Generally, as a rule, I don’t blog about work but today is a little exception. Not that I’m going to talk about the job or about where I work but I was thinking about this and wonder how others feel about this. Lately we have a lot of mandatory off days because of (national) holidays. [...]

Last week I traded my relatively new Samsung Jet for a HTC Hero. I got the Jet with my contract renewal last year, after explaining my phone needs to the seller. He suggested the Jet to me saying it could do all I asked for. I think at the time the Jet was a new [...]

Snow and ice are covering the country amd most of Europe at the moment. I live in a part of the country that isn’t too snowy. Yes, the landscape is white and the sidewalks and cyclepaths are very slippery but at least the roads arw clean here and public transport is still available. In other [...]

You can’t chose your family, you are born into a family and you don’t get a say in it. You marry into one because you love someone and you just have to deal with the extended family that comes with your partner. They get thrown in for free! You can chose you friends and your [...]

I can’t believe it’s 2010 already, only 10 years ago we thought the world was going to end on January 1. Or well, that at least computers would crash due to the new millennium. I guess it couldn’t have been further from the truth, lucky for us. Because if you think about it we rely [...]

Even though I was on the right track a little while ago with regular updates and blog entries it seems that things have slowed down once again on SB . The truth is that I just got so busy with every day life when I got back on my feet after having H1N1, being in [...]

It’s the little things in life that can just make me smile. Like drinking coffee at my parents’ house, Sam who wakes me up in the morning wanting his breakfast, a sweet text from a friend, my sister calling just to see how I’m doing or Cas who sings a song for his bird friends [...]

What do you do when you want are very fond of a font you used in your previous (so this current) layout and want to use it again to tie the layouts somewhat together? Any normal person would look it up in either their credits page or any other location they mentioned it (or wrote [...]

For as long as I can remember I have loved the Mary Poppins movie. As a matter of fact it’s aired every Christmas on TV here and it’s driving my family crazy because I always say we should watch it. Lucky for them though, I’m generally joking around just because I know they hate watching [...]

Just as I love shoes and purses, I also like lingerie. It just makes me feel pretty even though not everyone gets to see what I’m wearing. We have a designer in The Netherlands called Marlies Dekkers, she makes really beautiful and stylish lingerie. The only downside is that it’s really really expensive, averaging E [...]

Not too long ago I learned about Trollbeads. I had heard of Pandora and other similar charm collections but trollbeads where new to me. Doing a little research online and talking to people who actually wear them made me aware that trollbeads are actually the original charms. They have been around since 1976! I have [...]

My best friend is getting married in 2 weeks, so of course we had to give her a hen party! Yesterday was the day of the ‘surprise’ party (she knew the date but she had no idea what we had planned for her)… We ended up getting a 2 hour pole dance class, and let’s [...]

One of my biggest fears are wasps, bees and bumblebees (and other relatives like hornets). I’m not really scared of anything else but those creatures give me the creeps, especially wasps. Generally when I see one coming my way, whether I’m at work or at home, I just run for it. I don’t run away [...]

Have you ever thought you wanted to be a fly on the wall. I know I have. Sometimes I would love to see and hear what’s going on in another room in the house or even at work when I’m not there. Not because I expect them to be mean about me, but because I [...]

I never really thought one of my posts would come back to haunt me. Sort of anyway… On April 24, 2009 (yes only a few days ago) I posted about Test Animal Day, and how that was a little more important than Hairball Awareness Day. I shouldn’t have done that, I should have taken Hairball [...]

I have been extremely busy for the last few days. I hardly had time to sit down and soak up the sun or use the computer. I’m way behind on online things such as email and visiting websites so I’m going to try and catch up (once again) with all of it! Today I have [...]

Even though I only had Twitter for a few days, I can already see how addictive it is. It’s pretty funny to be able to give little random updates a few times a day, and to respond to each other with just one click of the mouse. Therefore I decided to add my Tweets to [...]

After giving in and getting a Facebook account, I now have caved in on another hype. I got myself a Twitter account. I guess they are similar to an aside on the blog, but probably easier to follow for those who care as they show up in an RSS feed unlike the asides. So if [...]

Yes I am. Am I famous now?! I was watching a video of Hanson performing in Paradiso, Amsterdam in 2005.  I just wanted to relive the concert (I was there at the time). The video looked to be made from around the same area I was standing and suddenly I saw something that looked familiar! [...]

Today I decided it was time for a big clean-up. Not only in my house, but also on my site. Well the part you can’t see anyway, the behind the scenes area of SB . First I sorted through all my paperwork, putting together the stuff that I need for my 2008 tax returns and [...]

The only thing I usually eat from the microwave (and not even that often!) are pancakes. Generally they aren’t very good, they are dry, boring and if you get the wrong brand you can even do someone’s head in with it. But I discovered a brand now that does decent pancakes. They are not that [...]

Over the past 2 weeks I have had a few weird dreams with recurring elements in them. I’ve tried to figure out what all these different elements mean but putting them together, I can’t really seem to make much sense of it. What I do know is that I have doubled my pain medication (similar [...]

I just realized that I’m a sooner, in more than one way… Generally when I want to do something on this site, or when I have plans, it’s “Soon”. Which basically means that it never gets done. I still have so many plans piled up that need to be worked out but I just haven’t [...]

I think a lot of people who hang out on the Internet a lot has at least heard of Weeworld.com and maybe they’ve even tried it. I tried it a long time ago but completely forgot about it until recently, when I figured it would be fun to have a cartoon character of myself. I [...]

After writing so many posts about the bad days with my arthritis, I thought it would be time for a bit of positivity. Even though it’s cold outside, the sun is shining and it seems like a beautiful day. I feel perfectly fine and I although I’m busy at work and with work around the [...]

While walking home today after getting something to eat for dinner, I noticed that one of my shoes seemed to be a bit loose on the foot. Because I generally wear these shoes without my laces tied up, I figured that might be the problem so I continued walking. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and [...]

Every time I go in that place I have to have one, or two, and sometimes even three. There are times when I try really hard to avoid going, but when I need something, I just have no choice. Today, my mother wanted to go in, and of course I went with her. First I [...]

It’s safe to say that it’s pretty weird to have guilt feelings against an object. But I do feel a bit of guilt at the moment. After putting it off for a few weeks I finally made the call to a company today to sell my old car “Panda”. I recently bought a new car [...]

It’s not a big deal but I wanted to share it anyway as I feel it’s a personal victory. Something that I’m a little bit proud of as it took me so long to overcome this. For as long as I can remember I have been biting my nails. Not to an extreme where the [...]

When I was surfing on Facebook during the weekend, I came across a page dedicated to Achmed the dead terrorist. I had never heard of him, but since I’m usually hiding under a rock when it comes to these kind of things, I guess most of you know ‘him’. Either way, I just wanted to [...]

Why is it that my whole family gets a nice tan when they sit in the sun, and I still look like a milk bottle?! OK, I do have a bit of a tan but compared to them, my middle name might as well be ‘milk’.. Today we had a BBQ at my sister’s house [...]

or not? I like to think of it as the latter. You probably wonder what I’m on about so let me explain. A female TMF (Dutch MTV) VJ married a stranger in Las Vegas a few days ago. She divorced him a little later. They were on a shoot in Las Vegas and wanted to [...]

Yes, I’m about to reveal a big secret about me, and about SB . I know most of you think that everything written on this site is done by a 25-year-old woman from The Netherlands. Since the Internet is a place where one can hide behind an online identity, it was very easy to let [...]

The state of Florida (U.S.) is about to ban fake bull testicles that hang from the trailer hitches of many trucks and cars. I seriously had to laugh when I read that, it sounds so very narrow minded and conservative. It’s not that there are huge balls hanging from the back of a car, that [...]

How come people assume others are related because of the way they look? I had it happen twice to me last week by colleagues who hit up my sister’s profile on a profile site similar to facebook. Her photo shows her and a friend and both my colleagues automatically assumed her friend to be my [...]

My internet and TV keep acting up during the weekend. For the past three weeks, at least once a weekend the digital TV can’t handle it and looses signal, the analog TV gives bad quality and the internet doesn’t work. It generally lasts for a few hours and it’s pretty annoying when you want to [...]

Today I discovered that it’s possible to do your dishes during a commercial break in a TV show. Even though I was already aware that those breaks usually take forever, I never thought I could do all my dishes in the mean time, until today. I guess that just means we are all watching 30 [...]

No I don’t mean The Smurfs (ooh child hood memories!) but a cleaning product called Blue Wonder. I don’t even know why I would dedicate a whole entry to a cleaning product other than I’m so happy it finally got rid of the mold on the bathroom tiles for me… I tried everything from normal [...]

After my little encounter with the escaped dog in the neighbor’s yard I feared going into the field to put the horses out. Luckily the dog hasn’t shown up anymore and it seems to have gone back home. It must have been a funny sight for anyone watching as I tried to put the horses [...]

To stay on the subject of children, here is some more baby news! Yesterday Zac and Kate Hanson announced on Hanson.net they are expecting their first child in May. You can read more about the announcement in this People Exclusive. This will bring the Hanson baby total to 5. Taylor and Natalie already have three [...]

We all have best kept secrets, and according to Nan, I’m one of them… She awarded me with the ‘Best Kept Secret’ award! Thank you Nan!!! I would like to pass on the award to; Felisa at Euphoric Gazelle, Corinne at C0rinne.net, Amber at Ava Rae and Kelly at at-liberty.net Now check out the official [...]

The site disappeared years ago, but now it’s back, Theme Thursday! It might be interesting for those of you who (occasionally) participate in Photo Friday. For Theme Thursday you will need a Flickr account though since they now operate as a group there. I think challenges like this are a good way to share your [...]

Just thought I’d share that I just got back from a nice dinner with my family. My parents took me, my sister and brother-in-law to a restaurant in the city. It’s been a while since I had dinner with the family since me nor my sister live at home anymore. And in case any of [...]

I think everybody who had an encounter with me on the road yesterday had a good laugh. My car is currently making extremely loud noises. Everything was fine when I drove into town yesterday but on the way back things got loud, really loud. First I thought it was the motor but as I kept [...]

I never thought I’d say this but I missed you. You’ve been away for over a month and things were dying out. I know that we don’t have a good relationship it swings between love and hate but I’m well aware that I can’t live without you. The drought, that dry spell, really did me [...]

After my last post it’s time to announce another birth; our crown prince and his wife princess Maxima had their third child on April 10, 2007. They already had two girls and now have a third one. Her name was announced today; Ariane Wilhelmina Maxima Ines. That’s quiet a mouth full but she will be [...]

Corinne from c0rinne.net has opened a directory for everyone’s listing needs. It’s called Luvely Directories. What I like about it is that you can join and give comments on other websites, kind of like a feedback system as well as rate sites with a simple system; 1 is bad and 5 is perfect, with other [...]

Usually I don’t really do these kind of things, but since it’s Amber who tagged me, I will. The game: Each player of this game starts off with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own ten weird things or [...]

It’s strange how the most random thoughts can hit you at the weirdest times. I was watching TV tonight when a little voice in the back of my head went; Onions, Onions, Onions. And all I could think was, huh onions? Because why on earth would I think of unions on a Saturday night while [...]

Imagin this; you’re laying comfortably in your warm bed, all snuggled up and you’re drifting away into sleep. All of a sudden you’re sitting straight up in bed and your heart is beating in your throat. You’re wondering what exactly just happened although it’s not something unfamiliar, it’s happened before; a hypnic jerk. What kind [...]

It seems to be going around like the flu and everyone is catching it; the E-drama bug. It’s a recurring ‘trend’ in the Internet world, or so it seems anyway. Ever so often there is this big wave of E-drama covering a lot of websites and dragging them into online battles. I noticed that it’s [...]

It seems that everybody is moving these days, maybe it has something to do with the start of the new year, maybe it hasn’t. All I know is that it’s time for me to update my links . Amanda is no longer ‘Amanda of Obsidian-Raphsody‘, she is now ‘Amanda of Jing-Wen‘. To me she’s always [...]

I had so many things in mind I could / should do today for SB . Unfortunately housework got in the way of things. Due to some work on my hallway I had to clean my living room, kitchen and of course the hallway. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. With that, [...]

In Holland a lot of people take a bike to get places. This might sound like nothing special but I’ve met many foreign people who were actually surprised by all the cyclists in our country. Of course it’s good for your health to cycle rather than take the car but I seriously believe that a [...]

No, no it’s not my birthday, not yet anyway. It’s in February (and I’ll be 24 then for those who wonder). Today I picked out my first birthday present. Yes very early I know but my mom and I bumped into it while grocery shopping. I wanted a pen and pad for Christmas so I [...]

Last year I participated in the QBee Blog day, so this year I will too. This means that today I’ll be writing about The Quilting Bee. The Quilting Bee is an online club of people who pixel draw a patch to trade with other members of the club to build up their own quilt of [...]

Thanks for all your nice comments on my previous post guys. I really appreciate it. My grandmother is still in the ICU but she is speaking a little bit better. I guess we just have to wait and see how things go. I haven’t done much the last few days, I’m way behind on my [...]

Happy birthday to Amanda of Obsidian Rhapsody and Amber of Solace. Have a wonderful day girls! Don’t forget to send me some of your birthday cake through next day delivery . Plugged: Amber, Susie, Kelly

Everyone knows that stealing usually doesn’t pay off. Sure sometimes you might gain what you wanted but I can’t imagine that it will give you a satisfactory feeling afterwards. Or maybe that’s just me, I can honestly say I have never stolen or felt the need to steal anything. Not even as little as a [...]

When I was younger I dreamed about being able to wear my mom’s shoes and played dress up with old clothes and pumps all the time. And now, after a decade (probably about two decades actually) I finally did it. I bought myself some pumps. Not your normal styled pumps but a pair of trendy [...]

While going through my calendar today I noticed how busy I will be for the next few weeks. I used to just be able to say ‘yes’ to any date mentioned for an appointment or a meeting but I realized I really have to go check my schedule for the next few months. I think [...]

Sorry to disappoint you, no new writings yet. There are a lot of ideas in my head but I’m waiting for them to take form. After that it’s ‘just’ a matter of shaking them out of my head and write (or rather type) them down. Besides thinking of new stories I’ve been working on the [...]

No I’m not talking about someone going after a shark to kill it, but a shark going after a man in a kayak. I’m not sure on the sharks intentions but I would guess they weren’t that good. This photo shows what I’m talking about. Before this photo hit the Internet it was featured in [...]

Something some of you might know (if you read the short bio on the sidebar) and some of you who might not (who obviously didn’t read it) is that I really like American Football. I got hooked on it when I watched the Super Bowl, it was aired here in the middle of the night [...]

After doing a search for “Chans” on google.com (this is something I do regularly, as I’m wondering when my site comes up; at number five at the moment). I noticed a site named Chans. So of course I had to check it out. It turns out its a site for a society called Charity for [...]

Being the coffee addict that I am, I’m always looking for new flavors of coffee to put in my Senseo® machine. Or in the case of absence of Senseo® pads; to put in the coffee maker I snatch from my mom if needed. My shelves are filled with bags of Kenya blend, Mocha, Regular, Decaf [...]

I always knew it; Man have smaller brains than women! There’s even an article about it that proves it. OK so I had you thinking it was about the human species for a minute, but for now they just proved it in certain bats species. Apparently species with promiscuous females have males with bigger balls, [...]