“When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No… don’t blush. I am telling you some truths. For that is just being in love; which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over, when being in love has burned away. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? But it is!”

Iannis
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Profession:  mother/wife/taxi driver/housekeeper/cook/kept woman/laundress/tutor/wardrobe consultant/ouchie kisser/etc…
Alternative Profession: Wildlife Photographer

Location: Brussels, Belgium
Alternative Location: South of France

Breakfast: Black Coffee/ Petit Pain aux Noix/Apricot Jam
Alternative Breakfast: Same again please

Figure: Curves on curves
Alternative Figure: Curves

House Status:  Needs tidied… again
Alternative House Status: Nothing out of place

Weather:  Spring Morning… 12.5 degrees Celsius
Alternative Weather: Summer Morning… 19 degrees Celsius

Hey!  Watch the coffee! {via: Christophe}

You can have a look at the damage I’ve done to my car, but please refrain from commenting on how dirty it is. 

I am blaming the dirt and even the accident on the snow and salt on the roads… although to blame the accident on these things would be a small stretch of the truth.  We bought the car from our leasing company at the beginning of February.  The fully comprehensive insurance cover was put in my name due to my excellent, accident free, driving history… 18 years of driving with no mishaps.  I am more than slightly peeved about this little miscalculation between post and car.

Oh, and while my car is in for repairs, I have been given a lovely little A class Mercedes to bop around in but it only carries 5 passengers… last time I checked there were 6 of us.

Am I a racist?  No.  I will not try to defend or justify myself, my posts or my sense of humour. I do however, as I am sure every other honest person out there does, find humour in the world around me. When someone slips and falls on the ice… I laugh.  When my children make fun of my poor French and my dreadful accent (like the time I told them in French to ‘Sit IN your bottoms, RIGHT NOW!)… I laugh.  I laugh when I see comedians impersonate old ladies with zimmer frames.  I laughed when my older sister stepped in dog poo and tracked it all over my little sister’s house.  I laugh at Polish jokes (and Irish jokes) and I laugh even harder when Irish people tell Irish jokes about themselves. I laughed when my ‘black’ friend told me his lastest ‘honky’ jokes and he laughed when I threw a few *gasp* ‘nigger’ jokes back at him.  I laugh at stereotypical German, French, Scot, American and (heck, why not) the Texans.  I laughed when my eight year old daughter begged me to stop running when we were late for school one day… was it because she thought I was too old or to fat?  I’m not sure, but it made me laugh- at ME!  I find it amusing that men of my husband’s age have hair that they have to pluck from their noses.  And I will be the first to poke fun at my not so adorable dimply thighs.  I find an Asian accent amusing, but no more amusing than a Welsh or Scandinavian one.

My children are currently attending a school in Brussels that proudly caters to families of no less than 22 different nationalities.  We chose the school (a local non-private school) for its cosmopolitan atmosphere and for the exposure our childen would have to the wonderful diversity our world has to offer.  I have lived in 3 countries and have had the privilege of visiting 17 countries and in twelve of those countries I stayed in homes of the ‘natives’.

I love the world I live in and the people that populate it.  I love the diversity in cultures, the differnces in colour and the tastes of the different foods.  I find deep and profound pleasure in the fact that my blonde hair-blue eyed children choose an African or Asian baby-doll when we go shopping because it most resembles one of their much-loved, particular friends at school. 

I do not apologise for finding humour in the world around me, I do not apologise for lightheartedly poking fun at the differences I see around me, but I do apologise if my ability to enjoy our differences has hurt anyone.  My heart couldn’t be further from ever purposefully slighting someone else or willfully causing pain. 

If you still think I am a heartless racist… maybe you should contact me.  I most likely won’t debate with you in any length or with great skill, but I would hopefully be able to let you know more of where I am coming from.

Now on a lighter note…

Via Busy Mom - I hope this doesn’t offened any babies out there… I mean, some of my best friends are babies I have given birth to four of them.  I am still allowed to find humour in things aren’t I? 

I started at 8am and was well done by 8pm.

Bamberboo’s brain is turkey-jerky now… nite nite xx

...another year wiser?  Well the jury is still out on that one.  But while they are out on their deliberations I would like to thank you all for all your warm birthday wishes.  The comments, phone calls, IMs, emails, e-cards and gifts made me a very happy girl old lady indeed!

My day was all about me being spoiled.  Breakfast in bed, sleeping in after they took the tray away, long hot bubble bath, actually taking the time to put makeup on and do my hair, TexMex (Flemish style… don’t ask!), napping on the couch, snuggling up with a magazine-chocolate-coffee, homemade cards and presents from the kids, home baked birthday cake from Len *gasp*, no house work, no child behaviour management, no cooking… And Thai Red Curry carry out for dinner!

Yes, I had a fantastically perfect day!

Oh, aren’t I snazzy!  You can see my birthday pictures here!!

Sometimes, life just sucks!  It sucks hard, unyeilding, and dare I say, engorged, little kitty titties!! 

Yeah, having a bad day here my friends.  If you like you can move now to your next, undoubtedly more cheerful read.  I am super stressed and have been in tears for over half of the day today.  I can’t/won’t go into the details of what is upsetting me, its just not my style to divulge intimate stuff here, but let it be suffice to say I am having a seriously shitty day today!

What? You want more details?  Sorry, no can do… But if you can imagine living in a country where at least half the native population have chips on their shoulders, not unlike the chips you would find on the shoulder of a hormonally-challenged-woman-boss who thinks you, and everyone in the company, are out to undermine her ‘position’, and who is set and determined to make your life as hellish as her own… you know the type I mean?  Anyway, if you can picture this, you are well on your way to understanding what is contributing to the pissy way my day has gone.

Oh, and can I just say… FUCK!!  No, it doesn’t improve my situations, but yes it felt good to say it!!

I promise to be back, but not until my more optimistic view of life has returned.

Len is feeling all confessional today and I thought I would join in too… others are fessing up and it is making for some pretty entertaining reading.

Here is just one of my many guilty secrets…

As a child, I was fascinated when my uncle, who had been a diabetic for years, started going blind.  By the time I was 11 he was completely blind in both eyes, but I found it very hard to comprehend that he could not see when his eyes were open in a fully lit room. 

One day, our families got together at his house.  During the course of the day my grandmother telephoned and while my aunt talked on the phone in the kitchen, my uncle retired to the bedroom to join the conversation on the other phone.

I was alone in the adjoining room, listening to music when it struck me that now was my chance to conduct an experiment to prove whether or not my uncle could really see or not. 

Picking up a stick of burning incense from my cousins dresser, I (in stealth mode) crept into the bedroom where my uncle sat chatting on the phone… He didn’t see me… I inched closer… he still did not see… I was only three feet away now… His eyes were wide open but he seemed to look straight through me… Surely he could hear my heart pounding?  Then, I saw him sniff… and again *sniff sniff*!!  Now was my only chance!  I took another silent step closer, extended the smouldering stick to just below his nose and gave it a little wave. I held my breath… He paused mid-sentence… He jumped up, we were face to face ~ he was looking me in the eye… AHHA! I knew he could see!!!!  I stood looking at him and he looking at me… I had found him out and he was giving me direct eye contact… And then… he began to scream!!  “FIRE!! FIRE!!”

How I managed to make it back around the bed and escape into the bathroom to hide behind the door undetected I will never know.  I had the presence of mind to extinguish the incense stick in a plant and I hid there for at least 20 minutes waiting for the excitement to die down. 

I was a believer in his blindness from that day forward, but nothing has been able to cleanse me of my guilt I feel for playing what I realised later was a mean trick on a blind man… But, I needed to know!!

Well, don’t judge me too harshly.  I’m sure you have a few guilty secrects of your own!

Thanks to Very Mom, Amber will be talking, posting and commenting in 3rd person today.  She suspects this will get on the nerves of those nearest and dearest to her, but she couldn’t care less because after 9 consecutive days of being cooped up in the house with her darlings, they have managed to find her very.last.nerve!!  She will only be returning the favour.

Amber would also request any comments you leave here today be in third person.  This would amuse her to no end… yes, she is feeling a little touched and she suspects she should get out and get some fresh air today.

***UPDATE*** Hannah is no longer speaking to Amber, as she has discovered that she is actually being annoying on purpose.  Heidi clicked onto the 3rd person idea and has run like the wind with it… Amber and Heidi are a most irritating combination today. 

Amber suspects that speaking in the 3rd person is actually exciting her poor husband and may have to stop before she is molested by the randy Scotsman behind the bunker in the kitchen!!

***UPDATE 2*** Amber just found this note, she is concerned but the 3rd person has fully possessed her now!  She thinks she may have to seek outside help!!

Time for a meme, becaues all the cool kids are doing it!

1. What did you do in 2004 that you’d never done before?
I let myself live and experience life a little more than ever before.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I half-heartedly made two last year but didn’t realise either of them.  I will wholeheartedly make the same two for this year… And I suspect I will realise them both.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Two of my best friends gave birth this year; Vicki in Tennessee and Beth in Scotland. I wish I could have been closer to them, geographically, to hold and snuggle their babies.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

5. What countries did you visit?
America, Scotland (several times), Ireland and France very breifly.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
More peace, grace and common sense.

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Well, I’m not good at remembering exact dates, but I remember a few events that are etched on my mind. 
Visiting my family homestead.
A Vespa ride.
The sale of a place that was my parents home for 20 years.
The loss of a dream any hope I had placed in that dream.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
My children are happy, healthy and generally have clean clothes on. I am closer to my husband than I was one year ago today.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not being sensitive to the unspoken.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I sprained my wrist putting up my Christmas tree.  Had bronchitis or 8 weeks, the odd tummy bug, had an acute infection in the glands in my neck, and a UTI. (I’m sure you wanted to know that)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Contacts. And my new leather suite.  Oh, and our house.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My own.  Hehehehehe!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My own. *sigh*

14. Where did most of your money go?
The friggin’ tax man. And the new house.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Our new house, Rosie and Daniel starting to speak French, Going to America for 3 weeks on my own, the blog meet in Denver, seeing my grandmother and my aunt and uncle again, watching my children playing with their cousins this summer, kissing.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
“Hey yah” by Outkast (Thank you very much Hannah and Heidi!!!)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier, but more stressed.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner
c) richer or poorer? Richer but with a worse cash flow.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Spent more quality time with my husband and children.  Budgeting.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Waiting for motivation.  Focusing on the wrong things. 

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent it very sweetly and quietly with the 5 most important people in the world to me.

21. Did you fall in love in 2004?
Fall in love? No, walk in love… yes.  I love and am loved more deeply than anyone else I know.

22. How many one-night stands?
To date, I have never had one.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Spooks

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No,I have no hate in me. 

25. What was the best book you read?
The Birth of Venus

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I discovered I can enjoy the same music as my kids… If I turn it up really really loud whilst driving.

27. What did you want and get?
Lots and lots and lots of hugs, snuggles and kisses.

28. What did you want and not get?
This certain hair clip.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Cold Mountain, and The Incredibles. 

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was going to go to London with my mom and sisters, but due to mitigating circumstances, we ended up in Glasgow and had a wonderful time.  We spent 4 days talking, shopping, eating out and going to the movies.  I turned 34.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Being a more loving, more patient and more generous person.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Fashionable enough, even if it was a fashion of my own making.  I always try to have a pretty necklace and lip gloss on. 

33. What kept you sane?
Knowing I was responsible for 4 little lives other than my own.  And knowing I was stronger than I felt most days.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I am reserving a place on my ‘list’ for Jude Law for when he grows into himself a little more.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
The US election.

36. Who did you miss?
My family, the times I was away from them.  And my mother and sisters on a weekly basis; they are too far way for my liking. My far flung friends.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
I was fortunate to meet a lot of wonderful people this year.  Two that stand out at the time of writing this would be, Mindy and Mary (my friend’s wife; talk about insta-family!)

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004.
There is nothing missing from my life.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Norah Jones - Sunrise
Sunrise, sunrise
Looks like mornin’ in your eyes
But the clocks held 9:15 for hours
Sunrise, sunrise
Couldn’t tempt us if it tried
‘Cause the afternoon’s already come and gone

And I said hoo…
To you

Surprise, surprise
Couldn’t find it in your eyes
But I’m sure it’s written all over my face
Surprise, surprise
There was something I could hide
When I see we made it through another day

And I said hoo…
To you

Now good night
Throw its cover down
On me again
Ooh and if I’m right
It’s the only way
To bring me back

Hoo…
To you
Hoo..