tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4614728370092822442024-03-18T03:59:52.942+01:00A Splash of Cola<center>Ramblings of a Mediterranean woman, wife, mumma living as an expat in Melbourne Australia
</center>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05132991858235985104noreply@blogger.comBlogger244125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-84534417615491673012016-09-07T12:32:00.000+02:002016-09-08T08:36:09.733+02:00What motherhood is for me<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've now been a mum to baby Cody for exactly 2 months. The toughest weeks are over and I am finally feeling more like my old pre-baby self with a few minor differences. I'll list just a few of these differences that basically sum up what motherhood is to me.</div>
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<i><b>Motherhood is</b></i></div>
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getting to know what being really exhausted is. I heard other parents talk about it and I thought I knew what it felt like but I now know that the level of exhaustion I experienced in the first 4 weeks of motherhood are definitely not what I had imagined B.C. (before Cody!)</div>
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<i><b>Motherhood is</b></i></div>
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Waking up by a crying baby 2 to 3 times a night for an hour to an hour and a half long feeds.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfgv4oTvsn6Ud-KZV7emjSM47PYA8ZjfpUc4dELjBF3PiJI2DsAZbRks_OVVxCMyrnf5vwOA31ZlxlPXz_d7-cWyRWdVeoBLbTbwty8Jy3TxSdZlgK7QszuRUrK3nhGkKqnZCa95nV9A/s1600/160707-ColetteMichaelCody-103-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfgv4oTvsn6Ud-KZV7emjSM47PYA8ZjfpUc4dELjBF3PiJI2DsAZbRks_OVVxCMyrnf5vwOA31ZlxlPXz_d7-cWyRWdVeoBLbTbwty8Jy3TxSdZlgK7QszuRUrK3nhGkKqnZCa95nV9A/s400/160707-ColetteMichaelCody-103-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Motherhood is</b></i></div>
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never taking a shower in a room alone. Baby is always there just in case he starts crying which he obviously will since how long can you look at toiletries before you get bored? <i>I am always making sure to take a shower daily even if it means leaving bubs crying for 5 minutes. This is the only me time I sometimes get in a day and I always feel better when I am fresh and clean.</i></div>
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being pooped on while changing nappies.</div>
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being peed on while changing nappies. <i>Are you seeing a trend here?</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdteucsJJSQm1T9VMnZQQkO4_Tpts9q997Ip2NW4pIo3QmLvWOeTM0EsSFSvbkNmnyEJoDsuxvxVrxj3DDoDuaeHJL6lUV8VDp-iKJqdAtkSUO4Hv8sl-frNeH5AtrJpDsX-W_SUmpg70/s1600/160707-ColetteMichaelCody-127-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdteucsJJSQm1T9VMnZQQkO4_Tpts9q997Ip2NW4pIo3QmLvWOeTM0EsSFSvbkNmnyEJoDsuxvxVrxj3DDoDuaeHJL6lUV8VDp-iKJqdAtkSUO4Hv8sl-frNeH5AtrJpDsX-W_SUmpg70/s400/160707-ColetteMichaelCody-127-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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being barfed on but not taking a shower until the day after.</div>
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leaking from everywhere all the time. </div>
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not having breakfast until 11 am even though you've been away since 5:30 am.</div>
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looking at your destroyed body: saggy belly, stretch marks, leaking boobs and all; and still be amazed of what your body has achieved. I built a tiny <i>perfect </i>human being. At the same time feel sad that it will take me ages to go back to what I looked B.C. <i>I know it will take time but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to feel a bit sad about it.</i></div>
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feeling guilty that your body is not producing enough milk to feed your little one so you go to countless doctor and lactation consultant visits where strangers prod push and pull on your breasts to try and show you how you should do it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gx7er5se8_c2xton6FrdVakV9cUJ1CID8WzFhiWM9op6ZSNJBYeXevZPNpM_Kc-zNIqvFcFmXS9_O9bT7sW4uxtmaO_TOjRgWe2cO8jfoEoRRYIE964l3YaCRow0v66jOnBtNoIvl9w/s1600/160707-ColetteMichaelCody-159-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gx7er5se8_c2xton6FrdVakV9cUJ1CID8WzFhiWM9op6ZSNJBYeXevZPNpM_Kc-zNIqvFcFmXS9_O9bT7sW4uxtmaO_TOjRgWe2cO8jfoEoRRYIE964l3YaCRow0v66jOnBtNoIvl9w/s400/160707-ColetteMichaelCody-159-large.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Motherhood is</b></i></div>
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knowing that breast is best but really knowing that a fed baby is best. <i>I now decided to stop feeling guilty and I'm enjoying symbiosis of breast and formula feeding. Bubba Cody is not going hungry anymore and I'm not shedding more tears on this.</i></div>
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<i><b>Motherhood is</b></i></div>
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being scared knowing that you have a little human being that is completely dependent on you for a very long time, <i>possibly for all your life.</i></div>
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not having alone time with my husband anymore apart from a few stolen hours here and there, most of which spent speaking about the baby, sleeping or cleaning the house that seems to have been the point of origin of an earthquake.</div>
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taking around 2 to 3 hours to be able to get ready to go out of home.</div>
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seeing the baby smile at you and forgetting the tough times.
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cuddling your bubs those extra 5 minutes before puttig him in his bed.</div>
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<i><b>Motherhood is</b></i></div>
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falling in love with this little being a little bit extra everyday and not believing how this is possible but it just keeps happening everyday.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Image Credits: Photos taken by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/evanewijk">Emmy van Ewijk</a>]</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05132991858235985104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-62824143147775920462016-08-09T08:27:00.001+02:002016-08-09T08:27:48.261+02:00Week by weekI've had an absence of a year from writing. It will be too long to write down all that happened in the last year, but to sum up most of year I've done a photo collage.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCigZPEPbQZFnzMC-fNxNPor2caM1rPMLFgS5OcAgn9LvH2owoomfRwEVPTL-unG1IG_tOOyEyPFwWEsdrqP8_SukHQmVuXTNK_qxefBLS-2fGdj7U6Hrwc8m3IDRlICj7dtlqsizsWM/s1600/photo-collage+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCigZPEPbQZFnzMC-fNxNPor2caM1rPMLFgS5OcAgn9LvH2owoomfRwEVPTL-unG1IG_tOOyEyPFwWEsdrqP8_SukHQmVuXTNK_qxefBLS-2fGdj7U6Hrwc8m3IDRlICj7dtlqsizsWM/s1600/photo-collage+%25281%2529.png" width="90%" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQSroZHyktVnGonO80KXYDGxu0dNePakBg211v2Qvnf1Ss-b62-SLzgyNubKZw0vEr0gFbcSZsQTktlTHy2KFSpUD-eGgo-DsELs3Nz55DPtrlecM0NCm0yZXoIl2HjMBwJcoMyvmJp0/s1600/photo-collage+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQSroZHyktVnGonO80KXYDGxu0dNePakBg211v2Qvnf1Ss-b62-SLzgyNubKZw0vEr0gFbcSZsQTktlTHy2KFSpUD-eGgo-DsELs3Nz55DPtrlecM0NCm0yZXoIl2HjMBwJcoMyvmJp0/s1600/photo-collage+%25282%2529.png" width="90%" /></a></div>
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As you might have guessed this year I grew a little human being. The photos are taken at week by week interval from the time I was 5 weeks pregnant until I was 39 weeks pregnant. There's no 40 weeks pregnant photo since our little boy joined us on the outside 2 days before his due date.<br />
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With the addition of the new life to the family I want to give this blog another new life. It might be the wrong time to try and start writing again since I'm mostly busy with the little one. However I discovered that when he is feeding I can multi task and type on my phone or laptop!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05132991858235985104noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-55600950252688699272015-06-01T12:30:00.001+02:002015-06-01T14:08:16.197+02:00Life changes with a country move<div class="blogaway-section"><p>It's been more than 7 months since we packed all our belongings and moved to Australia. The initial months went by really quickly and you would expect that it would all slow down afterwards but it seems the months are still rolling by really quickly. We did fall into a routine (a fast paced one) which is quite different in a way to our previous life in the Netherlands. Many things have changed for us with this move but we're still the same couple of a few months ago.<br/>
<br/>These are 5 major changes to our life.<br/>
<br/><b>1. My birthday falls in summer</b><br/>
I'm a February baby, which up until this year meant that my birthday fell on one of the coldest weeks of the year. This year however I celebrated my birthday on a warm summer day with dinner served in the garden from a barbie (BBQ).<br/>
<blockquote><br/><a href="https://instagram.com/p/uzg6j3HiDJ/">Enjoying Friday afternoon drinks.</a><br/>
<br/>A photo posted by Colette van Uffelen (@splashofcola) on Oct 30, 2014 at 10:20pm PDT<br/>
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<b>2. Aussie lingo</b><br/>
I'm still often baffled what some Australians are talking about but slowly I'm understanding the Aussie lingo and am now following most of the accents. Luckily the Melbournian accent is not a tough one. I can now talk about thongs without colleagues without being inappropriate. I drink coffee in the <i>avro</i> and am slowly discovering the differences between football and footy.<br/>
<br/><b>3. Crossfit</b><br/>
Up until a year ago I trained around once a week and if I got the opportunity (read husband not around) I would always prefer watching TV than getting my butt off the sofa and go to the gym. Something changed before moving to Australia when I was introduced to Crossfit (thanks Randy!). I finally found a sort of training/sport that was interesting me. When we moved to Melbourne I decided that I didn't want a gym subscription which is basically a waste of money so I became a member at a Crossfit box. It's been six months since I joined and I now train around 4 times a week and I love it! My life seems to be revolving around my training and for some it might sound like I'm obsessed about it. I see regular performance improvement and I look forward to the daily workouts. I still love sitting on the sofa but now I make sure to train first thing in the morning so that I can still relax in the evening. This means I now sleep really early.<br/>
<blockquote><br/><a href="https://instagram.com/p/yJnYD6HiCI/">At the #oxbox #crossfit</a><br/>
<br/>A photo posted by Colette van Uffelen (@splashofcola) on Jan 22, 2015 at 12:53am PST<br/>
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<b>4. Shopping at markets</b><br/>
It seems that there are food markets every few suburbs so now instead of shopping at a supermarket we get all our greens and meat from markets. In most cases we try to go local and if possible (read affordable) we're trying to go grass fed instead of grain fed meat and whenever possible go for organic items. The good thing of shopping at markets is that there is so much choice that we're often trying never tasted before seafood and different cuts of meat.<br/>
<blockquote><br/><a href="https://instagram.com/p/zrxu8qHiEJ/">Dinner tonight - Blue swimmer crabs</a><br/>
<br/>A photo posted by Colette van Uffelen (@splashofcola) on Mar 1, 2015 at 3:50am PST<br/>
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<b>5. Eating Whole Foods</b><br/>
Our life is more healthy and fit here and with the above 2 changes in our life it meant that we also changed what we're eating on a day to day basis. We are trying to eat whole foods as much as possible and avoid using (very) processed food and refined sugars. Somehow this seems to count only between Monday and Friday morning. The weekend is a complete different story. I eat whatever I feel like because that is one benefit of training 4 times a week! And if all of you are thinking that we might be living on kale and spinach you are wrong! We often have eggs and bacon for breakfast and so much other delicious food.<br/></p></div><br/>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05132991858235985104noreply@blogger.com4Abbotsford, Australia-37.7988963 145.0006181tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-74391500953455889242015-01-22T23:00:00.000+01:002015-01-22T23:00:01.147+01:00In life you'll need ... <p class='bloggerplus_text_section' align='left' style='clear:both;'></p><p class='bloggerplus_image_section'><div class='bloggerplus_image_section' align='left' style='clear:both;'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlnvjyBHw6s7zhFC2JAg4TjKGEiI4hXOsKeT4PvZAhSijq62_n4EjnGDCxbFgOGX3ua18HKaXwfFy16s3agZVHrKhLcqCFQf-4yD9WofzGodE4GYUBmj0ieheYhBAemSaBT9tsOYFATE/'></div></p><p class='bloggerplus_text_section' align='left' style='clear:both;'><h5>[Image Source: <a href='https://twitter.com/thequotesporn/status/557651374998306816' target='_self'>Quotes Porn (Twitter)</a>]</h5></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05132991858235985104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-4876287609442608952015-01-21T08:00:00.000+01:002015-01-21T12:27:40.131+01:00A new year, a new job<div align="left" class="bloggerplus_text_section" style="clear: both;">
The start of the new year meant that it was time to get back to work for me. I have now lost my daily freedom of waking up at 10am and doing whatever I felt like and replaced it with days in an office sitting behind a computer.<br /><br />I've been waiting for this transition for sometime now and I'm very happy to be back at work but I do miss being out and around when the weather is lovely like today.<br /><br />Luckily my office is on the 28th floor so I have a great view of Melbourne and if I ever feel stuck inside I just need to look over my monitors or else grab a coffee from one of the nearby coffee places.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05132991858235985104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-72228961347098740202014-11-24T10:36:00.000+01:002014-11-24T10:36:07.711+01:00Where shall I start?Where shall I start? I'm now a married woman. I cannot even call us newly weds really anymore since it's been nearly 4 months already from the big day.<br />
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The wedding day was a wonderful day, hitting all the expected cliches. It's like the time went faster than usual on the day and in a blink of the eye the day was over. I loved all the details of the day, the hours in which we were all preparing ourselves, seeing my niece playing around in her cute dress and then my sister helping me put my dress on, the ride to the wedding venue with my dad and the flower girls with all the cars honking at us! I think this was the point when it really hit me the importance of it all. I was quite emotional especially when we walked down the aisle, seeing my future husband waiting at the end of it. The ceremony was short and sweet, which was really needed in the warm Maltese summer evening and the party started soon afterwards. The hours passed by like minutes and I enjoyed every tiny detail even the small imperfections that I had been worrying for months about. It was lovely to see all my family and so many friends who flew to Malta just for our wedding.<br />
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So much planning happened in the year before that afterwards it felt strange not having to make all the wedding related decisions.<br />
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A lot has happened since. We travelled for a whole month in South America and when we came back we packed all our belongings and migrated to Melbourne in Australia. We've now been in Australia for over a month and we're having a great time.<br />
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I should be able to post more often now since I have a lot of free time until I start working again. But then again when such a long time passes between entries I feel that there is so much to write about that I feel overwhelmed and just postpone my writing.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05132991858235985104noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-782191614743987472014-07-23T10:50:00.000+02:002014-07-23T10:50:00.625+02:00Ten days until the big day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The countdown started long before the wedding day itself. Our engagement was pretty long and the numbers decreased slowly initially. Now things changed and the days are going by really fast.</div>
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Most preparations have been done and it's actually been quite relaxed these past few weeks on the wedding front. I know though that once we land in Malta in 3 days we will have the final rushing around the island to get every last thing done.</div>
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In only 10 days I will be walking down the aisle!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-71719831115784623072014-07-03T09:00:00.000+02:002014-07-03T09:00:07.588+02:00Leaving the comfort zoneFor the first time in my life I have decided to give my notice at work without already having another job lined up. I just went up to my manager and resigned without having a backup job. This action went against all my personal rules so I never expected to feel really happy and light right afterwards. It felt as if the doors had just opened to finally start taking the next steps to prepare for the move.<br />
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Sometimes I think I'm crazy by doing what I did while at other times I think I'm taking a pretty big step and I actually having the guts to take this step. At those times I give myself a pat on the back.<br />
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I would be happier if I manage to get a job before we actually fly Melbourne in October but a part of me would also love to have a few weeks of not needing to go to work and just get to know the city I will be living in.<br />
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I know that I have made the right decision and I am looking forward to finding another interesting place to work at. In the end sometimes the best things in life happen once you leave your comfort zone.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_0n7P3SCsi0/U7HRmf4Q2ZI/AAAAAAAADKk/XhEmowSwdSw/s1600/out-of-your-comfort-zone-300x201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_0n7P3SCsi0/U7HRmf4Q2ZI/AAAAAAAADKk/XhEmowSwdSw/s1600/out-of-your-comfort-zone-300x201.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></div>
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[Image Source: <a href="http://bendigofitness.com/lifestyle/howlingdog/">Bendigo Fitness</a>]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-23411013266233099252014-06-30T22:47:00.000+02:002014-06-30T22:47:53.384+02:00Control freak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm quite a control freak and my life at the moment has many things in it that make this part of me very happy. I have an endless list of checklists for the wedding preparations, the honeymoon and the move to Australia that I can work my way through!<br />
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Unluckily there are many things that are out of my hands and that I cannot control. So really although I'm really loving this period I am quite looking forward to the next month to pass by quickly to enjoy the wedding day I have been preparing for for so long! And what I'm also really looking forward to is the honeymoon that comes right after! This is long enough for us to relax again before coming back to a short few weeks of routine in which we will make the final arrangements before our move.<br />
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For now however in the evenings I'm either working on the final preparations for the wedding, reading the Peru lonely planet or looking for jobs in Australia while watching football matches or a number of my beloved series' episodes.<br />
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I have learnt throughout the years that sometimes it's best to relax and have faith that things will work out. Letting go and let life happen. I'm trying to relax as much as possible and not stress myself out. Sometimes I manage, on other times a bit less. Usually in those cases my super relaxed fiancée tends to know to remind my to breath in and relax!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-svIDwNFtYyw/U7HLGwMwZGI/AAAAAAAADKU/eOnOlJXhFeQ/s1600/wedding-planning-checklist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-svIDwNFtYyw/U7HLGwMwZGI/AAAAAAAADKU/eOnOlJXhFeQ/s1600/wedding-planning-checklist.jpg" height="400" width="271" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Image Source:<a href="http://www.alamour.com/first-things-first/wedding-planning-checklist/" target="_blank">Alamour</a>]</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-21808967589468918152014-06-18T18:00:00.000+02:002014-06-18T22:40:23.881+02:00Leaving the known<div align="left" class="bloggerplus_text_section" style="clear: both;">
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It's been nearly nine years since I moved to the Netherlands. My original intentions were to only spend a few months working and living here but somehow I fell in love with the country and its people. Months turned into years, years in which I became an adult, found love, family and made some really good friends.<br /><br /><br /><br />But what started as an idea to move again, this time together with my fiance slowly the want to move became more real. Visas were requested and received so now we can finally break the news. In a few months we are moving Australia! Yes you heard it right, we are moving down under in October.<br /><br /><br /><br />We're very excited about it and looking forward to experience a new country (and continent). It will be bittersweet to leave great friends and my fiance's family behind but we know that if we don't try this we will regret not trying.<br /><br /><br /><br />I'm sure you'll hear a lot more about our move, but first we've got a wedding to plan and a honeymoon trip to enjoy!<br /><br /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. </i><b>Walt Disney</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yrvHSj96hmo/U6CFUGH9RJI/AAAAAAAADJo/dE5eGSo9u0E/s1600/ccafb68a4faafd5efa510f6c26e33b7a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yrvHSj96hmo/U6CFUGH9RJI/AAAAAAAADJo/dE5eGSo9u0E/s1600/ccafb68a4faafd5efa510f6c26e33b7a.jpg" height="568" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Image Source: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/31877109831959568/" target="_blank">Jenn Herrington @ Pinterest</a>] </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-80149521315022170982014-06-17T20:48:00.003+02:002014-06-17T20:48:40.580+02:00Can you keep a secret?I think about this space often but the more time passes the harder it is to post here. I shape posts in my head but never put <strike>pen to paper</strike> fingers to keyboard anymore! Part of the reason is that I don't want to talk always about the same things, mainly about wedding planning which is currently taking a lot of my evenings. However there is other news that I couldn't share publicly. So to avoid blurting the news out I preferred not to write at all. But it's soon time to reveal the news and I'm looking forward to make a comeback!<br />
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I'm actually very active on Instagram, so if you want to view photos of my life you should <a href="http://instagram.com/colette4m" target="_blank">follow me</a> on Instagram.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ulBTGc2ang/U6CMlHIz70I/AAAAAAAADJ4/O0_qtmSPS3U/s1600/db5c3ab31461aafa0440bad716b713db.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ulBTGc2ang/U6CMlHIz70I/AAAAAAAADJ4/O0_qtmSPS3U/s1600/db5c3ab31461aafa0440bad716b713db.jpg" height="400" width="280" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Image Source:<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/99712579222636063/" target="_blank">Rachel Hartwig @ Pinterest</a>]</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-36773508996537702252014-04-23T09:17:00.001+02:002014-04-23T09:17:52.514+02:00Short girl problemsImagine being in a room with around 20 colleagues sitting on bar height stools when we were asked to stand up. I together with the rest all stood up. A colleague of mine looked at me from the other side of the room looked at me and pointed out that <br />
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<i>"Nearly everybody is standing up but not everyone is yet"</i></blockquote>
Due to my short stature he thought I was still sitting. That's how short I am compared to the rest of the population in the Netherlands!
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Image Source: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/BroncoFanatic18/short-people-problems/" target="_blank">BrancoFanatic18 on Pinterest</a>]</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-21113021295397023872013-12-31T11:28:00.001+01:002013-12-31T11:28:55.875+01:00Best of 20132013 is coming to an end. This year has been a great year but I´m really looking forward to 2014 which is going to be full to the brim.<br />
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Here are some of my favourite posts for 2013.<br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/01/the-proposal.html" target="_blank">January favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S-Rb-7OioYc/UQbShgG4GvI/AAAAAAAACaQ/23ob0Ah9goY/s1600/DSC01544.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S-Rb-7OioYc/UQbShgG4GvI/AAAAAAAACaQ/23ob0Ah9goY/s640/DSC01544.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/02/business-travelling-truth.html" target="_blank">February favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dlZjMJePl2s/UQbbijlQ4RI/AAAAAAAACbA/YXDnyB3PGwo/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dlZjMJePl2s/UQbbijlQ4RI/AAAAAAAACbA/YXDnyB3PGwo/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/03/delayed.html" target="_blank">March favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sp53ssLWh6c/UTmfmoNacrI/AAAAAAAACd0/ffNIqxjSewE/s1600/photo+1-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sp53ssLWh6c/UTmfmoNacrI/AAAAAAAACd0/ffNIqxjSewE/s640/photo+1-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/04/a-trip-to-malta.html" target="_blank">April favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a1se4apuO9E/UXQD0s0xBvI/AAAAAAAACnY/f77nnGBuoCI/s1600/881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a1se4apuO9E/UXQD0s0xBvI/AAAAAAAACnY/f77nnGBuoCI/s640/881.JPG" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/05/the-decision-is-made.html" target="_blank">May favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/06/wordless-wednesday-day-late.html" target="_blank">June favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/07/a-weekend-of-celebration.html" target="_blank">July favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/08/the-bride-to-be.html" target="_blank">August favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/09/my-mountain-experience.html" target="_blank">September favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/10/last-weekend.html" target="_blank">October favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/11/bye-bye-fat.html" target="_blank">November favourite post:</a><br />
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<a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/12/the-tradition-continues.html" target="_blank">December favourite post:</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-11103226308694469872013-12-30T09:00:00.000+01:002013-12-30T12:31:29.869+01:00The tradition continuesIt's a family tradition that we spend Christmas eve with my in-laws. My mother in-law cooks a feast for all of us and we open all the Christmas gifts. What's most important is that each wrapping paper from opened gifts needs to be thrown all over the living room, just to hear my mother-in-law raising her voice and stating that who does that again will be washing the dishes. Both my in-laws and us were away last year, so it has been a long time since we had such evening.<br />
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The house of my mother in-law is completely transformed with all the decorations </div>
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She even has a cute village set up</div>
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The gift giving takes a large part of the evening</div>
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Eating and drinking covers for the rest of the evening.</div>
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The compulsory Christmas turkey which was really juicy and delicous</div>
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The caramalised potatoes were really good</div>
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Did you notice that my in-laws have the picture of the Dwejra window in Gozo (Malta) in their living room? My Maltese influence is all around!</div>
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A cute photo of latest addition to the van Uffelen family.</div>
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My fiancee deserved this kiss!</div>
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My nephew who was not very amused at being awake so late in the evening</div>
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The night was a success! The morning after it was quite difficult to get up for even more food and gift unwrapping!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-24157869717787614992013-12-29T09:51:00.001+01:002013-12-29T09:51:25.817+01:00Christmas decorationsIn the beginning of December my mood for Christmas was nowhere to be found. However the excitement for Christmas seems always to build up and I seem to be always counting down to Christmas. The house decoration is part of what brings the mood as well.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CbpaJqbJkE/Ur_gSB086UI/AAAAAAAAC-I/a4JULgvnRgo/s1600/DSC_2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CbpaJqbJkE/Ur_gSB086UI/AAAAAAAAC-I/a4JULgvnRgo/s640/DSC_2016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Christmas boots mugs that we collected from our yearly visits to the German Christmas markets.</div>
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Around this time tea is drunk from these cute teapots.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-47959450252803474582013-12-19T13:21:00.001+01:002013-12-19T13:21:34.617+01:00It's that time of year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's that time of year in which we have too much of everything. December is always a month full of festivities and celebrations. Most of these end with half of the guests feeling bloated and slightly tipsy. What's most important though is to spend time with our loved ones.</div>
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This year we're having relaxed holidays and staying in the country. I will be missing my family greatly however I will be busy with my in-laws and friends instead. Our agendas are quite jam packed the coming weeks and I believe I will need another break to recover after New Year!</div>
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Happy holidays to everyone!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Image Source: <a href="http://ilovecharts.tumblr.com/post/70295415120/vudhfijn" target="_blank">I Love Charts</a>]</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-44247275200884373002013-11-29T10:19:00.000+01:002013-11-29T10:19:14.765+01:00Bye bye fatLast spring I decided that it was time for me to get a grip with myself and lose the extra weight I gained in the last years. I had been sporting regularly for the past year however this alone was not helping much. I therefore decided to go to a nutritionist and go on a diet.<br />
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A few months of hard work later and I am back to a much healthier weight. I'm so happy to be able to fit in my old clothes and finally look in the mirror and not feel depressed. I know that looks are not everything but I felt less me before.<br />
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In these past months I got to learn how to eat healthier by reducing my portion sizes and snacking on healthier snacks. This is something I still do even now that I am off the diet. The idea is that my eating lifestyle has changed so I should be able to maintain a stable weight.<br />
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I never expected that I will manage to loose more than 10 kilosand would have been grateful if I managed to go down half of that. At around the 7 kilo mark people started to notice the difference. It felt strange that people came to congratulate me the weight loss. I felt shy but loved the positive vibe I felt. Unluckily this meant that I started relaxing my diet thinking I had done enough, thus delaying the time to reach my target weight. I somehow did manage to get back on track and not only did I reach my target weight but even went a bit below that.<br />
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People ask me if I feel better or more energetic now that I dropped nearly 2 dress sizes. Initially I thought that the weight loss didn't seem to affect my energy however I noticed that in the past months I am bouncing and running around all the time. I even managed to climb over my first serious overhang at the climbing wall yesterday after nearly a year of climbing inactivity. So yes I have more energy now.<br />
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If you have been thinking that you should lose some weight and feel that it will be hard to reach your target, try and be positive. It will be hard but once you fall in a healthier routine anything is achievable.<br />
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Some numbers:<br />
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<ul>
<li>My fat percentage went down by 10%</li>
<li>My BMI went down from 26.6 to 21.8</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eImH8JAHAfA/UpebjtNWbZI/AAAAAAAAC78/hQKCADHZyNY/s1600/l-carnitine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eImH8JAHAfA/UpebjtNWbZI/AAAAAAAAC78/hQKCADHZyNY/s320/l-carnitine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The only downside for all this is that my wardrobe is now very empty and I have quite a lot of new clothes that don't fit anymore!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[The nutritionist I went to was <a href="https://karindezoete.nl/" target="_blank">Karin de Zoete</a>]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[Image Source: <a href="http://www.probioticsmart.com/blog/l-carnitinea-metabolism-booster-to-speed-weight-loss/">L carnitine</a>]</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-73544396009302976082013-10-05T12:46:00.000+02:002013-10-05T12:46:11.526+02:00Last weekendLast weekend turned out to be a very interesting one. On Friday we had a work event in which we did a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lip_dub">libdup </a>video of the song<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUBwjyhRweQ"> Don't Stop Me Now</a> by Queen. A libdup video is a video in which you lip sync to the music and then dubbing it over the original song. We were around 40 of us and we all had a short part of the song to sing and act. We were outdoors in Rotterdam acting like fools with all kinds of props. Many random people kept asking us what show we were preparing! After a few trials we did the final trial from start to end and the video was filmed. The video is very funny but it looked very professional. The evening didn't stop there and we continued with dinner and some dancing till the early hours of the morning.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit54kEl5Qqd0zVXlxOF75kAZKu1FKERpcO1I6vrPJuJxfYOnDwxviOaFg7-7ussmfS9BMw4mUnnV3KeIjTg1nWJvLvL1jApqlUW2zVTpxgoaSCCtJ5irh7-iGXMeCHfkGCUCkc5Lys68c/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit54kEl5Qqd0zVXlxOF75kAZKu1FKERpcO1I6vrPJuJxfYOnDwxviOaFg7-7ussmfS9BMw4mUnnV3KeIjTg1nWJvLvL1jApqlUW2zVTpxgoaSCCtJ5irh7-iGXMeCHfkGCUCkc5Lys68c/s640/photo+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With some of my colleagues</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sunday was a lovely warm sunny day and we didn't have any plans. Until my fiancee decided that we should take a trip to Antwerp and buy our wedding rings. I liked the idea, firstly for a woman it's very hard to reject an offer of buying jewelry and secondly because I knew that I would enjoy spending a few hours basking in the sun at some Belgian cafe. The day turned out to be success. The rings were ordered (eek!) and the sun kept shining all day long.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i1RLZ4SaAdc/Uk_sa98tGBI/AAAAAAAAC3U/sQinm0WT5JI/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i1RLZ4SaAdc/Uk_sa98tGBI/AAAAAAAAC3U/sQinm0WT5JI/s640/photo+4.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the typical mussels in Antwerp</td></tr>
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The week continued on a good note - my sister in-law gave birth to a lovely baby boy. We now have a little one in the Dutch side of the family which will surely change the dynamics of the family.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qkO070zYNGM/Uk_sjzJKN-I/AAAAAAAAC3c/PXvOT7zMHd8/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qkO070zYNGM/Uk_sjzJKN-I/AAAAAAAAC3c/PXvOT7zMHd8/s640/photo+5.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn colours</td></tr>
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Looking forward to see if this weekend has the same amount of nice and fun activities, but I doubt I will be getting any more jewelry or additional family members!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-9180179121738583192013-09-25T19:51:00.000+02:002013-09-25T19:51:08.050+02:00Malta in motion<div style="text-align: center;">
This is my island, a small rock in the middle of the Mediterranean which is so precious to me. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2uWxqxVME6M" width="459"></iframe></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-44245446205543465142013-09-22T09:00:00.000+02:002013-09-22T09:00:06.701+02:00My mountain experienceSome of you might be thinking:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>"Didn't Colette go to a hiking trip in the mountains? How did that go?"</i></blockquote>
The trip was a lot of things, I felt so many emotions in such a short span of time.<br />
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We arrived in Vent in Austria 2 days before the start of the trip with the group. These 2 days were meant as preparation days to adjust to the altitude and also get accustomed to hiking for around 4 hours with a backpack on my back.<br />
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This was my first real time so close up and personal with the mountains. I had went skiing and snowboarding in the past I have never went in so deep and away from the world lived in part of the world.<br />
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The first days were tough, with me nearly giving up very close to the hut. However my fiancee's positive reinforcement, mainly reminding me that there is an apple strudel waiting for me at the top, kept me going forward step after step. I managed to reach my first top on these days and boy that was a nice feeling. I felt so empowered, excited and humbled by the greatness this planet has to offer. I also got to see glaciers for the first time in my life.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HpeXNVrpfEw/UjtS_EU3aUI/AAAAAAAAC2U/vMbS7gKiH-E/s1600/photo+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HpeXNVrpfEw/UjtS_EU3aUI/AAAAAAAAC2U/vMbS7gKiH-E/s640/photo+(7).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hike to the Martin-Busch-Hütte</td></tr>
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On the third day we joined the group for our 1 week trip. We were a group of 12 people with 2 guides. I soon discovered that this beginners course didn't have any beginners in it apart from me! Most people had been hiking on the mountains for many years and decided to attend this course to improve their technique and learn how to avoid dangers.<br />
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On our first group day we cheated and used the chair lift to increase altitude and then hiked to the Breslau<span style="font-family: inherit;">er H<span style="text-align: center;">ütte. By then I knew that I was the slowest from the group and was walking at the tail of the group. The walk to the hut had another first time. I walked on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moraine">moraines</a> which are quite scary to walk on, but to get easier the longer you walk on them. After lunch at the hut we continued our journey to the next hut, the Vernagth</span></span><span style="text-align: center;">ü</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">tte, which was going to be our home for the next 6 nights. On this part of the trip it started raining hard and we had to put our raining gear on. I don't generally like rain but I loved being in the mountains in such weather. It made the experience feel more real. The ground was harder to walk on and everything was very slippery. Once we reached the hut, after 5 hours of walking in total, everybody was ready for a nice cold drink, a hearty warm meal and an early night.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Life in a mountain huts is very different from sleeping at a hotel. We were 12 people sharing one room. We had a set of 2 bunk beds - we had a quadruple beds on each level on the bunk beds! It felt like being at a Scouts outing. Secondly you don't choose your own dinner, you get served what the hut is serving. The food was actually nice and to say the truth everybody is so exhausted that any food will be eaten. The third difference to a hotel is that after 10pm everybody needs to be quiet. This means that you should be ready to go to bed by then since it's hard to be quiet if you're trying to search for your </span>pajamas<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in the dark!</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the second day we climbed 3 mountain tops. I have to admit that I got scared at some points on this day. I'm a very emotional girl and cried my way up some other moraines. However I did notice that my will to stay alive is very strong! Once I reached the first top I knew those heavy feelings were all worth it. The view when you are on top of the world is so impressive.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RT9iiUNL2QY/UjtZIrtES1I/AAAAAAAAC2k/V-BsPsxYu4Q/s1600/DSC_1643.NEF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RT9iiUNL2QY/UjtZIrtES1I/AAAAAAAAC2k/V-BsPsxYu4Q/s640/DSC_1643.NEF" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the third day we had a session doing knot techniques and climbing. This was a day that was meant to be easy for me since I know my knots and I did climbing in the past. However I was feeling very weak in the morning. By the afternoon I was shaking in bed with fever.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This unluckily marked the end of my hiking experience. I had a tummy bug which kept me out of order for the rest of the trip. It was a pity to not be able to continue with the rest but a tiny part of me was happy not to have to endure such physical </span>exhaustiveness for an extra few days!</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What did I learn from this trip? I loved the mountains but I don't want to do this type of trip every year. I preferred the hiking days that we did by ourselves since I didn't feel the pressure to perform as good as everyone else and feeling like the weakest link. I now can understand my fiancee when he's talking about his hiking trips and I won't be super scared when he is away in the mountains. And my condition has improved a lot in the past year but needs to be worked on if I want to hike Macchu Picchu in Peru next year without shedding daily tears!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OExM9Ssw2Ws/Ujtbvxi2MII/AAAAAAAAC24/GQ56oq-zFX4/s1600/DSC_1780.NEF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OExM9Ssw2Ws/Ujtbvxi2MII/AAAAAAAAC24/GQ56oq-zFX4/s640/DSC_1780.NEF" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rest of the group hiking to the Wildspitze</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cp0Wa0Qmy8o/UjtbSvMDEaI/AAAAAAAAC2w/lscz9Clikhw/s1600/DSC_1889.NEF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cp0Wa0Qmy8o/UjtbSvMDEaI/AAAAAAAAC2w/lscz9Clikhw/s640/DSC_1889.NEF" width="640" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-74868459709158068082013-09-19T21:12:00.001+02:002013-09-19T21:12:48.985+02:00Our website<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is what kept me busy in the past weeks and away from this space.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uqtrixkM1gw/UjtKfFGbvsI/AAAAAAAAC2E/hnACGN9m60E/s1600/weddingwebsite.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="438" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uqtrixkM1gw/UjtKfFGbvsI/AAAAAAAAC2E/hnACGN9m60E/s640/weddingwebsite.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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I spent the past evenings setting up a wedding website and I am very proud of the result. Initially I just wanted to give more details about Malta for my friends and my fiancee's foreign family. I kept adding more and more information and now it is quite extensive. I'm now actually looking forward to having some free evenings although not sure that it will last long!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-80536967722905524022013-09-11T20:01:00.000+02:002013-09-11T20:09:10.446+02:00One fourth of my lifeToday is an important day for many people. It's a day that is remembered about the past events of 9/11. However for me this day is important because it marked my move to the country I now call home.<br />
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A long eight years ago I packed all my belongings in one big luggage and moved to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I don't regret my decision to move but I never expected that I would still be in the country after so long. 8 years is one fourth of my life!<br />
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Take a look at my thoughts on the past years on this same day:<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2012/09/my-holland-homes.html">7 years</a></li>
<li><a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2011/09/six-years-in-netherlands.html">6 Years</a></li>
<li><a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2010/09/five-years-in-netherlands.html">5 Years</a></li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACuKKa6JiYk/UjCxpIGVtjI/AAAAAAAAC1w/G7QhlNWnI74/s1600/576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACuKKa6JiYk/UjCxpIGVtjI/AAAAAAAAC1w/G7QhlNWnI74/s640/576.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got engaged during this year</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hrq1H3g0yzM/UjCxCap7u4I/AAAAAAAAC1o/Zdpchx2aUkM/s1600/DSC_0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hrq1H3g0yzM/UjCxCap7u4I/AAAAAAAAC1o/Zdpchx2aUkM/s640/DSC_0378.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Year's day</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2vudo0-o0cM/UjCwpdoFkWI/AAAAAAAAC1g/S2Hvkpcw31I/s1600/810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2vudo0-o0cM/UjCwpdoFkWI/AAAAAAAAC1g/S2Hvkpcw31I/s640/810.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rotterdam in winter</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ylWBH-2Fhfk/UjCwTRmoPRI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/ZS8OFjBTFek/s1600/DSC_1571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ylWBH-2Fhfk/UjCwTRmoPRI/AAAAAAAAC1Y/ZS8OFjBTFek/s640/DSC_1571.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Scheveningen in summer</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-7143374823586064052013-08-02T20:40:00.000+02:002013-08-02T20:40:00.037+02:00The bride to beIn exactly one year it will be my wedding date. It's still a long way to go but from now on it's just a few months left which will now start rolling by quickly.<br />
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We are one of the few couples I know (and I'm talking about the Netherlands now and not Malta) who have a very long engagement. We've been engaged for more than half a year and there is still a year to go. This means though that we can take the wedding preparations easily and we save a little bit more cash. People at work expected me to be marrying this summer when I mentioned that I was going to get married next summer. Many colleagues have come up to me and asked me about my wedding expecting it to be in a few weeks time!<br />
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There's been quite some progress and while in Malta next week we're meeting a lot of the vendors. It's really exciting but unluckily this will eat some of our beach time.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BRnLQM7MC5M/UeREy2VYHMI/AAAAAAAACuk/p6K_e7ev7_g/s1600/365+days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BRnLQM7MC5M/UeREy2VYHMI/AAAAAAAACuk/p6K_e7ev7_g/s320/365+days.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-87599576907428138312013-08-01T09:16:00.001+02:002013-08-01T09:16:36.978+02:00The WildspitzeThe day that I <a href="http://splashofcola.blogspot.nl/2013/01/mountaineering.html">had mentioned</a> half a year ago has finally arrived. I'm all packed and ready to reach the top of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildspitze">Wildspitze.</a><br />
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This is the luggage that I will be carrying around next week. It only has the bare essentials, which include food, wet proof clothes, gamache and a pick.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjcn7YOUw5FFEsUQIHyrUhYwpWwODeuFZ_q5aBciOZdv7bHVnHjDp4uIOU1ISlz__ca4qcnIGmdU77wk6imSXCRrsbzsDdWx-LNkLl-RHSdJmQGlOxdLSVh7y_TsIGLOcJvqJzEvrsv8/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjcn7YOUw5FFEsUQIHyrUhYwpWwODeuFZ_q5aBciOZdv7bHVnHjDp4uIOU1ISlz__ca4qcnIGmdU77wk6imSXCRrsbzsDdWx-LNkLl-RHSdJmQGlOxdLSVh7y_TsIGLOcJvqJzEvrsv8/s640/photo+1.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Yes I will be going around with a pick all week. I just have to make sure I don't injure anyone with it! <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-461472837009282244.post-72258198418599372412013-07-24T13:31:00.001+02:002013-07-24T13:31:13.008+02:00Wordless Wednesday<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-of7JJfwkL00/Ue-6sg5FwvI/AAAAAAAACxc/qSnVjkUseAw/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-of7JJfwkL00/Ue-6sg5FwvI/AAAAAAAACxc/qSnVjkUseAw/s640/photo+(3).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last weekend weather felt like being back in Malta</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0