Again over a month has gone by since i last wrote. I gues we all need to accept that is more of a monthly update. I really don't do much during the day, but a lot has happened though.
My mom and friend Lotte have been to visit. It was so nice to spend time with some dutchies. My mom had brought of course some dutch food. So got to enjoy that. We went to New Orleans which was a good time and did just our daily stuff. It was also halloween, they got to see that crazy season here. I'll be posting the photo's later.
Halloween we had a party. I dressed up as a flapper and thomas had his scary mask from last year. It was also biker rally right outside our door. The party was a success. Everyone dressed up. You'll frind those photo's too in the bottom of this post.
Then we wend on our cruise! I had given Thomas a cruise for his birthday as a surprise. Our friends Gary and Carlos came with us. Nov 14th it was finally time. This also happened to be Thomas' birthday! (Thanks for all the birthday wishes!) We got on board really fast since we know one of the ladies that work there. She saved us about 2 hours of waiting! We had cabins next to eachother. That day and the next were on the boat while cruising to Cozumel. We got there and took a taxi to Chankanab NP where were had a 1pm appointment with dolphins! :) I had been at this exact beach with my family 10 years prior, but a huricane 4 years ago had destroyed the area completely so it was a little different. We parked ourselves on some beach chairs and went snorkeling. A first for Thomas who would not get out of the water and therefore got a nice big sunburn. But at 1pm it was time! We got this for our birthdays from my mom. An hour with dolphins! We were so lucky, we were the only ones! No other stupid tourist in our group, just me and thomas. We got to kiss him, hug him, touch him, do a belly ride, be pushed by our feet by him, learned so much about them. It was so so cool! We got to make it do tricks, give it commands. What a beautiful animal.
After this we were totally sunburned so we decided to go back to the ship. (after i bought a really cute green dress) The next day we arrived in Progreso. A small undeveloped port. Everyone really does excursions from here. And so did we, Chichen Itza, we got this from my dad for our birthdays! I had been here before also, but this time it was much better. Mostly i was more interested in everything. We had a great guide. Thomas absolutely loved it of course. So a great day!
The next day was at sea again we mostly relaxed. The day after we arrived in the morning and were home by 10am. We live 2 blocks from the harbor :) Of course we did so much more, but thats what the photo's are for.
We had a great time, im so glad we did this!
Next week is Thanksgiving. Like other years we'll be going to the Houston area to meet with Thomas' family. After wards to Gary and Carlos most likely. Then its Sinterklaas and we'll be celebrating it too! On Dec 4th we'll be putting our shoe by the fireplace and hopefully by the morning we'll find something in it! Thst same weekend its Dickens On The Strand. A annual celebration here in Galveston, where people dress up and theres food and performances everywhere. Then i'll be annoying thomas about a xmas tree! Im getting very excited!
Here the photo's!
Cruise to MEXICO
XOXO
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
First Anniversary of IKE
This weekend Galveston thinks back to Hurricane IKE that hit us one year ago. Much has been restored, but the city is definitely not ready yet.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Shame on me!
Again, im writing on here waaaaaay too late. So much to tel!!!
4TH JULY
A great turn out and lasted way into the night! We had sparkles and some people dressed up and a quiz.
TRIP
Most of you have seen the photo's so i'll just post a couple. I'll tell you as short as possible the highlights of our big roadtrip;
We drove straight to Boerne, visited town, did groceries, set up camp, swam in the pool and drove to Fredericksburg, a nearby town, for drinks and dinner. Next morning, left early, and drove on to El Paso. A great drive through the desert. El Paso was nice, not our favorite place, but we just stayed one night. We visited the 3 chuches of the Mission Trail and saw the border fence to the very dangerous town of Juarez, Mexico. Strange to be so close but not able to visit. Up early again for a loooooong drive to Sedona. The desert got beautiful as we drove through New Mexico. Stopped in La Mesilla and Phoenix (loved it!), as we drove the last few hours the scenery changed so much. Those big cacti and desert, then higher in altitude and the green came back, and then finally the red rock of Sedona. Sedona is one of my favorite places. It has a huge Spiritual community. Suposeldy there are Vortexes there. We didnt find any or felt anything "alien' :) Thomas' cousins live there so we stayed with them and got to see some more family. We visited Montzuma Castle in Camp Verde. Amazing. And did a lot of hiking in the hot Arizona sun. Then it was time... Grand Canyon! A short drive so we stopped in Flagstaff, a small young community. Very cute! As we arrived we could see the canyon through the trees once in a while... couldnt really make anything of it. We decided to set up camp first and have some lunch. Then we walked over there. As anyone i guess would say, you just cant describe it. Its like seeing no depth but yet you see how unbelievably DEEP it is. Its beautiful and scary at the same time. We walked into the canyon for a while (i was very scared!!), it has no fences, nothing. The next day we did a 3 hour trail. At times we were 3 feet from a 500 feet drop. Maybe more... I didn't look :)
Then time to go to VEGAS!! It didnt take very long, we got there around 11am, except we didnt think of time change,so it was noon! Oops! The hotel (Paris) was so cool. You are just walking the streets of Paris inside the hotel. Very well done. We went shopping at H&M and then off to see the casino's. We went to every one of them and had our free drinks and gambled. We won and lost about the same. We saw the fountains onf the Bellagio, that was amazing!!! Around 10pm we we tired, and ready for bed. Vegas was cool but hot and dirty.
On to Arches NP, this is like a blur, we had to drive long and ended up getting to the park just as the sun was setting, it was beautiful, but we wanted to come back in the morning to see it. But that didnt happen, we were up early but a friend of ours called to say he was in Colorado (our next destination and he lives in Korea) so we left for CO immediately. To make a long story short, we never got to see him, but CO is my new favorite state!! It is beautiful, everywhere you look its like the postcards. I took so many photo's. We first stayed in Grand Lake, 8000ft altitude. It was cold and we started a fire, had some ramen noodles and beer and went to bed. Scared, because there are bears. Next morning Trail Ridge Road, a dream of mine! It took 3 hours, we got out all the time to take more photo's. We got at high as 12,000ft!! Played in the snow and saw deer and elk. A recommendation to everyone!! We arrived in Estes Park and found our campsite, last night of camping! Atop a hill and very windy :) We visited the town, very cute and bought some souvenirs. At night a campfire again and beers. The stars are so amazing at high altitude. We didnt want to leave CO, but we had to. Wyoming first. We werent at the good side of WY (Yellowstone was in the opposite corner of the state). It was flat and boring. Cheyenne seemed dead, Casper was okay. We went and saw Harry Potter. Next day drove to Deadwood, that was pretty cool. Gambled some, drank a lot and walked all over the cute town. After this the scenery got boring. Stayed in Chamberlain where we just slept, then Omaha, where we saw Bruno and had drinks in the awesome Old District and then we got to Wichita, Kansas. We stayed with friends, and slept like babies. :) It was good to get closer to home. After drove on to Dallas, stayed with some other friends and then the last 5 hours home. This was also the day we decided to quit smoking once and for all. And we did, we havent smoked since! It was good to be back, the cats were happy!
ART WALK/BIRTHDAY
Before we left on the trip we had gotten a call from MOD Coffee House that they were interested in seeing Thomas' artwork. We saw them and they said yes! When we came back they called and said, please hang it next week. Woops! So quickly got everything together and in 3 nights hung all the paintings. They look amazing on the wall. It was still a few weeks till the ArtWalk so people got see them before. Two paintings sold in one week!! I'm so proud of him! When the artwalk came around on Aug 22nd we were excited! A biiiiig crowd came out to support Thomas, it was a great night. We didnt sell any others but it doesnt matter, a lot of people got to see his stuff. Afterwards we had organized an after party! We had a lot of people in our house, family and friends. It was also my bday at midnight so i got spoiled with presents and 2 cakes! Gary and Carlos stayed the night and we went and saw District 9 the next day.
LAST NIGHT
We had my bday dinner last night. We went to the Melting Pot in Houston, a fondue restaurant. So delicious and romantic! After to the hookah bar, which was dead, but a nice end of the evening. Perfect bday present!
UNEMPLOYMENT
Yes, still unemployed. We arent suffering money-wise, but i am bored out of my mind. i do a workout dvd now, but thats just 20 mins. :) But right now i have 3 jobleads. So things are looking up!
MOVE TO NL
Its beginning to make form. We have had so many plans, but now i think its in sight. The plan is, for me to move first (maybe oct/nov 2010, to find a job and an apartment. Then Thomas (and cats) will come, right before christmas. We will have been married 3 years on that dec 31st so things will become easier for Thomas (passport/visa), so Jan 2nd we will visit the alien police :) We are getting excited. Thomas mostly though. I have mixed emotions but they are now turning to only positive. So we'll be back! :)
So thats it really, whats been happening since i last wrote. Everyone is doing fine. Thomas is back to school after his 12 week summer. Cats are good.
Hopefully i'll be back here soon... ;)
XOXO
4TH JULY
A great turn out and lasted way into the night! We had sparkles and some people dressed up and a quiz.
TRIP
Most of you have seen the photo's so i'll just post a couple. I'll tell you as short as possible the highlights of our big roadtrip;
We drove straight to Boerne, visited town, did groceries, set up camp, swam in the pool and drove to Fredericksburg, a nearby town, for drinks and dinner. Next morning, left early, and drove on to El Paso. A great drive through the desert. El Paso was nice, not our favorite place, but we just stayed one night. We visited the 3 chuches of the Mission Trail and saw the border fence to the very dangerous town of Juarez, Mexico. Strange to be so close but not able to visit. Up early again for a loooooong drive to Sedona. The desert got beautiful as we drove through New Mexico. Stopped in La Mesilla and Phoenix (loved it!), as we drove the last few hours the scenery changed so much. Those big cacti and desert, then higher in altitude and the green came back, and then finally the red rock of Sedona. Sedona is one of my favorite places. It has a huge Spiritual community. Suposeldy there are Vortexes there. We didnt find any or felt anything "alien' :) Thomas' cousins live there so we stayed with them and got to see some more family. We visited Montzuma Castle in Camp Verde. Amazing. And did a lot of hiking in the hot Arizona sun. Then it was time... Grand Canyon! A short drive so we stopped in Flagstaff, a small young community. Very cute! As we arrived we could see the canyon through the trees once in a while... couldnt really make anything of it. We decided to set up camp first and have some lunch. Then we walked over there. As anyone i guess would say, you just cant describe it. Its like seeing no depth but yet you see how unbelievably DEEP it is. Its beautiful and scary at the same time. We walked into the canyon for a while (i was very scared!!), it has no fences, nothing. The next day we did a 3 hour trail. At times we were 3 feet from a 500 feet drop. Maybe more... I didn't look :)
Then time to go to VEGAS!! It didnt take very long, we got there around 11am, except we didnt think of time change,so it was noon! Oops! The hotel (Paris) was so cool. You are just walking the streets of Paris inside the hotel. Very well done. We went shopping at H&M and then off to see the casino's. We went to every one of them and had our free drinks and gambled. We won and lost about the same. We saw the fountains onf the Bellagio, that was amazing!!! Around 10pm we we tired, and ready for bed. Vegas was cool but hot and dirty.
On to Arches NP, this is like a blur, we had to drive long and ended up getting to the park just as the sun was setting, it was beautiful, but we wanted to come back in the morning to see it. But that didnt happen, we were up early but a friend of ours called to say he was in Colorado (our next destination and he lives in Korea) so we left for CO immediately. To make a long story short, we never got to see him, but CO is my new favorite state!! It is beautiful, everywhere you look its like the postcards. I took so many photo's. We first stayed in Grand Lake, 8000ft altitude. It was cold and we started a fire, had some ramen noodles and beer and went to bed. Scared, because there are bears. Next morning Trail Ridge Road, a dream of mine! It took 3 hours, we got out all the time to take more photo's. We got at high as 12,000ft!! Played in the snow and saw deer and elk. A recommendation to everyone!! We arrived in Estes Park and found our campsite, last night of camping! Atop a hill and very windy :) We visited the town, very cute and bought some souvenirs. At night a campfire again and beers. The stars are so amazing at high altitude. We didnt want to leave CO, but we had to. Wyoming first. We werent at the good side of WY (Yellowstone was in the opposite corner of the state). It was flat and boring. Cheyenne seemed dead, Casper was okay. We went and saw Harry Potter. Next day drove to Deadwood, that was pretty cool. Gambled some, drank a lot and walked all over the cute town. After this the scenery got boring. Stayed in Chamberlain where we just slept, then Omaha, where we saw Bruno and had drinks in the awesome Old District and then we got to Wichita, Kansas. We stayed with friends, and slept like babies. :) It was good to get closer to home. After drove on to Dallas, stayed with some other friends and then the last 5 hours home. This was also the day we decided to quit smoking once and for all. And we did, we havent smoked since! It was good to be back, the cats were happy!
ART WALK/BIRTHDAY
Before we left on the trip we had gotten a call from MOD Coffee House that they were interested in seeing Thomas' artwork. We saw them and they said yes! When we came back they called and said, please hang it next week. Woops! So quickly got everything together and in 3 nights hung all the paintings. They look amazing on the wall. It was still a few weeks till the ArtWalk so people got see them before. Two paintings sold in one week!! I'm so proud of him! When the artwalk came around on Aug 22nd we were excited! A biiiiig crowd came out to support Thomas, it was a great night. We didnt sell any others but it doesnt matter, a lot of people got to see his stuff. Afterwards we had organized an after party! We had a lot of people in our house, family and friends. It was also my bday at midnight so i got spoiled with presents and 2 cakes! Gary and Carlos stayed the night and we went and saw District 9 the next day.
LAST NIGHT
We had my bday dinner last night. We went to the Melting Pot in Houston, a fondue restaurant. So delicious and romantic! After to the hookah bar, which was dead, but a nice end of the evening. Perfect bday present!
UNEMPLOYMENT
Yes, still unemployed. We arent suffering money-wise, but i am bored out of my mind. i do a workout dvd now, but thats just 20 mins. :) But right now i have 3 jobleads. So things are looking up!
MOVE TO NL
Its beginning to make form. We have had so many plans, but now i think its in sight. The plan is, for me to move first (maybe oct/nov 2010, to find a job and an apartment. Then Thomas (and cats) will come, right before christmas. We will have been married 3 years on that dec 31st so things will become easier for Thomas (passport/visa), so Jan 2nd we will visit the alien police :) We are getting excited. Thomas mostly though. I have mixed emotions but they are now turning to only positive. So we'll be back! :)
So thats it really, whats been happening since i last wrote. Everyone is doing fine. Thomas is back to school after his 12 week summer. Cats are good.
Hopefully i'll be back here soon... ;)
XOXO
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Roadtrip!!
Well, of course it has been way too long again! I don't even know where to start so i am going try to keep it short.
No job yet so i filed for unemployment last week. I should be getting paid from July 12th. This is feels good, so that we wont have to eat breadcrumbs in the coming months.. :) But i really really hope i will find a job very soon, i am getting bored just to think about sitting home all day.
Thomas is enjoying his summer. We met up with a coffee shop around the corner the other day and they really liked his work, so he will be in the next art walk! This will be in August. A great change to get his name out and hopefully make some money!
Another big thing that happened is that we have been talking more and more about moving back to Holland! We getting pretty excited about it! We are looking into what we need for him to be able to work and how we are going to move. It all sounds pretty stressful Especially when it comes to our kitties! They are definitely coming with us!
Hmmm. What else...
Ah! Last night! We had a great 4th July party at our house. Things got kind of crazy! :) In a good way of course! Photo's soon.
Well and then tomorrow... thats when we start our roadtrip! We are sooooooooooo excited!! First stop is Boerne, TX. We will be camping there. And visiting Fredericksburg hopefully. Then on to El Paso, TX for one night. Early in the morning on to Sedona, AZ and staying with family. Beautiful place 3 hours from the Grand Canyon... Which is our next stop! For 2 nights, camping. Lots of hiking and seeing the sunsets. Then on to VEGAS baby!!! (after a stop at Hoover Dam!) Just one night, but we will enjoy it the whole 24hrs! We will be staying at the Paris Hotel! Next morning on to Arches NP, AT. We will be staying in Moab, close to the NP. Just a night, and camping again. The next day, on to Granby, CO, camping and visiting surrounding towns and hiking. Then its time for... Trail Ridge Road!! VERY exciting, that one! At the end of the trail is Estes Park, where we will camp again for one night. Then north to Caper, WY. Staying in a motel there before driving on to the Black Hills in South Dakota. We will be staying in the First Gold Hotel in Deadwood. Lots of sightseeing! Next day we will visit Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse! Then a quick overnight in a Chamberlain motel before arriving in Sioux Falls. Then on to Omaha. Sightseeing, finally a big city again! Staying in motel. Driving more south to Wichita, KS, where we were over Springbreak. Staying with Justin, a friend of Thomas. Last stop is Dallas, and of course staying with Kelley and Daniel. Then 5 more hours and home!
I am taking my laptop but doubt i'll have time, but i will do my best, to update this blog.
We are available for calls of course, but there are a areas where i doubt we will have reception.
XOXO
El Paso, TX
No job yet so i filed for unemployment last week. I should be getting paid from July 12th. This is feels good, so that we wont have to eat breadcrumbs in the coming months.. :) But i really really hope i will find a job very soon, i am getting bored just to think about sitting home all day.
Thomas is enjoying his summer. We met up with a coffee shop around the corner the other day and they really liked his work, so he will be in the next art walk! This will be in August. A great change to get his name out and hopefully make some money!
Another big thing that happened is that we have been talking more and more about moving back to Holland! We getting pretty excited about it! We are looking into what we need for him to be able to work and how we are going to move. It all sounds pretty stressful Especially when it comes to our kitties! They are definitely coming with us!
Hmmm. What else...
Ah! Last night! We had a great 4th July party at our house. Things got kind of crazy! :) In a good way of course! Photo's soon.
Well and then tomorrow... thats when we start our roadtrip! We are sooooooooooo excited!! First stop is Boerne, TX. We will be camping there. And visiting Fredericksburg hopefully. Then on to El Paso, TX for one night. Early in the morning on to Sedona, AZ and staying with family. Beautiful place 3 hours from the Grand Canyon... Which is our next stop! For 2 nights, camping. Lots of hiking and seeing the sunsets. Then on to VEGAS baby!!! (after a stop at Hoover Dam!) Just one night, but we will enjoy it the whole 24hrs! We will be staying at the Paris Hotel! Next morning on to Arches NP, AT. We will be staying in Moab, close to the NP. Just a night, and camping again. The next day, on to Granby, CO, camping and visiting surrounding towns and hiking. Then its time for... Trail Ridge Road!! VERY exciting, that one! At the end of the trail is Estes Park, where we will camp again for one night. Then north to Caper, WY. Staying in a motel there before driving on to the Black Hills in South Dakota. We will be staying in the First Gold Hotel in Deadwood. Lots of sightseeing! Next day we will visit Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse! Then a quick overnight in a Chamberlain motel before arriving in Sioux Falls. Then on to Omaha. Sightseeing, finally a big city again! Staying in motel. Driving more south to Wichita, KS, where we were over Springbreak. Staying with Justin, a friend of Thomas. Last stop is Dallas, and of course staying with Kelley and Daniel. Then 5 more hours and home!
I am taking my laptop but doubt i'll have time, but i will do my best, to update this blog.
We are available for calls of course, but there are a areas where i doubt we will have reception.
XOXO
El Paso, TX
Saturday, May 16, 2009
woops
I'm getting more slack at this! Last time i wrote, we had Sasja coming over.We had a great time with her. Showed her around and helped her find people to tell their stories about the hurricane. We also had a fun night out at the gay bar around the corner! She left the end of April. Betsy also moved out 2 days after. So we had the whole place to ourselves again. It was really nice having Betsy so i miss her!
Work has been same old. Right now i work 2 days at Thomas' school for an associate principal in the hopes of getting a job. The other 3 days I'm at my school. The new principal and his secretary have now also moved in the school so its definitely getting busier! I am also taking all my personals and holidays before June 30th!
Our road trip is pretty much set. We are SO excited! We leave July 6th! Soon I'll post the itinerary!
Last week we wend to the movie night around the corner. We brought some chairs and beer and sat with our friends watching ET. Its every 2nd sat of the month!
Next week we are going up to Thomas' college town, Commerce. We are going to a surprise birthday party! It will be at a house with a big yard, where we will camp out! I'm excited!
5th of May is a mexican holiday; Cinco the Mayo. We celebrated the heritage at school. The high school Mexican Dance Team came over to perform!
This weekend we got our first day out in the sun! We walked to the beach with Gary (high school friend) and Carlos and they all swam. I stayed dry and took some pics.
I got a SLIGHT change of color on my skin, but nothing to really care for! :)
I think that's it for now!
XOXO
Mexican Dance Team
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Dutch visitor!
This Sunday, Sasja arrives. She found and contacted me around Dec as she is doing her thesis on hurricanes and we had been hit by Ike of course. So we have been emailing and getting people together to talk about what happened. And now the time is here! It'll be a full house with both Betsy and Sasja but we are really looking forward to it! We will try to do as much as possible so she gets the most out of her Texas experience!
Other than that we are going on the Artwalk in downtown here, where we live. There has not been one since Ike so everybody is excited! Free wine while looking at art!
The 2009 ArtWalk dates kick off with: April 18.
For over 19 years the Galveston Arts Center has produced ArtWalk on Saturday nights in the heart of the historic district. Now spreading to other parts of the island, ArtWalk occurs approximately every six weeks. Not a street festival, ArtWalk takes place in existing commercial galleries, non-profit arts spaces and what are called "other walls," restaurants and retail stores, for example. Each exhibits art and welcomes viewers with open doors, later hours and refreshments. One of the Galveston Arts Center's largest programs, ArtWalk, promotes visual art and artists, offers alternative places to see and learn about art and hopes to bring newcomers, as well as welcome return visitors to the art community on the island.
Thats it for now!
XOXO
Other than that we are going on the Artwalk in downtown here, where we live. There has not been one since Ike so everybody is excited! Free wine while looking at art!
The 2009 ArtWalk dates kick off with: April 18.
For over 19 years the Galveston Arts Center has produced ArtWalk on Saturday nights in the heart of the historic district. Now spreading to other parts of the island, ArtWalk occurs approximately every six weeks. Not a street festival, ArtWalk takes place in existing commercial galleries, non-profit arts spaces and what are called "other walls," restaurants and retail stores, for example. Each exhibits art and welcomes viewers with open doors, later hours and refreshments. One of the Galveston Arts Center's largest programs, ArtWalk, promotes visual art and artists, offers alternative places to see and learn about art and hopes to bring newcomers, as well as welcome return visitors to the art community on the island.
Thats it for now!
XOXO
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