'Tis the season

Written by AnnaDenise on Monday, December 12, 2011 at 21:30

^ Our decorated window & tree!

A little while ago (well, what feels like a little while ago anyways), a friend of mine said to me that she envied people who seemed to go through life trusting on a certain unshakeable inner compass. I was about to nod 'yes' and sigh with some jealousy of my own when she concluded with the words "Like you!".

I don't think I laughed at her in her face just right then (the conversation was about the particular nerve-wracking predicament she was in at the time), but had it been appropriate I certainly would have. Me? I didn't feel like I had any kind of inner compass, and if I did, that North pole seemed to be moving around an awfully lot. And unshakable trust was not something I would even have ever applied to anything pertaining to myself. I would even go as far as to say that weariness and distrust was the nature of my relationship to myself, at least for a long long while.


^ As seen in the Bozar shop

And then something must have changed, without me noticing. I can't say there was a grand, revealing moment when this happened, no flight-or-fight situations occurred (although, if you can spread those out over several years, then maybe), but somewhere along the way I have come to recognize where my inner compass lies. And I have come to trust it. I have grown kinder towards it and am forgiving of its many misreadings and my true North's antics. I have found peace (and excitement, even) in the fact that I do not know in the slightest where I am heading, but also faith that I will not lead myself astray. I have grown kinder towards myself and towards life and because of this I am stronger and more secure.

I think I have grown up. At least a little. Right on time, too, eh?

I have always felt younger than I am. Up until recently I would tell people I still felt like 19 or 20. Whenever there would be a 22-year-old mentioning their age I would go "Oh! Same as me!", then only to realize later this hasn't been the case for a while now. I guess I felt a little more insecure than others, less knowledgable, less experienced, a little more lost, a little less brave. Now, I sometimes catch myself saying I'm 28 (when I'm not yet) or thinking about my 30th birthday and how awesome that will be. I celebrate getting older (something I think us women should do a little more often) and I can't wait to see what else life has in store for us.


^ From Kyra de Vreeze's 'Daytox'

So I know this isn't a post like you're used to from me, and I'll get right back to the witty comments and pretty pictures real soon - but I thought you'd like to know that despite my silence, I am doing good. I am doing a lot of yoga. I am drawing when I feel inspired. I'm broadening my horizons and spending time with those I love. With new friends, old friends, and my family, who are the sweetest and the kindest. This is a picture from our Sinterklaas celebration at my dad's, where my brother asked me to 'teach' him some yoga poses.

I am a lucky lady, having people around me who never cease to indulge me and show interest, open-mindedness, and kindness towards me on top of being totally amazing, intelligent, and wonderful people anyone would be lucky to count amongst their friends, let alone family.

^My brother, me, and my dad in 'awkward pose'.

'Tis the season to be grateful, alright.

Pompoms and Igloos

Written by AnnaDenise on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 09:00

Hi there! How are you?

Despite the busy weekend, I'm feeling rested and content. My family came by on Saturday for a belated Sinterklaas-evening (Saint Nicholas is usually celebrated on the 5th of December). It was so nice to have everyone over and I'm so grateful to be a part of such a lovely family.

To show my family my gratitude for driving down to Brussels all the way from Holland through the snow, I decided to do a little crafting. Nothing makes people feel more special than yarn, right? Okay, and perhaps the gifts helped, too. Anyways, I decided to cheer up my plastic champagne glasses with red and white pompoms and name tags. Look! Pretty!



In case you, like me, forgot your elementary school pompom-making-skills, I wrote a tutorial on how to make these over on The Yellow Umbrella. More pretty pictures were made.



In other news, it seems that whole "global warming thing", is turning into a "Northern Europe is freezing thing". It's been so cold these past months and this weekend it started snowing - again. Now, I agree, it IS very pretty. Very pretty. I'm just kind of sick of winter clothes (I've not yet grown used to wearing multiple pairs of leggings underneath my pants) and every trip to work or wherever taking forever. I guess I should just be glad I wasn't born Inuit. I was reading about igloo's yesterday (don't ask me why), which was interesting until I read this:

"On the outside, temperatures may be as low as −45 °C (−49 °F), but on the inside the temperature may range from −7 °C (19 °F) to 16 °C (61 °F) when warmed by body heat alone." (Source: Wikipedia)

Then - I was fascinated. There's just a whole bunch of questions that came up for me. Why did the Inuit stay there? Why, when they were migrating from wherever they came from, did they think 'Oh, this white freezing bit looks awesome'? And why did they never say 'F this shit!, I'm outta here'? And who ever thought it might be a good idea to sleep in a cave of snow? Do the Inuit still live in igloos? Fascinating, right?

Yeah.

Look! I took a picture of my boots in the snow.

(I apologize for the random post. I do have more interesting things to blog about, honestly. I promise to do so soon.)

See you later aligators!

Cheer up!

Written by AnnaDenise on Tuesday, September 07, 2010 at 23:00

Summer seems to have ended already and the cloudy fall weather has brought with it a dose of stress and and sleepiness I could have done without. Work has suddenly gotten very busy and combined with the rain, I must say, my mood hasn't been too sunny these past two weeks. Here are some things that made me feel better though:


> Homework for Pikaland's Artist Bootcamp storytelling class!


> Polka dot sweaters and philosophical graffiti!
It says: 1 jour meme ton nom te sera inconnu


> A successful clothes swap with my colleagues!


> And finally, cooking special meals, drinking smoothies and hot tea with honey shared with my boyfriend in our warm, warm bed.


What cheers you up when you're having a bad day (/week)?

Decompressing...

Written by AnnaDenise on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 18:31

Delayed Polaroid Poser Post

Written by AnnaDenise on Monday, July 12, 2010 at 09:00

Hey there!

I missed the Polaroid Poser Post last week due to my grandfather's condition, so here's the pictures I meant to post last week. Last week, when we still believed we were going to be world champions. *sigh* I woke up in such a bad mood, I can't even tell you. It's kind of interesting, actually. Since when do I care about sports?

Well, enjoy and I hope you have a great Monday! I'm off to face my roommate at the office who was rooting for Spain.

Week 26-27

Journal WIP and having Saturday-morning milkshakes at the milk bar!


Sunday brunch beginnings and bright summer clothing.


My feet in a hot hot bedroom and Meneertje shows off his furry belly.


New glasses!


Images of Holland - Uruguay.

Shake It Wednesday

Written by AnnaDenise on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 22:00

Ever since I got an iPhone, I've been using this fun little app called 'ShakeIt Photo'. I think nearly everyone with an iPhone has it, so I'm not trying to be original here, I just like the effect.

So I've been snapping away happily for about six months now, before I realized perhaps there's (still?) some of you out there who are not on Facebook and haven't seen these uploads of mine. So a new series is born: Shake it Wednesday! Here, I'll (try to) share with you my weekly iPhone Polaroid-poser pics! Have fun!


Summer (?) in Brussels.


New shoes and Meneertje the tax advisor.


Snapshots from the beautiful park around the corner.


4 PM fruit snacks at work!