Friday, November 9
Demand a Dream Life
I was needing a little inspiration after my husband told me I was selling myself short and in no uncertain terms that was unacceptable to him. So, I was cleaning out my drawers and found this quote and found it appropriate:
"Women who live the life of their dreams don't get there by being dainty and darling. They demand what they want and do what it takes to make it happen. [That] could mean breaking a few rules, a few hearts and a few habits along the way." Laurie Sue Brockway (A Goddess is a Girl's Best Friend)
With this I will be inspired and stop selling myself short!
"Women who live the life of their dreams don't get there by being dainty and darling. They demand what they want and do what it takes to make it happen. [That] could mean breaking a few rules, a few hearts and a few habits along the way." Laurie Sue Brockway (A Goddess is a Girl's Best Friend)
With this I will be inspired and stop selling myself short!
Wednesday, November 7
Dark, Rain, Traffic
So, I was driving to work today and realized that fall/winter is settling in here in the Netherlands. This time of the year can be characterized by the above: Darkness, Rain and Traffic. As we approach full winter, the days will get shorter. And eventually I will drive to work in the dark, work in the dark until about 8:30 and beginning again at 4:30 (the dark that is), and drive home in the dark. And inevitably it will be raining at some point during that time. And as always, I'm greeted each morning (that I don't wake up early enough) by at least a 1KM file (that's traffic jam). And again at night, the file is usually more like 5KM....yes I am not sure how 30 miles can take any where from 40 minutes to (that's right) 2 hours.
So, fortunately this year, I will have a gym to go to and weather will not be an excuse for not working out. And maybe because I know what to expect with the winter, I won't experience any symptoms of S.A.D (see previous posts). But, I am not holding my breath as the first symptoms have already arrived...sleeping long periods of time. I do NOT want to get up in the mornings when it is still dark and my bed is so comfy.....
So, my goal for the rest of the week is to find some inspiration, or at least something to prevent full onset of S.A.D.....Any Ideas??
So, fortunately this year, I will have a gym to go to and weather will not be an excuse for not working out. And maybe because I know what to expect with the winter, I won't experience any symptoms of S.A.D (see previous posts). But, I am not holding my breath as the first symptoms have already arrived...sleeping long periods of time. I do NOT want to get up in the mornings when it is still dark and my bed is so comfy.....
So, my goal for the rest of the week is to find some inspiration, or at least something to prevent full onset of S.A.D.....Any Ideas??
Sunday, November 4
October
Well October came and went and now I'll tell you about it.
The first week was still pretty busy at work given the Go Live, but was more manageable than the week before. Friday evening we picked up Bambi, Marianne, Sallie and Rachel from the train station. Rachel is student teaching in Germany and the Aunts came over to visit. Once we all got back to the apartment, we chatted for a bit and went to bed (it had been an extremely long day for the ladies!!) On Saturday, I took them to Delft as it is the epitomy of a Dutch town. That evening we went to our favorite little Italian restaurant here in Wassenaar. (Its our favorite not only because of the good food, but it is also walking distance, so you can enjoy your wine with dinner - and we did!!). We had dessert once we got home after dinner. I finally went into the bakery downstairs with them and we bought some little pastries....yummmmm...good thing I didn't discover the backery earlier!! On Sunday we took them back to the train station and made our way to the airport. Back to the US for us. We spent Sunday night - Thursday morning in Lexington. We took care of the house, got hair cuts and massages and vistied with family. Then boarded a plane for Atlanta. We enjoyed a great weekend with Ricky and Lisa. We celebrated my birthday on Friday at a great steak restaurant. (Although I probably won't be returning as I had one too many drinks - it was the Jager I swear). On Saturday we went to a Halloween party. Yes, I dressed up, evidence is below!!! Sunday and Monday were spent relaxing! We did do a little shopping in the meantime.
We arrived back to NL on Tuesday morning and went to work. On Saturday morning (EARLY) we flew to Spain for the Sales & Distributor meeting. I think every child in NL was on that plane with us....the kids were everywhere and definitely misbehaving. I am not sure the parents cared at all what the kids were doing. It was AWFUL... But Spain was nice. We had Sat and Sun to relax before everyone got there. The weather was fantastic. Though it was a long week of meetings, it ended with a 2 hour break laying in the sun on Friday!! Not a bad way to end the trip......And we finished the month off in NL.
Yes, October came and went.....but we sure had some fun!!
Jessi and Lisa at Dinner
James and Ricky at Dinner (Don't they look Handsome?!?)
All four of us in our costumes at the Party!!
The first week was still pretty busy at work given the Go Live, but was more manageable than the week before. Friday evening we picked up Bambi, Marianne, Sallie and Rachel from the train station. Rachel is student teaching in Germany and the Aunts came over to visit. Once we all got back to the apartment, we chatted for a bit and went to bed (it had been an extremely long day for the ladies!!) On Saturday, I took them to Delft as it is the epitomy of a Dutch town. That evening we went to our favorite little Italian restaurant here in Wassenaar. (Its our favorite not only because of the good food, but it is also walking distance, so you can enjoy your wine with dinner - and we did!!). We had dessert once we got home after dinner. I finally went into the bakery downstairs with them and we bought some little pastries....yummmmm...good thing I didn't discover the backery earlier!! On Sunday we took them back to the train station and made our way to the airport. Back to the US for us. We spent Sunday night - Thursday morning in Lexington. We took care of the house, got hair cuts and massages and vistied with family. Then boarded a plane for Atlanta. We enjoyed a great weekend with Ricky and Lisa. We celebrated my birthday on Friday at a great steak restaurant. (Although I probably won't be returning as I had one too many drinks - it was the Jager I swear). On Saturday we went to a Halloween party. Yes, I dressed up, evidence is below!!! Sunday and Monday were spent relaxing! We did do a little shopping in the meantime.
We arrived back to NL on Tuesday morning and went to work. On Saturday morning (EARLY) we flew to Spain for the Sales & Distributor meeting. I think every child in NL was on that plane with us....the kids were everywhere and definitely misbehaving. I am not sure the parents cared at all what the kids were doing. It was AWFUL... But Spain was nice. We had Sat and Sun to relax before everyone got there. The weather was fantastic. Though it was a long week of meetings, it ended with a 2 hour break laying in the sun on Friday!! Not a bad way to end the trip......And we finished the month off in NL.
Yes, October came and went.....but we sure had some fun!!
Jessi and Lisa at Dinner
James and Ricky at Dinner (Don't they look Handsome?!?)
James and Jessi in the Lederhosen (aren't they cute ?!?!)
All four of us in our costumes at the Party!! September - Month 12
The month started with the end of Prague weekend, which was included in the August post. Then, 3 weeks later we went to Milan and Como for a relaxing weekend (as much as it could be 2 weeks before implementation at work). James was going to Milan for training, so I tagged along and we left on Friday morning. We stayed in an old castle about half way between Milan and Como. It was very nice; however, the only rooms they had left were twins...so, honeymooners we are, we slept in 2 twin beds on the opposite sides of the room! ;)
We had a great dinner at Il Gatto Nero (the Black Cat) which is a favorite of G Clooney (or at least that is what we were told), but there were no celebrity sightings that night. Dinner of truffles and steak was fantastic. Saturday we spent the day (and a bit of money) in Milan. After wandering aimlessly for about 2 hours, we finally found the street we were trying to find, but only after James walked into the Park Hyatt like we were staying there and talked to the Concierge. Sunday, we spent wandering around Como. The weather was fantastic, as you can tell in the photos. And that evening, I returned home to NL while James stayed behind for training.
Milan and Como Pictures use link below....
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8gkpuuo.1kw5v09k&x=1&y=-rzlfq3
The month ended with a crazy weekend at work. We implemented SAP in Europe and went live on Oct 1. After 6 months of hard work, the results were great!!
And that's the first year.....WOW....what a great year! Hope you've enjoyed the journey. I will keep posting updates. But am glad to be caught up!!
We had a great dinner at Il Gatto Nero (the Black Cat) which is a favorite of G Clooney (or at least that is what we were told), but there were no celebrity sightings that night. Dinner of truffles and steak was fantastic. Saturday we spent the day (and a bit of money) in Milan. After wandering aimlessly for about 2 hours, we finally found the street we were trying to find, but only after James walked into the Park Hyatt like we were staying there and talked to the Concierge. Sunday, we spent wandering around Como. The weather was fantastic, as you can tell in the photos. And that evening, I returned home to NL while James stayed behind for training.
Milan and Como Pictures use link below....
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8gkpuuo.1kw5v09k&x=1&y=-rzlfq3
The month ended with a crazy weekend at work. We implemented SAP in Europe and went live on Oct 1. After 6 months of hard work, the results were great!!
And that's the first year.....WOW....what a great year! Hope you've enjoyed the journey. I will keep posting updates. But am glad to be caught up!!
Friday, November 2
Flying by
I am not sure where the month of October went (well actually it went to cutover and immediate aftermath, Lexington and Atlanta, and finally to Spain)....I am officially a month late on getting up to date on postings....But I have posted through August. September and October are coming I promise!
Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween. Not tricks or treats here as it is not celebrated heavily in Holland (except expat neighborhoods, but we weren't visited). But, look for the October update as james and i did celebrate Halloween in Atlanta!
Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween. Not tricks or treats here as it is not celebrated heavily in Holland (except expat neighborhoods, but we weren't visited). But, look for the October update as james and i did celebrate Halloween in Atlanta!
August - Month 11
We started the month with a visit from Lieven and family. We had a great visit. We took the boys to the beach. It was actually warm enough this weekend for the boys to splash around in the water! Later that evening we enjoyed dinner on the terrace and after the boys went to sleep, the adults enjoyed much red wine! We tried to go back to the beach on Sunday, and with only one road in and out, you couldn't get within 2 KM of the beach in your car. As we were short several bikes and the patience to keep waiting for the bus, we turned around and went home.
(Not sure I have ever mentioned, but our Home Away From Home is a short 4 KM from the beach! Though the North Sea is not one you just go swimming in, its a bit cold!)
The rest of the month was fairly uneventful. Work was busy as we were gearing up for go live. Most of the data objects had been loaded or were being loaded during the month. We did have a visit from a US friend. (Hi Bobbi) And found a restaurant in Den Haag that actually served decent Mexican food (that is generally stop numero uno upon arrival in the US for us).
We ended the month and began September with a trip to Prague...It is one of the most beautiful European Cities. The architecture is amazing, food was great and the city is rich in history. We walked all over the town, so my legs were tired by the end of the trip, but it was a fantastic trip. We stayed at the Hilton using points and were upgraded to the executive level, so enjoyed free breakfast and afternoon cocktails. I could go on and on about the city, but I will let the pictures do the talking....WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLACE (and my amateur photog husband took some fantastic pictures)
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8gkpuuo.bk7e3wvk&x=0&y=-58ncfx
(Not sure I have ever mentioned, but our Home Away From Home is a short 4 KM from the beach! Though the North Sea is not one you just go swimming in, its a bit cold!)
The rest of the month was fairly uneventful. Work was busy as we were gearing up for go live. Most of the data objects had been loaded or were being loaded during the month. We did have a visit from a US friend. (Hi Bobbi) And found a restaurant in Den Haag that actually served decent Mexican food (that is generally stop numero uno upon arrival in the US for us).
We ended the month and began September with a trip to Prague...It is one of the most beautiful European Cities. The architecture is amazing, food was great and the city is rich in history. We walked all over the town, so my legs were tired by the end of the trip, but it was a fantastic trip. We stayed at the Hilton using points and were upgraded to the executive level, so enjoyed free breakfast and afternoon cocktails. I could go on and on about the city, but I will let the pictures do the talking....WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLACE (and my amateur photog husband took some fantastic pictures)
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8gkpuuo.bk7e3wvk&x=0&y=-58ncfx
July - Month10
(back to my calendar review to determine what the heck we did in the month of July)
We started the month by celebrating 4th of July in style at Jack and Kathy's, hamburgers, broccoli casserole, the works. I even whipped up some rice krispie squares (I forgot how much I love them). The food and friends were present, however the fireworks and summer temperatures were not. In fact, it rained off and on all day. AND we actually had to go to work for most of the day. (Guess Holland isn't interested in celebrating USA's independence ;))
Later in the month we took a weekend trip to Ireland. We spent 4 days with Hugo and Daphne at Daphne's parents. While the weather was cool, we didn't have much rain. We took amazing drives (although a bit nausea enducing) along the coast of Northern Ireland. It really was beautiful. We also hit an Irish Pub in Dublin and enjoyed some Guinness....And what would a trip to Ireland be without some Irish Whiskey...we enjoyed a great tour and tasting!! (Hot toddy's are about all the irish whiskey I want, but James sure does enjoy his tastings!!!) See link below for pictures from this great trip!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8gkpuuo.afhm78jk&x=1&y=-628x4k
We started the month by celebrating 4th of July in style at Jack and Kathy's, hamburgers, broccoli casserole, the works. I even whipped up some rice krispie squares (I forgot how much I love them). The food and friends were present, however the fireworks and summer temperatures were not. In fact, it rained off and on all day. AND we actually had to go to work for most of the day. (Guess Holland isn't interested in celebrating USA's independence ;))
Later in the month we took a weekend trip to Ireland. We spent 4 days with Hugo and Daphne at Daphne's parents. While the weather was cool, we didn't have much rain. We took amazing drives (although a bit nausea enducing) along the coast of Northern Ireland. It really was beautiful. We also hit an Irish Pub in Dublin and enjoyed some Guinness....And what would a trip to Ireland be without some Irish Whiskey...we enjoyed a great tour and tasting!! (Hot toddy's are about all the irish whiskey I want, but James sure does enjoy his tastings!!!) See link below for pictures from this great trip!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8gkpuuo.afhm78jk&x=1&y=-628x4k
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