Andy & Aidan

It's a shame that you can't see how blue his eyes are in these pictures

Cheeky smile

This is where our new house is going to be build (the river is down where those trees are)

Our new car port is coming along nicely

Relaxing at the pool with Lucas

Aidan in his swing

Taking a breather

I’ve decided to have a nice chilled day at the Dome today. It’s all been a tat too hectic lately. So today I just want to hang out with my kids, read, swim, faf around on the computer, take pictures and read. There are plenty of things to get on with, but I’ve decided that everything can wait for a day. It’s so tempting for a new mum to do too much too soon & run herself into the ground. Anyway, I choose not to go there.

Talking of doing too much…I remember how we all used to overdo it at MTV. Seeing as I had never really had a ‘normal’ job before, I actually thought that it was normal for people to work and work and work (and party like crazy too) until they had a breakdown. These breakdowns could happen anywhere and at any time. People would literally loose it at those moments. They would usually cry their eyes out and say something like ‘I can’t do it anymore, I can’t do it’. We all recognized those moments and were very understanding. The person in question would take a few days off and when they returned they would work like crazy again until their next breakdown.

Isn’t it insane that I used to believe that this happened in all professions? Anyway, none of that for me anymore.

Last night we even managed to have a quiet evening. Both the kids fell asleep early! What a treat! Sitting by the side of the pool, eating a late-night bowl of cereal & staring at the stars (the stars are amazing in Belize as there isn’t any light pollution) made me realize again how good life really is. Andy and I could really do with more nights like that.

So enjoy your weekend, wherever you are! And may it be a relaxing one.

The Jaden Foundation

Things are looking up for my little charity The Jaden Foundation. This current school year has been pretty low-key, as I just couldn't deal with anything too ambitious whilst I was pregnant (by the way, I love not being pregnant anymore...what a pain that was)

I haven't actively looked for funding for The Jaden Foundation for quite a while now & a few days ago Karen asked me how the charity was going to make ends meet with the new school year creeping closer, as we only had $800 BZE left for the year, which would only get us 8 more weeks of transport. I smiled and told Karen that something would come up as it always does. And I was right!

The next day I received an email from Peter Freer, a banker from the UK who decided to raise funds for the Jaden Foundation as part of a jungle adventure challenge that was held in Belize recently . Together with his team 'the Belize Bankers' he came in 3rd place. They apparently had to kayak, run and survive in the jungle with nothing more than the shirts on their backs for several days. Thank you so much Peter for doing this for the Jaden Foundation. I think you're crazy, but there you go. You all seemed to have survived the ordeal.

There was one problem with this whole story, though. The Jaden Foundation is not registered as an official charity. I didn't do this as it would have cost me $8000 to do so. And that money I would rather spend on the Belizean kids (100% of the Jaden Foundation donations go to school fees, books, uniforms, transport and whatever else the kids need).

Peter told me that he could only donate to a registered charity, which is fair enough. So I decided that this was a sign to push through a dream that I have had for years now: to try and get as many local kids as possible accepted into a private school. The Belize Christian Academy is the closest school to us and by far the best school in this part of the country. It is linked to a registered charity in the US, so Peter and his team mates could make the donation directly to the school to pay for school fees.

It is already amazing that all the children in our community go to school these days, but if they could be going to BCA that would make an ever bigger impact on their lives. Many of the kids are currently 'falling through the cracks'. They are being passed along the grades, but should really be kept back as they still struggle so much with the English language. Right now they are crammed into classrooms with over 30 kids and don't get the attention they would need to excel. At the BCA they would be in classes of only half the size and they would not be getting so confused by the mix of Creole and English (which is another problem at the state schools)

Anyway, I am not sure what it would take to get all the children from our community accepted into that school. It may be too expensive. In that case, I will focus on getting the youngest kids in that school and let the older ones continue in the school that they are at now.

I hope that next school year we will not be 'wasting' any more money on transport. Right now, we have to spend $100 BZ a week on that. And what you get for it isn't even that great. It's an old pick-up, that really isn't the safest option.

If the kids can go to the BCA they can all cycle to school together. It's across the river, at the end of a dirt track. The school that the kids go to now is in a village called Roaring Creek. To get there, the kids would have to cycle along the highway, which is way to dangerous for the little ones. If we can get the younger ones into BCA, than hopefully the older ones can make the bike ride all the way to their old school. That is...Unless I can raise enough money to get them all into the private school.

It's going to be quite a challenge, as the school fees for the private school are $250 BZ ($125 US) a month per child. I will try to get a special deal or assistance from the school & hopefully that way I will be able to send all.

Anyway, Jay and Jasper have just made a wonderful donation to the Jaden Foundation. They have given us $400 US! John and Rich' parents donate a further 20 Pounds per month & have done so for last year! Thank you, thank you, thank you, you guys. And now it looks like Peter Freer and his team mates have raised roughly $3500 US (to be donated at the end of then month). So we are getting there. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. This is all so exciting!

If any of you blog readers out there would like to sponsor one of the kids, please contact me. You could even donate directly to the school, so the donations are tax deductible (rather give it to these kids than the tax man, right?)

Thank you,
Simone

P.S. I'll let you know what happens in the coming weeks....

Changing times

Hmmm...it suddenly dawned on me today that in ten years (or so) from now there will be a conversation between myself and my two children along these lines:

"You know, when I was a child we didn't have computers"
"Really? So how did you send emails?"
"We didn't send emails. We wrote letters"
"What, by hand?"
"Yes, and we send them by mail"
"Wow, that must have taken ages"
"It did. And we didn't have mobile (cell) phones either"
"So how would you contact anyone if you were out of the house?"
"We couldn't...Unless there was a payphone nearby. But for them you needed the right change or a prepaid phonecard"
"What a pain"
"Yes it was actually"
"And our music was bought on vinyl and later on CD's. Those damn things always got scratched up. It used to really annoy me"
"Thank God I wasn't born yet. Things are so much better now"
"Well...I guess some things are. Still, overall I believe that things were better back then. At least people used to have time to chat with each other.....and not just online!"

So I suddenly realized that, to our children, Andy and I are going to seem like creatures of another era. I remember my mum telling me about her childhood, when most people didn't have a car, washing was done by hand, etc. It all sounded like a different century to me.

I guess that time just seems like this enormously long-stretched thing when you're a kid. And once you get older, you realize how quickly it actually passes.

So, it seems that I am getting old. Soon my children will become embarrassed by my dancing too. Now that would really kill me. I better dance through the house now whilst they are small and I am still allowed to do so.

Crocodile at Calico Jack's in Placencia

Our fearless water baby

Lazy days on Placencia

Last week's sportsday was a disaster! Lucas refused to take part in anything. We all left after half an hour. 3-year-olds are just so unpredictable!

Placencia

Just got back from a short trip to Placencia. Andy had to pick up some guests there, so we decided that we might as well grab that opportunity and have a little break ourselves. We spent two nights on the peninsula and took John and Rich along with us. It was fun. Although, as parents, you never get a 'real break', if you know what I mean. Still, John & Rich were a great help. They ran around with Lucas a lot. Checking out the crocodiles, jumping off the pier, burrying Lucas in the sand, etc.

Andy and I were surprised to see so many virtualy empty resorts in Placencia. We had expected everyone to be as busy as us this time of year. We are constantly turning down bookings these days and really need those two new rooms to be ready soon as they'd fill up straight away, by the looks of it. Guess we're doing something right at the Dome (which is always nice to know)

Placencia has changed a lot in the last few years from the sleeping fishing village it once was. There are now mega resorts going up, gated communities being build and, believe it or not, plans for a casino. But even with all that, there still isn't a decent supermarket on the whole of Placencia. Isn't that funny? That's just soooo Belize.

Two little Hunts

Lucas has sports day at school tomorrow & he has got a whole crowd of supporters coming to cheer him on: John, Rich, Andy, Deborah, Aidan and I. One problem though, he's become quite a sore loser these days. He recently raced 4 girls and lost (they were all a little bit older than him, but still...) Lucas absolutely flipped. The girls ran straight back to him and tried to rescue the situation by saying "No Lucas, you didn't really lose, Emelda lost". Even Emelda said "Yes, I lost Lucas". But he knew the truth & just cried his eyes out. So anyway, tomorrow should be interesting.

Oh and by the way, I'm happy to report that Lucas loves his little brother so much, he even asked me to get a second baby out of my belly soon. Can you believe it?

(Not so) Super mum

I remember how, after having given birth to Lucas, I went through a phase of feeling like a useless mother. Maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was all the well meant, but bloody annoying “advise” other mums give to new mothers, maybe it was just inexperience….who knows.

Still, I didn’t expect to go through that phase again with my second one. But I was wrong. Last Saturday I cracked. I felt like such a failure. Covered in baby poo (don’t ask) & frazzled from hours of arguing with my 3-year-old, I was convinced that I was the most incapable mother on earth. Poor Karen happened to walk on me, just as I was breaking down & didn’t quite know how to react. I guess it shocked her, as I had coped pretty well up to that point. I hadn’t spent enough time with Lucas since the baby was born and now he had started to act up to get my attention. That was just too much to take for me.

So I decided that I wanted and needed help. Tella (of course) knew just the girl for the job, a preacher’s daughter called Deborah. Deborah jumped to the chance and showed up at 6.30 am the next morning! And what a blessing she’s been!

It’s so great to have an extra pair of hands around the house, especially as Aidan wants to be held for much of the day (he’s as cuddly as Lucas was). Deborah’s job is not particularly hard. She just has to hold the baby and help with a few household chores. Still, it makes the world of difference to me. I now have more time again for Lucas and his behavior changed almost immediately. He just needed more time with mum. He’s still a tat naughty…but nothing we can’t deal with.

The Belize elections

The Belizean public has shown its PUP government their extreme unhappiness with them. In yesterday's local elections, the PUP got beat in every municipality by their opposition, the UDP. And not just that, but the PUP won only 3 seats in the whole country! (Mayor and councilor in Punta Gorda and one councilor in Benque)

Will the UDP be less corrupt than the PUP? How capable are they? Time will tell, I guess.

The expectation is that the UDP will now call for an early general election & that Prime Minister Said Musa will try to block this. I'll keep you posted....

Ex-MTV veejay Kristiane Backer

I've been asking Kristiane Backer for an update for a while now, but she prefers me to upload her personal profile from her website (something I'm not comfortable with). Anyway, those of you who want to read about Kristiane indepth, check out the Kristiane Backer website.
She has become a licenced homeopath. For more info on that, go to her energy-for-health website.

Seeing as I don't have a proper update from her I'll just post her most recent email to me....

Hi Simone

Congratulations to your Valentines boy!Well done! Looks like you are having a fab life out there...

I have to tell you that I think the best and most personal profile is the one that I wrote for my own website. I have no other great news to report at the moment and would be delighted if you could just put up that very personal profile I wrote which explains how I got into homeopathy and also shows all my pictures lots of old ones but also some recent ones.

But right now I have nothing new to report except on the media front I am developing TV concepts and have landed a gig on QVC otherwise do voice overs and host galas/ award ceremonies. I also treat patients with homeopathy, it is extremely effective and has healed my hay fever- that is how I got into it as you can read.

Wishing you really well and if I have any spectacular news I shall let you know.

Take care and send some sunshine it is still freezing here in London.
Lots of love, Kristiane

So much to do

Living in Belmopan is just so civilized. We have cable television, DSL Internet, shops that are open till 8 o’clock in the evening and there are tennis and basketball courts around the corner. As it’s a concrete house, it’s nice and cool. There are no creepy crawlies, very few mosquitoes (the town sprays against them), no snakes and (best of all) bin men to collect your garbage!

Living at the Dome is more like being in the Wild West in comparison. You have to rely on yourself and your neighbors for so many things. Finding your own solutions to waste disposal, catching snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, putting out your own fires (we once waited all night for the fire brigade…they never showed up) & now the police asked us for a ‘contribution’ to buy a car and supply it with gas, to patrol our area more.

So again, we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re better off relying on ourselves and on our direct neighbors, even for something like security. It seems to be the best system when you live ‘out in the sticks’ like us.

So that makes our list of what we’re up to at the moment look like this:

• Take care of a toddler and a newborn
• Expand our resort with 2 extra rooms (in what used to be our living space)
• Build our own house
• Look after our guests every day (we’re fully booked most of the time)
• Buy back our old store in San Ignacio (The Green Dragon)
• Revamp our http://www.greendragonbelize.com/ website. Making it a separate entity from the Belize Jungle Dome, as the travel agency ‘Green Dragon Adventure Travel’
• Sort out the deal with our future business partners Tom & Marge
• Set up security systems for the local area with our neighbors

Seeing as my job is pretty much limited to childcare at the moment, you can imagine how busy Andy and Karen are. Hopefully I’ll be able to contribute more soon, but I don’t want to rush myself and/or Aidan. So we are spending lots of quality time together, getting to know each other and getting in ‘a rhythm’.

Today Andy & Lucas have joined our guests on a Kayaking trip & I’m in quiet old Belmopan with a sleeping baby one arm, trying to type with the other hand. All is well….

Building work at the Dome. Hard to believe that in this space there will be a bautiful suite soon.

Our old bathroom is getting revamped too.

Can you believe that this used to be our kitchen? What a mess...

The birth

Our little Valentines boy was born on Tuesday the 14th of February, at 11.37am.

The whole experience was rather surreal. I had been to my doctor the night before and was told that everything seemed to be ready for the birth. He expected that it would happen within the next day or so (as a matter of fact, he was even surprised that the contractions hadn’t started yet). Still, there also was a slight chance that the baby would hang on in there for a few more days.

As my sister Miriam was going to leave Belize on Wednesday the 15th, the doctor suggested that I could take a tiny part of this tablet that helps to start up contractions. That way, my sister could be there for the birth. Miriam and I looked at each other and just giggled. We got so excited! I could go into labor within the next 24 hours guaranteed! How cool was that?

After talking it through with the doctor and making sure that it wasn’t going to harm the baby, I decided to go for it. You should have seen Andy’s face when I told him (he had stayed home to look after Lucas). It was hard to sleep that night, but we somehow managed.

So, on Tuesday morning I strolled over to Dr. Raju’s house & was given the tablet at 7.45am. The contractions started at about 9am, we went to the clinic at 9.30am and at 11.37am to baby was here. Absolutely incredible!

Apart from that tablet to start up the contractions, I didn’t take any other drug or painkiller. I didn’t take anything for Lucas’ birth and was convinced that I could do it again.

This birth was easier in a way, as it was so much quicker. It was also more challenging as I got very little time in between contractions to gather my strength. Also, Lucas only weighed 6 ½ pounds & this baby weighed 8 ¼ pounds.

Throughout the birthing experience I stayed very calm and collected, up to the point when his head came out. That’s when I realized that I couldn’t do this. I felt like someone was splitting me in half. I wanted to run, stop the whole thing, and screamed like I’ve never screamed before. “Pull him out, pull him out!” I demanded and begged. Once I realized that no one could do it for me, something ancient and animalistic took over. I really felt like some kind of cave woman and experienced a rage that could light the fires in hell. It was this rage that gave me the power to push him out.

I tell you, having babies is tough. But it also shows you how much you’re actually capable of. So, even though giving birth is hard, I would still chose a natural birth any time. I mean, you are there with him 100% from the minute that he is born. No groggyness…nothing. At about 5 o’clock that afternoon I walked out of the clinic with our new little angel in my arms. You can also see from the pictures that Andy posted that we all looked happy and relaxed from the minute we came home that day. I doubt that I would have re-couperated that fast if I had been drugged up.

So, all in all, the whole thing got done pretty much within one working day (in the office by 9.30 out by 5). The baby was even born before lunch, giving Dr. Raju the chance to buy chicken, rice and beans for us all on the market to celebrate.

Oh, and we've decided to name him:

Aidan Terence Ronald Hunt (middle names are the names of his 2 grandfathers)

So, welcome little Aidan. We're so happy you're here.

And an even bigger family picture with babies older brother Lucas.

Miriam holding the new baby. Simone is resting up and will put all the news on the blog over the next few days. yeeeaahhh. Andy

Miriam (Simones sister) here for the birth.

Just Born

Happy Family

I have hijacked Simones Blog to put some pictures of the new baby. More will come over the next few days. 8 1/4 lbs. What a beauty!!

I think it's time....

Well, I believe the contractions have started. I'm off to the clinic. Will blog about it in the coming days. Maybe Andy will blog before me on the Escribbler blog.

Wish me luck!

And happy Valentines Day!!!!!

Latest pics...

Happy Valentines day everybody!!!!




Will this have been my last dip in a maternity swimsuit? I do hope so.

Been dancing and jumping around the house today with Miriam to urge this boy out, but nothing's happening.....

Strange days....

Miriam (my sister) arrived here on the 8th and has joined us in the waiting game. Still no baby. My actual due date is on Valentines day, which is next tuesday. So he should be here soon. I've gotten to the point where I have almost stopped believing that this baby will ever be born. He is giving me no more signs now of wanting to come out soon. And to think that he gave us our first scare when I was only 7 or 8 months pregnant....he must be quite a trickster.

In the meantime, there have been some rather strange and unexpected business developments. I can't yet say what's going on, as we're still sorting out the details. But hopefully I can tell all in a few days. What it means though is that our heads have been running over. With the resort expanding, construction on our house starting in the next few weeks, our new business partners arriving soon, the baby, etc. etc. It's all a bit much. Still, anything is better than being bored in my books.

Ray Cokes

Not quite sure if Ray Cokes and Kristiane Backer are back from their travels yet (Ray went to Cape Town, Kristiane went round the world). I emailed them 2 days ago and hope to hear from them soon, hopefully with updates to place on this blog.

In the meantime, for those of you who can read Dutch, an article from 'Het Parool' with Ray Cokes.

I'm currently trying to get hold of Paul King and Pip Dan as well. I'll let you know how it goes....

Moving to Belize Guide, part 4

Don’t start a business with your friends!

Is it unfair of me to say that? Am I being a party-pooper?

Look, I know it sounds like a fun idea: start a business somewhere in the tropics with your best friends. Imagine yourself a few years from now, hanging out with your mates by the side of your own swimming pool, making money as you’re enjoying the ‘tropical dream’ lifestyle. You’ll be far away from home, but never lonely as your friends are all there with you. The whole group supports each other through the trials and tribulations of moving to a foreign country. In time, you will start families, your children will grow up together & live the healthy outdoor lifestyle and everyone will be happily ever after.

It would be great if things worked like that. Sadly enough, the reality is usually more like this:

Everyone starts off excited. A business is decided on & land or property is bought. Not everyone is able to move down at the same time, as loose ends need to be tied up back home. So, one or two people travel ahead to start things off. The others are meant to follow soon.

Then things happen…A couple splits up. They no longer want to emigrate. One person gets an unexpected promotion and decides that the opportunity is too good to miss. One woman gets pregnant and suddenly feels that she wants to stay near her mother. Family members fall ill, fights break out, doubt sets in, etc.


What you end up with is that one or two people carry the whole project by themselves and the others are nothing but silent partners. Or-the more complicated scenario- people want their investments back. This can descend in to utter chaos, with disagreements on whether to sell or not, how much to sell for, how people should be rewarded for the time spent on the project, etc. With the chance that friendships of a lifetime suddenly come crumbling down. All very sad indeed.

So my advice is the following:

Don’t rely on anyone when moving and starting a business abroad. If you are still determined to do it with your friends, consider the following: Are you willing to run this project by yourself in case other peoples’ situations change? And are you willing and able to buy the others out when needed? If you can say ‘yes’ to those two questions, than go right ahead. I hope that it all works out for you. It would be my dream too to have to have my friends and family around me. So I send you my blessings.

Now, if you’re one of those who tried to set up a business abroad with friends, please send me your story (whether it worked out for you or not). I’d be happy to share your experience here on this blog.

Interview on Radio.nl

Just when I feel like the most unglamorous woman on earth (more like a whale, really) I get cheered up by an article on Radio.nl
Especially seeing the old photographs is very comforting at the moment. I hope that one day I can look all groomed like that again.



They interviewed me a few weeks ago and are running the article in 3 parts:

• Part 1 (27/1/06)
• Part 2 (29/1/06)
• Part 3 (31/1/06)

We're all getting ready now to see off my mum. She has to return to Aruba to get back to her job. I can't believe she's going..... Lucas already crawled into her suitcase this morning and said that he was coming with her. It will be hard saying goodbye. And what a shame that she has been here for 10 days without seeing her new grandson. I hope that she can come over again soon.

Life in the adventure travel industry

Belize is slowly drying up after that crazy weather that we've had. It's so nice to have the sun back again. Oh, and guess what? STILL NO BABY!!!!!
I tell you, this boy is playing tricks on me. He keeps pretending to come out and then he decides that it's simply too cozy where he is right now. He's been giving us scares for months, but now that he's getting towards the end of stay in me, he's finally getting settled. That little monkey.

Earlier today I was reading some of our latest guest comments. I just love how the Jungle Dome guests stay in touch with us after their holidays. They send us tons of cool pictures and wonderful comments about their stay at our resort. It is so heartwarming to read how much they enjoyed their time with us and how much they all end up loving our staff.

It really makes our job rewarding. And it makes me realize that even by working in tourism (which was something I had never imagined myself doing), you can have a postive impact on people's lives. Even if it's just for a short period of time.

Flooding in Belize

It's been rather grim here the last few days. It's been raining almost non-stop. This picture is of cars trying to cross the Western Highway. We got stuck there ourselves yesterday. It was unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it in Belize.

In the meantime, the Belize River is creeping up closer and closer to the Dome. We hope that we won't get flooded.

Not quite sure what's causing this freak weather. This rainy season (even the hurricane season) has been pretty dry, so no one expected this really.

Anyway, let's hope that it all clears up soon.

Oh, and no baby yet.....

No baby yet....

Not much to report on as my attention has been on my growing belly and the coming baby. Got a bit of a scare last week when I got some strong contractions, all 5 minutes apart. I really thought that I was going in to labor. My doctor told me that we should try and keep the baby in a little longer, as we can't be sure how strong his lungs are at this stage. He suggested that I should try and stop the contractions for another 2 weeks. He gave me some pills to take if I thought that I was going into labor. Basically, here in Belize it's a little harder to deal with complications if there were to be any, so the doctors try to be on the safe side & avoid delivering babies that are more than 2 weeks immature.

I have to admit, I kind of panicked. I thought that the baby could show up any minute and realized that I didn't have much of a support team. Andy and Karen were meant to be the ones who'd stay with me during delivery, but the Dome was full and one of them would have to keep the business running at all times, so I'd probably only have one support person. Of course, we would need help with Lucas too and the plan was that John would come from San Ignacio to baby-sit him. Still, how long would it take him to get here? Would we be able to get hold of him? Etc.

Also, the doctor had told me to take it very easy for the coming weeks & I had no idea how to do that with Lucas running around me all day. So I basically begged my mum to get down here from Aruba immediatly. I needed some help. And lucky enough, her employers were understanding enough to let her go, even though they are short on staff. So my mum is here now until the end of the month and Miriam (my sister) is coming over on the 8th of February for a week. So now I just have to hope that the baby doesn't arrive between the 29th of Jan and the 8th of Feb.

I'm seeing my doctor again later today and will ask him if it's okay to allow the delivery to take place if it were to happen in the coming week. I would feel much better having my mum here for everything, you see? Wish me luck with it all.....

Time to blog

Yes I know, it’s about time I blogged again. We are just getting towards the end of a 5-day “break” (having no guests at The Dome). We’ve been using the time to sort out tons of little odd jobs around the house, planning the next phase of the Jungle Dome’s development and of course getting mentally prepared for the birth of our baby. I am due at end of the month or at the beginning of next. So it’s all going to happen pretty soon. I don’t know how ready I actually am. It’s all a bit daunting.

By the way, as lovely as our rental home in Belmopan is, we have decided to not stay in town long-term (our rental agreement runs out in 5 months). It is better to be right by the resort after all. And anyway, the Belize Jungle Dome is a fun place to be these days. There is always something happening and we usually have nice guests to hang around with in the evenings. The only time when it gets a bit much is in the slow season. That’s when we feel like crawling up the walls sometimes. But we’ll just try and travel more in those months.

So anyway, we have started to make plans for building a house on the land. It’s an incredibly fun project, especially as we have the luxury of working with a great architect (John). I mean, how many people ever have the chance to create their dream home with the help of professionals? I feel so blessed to be in this position. Actually, I feel so blessed full-stop. I have a great husband, a wonderful little boy with another on the way, a successful and fun business and lots of great opportunities to look forward to. And now a wonderful home that will be build soon. The only thing that we still need to create is more time with family and friends. But I’m sure we’ll manage to do that too in the future.

Oh by the way, Lucas made another funny comment a few days ago. I’ve decided to note them all on my blog postings, so when I read them back years from now I will remember all those funny moments (it’s the kind of stuff that parents often forget over the years)

Lucas noticed a small hole in one of our floor tiles and said:
“Mum, there’s a hole in this tile.
We don’t like holes, do we mum?”
“That’s right Lucas, we don’t”
“No mum, we don’t like holes….only alcohol”

Where on earth does a 3-year-old get a comment like that from? He always surprises me.

Lucas and friends at the river side (Thank God, the crocodiles were nowhere to be seen)

The beach at Old Belize as seen through Ian's camera phone (very "Leaving Las Vegas", don't you think?)

Silly family picture (where on earth is my pregnant belly??? Strange.....)

Andy and his brother Ian

Happy 2006!

Well, that's it. Another year over. Hope 2005 was good for you and that 2006 will be even better.

I missed all celebrations last night. I was in bed by 8.30 as I've been feeling quite rough lately. I keep getting real dizzy, with a pounding head & nausea (next to all my usual pregnancy aches and pains). It's bloody annoying. Still, it's all for a good cause.

By the end of January of the beginning or February, the baby should be here. If it tries to arrive before then (which it may do as it's lying very low and keeps sinking down whenever I do too much), then I need to take these tablets that my doctor gave me to stop the contractions.

Anyway, I shouldn't bore you all with medical stuff in this lovely new year. As soon as I have anything more fun to report I'll let you know.

Oh, what is quite funny is the stuff that Lucas comes out with these days. We were lying in bed chatting the other day when he looked up at the ceiling fan and said
"Mum, the fan is hungry"
I asked him what the fan wanted to eat and he answered
"Salad"
He then jumped up and said
"Mum, we need to get a ladder, so we can feed salad to the fan"

And this morning he was talking about how sad it was that I couldn't fly. He suddenly had a great idea
"We can buy wings for you in the shop"
When I asked him what shop would sell wings, he said
"The bird shop of course!"
So that's where he wants me to take him later.

We also seem to have lots of giants walking around our house these days (according to Lucas). Sometimes, we have to snatch the tail (???) of the giants to make tail soup together. Lucas then goes around the room and shares out the imaginary soup with all the other giants.

Strange child, don't you think? I'm loving it though. I am always looking forward to more strange stories from him. It's so funny. According to my mum, my imagination was just as wild when I was a child. So I know where he's got it from.

Anyway, have a lovely start to the New Year.

Latest ex-MTV veejay update: Ingo Schmoll

Good news! I've received emails from Kristiane Backer and Ray Cokes. They are doing well and will write updates for this blog as soon as they come back from their travels (Kristiane is doing a one-month world tour and Ray Cokes is off to Capetown)

If any of you want to make sure that you stay up-to-date with the updates but don't always get round to checking this blog, just subscribe to Feedblitz (on the right-hand-side of this page). That way you will receive the new blog entries directly by email.

For now, check out the following update from ex-MTV Europe Veejay Ingo Schmoll:



Hi Simone,

It's really interesting to read and find out about the destiny of my former MTV colleagues. Firstly, a big hello to all of you wherever you are !

As for myself I nowadays live in the country side about 40 minutes outside of Cologne in Germany. After my gig at MTV I continued hosting tv shows for another few years in Germany. Every now and then I would bump into Ray Coked who hosted a radio show for a station in Berlin which was located right next to the studios of Deutsche Welle TV worldservice where I was hosting a show every Saturday until 1999. The truth is that I got extremely fed up with tv after that, particularly German tv, because most of it is total rubbish in my opinion and it gets worth every time I turn on the tv (which I hardly do anymore). But right after MTV I also re-joined WDR- EinsLive radio which is Germanys most successful radio station for people between 16-35 years of age. This is where I still work nowadays hosting several shows every week. The station really sticks out of the ordinary and boring German programming on other radio and tv stations. Most likely you could compare it to BBC's Radio One.

Besides I still produce music every now and then at my studio with a friend of mine. Our latest "product" was a pop track sung by Snap's former singer Thea Austin (I know they had several singers, but Thea did "Rhythm is a dancer" for example). The track was licensed to EMI who never released it, but they paid for it anyway :-) Somehow it got a release in Russia though and landed at number 12 in the Russian Pop Charts. But I never made any money from that as it was released over there by the Russian mafia (or their affiliates...).

Sometimes I also produce television features (including portraits of actors for example) or even advertising (e.g. for Mircosoft although I am a die hard Apple user !). Also I do quite a bit of voice over work. For example dubbing characters on South Park for German tv or characters in Playstation games such as Spiderman.

My latest venture is fulfilling an old childhood dream of mine: becoming a puppeteer of several Muppet-like characters on a tv show that is currently in the planning stages. It will be a puppet show for adults and I have been training puppeteer-ing (doing the voices and playing) some of the characters last week. It's been great fun ! So this is it for the "professional" part of my life.

As for my personal life: I do own a dog that actually looks like a muppet called Josefine (breed: Bearded Collie, age: 10). Maybe you remember me getting married to Janelle who worked in the AR department at MTV. We actually got divorced in 1998 on "good terms" as they say. Janelle went back to Australia after that. My girl friend Anna (who studies Design in Cologne) lives with me nowadays. Whenever we can we travel. Next stop: Snowboarding in Austria in February next year. Can't wait ! Hopefully someday we'll even visit Belize !

Sometimes I talk to Thomas Markert (Ex MTV On-Air, nowadays hotshot at Nick Networks in New York) through my webcam via Apple's iChat. He's working really hard. I can always see him online on my Instant Messenger when he's in the office which is most of the time (then again is this a surprise for any of us ? We're talking working for an MTV affiliate here ;-)

Finally I sometimes bump into Steve Blame in Cologne. He speaks German really well nowadays. I hope all of you are doing great, but from what I read here it seems like it.
Happy 2006 to all of you!
Take care, Ingo

It's always sad to be away from family for Christmas, but thanks to the internet we can stay up to date with each other's lives anyway. This picture was taken last night in Aruba at my mum and Miriam's Christmas dinner (with their partners Laurenz and Hans). Looks like they had a blast!