Almost done

Today I presented my thesis and passed with an 8 (out of 10, equivalent to the american A)! I'm so proud! They gave me all kinds of compliments and told me I was no longer a student but a colleague.

I have to complete 1 more assignment with the school choir (next week) and then I'll get my diploma on the 29th. I'm so proud!! Despite the mononucleosis and working part-time, I managed to graduate from this full-time college within the regular 4 years. I'm so proud!!!!!

Little update

Because M was paged by the fire department, and other than the depressingly awful Euro-vision Song contest there's nothing good on TV, here's a small update on the life of Nicolien...

- I'm counting down to my practical exam. Monday 21 May at 19:00 (OK, 7 PM) my final musical exam will take place. I'm horribly nervous and practicing every day. The day after tomorrow I have my last regular rehearsal and Wednesday will be the dress rehearsal. Thank goodness we'll have 2 days off because of Ascension Day, so I'll have some time to relax (or totally stress out) before the big day.

- June 1st is the due date of my thesis. I only have 20 pages so far (need about 3 times that amount) and I'm not satisfied at all so far, so there's loads of work to be done. But when? Oh, that's right, I had a long weekend to relax. I guess I'll have to use that. And the nine days after my practical exam as well.

- I mailed out our wedding invitations today. That was 110 envelopes that had to be addressed, as well as 110 cards that had to be folded. Why did we choose such a complicated invitation? Because it was pretty. We have the second meeting with the minister on Tuesday.

- I took 2 days off school this week because of the stress level in my mind and body. I could tell I was getting unusually tired again and anything could make me cry. That's why I went to my assistant principal and told him how I felt. When he asked me how he could help, I told him 2 days of sleep would do me good. So he gave me 2 days off! Too nice for words. I did sleep, but I also worked for my exam. It was some good catch-up time.

Well, so much for playing catch-up with you. Lots of other interesting things happened, but I don't feel like typing too much. It's time for a glass of white wine and some chips (I know that's not a sophisticated combination but it does taste good). If I don't write a lot the coming weeks, the above post must have explained why.

My week

In the past week:
- the weather was awesome;

- we finalized our mortgage;
- I went from teaching 9 hours a week to teaching 12 hours (almost back at my regular 15);
- we spent the week-end to my grandpa's who lives by the North Sea, because he turned 94;
- I graded lots of papers;
- I took some more walks by the river and took some more pictures of the high water level;
- I worked in the garden for the first time this year (and how lovely it was to be outside again);
- I did lots of laundry (which was all dried outside, oh how I love the smell of air-dried clothes);
- I actually cleaned my house (hadn't been done in too long).

I'm sure you will now understand why I haven't been online much! I've been doing so many things, while trying to keep in mind that I'm still sick and need to rest. So I've also carefully scheduled nap times and reading times, which works well for me.
Spring is in the air and I love it!

Energy

My blogging frequency has gone down (again). I've been going back to work half days, and it turns out to cost a lot of energy. After teaching 3 periods I usually go home and sleep for at least an hour, sometimes two. I do love going back to work, though. All my music classes changed, because of the second semester. I have some new groups and a few that I know from last year. They're all pretty enthusiastic, and the one that I had last period on Friday topped it all. It's a second year group (eighth grade), which hasn't been my favorite year to teach so far. Usually the first years are so much easier excited and they seem to express their enjoyment more. But this group is an exception. Monday I met them on the stairs, and they said: "Miss M! Music on Friday, we can't wait!". Thursday I saw them and some said: "we're looking forward to tomorrow Miss". Well, so was I.

When they walked into my room Friday, it was like they had never left, even though the last time I taught them was in June. I gave them some info on the 2nd year curriculum, and then a boy asked: "can we sing now?". So we did some warm-ups and I taught them a song. That was all I had prepared for the day, but the period was only half over when we were done! I was able to squeeze in some glockenspiel playing too, combining what I usually do in 2 lessons, into one. That was a wonderful way to end the week and start the week-end, believe me!

Yesterday, M and I went on a bike ride. The weather was lovely and we covered 15 km (9.3 m). I was tired, but it was fun. We live close to a river, it was beautiful to see the water level. It's risen a lot because we (and Germany)'ve had so much rain lately. The trees have wet feet and it was lovely to see the sun reflect in all that water.

Back to work

Slowly but surely I'm going back to work. I went to my college yesterday (first time in ten weeks, and of course the trains had a delay...) and presented the book that I had read for my literature class. It went fine, and I passed the class, yay! It took a lot of energy but that was totally ok.
Today I had a household day. I ironed and cleaned like as if my life depended on it, while watching my new box set of Sissi dvd's. LOVE those movies! Then I went to the market to buy some fresh tulips and narcissus so now everything is clean and looks really good. I'm going back to work tomorrow, I'll be teaching Dutch to one class. I'm anxious to see how it will go, but I am looking forward to it. I can't wait to be myself again!

A little

Yes, I'm feeling a little better. I have more energy in the day time now, so I do way more than a few weeks ago. My body isn't used to that yet though, so I'm in bed before 21:30 most nights. But that's ok. It's worth it. I went to work today to talk to my assistant principal about returning to school. We agreed that I'll come back slowly, building it up step by step. Next week I'll return to my Dutch class (3 times a week, one class period) and after doing that for two weeks we're going to see how many hours of music I'll add to that.

I also started to study again. I received an e-mail from a professor that a make-up presentation moment was scheduled for Monday, and if I wanted to do my literature presentation that I could still make the credit. Of course I want that! It's a nice way to pick up studying again. I set my kitchen timer for 45 minutes and make myself concentrate on my book. Then I allow myself to do something else before returning to the book again. It's not easy, but I can do it.
I'm slowly climbing out of the pit that is mononucleosis... Yay!

Stormy good things

My country is currently going through the worst SouthWest (which means rain and horrible 110 km/h (68 mph)) storm since 1990. It's lovely to sit in the house, drink tea and watch the news while I hear the wind going crazy around the house. I don't have to go anywhere (M drove to work today, instead of riding his bike, so he's getting some groceries that we do need) so I'm staying in!I feel a lot calmer than I did on Monday. It's been a good decision to cancel my exam. So now, instead of complaining, I'm making a list of good things that happened to me this week.

1. I went to the market Tuesday to buy myself some flowers. I figured, if I have to spend so much time in my house, I might as well make it look really pretty! I was tired of all the green plants in my house, nothing was in bloom except for some crocuses a friend had brought me over Christmas break. And I'm Dutch, so of course I bought some tulips!
   
2. My amaryllis is in bloom, and it's so pretty! I love to look at it.
   
3. On Wednesday I went to the garden center to buy some other plants, among which this orchid. It's small, but so pretty! The picture is a little blurry but I love it.
   
4. Last night I took the tv-IQ-test, and according to it my IQ is 128. I like that figure, it makes me feel smart :P.
   
5. And because I had nothing else to do today and was out of cookies, I decided to bake cookies. So now the kitchen and living room smell really good and we have something fresh to nibble on tonight.
   
6. Last but not least: after taking a few days vacation, both the chickens laid an egg today.

It's so much better to be able to list good things than to complain. But sometimes it's good to complain too (relieving anyway). I hope you're having a good week too!

Sad

Tonight I was sad and felt sorry for myself. It was because I made a decision. I feel I won't be able to do well on my practical music exam which was planned for 19 March. I had been worried and stressed over it, even losing sleep (which is weird, if you have mono).

That's why I decided that I am going to try and postpone it. Today was a bad day, all I could do was lie on the couch, basically. I did a few loads of laundry but didn't even feel like putting the clean clothes away. But I did make that decision (which was also a lot of work!).That's why I called my counselor and told him about my worries and how I felt like postponing. He totally understood and said he expected the committee to agree, because this was on medical grounds (and not lazy grounds, which tends to happen sometimes). But when I hung up the phone I was not a happy camper. I called my dad and cried, and then I called my best friend and cried. She immediately came over (even though she lives half an hour away). I was happy to have her company. M was away (Monday is his fireman-night) and I felt lonely. All I do is sit in this house, by myself, not being able to be my usual self. She told me all the sweet things I wanted to hear, and said I was totally entitled to complain. And that helped, so now I'm going to bed (once again)...

Slow germs

It's been a while since I last posted anything about my health situation. Which is good, because I don't want to bore you all with daily updates on how I don't feel better..

Before Christmas I hoped to be able to partially go back to work after Christmas vacation. Well, forget that! I am so not better yet. I still need 12-14 hours of sleep a day and can't do without my daily nap(s). And with buying the house and planning the wedding on top of everything else I've had some difficulties falling asleep at nights. That's annoying, to be in bed, and know that your body is really tired but yet stay awake..

Today I made some decisions. I e-mailed some people and did some planning. I asked some questions to my guidance counselor and thesis person. I arranged a drummer, pianist and guitar player to play in my band at my practical music exam. I started to think that I can ask the committee if I can postpone this exam a month of so, because of my medical situation.

All in all: I physically don't feel any better yet, but my head feels a lot lighter than it did last night and the night before. I'm sure I'll be able to sleep much better tonight. I just need to give in to the mono (again or still?), and not start working on things that I know I'm not ready for yet. My doctor told me not to go back to work until I had had the feeling that I had just had a week off, with normal energy level. I'm not there yet... but then again, it's a little better than it was in November and December. So there is a little progress!

2:00

You know what's really annoying? If you have mono, have been busy all day without taking a nap, and are not able to fall asleep even though it's 2:00. That's annoying!

Good day fruit

Today is another good day. I'm starting to get my old bubbly optimism back! Monday night I went to my parents and when I got back there was this big fruit basket that had been delivered! It was from all of my colleagues. And today there was a card in the mail with a book store gift certificate. I work at a great school with great people!
I've noticed for a few days that I haven't been able to sleep right away at night. So I cut down on the naps and am starting to get up earlier. Of course still not early, but 9:30 instead of 11:30. I do more in the daytime, which still makes me really tired, but I'm starting to feel like I can slowly start to work on getting my energy back. Because boy, am I out of shape! Yesterday my mom and I took a walk across town (about 2 km) to a kitchen store. She wants a new kitchen so we looked around and then walked back. That's a distance I can usually easily walk. I'll have to start building up again! Today I biked to the local supermarket (not even 1 km) and I could feel my legs. I'm embarrassed to say that... what kind of Dutch girl am I?The good thing is, I'm walking and biking again. And if I build it up slowly, I'm sure my energy level will increase as well. And I have plenty of fruit to help me!

Praise and cobbler

Today has been a good day. We slept in, I got breakfast in bed and then we cosily watched two Friends episodes. This afternoon we went for a walk (it was a beautiful day!) and tonight we fixed berry cobbler for dessert. I love berry cobbler, it's my absolute favorite American dessert. Tonight we have a dance class (we haven't been in three weeks but I feel up to it so we'll give it a try). In honor of this good day, here's my recipe.

Dutchnic's berry cobbler
Needed:
- 500 gr. fruit. Berries, apple, peach, or any mix of fruit. Can be frozen or thawed. Everything is good!
- 100 gr. flour
- 50 gr. butter, right out of the fridge so it's still hard
- 50 gr. sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 180° C. Put fruit in large oven dish, add half of the sugar and all of the cinnamon. Mix well. In a separate bowl, mix flour and sugar and cut in the butter, using a fork or a pastry blender (see picture). When it looks like bread crumbs, cover the fruit. Put it in the oven.
After ±45 minutes you have a wonderful dessert. Careful, it's hot! Great with vla, whipped cream and/or ice cream. Enjoy!

Complain, or not?

Well, isn't this weird. I just went online to write a blog to complain. I've been so tired, it's hard to concentrate and it seems like all I can do is sleep and watch dvd's. I had one of those nights where you just sit and feel sorry for yourself. I watched one of those true-story-tv-movies and felt even sorrier for myself.
But...
When I opened up Outlook Express I found an e-mail from a friend in the United States, saying that his wife's spinal surgery went well. Her tumor was removed. I didn't even know she had a tumor....
Why am I complaining about being tired? Mono is one of those things that pass, provided you take good care of myself. This is one of those moments that are humbling and put both feet back on the ground....

Fun book website

Because I'm bored already (I haven't even been home for a week yet, let alone two) I decided to do some Googling.

Apart from the ever cool Google Earth (I never realised how fascinating pictures from above could be, but they really are!) I found another fun Google site: Google Books. I found out about this site when I typed the first line of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" in Google, just to see what would happen. For those of you that don't know, (and you're forgiven) it's: "it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife". And what did I find out? At Google Books there's complete books to read! You can search by title, author, or random quote. How cool is that! Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, Little Women, all my old favorites. But also study guides for Harry Potter, information about the Dutch law system, facts about Indiana and all kinds of other things.
I guess they're licensed to put whole books online after the copyrights expire. I know for sheet music it takes 100 years, but I don't know how that is with books.

And of course I would much rather sit on the couch with a "real", paper book, I do think this website is a very useful library for looking up quotes. Or just reading that favorite chapter of your favorite book when you don't have it around. Or am I the only one who is that "bookaholic"?

Mono part II

It seems like since I've known that I have mono, I haven't been able to do anything. Everything makes me tired. I fold a load of laundry, I sleep. I unload the dish washer, I sleep. I clean the cat boxes, then have to sit on the couch. Everything goes in little steps but I'm not used to that yet. So I end up being suprised at being tired again already. This weekend a famous Dutch singer came to a festival in our town, and we had bought tickets for the event two months ago. I really wanted to see him so I went there for 2 1/2 hours and of course then I was exhausted. It was cool to see him, though.

The good part is that whenever I don't feel like doing something, I don't do it. I have to listen to my body, right? And the other good part is that my cross stitching is really hurrying up. It doesn't cost a lot of energy and it makes me feel like I'm doing at least something productive.