Food

A while ago I blogged about my running and my new approach to food (I really dislike the word diet). I don't understand why (for usually these attempts don't last very long) but things are still going really well with that.I wrote about my Start to Run course that I've been taking (a podcast that helps you build up to running 5 km in half an hour). Well, I've been done with that for about a month now, and since I really enjoyed the running I decided to move on to the next course (5-10 km). I have no clue whether I'll be able to finish it (because running ten km does sound awfully far) but so far, so good. I've been running two to three times a week and I still am.

The running obviously helped me burn lots of calories. My eating more healthful food didn't hurt, either. All in all, I'm proud to be able to say that I've lost 7.6 kgs so far (almost 17 lbs) and it's still going down. My goal was to lose 6.4 kgs (nice rounded number, don't you think?) so I'm way past that already. I'm happy the way my weight is now. If I lose more, that's ok, if I don't, that's cool as well. The Christmas season usually doesn't make me lose weight so we'll see how this year goes.The running has really gotten me in better shape. I've had less colds and feel better all around. Let's hope I can keep this up!

100

Inspired by Hette... Have you ever?
1. Started your own blog: obviously!
2. Slept under the stars: Not without a tent
3. Played in a band: yes, in music college
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity: I give to charity but never more than I can afford.
7. Been to Disneyland: yes, in LA
8. Climbed a mountain: lots of times
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo:I´m a music teacher, I sing solos every day.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris: yes, with my parents, host parents, and later with my now ex-boyfriend. He broke up with me as soon as we got back.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch: does playing piano count?
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables: every summer.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France: yes, I thought it would be larger.
20. Slept on an overnight train:
21. Had a pillow fight: lots of camps.
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill: my host mom once told me she allowed her kids 1 "mental health day" per semester. I've done that before.
24. Built a snow fort: on skiing trips and in Indiana.
25. Held a lamb: growing up, our neighbors had sheep. I used to bottle feed the abandoned lambs.
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon: no, 6.5 km is my record so far
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice: no but I have been to Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset: I watched the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. That was very impressive.
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person: yes, in the snow in the fall of 2002.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors: Yes. I also live in the house of my husband's ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community: yes in Ohio and Pennsylvania
36. Taught yourself a new language: yes, Italian (I've been taking classes for a while now but I started on my own).
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke: obviously. I'm a music teacher.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt: in July 1999 on my Rotary youth exchange West tour.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight: my grandpa lives 3 km from the sea so I've done this several times. Also in Crete on vacation
46. Been transported in an ambulance: no, thank goodness.
47. Had your portrait painted: I think a charicature counts.
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person: yes, last year.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris: yes, twice.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling: no, too claustrofobic to breathe through a tube.
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud: of course.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class: some self defence classes.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies: no, I've bought them before, though.
62. Gone whale watching: we wanted to when we were in Vancouver Island, but they were too far out at sea.
63. Got flowers for no reason: yes, from my husband.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy: my teddybear went to the USA with me and now lives in a basket in my bedroom (even in the trailer)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial: yes, in May 1999 with my parents.
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London: twice.
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person: yes in July 1999. I saw a lot of these things in 1999.
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican: a year ago.
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper: yes in local newspapers.
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House: I repeat, in 1999. It's not possible anymore, so it's pretty cool that we had the experience.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life: no, my husband has, though.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous: define famous.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake: my toe did, in 1999.
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day: I do this every vacation.
Well, I did 41 out of a 100 in only twenty-seven years.. Pretty good!

Almost/already

Every year around this time of December, I keep telling myself "It's almost Christmas". I count the days until Christmas vacation and time can't go fast enough for me. I'm typically fairly exhausted, and to use a Dutch expression, "walking on my gums". (That means you're ready for a break!)

This year, it seems to be different. I don't really know why, but time has flown by like crazy. I'm not trying to use that cliché to excuse my absence here, but it's really true! The remodeling isn't done yet, but the house is starting to look like a house again. Latest development: windows! We have underfloor heating (don't know if that is the correct translation); a system of hot water tubes connected to each other. This week, a layer of cement was poured over it so we can start laying tile. (I obviously use the term "we" very loosely.) Six weeks from last Wednesday the cement will be dry and we'll be able to turn on the heat. Hopefully we'll be able to move in not too long after that. The kitchen will be installed in the second week of January.

The heating system.

The cement floor in the living room.

One of the windows in the back wall!

So instead of the "It's almost Christmas" this year, I'm thinking "Is it Christmas already?".

Haiku - II

Limited cleaning
Low housing expenses
Dream trailer

Haiku

Slanting floor, bad couch
Limited storage, cold nights
Dream trailer

Nasty

The other day I was getting ready to go to bed. As I turned the light in my bedroom on, I noticed this. A slug! On my bedroom wall! About ten cm away from my matrass! It was nasty and big. It must have crept up the trailer and in through the window that was cracked open about two cm.
My husband wasn't home. That's why I called my father-in-law, who lives down the street. This wonderful man rescued me from the evil slug-thing and released it outside. Yuck!

Motivational

A while ago I wrote about my weighty changes. At that time I had lost 3 kg (6.6 lbs) by changing my diet, keeping track of my calories and exercising more. I wondered how long I would be able to keep it up, because in the past I've never been the dieting kind of person. That's turned out to go really well, because as I write this I'm happy to be able to say that I lost 5.2 kg (11.4 lbs) so far. Since I wanted to lose 6.2, I only have one more kg to go.

One of the ways I exercise is "Start to Run". One of my friends told me about this. It's a podcast from a Belgian sports show. The anchor lady tells you when to run and when to walk, and plays music. In the meantime she sometimes says motivational things in an adorable Flemish accent. "Aren't you proud of yourself? I'm very proud of you!" and "Are you enjoying the surroundings?" and "Keep it up, only two more minutes to go!" are some of the things she says. It's really weird how something that a lady in a studio recorded two years ago motivates me as I'm running, but it really works for me. I haven't written about it sooner, because I wasn't sure if I'd like it or if I'd keep it up. But yesterday I ran the 20th session (out of 27!). At the end of the sessions you're supposed to be able to run 5 km in half an hour. The first time I went, I had to run for a minute, walk for a minute, and so on. Yesterday I was able to run for eight minutes, walk for a minute, and I repeated that three times. That means I ran thirty-two minutes in total yesterday! I don't want to brag but it makes me pretty proud of myself.

And you know what helps a lot too? I've gone down two dress sizes and my stomach is a lot flatter. Instead of asking me if I'm pregnant (which happened weekly this past spring), people comment on my weight loss and congratulate me. Now that is motivational!

Header

Once again it's been very quiet over here. Life is busy. Between school, the renovation and everything else that's going I just don't seem to be able to find the time to blog. But now my fall break has started so I'll write an update soon.

Sheila can't wait for that, though. She made a new header for my blog (isn't it cool? With a chicken!) and it's been up for two days now. She's home sick and probably checking my blog ten times a day, only to see that I still haven't thanked her. It's getting a little pushy so I'll thank her right now ;-). So head over to her blog soon and give her a compliment, that will give her something to read and hopefully she'll feel better soon.

Groceries - Dutch style

From the money I received for my birthday I decided to buy a sensible product: bicycle bags! This is the way Dutch women get groceries. Not the weekly ones, where you buy liters and liters of milk, but the odds and ends that you forget and have to run to the store for. Some people don't have a car; they use them for everything.



As you can see the bags have zippers. That way, when I have a lot of things to carry with me, I can enlarge the bags. The elastic bands across the bags also hold a box or purse in place.

Are these even available outside of Europe?

27

Ten years ago, I had spent the first two weeks of my exchange year in Indiana. Today I celebrate my birthday in a trailer in my backyard. My, how time flies!

Bathtub

Have you ever taken a bath in a bathroom showroom? We have! We found a tub that is big enough to fit my M, but has armrests so I'll fit in it as well. It's 190x90 cm (6 ft 3" by 3 ft). We had fun today, trying out the different tubs and looking at sinks/toilets/urinals.It was our third day in bathroom stores so we were getting a little silly... But now we have three different prices on our bathroom and toilet, so we can start comparing. That way we'll know where the best deal is.

Family portrait

Prairiecowboy had asked me how the baby chicks were doing. Time for an update!

Here's a before picture:

The little one that is face down didn't make it. But two other ones did, so four chicks survived. Three of these babies turned out to be roosters, one of them is a hen. She's lucky. Check out Prairiecowboy's site to see what will eventually happen to the roosters.
Let's start with a photo of Bjorn and Marloes. Bjorn is the white rooster, Marloes is one of his wives. Both these chickens were born here October last year.


If you wonder why Marloes's feathers are a little jagged on the side, well, let's just say Bjorn is to blame for that.

Here's a slightly scary picture of the four chicks in a row. The big ones are Marloes's boys (or her sister Piri Piri, it's hard to tell because they're identical).


Left to right: rooster, rooster, rooster, hen. They're all the same age, though different in size. The first rooster and the hen's mothers are a lot smaller than Marloes and Piri Piri. That's why their kids are smaller, too. Bjorn is the father to all of these kids.

This is Ellen and her son. You can tell they're alike. This little boy is the dark chick from the top photo.

The chickens were pretty freaked out by the camera's flash. That's why none of the pictures turned out to be World Press Photo candidates ;-). That's ok though, you get the idea!

Weighty changes

When you cook for people who build a house, you have to make sure you feed them plenty of calories. All that carrying bricks around and jumping up and down scaffolding makes them burn a lot of energy, and they need to eat well in order to replace that. That's why I had been buying, baking and cooking lots of cookies, carby soups and elaborate sandwiches. (I don't know if a sandwich can technically be elaborate, but you get my point).

My M has been faring well on this diet (and the exercise combined). He's lost 8 kg (17.6 lbs) and toned up a lot since we started remodeling. I have also fared well... but in the bad sense of the word. I gained a little weight and definitely didn't tone up at all. When you live in a trailer you don't walk any stairs. I don't have a vegetable garden this year (there goes that form of exercise, gardening) and while rounding up the schoolyear I found myself sitting on a bench with the laptop on my lap all too often.

That's why I decided to make some changes. Starting the first day of summer vacation (6 July) I changed my diet. I banned unhealthy snacks, started to eat more fruit and vegetables, bought healthier versions of products (I like the words "light" or "diet" on a label), started weighing my dinner ingredients so I wouldn't get too many calories, and started keeping track of my calorie intake. I also started exercising more regularly (I try to get at least 30 minutes of moving my butt a day). The result so far? I've lost 3 kgs (6.6 lbs). That doesn't seem much in five weeks, but I'm ok with it. It's progress, and I can keep it up without feeling too sorry for myself. I've read that the faster you lose weight, the more likely you are to start yo-yoing. And that's not the poing of this plan. The point is that the numbers on the scale are slowly moving downward. And in another 3 kgs I'll be really satisfied (and then the challenge is to keep it that way). That means I'm halfway now. I'll keep you posted how I do!

Easy pasta sauce

Every year I have a vegetable garden with all kinds of veggies and fruits. This year, however, my vegetable garden is non-existent, because that's where all the old bricks and roof tiles have been thrown. It's literally a junk yard!
People know that I like to grow vegetables, however, and sometimes they give me plants. I can't throw away a plant so when I received two tomato plants and a zucchini plant, I went ahead and planted them behind the trailer.
When we came back from our two-week vacation, three zucchinis and a bunch of tomatoes were ripe. It's hard to keep them well in the trailer, because it gets pretty hot in here. On a sunny day 32 C (90F) is not uncommon. That's why I decided to freeze them to have easy pasta sauce in the freezer.

Inspired by the Pioneer Woman, here's the cast of characters:

Olive oil, three bell peppers, three onions, three cloves of garlic, three zucchinis and a bunch of tomatoes. There's also wheat macaroni in the picture but I didn't need that until later, when I actually converted the veggies into pasta sauce.

First, I cut the onions and garlic in little pieces, and started sautéeing them in the olive oil. Because I'm not the Pioneer Woman, I don't have a picture of that.

When the onions were almost transparent, I added the cut up bell peppers. I like to use three different colors, because it makes my dish look happy.

After they were softened a little, I added the zucchini pieces.

The tomatoes were next. After I had added them, I turned the fire down and let everything simmer for a while, stirring it occasionally. After about ten minutes, everything was nice and softened and there was a little layer of juice in the pot. I then grabbed my handmixer and blended everything. Not so smoothly that it looked like baby food, but smooth enough so it was a sauce with still something to chew.

Depending on the zucchini:tomato ratio this sauce usually turns out anywhere between a green -orange - red color. Two kgs of vegetables made four 2-person servings. We ate one and froze three.
I added some ground beef and italian spices, and voila! Easy pasta!

House update

My summer has started and I've been too busy and lazy to write anything. As you can imagine, the remodeling is taking a lot of our time. But it's really starting to look like a house!

The back wall without the scaffolding.

The new roof with the Velux-windows. The first four are in the living room, the last three are bedroom windows.
A view from the front. The side wall has been re-grouted and looks as new!

The stable windows in the living room side wall. This part of the wall has been rebuilt, using the old bricks.

The patio doors in the living room.

Summer Kings

In Dutch, some people nickname strawberries "Summer Kings". This is my very first harvest of this year!

Wow!

I'm trying to win a 17 cd box via Rocks In My Dryer, which is a pretty cool blog that I often read.
Wow Hits 1 is the cd box that is to be won. I hope there's a chance I can get it!

Illegal Visitors

I had repeatedly found the cat food container topsy-turvy. The other day I found out why. We've been having illegal visitors! Apparently two hedgehogs live underneath my trailer. They're kind of cute but very prickly!

New Life

Today four chicks hatched!

Lovely things

- Today was the first day in 2008 that I did not wear socks. I did wear flipflops and sunscreen, however;
- sleeping in;
- having coffee outside in the sun, while reading the paper;
- watching my husband do the same (and not DIY-ing for a change!);
- jumping on the trampoline with the girls nextdoor;
- having dinner with my parents on their patio;
- dinner being a salad with smoked chicken and ciabatta mmmmmm;
- going to bed after having changed the sheets (which had dried outside and smell wonderful).
And the best part is: all these things happened in one day!

One of those questions that will never be answered...

The sun shone today, so I decided to do a lot of laundry. Weekends are horrible for laundry since I can't hang it up (it'll be in the way of the workers) and I can't use my dryer because the power is off a lot of times.

While the first load was in the machine, we went to a bathroom showroom. Then we went out to lunch. Then we went to the second bathroom showroom. We got home just in time for dinner.

So much for my laundry plans. I threw in a load after we got home, and managed to get another load done right before I went to bed. The only problem was: the dryer was still full with the first load, and I couldn't use my indoor clothes line because it's in the shed where the construction workers have coffee and eat their lunch. They don't need to see my socks and undies while they eat their lunch. That is not necessary.

So, as I unfolded my laundry rack at 23:00 (11 pm) and hung up my laundry in the evening air, I pondered one of those questions that will never be answered...

How is it possible that when I take the sheets off our bed, one of the pillow cases is always inside out while the other one is inside in?

Cold frame

The early beginnings of lettuce and lavatera in my cold frame. It's spring again and even though my vegetable garden is now a brick dump, my cold frame is still in function!

International

69

It hit me like a ton of bricks...

... that we're not only demolishing, but building too. That seems to be good news. On the other hand, the cabin fever hit me too. All of a sudden I was annoyed by the lack of privacy, and mad at myself for those emotions. We are very grateful to all the people who help us with the remodeling. Without them, it would cost us a lot more money. But at the same time, it would be nice to not have people around the house (and trailer) all the time. It would be nice to be able to say "OK, it's 19:00 and I'm going to get into my pajamas and veg out on the couch. That is not possible. My M gets home from work, eats dinner, changes into his work clothes and gets to work. Around ten o'clock he walks in the house, drinks something and goes to bed. Lovely.

But it's all worth it. And I should not be complaining. It's only temporary, and it's all worth it. I just need to get over myself sometimes...

Intelligent Cat

While there were twelve people running around, working on the house, the cat decided to do the intelligent thing....

House renovation

For everybody who speaks Dutch, and is interested in the renovation of our house, check my new blog.
Don't worry, I'll still write here too!

Fiery Chicken

This week is Easter break and I'm a week off. So today I decided to cook a really nice dinner, because I love doing that. I still had a rooster in the freezer so I took that out and fixed it. But the minute my husband got home from work and I started to put everything on the table, he was paged by the fire department. That's why I ate by myself... But the dinner was good enough to share it with you. I thought it was about time for another recipe!

Nic's roast rooster with vegetables

You will need:

- 1 whole chicken
- 1 stem of leek, chopped
- stalk of celery, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- about 10 cherry tomatoes, halved (a few big tomatoes in chunks are ok too)

- 1 big carrot, diced
- 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
- rosemary
- paprika
- salt and pepper
- about a glass of red wine
- the same amount of bouillon (chicken or herb)
- margarine and olive oil

Dry the chicken and season generously with rosemary, paprika, salt and pepper. Melt the margarine and olive oil and heat in a large skillet. Brown the chicken on all sides (this may take a while). When the chicken looks crispy and brown, take it out of the skillet. In the hot grease, brown the onion, garlic, carrot and potatoes. Stir for a little bit, then add the celery and tomatoes. Pour in the wine and bouillon and stir gently. Put the chicken on top of the vegetables and cover the skillet. Let simmer for a good long while (I think it may have taken me two hours), turning the chicken every once in a while. When the meat is so tender it starts to fall off the bones, you can be sure that it is done.

I served this with homemade biscuits. It tasted really good!

This is why I've been offline

This is my home, right now. The internet connection took a while to work correctly. That's why I haven't posted anything in over a month. It works better now, though, so I expect to be online more.


My house looks like this. The big demolishing has begun!

Working hard

This is a "before-picture"... We're really busy moving all of our stuff to the trailer. Today we spent the whole day with the help of my brother, sister-in-law, M's brother and girlfriend, and M's parents. They helped us pack things up and move things. Boy, do we have a lot of stuff!

The plan is to move to the trailer within a few days. After that, the big demolishing can start. Fun, but very emotional for me!

Away

Tonight I'm leaving for Italy to ski for a week. Bye!

Teaching

Working with teenagers is what I like to do, and what I'm good at. Sometimes it totally frustrates me, though. Like last night.

There's this extracurricular activity that another teacher and I lead. We've done it for a few years now, and some of the girls involved in it have become friends. Well, I don't know if that is the right word, because there's a twelve year age difference between us and obviously we don't confide in them. They do confide in us, though. Last night one of the girls told my colleague something that broke my heart. She told her that she had a problem involving auto-mutilation, and even showed her arm.

I thought I knew this girl. I thought she was a happy, bouncy teenager whose only problems could be what time to get home after a party or what clothes to wear. But I was wrong.

There's nothing I can do for this girl. I don't even teach at her building. Thank goodness she told my colleague that she had been talking to the school's counselor, so she is getting help. But I feel slightly powerless. Sure, I can pray for her and be nice to her. But somehow that doesn't feel like it's enough.

Getting attached to your students is a good thing, but it also has its downside...

Roosters Goodbye

The four white chickens you see here are roosters. The two brown ones are hens. All of them were hatched October 29. The roosters eat a lot, poop a lot, fight and aren't very productive. That is why I gave three of them away to our uncle, who promised to return one (deep-frozen). One is allowed to stay and rule over the hen house (as long as he isn't too noisy, like Tandoori was). Some people say this is cruel, but I guess that's the way farm life can be...

Sew busy

When we bought our trailer I realised that it would take some effort to turn this little world of 1981 brown and green in a housey environment that I would feel comfortable in. And since I received a sewing machine as a wedding present, I decided to sew new covers for the cushions.

So I counted, measured, went to Ikea to buy many metres of fabric, washed and ironed that fabric and started to sew.


Lots of hours in the past six months were spent working with my new best friend. Today I achieved my goal: I finished the last one. That means that I covered sixteen cushions. I did feel very housewify! And this, my friends, was the very last one. Now all I have to do is use the scraps to make a tablecloth and maybe two pillow covers. But none of that will take as much time as those huge cushions, or even worse, the corner cushions (look closely in the first picture and you will see one).
M laid new carpet and vinyl in the trailer (I'll show you a picture later) so it's starting to look more and more like home. Which is good, because we'll probably have to live in it for at least a year. So it might as well be as comfortable as possible!

Lucky again!

Wow, I'm still so lucky! Lots of really good things are happening right now. I already bragged about my upcoming vacation, so I won't do that again. But now I'm lucky at work, too.
Our school has had a new concierge for a while now. This man is very attentive, and thinks along with everyone in the building. He saw me racing around with the tv/dvd-set a lot, and he also noticed that the distance between the room where the tv-set is located and my classroom is pretty far. Not only is it far, but I have to cross two thresholds with the cart, so it's slightly dangerous to move the set.
The other day he asked me to step into his office. He showed me a brand new tv/dvd-set with an awesomely big and flat tv, and asked me if I would like to have it for my classroom!
Well, of course I did...

So now I'll never have to worry if the tv is available anymore, and anytime I want to use the tv or dvd for highly educational purposes, I can!

To ski or not to ski

When there's a big remodeling planned, you need a lot of money. That's why we decided to skip our annual skiing trip this year. After all, when we move into the trailer, we'll feel like we're on vacation anyway (hopefully) and while we work on the house we will get just as much physical exercise. Besides, spring nights can be chilly, so we can feel just like we're in the mountains, while we sleep under our plastic roof....

Something changed, however.

My uncle called and told us that his daughter won't be going on the trip. And because it's already paid for, would I like to go? My M can't take any days off, but I'll have carnaval vacation so I'll be off school already, anyway. We talked about it, and now I'm going to go on the skiing trip, after all!
I never expected to be going to Italy twice within six weeks, but I am. I'm so lucky!! (And I have a wonderful uncle, for taking me, and a wonderful husband, for letting me go!)

When in Rome...

... there was no opportunity to blog. But it was beautiful!
We spent 4 days in Rome, between Christmas and New Year's. We saw all the sights (well, all the major sights, anyway) and had lots of fun with two of our best friends. It was really cool. This was our third city trip with them (Barcelona and Copenhagen were previous) but it just keeps getting more fun, it seems like.

I don't feel like writing much, but I did want to share one of the best pictures with you.
And of course, wish all of you a wonderful 2008!