Now that you have set a date, here are some guidelines on preparing for your date.

I believe the most important thing is to be yourself and try not to be too nervous. I know, easier said than done right? Dress appropriately, but also wear some clothes in which you feel comfortable.

The first part is picking the perfect spot for a date. I would suggest a public place, but also not too crowded. Meeting up in a discotheque, or a busy bar would make a simple conversation impossible. I would say a good spot for a date is a public park. There you can talk at ease, yet it also provides you with a possibility to enjoy the view in case the conversation goes silent. And it will probably will. But a silence, doesn't need to be a awkward silence. A silence is not a bad thing, there doesn't need to be a conversation the entire time, you don't need to make things up to keep the conversation going either.

When you are meeting each other in a public park, make sure you know how to recognise each other. It can get awkward if you have no idea who you are looking for. You have seen each other's profile picture, but in reality you can both look different. Whether you just had your hair done or whether you are wearing more or less make up, you can look different. However if he does not resemble your picture in the slightest, something is definitely wrong. And you should probably get out of there. If he is lying about his appearance, there is no telling what else he might be lying about.

I would suggest going for a drink rather than going for dinner. Going for a drink gives you the opportunity to have a talk. Yet in case things don' work out you don't need to have it go on and on while you are waiting for the third course. Also be aware about what you are ordering. Remember, you need to make a good first impression.

If you are going for a drink, keep in mind that things have changed and that the guy doesn't necessarily have to pay for the drinks. When you ask for the bill, simply ask whether you can pay your part. This way he can decide whether or not he will invite you. Assuming he will pay just because he is the guy, might also leave a bad impression.

In the end you need to be careful, you never know the person’s real intentions. So make sure you tell someone where you are going and who you are meeting. Having a back up in the same place where you are having your date might be too distracting. However you could set up a sort of warning system with your friend. It would be easy to slip away to the rest room and send out a text message to let your friend know everything is ok.

If the date doesn’t seem to work out, don’t panic. A first date can be stressful and nerve wrecking. Try to simply enjoy your date, you are simply meeting a guy. After you say your goodbyes, give it some time to settle all in. A good night sleep might help you put it all in perspective. Or maybe you just need a second date.

Check this blog next week to read my online dating experience and to discover whether I found my Prince Charming through the internet.

So with my New Year’s resolutions I am afraid I had a bit of a false start. Don’t get me wrong, I did lose weight, just not in the proper way.
I have been ill for the entire week. I had a consultation on Monday with my GP and was diagnosed with a respiratory infection. So I was put on antibiotics, pumped up my asthma medication and was put on sick leave. I remember telling to my partner I wasn’t feeling so ill on Monday, but boy was I wrong. On Tuesday once the antibiotics started to kick in I was completely knocked out. But the problem is that I can’t sit down, even when I’m sick. So I tried to iron and after ten minutes I basically had to stop, I was totally exhausted. There were so many things I wanted to do, but I just couldn’t keep my head focused. At the end of the week, I had to go back to my GP because there was hardly any improvement. So she subscribed me heavier antibiotics and cortisone tablets to fight the infection more effectively.

As a result to be ill, my appetite was gone. I barely ate, didn’t feel like eating, slept through big part of the afternoon, slept during the night. And I still don’t feel like I am quite recovered yet. I hope to feel better by Monday, so I can get back to work.

So this week I lost two kilos, basically it were the two kilos that I had gained over the holidays. I did loose them, but I fear that once my appetite returns I might regain that weight.

On Tuesday I have an appointment with Infraligne for a free figure analysis. I have heard from a colleague at work that she tried it and it worked for her. However it is more expensive than a regular gym. I will surely let you know how that went. Have you ever tried this program?

A few days ago I shared a picture on Instagram to give you a little preview of my next post. And because of the many likes, today I bring you the recipe. This is a new dessert that I discovered. I made it with Christmas when my parents were over for dinner and I made it on New Year’s Eve when we were visiting my family in law. Both times I had great comments. This is a dessert that will a delight on your taste buds.

Personally I used my Kenwood K-mix to make this dessert but you can also use a regular mixer. I only recently got my K-mix so I am still experimenting with it. So let’s get on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

- 100 gr Lotus Biscoff - caramelized biscuit -
- 3 eggs
- 50 gr cane sugar
- 50gr hazelnut paste (you can find this in a specialty shop that sells bakery products, some health-food stores might also sell it)
- 250 gr mascarpone
- Some chopped hazelnuts for decoration

Directions

1. Chop the biscuits up in a blender. Put it aside
2. Separate the eggs. Take two egg yolks - you don't need the third one- and mix it with 25 gr of sugar until its volume has doubled and the sugar has been dissolved completely, obtaining a creamy mixture.
3. Mix the mascarpone with the hazelnut paste and add it to the sugar-egg mixture and mix it well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites with the remaining 25 gr of sugar, until they reach a firm yet fluffy consistency.
Use a spatula to gently mix the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
5. Pour the mixture into the serving cups, until they are half full. Add a layer of the chopped biscuits. Add another layer of the mascarpone mixture until the serving cups are full.
6. Refrigerate for at least two-three hours so that all the flavors can settle.

7. Before serving, add the chopped hazelnuts on top for decoration.

Let's talk about the question that has been burning on your tongue. When can I meet the amazing person? You have probably been messaging back and forth some time now and you really like what you are reading so far.

So when do you pop the question to meet each other face to face? Well there isn't really a rule. I suggest you go with the flow. It's all about finding the right balance. If you ask too fast you might scare the person away, if you wait too long he/she might lose interest and go off to find someone else.

A great advantage of messaging, is that you are actually getting to know each other. This leads to the fact that you will probably be able to feel by the tone of the message whether the moment has arrived.

If you feel like the time has come, simply be honest. Say that you are really enjoying talking to each other and that you would like to meet him/her. If that person say it's too soon, just say you understand and that you don't mind waiting some more and continue messaging in meanwhile.

Even though us girls want to be equals to men, we tend to wait to get asked. I suppose it's because of the idea of romance. As I said in my previous post, there are several steps before actually messaging each other. I don't think I ever started messaging to a guy. I would send questions, send smiles over to gain interest. But then, to see whether he was really interested, I would wait and let him take the first step in messaging me. But if you feel like you are ready for the next step, simply follow your gut and follow your heart.

Check in next week for the second part on this topic.

Let me just start off by saying HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Yes 2016 is here! I hope you had an amazing time spending the holidays with your loved ones.

Each year we tend to make New Year’s resolutions that we fail to keep. Well this year I make a resolution to keep my New Year’s resolutions.

This year I really want to get back in shape. I lost about 20 kilos about two years ago but since then I already gained 10 kilos back again. So now I want to lose those again and lose about 10 kilos more to be on my normal weight. I am visiting the gym since August but with little result. But now I am more motivated and also doing exercises at home with YouTube videos. If you want I can share some of my favourite videos or online coaches, if you would like to see those.

Along with this resolution I want to live healthier, eating healthier and also because of my weight, I suffer from a low self-image and self-confidence. So I really want to work on that this coming year.

And one more resolution is to make better planners and of course plan better to make posts on here. Sometimes time just gets the best of us and things pop up on our schedule so I don’t get the chance to post here as often as I would like to. Over the holidays I have been thinking about my blogs a lot. I have made the decision to close my Spanish blog, I am not sure yet whether this will be a temporary thing or permanent yet. My Spanish blog was my baby, it’s the blog I started out blogging with, so it was a difficult decision. But I felt like in these busy times that we are living in, I couldn’t find the time to do both blogs and do them properly. At this point, since I am no longer living in Spain and not talking Spanish very often anymore, I find it costs me more time to write in Spanish. So keeping both was simply impossible. January is going to be a busy period with a busy period at work, some personal meetings that are already scheduled and of course my brand new gym schedule so it’s going to be busy but I am going to try my best and post as often as possible. I still have a few posts left on my online dating series. There is just so many things I want to say and I need to gather my thought and get them in line. I got a recipe coming up of my New Year’s Eve dessert, some posts about trips we did and of course some beauty posts. I can’t forget how I got in this business of blogging, which is my makeup posts. I suppose along with issues that I explained above in this posts, it is one thing that got pushed back to the background, but I really want to get that back on track. I got some very nice products on the trips we did that I would like to share with you all.

I think that are about the most important resolutions that I have made this year. Did you make any resolutions?

So today's entry has let you wait a bit, sometimes life just takes over. My mum has been in the hospital and she is quite ill so I needed to look after her. Today's is a bit longer as the previous to compensate. Also I am taking questions. If there is anything you would like to know concerning online dating you can leave your question as a comment to this entry or you can leave it as a comment on Instagram. Let's get on with the post!

With your profile all set up you are ready to get active on the dating site.

All the dating site will offer you a way to search for possible candidates. Usually free websites have got a regular search engine in which you can search persons complying certain preferences such as age and gender, as well as the distance to where you are living.

Whereas to paying sites, they offer a more sophisticated way to search. Usually they will offer you "candidate proposals". Based on the personally quiz you took when you signed up at the website as well as your preferences, they will reveal a certain number of candidates to you each week.
They might also have a function in which they present certain candidates who might be interesting for you, however they do not meet all of your preferences. For instance they might live further away or may not fit you age preference. It is interesting to check these out, since it might give you more options. However keep in mind the blog from last week, your "essentials" shouldn't change. Maybe a year older than you prefer isn't that bad, but if he got cats while you're allergic to them, that's simply not going work.

While you are going through the profiles that are presented to you, keep in mind to look further than the picture on the profile. I know I said last week that you will get judged on your profile picture, however it’s important to see beyond that. It’s like they say you can’t judge a book by its cover, the inside of a person is as important, if not even more important as the outside.

So when you find a profile, I would suggest that you read the profile entirely. See whether the person has taken time to fill up his/her profile, see whether you like what he or she has put on his profile and whether it is consistent with the list you put together of what you are looking for.

If he/she is, you can engage in conversation. When it comes to the free sites, you are able to send a message directly to the person. The paying sites usually have some sort of trajectory you have to follow. You can send a message directly however they advice against it. They offer a few steps in order to get to know each other before you engage in a conversation.

The first step that the site I used to be on offer was to smile at someone, which you could do when you really like their profile. This could also be used to gain someone's attention, because maybe that person didn't get you in their partner proposals.
The next step was to like or comment the profile of the other person, for instance if you like their hobbies or whether you want to comment you also practice the same sport.
Then, you could send over five questions. These are multiple choice question you could pick out of a list of predesigned question. The nice part about these question is that you already get to know a little bit more about the person. The thing I also really like about this is that there were three fixed answers and one open question. So if the person you are sending these questions to, doesn't find himself/herself in the answers he/she could fill in something entirely different or a combination of the fixed answers.
The next of the trajectory was to send each other preferences, I never used this, so I don't really recall what this was exactly.
I used to skip from the questions to the final step which is messaging. If you really like the answers you got to your questions, you can send the person a message or you can wait a few days to see whether he/she will send you a message. However don't wait too long, there are many persons active online, so someone might just steal your prince charming away from underneath your nose!

For this next part you will need to create your profile.

When you sign up for the dating site you will be asked to answer an extended personality test. Though I don't recall exactly the questions of this test, it were short statements and you had to decide whether you would rather agree or disagree with them. With this test the site pretends to determine which candidates would be a good fit for you.

Apart from this test you will need to create your own profile. And just as in real life you will get judged on your appearance. So it is important to have a good profile picture. Take your time in making one and deciding which one you are going to use. You want to leave a good impression of yourself and at the same time distinguish yourself from the others.

A good advice I have heard, is to upload one or two good pictures at first. Don't upload thirty pictures at once. Instead upload a new picture once a few weeks have passed so that the other users on the dating site get a notification that you have uploaded a new picture and they will be inclined to visit your profile to have a look.

Further on, I believe it is also important to provide a sufficient amount of information on your profile. usually the website will have a certain layout with information boxes, such as "About you", "Hobbies", "What are you looking for?". There are also checkboxes to indicate whether you are a smoker, whether you drink or whether you want to have children.

Filling in these boxes will help possible candidates to decide whether or not they will get in contact with you or not. Even though at first they might not be attracted to your picture, there are guys who will continue to read your profile and they might be persuaded by the rest of your profile.

Remembers there is no readymade answers in filling in your profile, you just have to be yourself!

If you have any questions you want me to handle, leave a comment on this post. I will answer them in the next installments of this series!

I know, usually on Wednesday's you are here waiting for the next installment of the Online Dating Series. And you probably noticed there wasn't one published today but fear not, it will be online tomorrow.

I just wanted to take this moment to explain why the blog was delayed by a day. Even though I had the post almost ready yesterday evening, it just missed something. Over the past couple of days a lot went on and I have been deciding whether or not to comment on it. Because I found that in expressing my opinion on this subject, I might offend some people.

We all know about Paris (#Pray4Paris). Don't get me wrong, Paris never should have happened, I am not approving the actions what so ever. When that happened me and my partner were on a holiday in London, so we only heard about it the next day. And you know, you don't want to show fear but all of a sudden you seem  more aware of the people surrounding you. There was this moment that my partner and I basically got out of the underground because we didn't trust this one guy, mumbling to himself. Obviously nothing happened, that person was probably just praying to himself, but you start paying attention to everything, just in case.

I still got to write about our trip to London, we did some sightseeing and of course some shopping (read quite a lot actually!).

But it was when we got home that we realized the impact Paris would have on our daily lives. All of a sudden Belgium was pointed the finger for being responsible because the terrorists were radical Muslims with the Belgian nationality. While what they say about Muslims is also true about Belgians. Not all Belgians are terrorist.

Since the attacks, the "terror treat level" was risen to 3 and last Saturday to 4 for Brussels. Four is the highest level possible, meaning that an attack is very likely to happen and the police and military are more present on the streets in order to prevent such from happening. There was the anti-terror operation on Sunday night, in which the police asked the public not to report on the officer's movements, in which the Belgians responded in tweeting cats.

At this point the treat levels stays up, but it appears that life is slowly pulling itself together again.

On a more positive note I finished the first six months on the job last week. I am currently working through an employment agency. Finishing six months, basically gives the company I am working for to take over the contract from the employment agency without having to pay an extra fee. So fingers crossed!

So I hope you will enjoy the next installment of the Online Dating Series tomorrow and talk to you soon!