The biggest annoyance of Jon

Sometimes new products or services come onto the market that make you think right away: why didn't I come up with that? Readly is one of those: a kind of Netflix subscription for magazines. Now I must honestly admit that I love print (I'm someone who always folds ear tips and then looks up everything I liked), but on vacation, I always struggle with the weight of such a huge stack of magazines. Or if you unexpectedly need to kill some time and you don't happen to have a nice magazine in your bag, then with one app you can read everything you want. And not just Dutch titles, but also the American Vogue, Time, and Rolling Stone. I'm already looking forward to our flight to LA, with my unlimited amount of reading material.

Today is definitely the most exciting day of the year for all kids: it's gift evening. Now I see at friends' houses with older children the Sint madness in full glory and I'm secretly glad that Otis isn't experiencing all that hysteria yet. With the adults, we always find it a party to play the big gift game, but this year we've decided to do it differently: instead of buying all kinds of gifts that you don't really need, we all choose a good cause to which we donate that amount. That ‘wonderful evening’ will definitely be celebrated with friends and a lot of delicious food.

I know, the Sint hasn't even left on the steamship yet and we already have a Christmas tree up. Now I really have to defend myself by saying that this is because we are leaving for LA next week and otherwise that whole Christmas tree would be a hassle. But luckily I'm not the only one who can't wait and Gamma has cleverly responded to this: you could have your Christmas tree wrapped in disguise, so no one on the street could suspect that you are already busy with Christmas. And so a huge ‘battery drill’ was delivered here and I saw the neighbors looking a bit anxiously to see if we were starting a renovation... Don't worry, the only nuisance coming up this week is Mariah Carey echoing through the speakers.

I've been putting it off for years, much to Jon's annoyance. ‘Should I make an appointment for you?’ I need to have two moles removed and that's not exactly at the top of my agenda. No worries, they don't look alarming, but they are quite large, lie on my skin, and I sometimes scratch them open because they just fall on my bra strap. The thought of those things being ‘peeled’ out makes me almost long for a second childbirth. Fortunately, I could go to my bestie's husband who is one of the best dermatologists, and after a few (really painful) injections, those things were removed without any problem. If you see a suspicious mole or spot on your skin : don't wait too long. Unfortunately, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the Netherlands.