This post is brought to you by the letters E, G, and O… 🙂

I’m 23 today. Unlike a lot of people I know I really enjoy my birthday. It’s just lovely to have a day that’s all mine. I always celebrate with my family, and my friends ring me up, or email, or text message, and all that’s lovely, too.

Celebrations already started last night when my brother and I rented the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ DVD and watchied it while eating chips and chocolate – and they won’t be over until the 17th, when I’ve invited my closest friends over for the already traditional get-together. It’s a bit far off, but I’ve got a workshop next Saturday that will last the whole day – so we’ll just pretend that it’s still my birthday… LOL

I think I’ve got some photos to share, but I’m too lazy now. I’m glad I only had uni in the morning — now I can simply kick back and enjoy the rest of the day… 🙂

So today is Christmas’ Eve, which is the main celebration in my family, probably because my dad always had to work on Christmas when he was still a Baptist minister… My brother and I will decorate our tree soon, after putting up the tree and the nativity scene yesterday, and tonight we will light the candles for the first time and have dinner. After that we’ll sing and read the story from the Bible before opening our presents. And at 10pm we’ll go to a night service somewhere.

I just love Christmas — to me, it’s so full of love, and peace, and family, it’s one of my favorite days of the year. But now I have to go and wrap my presents! 🙂

Oh, and I almost forgot: The picture was taken at the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand.

Fact is that I’m once again battling what’s been the curse of the last two winters — I’m not well pretty much all the time. Not always do I feel really sick, but there seems to be always something wrong with me. And that pulls me down.

Which is why I’ve been so quiet here — I don’t feel like moaning and complaining here, and I don’t have the energy to chatter about nothing. I still have those NZ/Australia pics to upload, as well as a couple of new pics from around here. But once again, I just don’t have the energy. Hopefully soon, though.

Christmas time has started, which I love, even if it seems as if time has simply flown by. Next Saturday is Santa Claus here — and since I don’t have to work, I’ll probably make my first visit to the Christmas market to have a look for gifts. Also I’ve got more than 20 cards to write still, and that is after sending off 22 already…

One was more a package, for my hosts from New Plymouth, who just last week welcomed a little boy into their family. A pity that I missed him! Looks as if I’ll have to go back, and be it just to meet the little guy… 🙂

I got home in one piece, if anyone was wondering, after an awesome week with Märrie. We giggled, talked, went sightseeing (Maastricht, a cave, and the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn) – and had lots of fangirl moments at the RingCon and while watching movies (most notably The Two Towers for the umpteenth time, but the first time for me in German -ugh! dubbing!-, and Matrix:Revolutions, which we spent making stupid jokes and therefore having a good time, despite the movie *g*) and such.

I took a lot of pics at my first convention, which I might post sooner or later — but I came home sick with a throat infection and am still not feeling very well, so I’m taking things easy (and lazy). Also I got the disc with all my NZ photos sent to me from New Plymouth, so that I now have almost all of the pics I took during my two months (thanks to my friend Stefan who restored about half of the deleted photos from my memory card, so that I even have some Australia pictures). That of course means that I could finally update the travel log – but this also will have to wait until I’m feeling a bit more energetic.

On that note I’m off to bed.

I’ll leave in about 15 minutes to catch a train to Siegburg (Germany), where I’ll visit my friend Märrie who lives in a tiny village close-by. We’ve met online about two years ago and have started a semi-regular cycle of visits back and forth, because we just get along so wonderfully.

We’re going to have such a good time again — we have a lot of plans including sightseeing, a trip over the Dutch border, movie watching, and of course our day at the RingCon in Bonn. It’s going to be my first convention ever, and I’m looking forward to it immensely — me, Gimli, Haldir, and several thousand Ring nuts… It’s going to be fun! 🙂

Wish everyone who reads this a good week — I’ll be back again next Tuesday.

Can I just say “Ugh”? My whole weekend is spent working (at the reception of an old people’s home) – Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 2.30 to 9.15 pm, without break. Trying to concentrate on the money factor and the fact that pretty much all I do there is play with my laptop and answer the phone occasionally.

But still, that’s my weekend, people! Hope yours is nicer…