it.) Do you wear less make-up in the summer?

Not much different style wise is what I wear in winter.
option 1 ->Jeans, t-shirt, and I’ll either wear it with flip flops or a nice pair of wedges.
option 2 -> Shorts, t-shirt, again either with flip flops or a nice pair of wedges.
option 3 -> Maxi-dress with flip flops or flat sandals.

Never go without my sun glasses and a light scarf or jacket … the weather here is fickle!

As far as make-up goes …. I don’t wear a lot in any case so I’ll do my face if we go out for dinner but if we are just hanging out at the pool or on the beach, no, there is no point.

(5) What is your favorite summer meal to make or eat, either way? (Score extra cool points for a recipe.)

Salads – any kind really. Some of my favorites are:
Chicken caesar salad

Kelly’s watermelon and red onion salad

for this you need:
-          a small watermelon
-          2 big red onions
-          3-4 limes
-          fresh flat parsley
-          2 blocks of feta cheese
-          some black olives
-          ground black pepper
-          olive oil
Prep:

-          slice red onions into rings, put in a bowl and squeeze the lime juice over it – set aside to rest
-          cube watermelon – it’s up to you if you want to de-seed it
-          cube the feta cheese – or crumble it, it really is up to you
-          chop parsley as fine is you want
-          mix  it all together in a bowl and sprinkle with a bit of olive oil and some black pepper

Enjoy!

Ok, that’s it from me …. link up and join the fun!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Follow me!

Hey there!  I'm super excited to be doing my first ever guest post! Yay!

I'm so glad to have met Amber, and was very honored when she asked me to do a guest blog for her while she is off enjoying some time with her family.

So come and check out her blog: Binkertation

Monday, June 18, 2012

Keys

So before I tell you about our weekend I have to tell you what happened to me on Friday.

One stop away from where I have to get off the train I open my bag to get my car key. It’s not there.  I unpack the entire bag, nothing.  I’m starting to get worried but then I decide that I probably left the key in the door.

All the way to the car I’m mumbling to myself: please let it be there, please let it be there, please let it be there …… it’s not there!

So I unpack my bag again, still not in my bag.

I have a spare key in the glove compartment. Why? Because I don’t usually drive the van the builders do but they didn’t want to loose one of the keys so they put it in the glove compartment.

I decide that I have to try and break a window.  As I’m walking around the van rattling doors and banging on windows a guy walks past. He stops and asks if he can help me.  Thanks, but unless you have a key that would open this car I don’t think so.

‘Don’t you have a spare key at home?’
‘I have a spare key but it’s in the car’.
‘Don’t you have a service that you can call to come and open the car?’
‘uh no, have you taken a look at this van, it’s got a pink toilet in it, it’s clearly used by builder boys and I’m only driving it out of sheer desperation’ (I couldn’t get the toilet out so I just left it there for the builders).

After about 10 min he realizes that he really would not be able to help, whishes me good luck and walks off.

Out of sheer frustration I bang one of the windows again and boom! it pops out of the frame.

The guy heard it and runs back, ‘what happened?’ ‘are you ok?’
‘Just perfect! The window popped so now I can get into the van’

Then he asks me ‘How?’ ‘What do you mean how’ I’m going to climb in the window and unlock the car from the inside.’

Only the window is too high and I’m too short so I have to ask him to hold the window open for me. I stand on the wheel of the car parked next to me and climb in the window.  Not the most elegant thing to do. Good thing I was wearing a pair of jeans!

et Voila! I’m in the van, unlock it and get the spare key out the glove compartment (cubby hole).  O and I managed to push the window back into it’s frame. Don’t think it’s the most secure window but hey, at least I didn’t have to break it.

Now I just have to get Himself to get a new key before I loose this key as well.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Book Club!

It’s Friday, at last!  Honestly, I can’t tell you how glad I am that in about an hours time I’ll be able to get out of the office.

Also, Friday means Book club, yay!




I’m not quite finished with my book yet but I’m enjoying it so much that I just had to tell you about it.  Now, I know it’s an old book so you might have read it or you might have seen the movie. I just realized that they turned the book into a movie.

Whatever, my book is:

credit


In short:

With the ransom note as the single scrap of evidence, Special Agent Margaret Lukas calls upon Parker Kincaid, a retired FBI agent and the top forensic document examiner in the country. Somehow, by midnight, they must find the Digger — before he finds them

It’s good! … and now that I’m nearing the end I thought that I had it all figured out, not!
I can’t wait to get on the train this afternoon and finish it.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Old age


I'm hooking up with Cole & Andrea today for:



3 on Thursday

I don't like talking about my age ... really so their question today is a sensitive subject for me.

Things I like/dislike about being .......34


Ok, the dislike is the easiest:

1. being 34 .... I really don't want to be 34 I don't feel 34 I feel 25!  Turning 30 was a huge thing for me and even now I hate admitting my age.

2. mmmmh

Wow look at that I could only think of one thing I dislike about being 34

Things I like about being 34 .....

1. I've learnt to feel less guilty for doing what I want and wanting what I want out of life. Like having bright pink hair

2. I might be 34 but I don't look it. I am mistaken for the kids older sister all the time (to their horror!)

How about you? Go on ....link up