Category Archives: General

Hey Big Spender!

By | | ,
2 Comments

I’m not a big spender tho, I usually prefer to spend the time with people rather than spend big amounts of money. However, this time I spent some money on myself, not much, and got this nice big bag so I can take all my stuff to university, in something smaller and lighter than my backpack. With no more talky talky:

New Bag

If you want to see more pics, you can see a detail, and the back. Tah Dah!

On a completely unrelated note, Jan was so nice as to whip up a couple widgets for me, so I could use yet another widget on the sidebar. Seems if you want a widget, all your sidebar has to be made out of them. Anyway, it looks good! So patient he is (-:

I Can Has Prezints?

By | |
4 Comments

Yez I Can!

Yesterday I went out for dinner with friends to FrescCo, a free buffet place with LOADS of vegetarian, and even vegan, options. They gave me a little pressie, so I remember them when I’m in cold Belgium snuggling on the couch:

Stuffed Doggie

And I sent each of them home with four cupcakes of the ones I made the previous day (pics to come).

And my mother bought me new running shoes. Purrty walk on clouds running shoes! In case you’re interested, they’re Brooks Beast.

Running Shoes

I’m The Black Sheep

By | |
1 Comment

And Jan gave me a little black sheep cellphone charm for my birthday. He sent it via mail, and it arrived early, but I love opening my mail! So I have a stand-in present till I go to Belgium in December and get my other pressie. What will it be?!

I leave you, with black sheepie:

Black Sheepie Munching Grass Cellphone Charm

And don’t forget to check out no-contest. There is still time!

Christmas Is Here!

By | |
6 Comments

Or at least, for me! I’ve been feeling like browsing Christmas ornaments, and making a nice tree for a couple weeks, and that doesn’t happen every year.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you may remember that last year I had this no-contest where everyone won a Christmas Card. I had so much fun making the cards together with Jan, cards we later sent to our friends and family, and to all of you who sent me their address, that I want to repeat it this year too.

So here it is how it works: you use the Contact Me page to send me a message with your name and your full snail mail address (please, include the country!) (feel free to include the nick by which I know you usually if that is the case).

I’m setting a deadline for this, you have to send the message by the 30th on November. This way I can get more cardstock and envelopes if I don’t have enough, and make the actual cards. Each card will have a personal message handwriten by me, of course.

Fine print? I will not share the information you provide in this no-contest with anyone, by any reason, not even if they pay me a ton of money. The information will be used only for the purpose of sending you a pretty handmade Christmas card, and nothing else.

Hurry up, the cards are waiting!

MeMe & Blog Action Day

By | | ,
1 Comment

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you’re a dreamer, but you’re not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Now, let’s talk about the future. Blog Action Day wants bloggers to dedicate a post today to the environment. I’m going to discuss my future (dream) house. Not really discuss, ok, just give a few hints on what I’d love to have. Let’s start:

  • Solar panels, for electricity, and for heating. Why use coal / petrol / etc, when you can use the Sun to provide energy? The first inversion is expensive, yes, but you start “earning” money in less than five years (both in Spain and Belgium the electric companies are forced to buy the energy you produce at a higher price than you buy it from them)
  • Water recycling systems: all the tap water used for washing hands and showering is recycled via mechanical ways (no chemicals at all), and then used for laundry and toilet flushing. Give your water a second chance!
  • Rain water deposits: can be used to water the garden when it doesn’t rain enough, and also for showering & toilet flushed if rightly treated.
  • Double or tripple layer window panes: you know, the kind that has inert gas between two layers of glass. Thermal & acoustic isolation all the way.
  • North-South Orientation: Getting the best orientation on a custom build house can save you money, making the house warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
  • Local gardening: by this I mean planting local trees and flowers, and not trying to grow a tropical fruit tree in below zero conditions.
  • Veggie garden: Grow your own food, or, if you can’t do this, buy locally produced food. Are you sure you want to eat that tomato that has rippened in the truck refrigerator? Of course you can’t buy everything local, but at least you can try. Also helps buying in season. Speaking of that tomato, fresh tomato salad in winter?

Now, I don’t want to preach. Those items up there are just things I’d love to have, and will do my best to get whenever we can afford a house. Pss, good isolation means tax cuts in some countries *cough*Belgium*cough* Gotta love it!

Randomness provided by: a cup of koffie verkeerd, two double chocolate chips ahoy, and cold medicine.

Can I Skip Today?

By | | ,
Leave a comment
  • I woke up at 3 am, after 4 hours sleep. Thanks family, I love you too. Sleeping this little gives me migraines. I’ve been having this kind of migraine for the past two weeks. Not happy.
  • The metro took twice as much to take me from point A to point B this morning, meaning I arrived with one minute to spare before classes started. How come I had one minute to spare? I always leave way too early because you never know when the metro service will break down. The same metro service that advertises itself saying that you can save 20 minutes in the morning if you take the metro instead of the car. That only happens one in five mornings, if you’re lucky.
  • Uni’s Wifi kicked me out more than usual, and in the end, it kicked me for good.
  • Lunch consisted of two sad uber thin slices of bread, one leaf iceberd lettuce that had seen better days, three or four slices of tasteless tomato, three slices of hard boiled egg, one canned asparragus, and spoonful mayo. They call that a “vegetarian sandwich”. At least, it was cheap (1.40€) and made to order.
  • Tried to use the wifi again after lunch: seems the building that is marked as WiFi area is not such. Zero signal
  • My phones’ batteries died. The other university buildings have plugs to spare. This one (the no WiFi one) has none. Thus I was left: phone-less, clock-less, and unable to send a message to tell Jan the building had no WiFi.
  • Exam revision: The problem I thought I had more or less decent solved? I got a zero. I got a zero on two problems, actually… I got a frigging 8 over 60 !

Now, really, can the day PLEASE finish? I’m exhausted, and it’s only 3pm.

Update: 6.30 pm, I found out they changed my Fluid Mechanics I mark, from a 4.7/10 to a 5/10, which means I passed the course(!). Do I have to start cursing my bad days to get some small good thing back? Inquiring minds want to know ( :p )

Book Junkie

By | | , , , , ,
5 Comments

I love reading, love it. I used to read one book per week, now with university and work, I’m down to about a book every two weeks, more or less. So, I was running out of reading material, and after I asked Jan for a few books to read, I decided to order some other books. What did I buy?

  • The Secrets of Jin Shei, by Alma Alexander.
  • In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant
  • Empress Orchid, by Anchee Min
  • Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, by Isa Chandra & Terry Hope
  • Cocina Oriental (Asian Cooking), from IKEA cooking book series
  • Cocina Vegetariana (Vegetarian Cooking), from IKEA cooking book series
  • Cocina Festiva (Party Cooking), from IKEA cooking book series
Pile Of Books
(click the pic for a bigger view)

On top of that pile of books, my first Moleskine notebook. I fell in love with these expensive notebooks a while back, and finally I caved in and bought me a large blank one. It’s being used for random writing and doodling, for collage, for memories, that sort of thing. Where did I buy it? Altaïr bookstore stocks all the notebooks in Madrid! I’m pondering getting a City Notebook for Madrid as well, so I can note down all our finds.

On a side note, I have a five day weekend! The first of may is Workers’ Day, the second is City Holiday, and I’m taking the 30th of April off school (classes have been changed, anyway – so I’m not missing anything). Plans for this loooong weekend include: knitting, sewing (I have some pretty Ikea fabric to make a yoga mat bag and a weekender bag), studying (gotta boost up the study time, exams are coming up, dammit!), taking care of sweet bunny and pet sparrow, cooking, reading, sleeping, working on freelance project, and doing pilates (Yay I’m being a good girl and doing pilates and it shows!)