Update. About time!

Ok, so, there's been radio silence for a while. Sorry for that! After a year of posting EVERY day, I got a bit sick of it. BUT, a lot of positive things have happened to me these last few months...

Léon the Australian
A few days after New Year we got in contact with my boyfriend's diving buddy we met at Big Blue Diving Koh Tao (Thailand). He was coming to Brussels, so we invited him to stay at our place for a few days. Léon is an Australian guy, who moved to the UK for his new girlfriend (and to see the world). Because she had to go abroad for work, he thought "Who not visit Brussels while she's away?". And so he ended up spending a few days with us. I introduced him to my family and planned a few 'typical Belgian' things to do. We visited the Atomium, Flanders Fields and of course we went out drinking one night. Glad that last one ended well, because that man can drink...
It was such fun having him around, although I have to be honest that I was a bit uncomfortable going to the bathroom when he was walking around. But we'll sure meet up again!

My new job
I started my new job. I still have to get used to it, because it's totally different from my other one.

5 years of kissing
5 years passed since I kissed my boyfriend for the first time. It happened to be on Valentines Day. But that wasn't really the intention, since we were both drunk. About a month later we became a couple. 
I planned him a surprise dinner, which was funny, because he was a 100% sure we were driving to a certain restaurant we often go to and he was totally wrong.

Road Bike
Finally, I got on the road bike. I found my new passion! I still have to work out how to look good on the bike though. I feel so manly everytime... I already ordered my own bike wear so I don't have to use my boyfriend's stuff. Of course, how could you have guessed!? There's pink in it...

X-Mass Akoestik

Every year the youth club at my boyfriend's hometown organizes an evening with acoustic performances the last weekend before Christmas. It's called "X-Mass Akoestik".
Like every year there's a competition with strong beers: "Den Tocht van 't Straffe Vocht". Literally translated to English: "The Journey of Strong Fluids".
And like every year my boyfriend is a liiiitle bit too enthusiastic. He gets awfully drunk, falls asleep somewhere and I end up dragging him home. 
This year we went there by bike, because I wanted to drink some cherry beers too, so getting there by car wasn't really an option.
Our night went exactly like any other year, only I could get him home pretty easy. No moaning about staying 5 minutes longer, he just went along with me. 
It was a fun night and I was quite surprised I could drive my bike that good after all the beers I drank. We got home safe and sound. 

Autumn Walk

We went for a long walk with the dog today. 
The weather was magnificent! The perfect autumn walk.
I really enjoyed being out. We have been sitting inside all week, unpacking.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving Turkey Kitty

I think this is a good holiday. Stop and think about what you're thankful for, not religious at all. 

I think Christmas in Belgium has been like that for a looong while, but it seems that people forgot about what it's all about. 

I love Christmas, because it brings our whole family together every year. We don't see each other often and I can really enjoy us being together. I'm thankful for my family, because even though we don't always agree and we don't visit every weekend, we care for each other and we love each other. That's what's important, isn't it? OK, it's fun to receive presents, but that's not the main point. 

Here's what I'm thankful for:

• My boyfriend's patience
  Although I'm writing a blog to become the most positive person in the world someday, I still get womenly-like PMS attacks. Even if they're not premenstrual. That makes me a super crazy person who doesn't always respect other's people effort in situations where they really did the best they could for me or others. My negative self takes the overhand and starts complaining and moaning about everything.
  So thanks to my boyfriend who still loves me, even if I'm the craziest (cat) lady on the planet and thank you for your patience!
• My family
  Like I said before, I love my family very much. I'm grateful for still having them around and that everyone's well at the moment.
  I'm also blessed for still having my grandmother around, the time I could spend with my grandfather before he died and that I could stand beside him until his last breath. I still miss him very much, but I have so many great memories about this man and I will never forget him!
  Thank you to my parents, brother and sister for always being there for me.
  I would also like to thank my uncle Jomme and Aunty Ann for all the jokes and funny stories around the Christmas table. I'll really miss it this year!
• My sister
  Same category as the previous one, but a special thanks to my sister. She's the best sister in the whole wide world, because she looks after me and took care of our kitty when we were in Thailand.
• My pets
  I'm also thankful for our kittycats and our dog Fré. They light up my day when I get home. They're so cute!
• Banana
  Thank you Banana. You're my blog's number one fan. Without you I may not have been as persistent!
• My shoes
  Also thank you to my shoes. They fit perfectly and always take care of my feet. 

I have a lot to be thankful for and it's good for me to write it down. In that way I'm really aware of what I got.

What are you thankful for?

Shawl Collar

My boyfriend and I went shopping. Because of the Autumn Shopping Days, a lot of stores were opened. 

We went to Portobello, a men's clothing shop at Leuven where I worked in my student days. 

My boyfriend is a very easy person when it comes to clothing. So easy, that it's hard for me to dress him sometimes...

He likes: black, grey and blue. I like: bright colors.

He likes: standard fits. I like: something different and original. 

Do you see why it's hard? I sometimes think he's dressed too boring. 

Anyway, when we were at the store I found him a beautiful shawl collar from PME Legend. He didn't want to try it on, but I made him do it. He was looking soooo sexy, but I couldn't convince him. After every shirt he tried on I asked him if he was sure he didn't want the sweater. He tried it on four times. 

He bought four shirts (two colorful), a chino pants 

and the shawl collar :-)

VICTORY!

Master Repeater

There are some things about my boyfriend that make me laugh every time.

One time I noticed that he was playing a CD of 'No Fun At All' time after time, singing along quite enthusiastic. I got really irritated because of the music (and his singing), so I began to focus on the lyrics to figure out what was bothering me and what got me so worked up. It became clear quite fast. They're always repeating their lyrics, not only the chorus, but sometimes sentences or words too. I couldn't believe a band with such shitty lyrics could be so loved. I get so frustrated that I can't help but laugh every time! And now we laugh every time he sings along with music in repeat.

Master celebrator - No Fun At All

Took a Ride

Before summer my boyfriend bought himself a new race bike and I got his old one. I was super excited, because I liked spinning class and I wanted to ride for real. Unfortunately the local women's Cycle Club were already training for a few months. I would be too slow and inexperienced to ride along with them. Understandable, but I was a little disappointed. I told myself I would give my best at spinning class to get myself ready for spring 2014 and the open road. 
I parked the bike in the back of my mind until spinning class started last week.

Today, my boyfriend was working on his new bike at his parents house (we don't have the space at our apartment to give it a safe place), inflated the tires of his old one and proposed to go for a ride (on the bike, of course! Perv!). 
I didn't feel like it at first (I was wearing high heels, I came straight from work), but I gave in after a few minutes. I got a pair of socks from my boyfriend's mom and luckily I had some sneakers in the back of my car. 
And off we went. To my boyfriend's grandparents' house. Me and my new old race bike. 

I LOVED IT, although I was just wearing jeans. Respect for all you cycling women out there! There's nothing left from my Vajayjay! About time my Urbanist chamois get to production!

My boyfriend:
"I thought you would be complaining all the way!"
"I was surprised on how fast you went."
"You have a natural position on the bike."
"You look sexy!" (Say whaaat?? I put my jeans in my socks ^o)!)
"I think I fell in love with you again!"

I can't wait until spring ^^!

Bye Bye Wisdom

And out it goes, his wisdom, together with his wisdom teeth.

Again, I underestimated myself. I was a very good girl at the hospital while the doctor was extracting my boyfriend's teeth. I heard the doctor sighing and saying: "Man, this one's stubborn!". I think the man has strong construction skills. He was drilling, pulling, pushing, suctioning all at the same time (I hope for his wife that he's quite the handyman at home too). He was done in exactly 10 minutes and during that time I didn't felt the need to faint. Not one time! Although I had a hard time not to throw up when the doctor was waving one of my boyfriend's freshly extracted teeth in my face, saying: "Look how crooked this root is! When a tooth has a root like that, it's quite the pain in the ass to get it out. I have to put my whole weight in it!". 

Some of you might think I'm a crybaby, but human teeth and/or nail/finger-related injuries or surgeries make me really nauseous. I had an accident in my first year at middle school, where my finger got stuck between a door hinge. My finger was totally messed up and I needed surgery with a long recovery. My nail was gone from the injury and didn't grew back so fast. My finger hasn't been growing that well since the accident and is deformed.  I still get goosebumps when I think back about how my finger looked. So that's my thing with nails.
Where my trauma with dentists and teeth comes from, I have no idea. I just have a fear and I always fainted when my dad extracted a loose tooth from my mouth. 
But these two things are the only things that make me feel real sick. I've watched surgeries, I dissected a rabbit, I remove dead cats from the road. You can give me anything with blood, but please, no teeth or nails. 
But I got through this challenge! YES!

First Date

I started packing today... The first boxes are a fact.
I meant to clean our apartment and I thought I could very well start loading some boxes with stuff we don't really need right away. 

I bumped into some funny things along my way trough my mess! I found a movie ticket for Slumdog Millionaire I held on to. It was the first movie my boyfriend and I went to. After the movie we went to visit some friends of his and went for some pizza. If I remember correctly, we didn't even kiss that night... A nice memory I haven't thought about for a long while. Packing isn't that bad :-) ...

Karate Grip

All you girls are going to agree with me this time.
Is there anything better than an evening in your lover's arms? :-)
My boyfriend doesn't love to cuddle, so I take advantage of every second! 
Sometimes I test my powers by getting him into a karate grip so he can't run away!

Hot Walk

My boyfriend participated in a triathlon again today. With our walking club 'De Stevige Stappers' we planned a route along the triathlon track. 31°C! It was really too hot for almost everything. Poor boyfriend! Swimming, biking and running in this heat. Exhausting! But we did half of our route and ended up at my parent's house for a refreshing drink.
Unfortunately, my athlete couldn't finish the race. His tubes went flat in the second round of biking. He couldn't repair the hole :-( . But he did his best anyway. A picture of his 'wings' as proof:

Respect for anyone who finished the race!

My Boyfriend Takes Care Of Me

My boyfriend takes care of me.
When I'm too tired to drive (I almost fell asleep behind the wheel a couple of times) he takes over and drives me home safely.
One time, he even picked me up from my parents' house because I fell asleep on the couch and couldn't get home.
He's my man! <3

Sleeping Alone

I have not seen my boyfriend for the entire weekend, because of Graspop Metal Meeting at Dessel.
I'm so glad he's home, because I don't like sleeping alone :-) 
I've missed him <3

The Next Dog Whisperer

I should have never let my boyfriend watch The Dog Whisperer...
Everytime he doesn't want me to do something, he tsht's me! He's on his way to become the new Caesar Milan...
I hope he only does this to be funny...

My Athlete

I'm too late again with my blogpost, but yet again with a good reason.
Like I said a couple of days ago, my boyfriend had his first half triathlon of the season today and he did great! I wanted to post his results along the race, but my mobile data failed me again!
He was second to come out of the water and was quite fast to get on his bike. Apparently he was doing very well, because we saw him at the running track a lot sooner than expected.
He thought he would finish at 9.30 pm (started at 4pm), but he came in at 9pm sharp! I'm so proud of him! 
My athlete <3