11.01.10
Revival?
The blog may be revived soon. Testing an iPhone app for updating.
09.04.09
Body cleanse
So obviously Jeff and I suck at blogging, and perhaps self-improvement. His running lasted one week. It was admittedly fun to go out together. I was proud of him. Sure his sorry ass slowed me down (love u baby), but that’s what a couple does for each other. Haha! Ok, I was willing to give him a day or so to heal, but then he decided he wasn’t healed (or motivated) so I kept going…that is till I just got back from the States and fighting jet lag, no sleep and then a botched attempt to start a body cleanse program…and now I have not run for one week! Ok, ok, I am going tomorrow, swear it. Can’t have Jeff showing me up:-)
Now back to body cleanse…hmmm. I must wonder how this will work out in the end. It’s a two week supplement program. Bought a vegetarian version at Whole Foods while I was home. Then stupidly I took the first four pills yesterday with only a small biscuit in my belly. Umh, within an hour I was in my office bathroom yacking! Ugh!!!! I was good by late last night and ok today. Tonight I am taking like 12 supplements. I might be nuts. And I am not sure but I am drinking wine with it which may defeat the purpose. Hmmmm….box does not say anything about avoiding alcohol, though it says to limit physical activity. Course I still want to run tomorrow. Oh and did I mention there is a beer fest at Grand Place!?!? I may be actively self-destructive on this whole body cleanse thing.
Oh well, will let you know how it turns out. Must go finish my wine:-)
08.26.09
I am a Delicate Flower
So my intention was to post every week about running and the progress I was making. Well, that didn’t quite work out. It took 3 runs to develop and injury. It’s feeling better now, so I’ll be starting up again once I get back to Brussels from my current trip to the U.S. for work. I’ll also be finding a doctor to evaluate why the pain I’ve had in my foot for ~9 months is still there and if it is partly to blame for the new pain in my foot that caused me to stop running. No matter what the diagnosis is, though, I still plan on continue my battle of the bulge.
07.20.09
Run, Fat Boy! Run!
I’ve decided to go against my orthopedic surgeon’s orders and start running to get back into shape. My reason: My golf game has gone to shit over here because, get this, they WALK the course. I know, weird, huh? Golf as exercise, not just an excuse to drink beer for 4+ hours. (Don’t even get me started on the fact that there are no beer cart girls or even hot dogs at the turn.) So while I’m definitely more active here in Europe than I was in the U.S., I’m not exactly the poster child for Active People International.
I figured my best bet to get back into shape and build endurance is to start running. Some unintended side-effects will be I’ll lose weight and my heart won’t be in jeopardy. Yeah, yeah, whatever. I just want to play better golf and if that means running 30 minutes 3 times a week, so be it. And since Staci’s doing it, too, I have no choice to do it so I don’t let her down. *grumble* Stupid buddy system *grumble*
To get us going, we’re doing the Couch-to-5K running plan found on the Cool Running website. Staci’s done it previously with good results, and since I’m just a lazy tub of goo with bad knees and a doctor’s advice to “never run again”, it’s probably best if I start slow so I don’t hurt myself. Besides, I hate running, but it’s the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to get into shape, and it’s only ~30 minutes every other day, so there’s not much I can do to not do it, especially since I’m not giving up beer.
I plan on posting once a week or so with results and thoughts on how much I hate running to (hopefully) keep me going through this ordeal. I don’t intend to use this as a springboard to longer runs. (Remember, I hate running.) 5K is enough for me. It may be a starting point to working out and getting into better overall shape, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, it’s all about golf.
Week 1
Distance: ~4.4km
Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3030228
Weight: 104kg (230lbs)
03.22.09
Snipers on the roof
Till now I’ve only seen it in movies. Snipers on rooftops. Well, last week our organization had our bi-annual campaign meeting near Parliament. Streets were blocked off, police everywhere. Not for the animal rights groups attending our meeting, rather the heads of state for all the EU countries were in town. As we looked out the Scotland House window we watched men in black walk across the roof top carrying conspicuous bags till they reached their little tin “house”. Once inside they flipped down the small window and started to unzip their bags. Out came the guns. Propped up just like in the movies. Next came the binoculars and my coworkers teasing me to “Not point at the men with the guns!” There were quite a few on them on various rooftops around the area. I wasn’t expecting their permanent work stations in these little silver huts. It just seemed surreal. Guess that’s what you get when the heads of 27 European countries meet in one place.
03.15.09
Ikea-where Saturdays go to die.
Having lived in “furnished” apartments till now, one fails to appreciate just how many of the “necessities” you don’t own till you walk into your new place and it is empty. Completely (Actually, here is not as bad as Amsterdam where they take the light fixtures off the ceilings and walls!). Anywho, having no furniture, or kitchen items, or extra bedding, etc. can be a bit problematic when you want to sit down to watch TV or eat:-) Hence, besides the fantastic loan center of “Jon & Christine’s Attic” we have made at least 3 trips to Ikea now. I think 4.
Yesterday, Jon & the family were nice enough to call us for a visit and ask if we had errands to run. Originally, I just planned to walk to some nearby shops, but instead we took advantage of this opportunity. Fast forward to a trip to an Appliance Outlet to look at washer/dryers (we’ve been able to go 2 weeks without doing laundry and still have fresh undies, which either means we have a lot of underwear or we aren’t wearing any…you can decide). Then we realized we better take measurements of the stairwell, elevator and utility closet before purchasing a machine that might end up sitting out in the back parking lot where we would just stare at it from our living room window.
Next we tried to find a non-existent home store on the south side of town, and when that did not pan out we headed to Ikea instead. 4 hours later we left Ikea!!! FOUR hours! Mind you we did eat when we first arrived. Jon and Jeff LOVE, and I mean LOVE, the meatballs there. Since the coke sucks, we had beers instead. Have I mentioned I love Ikea? Then the journey through the endless halls of Ikea began.
We started by going against the flow of traffic. I do not recommend this technique. It is dangerous. We only made it through the kids section and part of the storage area, before we took the short cut to the start. Much safer. Hours later, we had selected a shoe storage bench, a duvet and cover for guests (hint, hint!), tupperware, oven mit, and who knows what else-it’s all foggy now. By the time we left, the guys were ready to kill somebody. Marcus had one meltdown and then promptly fell asleep. I had to sign and speak garbled French and English to the cashier to take off the bowls which somehow ended up being 5 euro/each instead of 1.50. We were all drained. And the scariest part is that since unpacking things today, I realize we still need stuff from Ikea!! AAAhhhhhh!!!
The goal for next time – borrow the car so Jon doesn’t have to be tortured again. Only take Jeff for heavy lifting and so there is room to pull down the backseat and I can finally buy my full length mirror, instead of dressing in our elevator:-) Have a list and stick to it! Then maybe we won’t need to spend 4 hours there. And some day we might finally be settled.
03.05.09
Umh, we live in Belgium now:-)
So nearly 5 months since our last post, a few things have happened. First, I FINALLY finished my thesis. Second, I got a job in Brussels working for an Animal Welfare NGO on Wildlife Policy. Third, we invaded Jon and Christine’s home for 3 months (THANK YOU!!). Fourth, we took a short trip home in early December to see family before starting a job where I do not have vacation for a year & more importantly to find Thundercleese, our kitty who went missing. Good news is Thunder made it home. Fifth, after what seemed like an endless apartment search for poor Jeff, we just moved into a new place in the city. Sixth, I finally received my Belgian Residence Permit and a bank account. Seventh, I am finally writing on our blog!!
We will work on being better about blogging. Here are some pics of the new place (during the move and after unpacking). It is a work in progress and most of the furniture is ala Jon and Christine (thank you again!). But the nesting will begin now. Visitors are officially welcome:-) Of course, you’ve always been welcome!
10.10.08
Ice, Ice Baby!
We’ll go ahead and file this one under ‘Trivia’.
So what does this post’s title mean? No, I’m not going to talk about Vanilla Ice. (As far as I know he has absolutely nothing to do with The Netherlands or Amsterdam.) Rather, it’s a clever play on words. Today, we’re talking about ice cubes, specifically the lack of ice cubes available for purchase in large quantities at the grocery store.
09.28.08
Please call me Master Staci!
It is official! I’ve received my Masters of Science in Environment and Resource Management with high merit. Yeah! It is over…Oh wait, I still need to finish writing my thesis. Just a minor detail.
But, I’ve officially graduated. The diploma is mine, as evidenced in the attached picture where I am signing it as is part of Dutch tradition. And no cap and gowns here in Holland…sad:-( But, it was still a lovely day with a roughly 3 hour ceremony to acknowledge the 27 students present who were graduating and the other 15 not present. This was followed by a Borrel (drinks) to celebrate, and then one last hurray at our student pub, GeoVUsie (80 euro cent drinks kept us quite happy this past year, but the price just went up for the students this year….90 euro cents….we got out just in time:-)).
09.20.08
OK, we suck!
Clan McLennan are the worst bloggers ever!
I blame it on being in a developing country where internet and electricity were limited (woah is me), then moving to a new apartment, then going home to the US for my AWESOME Grandma Mary’s memorial (103 and 8 months (that’s how ya roll post-100)), and then returning to Amsterdam to still work on that bloody thesis I am supposed to be writing….while I am already graduating this week (hence the very little motivation to work on my thesis:-)).