Settling in!

Well, I feel like I'm settling in now to some semblance of a routine!  Every (weekday) morning after Andrew leaves for work I work out for about an hour. I've been starting out slowly, doing a lot of stretching and starting to build back some muscle. Since my accident two years ago, my body has certainly "gone soft"!!!  I've always tried to walk as much as possible, but now I need to really get back in shape.  I've noticed that since I started doing yoga again my dizziness has increased-not sure if it's related or not. Andrew belongs to a gym here in town:

I haven't joined yet because I figure I can get my cardio by walking or riding my bicycle while the weather is decent, and do the rest via videos or the internet at home. We can feel the change in weather already (a little nip in the air feels like fall!) so I will probably be joining soon!  It's about 1/2 mile away, so we'll probably ride our bikes over there. The gyms here are very small compared to what you see in the U.S. It feels somewhat claustrophobic in there....I'll just have to get used to it!

This past week I started working on my family tree through Ancestry.com. It is sooo much fun!  It's something I've always wanted to do, but never had the time.  I need to get a lot of information from my parents as possible so I can fill in the branches. While working on it I found that someone has done a lot with my Dad's side of the family-which is very nice!

Last night there was a major thunderstorm-lots of thunder and lightening...what a show!  The last time I saw a storm like that was when I was visiting Christopher and Denise in Georgia a few years ago. It reminded me of growing up in the midwest.

Over the last few weeks I've been planning a trip to the U.S. I feel sooooo bad that I'm just not going to be able to see everyone, because there just isn't enough time. I'll be starting my trip in Minnesota and staying for a week. I'll be staying with my sister Kris for part of the time, then driving up to my parents house for a few days. We are planning to have a family gathering the last day I'm there so hopefully I can see most of the family.

After that, I'm heading to California and will be staying with Jackie and Allen. I have doctor appointments scheduled while I'm there so that is taking up two days there. I will be visiting my father-in-law, who is in a Board and Care Home while I'm there too, and flying down to Southern California to see Kevin.  I'm hoping I can see all my West Coast kids while I'm there! James and Dillon (he'll be two!) will be celebrating their birthdays while I'm there-so we're trying to work out a day we can all have dinner!

After leaving California, I will be headed down to Dallas to see Jonathan, Jamey and Audrey. I haven't been down there for over two years. Audrey is four now-she's growing up so fast!

One more flight while I'm in the States to see Christopher, Denise and Arianna in Delaware where I'll stay for a few days. Because it was cheaper, then I have to fly back to Minnesota before I head back to Amsterdam.

Andrew and I are headed for the "Romantic Road" trip to Germany soooooon! We're sooooo excited!  We've been making reservations and planning for while now!

The other day I started walking around Haarlem...just out discovering!  While walking along a canal I found a floating nursery!

I'm working on another project here in Haarlem.....with photographs. I'm just taking my time with it, but I hope it turns out well and I plan to finish it before we leave (in a couple of years). It is getting me out walking around areas I haven't been yet!  I love this view!

While I'm in the States I will need to buy a couple of measuring items for sewing. Everything here is metric.......I will also be looking for a few patterns for projects to work on during the dark cold winter months!

It's been so nice to have Sammy and Socrates get along so well that they can relax with us in the evenings...in the same room!