And the light returned

We made it through the darkest days, which were lightened up by snow, and more snow. Even Brussels got its fair share. I spent this white Christmas in the Ardens, far away from internet connection or cell phone reception. Buried in one meter snow. Wrapped in layers of thermic clothing. Thoroughly testing the new camera, enjoying some very precious Q-time with the parents, and receiving lots of Christmas presents. Santa threw some very nice gifts through the chimney this year, some more surprising than others. So although it was -10°C, it was a very warm holy night.

The bad birthday karma

Me and birthday parties, we have a thing. And it’s not a good thing. Actually, it’s so bad, that 10 years ago, I decided to never ever organize another birthday party again, for as long as I lived. Somehow, something always happens to all my guests. They forget. Or they become sick. Or they suddenly have an increased workload. Or they are stuck in traffic. Or they get lost. Or they are too scared to drive. Or whatever.

The last year I still lived at my parents, I waited more than 3 hours for the first guests. The food was cold. P and I had started eating. Finally, 2 people showed up. The rest came when we were clearing the table, and I was on the verge of tears. I said: “Never again”.

The first year I had my own apartment, I thought: let’s try it again. Very bad idea. I sat alone, on my birthday, in my flat, until 22.30pm. Then one guest arrived. P arrived half an hour later. 20 minutes later, the party was over, as my one guest went home. I swore: never ever again.

Until this year. I know. Stupid idea. Yesterday, I had 16 confirmed guests. I couldn’t believe my luck. I thought the bad birthday karma was finally broken. I ordered food, and more food. My mom made a huge birthday cake for my party (the same she always made when I was a kid, and people still showed up at my parties). At 3 PM today everything was ready. Then the phone started ringing. One after the other, they cancelled. Because it snowed. Well hey, it happens to be winter, you know. I wonder if people in let’s say Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or Canada never go to parties because they have snowy winters.

In the end, 5 people showed up (and no, they didn’t live right next door, and yes, they took their car and drove through the snow, and yes, they *miraculously* survived.) I’m very, very grateful to those few friends who didn’t let me down, who tried to fill the room, and did their best to conquer the mountains of food.

However, we are left with 19 cupcakes, 3 bottles of champagne, numerous bottles of wine and soft drinks, bags of crisps, boxes of olives, at least 5 different cheeses, three baguettes, etc, etc. And 3/4th of the huge birthday cake my mom lovingly made all by herself, and brought to me this morning (yes, 37 km through the snow).

So, you can already guess what I’m going to say now, right? Right. Never again.

The party season

Last weekend : our wedding anniversary

This morning : Christmas brunch for all P’s colleagues

This evening : Santa Lucia dinner at our downstairs’ neighbours

Next Friday : concert in Brussels with P

Next Saturday : Big Consulting Company’s Christmas party

Next Sunday : my birthday party for friends

Next Monday : my birthday dinner for family

After that, things will become too blurry, due to too much food and alcohol. But I’m sure there are other things following (Christmas and New Year’s, to name a few)

Say cheese!

Exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, … My head is buzzing with new camera-related vocabulary. God, I have so much to learn. And as usual, I’m a very impatient learner. That’s why I watched over 10 tutorial Youtube-video’s, read an online manual, and tried out every single button on the camera… in one afternoon. Result: I took some great pics (if I say so myself),….but I honestly can’t remember any more how I took them (in what mode, program, or whatever).


P is desperate to have 5 minutes without a lens poking into his face, hamster Lucy wishes she could open her eyes for a minute without being blinded by a flash, and if the Christmas tree had feet…he would run right back into the forest.

So, as you’ve guessed by now: I’m quite happy with my first real dSLR-camera!

One year ago

One year ago, I had a great night with some very special friends. K, all the way from London, and K and C, my two maids of honour. It was the eve of my wedding, and I felt great. Not nervous, just happy. Happy to get married, happy to have all those precious friends around me. It was such a wonderful time, that all through last week, I was afraid. Afraid to feel sad and nostalgic. And hey, guess what? I had a fantastic day today.

Outside, a snowstorm was raging. I put up the Christmas tree, while P put Frank Sinatra’s Christmas songs in the CD player (an open fire would’ve made the scene perfect). P faced the storm to come back home and surprise me with the camera I've been saving for the past months. I re-read the last post before my wedding , and laughed out loud. Now,while writing this, P is having dinner with his family, and I’m home alone.

Preparations for tomorrow’s surprise: check
Great dinner from Italian deli : check
Rented movie : check
Married for one year : check :-) !

The first jingle of bells

Yesterday, the first snowflakes hit Belgian soil. The Brussels’ Christmas Market is ready to open. My Christmas decoration is impatiently waiting in our garage. Temperatures have dropped below zero, and the hilly Ardennes got a beautiful white carpet. Winter has arrived. Meaning:
- P & I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary
- It will be “Sinterklaas” very soon
- my birthday is in a few weeks
- and so are Christmas and New Year.

In other words: I never know whether to feel happy or sad this time of year. As a result, I always get stuck in some kind of nostalgic twilight zone. But I’ll do my very best to stay focused on all the twinkly Christmas lights, and forget that’s it already dark at 4.30 pm. I’ll also try to forget my age, and refrain from the habit of making an analysis of the past year. I’ll try to lower my expectations concerning parties, gifts, surprises, etc. And there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I’ll be celebrating New Year (ever) again in an airplane. I won’t cry on my birthday (another bad habit), and I’ll try to control myself when it comes to Christmas decoration (but can’t make any promises on that one...).

So there, these are my “Old Year resolutions”.
Should be entirely do-able :-) (I know it should be "feasible", but do-able is just a funnier word)

FYI : it's PTO

This conversation took place yesterday evening

N : I have a job interview tomorrow evening
P : Well, you better be home on time, ‘cause I have…P – T – O !!!
N : huh?
P : PTO!! It’s this really cool new thing we have at work!!!
N : (questioning look, & noticing that this PTO thing must be far more interesting than her job interview)
P : “Protected Time Off” !!! Everyone on the team now has one PTO-evening, so we can do stuff like sports, or meeting friends, or going home on time,…!!!
N : Wow – careful, you guys might end up having a normal life…

So ,for the past 7 years that P has been working at the Big Consulting Company, I’ve been asking for one free evening a week. You know, just one evening were we could have dinner together around 8, just like normal people. Needless to say, this never happened. Up until this three-letter word appeared. Now it’s suddenly “a really cool new thing”.

And that’s why, dear readers, from now on, I will put all my wishes and demands in three-letter words. Because apparently, a little marketing-trick is all it takes.
These are some of the projects in the pipeline:

WTP : wish to procreate
CAN : communicative action needed
PTT : planned time together

Damn, this is so easy! Now a little power point presentation to sell the whole idea, act as if it’s a totally new concept, and BINGO!