| Topic: "[Fridge]`" |
Wednesday
14 May 2008|09:35pm |
For ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) rintheamazing, finally!
( my fridge inside and out )
Nursery pics turned out too dark, so I'll have to retake some there. And I have no time to resize all the others, so that'll have to wait too =)
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| Topic: "[Help, I'm turning into a housewife!]" |
Saturday
10 May 2008|02:14pm |
[x]A while ago I asked about applesauce stains. I have since then found a remedy (as we apparently don't have borax, and whereas I thought washing soda was available, I haven't found it so far).
Marseille soap works really well when applied to it immediately (just rub the stain out with a stick), and it works even on older stains that have been in the dryer repeatedly (I had 50% success rate, will apply it again after next wash cycle, just apply the soap and then throw it in the washing machine like that).
[x]Love love love the Dyson. Thanks for the tip, patti_sue ;)
[x]Next: a mobile a/c unit. I tried looking for swamp coolers but as I've said before, before global warming we really did not need a/c over here. There was 3 weeks of good weather in summer and for the rest it was rainy. I remember playing on a frozen sea when I was little, and temperatures would easily go under 0! Now, it's a record if it reaches 0. So it's pretty normal we're catching up regarding cooling techniques. Ah well, we found an energy class A one for an affordable price (ouch, second big dent!), at least that will get us through until we find a house.
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| Topic: "[Kids!]" |
Monday
05 May 2008|11:36pm |
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music |
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Simple Minds - Don't you forget about me |
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The term "snotty face" takes on a whole new meaning when your nursing baby, whom you are holding with both arms, suddenly strikes at your - of course runny - nose, and then lovingly caresses your face.
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| Topic: "[Taken from flutterbychild]" |
Tuesday
29 Apr 2008|11:04pm |
Ask me seven questions. Not just any seven questions though. No, to keep it interesting, use the seven questions as per below - just copy and paste the following, replace the blanks with something you want to know/ask (e.g. 4. Donkeys or sandcastles and why?), anything you want, personal, silly, surreal or deep, comment away and I'll answer honestly as I can! Then post this in your own LJ and see what kind of things people want to ask you!
1. What do you think of _____________ ?
2. When did you last ____________?
3. __________ or ___________ and why?
4. What did you ______________?
5. What's your favorite ______________?
6. How would you ______________?
7. Who would you most like to ________ ?
Note: questions/answers may get screened because this is a public post!
I noticed several of you had this one too, but I couldn't type at the time and I don't remember exactly whom it was, so if you want to leave a link!
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| Topic: "[Taken from haemony]" |
Monday
28 Apr 2008|09:45pm |
"Pretentious" book meme
What we have here is the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded.
Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish.
Here's a twist: add (*) beside the ones you liked and would (or did) read again or recommend. Even if you read 'em for school in the first place.
From haemony : Add a ! next to the ones you never started but wanted to, whether for school or not, or are sitting on your bookshelf with your sincere intent to be read (someday!)
Not too shabby. Obviously we had other books we had to read for school!
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| Topic: "[Yes.]" |
Monday
28 Apr 2008|01:44am |
Ah, it's amazing what a weekend mostly spent outside in the sunlight, with a walk in the woods, fine company and barbeque can do. I wish more weekends were like this.
The little one loved the wood, loved being in her great-aunt's garden yesterday, and today again outside with the barbeque at her grandparents'. Pictures forthcoming.
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| Topic: "[Help, I'm turning into a housewife!]" |
Thursday
24 Apr 2008|07:15pm |
So, domestic issues ahead. And because I know my entire FL is full of good tips...
First, let's clear something up though. Everyone's been raving about "baking soda" aka sodium bicarbonate. However, mine is NOT fluffy white like powder sugar, but rather looks like salt. Do I have the wrong one? Mine goes into all sorts of food, and cleans vegetables and such. I can also get the other sodium bicarbonate, which is used for laundry. Is that the one I need?
[x]How to get apple sauce stains out of white-ish bibs? They've been soaked in oxy-action Vanish detergent (which I hate but I use it to get poop stains, rinse well, and then wash in the machine, so it's okay), in warm water, and no dice on one of them. Plus it's been dried because I didn't check the last time I washed it.
[x]Our apartment is always too hot. It's not only because we have direct sunlight on one side (which makes it tropical in winter time, even though Belgium is far from tropical), but also because apparently our neighbours think this is the North Pole.
Now, it is too hot for a baby. Everywhere it says temperature should not be above 20C (68F), and it's way hotter than that.
Get this: our rooms are next to each other, on the North side. There's a hallway leading to them. Would it be okay to have a portable A/C unit (one of those on wheels) in the hallway to help cool off a bit?
Wouldn't that make the air too dry (therefore needing a humidifier?)? Any other ideas?
This would also be great for us to sleep. We have a portable fan but yeah, such a fan just keeps spinning the already hot air.
We're looking into a not-so-expensive option, as we hope to find a house, but we just want to be prepared to spend the summer here if we have to.
[x]Our linoleum floor (which has probably been here since the apartment was built, my guess in the 70ies), is downright dirty. No amount of cleaning helps much. Besides getting on my knees and scrub, is there anything I could try? Vinegar seems to have helped, but hey, we have three cats.
[x]On that topic, I'm tired of having litterbox dust everywhere, especially when it comes in nice little paw prints. What's your experience with other forms of litter? Mine usually aren't too keen on anything else than this very dusty (and cheap) one I use. Would it help if I put a wet cloth just outside the box or will this a)turn them away from the litterboxes b) make them try and jump over it which may lead to some catastrophes c)both a and b ?
[x]Just one last thing: this makes it sound like the house is a pit (and sometimes it is), but really, you do not need to sic the health department on us ;)
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| Topic: "[Maintenance]" |
Monday
21 Apr 2008|10:01pm |
[x]I use four filters semi-regularly: one for writings, one for talk about the novel I quit writing, one for spiritual stuff and one for everything about Sigrid. You can opt in on them in this post, or simply let me know.
Note: I also instored a food filter, which was not yet included in that poll, but as I think I have figured out what I was looking for, I'm not sure I will still use it. Time will tell!
[x]I'm cleaning out my FL, because I realised I scroll past an awful lot of community posts, and I just don't have the time. I came across a whole lot of old and double journals that are never updated anymore. If you're lurking, please let me know but I'm deleting all journals that haven't been updated in 6 months or so.
[x]Please vote for minikin's design!
you can vote once a day here
She needs a LOT of votes!!!
[x]Normal post upcoming. I have limited time on the computer because Sigrid has decided she does not want to nurse anywhere else than in her room, most of the time.
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| Topic: "[Grandma's little tricks]" |
Thursday
17 Apr 2008|05:40pm |
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mood |
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 curious |
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A while ago, I saw a TV show which presented a lot of practical and handy tips on how to live greener, less expensive, with less trouble. Some of those I put into practice, most of them I forgot, unfortunately.
*While drying your laundry in a dryer (best is of course dry it outside), put a couple of dry towels along with it. This will reduce the drying time, therefore saving energy. (it works!)
*Instead of buying deodorant, use sodium bicarbonate (haven't tried it yet)
*Instead of using chemical scrub, use coffee drab from the filter (haven't had coffee since I heard about this)
What are some of your tips?
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| Topic: "[On travel]" |
Wednesday
02 Apr 2008|07:46pm |
heethen_crone asked me in this post you can still answer to to tell where I would go if I could travel anywhere I'd like.
I think the answer is pretty simple: I'd probably take a tour to the Scandinavian countries, especially to Norway. And I would pretty much go as far up north as I could, perhaps to see the North Pole now it still exists!
Reminder: I use filters. You can check and sign up here.
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| Topic: "I'm a horrible mother" |
Tuesday
01 Apr 2008|06:57pm |
As we're going to start Sigrid on solids soon (she REALLY wants them -- she tries to grab my food (since a month and a half), imitates us eating (has been doing that for months), sits up, but we were waiting as long as possible. Now that I saw a list of signs in sapphire_kittum's journal, I think she's ready - she almost lost the tongue thrust reflex and she grabs things with her fingers instead of her palm. And on the 17th she turns 6 months.
Anyway, to prepare for that, and to choose between fruit or veggies, Eric brought home a couple of books.
So far I have learned that because I breastfeed her, she is
-horribly malnurished, as I haven't been giving her formula since she's 6 weeks
-lacking a lot of vitamins, because I don't give her extra vitamins (I did until she was 3 or 4 months, and now I give her every now and then)
-generally underweight, cause she doesn't put on at least 200 gr a week
And that is what I gathered from briefly skimming through some pages. I tossed them and didn't even look into the ones written by the same authors.
In short, we're doing everything wrong ... yeah right.
The new samples I got with coupons for babyfood didn't even mention breastfeeding on their "menu" anymore. Cause I'm sure anyone who does so over 6 months is either crazy or else wants to kill their child.
Last week Eric brought home an article that said "wow, breastfeeding isn't so bad as everyone makes it out to be, it seems". Sheesh, what a discovery!!
/rant
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| Topic: "[Filters poll]" |
Thursday
20 Mar 2008|05:53pm |
Welcome to all new friends =)
This journal is fairly easygoing, and I will talk about just a bit of everything in either public or friends locked posts, but I have several filters for more specific content regarding the four categories. They are open to everyone, but I do not add anyone to them unless they let me know they want to be on them! (likewise, to get off them, just let me know).
Poll #1157533 Filters
Open to: All, results viewable to: NoneFilters you want to be on
Note: please only check the boxes if you are NOT on the filters.
To see which filters you opted in on:
Writing in general test entry
Novel/Myrinsul test entry
Spirituality test entry
Parenting test entry
My appologies to those on the filter who saw the test entries pass by on their FL.
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| Topic: "[On my favourite breakfast]" |
Tuesday
18 Mar 2008|09:02pm |
As asked by sorscha
It's true that I never post much about food. Truth is, I can cook to keep myself alive but I do not like cooking all that much, hence not experimenting much.
E. is the cook in our relationship, and he does a mighty good job at that. Every day (well almost) he prepares the most awesome meals, going from simple to really complex. He's an awesome baker too, and his cakes and pies are to die for. He also makes homemade pizzas and quiches.
Lucky? Very much.
But, I therefore do not have much to write about when it comes to food. Especially not breakfast, because we're both not morning people, and breakfast is usually either skipped or else something quick thrown together.
What I really like though, is some sort of cereal with milk, accompanied by a fruit juice and fruit like peaches, cherries, bananas, apples... I'm a big fan of fruit lately. And some chocolate milk is nice too.
As you can see we have a very different breakfast culture than in Anglo-Saxon countries, where breakfast is usually composed of something more hearthy and consistent. Over here it's mostly cereal and bread, but we're getting over that too. I just wish I had the courage to wake up earlier to make breakfast, but I guess I will have to in a couple of years when little miss Sigrid will go to school.
Well that or learn how to kick E. out of bed effectively ;)
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| Topic: "[On aliens and UFO's]" |
Monday
17 Mar 2008|08:11pm |
As requested by nishar in this post. You can still add to it if you want to!
Do I believe in aliens and UFO's? Definitely.
But perhaps not in the traditional way. Let me explain.
I believe there is more to the world than meets the eye. I feel things, I sense things, and while these things may very well be very subjective, they do exist because they are part of my experience of everything around me. That does not mean they necessarily exist for anyone else.
But to me, the world is not just what my five basic senses tell me there is. Besides, how subjective are the experiences with those senses? Very much. Everything I hear, see, feel, taste, smell passes through so many filters that exist in my brain that the information gets very much tainted by my past feelings, opinions, experiences, knowledge on the subject, etc.
Currently I am reading John A. Keel's "The Mothman Prophecies", the original story the movie with Richard Gere was based on. He believes that a whole series of sightings of UFO's and "mothmen" are simply another reality, another dimension so to speak that is sometimes appearing in our reality.
I believe there might be truth to that statement. Because while I do believe that we are not "alone" in the universe, that does not mean other civilisations are so far advanced that they are able to visit us. Nor do I think there is some sort of conspiracy going on, although I love The X-Files (we are currently finishing season 6!).
So have the people who have had genuine sightings (because there are a lot of statements from people who took natural or man-made phenomenoms for something they aren't) really seen something? They probably did, and there isn't necessarily a rational explanation for it.
But as to what it is? That I do not know, and probably will never!
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| Topic: "[Science: filthy is healthy]" |
Friday
14 Mar 2008|11:53am |
Source: Vuil is gezond on Knack.be (in Dutch).
Rough synopsis in English: While living an unhygienic life is making one vulnerable to diseases, living in an overly hygienic way is also dangerous because it doesn't allow the immune system to get on point.
Children who are not allowed to jump into mud, who aren't allowed to pet an animal and put their hands in their mouths have a greater chance of dealing with allergies later in life, the immune system being used to constant attack doesn't get enough exercise and starts attacking itself.
New Scientist says that children who were in a daycare as toddlers have less chance to develop leucemia than others.
As well as other results.
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| Topic: "" |
Thursday
13 Mar 2008|12:06pm |
From 50% of my FL:
Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don’t blog about. Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something I don’t blog about, but you’d like to hear about, and I’ll write a post about it. Ask for anything: latest movie watched, last book read, political leanings, thoughts on tv, favourite type of underwear, stories I'm working on, travel, etc. Repost in your own journal so that we can all learn more about each other.
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| Topic: "10 people who rock my world" |
Tuesday
11 Mar 2008|02:27pm |
I was getting WAY more than 10, so my only option was to narrow it down to whoever caught my attention with something lately :P I'd make a much more extensive list but I have 245 people added all for one reason or another and I just don't have the energy to write something about everyone ;)
500ml Sweet girl from just across the border, again a very talented photographer, someone always cheerful and full of encouragment.
_likelife One of my oldest friends here on LJ, a very talented photographer and writer, someone who always knows what to say to cheer one up and is always willing to help.
_yggdrasil talented in many areas, with a bright future and many intellectual capacities who hopefully will bring her back this side of the pond sometime soon!
annab3lla beautiful bright spirit, who needs a lot of good vibes right now (so send her some!)
breath_of_life Sometimes, when I don't think of something anymore, you come in late with the right words to say, and it all goes over =)
hotpinkboagirl I admire how you juggle everything so well, and then find the time to be so crafty and make a business out of it!
erisian_fields Seriously, I do not know how to thank you properly for all your awesome advice and encouragment. Couldn't have done this without you, and I'm glad I decided to email the community as a last resort after all! I wish I'd have had someone like you in real life :)
heethen_crone Will you please adopt me? LOL
justpapabear A very fatherly figure with a lot of encouragment and advice, and the important lesson that everything will work out in the end.
saoilsinn Back to nature with a lot of wisdom ... I admire your strength and courage and how you always find the gentle answer to everything
And a special mention always goes to trble, of course ♥
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| Topic: "Geography" |
Saturday
08 Mar 2008|02:36pm |
Many thanks for all your messages ♥
We're all doing well here =)
95
I was drawing a blank at some, especially at spelling in English, but hey!
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| Topic: "" |
Monday
03 Mar 2008|05:02pm |
I'm back, now what did I miss???
(I've seen my name on two of those "10 people who rock my day" memes, for which I thank you very much. If there's any I missed, let me know! </ego>. I'm working on mine, it'll be more than 10 hah!)
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