Heard from Jennifer today who left Paris to go back and live in the US on Saturday. We saw her last on Wednesday and it was quite an emotional moment. She is now in Newport, Rhode Island (with the rich and famous :-) see article attached) in a hotel for 6 weeks before she can find a place of her own. I miss her already but I am very glad for her that she was able to get a great promotion at APC and move back to the US, close to her Dad and ready to build a whole new life. To be continued...
Rhode Island
It's the smallest U.S. State (in land size), but played a major role in the building of America, as the textile industry began here with the invention of the water-powered spinning machine. Huge factories produced the fabric, mill towns developed, and great wealth came to Rhode Island. In addition, it was the country's manufacturing hub for files, machine tools, precious-metal industries, rubber goods, steam engines, and much more.
Closely associated with the sea, it's a favorite summer vacation area for boaters, fisherman and nautical history buffs.
The Ocean State is famed for Newport's magnificent mansions, yachting venues, jewelry and textile manufacturing, and most importantly... for its vital role in colonial history, America's industrial revolution, and the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
Par Van Bachum Flo
1
-
Recommander
Serge's very good friend Maartje came over for diner tonigh and announced she was going to Australia for a few months/years (?). Another one leaving Europe for a whole new life on another continent. What is going on ?
Still, good on Maartje who is going to backpack across Eastern Australia for a while before she looks into possibly getting a job there as a teacher. Apparently they are in need of teachers down under so it should help her get a work visa. Departure day 28th June...keep in touch girl !
Par Van Bachum Flo
0
-
Recommander
Happy birthday to you Jen. As you can see, I have not forgotten this year ! It's a real shame you couldn't make it to Chicago for us to celebrate it for us and have a couple of cosmo's...very much into vodka martini's these days !! Lots of love, miss you loads.
Par Van Bachum Flo
0
-
Recommander
Very French Sunday today: we had lunch at Isa and Jason's with their 2,5 year old daughter Laure Elise. We had brunch with champagne, which unfortunately you can't get at restaurants or lounges in the Netherlands like we do in Paris. Certainly doesn't stop us doing it at home though !
It was very good to catch up with Isa. We don't see each other half as much as I would like too. We are both French "expats", married to a Dutch man, have a daughter, both work in media, we have a similar background (we even used to go the same places on holiday when we were younger!) and we share a lot of ideas and opinions. I always love a good chat with her. Hopefully we'll be able to arrange a shopping trip Friday 12th or 19th August to The Hague...one of our favourite French kids clothes label (Jacadi) has their only Dutch shop there.
Par Van Bachum Flo
0
-
Recommander
Watch out, this might be Chloé's future boyfriend...Thomas Philips, Anne Kirsten and Sijmen's second gorgeous son:
Par Van Bachum Flo
0
-
Recommander
Sijmen and Anne Kirsten are back from England and settling back in the Netherlands. We spent the day with them today and as always it was great to see them. It always seem so very easy to get on with them both, very relaxed and friendly. We went out for lunch and for a walk in the woods in Doorn.
Par Van Bachum Flo
0
-
Recommander
Sijmen will start his new job as marketing manager for the publishing group SDU on September 1st. He is going to work for the IT Cluster there and therefore for the one and only direct competitor for VNU's main IT title: Computable, for which I am sales manager. In other words, we become direct competitors !! This picture would probably surprise many people in the industry so we couldn't resist it. And you know what, we are friends and no degree of competition will change that !
Par Van Bachum Flo
0
-
Recommander
Karen and I both needed a good break and some pampering so I organised a last minute flight to England and Karen booked us at Champneys for a spa week end ! I can't wait: girlie chats, relaxation, luxury, a bit of sports maybe, no rush....
About Champneys in Hertforshire (where we are going):
Champneys at Tring is one of the worlds leading health farms, elegant and peaceful, English style at its most charming. Champneys Resort in Tring enjoys a rich history as the UK’s first health farm. Tring was opened in 1925 by the naturopath Stanley Lief. Champneys Tring pioneered the concept of holistic health of treating the whole person: mind, body and soul. The Rothschild Mansion is set in 170 acres of parklands and retains its period mansion style with a classical music room, a light and airy morning room, drawing room and a games room with a snooker table, chess and board games. Tring also boasts delightful grounds which surround the resort , and offer a number of relaxing walks in the Hertfordshire countryside. The resort offers a wide range of activities from dynamic classes such as aerobics & spinning to the more relaxed classes of tai chi , pilates & yoga.
Pictures of us with silly masks on, in our white bathrobes and the rest to follow tomorrow...
Par Van Bachum Flo
0
-
Recommander
Had a wonderful 36 hours with Karen. It was so good to see her and have good conversations about what was going on in our lifes, what we enjoyed, what we could improve, how we went about it, what our plans were etc. We were very much on the same brain wave and made the most of this girl's break.
Champney delivered on its promises. The place was absolutely gorgeous and despite the rain outside we could see how beautiful the grounds were with the huge ancient trees, the colourful flower arrangements in the garden and the historical buildings.
The service was impeccable. Everybody was very professional and friendly, especially the two porters who visibly enjoyed their jobs immensely. All the staff was wearing white and burgundi "uniforms" and was most helpful. They were for instance very relaxed and accomodating when Karen called to say we might not make it due to the BA strike. We could just postpone our stay to a later date. Fortunately and surprisingly both my flights were operated and on time. My flight going to the UK was actually half an hour early because Heathrow was still much quieter than usual after the strike ! No circling around in the air, no waiting for a gate, very little taxying...amazing really!
We had the most relaxing time. We combined sports and treatments with laziness and long chats. The perfect improvised programme! Saturday we enjoyed the 25 meter long swimming pool, went to an introduction to spinning class (that's a right killer, trust us !) and had a pedicure before a lovely dinner and a bottle of Sancerre. We ended our day with a group discussion led by a business coach on how to motivate oneself and others. It was really good, very interactive due to the small size of the group and the interest showed by everyone and it end up lasting much longer than planned. It got Karen and I to think about our "wheel of life" and what was important to us in every of the segments ("our values"), what score we currently achieved within these segments on a scale of 1 to 10, what we would like to improve and how to go about implementing these changes. Useful tips included "setting goals beyond the goal", "challenging every decision we make based on our values", "going for towards motivations vs stick motivations" etc.
|
NLP Technology of Achievement
Balancing Your Wheel of Life1
|
-
Draw a line across each category area that reflects your satisfaction with this area of your life right now.
-
What do I want?
-
Doublecheck: "Is that what I really want?
-
What am I not paying enough attention to in my life right now?
-
What is the easiest first step I can take now in the direction of what I want?
-
Review your personal balance regularly.
|
Today, Sunday went very quickly indeed. We woke up at 8am to have breakfast before our 9 am treatments. We both enjoyed a full body massage and facial, which left us very oily, satisfied and a bit sleepy. It took us an hour and a half of sitting in the music room listening to classical music and reading the Sunday papers to get back to earth ! After that it all went very fast and before I know it I was sitting in the plane where I fell asleep in no time after reading the first 30 pages of the new Harry Potter I bought at the airport. It was a truly lovely week end and for it was the first time Karen and I shared such an experience, it will definitely not be the last !
25 meter long swimming pool just for us Karen our beautiful pedicured feet !
Par Van Bachum
0
-
Recommander
You wrote...