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 Belize
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We are back in Belize!!!!
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Yes, the Hunt family has moved back to Belize. After our rather long (2 1/2 years) 'vacation', we are now back at the Jungle Dome. I will start updating this blog again with news of what we're up to here.
Jungle greetings! Simone
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| August 14, 2010 | 7:08 AM |
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Great blog about Belize
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She's Dutch, she's a mother, she writes a Belize blog and she lives in Belmopan...and no, it's not me. Her name is Susanne and her blog is brilliant! And, unlike mine, hers gets regular updates. Go check it out: http://dutchinbelize.blogspot.com/With interesting articles on the cost of living in Belize, how to set up a restaurant in 3 weeks and how to sing national anthem. It's everything you need to know about Belize and it is funny! 
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| February 15, 2010 | 5:02 AM |
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The countdown has begun....
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A few more days until we go back to Belize for 3 weeks. Karen will have her vacation and we will run the Dome for a while. The boys can't wait to catch all those crickets, frogs, beetles and other bugs again. Should be fun. Oh, and we will do the 'jaguar encounter' with the boys too at the Belize Zoo. Bet they'll love that!
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| January 31, 2010 | 6:01 AM |
| January 31, 2010 | 6:01 AM |
| December 1, 2009 | 9:12 AM |
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Why I am not blogging much anymore
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My appologies for the fact that there haven't been many new postings recently, but my joy in blogging has been slowly deteriorating. This is mainly due to the fact that slowly, but surely my blogs have become psycho magnets. Too many weirdos have been visiting my blogs and leaving nasty and/or weird comments. Obviously, this is never what I had intended for my blogs, but it is what has happened over time. I don't want to expose myself or my family to this any longer. Maybe at some point in the future I'll be back blogging somehow. But not for the time being, I don't think. It's a shame, as so many of you have been fun sharing my life's adventures with. I already blocked non-members from commenting on my blogs a while ago, but I can't shake the thought that these freaks might still be looking at me and my family. Sorry...
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At the Dutch Marines' open day
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 Check out Lucas fighting a marine! Our cool dude! I'm having a problem embedding, but the clip can be seen here. We had tons of fun last weekend at the 'Mariniers open dag'. And I filmed some bits there with Cool FM. It's been 7 years since I talked nonsense to a camera, but I still love it ; ) Here is some of what we filmed. The other clips should be on Video Aruba (Aruba's Utube) soon.
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Camping
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Here are some pictures of our Easter camping experience and the birthday party on the partybus. I'll ad some text later, I'm off horse riding with Lucas now. Bye! 
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Happiness is just a state of mind
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Life is so great. I would almost say that our life feels idyllic. The kids are settled and doing well at school. Andy and I are still very happy together after-what is it now- almost 13 years as a couple? I totally enjoy the work that I am doing. We get to spend lots of time as a family, doing fun things with the boys, hanging out on the beach, swimming at my mum's pool, meeting up with other families at the park, etc. My extended family is also doing well. And we are- for as far as we know-all healthy. What more can anyone want?
Now- of course- I know that life is ever changing. So at some point we will face problems again. That’s inevitable. But when those hurdles come, we will jump them and move on. Because at least life is very democratic and fair like that. 'This too shall pass' is true of every stage in life. Of the good parts and the bad. So all we can do is savour the good parts and remind ourselves to enjoy them and give thanks for them & have the courage to move straight through the difficult and painful parts, having faith in the fact that once we've moved through them, we will be- once again- back in the light.
It's funny as well; I see my life and my past as truly beautiful. Yet, if I wanted to, I could easily tell myself (and others) that I lived a hard and painful life. For an example, as a kid I witnessed both my parents go through 2 difficult and painful divorces/separations, my mum was a welfare mum for many years and we lived in a rather rough housing estate, one of my best friends killed himself with his dad's hunting gun when we were 14, my first boyfriend got killed too, I flew 'off the rails' for a few years when I was younger and got in and out of all kinds of potentially harrowing situations...etc.
But- as I said before- I think my life has been truly wonderful and I feel so blessed. Even the painful parts have, in their own sad ways, been beautiful. They have shown me the gift that every day is & they have shown me that all true love is eternal. Plus they have given me a certain amount of mental toughness. I know that I can deal with anything that comes my way in life. Of course, I hope that life keeps blessing me, the way it has done up too now. But I know that I won't seize to exist if something painful happens. Again, life is very democratic and fair that way. We all get to experience beauty and pain. We all get to experience loss and death.
And so much has already happened in everyone's past, good and bad. And we can choose which parts to focus on. If I want to prove to the world and to myself that I can never be happy now because of what has been done to me in the past, then I can find proof for that. But why would I want to do that? The only person I get to hurt that way is myself.
The same with everything that is happening in my life now. I get to choose which parts to focus on and I get to interpret everything that happens around me. I choose to look at the good and therefore my life is beautiful. I don't dwell or worry about what could go wrong in the future. I will deal with the hurdles when and if they arrive. And for now, I enjoy every moment of my amazing life & I make sure I feel the gratitude for all that I have with every fibre of my being!
(By the way...I believe that, on an energetic level, gratitude is like a great magnet. If you truly feel it and allow yourself to be humbled by it, more good things get attracted to you. Just like we enjoy giving gifts to those who are truly grateful and excited about what we give, so it is in life. If we are ungrateful for the beauty that life bestows upon us, why would it give us more?) 
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Aidan
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 It's a bit unfair, but when you're a second child (or a third or a fourth) no one makes as much of a hooha about you, as they did about child number one. So in our case that means that there have been tons of stories about Lucas growing up on this blog, but very little about Aidan. So now it's his turn....  Aidan is just about the most fun child you could imagine. He gets on with everyone & loves performing to a crowd (wonder who he got that from? ; )
He makes my heart melt whenever he looks me straight in the eyes and tells me that he loves me, or when he says 'Mamma, ik vind jou lief'. And no one gives cuddles the way Aidan does, he doesn't hold back (like Lucas often does), but just melts into you. I hope he'll never stop hugging us like that. Now that he's started to talk, he comes out with some funny stuff. Especially as he is bi-lingual. He mashes up English and Dutch and says things like 'Ka-broken' (broken in English & kapot in Dutch) and 'Sea-paartje' (Seahorse in English & Zeepaardje in Dutch).
 His rendition of Jingle bells is pretty original too. He is convinced that the song goes: 'Chicken bells, chicken bells, chicken all the way. Hey!' It is one of his favorite songs and he seems set on singing it year-round. Which we don't mind, as it continues to crack us up. He even grabbed the mic at a karaoke and sung 'Chicken bells' to a crowd of grown-ups (who were all doubled up laughing) So yes...he's a joy. Having said that, he's a pain too. He is incredibly headstrong and can be unfaced by something like a time-out. This is what they've started to realize at school too. They send him to time-out and he goes 'Okay, I'll just go and sit there for a moment'. It doesn't bother him in the slightest. So we've all had to become a bit more creative in disciplining him. I have come to realize that I have to be quite strickt with both my boys, as otherwise they walk all over me in no time. It's annoying to have to be like that, but they leave me no choice (and I won't allow them to become disrespecting brats). Anyway, so far so good. They're doing okay. I have started practicing 'self-control' with them now. It's a tip I picked up from a TV show, called 18 kids and counting. It isn't a time-out or punishment, but at some point in the day I call the boys over and they are given the task of sitting totally still for a few minutes. Which is really hard for energetic boys like them. When they do well, they get a sticker (and when they are really bad, they lose one). Once they both have 10 stickers we will go on a special outing. So far, Lucas has 6 stickers and Aidan has 4 (he keeps losing some for being naughty)
 Oh, and one more thing about the both of them...they share a bedroom and they often tell each other stories before bedtime. They even make up songs for each other. It is just the cutest. And regardless of where they are when I bring them to bed, when I check up on them later, they are curled up together. I have even heard Lucas say to Aidan when he was afraid at bed time: 'Don't worry Aidan. Lucas is here. I will keep you safe. If a monster comes, I'll punch him'. We are truly blessed with 'little monsters' like these. Both so different. Yet both so lovable.
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RetroMatic was back at Chaos Cafe
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And we had a blast! Though I wasn't too keen on the late night start. We hit our first note at about 11.30PM and didn't finish till roughly 2.00AM That is late in my books (these days)....still...I was able to 'sleep in' until 8 o'clock whilst Andy took the boys to the beach. My kids usually get me up at 6.00 AM, so sleeping in that 'late' was wonderful. The reactions to the show were great & we definately had a giggle on stage, so all was well. Now we just have to decide how soon we'll be playing again...    It's always great to have my mum and my sister there...
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Uplifting, empowering postcards
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My dear friend Shona has always been a person who can touch you with her poetic words, given at just the right time. She has sent me many wonderful cards over the years, that I have kept to this day and that still make me smile whenever I see them. These days, everybody mainly sends emails & cards are becoming an 'old-fashioned luxury'. But it is a shame. Receiving a card with a powerful message has much more of an impact than an email or e-card could ever have. Not only does it touch you when you first receive it, but also when you hang it up and look at it over and over again. I therefore think that everyone should have some cards at home to send whenever one feels that a message needs to passed on to a loved one (And I am as guilty as everyone else here...I haven't sent many cards over the last few years either. But I now aim to change this) Shona has recently created her own collection of postcards & I think they are beautiful. Some may be too esoteric for the general public, but I believe that within the collection, there is something for everyone. Check out her website for the full range.  The inside text: ...and how my hair dances while my face sits silent...smiling inside......The past is over.
Quietly, I celebrate... The inside text: I want you to be the ‘lucky one’ blessed by all the wonders and miracles of a glorious world....To Be the one life gives magic to...every day... I want you to let life love you - like I love you...With stars and wings and roses... ...To be the one so completely in love with being alive...
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| February 28, 2009 | 11:02 AM |
| February 25, 2009 | 9:02 AM |
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Great to be working again
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The last few weeks have been quite tiring, but I am feeling more fulfilled than I have done for years. I have started doing a daily radio show (Angel in the morning) on Cool FM and last Friday we played the first ‘full set’ (over two hours!) with our band, RetroMatic at a local live music bar, the Chaos.
All of it is so enjoyable. I have just never been able to find that kind of satisfaction in anything I have been doing in life that has not been connected to music and/or media. It just feels so ‘right’ to be doing this. It’s like coming home to me.
The band performance went pretty good. Of course, we messed up here and there and we realized that we need to make a few changes before our next show. But then, that’s what a live performance is all about. And we couldn’t have figured these things out had we not stood in front of an audience.
The crowd reacted really well to the show though. There were a lot of smiling faces, people singing along, many people shouting ‘Yes!’ as they heard us start certain songs & applause at the end of each one (something you can’t take for granted on an island like Aruba, so inundated with live music that- at times- the audience hardly reacts). And there also was lots a dancing towards the end of the show, which is just the most satisfying thing to see when you’re onstage.
There were pictures taken that night by some of my Cool FM colleagues, I just need to find out where they’ve been posted, so I can add them later.
The owner of the bar came up to us after the show and basically offered us as many gigs as we’d like at that same venue or at a new bar that he has opened recently. So we just have to put our diaries together and see when we’d want to play again.
I have to say though...I wouldn’t want to do this once or twice a week, like some performers do on the island. It needs to stay fun. For us, but for the audience too. So maybe we’ll play once or twice a month...something like that.
As a mother- by the way- I am very happy with the move from being basically a stay-at-home mom, to being a (part-time) ‘working mom’. I gave my all to my kids for the last 6 years, which has been exactly what I had wanted to do. But as they were getting older I craved striking a balance between being a mom with being an individual, with her own wants and needs. So now that’s what I’ve got.
The juggling takes a little getting used to, but it isn’t too hard. Of course, my hours are great...I go to the radio station at about 9am or 9.30 & then I stay until I pick up the boys from school (12.30 & 1pm). So I have all afternoon to spend with them, apart from the few things I need to do online or the bits of practicing I need to do. And band practice is just one evening a week.
I feel so blessed to be doing exactly what I want to do. Yes....life is brilliant!
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| February 23, 2009 | 7:02 AM |
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