Dear Friends and Family who follow the blog,
As you have probably noticed, I have been updating the blog less and less frequently. It's really the thought of having all my personal life online for everyone to see.
Also, I have been updating my facebook profile regularly, and have the ability to choose who looks at my photos and updates and who doesn't.
Therefore, if you'd like to continue to follow the antics of the Weiner clan, please join facebook and look me up.
Cheers,
Darien
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Weiner Baby 2
Announcing the scheduled arrival of Baby Weiner number 2, currently measuring 3.15 cm (or 1 1/4 inches) and scheduled to arrived around November 27th:
So far, everyone is feeling fine, although mummy is a little bit tired.
So far, everyone is feeling fine, although mummy is a little bit tired.
Friday, April 24, 2009
US Trip Part II
Here are some pictures that Brandon took of Noa that I just love and had to share:
I also added new pictures to the facebook album, which you can access by clicking here.
I also added new pictures to the facebook album, which you can access by clicking here.
Monday, April 20, 2009
US Trip Part I
We're one week into our two week trip to LA. On this trip, I left Margreet behind and took Noa. We flew through London and picked up Tori.
We've come to spend some time with my grandmother, who's suffering from lung cancer, but has decided this time not to get treated anymore. There just comes a time, I guess, when you just want to have nature take its course.
This is starting to resemble a similar situation almost 5 years ago, when Tori and I were looking after my mother during her last battle with lung cancer. There are a few differences, however - this time, we're here for 2 weeks only: next Monday, we leave, whether my grandmother is still here or not; my mother was a lot further along than my grandmother is, at least, by the time I arrived. Overall, though, my grandmother is doing ok, at least today, she is. The first few days after we arrived, it looked like it was going downhill fast, she couldn't eat or drink - nothing was staying down. The last few days, however, she is eating and drinking and her strength is back, so she is doing a lot better. I don't think she'll last more than a few weeks, though.
She has been overjoyed by having us over, especially seeing Noa, which makes me very happy we've brought her along. In fact, Noa's been charming everyone she's around. Creyna and David showered her with Dora gifts, cousins Caden and Shea took her out on the bouncy that uncle Brad put up, and she has played around with pals Kelley and Dylan. There's an awesome playground nearby, to which we've taken Noa several times.
Here are some pictures from our trip so far.
Click here to see the rest of the pictures.
We've come to spend some time with my grandmother, who's suffering from lung cancer, but has decided this time not to get treated anymore. There just comes a time, I guess, when you just want to have nature take its course.
This is starting to resemble a similar situation almost 5 years ago, when Tori and I were looking after my mother during her last battle with lung cancer. There are a few differences, however - this time, we're here for 2 weeks only: next Monday, we leave, whether my grandmother is still here or not; my mother was a lot further along than my grandmother is, at least, by the time I arrived. Overall, though, my grandmother is doing ok, at least today, she is. The first few days after we arrived, it looked like it was going downhill fast, she couldn't eat or drink - nothing was staying down. The last few days, however, she is eating and drinking and her strength is back, so she is doing a lot better. I don't think she'll last more than a few weeks, though.
She has been overjoyed by having us over, especially seeing Noa, which makes me very happy we've brought her along. In fact, Noa's been charming everyone she's around. Creyna and David showered her with Dora gifts, cousins Caden and Shea took her out on the bouncy that uncle Brad put up, and she has played around with pals Kelley and Dylan. There's an awesome playground nearby, to which we've taken Noa several times.
Here are some pictures from our trip so far.
Click here to see the rest of the pictures.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Week of Ski and Fun in France
We just got back from our week long ski and poker vacation in Le Bettaix near Les Menuires in France.
We had a lot of fun, but truthfully (and this seems to be the case a lot recently), it’s good to be home!
We had rented a 7 room chalet in the little village of Le Bettaix, situated just below the ski town of Les Menuires, a part of the large ski resort of “Les 3 Vallées” in France, the largest ski resort in the world with over 600 km (410 miles) of ski slopes. We were joined by a whole group of friends, including my sister Tori, my cousin Leah (pronounced Lia :), my friends Brian and Lynn, Robert and Joanda, Joanekke, and Jeroen. Also joining us all the way from the States was my good friend Martha, who brought along her boyfriend Adam and their friends Ray and Julie.
We started on our 1,100 km (700 miles) journey at 6.30pm on a Friday night by picking up Noa from the daycare and Joanekke from her house. Both Margreet and Noa were suffering from the stomach bug, and Joanekke had a bit of a cough, so we weren’t off to the best of starts. We had planned to stop somewhere halfway and stay at a roadside motel to make the trip easier, and we were planning to make good use of our portable DVD player and newly purchased Dora The Explorer DVD’s! By 1.30am, we had found a hotel about two thirds of the way there and settled down for the night.
On Saturday morning, we made our way up the mountain with (it seemed) millions of other winter sport holiday makers. In Europe, people tend to go on a week-long ski vacation, whereas in the US (according to my memory), we tended to go for a few days or a long weekend, and typically, you book accommodation from a Saturday to a Saturday. Therefore, Saturdays tend to be very busy on the roads leading up and down the mountain, and this time was no exception.
However, we did make it by sunset and managed to find the chalet and even managed to go shopping for some food as our friends started to arrive.
Pictures of chalet:
On Sunday, we rented our skis and headed for the slopes. As usual, I had a hard time finding ski boots that fit well, and I only had a few hours of skiing before my shins were hurting too badly that I just had to go back to the ski shop and get new ones. I think that I will invest in my own ski boots at the end of the season. Hopefully, I'll find some good deal :). The first day of skiing was absolutely wonderful (apart from the pain). The sun was out and it was rather warm, but there was a lot of snow. On Monday and Tuesday, however, the weather had turned a lot colder and wintery. It was snowing heavily, and as you climbed to the higher slopes, the conditions were quite blizzardly. I had taken Robert, Jeroen and Brian up to one of the top slopes of the mountains, and it was a scene from a National Geographic Himalayan Expidition - very cold, very windy and very snowy. The run was a red one, but it was a little bit icy, so it ran a bit more difficult. I was well bundled up, so it wasn't such a problem for me, but poor Jeroen only had his hat with earflaps and his goggles, so his whole lower part of his face was exposed and looked like it was going to fall off from frostbite. Luckily, he toughed it out and we made an hour long ski ride all the way down the mountain.
Another time, I was skiing with Robert, Jeroen and Joanekke in very cold wintery conditions, and I noticed that we were always waiting for Joanekke. Then I noticed that Joanekke was only wearing sunglasses, while we were wearing ski goggles. I also noticed icycles forming around her eyebrows, but she didn't complain at all, just made her way slowly down the mountain. Feeling galant, I offered her my goggles. What a mistake! Skiing only 20 seconds in her glasses was pure torture! Biting cold around the eyes and snow getting into them! Now I understand why she wasn't going that fast: the faster you went, the more painful it was. The nearest ski shop was at the bottom of the hill, and there was no way I was giving back her sunglasses, so I (tried to) bite my tongue and make our way down the mountain. I have to give it up for Joanekke, she's more of a man than I am - I couldn't stop complaining! At the bottom of the mountain, and Joanekke 40 Euros poorer, we enjoyed a nice drink (hot spiced wine) and I enjoyed having my goggles back!
Some pictures of the mountains:
Margreet and I atop the mountain
Margreet, Joanda, Robert and Jeroen taking a well-deserved break
Leah and Tori
In the chalet after a long day of skiing, how nice is it that we had our own indoor jacuzzi and sauna, which was put in good use by all of us every day! A bit of a shame that the water wasn't so hot, but not cold enough to stop us! On a few days, though, I really needed hot water to sooth my thigh muscles, so I forwent the jacuzzi and used the nice whirltub in our bathroom. Ahhhhh. Lucky for me, I have a short memory and can forget what happened on the second night of our stay. Margreet and Noa were having a bath together, as they do every-so-often, when Margreet noticed Noa having a concentrated look on her face. As she asked Noa if she needed to go poo, Margreet noticed a little brown log floating by. Then came the diarrhea. You have never seen Margreet get out of the bath so quickly! It seemed that they got out unscathed (so-to-speak), but I guess that cleaning the bathtub comes under daddy's duties (lucky me!).
But we were in fact very lucky as we had a lot of willing Noa-sitters, including Tori, Leah and Lynn who all took their turns to stay in the chalet with her. They also took her out to the snow on the sled with she enjoyed quite a bit. She also looked very cute in her oversized snow outfit, I almost confused her with a telletubby!
Margreet with Noa
Leah with Noa
Leah and Noa on sled
Lynn and Noa on sled
In the evenings back at the chalet, I tried to get a poker tournament started. In the end, we had a tournament on 4 of the evenings (compared to almost everyday on the other ski vacations). The first one was our most populous one, with 11 players, then twice with 10 players, and then, on the last night, only 6 of us hardcore players played. The first tournament was won by Leah who beat Joanda for her first ever ski vacation tournament win! (Go Leah!). The next day, Joanda beat Jeroen heads-up to add another notch in her consistently strong showing. The next day, Robert beat Jeroen in a game where Robert was down to the felt at one point and had to make quite a comeback to take it. The last night was one by yours truly (me!). I had to beat Brian to finally win a ski vacation poker tournament. This was quite a momentous occasion for me - in that although I'm a professional poker player (and the only pro poker player on the ski vacation), this is the first time I have ever won a ski vacation poker tournament! The last hand was quite memorable: we were three players left, with only 2 spots getting paid. I had the biggest stack, followed by Brian, then Joanda. Then I get pocket Aces on the button and raise. Brian gets Jacks in the small blind and reraises. Joanda has pocket Queens on the big blind and calls. Well, natually I go all-in and get called in both spots. The board comes all low cards and history is made! Next up: World Series of Poker! Margreet, one of the stronger poker players in the group caught a few unlucky breaks but managed to come in 3rd place twice and bubble once (bubble is the poker term for the last player to be eliminated before the money).
Some hardcore poker action (and softcore scrabble action too!):
On Wednesday, we were joined by my in-laws, Riek and Jan, who drove the 6 hours from their second home in Le Morvan in central France to spend the night and take Noa with them, so that Margreet and I could enjoy a few days without Noa, sleeping in and skiing together, which was VERY appreciated! Thanks again Riek and Jan!
The last few days were back the warmer sunnier conditions, with a lot of snow from the previous few days to ski on! Luckily our injuries were minor, with Joanda suffering a shoulder strain on the first day, but was back out by Tuesday. A few sore knees and burnt faces, but overall, nothing serious. The last day saw me out of action due to the stomach bug that also caught Leah.
A few more random pictures:
Radioactive Leah
Joanda enjoying her birthday cake (prepared by Tori)
Tori showing off her moves
Me with Margreet, Leah and Tori (guess who didn't use sunscreen?)
Noa looking cute (as usual)
Me ruining a perfect picture of Martha and Adam
Then on Saturday, after a long week of skiing, it was time to head home. This time, we were headed to Le Morvan to spend the night at my in-laws and pick up Noa, then drive all day Sunday to arrive home at 6.00pm. Oh, it's so nice to be home!
For those whose appetite for pictures was not quenched in this blog post, feel free to browse all 200 pictures of the 400+ collected by Brian from everyone and posted to his Flickr account.
Click to see all pictures
We had a lot of fun, but truthfully (and this seems to be the case a lot recently), it’s good to be home!
We had rented a 7 room chalet in the little village of Le Bettaix, situated just below the ski town of Les Menuires, a part of the large ski resort of “Les 3 Vallées” in France, the largest ski resort in the world with over 600 km (410 miles) of ski slopes. We were joined by a whole group of friends, including my sister Tori, my cousin Leah (pronounced Lia :), my friends Brian and Lynn, Robert and Joanda, Joanekke, and Jeroen. Also joining us all the way from the States was my good friend Martha, who brought along her boyfriend Adam and their friends Ray and Julie.
We started on our 1,100 km (700 miles) journey at 6.30pm on a Friday night by picking up Noa from the daycare and Joanekke from her house. Both Margreet and Noa were suffering from the stomach bug, and Joanekke had a bit of a cough, so we weren’t off to the best of starts. We had planned to stop somewhere halfway and stay at a roadside motel to make the trip easier, and we were planning to make good use of our portable DVD player and newly purchased Dora The Explorer DVD’s! By 1.30am, we had found a hotel about two thirds of the way there and settled down for the night.
On Saturday morning, we made our way up the mountain with (it seemed) millions of other winter sport holiday makers. In Europe, people tend to go on a week-long ski vacation, whereas in the US (according to my memory), we tended to go for a few days or a long weekend, and typically, you book accommodation from a Saturday to a Saturday. Therefore, Saturdays tend to be very busy on the roads leading up and down the mountain, and this time was no exception.
However, we did make it by sunset and managed to find the chalet and even managed to go shopping for some food as our friends started to arrive.
Pictures of chalet:
On Sunday, we rented our skis and headed for the slopes. As usual, I had a hard time finding ski boots that fit well, and I only had a few hours of skiing before my shins were hurting too badly that I just had to go back to the ski shop and get new ones. I think that I will invest in my own ski boots at the end of the season. Hopefully, I'll find some good deal :). The first day of skiing was absolutely wonderful (apart from the pain). The sun was out and it was rather warm, but there was a lot of snow. On Monday and Tuesday, however, the weather had turned a lot colder and wintery. It was snowing heavily, and as you climbed to the higher slopes, the conditions were quite blizzardly. I had taken Robert, Jeroen and Brian up to one of the top slopes of the mountains, and it was a scene from a National Geographic Himalayan Expidition - very cold, very windy and very snowy. The run was a red one, but it was a little bit icy, so it ran a bit more difficult. I was well bundled up, so it wasn't such a problem for me, but poor Jeroen only had his hat with earflaps and his goggles, so his whole lower part of his face was exposed and looked like it was going to fall off from frostbite. Luckily, he toughed it out and we made an hour long ski ride all the way down the mountain.
Another time, I was skiing with Robert, Jeroen and Joanekke in very cold wintery conditions, and I noticed that we were always waiting for Joanekke. Then I noticed that Joanekke was only wearing sunglasses, while we were wearing ski goggles. I also noticed icycles forming around her eyebrows, but she didn't complain at all, just made her way slowly down the mountain. Feeling galant, I offered her my goggles. What a mistake! Skiing only 20 seconds in her glasses was pure torture! Biting cold around the eyes and snow getting into them! Now I understand why she wasn't going that fast: the faster you went, the more painful it was. The nearest ski shop was at the bottom of the hill, and there was no way I was giving back her sunglasses, so I (tried to) bite my tongue and make our way down the mountain. I have to give it up for Joanekke, she's more of a man than I am - I couldn't stop complaining! At the bottom of the mountain, and Joanekke 40 Euros poorer, we enjoyed a nice drink (hot spiced wine) and I enjoyed having my goggles back!
Some pictures of the mountains:
Margreet and I atop the mountain
Margreet, Joanda, Robert and Jeroen taking a well-deserved break
Leah and Tori
In the chalet after a long day of skiing, how nice is it that we had our own indoor jacuzzi and sauna, which was put in good use by all of us every day! A bit of a shame that the water wasn't so hot, but not cold enough to stop us! On a few days, though, I really needed hot water to sooth my thigh muscles, so I forwent the jacuzzi and used the nice whirltub in our bathroom. Ahhhhh. Lucky for me, I have a short memory and can forget what happened on the second night of our stay. Margreet and Noa were having a bath together, as they do every-so-often, when Margreet noticed Noa having a concentrated look on her face. As she asked Noa if she needed to go poo, Margreet noticed a little brown log floating by. Then came the diarrhea. You have never seen Margreet get out of the bath so quickly! It seemed that they got out unscathed (so-to-speak), but I guess that cleaning the bathtub comes under daddy's duties (lucky me!).
But we were in fact very lucky as we had a lot of willing Noa-sitters, including Tori, Leah and Lynn who all took their turns to stay in the chalet with her. They also took her out to the snow on the sled with she enjoyed quite a bit. She also looked very cute in her oversized snow outfit, I almost confused her with a telletubby!
Margreet with Noa
Leah with Noa
Leah and Noa on sled
Lynn and Noa on sled
In the evenings back at the chalet, I tried to get a poker tournament started. In the end, we had a tournament on 4 of the evenings (compared to almost everyday on the other ski vacations). The first one was our most populous one, with 11 players, then twice with 10 players, and then, on the last night, only 6 of us hardcore players played. The first tournament was won by Leah who beat Joanda for her first ever ski vacation tournament win! (Go Leah!). The next day, Joanda beat Jeroen heads-up to add another notch in her consistently strong showing. The next day, Robert beat Jeroen in a game where Robert was down to the felt at one point and had to make quite a comeback to take it. The last night was one by yours truly (me!). I had to beat Brian to finally win a ski vacation poker tournament. This was quite a momentous occasion for me - in that although I'm a professional poker player (and the only pro poker player on the ski vacation), this is the first time I have ever won a ski vacation poker tournament! The last hand was quite memorable: we were three players left, with only 2 spots getting paid. I had the biggest stack, followed by Brian, then Joanda. Then I get pocket Aces on the button and raise. Brian gets Jacks in the small blind and reraises. Joanda has pocket Queens on the big blind and calls. Well, natually I go all-in and get called in both spots. The board comes all low cards and history is made! Next up: World Series of Poker! Margreet, one of the stronger poker players in the group caught a few unlucky breaks but managed to come in 3rd place twice and bubble once (bubble is the poker term for the last player to be eliminated before the money).
Some hardcore poker action (and softcore scrabble action too!):
On Wednesday, we were joined by my in-laws, Riek and Jan, who drove the 6 hours from their second home in Le Morvan in central France to spend the night and take Noa with them, so that Margreet and I could enjoy a few days without Noa, sleeping in and skiing together, which was VERY appreciated! Thanks again Riek and Jan!
The last few days were back the warmer sunnier conditions, with a lot of snow from the previous few days to ski on! Luckily our injuries were minor, with Joanda suffering a shoulder strain on the first day, but was back out by Tuesday. A few sore knees and burnt faces, but overall, nothing serious. The last day saw me out of action due to the stomach bug that also caught Leah.
A few more random pictures:
Radioactive Leah
Joanda enjoying her birthday cake (prepared by Tori)
Tori showing off her moves
Me with Margreet, Leah and Tori (guess who didn't use sunscreen?)
Noa looking cute (as usual)
Me ruining a perfect picture of Martha and Adam
Then on Saturday, after a long week of skiing, it was time to head home. This time, we were headed to Le Morvan to spend the night at my in-laws and pick up Noa, then drive all day Sunday to arrive home at 6.00pm. Oh, it's so nice to be home!
For those whose appetite for pictures was not quenched in this blog post, feel free to browse all 200 pictures of the 400+ collected by Brian from everyone and posted to his Flickr account.
Click to see all pictures
Monday, March 16, 2009
Coming Soon ... Les Menuires Ski Trip 2009
Stay tuned soon for pictures and stories from our recently concluded ski trip!
Here's a taste of what's to come!
Here's a taste of what's to come!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Get To Know My Wife
As promised, here was Margreet's version of the Facebook 25 Random Things!
By the way, if you're not on facebook, you're so twentieth century!!
1: I am always on time. Never too late or early. I was born on april 3rd 1976, the date I was due.
2: I can be very clumsy. I just finished writing my 25 random things and then deleted them accidently!
3: I love playing games. Risk, kolonisten, poker. I am not a good loser..
4: I was bitten by a dog in my face when I was 2. Still, dogs are my favourite animals
5: I used to be a horsebackriding district champion when I was 16
6: I am terrilbe at parking the car. I contributed to 90% of the dents in the car
7: Noa was conceived the evening we had visited a live sex show in Amsterdam
8: I believe Noa's easy delivery was due to my yoga classes and the use of epino (www.epino.com only for pregnant girls!)
9: I used to have terrible menstrual pains until i recieved chiropractic care
10: I love my job
11: I love working with children and believe I am good at it too
12: If I wouldnt be a chiropractore I would be an estate agent. Funda (where dutch houses are put for sale) is my favourite website
13: I am dreaming of a huge bath in our next house, I can spend hours in a bathtub.
14: My husband brings out the best in me. My liffe has been so much better since april 2005
15: I love living so close to the sea
16: I hate the seagulls on our patio
17: I love traveling. I have visited 26 countries so far
18: I wish we had a drive through starbucks in Holland
19: My parents make great grandparents
20: I love being a mum except for the early mornings!
21: I think I am the only Dutch person who doesnt like ice-skating!
22: I do like skiing and am looking forward to our skitrip in March
23: I love Gluhwein!
24: I used to sleepwalk. The last time it happened (I think) I was a student and caught in the garden in my pyamas in the middle of the night!
25: This was fun, hope you'll join!
By the way, if you're not on facebook, you're so twentieth century!!
1: I am always on time. Never too late or early. I was born on april 3rd 1976, the date I was due.
2: I can be very clumsy. I just finished writing my 25 random things and then deleted them accidently!
3: I love playing games. Risk, kolonisten, poker. I am not a good loser..
4: I was bitten by a dog in my face when I was 2. Still, dogs are my favourite animals
5: I used to be a horsebackriding district champion when I was 16
6: I am terrilbe at parking the car. I contributed to 90% of the dents in the car
7: Noa was conceived the evening we had visited a live sex show in Amsterdam
8: I believe Noa's easy delivery was due to my yoga classes and the use of epino (www.epino.com only for pregnant girls!)
9: I used to have terrible menstrual pains until i recieved chiropractic care
10: I love my job
11: I love working with children and believe I am good at it too
12: If I wouldnt be a chiropractore I would be an estate agent. Funda (where dutch houses are put for sale) is my favourite website
13: I am dreaming of a huge bath in our next house, I can spend hours in a bathtub.
14: My husband brings out the best in me. My liffe has been so much better since april 2005
15: I love living so close to the sea
16: I hate the seagulls on our patio
17: I love traveling. I have visited 26 countries so far
18: I wish we had a drive through starbucks in Holland
19: My parents make great grandparents
20: I love being a mum except for the early mornings!
21: I think I am the only Dutch person who doesnt like ice-skating!
22: I do like skiing and am looking forward to our skitrip in March
23: I love Gluhwein!
24: I used to sleepwalk. The last time it happened (I think) I was a student and caught in the garden in my pyamas in the middle of the night!
25: This was fun, hope you'll join!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
25 Random Things About Me.
Something going around Facebook right now is a thing called "25 Random Things" where you're supposed to tell your friends 25 random things about yourself.
After seeing how much I enjoyed reading 25 random things from a few of my friends, I decided to write my own.
And now I share mine with you ...
1. I was born minutes before midnight on December 28, 1971 in North Hollywood, California.
2. Since then, I’ve moved 21 times, living in 5 different countries on 3 different continents (USA, France, England, Israel and now Netherlands). The nomadic gene comes from my mother, and her father before her, continuing the constant migration of Jews for thousands of years. I plan to move again this year.
3. I actually have 4 different nationalities, although I’m thinking of getting rid of 2 of them.
4. I’ve attended 5 different schools from K-12, and I took classes at 6 different colleges/universities before I finished my Bachelor’s Degree at the age of 27.
5. I’ve never held a job for longer than 3 years. Despite this, I’ve never had a hard time finding a new one. Among the jobs I’ve had (in no particular order): soldier, waiter, hotel housekeeping, accountant, construction worker, bowling alley janitor, telemarketer, driver for strippers, poker player, and high school math teacher.
6. In my early 20’s, I came very close to becoming a stripper.
7. I’ve gone skydiving, bungee-jumping and have run a marathon. I’ve done all these things only once, and have no desire to do them again. I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon.
8. I’m addicted to online news. I often update myself on news several times a day. I read CNN, Haaretz, Fox News, LA Times, Time, Al Jazeera, Christian Science Monitor and PBS Frontline, among others.
9. I never thought I would join a social networking site. I received invitations to join facebook for about a year before I eventually joined. Now that I’ve joined, I’m thoroughly addicted, and I read all my friends’ updates!
10. I have a very addictive personality. I think that if I enjoyed the taste of alcohol, I would definitely be an alcoholic. For me to drink alcohol, it has to taste very fruity, and it helps to have an umbrella or cherry in it.
11. I feel disheartened and torn when countries I love and identify with do things I disagree with.
12. If I could have any job in the world (other than my own), I would play shortstop or 3rd base for a Major League Baseball club, preferable the Angels.
13. I love sleeping, but I hate going to bed. I’ll procrastinate for hours before going to bed, but then I’ll do the same before getting out of bed. Staying in bed after waking up is probably the best feeling in the world.
14. In LA, I used to lie in bed for hours listening to KCRW. In Holland, I do the same with the BBC World Service.
15. I’m extremely competitive. I want to win at everything I do. Despite this, I think I’m a pretty gracious winner and loser.
16. I have been very lucky in finding my wife and life partner, Margreet. She has one of the least complicated, no-drama, laid back personalities of any person I know. I never thought I would meet someone like her, and am thankful I got much better than I deserved!
17. I love marmalade jam and dark chocolate. Pims cookies are the best, with chewy chocolate chip cookies coming in a close second. And peanut butter should be chunky.
18. I’m allergic to cats, dust, wool, mornings and hard work.
19. For someone who thinks himself as being risk-adverse, I’m surprised how successful I have been as a poker player. Maybe I’m not as risk-adverse as I thought.
20. I love keeping statistics on things. In poker, I record time and profit/loss made every night in an Excel spreadsheet, then I have other pivot tables that analyze all the data, showing average hourly rates by day and month and I also create charts and graphs.
21. I find it so cool that spas here in Holland are co-ed. It almost makes up for the crappy weather and the dog shit on the sidewalks.
22. I think Southpark is the best show ever. I’ve watched every episode at least 4 times. Then again, I used to really be into Mad About You and X-Files, so my judgment can’t always be trusted.
23. When my sister Tori and I were young, and Nasser was living with us, we used to BBQ chicken on the grill every Saturday night and watch the Love Boat and Fantasy Island together. “Boss! The plane! The plane!”
24. When I lived in LA and my mother lived in England, I could expect a wake-up call from her every other Sunday at 11am sharp which would last for 20 minutes. At the time, I couldn’t wait for the call to end. Now that she’s been gone for 4 years, I kind of miss it.
25. I can watch the Obama “One Voice” ad and Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” song on YouTube over and over again. Your voice can change the world! Brilliant!
If you enjoyed reading these 25 Random Things about me, check back in a week's time, and I'll post Margreet's! Hers is even better than mine!!!
After seeing how much I enjoyed reading 25 random things from a few of my friends, I decided to write my own.
And now I share mine with you ...
1. I was born minutes before midnight on December 28, 1971 in North Hollywood, California.
2. Since then, I’ve moved 21 times, living in 5 different countries on 3 different continents (USA, France, England, Israel and now Netherlands). The nomadic gene comes from my mother, and her father before her, continuing the constant migration of Jews for thousands of years. I plan to move again this year.
3. I actually have 4 different nationalities, although I’m thinking of getting rid of 2 of them.
4. I’ve attended 5 different schools from K-12, and I took classes at 6 different colleges/universities before I finished my Bachelor’s Degree at the age of 27.
5. I’ve never held a job for longer than 3 years. Despite this, I’ve never had a hard time finding a new one. Among the jobs I’ve had (in no particular order): soldier, waiter, hotel housekeeping, accountant, construction worker, bowling alley janitor, telemarketer, driver for strippers, poker player, and high school math teacher.
6. In my early 20’s, I came very close to becoming a stripper.
7. I’ve gone skydiving, bungee-jumping and have run a marathon. I’ve done all these things only once, and have no desire to do them again. I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon.
8. I’m addicted to online news. I often update myself on news several times a day. I read CNN, Haaretz, Fox News, LA Times, Time, Al Jazeera, Christian Science Monitor and PBS Frontline, among others.
9. I never thought I would join a social networking site. I received invitations to join facebook for about a year before I eventually joined. Now that I’ve joined, I’m thoroughly addicted, and I read all my friends’ updates!
10. I have a very addictive personality. I think that if I enjoyed the taste of alcohol, I would definitely be an alcoholic. For me to drink alcohol, it has to taste very fruity, and it helps to have an umbrella or cherry in it.
11. I feel disheartened and torn when countries I love and identify with do things I disagree with.
12. If I could have any job in the world (other than my own), I would play shortstop or 3rd base for a Major League Baseball club, preferable the Angels.
13. I love sleeping, but I hate going to bed. I’ll procrastinate for hours before going to bed, but then I’ll do the same before getting out of bed. Staying in bed after waking up is probably the best feeling in the world.
14. In LA, I used to lie in bed for hours listening to KCRW. In Holland, I do the same with the BBC World Service.
15. I’m extremely competitive. I want to win at everything I do. Despite this, I think I’m a pretty gracious winner and loser.
16. I have been very lucky in finding my wife and life partner, Margreet. She has one of the least complicated, no-drama, laid back personalities of any person I know. I never thought I would meet someone like her, and am thankful I got much better than I deserved!
17. I love marmalade jam and dark chocolate. Pims cookies are the best, with chewy chocolate chip cookies coming in a close second. And peanut butter should be chunky.
18. I’m allergic to cats, dust, wool, mornings and hard work.
19. For someone who thinks himself as being risk-adverse, I’m surprised how successful I have been as a poker player. Maybe I’m not as risk-adverse as I thought.
20. I love keeping statistics on things. In poker, I record time and profit/loss made every night in an Excel spreadsheet, then I have other pivot tables that analyze all the data, showing average hourly rates by day and month and I also create charts and graphs.
21. I find it so cool that spas here in Holland are co-ed. It almost makes up for the crappy weather and the dog shit on the sidewalks.
22. I think Southpark is the best show ever. I’ve watched every episode at least 4 times. Then again, I used to really be into Mad About You and X-Files, so my judgment can’t always be trusted.
23. When my sister Tori and I were young, and Nasser was living with us, we used to BBQ chicken on the grill every Saturday night and watch the Love Boat and Fantasy Island together. “Boss! The plane! The plane!”
24. When I lived in LA and my mother lived in England, I could expect a wake-up call from her every other Sunday at 11am sharp which would last for 20 minutes. At the time, I couldn’t wait for the call to end. Now that she’s been gone for 4 years, I kind of miss it.
25. I can watch the Obama “One Voice” ad and Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” song on YouTube over and over again. Your voice can change the world! Brilliant!
If you enjoyed reading these 25 Random Things about me, check back in a week's time, and I'll post Margreet's! Hers is even better than mine!!!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Happy Birthday Noa!
Yesterday, Noa turned 2 years old!
We had a nice party, and a lot of friends and family were able to come, and Noa got a lot of presents.
Thanks, everyone for coming by! And thanks to everyone who sent cards and good wishes, too!
I produced a music video full of video compilations from the birthday party - hope you enjoy it!
The music is set to Alain Clark's "She's The One".
We had a nice party, and a lot of friends and family were able to come, and Noa got a lot of presents.
Thanks, everyone for coming by! And thanks to everyone who sent cards and good wishes, too!
I produced a music video full of video compilations from the birthday party - hope you enjoy it!
The music is set to Alain Clark's "She's The One".
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Trying Out the New Camera
We are sad to announce the death of our trusted old camera, so we just bought a new camera - a Sony Cybershot DSC-W120 pocket-sized camera.
Here are some pictures we took with it today.
Click on the following link to see the whole photo set:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=185566&l=4702c&id=537735362
Here are some pictures we took with it today.
Click on the following link to see the whole photo set:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=185566&l=4702c&id=537735362
Sunday, November 30, 2008
"Waltz With Bashir" - A Review
Have you ever gone to see a film, where for about 2 or so minutes after the end of the film, while the credits are rolling, noone - I mean absolutely noone - in the whole auditorium, moves, says anything, and everyone just sits there in absolute silence?
This is exactly what happened last night, when Margreet and I went to see "Waltz With Bashir" at the Filmhuis in The Hague. Not only after the projectionist turned on the light, did the 40 or so movie-goers start to get up to leave.
"Waltz With Bashir" is the personal story of Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman as he tries reconstruct his lost memories surrounding his military service as a 19-year-old during the 1982 war between Israel and Lebanon, and his involvement with the Sabra and Shatila massacre.
The film hard to categorize. It is a compilation of interviews with people who served with him, friends, his psychologist and a well-known journalist (in Israel) who covered the war, mixed in with vivid and violent flashbacks, both real and surreal. The unique thing about this "documentary" is that virtually the whole film is animated even though the interviews are quite real.
The film gives us a unique insight into war, where there are no clear villains nor heroes. The film pretends not to be political, yet leaves you with the feeling that all war is inevitably pointless and destructive.
The animation is incredibly good and the soundtrack is haunting, and even though you're basically watching a cartoon, you never get the sense that you're watching a fiction, a point vividly brought to life at the end when the filmmaker leaves us with live footage of the massacre.
If you can get a chance to see this film, I definitely recommend you do so. If you do see it, I would love for you to respond to this post with your thoughts on the film. Also, if you have a response to the question I posed in the first paragraph of this post, I would love to know the name of the film.
Trailer:
"Waltz With Bashir" official website: http://waltzwithbashir.com/home.html
This is exactly what happened last night, when Margreet and I went to see "Waltz With Bashir" at the Filmhuis in The Hague. Not only after the projectionist turned on the light, did the 40 or so movie-goers start to get up to leave.
"Waltz With Bashir" is the personal story of Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman as he tries reconstruct his lost memories surrounding his military service as a 19-year-old during the 1982 war between Israel and Lebanon, and his involvement with the Sabra and Shatila massacre.
The film hard to categorize. It is a compilation of interviews with people who served with him, friends, his psychologist and a well-known journalist (in Israel) who covered the war, mixed in with vivid and violent flashbacks, both real and surreal. The unique thing about this "documentary" is that virtually the whole film is animated even though the interviews are quite real.
The film gives us a unique insight into war, where there are no clear villains nor heroes. The film pretends not to be political, yet leaves you with the feeling that all war is inevitably pointless and destructive.
The animation is incredibly good and the soundtrack is haunting, and even though you're basically watching a cartoon, you never get the sense that you're watching a fiction, a point vividly brought to life at the end when the filmmaker leaves us with live footage of the massacre.
If you can get a chance to see this film, I definitely recommend you do so. If you do see it, I would love for you to respond to this post with your thoughts on the film. Also, if you have a response to the question I posed in the first paragraph of this post, I would love to know the name of the film.
Trailer:
"Waltz With Bashir" official website: http://waltzwithbashir.com/home.html
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Witnessing History
Reflections on the US Elections
It's already been a few days since Obama's historic victory and I've been riding an emotional high ever since I saw the words "Barack Obama - President Elect" sprawled across my television screen at 5 a.m. on election night. I was literally sitting alone in the living room, with tears in my eyes and a smile across my face, while Margreet and Noa were sleeping peacefully upstairs.
I stayed awake for another 2 1/2 hours afterwards listening to the speeches and taking it all in. There are times in your life when you know the world is changing before your eyes and you just can't let go.
It's a feeling I have never felt before, but one I have heard of, when people mentioned how they felt about John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. It's a feeling of inspiration and hope, pride and humility.
It's not so much that the United States have finally elected a black person - a feat I was hoping I would see in my lifetime - but that we, as Americans, have elected a person who brought us a message of hope and change that didn't sound political and that didn't bring out the cynicism and apathy in us.
I started paying attention to the election only after it became a 3 legged race - between McCain, Clinton and Obama - and my impression at the time was that I would be OK with any of the three. I admired McCain for his personal history of service to his country, as well as his senate record of reform and bi-partisanship. I admired Hillary Clinton mainly because of her relation to Bill Clinton and I believed that her ideas would be similar to his. I did not know much of Barack Obama, but I liked what little I knew.
Thus, as a Democrat, I thought I would support whichever candidate came out of the democratic primaries.
Then came the defining moment for me. In response to growing reports of his ties to Reverand Wright, Obama made his "A More Perfect Union" speech. This speech convinced me that in Barack Obama, we have found a leader who is well spoken, intelligent, honest and grounded, who is comfortable speaking about race, social injustice, abortion, foreign policy and other polarising issues without being divisive. I felt that Obama could unite Americans, black and white, men and women, Democrats and Republicans. I felt that Obama could repair America's standing in the world.
Every time I listened to him after this, I became more and more convinced that he was the right person for the job. I felt bad for Hillary, as I felt that she would have made a good president too, but I was really hoping Obama would win. Unfortunately, knowing California would overwhemingly vote for Obama, and therefore my vote wouldn't make a difference in the overall race, I didn't bother to register to vote until it was too late. Now I regret not having participated in this historic event. I do wish, however, that the US would change to a popular vote instead of the electoral college vote. The current system gives more weight to votes of people from certain states (Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania) and less to others (California, New York, Texas). But that's another topic.
But in the end, Obama's message of change won out and ushered in a new day.
Watching the celebrations from around the US, one could easily forget that over 57 million Americans voted for McCain. To those people, I say that I hope you give our new President a chance. He will make a difference.
I believe it.
The YES WE CAN song
The following lyrics are from the inspirational Will.i.am song "Yes We Can". The words are drawn almost verbatim from Barack Obama's speech following the New Hampshire Democratic primaries. The video of the song (below after the lyrics) made me cry for the first 50 times I watched it :)
"It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can.
We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --
Yes. We. Can."
It's already been a few days since Obama's historic victory and I've been riding an emotional high ever since I saw the words "Barack Obama - President Elect" sprawled across my television screen at 5 a.m. on election night. I was literally sitting alone in the living room, with tears in my eyes and a smile across my face, while Margreet and Noa were sleeping peacefully upstairs.
I stayed awake for another 2 1/2 hours afterwards listening to the speeches and taking it all in. There are times in your life when you know the world is changing before your eyes and you just can't let go.
It's a feeling I have never felt before, but one I have heard of, when people mentioned how they felt about John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. It's a feeling of inspiration and hope, pride and humility.
It's not so much that the United States have finally elected a black person - a feat I was hoping I would see in my lifetime - but that we, as Americans, have elected a person who brought us a message of hope and change that didn't sound political and that didn't bring out the cynicism and apathy in us.
I started paying attention to the election only after it became a 3 legged race - between McCain, Clinton and Obama - and my impression at the time was that I would be OK with any of the three. I admired McCain for his personal history of service to his country, as well as his senate record of reform and bi-partisanship. I admired Hillary Clinton mainly because of her relation to Bill Clinton and I believed that her ideas would be similar to his. I did not know much of Barack Obama, but I liked what little I knew.
Thus, as a Democrat, I thought I would support whichever candidate came out of the democratic primaries.
Then came the defining moment for me. In response to growing reports of his ties to Reverand Wright, Obama made his "A More Perfect Union" speech. This speech convinced me that in Barack Obama, we have found a leader who is well spoken, intelligent, honest and grounded, who is comfortable speaking about race, social injustice, abortion, foreign policy and other polarising issues without being divisive. I felt that Obama could unite Americans, black and white, men and women, Democrats and Republicans. I felt that Obama could repair America's standing in the world.
Every time I listened to him after this, I became more and more convinced that he was the right person for the job. I felt bad for Hillary, as I felt that she would have made a good president too, but I was really hoping Obama would win. Unfortunately, knowing California would overwhemingly vote for Obama, and therefore my vote wouldn't make a difference in the overall race, I didn't bother to register to vote until it was too late. Now I regret not having participated in this historic event. I do wish, however, that the US would change to a popular vote instead of the electoral college vote. The current system gives more weight to votes of people from certain states (Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania) and less to others (California, New York, Texas). But that's another topic.
But in the end, Obama's message of change won out and ushered in a new day.
Watching the celebrations from around the US, one could easily forget that over 57 million Americans voted for McCain. To those people, I say that I hope you give our new President a chance. He will make a difference.
I believe it.
The YES WE CAN song
The following lyrics are from the inspirational Will.i.am song "Yes We Can". The words are drawn almost verbatim from Barack Obama's speech following the New Hampshire Democratic primaries. The video of the song (below after the lyrics) made me cry for the first 50 times I watched it :)
"It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality.
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can.
We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --
Yes. We. Can."
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Dinnertime at the Weiners
I welcome you to watch a video I made during our interesting dinnertimes. Noa is starting to say words now. The latest word is "doei", pronounced "doo-ee" which means "bye". When she says it, it cracks us up each and every time.
Hope you enjoy it...
Hope you enjoy it...
Day Trip to the Zoo
Last Thursday, my friend Jonathan and I decided to take our little ones, Cillian and Noa, to the zoo.
Now there are a lot of zoos here in Holland, but Jonathan had picked one near Antwerp in Belgium, about a two hour drive from where we live. A lot of the nice zoos here in Holland would have also taken upto two hours to get to, so the fact that this one was in a completely different country didn't make it any further to get to. It's just a funny thing living in a small(ish) country like Holland that sometimes you need a passport for a day out to the zoo (not that I actually took my passport.)
The day was promising to be a rainy one, so at first I was thinking about postponing, as being from Southern California, I'm afraid of rain. Jonathan, being from Ireland, didn't seem to be concerned with getting a bit wet, and kindly told me to grow a pair (and with some hormone therapy should be likely).
So they stopped by at the ungawdly time of 10.00am (for someone who leaves work at 3.00am, then watches the 3rd presidential debate live until 5.45am, waking up at anytime that ends with "am" is ungawdly). We loaded Noa's car seat next to Cillian's and off we went!
We arrived just before noon and there was hardly anyone there. The parking lot was empty. I don't know if it was the weather or the time we arrived, but it looked like we were going to have the park to ourselves. We loaded the critters into the double buggy that Jonathan had brought and walked into the park. Now there's something about 2 guys walking with 2 young kids in a double stroller that's just a little bit, uhhhh, well, uhhhh gay. It's a good thing that I switched the earring to the other ear :) Wouldn't want any rumors to start.
The zoo itself was OK. I'm not into zoos so much, but I enjoy finding something fun for Noa to do. Most of the time, we just let Noa and Cillian run around. They weren't so interested in the animals. They were more interested in splashing in the mud puddles, wandering around in the forest and running after each other. Other than the constant threat of rain, we were actually very lucky with the weather - it had only rained once while we were there and it was only for a few minutes.
One complaint about the zoo, though: there was no baby changing station in the men's room, so we had to change the nappies in the ladies' room, which got us a few stares from some of the women and some giggles from some teenage girls. Once, I was lifting Noa to get a good look at some of the animals when I noticed a lot of mud on her tights and dress. I wasn't so surprised as this little girl gets so dirty when she plays outside. However, upon further inspection, it didn't smell like mud, and it was, in fact, not mud but poo! At that moment, we were quite far from any facility, so I had to give Noa a complete cleaning and change of clothes on a bench in the cold - poor Noa. Luckily, Margreet had prepared a complete baby bag with new set of clothes, so crisis was averted!
Anyway, we got home at about 6pm, and after some dinner and a long bath, Noa slept for 13 hours straight (until Margreet had to wake her up to go to the creche!), so we can assume that a good day was had by all!
Now there are a lot of zoos here in Holland, but Jonathan had picked one near Antwerp in Belgium, about a two hour drive from where we live. A lot of the nice zoos here in Holland would have also taken upto two hours to get to, so the fact that this one was in a completely different country didn't make it any further to get to. It's just a funny thing living in a small(ish) country like Holland that sometimes you need a passport for a day out to the zoo (not that I actually took my passport.)
The day was promising to be a rainy one, so at first I was thinking about postponing, as being from Southern California, I'm afraid of rain. Jonathan, being from Ireland, didn't seem to be concerned with getting a bit wet, and kindly told me to grow a pair (and with some hormone therapy should be likely).
So they stopped by at the ungawdly time of 10.00am (for someone who leaves work at 3.00am, then watches the 3rd presidential debate live until 5.45am, waking up at anytime that ends with "am" is ungawdly). We loaded Noa's car seat next to Cillian's and off we went!
We arrived just before noon and there was hardly anyone there. The parking lot was empty. I don't know if it was the weather or the time we arrived, but it looked like we were going to have the park to ourselves. We loaded the critters into the double buggy that Jonathan had brought and walked into the park. Now there's something about 2 guys walking with 2 young kids in a double stroller that's just a little bit, uhhhh, well, uhhhh gay. It's a good thing that I switched the earring to the other ear :) Wouldn't want any rumors to start.
The zoo itself was OK. I'm not into zoos so much, but I enjoy finding something fun for Noa to do. Most of the time, we just let Noa and Cillian run around. They weren't so interested in the animals. They were more interested in splashing in the mud puddles, wandering around in the forest and running after each other. Other than the constant threat of rain, we were actually very lucky with the weather - it had only rained once while we were there and it was only for a few minutes.
One complaint about the zoo, though: there was no baby changing station in the men's room, so we had to change the nappies in the ladies' room, which got us a few stares from some of the women and some giggles from some teenage girls. Once, I was lifting Noa to get a good look at some of the animals when I noticed a lot of mud on her tights and dress. I wasn't so surprised as this little girl gets so dirty when she plays outside. However, upon further inspection, it didn't smell like mud, and it was, in fact, not mud but poo! At that moment, we were quite far from any facility, so I had to give Noa a complete cleaning and change of clothes on a bench in the cold - poor Noa. Luckily, Margreet had prepared a complete baby bag with new set of clothes, so crisis was averted!
Anyway, we got home at about 6pm, and after some dinner and a long bath, Noa slept for 13 hours straight (until Margreet had to wake her up to go to the creche!), so we can assume that a good day was had by all!
Monday, October 13, 2008
A visit to see Christine
My good friend Jonathan (from my Schlumberger days) and his lovely wife Ilse just had a new daughter, Christine. Margreet, Noa and I went to visit them last Thursday. It was a beautiful day outside (not many of those this summer), so we took the bikes and rode the 15 minute ride to their house in The Hague.
Their first child, Cillian, is a regular playmate of Noa, as they are only 3 weeks apart in age and get along great. So while Margreet and I were ooh-ing and aah-ing over little Christine, Noa and Cillian were running all over the place, climbing all over the furniture, eating tons of cookies, making chocolate handprints on the nice white furniture and carpets.
Christine is a big baby (over 4 kg / 9 lbs) with a lot of hair! But holding her, she felt sooo light. I forgot how light a baby is supposed to weigh. Or is it that Noa is getting so big?
So anyway, I just wanted to post a little blog entry (hopefully the first!) to welcome Christine McCann to the world!
Their first child, Cillian, is a regular playmate of Noa, as they are only 3 weeks apart in age and get along great. So while Margreet and I were ooh-ing and aah-ing over little Christine, Noa and Cillian were running all over the place, climbing all over the furniture, eating tons of cookies, making chocolate handprints on the nice white furniture and carpets.
Christine is a big baby (over 4 kg / 9 lbs) with a lot of hair! But holding her, she felt sooo light. I forgot how light a baby is supposed to weigh. Or is it that Noa is getting so big?
So anyway, I just wanted to post a little blog entry (hopefully the first!) to welcome Christine McCann to the world!
Me (holding Christine) with Ilse and Margreet
Me, Jonathan and Margreet (holding Christine, Cillian and Noa respectively)
The two rascals :)
Mother and Daughter
For the rest of the photo set, click here.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
First Time at the Swimming Pool
What is there to do on a rainy and cold Sunday October morning in Holland? Why, go to the (indoor) swimming pool!
Today, we took our first trip to the swimming pool. We were a bit worried that Noa wouldn't like the pool. In April, when we were in Needles, CA during our cross country RV trip, we tried taking Noa into the pool at the RV park, and she cried bloody murder. In all fairness the pool water was very cold and the jacuzzi was pretty hot, but she really didn't seem to enjoy the experience.
So this morning, we fitted Noa with her waterproof diaper and very cute little bathing suit and all went into the kiddie pool. Imagine a pool about 80 m2 with an average depth of 40 cm with about 40 kids and 40 adults in it. Yeah, pretty busy. And I hate to think what was in the water ...
The water was a nice warm temperature and Noa had no problem whatsoever going in. For the first 15 minutes she stayed very close to us, just watching all the other kids playing. She was also very fascinated with the LED lights in the ceiling that changed colours every 5 seconds.
After awhile, she started wandering around the pool, climbing up and down the stairs, and generally having a great time. We were always following her around as we didn't have any floaties on her, but the times where she fell into the water (head going under) she didn't seem to mind too much.
I guess we'll be making more of these swimming trips on a regular basis.
Too bad I couldn't take any pictures of Noa in her cute swimsuit, but I'm not allowed to take pictures in the swimming pool anymore (the court insisted!)
Today, we took our first trip to the swimming pool. We were a bit worried that Noa wouldn't like the pool. In April, when we were in Needles, CA during our cross country RV trip, we tried taking Noa into the pool at the RV park, and she cried bloody murder. In all fairness the pool water was very cold and the jacuzzi was pretty hot, but she really didn't seem to enjoy the experience.
So this morning, we fitted Noa with her waterproof diaper and very cute little bathing suit and all went into the kiddie pool. Imagine a pool about 80 m2 with an average depth of 40 cm with about 40 kids and 40 adults in it. Yeah, pretty busy. And I hate to think what was in the water ...
The water was a nice warm temperature and Noa had no problem whatsoever going in. For the first 15 minutes she stayed very close to us, just watching all the other kids playing. She was also very fascinated with the LED lights in the ceiling that changed colours every 5 seconds.
After awhile, she started wandering around the pool, climbing up and down the stairs, and generally having a great time. We were always following her around as we didn't have any floaties on her, but the times where she fell into the water (head going under) she didn't seem to mind too much.
I guess we'll be making more of these swimming trips on a regular basis.
Too bad I couldn't take any pictures of Noa in her cute swimsuit, but I'm not allowed to take pictures in the swimming pool anymore (the court insisted!)
Monday, September 22, 2008
3rd Annual Keizerstraat Poker Classic
Well, the 3rd Annual Keizerstraat Poker Classic / BBQ Party has come and gone and I still haven't won :(
The party was a blast though.
In a summer full of rainy and cool days, the day of the party turned out to be the only day that was actually warm and sunny!
The usual cast of characters were there, but we had some new faces too! Tony and Tracy brought their friends Scott and Sarah, to give a little American vibe to the party :)
My friends Lisa and Andre drove all the way from Ghent in Belgium to spend the day with us along with their sons Finn and Ben. Noa loved having new playmates and we all enjoyed the massive amounts of Belgium Brownies they brought along ... Delicious!!! It was nice to see them, as I've known Lisa since we were wee little people in LA (back when I could count my age on 2 hands).
After consuming a lot of meat and alcohol, and put Noa to bed, we got down to business (ooooh yeah, it's business time!) We had 11 players for the No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament, so we started on 1 big table. For the first few levels, nobody busted out, but then the blinds started getting high, and people started dropping out.
It was another bad showing for the hosts, with yours truly coming in 5th (bubble). Scott took the crown, followed by Ramses, Joanda and Martin.
Well done to all and thanks to all those who came!
Here are some photos from the day:
Noa with the girls (Sarah and Tracy)
Noa playing with Ben
No mixing allowed! Germans up front, poker players in the middle and Americans in the back.
Hanging around the kitchen with Mark, Andre and Lisa
Snotty Noa.
It's business time!
This is how Ramses looks when he's bluffing.
High Stakes Poker
The party was a blast though.
In a summer full of rainy and cool days, the day of the party turned out to be the only day that was actually warm and sunny!
The usual cast of characters were there, but we had some new faces too! Tony and Tracy brought their friends Scott and Sarah, to give a little American vibe to the party :)
My friends Lisa and Andre drove all the way from Ghent in Belgium to spend the day with us along with their sons Finn and Ben. Noa loved having new playmates and we all enjoyed the massive amounts of Belgium Brownies they brought along ... Delicious!!! It was nice to see them, as I've known Lisa since we were wee little people in LA (back when I could count my age on 2 hands).
After consuming a lot of meat and alcohol, and put Noa to bed, we got down to business (ooooh yeah, it's business time!) We had 11 players for the No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament, so we started on 1 big table. For the first few levels, nobody busted out, but then the blinds started getting high, and people started dropping out.
It was another bad showing for the hosts, with yours truly coming in 5th (bubble). Scott took the crown, followed by Ramses, Joanda and Martin.
Well done to all and thanks to all those who came!
Here are some photos from the day:
Noa with the girls (Sarah and Tracy)
Noa playing with Ben
No mixing allowed! Germans up front, poker players in the middle and Americans in the back.
Hanging around the kitchen with Mark, Andre and Lisa
Snotty Noa.
It's business time!
This is how Ramses looks when he's bluffing.
High Stakes Poker
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