Thanksgiving

Since today is thanksgiving I want to share the things in my life that I am most thankful for!

Brent
Top of my list is my husband Brent! He is an awesome, funny guy who is impossible not to love. He has been so supportive and understanding while I have been on this assignment. Has been really hard to not be able to talk to him whenever I want or have him here with me. Excited to see him in 22 says!

Family
I have been blessed with awesome parents and 3 siblings! Not only do I have an awesome family but I also now have Brent’s family. Very lucky to have his parents and brother in my life. We both have wonderful extended families as well who mean a lot to us.

Friends
I have the best friends in the world. Have so many special people in my life and am very thankful. Have really appreciated all of the messages, emails, calls etc. from everyone while I have been here. Has made me realize how many great friends I have in my life.

Career
Have some wonderful co-workers and enjoy my work (most days anyways)!! Am fortunate to be on a short term assignment in Amsterdam and am trying to make the most of this experience. I am excited to share that this past week I accepted a promotional job offer when I return back to the US. Will start in April and am excited for this next challenge!

Olaf
Can’t forget about my special furry friend. It has been almost a year since we lost Mack. Did not want another dog right away but after a while we started talking about it more and more. Someone I work with was fostering Olaf and as soon as I saw a picture of him I wanted him. He is such a sweet, calm & gentle boy. He has brought so much love and joy into our life.

Visitors
Last thing I am thankful for is VISITORS! Steve and Renae arrived today and will be staying thru Dec 6th. Thrilled to have company and is so great to see them. We did not have a thanksgiving feast today (I do not have an oven here and also could not find a turkey) BUT we walked around and explored the city. Had a few drinks and went to an Italian restaurant and shared pizza. Great day with friends!



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Sinterklaas

This past Saturday my boss Jennifer invited me to her town Naarden. I met her husband Marque and two kids Zoe (9)and Finn (6). Zoe can understand English but will respond in Dutch. Finn does not understand it but that did not stop us from communicating. We played a lot of games and laughed a lot! Here is funny picture of the two of us!

That evening we went by bike into town - YES I rode a bike over here. Felt more comfortable since it was in a smaller town. Still have not gone on my own in Amsterdam. For those of you reading this who have not been to Amsterdam you can't judge! I rode bike for years back home but am scared to do it here. Lots of rules and bikers rule the street! Very intimidating. It was an exciting night because SINTERKLAAS arrived. Sinterklaas is similar to Santa. He arrived by boat and then there was a parade. In the town when you are in the 4th year of school you get to be in the parade. There were 5 schools that participated and each float was a theme. This year they were continents! North America was one of them. There was someone dressed up as the statue of liberty, Indian, and cowboy. Plus a US, CA and MX flag!



After the parade we went to a local restaurant and I ordered a saute with is a common dinner. Chicken skewer with peanut sauce. Also had red wine! Spent a few hours after at their house chatting. Before the kids went to bed they put their shoes out with a carrot in it for Sinterklaas's horse. Also left some water. They do not get a present every night but a few times before Saint Nicholas Day (December 5th.) 

SinterklaasSinterklaasSinterklaas is an elderly, stately and serious man with white hair and a long, full beard. He wears a long red cape or chasuble over a traditional white bishop's alb and sometimes red stola, dons a red mitre and ruby ring, and holds a gold-coloured crosier, a long ceremonial shepherd's staff with a fancy curled top.

He traditionally rides a white horse. In the Netherlands, the horse is called Amerigo, and in Belgium, it is named Slecht Weer Vandaag, meaning "Bad Weather Today".[2]

Sinterklaas carries a big book that tells whether each child has been good or naughty in the past year.

Here is more information about Sinterklaas-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Was a fun weekend. Now looking forward to my THANKSGIVING VISITORS! Steve and Renae are coming to visit and I am THRILLED! Will be fun to have company. Planning to go to the Christmas markets in Germany. Will post lots of pictures next week. 

Staying busy

Have been staying busy here in Amsterdam!! Recently got some exciting projects and additional responsibility at work. I have enjoyed the challenge and it helps make the days go by faster.

I am also getting out on weekends! Two weeks ago I went to lunch with a couple from California Marcia and David. Got connected with them through my current boss Jennifer. They have been living in Amsterdam for the last year and David is also working here in the Netherlands. Was fun to talk to others about challenges living abroad and things we miss about home! We went out for lunch and then went to a nearby restaurant for coffee/beer & tea. They are going back to the US for Thanksgiving but hoping to connect with them again in the coming months.

One of my co-workers Simone invited me to a purse party. There were about 10 people and 50+ purses to choose from. They had a lot of really nice designer bags for a reasonable price. I picked a gray leather one. Perfect size since my laptop JUST fits in it. Did not know the brand but have gotten a lot of comments since about the designer. Fred de la Bretoniere - https://www.freddelabretoniere.com/en

Heard back home that there is a lot of snow! The weather has been really nice this fall which is not typical. From what I hear it is usually raining quite a bit and cold/gloomy. Maybe that is going to come but the last few weeks have been really nice. Days are usually int the 50's! I have been walking a lot on weekends. Love to get a coffee and walk around at night to see all of the holiday lights!

This past Friday I went out for dinner/drinks with a co-worker Danielle. She is just a few years older than I am and an awesome person. We went to a place right across the street from my apartment. It is an old train station that has recently been renovated. There is a large bar in the middle and tons of food venues all around it. Very fun place to grab a drink and hang out. Really enjoyed her company and shared a lot of storied/laughs! I even tried calamari - talk about being BRAVE! Was not bad, I added a little lemon juice and did not mind it. The after taste was a little fishy. Was fun to try.

Here are a few more recent photos!

Caught up!

Sorry for the delay in the last few posts. Think I am caught up now!! Had a hard time getting my photos added since they were on two different phones and my camera. Have been on my own for the last week - miss my visitors but am doing really well.

A co-worker Simone invited me to her house on Saturday night. Met her husband and 6 month old little boy Kiet. He was adorable and fun to play with! They live in a city about 40 minutes from my place. We went for a walk and then stopped for a couple beers and an appetizer (of course bitter balls - the app you see in all my prior posts)! After that we went to a restaurant nearby and all ordered a hamburger. Could not really read the menu but I was very surprised when my burger came out with an egg on it! I struggeled a little because the yoke was still runny. Was a little messsy to eat but good.

Following dinner we went back to their house and had some coffee and then wine!! Had to take a photo of the coffee cup. I have tried to explain to others how TINY the portion is so hopefully this picture shows it.

Simone gave me a ride back to the train station on her bike. It is very common for multiple people to ride on one bike. Sometimes in the morning I see a mom or dad with 4+ kids on their bike! Will have an infant strapped on in a body baby carrier thing (not sure what they are called), small kid up front in between the seat and handle bars, and a kid in the front and back wheel. Also find it really ironic that NOBODY wears a helmet. I sat on the back wheel and it was definitely a first for me. Should have tried to get a photo!

This week work was busy and it went by fast. Am going to dinner with a few people from work and then we have a large happy hour (they still call it happy hour when it starts at 8pm) with a larger group. Am looking forward to meeting some more people.

One last photo to share.... Brent sent this pic of Olaf as a fish on Halloween!! Don't think he was a huge fan of it but of course I loved the pic.

Girls time with Sarah!

Was so FUN to have girl time and catch up with Sarah. On Monday I had to go back to work but that night we made tacos and had drinks at my apartment. Then Tuesday when I got home we went to see a Windmill. Took us a while to find it and by the time we got there it was dark out so we did not get very good photos. It was still fun to see. Hard to believe that a family lives in there!

On Wednesday we went on a boat tour so she could see more of the city and walked around the center.

After that we went to dinner at a pasta & wine bar just down the street. They had a great house wine from Italy and we had delicious pasta with fresh mozzarella.

So glad that Sarah was able to come visit!!! 

Brent's last weekend & Sarah's comes!

A very close friend Sarah booked a last minute trip and arrived on the 24th! We met her at the airport and then that evening the three of us went on the Heineken brewery tour. It was a long line and took a while to get through it but overall we enjoyed the experience. They have a 4D interactive “Brew Your Ride’ where you go through the brewing process and discover what it’s like to be a bottle of Heineken. I think the most memorable part of the tour was learning about the marketing and branding. The letter E in Heineken is smiling : ) After the tour we went to Wurst & Schnitzelhaus for some German food. This was one of our favorite meals!

On Saturday we went to Utrecht for a few hours. I had already been but it was fun to go again with such awesome company. Was a little cold but we walked around all afternoon and explored stopping at a few different bars for beer!

Sunday was Brent’s last full day : ( We decided to go to The Hague. The city was fun to walk thru but the best part was the AWESOME BEACH! Was a gorgeous view! A little chilly again but we sat at a restaurant with a fire pit and had a few drinks. Was such a fun day. Will definitely go back!

On Monday morning I brought Brent to the airport on my way into work. Was very hard to say goodbye (few tears) but I keep reminding myself what an awesome experience this is and am SO THANKFUL that we were able to spend a month together. He has been home now for a few days and has already been sending Olaf photos!!