Pimp my dresser

I am a big fan of Marktplaats. This Dutch daughter website of Ebay helped us get rid of a lot of stuff when we moved. I also really like the idea of recycling and making money doing so.

The first thing ever I sold on there were steel toed boots from Jonny. He had had those boots as long as we were together and some more, but never wore them. It turned out they never fit him properly, they were too big. Now Henk in the north east of Groningen is the proud owner of some vintage Reebok boots. He's happy, we're happy.

When we couldn't find a dresser to fit the kitchen wall, we decided to have a look on Marktplaats too. And last week we have acquired our first item: a semi-antique wooden dresser. I have since customised it with porcelain Delft Blue drawer handles. So now we have a lot more storage space in the kitchen and it was cheaper than Ikea!

Little Otto

Kata and Arian's baby son Otto was born on 24 November after only 23 weeks gestation. He was too small and too vulnerable to stay alive outside his mother's womb. He only lived for four magical minutes.

It makes us painfully aware that a model pregnancy is just a step to a healthy baby. We once again realise how special and fragile life is. I wish so badly that they could have had many more moments with their son. Life is really not fair.

You gotta move!

Today was my first day as project manager/assistant editor in chief/publishing manager at a publishing company. They are in the middle of a big reorganisation at the moment so most job titles are currently being reviewed. I am going to help them out with a few different projects in the next four to six months.

I spent half a day at a nice country estate discussing the launch of a new product. A very good way to meet a few of my new colleagues and get back in the work pace. There is a lot of work to be done so they were happy to have me aboard. And I am looking forward to starting properly soon!

The train is still moving...

I said before that we don't take bad news too well. Maybe I should clarify that. When somebody tells us that something can't be done, we see a challenge. The message from the hospital that they couldn't do anything for us anymore took us by surprise. It felt like a blow and we went down for a little. But by no means it knocked us out. We were distressed to say the least, but soon we got up. Ready for the next round.

The next round is in the beginning of December when we have a follow-up meeting with the gynaecologist. For my own good I prefer not to question their competences and integrity at this point in time. I like to think that they are not in this business to make money or get a great success rate published - they want to help us get pregnant and that is the basic goal.

If our goals indeed are aligned, I am sure I would benefit from a different protocol. With the help of Dr Google and my online buddies I came up with the best protocol for low responders. Basically it consists of less surpression, more stimulation. This is something I would like to propose. If for whatever reason our ideas turn out to differ, then it is time to consider Plan B.

Plan B might involve suing the hospital (is there such a thing as a right to have infertility treatment?), get a second opinion in a different hospital or seriously consider alternatives. Although we have discussed alternatives, given my age and the quality of our embryos so far, we think we have not explored the current route to the max yet. So that is what we will do before we move on.

We just wish this process were easier sometimes. But then again, we were never in it for the easy ride!

Our favourite icon

In case of any of you wondered about the sudden appearance of the favicon that came with the updated design of our blog, it is a Summerbird Fløderbolle. We came across this delightful Danish delicacy when we were in Copenhagen last September.

The handmade Fløderbolle is a very distant relative of the snowball. It consist of two layers of the finest Trinidad pure chocolate, homogeneous marshmallow cream and a marzipan base. It looks like an oddball, but it leaves its cheap mass-produced relatives light years behind.

It is made by the small Danish Summerbird boutique. They adhere to the principle of quality over quantity. No glitzy interior design, no elaborate marketing campaigns, no flash in the proverbial pan - just pure, freshly made chocolates and marzipan prepared tastefully and presented simply.

As I completely endorse the quality over quantity principle, I was in Flø heaven!