One hectic week

Last week has been a real hectic week...
After having a day off, my brother called me on monday telling me his girlfriend had given birth to their daughter!
We were all real excited and wanted to take a visit the next day.

On Tuesday my boyfriend Marc were rung by his father that his grandfather (Jaap) wasn't doing well, he was having a hard time breathing and his heartbeat was slowing down real fast. The nurses had told him that it was better if he'd call the family now.. So we went to the hospital in Almelo. Once we arrived at his room he was doing a little bit better, his breathing was stabilised.
Also, it was Jaaps 78th birthday that day..

When I called my dad to ask if he still wanted to visit my brother with us, he told me that it was already too late, because the nurses and taken away their daughter from them, because they thought my brother and his girlfriend weren't able to take of her!
My brother and his girlfriend were devastated.

On Wednesday we were rung again and so we spent another day in the Hospital, hoping that everything would turn out ok again.
We went back home around 23.30 and went to bed around 01.00, then at 03.10 we were rung by Marcs father that Jaap had died in his sleep a few minutes ago.
So we pulled on the first clothes we could find in the room and went to the hospital again for the last time.

So we cleaned the room in the hospital, took all of grandpa's clothes with us, and went back home to begin all the stress of taking care of his funeral.

Everyone was really tired and stressed that day because they have had no sleep at all, and everything had to be taken care off; the cards for the funeral had to be made, printed and send to family and friends before 19.00, the death notice had to be made and send to the newspaper the same day, the chest had to be chosen, the clothes had to be picked out and so on.
At 21.00 we went to the mortuary to see Jaap in his chest. It was beautiful and he looked so peaceful.

After seeing grandpa, we went back home to my father to also give him an invitation to the funeral. That evening he told us that my brother is going to concern a trial to get back his daughter.

On Friday a lady was coming by to take care of the funeral. She was writing down some stuff about Jaap, and she showed us all the songs and prayers that could be sung during the funeral, and we had to pick out some of them. It took so long, because there were so many things to read and so many things to choose from, but at the end we found stuff that really fits with grandpa so it would still be personal, and not a standard speech.

And today, after finally having a night to sleep, we went shopping for some formal clothes we could wear at the funeral.

The condolence will be on Monday at 17.00 - 18.00 and the funeral is being held on Tuesday morning at 10.30.Jaap at the all you can eat wok on his birthday last year.

Rest gently, Japie.

-j.

The day off story

Today was my day off and I spend it shopping with my boyfriend Marc in Enschede, a city in the Netherlands. And ofcourse we didn't come home empty handed!

First, I bought the most cutest shorts at the Britain,
Then I bought 2 Björn Borg mini shorts (boxers) at Hakans Budget Store for only €10,-!
And the best of all: I bought the book Eclipse from Stephenie Meyer!
It's the third book of the Twilight Saga and I can't wait to read it!

I also bought some slippers for Marc and at the end of the day we ate some fish :)

So, this was my update for today, how was yours?



-j.

Tomorrow

Is a day off!

Lieke just texted me asking if I knew why we didn't have school tomorrow, because our scedule didn't show any classes so I checked and... We are actually having a day off for no reason at all!
It's still completely strange because it is not a holiday or anything, and other students do have to go to school and follow classes from teachers we normally also have on monday...
Well.. It's a day off for me ^^

So, what should I do tomorrow?

I could go:
* Shopping.
* Get tanned on my balcony
* Buy the book 'Eclipse' from the Twilight saga and read it

Anyone more tips? ^^


-j.

Art history:

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-j.

Photoshoot with Rhojean

Yesterday my class was given an assignment to make some photo's of the fashion students with their designs. The student that was assigned to me, was Rhojean. She had made her own top.

The first photo is going to be exhibited in the restaurant of a museum in June.

-j.

Recipe 2: Double Chocolate Cupcakes

"Great for chocoholics - chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate icing topping."

Cook time:

12 - 15 min

Cooling time:

20 min

Ready in:

25 min

Original recipe yield 10 small cupcakes (fairy cakes).

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
25g/1oz Self-Raising Flour
25g/1oz Cocoa Powder
50g/2oz Caster Sugar
50g/2oz Margarine
1 Egg, beaten
For the Chocolate Icing:
100g/4oz Icing Sugar
2 teasp Cocoa Powder
approx 1 tbsp Water

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C or gas mark 5) and place 10 paper fairy cake cases evenly on a baking tray.

2. Place all the cupcake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until well blended. The mixture should be soft enough to drop easily from the spoon when tapped.

3. Place a heaped teaspoon of cupcake mixture in each paper case and bake towards the top of the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the cupcakes are well-risen and firm to the touch.

4. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

5. Once cold, sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl, add the water and mix until smooth. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but not too runny.

6. Place a teaspoon of the chocolate icing on the top of each chocolate cupcake and smooth with the back of the spoon. Put aside to set for at least 20 minutes before serving.

-j.

Recipe 1: Sunshine S'more Cupcakes

"Easy cupcakes with graham cracker, marshmallow and chocolate. The kids really love these."

Prep time:
30 Min
Cook time:
30 Min
Ready in:
1 Hr
Original recipe yield 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package French vanilla cake mix
2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups water
3 egg whites
24 milk chocolate candy kisses
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs, water and egg whites. Beat for 2 minutes at high speed of an electric mixer.

3. Divide batter evenly among paper lined cups, filling about 2/3 full. Place a chocolate kiss in each cupcake, pressing in lightly. Spoon 1 teaspoon graham cracker crumbs onto each cupcake.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 18 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and top each cupcake with 1 teaspoon marshmallow creme. Dip spoon into hot water to prevent sticking. Return to oven for about 1 minute to melt slightly.

-j.

Un chat appelé Tommie

Here's a photo of my cat I made today. His name is Tommie and he's almost 8 years old now.

-j.

I met Darth Vader

He's a cool dude.

-j.

The King of Sweden

The king of Sweden came to Amsterdam for a visit.
And I was there to take photo's of him!
Which was quite a coincidence though.. I didn't knew he was visiting Amsterdam that day. I was visiting Amsterdam with school for an exhibition of Richard Avedon, and just was at the right place at the right time
You can click the images for a larger result.

-j.



When that limo arrived, there was this adrenaline rush running through my body like whoa!


Getting out of the car


Shaking hands


The limousine

Queen's Day deadly attack

During the Queen's Day activities on April 30th here in The Netherlands, the queen visited the people in the city Apeldoorn when she and her family got commited in a terrorist attack.

A car that drove straight through a crowd of people in Apeldoorn at the moment the royal family was passing by, did so deliberately. That was confirmed by the authorities at a press conference.
The drama cost the lives of seven members of the public, and a further 11 were injured, five of them severely. The attacker was cut out of the car wreck and died in hospital on Friday.

-j.