tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37025548426457839342024-03-17T20:03:56.043-07:00Diary of an Urban HousewifeDon’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.comBlogger441125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-8134478779905052732015-10-23T11:41:00.003-07:002015-10-25T05:12:16.474-07:00TTWIBRAT: 5 Favorite Reading Spots in Amsterdam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Happy Friday y'all! I'm writing a quick post from my hubby's laptop because we are in Milan this weekend celebrating his birthday, he is here for work-Milan Games Week-so the teenager and I came with him to celebrate! We've been having a great time and are about to race out to see The Last Supper and grab a traditionally late Italian dinner. </div>
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Today, I am over at <a href="http://savvyworkinggal.blogspot.it/2015/10/my-5-favorite-reading-spots-in-amsterdam.html" target="_blank">Savvy Working Gal</a> blogging about my five favorite reading spots in Amsterdam! </div>
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This post is a guest post as part of the Travel the <a href="http://momssmallvictories.com/travel-the-world-in-books-readathon-october-18-31-2015/" target="_blank">World in Books Read-a-thon </a>with<a href="http://momssmallvictories.com/" target="_blank"> Mom's Small Victories</a> and several other great bloggers. I really love these read a thons and now that our fall break is over I can get started on mine!</div>
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I've included such places at the cafe at the Oude Kerk, which is where Rembrandt met his wife, it also has an enchanting garden, much like you'd find in one of my favorite books, The Forgotten Garden, which I have a review of scheduled up for next week. Another is 't Hooischip, which has some of the best Gluhwein you'll find in Amsterdam!</div>
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So, make sure you click on over to <a href="http://savvyworkinggal.blogspot.it/2015/10/my-5-favorite-reading-spots-in-amsterdam.html" target="_blank">Savvy's blog</a> and check out my <a href="http://savvyworkinggal.blogspot.it/2015/10/my-5-favorite-reading-spots-in-amsterdam.html" target="_blank">5 favorite reading spots in Amsterdam,</a> they are all must visit places when you come to Amsterdam, or must visit if you currently live here!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOv89brBSzRpQOeX7bR9gAppw1Pfr9JOEY4L_1x0ajWhkfuXETJrLP30D9Df0QjEeDIbB6RZF3fEPvSs1areXrfbqxm1olq7uxlZo2BnoL4ucfxXHSrbo-THRfUmnFxbKdP2OEZTMcKLv/s1600/5+favorite+reading+spots+in+amsterdam+700x1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOv89brBSzRpQOeX7bR9gAppw1Pfr9JOEY4L_1x0ajWhkfuXETJrLP30D9Df0QjEeDIbB6RZF3fEPvSs1areXrfbqxm1olq7uxlZo2BnoL4ucfxXHSrbo-THRfUmnFxbKdP2OEZTMcKLv/s400/5+favorite+reading+spots+in+amsterdam+700x1000.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<br />Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-59117520458109885842015-10-21T05:53:00.001-07:002015-10-21T05:53:13.320-07:00PSAT Info for Expats and What I ate in LeidenBeing an expat isn't easy all the time, not only are you consumed by your everyday living in a foreign country, but you know this is not your final landing spot so you also have to remember to keep up on what is happening in your home country. One of these things we have to keep up with since we have an almost 16 year old is college prep.<br />
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It gets a bit difficult here because her school, even though it is an international school, is really more of a Dutch school and they have no idea why I am concerned about getting my kid ready to go to college. In fact, I recall during one conference last year when she was a freshman I made mention of college and they acted like I was a complete dolt because well, everyone goes to college. I quickly remembered I needed to switch things to University and they became a little more understanding, but you could tell they still thought I was a bit of a crackpot. But, luckily it has just been 10 years since I graduated uni myself so I sort of remember the process. I know next year she needs to get in for the SAT or ACT, so I wanted her to sit in on the PSAT this year; lucky for us, there is an American school nearby. </div>
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Somewhere between Leiden and The Hague there is a little town called Wassenaar and it hosts the American School of The Hague. Let me tell you, my daughter was in love. This place was very American and all the people in it were just about all Americans. Too bad it costs an arm and a leg and possibly your first grandchild to have your kid attend-otherwise I'd have my kid there in a heartbeat. Anyway, they give all the testing you'd normally find in the U.S. at the same time as you'd find it in the U.S. The woman who handles it all was a dream-she even suggested hotels we could stay at (it is about an hour to get from Amsterdam to the School and in the early morning, as you had to arrive at 8am it would take nearly 2 hours so that means we would have had to leave our house ready to go by 5:45 am...that wasn't happening). So, we stayed at a hotel nearby in Leiden called <a href="http://www.hotelleiden.nl/" target="_blank">Hotel Van der Valk</a>. I have only felt stranded with out a car two times in my life and this was one of the two times. There was nothing nearby, as we got the feel it was mostly for business use. Luckily the hotel had a restaurant that wasn't horribly over priced. </div>
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So, after a nice relaxing evening checked into our hotel with the worlds best bathtub and a good nights sleep I took her to the school and she completed the PSAT. I have no idea how she did nor do we really care, this was just a chance for her to see what the who testing experience was like and get a feel for it. Now the real prep begins.</div>
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So, since we weren't in Amsterdam of course I took the opportunity to take lots of photos of everything I ate...so without further ado, I present...</div>
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<b>What I Ate Wednesday</b></div>
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<i>Linking up with Jenn over at <a href="http://peasandcrayons.com/" target="_blank">Peas and Crayons</a>, come join the rest of the par-tay!</i></div>
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We left Amsterdam later than I wanted to, but the kiddo had had a long day and we just could not get moving, so when we sat down at the restaurant in the hotel we just wanted something light and easy because we knew we'd be going to bed soon, so we settled on french onion soup and bread.</div>
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'Twas delicious!</div>
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For dessert I had an Irish Coffee, the brought the cutest little tray of cookies with it (one of the reasons I freaking love Europe) and I had a tasty Speculaas cookie-I think that is what it was, it is kind of like a gingerbread cookie, it is nice and spicy.</div>
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The next morning we got up for breakfast, they had a very nice buffet set out and everything was nice and warm.</div>
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I had a waffle, my only complaint is the syrup. It reminds me more of molasses than syrup. But, it is still pretty good. I had that along with some eggs and a little bacon and some obviously canned peaches, but that is okay, I love canned peaches. Remind me of childhood and my favorite song by Presidents of the United State of America.</div>
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...and incase you've never heard the song, it is awesome so here it is...</div>
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After a long walk, nearly an hour, in the cold trying to find anything to do around our hotel I was too cold and gave up so I went back and had a coffee with more speculaas.</div>
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Then, it was finally time for me to pick the kiddo up from her test, we rode the bus to The Hauge Central Station instead of Leiden so we could see somewhere new...we got Julia's pasta to go on the train. I love that you can get pasta to go, it is simply amazing.</div>
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So, that sums up our trip to Leiden. It was fun and we have a much more confident teenager about studying for and taking the SAT next school year. Anyone have any tips for studying? If so, drop 'em in the comments, we'd love to hear 'em!</div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-59150215310536660302015-09-30T02:43:00.000-07:002015-09-30T02:47:46.125-07:00What I Ate in CologneI love doing a What I Ate Wednesday post after I travel. It is so fun to document what I ate...I love trying to find unique, yet tasty treats. <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/09/weekend-in-cologne-germany.html" target="_blank">My trip to Cologne</a> was a blast and boy did I find some tasty treats!<br />
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<b>First night...</b>we were exhausted after the frazzle of train travel and finding our way to our place and settling in so we walked for about an hour trying to find something but our minds were blown that so many places had only German menu's and my daughter is quite fluent in Dutch as am I when it comes to menu's but don't let people fool you when they say Dutch and German are close because they are two completely different languages...so we settled on a little <a href="http://www.hardrock.com/cafes/cologne/" target="_blank">Hard Rock</a> action. We were served by another American who wanted to know all about Amsterdam hehe<br />
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I started with a glass of wine and the kiddo had some sort of fruity concoction.<br />
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Dinner was supposed to take a while because there was a group of 43 there (a school group it looked like) but our dinner came like 5 minutes after our drinks...I wasn't prepared, but we ate anyway hehe The burger was delicious. Service was prompt, highly recommend, especially if you are having difficulties with menus or people not speaking much English and your brain needs a break.</div>
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<b>Day two...</b>started off with Coffee Bean and Tea leaf. We saw this walking around the first night and this was our absolute favorite corporate coffee place when we lived in Southern California. So, naturally we had to get the hook up with a creme brulee latte and a blue berry muffin.<br />
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Lunch prior to the chocolate museum was curry wurst....this place is just outside the chocolate museum, I am sure it is strategically placed because you need to have some fuel to power through chocolate!<br />
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Post chocolate museum fuel. This is in the <a href="http://www.schokoladenmuseum.de/start.html" target="_blank">Chocolate Grand Cafe</a>. There are amazing views of the Rhine from here, lots of seating...even some outdoor. The service was very prompt and the food was amazing.<br />
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That cake, doesn't quite compare to the one at the<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2014/07/what-i-ate-wednesday-paris-eats-workout.html" target="_blank"> Louvre,</a> but it was a very, very close second!</div>
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After a ton of shopping and even heading back to our hotel we needed to eat. We tried desperately to find a good looking menu on our side of the city, but pretty much no one spoke English in the little neighbourhood we were in....that, and by the time we were ready to eat a <strike>soccer </strike>football game was starting and we were just a couple streets from the stadium, so back over the bridge we went (with our exhausted legs) and decided pasta was in order. So, Nudlehaus it was...I can't find a website, but it is right behind Museum Ludwig, which is behind the Cathedral.</div>
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This place is just your run of the mill pasta place, much like an Olive Garden but doesn't pretend to be fancy. ha! We felt very welcome and it was full of tourists from all over the globe. I had a glass of wine and the lasagna. It was good and filled the belly. </div>
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<b>Final day...</b>we were so tired this particular morning. We wanted something different for breakfast but wasn't quite sure what. We googled traditional German breakfasts but came up short. Seems like the Germans typically have just bread of some kind for breakfast, so we hiked it back to the Coffee Bean and Tea leaf for another tasty latte and split a muffin.<br />
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After that we made our way to the zoo and tried their cafe, it wasn't horribly overpriced and was pretty good. Of course we got curry wurst and chips again.<br />
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Post zoo and lots of walking we went back to the shopping district and grabbed some Dunkin' and took it to the Cathedral steps for a pic-nic. It was fantastic! </div>
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After Dunkin' we walked the Rhine for a while enjoying the architecture and all the people. There was a guy out there blowing big bubbles and he had bubble stuff for rent, people were renting it, it was very cute. After that we went to <a href="http://brauhaussion.de/" target="_blank">Bruehaus Sion</a>.</div>
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This place has been around for a very long time and was extremely busy. I am not sure if that is just because of Oktoberfest or if it is always that busy. We got the last available unreserved table at 5:30pm so keep that in mind if you go. They do take reservations so I would definitely reserve a table as you may not get lucky like we did.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The inside is beautifully decorated with these candelabras and stained glass.</td></tr>
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The food is typical German fare. I wanted to get one dish with black pudding, but looked up black pudding and decided against it. I just couldn't eat straight up blood lol so I went with my husband's suggestion of the pork belly. I couldn't eat it all, but it was good...especially if you are a fat lover it would be good...I spent too much time trying to peel off the fat haha<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In case you are wondering pork belly is basically what we call a ham hock...what we'd traditionally use to make a split pea soup, they've turned in to an entire meal.</td></tr>
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Post dinner we wanted dessert. The kiddo was craving ice cream so we found a cute cafe with a fire place so we'd be warm as we ate our ice cream! ha!<br />
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These larger than normal martini glass desserts were extremely popular throughout Cologne, so naturally we each got one of these. It came with four truffels and three scoops of ice cream, I made it through two truffels and the chocolate scoop. It was extremely filling. I highly recommend getting one when you go to Cologne as they are quite a treat and as I said, very popular!<br />
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That is it for what I ate in<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/09/weekend-in-cologne-germany.html" target="_blank"> Cologne</a>, make sure you stop by <a href="http://peasandcrayons.com/" target="_blank">Peas and Crayons</a> and <a href="http://thebigmansworld.com/2015/09/30/easy-one-pan-caramelized-vegetables/" target="_blank">The Big Man's World </a>for the rest of the party! :)</div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-45646512420193525812015-09-30T01:02:00.003-07:002015-09-30T01:02:57.770-07:00Weekend in Cologne, GermanyCologne, Germany is just a quick train ride away from Amsterdam. If you get the ICE train, a high speed train not only will you get a really nice ride with a nice dining car you get there in just 2.5 hours! There is just enough there to keep you entertained for a weekend as a tourist. So, read about our weekend and get to planning your own trip!<br />
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<b>Arrival</b><br />
We took the high speed train so we came in at Koln Hbf, or Cologne Central station. When you come across the bridge on the train you get a great view of the Rhine and the Cathedral. Once you walk through the front doors to exit you get an amazing view of the <a href="http://www.koelner-dom.de/" target="_blank">Cathedral</a> once again and about a million people sitting on the stairs. It is absolutely breathtaking.<br />
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According to our host we just needed to take a quick walk over a bridge to get to our hotel, but by this time I was exhausted and there were so many people everywhere and our host was kindly waiting for us we just took a taxi. They are easy to find as there is a taxi stand just outside the train station. Taxi's in Cologne are very cheap, so even though we arrived at rush hour, it wasn't terribly expensive for the cab to get us where we needed to be and it gave us a good idea of how to get to where we were going from then on.<br />
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<b>First night</b><br />
After settling in at our accommodation we wandered back over the bridge...<br />
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Found some food and then checked out the cathedral lit up at night. Simply gorgeous!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fountain</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy enough, at 10 at night we saw people entering and exiting the church. I am not sure if there was a service happening or what, but I was surprised that people were coming and going!</td></tr>
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<b>First full day</b><br />
We got up the next morning and decided our first stop would be the Cathedral.<br />
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I mean, come on Europe, even your corners are cool!</div>
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Seeing these views in the mid-morning autumn light was perfect!<br />
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We were able to step inside, it is free of charge. You must be quite though as this is a functioning cathedral and they often have mass going, which they did on this particular day. The photos of the inside are done with my iPhone as my DSLR is quite loud when it takes a photo and you can't be a rude tourist!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this huge organ, there were three of them, one smaller than this and one larger.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This door had my heart. I love the design.</td></tr>
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This was an absolutely fascinating place. We were quite happy when we discovered you could climb a billion steps to the belfry and get amazing views of Cologne. I highly recommend doing this, it was cheap and well worth it. Workout + panoramic views=WINNER!<br />
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I find it amazing that at some point in 1994 there wasn't the wire around the outside as people were able to graffiti!</div>
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After that we went for a nice walk along the Rhine and found our next stop: <a href="http://www.schokoladenmuseum.de/start.html" target="_blank">The Chocolate Museum</a>!<br />
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This place is extremely unassuming, but in the end we were extremely impressed!<br />
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Upon entry you are given a piece of chocolate (<b>score!</b>) then you can wander through. There is a lot of great info about fair trade chocolate and why this is important, the history of chocolate through the ages, and finally info about the processing of chocolate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPhEIh91ZFN_VmtLvCM2pJIaZacKXzPNK81qdFyi72-PYpWivGZCy0-GSOxC5fJ7WvQNpPLuTsyyzbhkg8Q2TZyiyqMx6tNfdWtfN1LP5jE8o_nyAqBPhykqu31qK0CMQekfyRjstsL-M/s1600/Cologne+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPhEIh91ZFN_VmtLvCM2pJIaZacKXzPNK81qdFyi72-PYpWivGZCy0-GSOxC5fJ7WvQNpPLuTsyyzbhkg8Q2TZyiyqMx6tNfdWtfN1LP5jE8o_nyAqBPhykqu31qK0CMQekfyRjstsL-M/s400/Cologne+16.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYooOvaL7C0kMyPoxfCaBrFZccv37vyMC0Obb1fx16e9N5gPjlWTk-AMTxPWXn3ZyIM76553eJBXynFGfkDQkPiqDHLbT0R31XvTxJ-y5vXpkulkJzNjkzAH5fAERJqG596pxaK44ikc4/s1600/Cologne+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYooOvaL7C0kMyPoxfCaBrFZccv37vyMC0Obb1fx16e9N5gPjlWTk-AMTxPWXn3ZyIM76553eJBXynFGfkDQkPiqDHLbT0R31XvTxJ-y5vXpkulkJzNjkzAH5fAERJqG596pxaK44ikc4/s400/Cologne+18.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Lots of interactive exhibits...</div>
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They showed a lot of packaging from the past and present.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjkXAXtzrmchP7un5j0ls1mLlSFkNEv3FtmMtqMQlbZjrukGE9-m8XhJS8oxZk6VIt_4mj2JbpLu1X1EaLiLAgucaNdjVPC7Nr0RGSfB9hlvc3X6q5TupVrgBa_umQ1NtiKGcRBcNd0bO/s1600/Cologne+32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjkXAXtzrmchP7un5j0ls1mLlSFkNEv3FtmMtqMQlbZjrukGE9-m8XhJS8oxZk6VIt_4mj2JbpLu1X1EaLiLAgucaNdjVPC7Nr0RGSfB9hlvc3X6q5TupVrgBa_umQ1NtiKGcRBcNd0bO/s400/Cologne+32.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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How the packaging comes to fruition.</div>
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Can you believe these views from inside the museum?!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFuQMzr1M3Em_WHpNqinWP2qzaNa-Ji4WggXz3rTLABIX7AOkU6YtfV2-QMREAkAUg8UXWvT90zPylDbqjzEiMdLklfTbYkJqbw2AtrY5w8DqbLQjGTAmLZeMpWZH_Ad2hfSisqPbNTjA/s1600/Cologne+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFuQMzr1M3Em_WHpNqinWP2qzaNa-Ji4WggXz3rTLABIX7AOkU6YtfV2-QMREAkAUg8UXWvT90zPylDbqjzEiMdLklfTbYkJqbw2AtrY5w8DqbLQjGTAmLZeMpWZH_Ad2hfSisqPbNTjA/s400/Cologne+38.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Some history of chocolate.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3D4uI1a8c_plOOhRAVeGC2GQvcvA0RU2FgBBeSBWXVkjrggap6LGzQw2J2oLCUu9Z6M9UqupcA2ccN1R_Qq7x-3dabHz_AB_YN2otbQf65OXLlzKmfEL27NeTbeWxkXuxPNoyMqD0-rz1/s1600/Cologne+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3D4uI1a8c_plOOhRAVeGC2GQvcvA0RU2FgBBeSBWXVkjrggap6LGzQw2J2oLCUu9Z6M9UqupcA2ccN1R_Qq7x-3dabHz_AB_YN2otbQf65OXLlzKmfEL27NeTbeWxkXuxPNoyMqD0-rz1/s400/Cologne+41.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Chocolate serving set, I want one! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1PxpvNU9e-nJsgC3enyizdDbPE6FTQSpuCYbyteLZlSxLPJIm5tH5ETz8-PpsVDaLmIDydEXj1QxlFK9MNdEO72oJqfjQLj8pXywaW9tAb9auy2cmZsgDQxcceXKapmk9Q84b6dIRwtr/s1600/Cologne+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1PxpvNU9e-nJsgC3enyizdDbPE6FTQSpuCYbyteLZlSxLPJIm5tH5ETz8-PpsVDaLmIDydEXj1QxlFK9MNdEO72oJqfjQLj8pXywaW9tAb9auy2cmZsgDQxcceXKapmk9Q84b6dIRwtr/s400/Cologne+51.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Still loving these views, even with the reflection. Just can't get over how stunning it is!</div>
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There is also an excellent cafe that I highly recommend you go to, come back tomorrow for more info on this.<br />
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After the chocolate museum we decided to head down to the shopping district. Coming from Amsterdam, Cologne has an excellent shopping area-not to be missed-especially the<a href="http://oldenburgvanbruggen.com/largescaleprojects/droppedcone.htm" target="_blank"> ice cream cone</a>!<br />
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We were very tired after this day of non-stop walking, we walked back to our room thinking we would watch a movie and we fell asleep! ha!<br />
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<b>Second Day</b><br />
We slept in a bit as after the first full day we were exhausted. We didn't take cabs or transit anywhere, just walked enjoying the architecture and views of the Rhine.<br />
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After waking we walked back across the bridge and walked the opposite way of the Chocolate Museum (sad lol) and went to the <a href="http://www.koelner-seilbahn.de/english" target="_blank">Cable Cars.</a><br />
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We took the cable cars there, enjoyed the down below view of some old naked people at some resort, walked around the little park, and then rode the cable car back.<br />
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Views were absolutely stunning! I highly recommend doing this activity while you are there.<br />
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Conveniently the cable cars are right next to the <a href="http://www.koelnerzoo.de/" target="_blank">zoo.</a> We hadn't been to a zoo in ages, so we decided to go. The zoo is a bit expensive for my taste, but we did get to see some sea life we'd never seen before and it is a pretty old zoo having opened in the 1800s so a bit of history there was nice.</div>
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Post zoo we just wandered for hours getting a snack and eventually dinner.<br />
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Post dinner we weren't quite ready to go back to our room so we wandered the streets some more watching everyone come and go for Oktoberfest, some fun costumes, then we headed over to The Triangle for some night time viewing of Cologne.<br />
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Views from the bridge on our walk to the <a href="http://www.koelntriangle.de/index_eng.html" target="_blank">Triangle</a>.<br />
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I love how the light plays in this one and makes the cathedral appear green.</div>
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Views from the Triangle:</div>
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It is a bit blurry but I loved the light in this one with the full moon. This was the only decent shot I was able to get with my DSLR, I really need to learn to use that at night time haha all the rest are with my iPhone.</div>
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All-in-all we had a great time, but really were stretching it to find stuff to fill two full days. You could easily leave Friday after work and spend just a day and a half in Cologne and feel like you weren't rushed.</div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-11829178432776592952015-09-28T12:00:00.000-07:002015-09-28T12:00:00.386-07:0021 Day Fix Results-Round 1!On September 1st I started my first round of 21 Day Fix. By now, y'all know I love my Beachbody programmes....I'm not a beachbody coach or anything so this is a totally 100% honest opinion.<br />
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As a note...please ignore my messy room. I take these photos first thing in the morning before I even leave the bedroom so they aren't typically the neatest background ;) hehe<br />
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This is September 1. I felt fine, and didn't mind where I was at...but, I didn't like how tight my jeans were in my thighs and how my stomach looked over my jeans, it was pooching. Also, I didn't like that my sugar intake had increased while I was struggling to make myself eat vegetables. So, I bought the 21 Day fix extreme for the following reasons:</div>
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1) I knew the workouts would be tougher than 21 Day Fix original</div>
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2) I liked the portion control and emphasis on getting in veggies</div>
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3) I just felt like it was a programme I could be super successful using</div>
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<b>Before</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdGPEkK7hR0S487Ug0irsxAtyhj0bcupuOI0l4U43LG-7LvGEY3GeZ2dYb2iImBbNRHRQRKNdepkvscbuG3_tJKfRo0xBaHMs-dhLd8cNbFE6Wv-O1mtQMumBKz_wkzHFZndIZ3kfKSBC/s1600/IMG_3089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdGPEkK7hR0S487Ug0irsxAtyhj0bcupuOI0l4U43LG-7LvGEY3GeZ2dYb2iImBbNRHRQRKNdepkvscbuG3_tJKfRo0xBaHMs-dhLd8cNbFE6Wv-O1mtQMumBKz_wkzHFZndIZ3kfKSBC/s400/IMG_3089.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b>After-</b>September 21. I wound up losing inches all over and I could really see that my lower abs pulled up. I have also seen a huge increase in balance. I'm not tripping and falling as much as I had been before this program. Also, my triceps are incredibly tighter. I started noticing a bit of a bat wing but it is completely tight in that area again. My jeans are also quite loose in my thighs, I don't need new jeans yet, but they do finally fit comfortably in that area. Also, my husband has said my thighs are noticeably more shapely and my calves have grown a bit.<br />
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This round went so well, I did a refeed week last week, and have restarted the 21 Day Fix today for round two. It was really easy to stay on track last week and there were only 3 times I really went off the meal plan and treated myself and I noticed it was easy to control how much of that bad stuff I ate. Today I jumped right back in and my teenager joined me. She's really looking to increase her veggie intake and cut down on the amount of sweets she's been eating...which as her mother I am happy about that as I'm sure her dentist will be too! ha! So, stay tuned for the end of round two on October 18th. I will post an update but won't be taking a break, I am going to see how many back-to-back round I can fit in before my birthday in November!</div>
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Have you done the 21 day fix? How did it go for you?</div>
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<br />Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-53375322983848721192015-09-28T07:22:00.001-07:002015-09-28T07:24:35.648-07:00Menu Plan Monday-21 Day Fix Round 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Happy Monday y'all! These last few weeks have been hectic but, I am back with my menu plan for my second round of the 21 day fix! </div>
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<b>Workout Schedule</b></div>
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Monday: Plyo Fix Extreme</div>
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Tuesday: Upper and Lower Fix Extreme (this round combining these so I can have one full day off for recovery)</div>
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Wednesday: Pilates Fix Extreme</div>
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Thursday: Dirty 30 Extreme</div>
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Friday: Yoga Fix Extreme</div>
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<b>Goals</b></div>
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Not too much this week:</div>
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Focus and stay on track with 21 day fix</div>
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Clean out the foyer closet & my laundry room</div>
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I am also looking to get two Christmas projects started today</div>
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<b>Menu</b><br />
Breakfasts<br />
M-W: Protein bowl with banana and coconut (1 red, 1 purple)<br />
T-H-F: Eggs with spinach, peppers, and onion with pumpkin and sweet potato (1 red, 2 green, 1 yellow)<br />
Sat: Protein Crepes (1 red, 1 purple)<br />
Sun: Breakfast pizza (1 yellow, 1 purple)<br />
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Lunches:<br />
These vary from day to day and mostly consist of leftovers as that is just easiest.<br />
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Dinners:<br />
Monday: Lettuce Wraps with sweet potatoes (green, red, and yellow)<br />
Tuesday: Beef and Butternut stew with a side salad (red, 2 green)<br />
Wednesday: Taco lettuce wraps with brown rice (red, green, yellow)<br />
Thursday: Leftovers<br />
Friday: Chicken burgers in lettuce wrap with whipped butternut (red, 2 green)<br />
Saturday: Twice baked sweet potatoes, side salad (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green)<br />
Sunday: Leftovers<br />
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Snacks:<br />
Like lunches, snacks will fill in the gaps of containers I am missing. Will usually be apples with peanut butter, grapes and cottage cheese, peppers, pumpkin, etc.<br />
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I am really looking forward to this second round of 21 day fix. First one was super easy and I felt amazing after. Look for my results post later today to see my full opinion! :)<br />
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P.S. Linking up with<a href="http://orgjunkie.com/" target="_blank"> I'm an Organizing Junkie</a>, and <a href="http://www.mommyrunfast.com/" target="_blank">Mommy Run Fast</a>.Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-57245977068436582182015-09-23T23:23:00.001-07:002015-09-23T23:23:25.115-07:00Overnight layover-here is what to do plus London Heathrow TipsThis past summer when we visited my family back in Florida, our ride home left us with a 7 hour layover at London-Heathrow airport. Our layover was just long enough that if we got a hotel we would only be there for 4 hours-not paying £200 a night for 4 hours, ain't happen'in'!<br />
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So, after some research (meaning we arrived there, an hour early no less, and talked to people) we decided we could totally stay over night no problem!<br />
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First thing we did was find a bar...after that long flight I was in desperate need of an adult beverage and she needed a coca-cola.<br />
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This particular bar was in Terminal 3...their last call is at 11pm, and they will still do a BIG drink for you, especially if you are nice to the guy at the bar and tell him you're staying all night, he will even give you tips for staying over night-hint: terminals 3 & 5 are your bff's.</div>
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After the drink we rode the Heathrow express until it stopped running back to the airport around midnight. This gave us about 90 minutes to explore all the terminals and decide Terminal 3 was the one we were going to park it at, will explain why further down.</div>
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Once we decided on terminal 3 we wandered for a bit and then settled in at Nero's Coffee shop. There were a TON of people in there. We were just settling in when "Ed" wandered up to our table. Ed was traveling with his sister and was a really nice guy. We talked to him for a solid 3 hours! We had great conversation. If you have to stay overnight at an airport striking up a convo with a stranger is a great way to while away the hours. </div>
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Once we got bored of Ed and his sister we decided we would go find something to do, we wound up walking backwards on the people mover! ha!</div>
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A few workers passed us as we goofed off and shockingly no one told us to stop. They just laughed and asked if we were having a good time-which, we were!<br />
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After that we went and sat outside in the cool late summer air. It was really nice, especially with these purple lights above us the whole time.<br />
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About this time it was working it's way to 4am and the Heathrow Express didn't start running until 5:30 or 6 am...so we decided we'd walk to Terminal 5-NOT! hahaha So we started on our way, but something felt "off" to me, so we walked back and asked one of the bus drivers if it was possible to walk to Terminal 5 and he laughed, called someone on his speaker and we got a whole tour of the airport dropping people who'd stayed all night at random terminals. It was super kind of them to drop us off at Terminal 5 where our next plane was departing.</div>
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Once we got there we discovered there was a Costa Coffee and a Nero Coffee there, but only the Nero was actually open all night. It wasn't super busy though so I was glad we stayed at Terminal 3, much more populated and energetic for an overnight stay.</div>
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Once we were at Terminal 5 we decided to walk around, they have some beautiful lights in the trees and other fun decorations, we even took some sleepy selfies.</div>
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Tree's are gorgeous. The arch at the end lights up with all the destinations.</div>
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Sleepy selfie....she was begging to fall asleep and for me to stop taking pictures! </div>
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<b>Tips for staying over night at any airport:</b></div>
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<li><b>Research. </b>I found sleepinginairports.net extremely helpful! Also, asking around once we landed was also quite helpful. If you're nice and give a little tip people will talk your ear off ;)</li>
<li><b>Dress comfortably. </b>My child wanted to wear hippie pants and 90s chunky heels, I made her change because 24 hours in that garb would not have been fun. Yoga pants, leggings, t-shirts and runners is where it is at for traveling like this. Comfort over fashion is definitely a must when you will be up and moving for 24+ hours.</li>
<li><b>Pack your carry on accordingly. </b>In our carry on I made sure to have our toothbrushes, a small toothpaste, feminine products (just in case I mean I have a teenage girl, unpredictable body lol), a change of shirt, socks, and panties, as well as a hair brush. These worked really well for us and were everything we needed.</li>
<li><b>Entertainment.</b> Bring not only your electronics but a physical magazine or book as well. We were sure glad we did when our electronics ran out of battery and all the charging outlets were taken!</li>
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<b>Tips at Heathrow Specifically:</b></div>
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<li><b>They will wake you up! </b>Be aware, Heathrow doesn't actually allow you to sleep at their airport. They are open 24 hours, but if you are by yourself and are asleep, they will wake you up, we saw it happen to a few people. In some of the slower terminals you might be able to sleep, but 3 and 5 they were definitely waking people up.</li>
<li><b>Terminals 3 & 5 most active! </b>From our brief research terminals 3 and 5 seemed to be the most active terminals. <b>Terminal 3: </b>Full service bar open until late, last called seemed to be 11ish and then closing at midnight. 24 hours Costa Coffee on top level and 24 hours Nero Coffee on main entrance level. <b>Terminal 5: </b>24 hours Nero Coffee...also a Costa Coffee here but they were close when we arrived there about 4:30-5 am, so bear that in mind. All places had a great selection coffee and treats/sandwiches and not too overpriced.</li>
<li><b>Explore! </b>We found there are some really neat pieces of art and just general great design principals at Heathrow so make sure you look around, up and down to truly enjoy the design aesthetic!</li>
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<b>A list of fun things to do while you are at the airport overnight:</b></div>
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<li><b>Talk to people! </b>Don't shy away, this time of night people are looking to do anything to stay awake, so don't be afraid to put down your phone and strike up conversation! We met some super cool people this way.</li>
<li><b>Walk back words on the people mover.</b> Harmless and it helped us blow an hour.</li>
<li><b>Start a flash mob. </b>We thought about this, but there was a HUGE group of people trying their damndest to sleep between security waking them up so decided against it, but could have been fun, but I think we'd have been the "super annoying Americans" haha</li>
<li><b>Wander. </b>Trust me, you'll know when you should stop, like my above story. The sidewalk will end or there will be a HUGE do not enter sign, otherwise, explore, don't be afraid :)</li>
<li><b>Play games. </b>From eye spy to yahtzee you can play almost anything in the airport. We played yahtzee for a bit as you can find di apps for your phone.</li>
<li><b>Get some exercise. </b>If the walking isn't enough for you do some stretching/yoga. Trust me at 3am no one cares what you are doing.</li>
<li><b>Enjoy the time to disconnect. </b>We really used the time to not be online. We talked to each other, other people and just reconnected with the world around us. It was a great time and we really enjoyed it...until 6am rolled around, then we were just tired haha</li>
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I hope you find our experience useful, <b>have you ever done an overnight in an airport? What was your experience, if so?</b></div>
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Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-54846514694897995372015-09-17T23:00:00.000-07:002015-09-17T23:00:00.573-07:00Keeping Busy on an Airplane for 8+ HoursImagine yourself flying over the Atlantic, now you're stuck here for the next 8 hours...at least! We've done flights where we are stuck in one spot for 12. These flights aren't easy...quite frankly they suck, but are a part of life if you want to travel. Luckily for you...the teenager and I came up with a few ways to keep you entertained aside from zoning out to movies.<br />
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<li><b>Play with your food. </b>We always buy a pack of gummies before getting on a long flight, we like to close our eyes and either randomly pick a gummy or let the other person pick for us and we have to guess the flavor...or inappropriate shape 😂<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7auo-Gpu2tkU5Bbrbc8QNrNBfuPRgBp440FM26k_Ws54FnCuRgkjpGs6bDMZePVK49W1cU2qSS6uGNB1rsLgWlAcKpaP-Jbls2vJs8QLptUQIITY-nutcQP8xmm3SlV62fBN3RXH9y1tp/s640/blogger-image-1834007043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7auo-Gpu2tkU5Bbrbc8QNrNBfuPRgBp440FM26k_Ws54FnCuRgkjpGs6bDMZePVK49W1cU2qSS6uGNB1rsLgWlAcKpaP-Jbls2vJs8QLptUQIITY-nutcQP8xmm3SlV62fBN3RXH9y1tp/s400/blogger-image-1834007043.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only <a href="https://www.haribo.com/enUS/home.html" target="_blank">Haribo</a> will do..we are neighbours with Germany...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Mzss536Wf707pGicFRSFm0g-CqX4LFzP2GIng8K-1TU1gdB8zADzcDwqgHYbaFKnxc_TDipDyiNHilFpBhKiGfE87WoCTe6m3Pw1XuyAVLml_YRtCEWF6OkRrRl0XOOIk90-fjDUh8uV/s640/blogger-image-436591368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Mzss536Wf707pGicFRSFm0g-CqX4LFzP2GIng8K-1TU1gdB8zADzcDwqgHYbaFKnxc_TDipDyiNHilFpBhKiGfE87WoCTe6m3Pw1XuyAVLml_YRtCEWF6OkRrRl0XOOIk90-fjDUh8uV/s400/blogger-image-436591368.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But, <a href="https://www.haribo.com/enUS/home.html" target="_blank">Haribo </a>may want to rethink this *shape*...it really is scissors!</td></tr>
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<li><b>Meditate.</b> We did a meditation where we turned in our seats to face each other (and we probably angered our sweet neighbour lol) or you can use an app like I do sometimes called meditations. We used both on this last flight and it was very calming. In fact, we both fell asleep for about two hours! </li>
<li><b>Complete a YouTube Challenge. </b>Normally I hate these but there are some super cute ones out there that can easily be done on an airplane, like the guess the emoji challenge. The biggest issue we had was keeping our laughter to a minimum so our seat mate didn't completely hate us! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><b>Have a reading challenge. </b>Challenge your travel buddies to see who can read the most pages in their book. My teenager read an entire novella plus half a book. </li>
<li><b>Make a list. </b>Use this time to think up all the fun things you want to do at your destination...or less fun but necessary things you need to do once back home.</li>
<li><b>Have a wing shot photo contest. </b>We love to take wing shots as we always seem to get the wing seats in the airplane, so take a few photos and see who gets the best one, if you two can't decide and your seat mate is nice get them in on the action or post to social media once you're on the ground!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpondY1lY8MHQxhQktT6AEBWqnu2ymB3TuQEVrwX77URDoEqIwSjsfidp8ZgR18ITXtkYZjClGfaIOPLGMsGXP4Dpgrk_v8d1igXGfVknMx1r1Ev9TLPc_s8IEkEwY8FF_jItvj9Qtm-5/s640/blogger-image-683102621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpondY1lY8MHQxhQktT6AEBWqnu2ymB3TuQEVrwX77URDoEqIwSjsfidp8ZgR18ITXtkYZjClGfaIOPLGMsGXP4Dpgrk_v8d1igXGfVknMx1r1Ev9TLPc_s8IEkEwY8FF_jItvj9Qtm-5/s400/blogger-image-683102621.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiID9-jb_mv8RUhmfinwg9DNJerASyQFGnMQMRnWRmB7UYn_SdyJQBgsgfT9rUCAuaZ_LMdRev3jlayu7MRaVWZyVigHQbuIbEZXyQPvHN9gESHlbrRlePrW2mRpFWoZ2nFYPELne0iPEK/s640/blogger-image--1415684419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiID9-jb_mv8RUhmfinwg9DNJerASyQFGnMQMRnWRmB7UYn_SdyJQBgsgfT9rUCAuaZ_LMdRev3jlayu7MRaVWZyVigHQbuIbEZXyQPvHN9gESHlbrRlePrW2mRpFWoZ2nFYPELne0iPEK/s400/blogger-image--1415684419.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset...anyone having flashbacks to their high school production of Fiddler on the Roof?! haha Seriously though, I love this photo, it feels very nasa-y. </td></tr>
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These are just a few of the ideas we came up with over our last few plane rides. They helped us keep entertained when the movie selection was no good.<br />
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<b>What are your favorite things to keep you entertained on an airplane?</b></div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-51630459628511471632015-09-16T23:00:00.000-07:002015-09-16T23:00:03.249-07:00Your life is different, but I do understand.My life is different, but I do understand...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYl0KsAv4iZcSq2oxFNAfClF_vW2BkzxDT239RKB2QbrnwhInlowP37kEf87UXZSZ-AoN5s_U8xXh3-dg6Io_AuyVPvBbWeMfZbhRz8l86eRAVciMj6S8B2qXnXYywdQH0L_2PIzZOqgM/s1600/piclab.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYl0KsAv4iZcSq2oxFNAfClF_vW2BkzxDT239RKB2QbrnwhInlowP37kEf87UXZSZ-AoN5s_U8xXh3-dg6Io_AuyVPvBbWeMfZbhRz8l86eRAVciMj6S8B2qXnXYywdQH0L_2PIzZOqgM/s400/piclab.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Oh beloved teenager, as we sit on my bed after another teen years mother-daughter quarrel that in the end we will never really remember the reason why we argued you spoke a sentence that struck a chord, it struck a chord because I remember saying it to my own mother, "My life is so much different than yours, you will never understand."<br />
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Yes, your life is different than mine, but not quite that much. I know we've moved you around a lot showing you the world. We have done this because it was a dream of ours to make you a citizen of the world. Let you experience as many different culture as possible. Growing up my life was great, but I always craved more. So, yes, your life is different but I do understand.<br />
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I know school is hard. Believe it or not I was there once upon a time as well. I know you have PSAT, Personal Project, eAssessments, plus all your regular work...but guess what when I was in high school we had all the same things, they were just spaced differently, graded differently. So, your life is different, but I do understand.<br />
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I know you have a lot on your plate this year and my immature jokes are annoying, but I only want to make you feel better. I know the kids can be crappy, teachers can be tough, and the workload may seem unbearable, but you are smart and organized...just like me, so I know you will get through it. School was the same in America as it is in The Netherlands. So, your life may be different, but I do understand.<br />
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So, dear teenager, as I wipe away your tears,that came as a result of my tickle attack to make you smile...know that I attacked my Dad the same way and burst in to tears every time he tried to tickle me to raise my spirits and let me know this isn't the worst day I will ever have. See there, your life is different, but I do understand.<br />
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Just know that every test I schedule you to take, every essay I proof read signal the days are winding down of you being a full time resident in our home. So, while you have the stress of completing papers, projects, and studying for impending examinations I do understand because as parents we are deal with the stress of you flying the coop and leaving us with an empty nest. So, right now our lives are very different, but they flow together, and I DO understand.<br />
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<br />Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-4873259590828086892015-09-16T02:46:00.000-07:002015-09-16T06:15:09.112-07:00What I Ate Wednesday...21 Day fix edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I ordered the 21 Day Fix Extreme when I was on <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/09/summer-holiday-recap-in-st-augustine.html" target="_blank">holiday in Florida</a> this past summer. I played around with it for about 2 weeks after arriving back home in Amsterdam, ya know, getting a feel for the containers, but finally go serious about it two weeks ago. I am glad I did! I feel great and it really has helped, but I will go into more detail on that in my wrap up post next week. </div>
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<a href="http://peasandcrayons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/WHAT-I-ATE-WEDNESDAY-NEW-BUTTON-PEAS-AND-CRAYONS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://peasandcrayons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/WHAT-I-ATE-WEDNESDAY-NEW-BUTTON-PEAS-AND-CRAYONS.png" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.peasandcrayons.com/" target="_blank">Peas and Crayons</a></div>
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For today, here is what one day of eating has looked like for me, while completing the 21 Day Fix. Yesterday was a particularly rainy day and I had errands to run....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLzKvSlnMINxfcZTROdyIK-RytBFnm6iaSpWRfO2LpDifUwECHVZaWmttic9uZo5Dwz8lIO6zlssdenwkOg_l8o-Xov-afOulvnvKyUsv3M6eWU5xt85WSL4Cfo3nhSwSbuUh0LAXWqhm/s1600/IMG_3254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLzKvSlnMINxfcZTROdyIK-RytBFnm6iaSpWRfO2LpDifUwECHVZaWmttic9uZo5Dwz8lIO6zlssdenwkOg_l8o-Xov-afOulvnvKyUsv3M6eWU5xt85WSL4Cfo3nhSwSbuUh0LAXWqhm/s400/IMG_3254.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
Morning Coffee! I don't do my coffee 21 day fix approved. I can't. I love it with honey and coconut oil. It is still healthy because I use just a tablespoon of honey, which is local raw honey, I use it medicinally for my allergies. Regardless of what people say, it works, my husband and I did a little test of it in the early spring and I have to have the honey, I feel it is better than popping allergy meds all the time. I add in a tablespoon of coconut oil as this keeps my digestive track in check, and a little bit of unsweetened almond milk. It is delicious and is all around good for me and makes me happy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZFQWQc8FESXFvxYfuOtHDMbpuJK9t5x6ouHoojfAmpsTLW6nqwD7W2DM3KFbtK_FxF7s2I2VS0SO66Zwjp7FHVuDvL70tomRE4ShFB2zC4cuF6vBdlFN225UVBNxOGGWKoPt-UQZ8xs7/s1600/IMG_3256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZFQWQc8FESXFvxYfuOtHDMbpuJK9t5x6ouHoojfAmpsTLW6nqwD7W2DM3KFbtK_FxF7s2I2VS0SO66Zwjp7FHVuDvL70tomRE4ShFB2zC4cuF6vBdlFN225UVBNxOGGWKoPt-UQZ8xs7/s400/IMG_3256.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Green eggs...this is one green container full of eggs plus a half green container of tomatoes and onion. I take one egg and 4 egg whites (which makes 2 red) and I blend them together with the spinach, then I add in the tomato and onion. I add a bit of a great clean chili sauce for a little spice. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIrNPFXNJSKijlY0nNfwixQxkn-R9RcL1CcYL95f0U-9m-TJry4niAAqYrDK3KIZwpJjq5mtKkwpjna5cSxbFeUXumBpRFZofa5o_r74URxAlzQMe3nTdcO-4qyK125hBsfAa9Yz0zLi1/s1600/IMG_3257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIrNPFXNJSKijlY0nNfwixQxkn-R9RcL1CcYL95f0U-9m-TJry4niAAqYrDK3KIZwpJjq5mtKkwpjna5cSxbFeUXumBpRFZofa5o_r74URxAlzQMe3nTdcO-4qyK125hBsfAa9Yz0zLi1/s400/IMG_3257.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was still a bit hungry after the eggs so I had a peanut butter banana multigrain wrap. Just 1 tsp of peanut butter and enough banana sliced to fit in a purple container. This was just about one small banana.</div>
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Post workout I had a protein bowl. This never looks appetizing so I will just post a picture of my protein powder ha!.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEn7R6kiLP3mAcHAkkamvm3hjEYr5Xi5D3NlYneWJAVAPRaqQkE5l9kLI7tcYBqzF7nuTsURiSs0JuElUTR-xkUzXh6AWlmxzR4w5It-qHEO91NTHBy0xluDfhEetygvlb1-eBilArqixo/s1600/IMG_3203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEn7R6kiLP3mAcHAkkamvm3hjEYr5Xi5D3NlYneWJAVAPRaqQkE5l9kLI7tcYBqzF7nuTsURiSs0JuElUTR-xkUzXh6AWlmxzR4w5It-qHEO91NTHBy0xluDfhEetygvlb1-eBilArqixo/s400/IMG_3203.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I love this because for a protein powder it is fairly clean and gives me that post workout boost. I use one scoop in 3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk. I whisk it with a fork to blend and it is thick and creamy, like a pudding almost. It is amazing. </div>
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A few hours later this guy was staring me in the face...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9sSFvadcHZ3eVVEiRYFT2Jk8UF6iaVVh_8fdKRg0E60JWawKCuEFfBhYPm1qxceA8mqANtxp5o3lkWB10zEwlOdlp80tHv2YqV30YRXXmxf2bTyC7YDj5Tk_oNPeVxh1PdzJmLsDIPVhm/s1600/IMG_3259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9sSFvadcHZ3eVVEiRYFT2Jk8UF6iaVVh_8fdKRg0E60JWawKCuEFfBhYPm1qxceA8mqANtxp5o3lkWB10zEwlOdlp80tHv2YqV30YRXXmxf2bTyC7YDj5Tk_oNPeVxh1PdzJmLsDIPVhm/s400/IMG_3259.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I got it the other day at Zaanse Schans, which I will tell you more about later this week. It was delicious, cost me a yellow, but so worth it!</div>
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After that I had to run some errands, one of which included the grocery store and I've been obsessed with cottage cheese lately so I had one little container...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpUzfvy2ntqoryOYKFg6KVr5qeHsJJSOV7ExRjpIG468YnWuU7oJyfPEvFCdvmwZ5r6B8UNWykRgxBJzvLTOWfISIK83ZT5CuDWuhZ2qW9-NoJBbdAnLMqYYA2_sJeTkTUeM4EtoysxQi/s1600/IMG_3261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpUzfvy2ntqoryOYKFg6KVr5qeHsJJSOV7ExRjpIG468YnWuU7oJyfPEvFCdvmwZ5r6B8UNWykRgxBJzvLTOWfISIK83ZT5CuDWuhZ2qW9-NoJBbdAnLMqYYA2_sJeTkTUeM4EtoysxQi/s400/IMG_3261.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Mmmmm....</div>
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After that I was feeling tired and lazy thanks to the rain so I curled up on the couch with a small tea and Suits. I am so in love with this show...anyone else?!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe_DQxWOfJMV42KeXDkTTTG_hSXtyuKI50tDJKfhQihPQ6oVFzq65MVwtzkODGcQ2Ns2gsy41OfjLUYgJ1Vy_XTnJtvMDXdOjChhMcP57ygKovNY7S0FF0-EtYMAXFlxNZ9srrd4x2H_q/s1600/IMG_3262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe_DQxWOfJMV42KeXDkTTTG_hSXtyuKI50tDJKfhQihPQ6oVFzq65MVwtzkODGcQ2Ns2gsy41OfjLUYgJ1Vy_XTnJtvMDXdOjChhMcP57ygKovNY7S0FF0-EtYMAXFlxNZ9srrd4x2H_q/s400/IMG_3262.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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No sugar, no cream, just tea. Yum, yum.</div>
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For dinner, because it was raining we went with a 21 day fix approved stew...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpLw0Ya0zK_RSIV-R_cgZ5MTmLrDQRZn-DpSFXDTruxnGCOqjdMbjvwgQ-lxT398s9_UUtX3fKo1PvnTaVn28ujWfTx0Sei7dDLt7VbotTm4qEsyQvFamNrv8mjiZ2Ho1qpg7y-NDvgys/s1600/IMG_3201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpLw0Ya0zK_RSIV-R_cgZ5MTmLrDQRZn-DpSFXDTruxnGCOqjdMbjvwgQ-lxT398s9_UUtX3fKo1PvnTaVn28ujWfTx0Sei7dDLt7VbotTm4qEsyQvFamNrv8mjiZ2Ho1qpg7y-NDvgys/s400/IMG_3201.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is the beef and butternut stew, but I substitute with pumpkin since that is what I can find here. I added in a little Parmesan to make 1 green, 1 red, one blue. </div>
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And...because I still needed a purple and a green I made this cute little protein mug cake...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0yU7ekm0sRiX10KTOrAXawC9_V_VpvRrsHJpqBqzz-125AHSm56NiIpY3a_wPHOgLvy52IhPaQ2C-G0iFPqv2pH-jlNe093L-r1p0tqjktNWmeYqZ3qtQntYrR-7lGZigpccFlbD0ZGr/s1600/IMG_3264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0yU7ekm0sRiX10KTOrAXawC9_V_VpvRrsHJpqBqzz-125AHSm56NiIpY3a_wPHOgLvy52IhPaQ2C-G0iFPqv2pH-jlNe093L-r1p0tqjktNWmeYqZ3qtQntYrR-7lGZigpccFlbD0ZGr/s320/IMG_3264.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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It consists of some homemade pumpkin puree, a little spinach (I combined the puree and the spinach to make one green), the other half of the banana from earlier in the day, and an egg white and a 1/4 scoop of protein powder as a "flour". It was super yummy and creamy on the bottom.</div>
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<b>So, what yummies have you been munching on?</b></div>
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<b>Linking up with Jenn over at <a href="http://peasandcrayons.com/" target="_blank">Peas and Crayons</a> and <a href="http://cleaneatsfastfeets.com/" target="_blank">Clean Eats Fast Feets</a>.</b></div>
<br />Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-69388994067089837022015-09-14T23:00:00.000-07:002015-09-14T23:36:48.910-07:008 Things I do When my Husband is AwayMy husband is out of town for a conference-in Tokyo. I hate him. Not really, but he better bring me back something better than bottle panties. Yes, I said bottle panties, apparently all the rage in Japan right now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86lMONNclhyphenhyphenqfYf3qBTap8KOTbmQBWP1kjQQ55JTPT7Ss5J8PRkYb_YfejcHWgP1SY-kdDCxViV5MwVep7qtaxvcM6PbnavROIyrj8t7_josN556mBnOiBpT5tjG-E2XVP8bN0OJoSoSK/s1600/IMG_3255.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86lMONNclhyphenhyphenqfYf3qBTap8KOTbmQBWP1kjQQ55JTPT7Ss5J8PRkYb_YfejcHWgP1SY-kdDCxViV5MwVep7qtaxvcM6PbnavROIyrj8t7_josN556mBnOiBpT5tjG-E2XVP8bN0OJoSoSK/s400/IMG_3255.PNG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Anyway, he has been out of town a lot over the last 6 months and it got me thinking, I do a few things that are a bit out of the ordinary for my everyday schedule when he is gone...so here is my list, even if it is a little lame.<br />
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<b>I don't hog the bed. </b>Shockingly. I know most people starfish when their partner is gone, but me, most of the reason I'm all over the bed is to <strike>smother </strike>cuddle him-so when he isn't here...no reason for me to be over there. Makes making the bed incredibly easy!</div>
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<b>Binge watch Netflix/my fave shows from Amazon or iTunes.. </b>Bad. I do this once in a blue moon when he is in town, but when he isn't here it is really bad. I'm in the middle of Season 1 of Suits now and will soon move on to Royal.<br />
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<b>Spend at least one full day in my pajamas. </b>I have a pretty strict routine when he's here of get everyone out the door, workout, shower dress, clean, go do something outside, come home cook dinner, etc. When he isn't here though there is always that one glorious day I never get out of my pajamas. Such a treat.</div>
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<b>I don't cook or eat any meat. </b>My husband is a carnivore, teenager and I are herbivores. So, when he isn't here we don't eat any meat, makes for cleaning the kitchen much quicker!<br />
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<b>We also eat a shitton of leftovers. </b>My husband is one of those weird individuals that hates leftovers. I don't get it. Do you know one of these people?</div>
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<b>Aimlessly wander.</b> We don't do this much when the husband is here because he hates just walking, he wants to have a destination. So we often just go downtown and wander around and sit by canals until the sun sets. Then we usually get dessert.</div>
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<b>See every movie in the theaters. </b>We don't like to leave the hubby home alone much so when he isn't here, even if it is a bad movie we go and see it. We probably go to the theater once every other day when he isn't here. We have a monthly unlimited pass, so we really make use out of it.</div>
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<b>Go to bed early every.single.night. </b>My husband is a night owl, I am not. Plain and simple. We compromise when he's home I go to be early a few nights a week, stay up later a couple nights, and on Saturday I am always up later because that is our night out usually. But when he isn't here by the time he gets home I am so well rested he gets a full week of my company in his night owl ways.</div>
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<b>Do you do anything silly or out of the ordinary when your significant other is away? </b>These don't seem like much, but they sure are fun!</div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-9104276891292736732015-09-12T23:00:00.000-07:002015-09-13T00:49:19.162-07:00Menu Plan Monday 21 Day Fix Extreme +Weekly RecapHappy Sunday y'all!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fSFHFUm-ZFvbxm5xutJ2dbbGINaqfkWu6Gr9WVzyhrzxNCk-szGRfxaiPoIcqtKvrGFEBj8pEPB-OkeaSBTIgGSBGRLWjHQzu2PJSsF5YfrL5Q7tMqGIJnSzxjqCOjx7DzISPRsNZ06m/s1600/weekly+to+do+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fSFHFUm-ZFvbxm5xutJ2dbbGINaqfkWu6Gr9WVzyhrzxNCk-szGRfxaiPoIcqtKvrGFEBj8pEPB-OkeaSBTIgGSBGRLWjHQzu2PJSsF5YfrL5Q7tMqGIJnSzxjqCOjx7DzISPRsNZ06m/s400/weekly+to+do+graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, this last week I've really worked hard at getting a few posts together, here's a look at last week:<br />
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Last week's <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/09/menu-plan-monday-21-day-fix-extreme.html" target="_blank">Menu Plan Monday</a>, I was starting week two of 21 Day Fix Extreme.<br />
My second post of the week was a <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/09/summer-holiday-recap-in-st-augustine.html" target="_blank">recap of my summer holiday</a> in St. Augustine.<br />
<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/09/sixteen-things-i-have-learned-in-16.html" target="_blank">Sixteen things I've learned in 16 years of marriage</a>...this post has been incredibly popular.<br />
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Coming up this week:<br />
A list of things I do when hubby is gone<br />
What I Ate Wednesday, a recap from my holiday (can you tell I'm not ready to let go of summer! ha!)<br />
How we keep busy on long plane rides<br />
A recap of our overnight layover at London Heathrow Airport<br />
Plus a day trip recap to Zaanse Schans, just outside of Amsterdam<br />
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This should be a busy week and I am so excited to share these with y'all!<br />
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So...first up..<b>workout schedule.</b><br />
This is my last week of 21 Day Fix Extreme. So far from week 1 to week 2 I lost 2 cm all over. I don't weight myself on a scale so I have no idea how that's going nor do I care but I can see all sorts of all over definition so far, raised booty, and thinner thighs.<br />
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<b>Monday: </b>Plyo Fix Extreme +10 min hard core<br />
<b>Tuesday: </b>Upper Fix Extreme<br />
<b>Wednesday: </b>Pilates Fix Extreme+10 min hard core<br />
<b>Thursday: </b>Lower Fix Extreme<br />
<b>Friday: </b>Cardio Fix Extreme+10 min hard core<br />
<b>Saturday: </b>Dirty 30 Extreme<br />
<b>Sunday: </b>Yoga Fix Extreme+10 min hard core<br />
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I will add for most of these workouts you need weights, I don't have those so where I can I use my bands, where I can't use bands I just do my best to kick ass and use my own body weight to give me a good workout.<br />
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<b>Goals</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Complete Workouts</li>
<li>Stick to competition prep eating plan all week</li>
<li>Finish Cologne Itinerary</li>
<li>Start Milan Itinerary and make reservations for hubby's birthday</li>
</ul>
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<b>Weekly Menu</b></div>
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<b>Breakfast</b></div>
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<b>Monday: </b>Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)<br />
<b>Tuesday: </b>Oatmeal with pumpkin puree and pie spice, egg whites (yellow, green, red)<br />
<b>Wednesday: </b>Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)<br />
<b>Thursday: </b>Oatmeal with pumpkin puree and pie spice, egg whites (yellow, green, red)<br />
<b>Friday: </b>Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)<br />
<b>Saturday: </b>Oatmeal with pumpkin puree and pie spice, egg whites (yellow, green, red)<br />
<b>Sunday: </b>Egg whites, spinach, peppers (red, green)<br />
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<b>Mid Morning Snack</b><br />
Will be a protein shake with water everyday. That won't change; boring but necessary post workout.<br />
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<b>Lunch:</b><br />
To make it easy on myself I will just make two things to choose from for the whole week. The kiddo will take dinner leftovers in her thermos or a yumbox full of goodies...stay tuned to my <a href="https://instagram.com/diaryofanurbanhousewife/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> for photos of that.<br />
<b>Monday: </b>Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)<br />
<b>Tuesday: </b>Chicken breast and green beans (red, green)<br />
<b>Wednesday: </b>Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)<br />
<b>Thursday: </b>Chicken breast and green beans (red, green)<br />
<b>Friday: </b>Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)<br />
<b>Saturday: </b>Chicken breast and green beans (red, green)<br />
<b>Sunday: </b>Ground chicken with peppers and broccoli (red, green)<br />
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<b>Snacks</b><br />
Afternoon snacks will consist of fruit pumpkin seeds since I will be making quite a bit of pumpkin puree I want to use those up. I will also use this time to make up for any containers I may be missing, while avoiding any foods that bloat me like my afternoon coffee. ha!<br />
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<b>Dinner</b><br />
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<b>Monday: </b>Salad with cottage cheese and whipped butternut squash on the side<br />
<b>Tuesday: </b>Beef and butternut stew with a side salad<br />
<b>Wednesday: </b>Cauliflower fried rice with chicken and sweet potato<br />
<b>Thursday: </b>Beef and butternut stew with a side salad<br />
<b>Friday:</b>Cauliflower fried rice with chicken and sweet potato<br />
<b>Saturday: </b>Eat out at the food festival<br />
<b>Sunday: </b>Leftovers<br />
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This week's meals are a bit boring but the hubby is out of town and I plan on really focusing on diet and eating right so I plan on cooking in bulk and eating from that. Right now shredding is what means the most to me, so keeping it simple!<br />
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<b><i>Tell me, what are you up to this week? What are you eating?</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Have a great week!<br />
<br />
<i>Linking up with <a href="http://orgjunkie.com/" target="_blank">I'm an Organizing Junkie</a>, <a href="http://www.mommyrunfast.com/" target="_blank">Mommy Run Fast</a>,<a href="http://jillconyers.com/" target="_blank"> Jill Conyers</a>, and <a href="http://momssmallvictories.com/" target="_blank">Moms Small Victories Sunday.</a></i>Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-17597292395833133052015-09-10T23:00:00.000-07:002015-09-10T23:00:01.121-07:00Sixteen things I have learned in 16 years of MarriageThis past June my husband and I celebrated <b>sixteen </b>years of marriage-16! I can't even believe it, honestly. I wrote this post months ago, but am just now getting around to publishing it...so, here goes...<br />
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I thought I'd honor this milestone by creating a list of all the things I've learned in the last 16 years...these aren't solely from our marriage. These are also tidbits I've picked up from others' marriages because I see when something works.<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Fight fair. </b>This means, if you are arguing with your partner don't bring up an incident that happened last week, last month, last year, or 10 years ago. Only deal with the argument at hand. Past arguments should have already been resolved. If you have issues with past arguments write them down and come back to them later, but those should have already been resolved so you can focus on the disagreement at hand.</li>
<li><b>Communicate. </b>I mean really communicate. Talk about everything. I am a talker, when my husband gets home I will chat his ear off from here to next week about what I did that day...I expect the same in return. This sort of communication allows each partner to get stressors off their chest, bounce ideas around for a problem you might be facing, or just vent or revel in the day. But, this also goes deeper and can head off any arguments that might be looming because if your partner does something to upset you you'll be more likely to speak the truth right then and there. It may hurt at first but at least you are being honest.</li>
<li><b>Listen. </b>This should be part of communicate, but I felt it needed to be listed separately. Talking is great, but if you or your partner isn't listening in return it will never work. Put your phones down, walk away from the computer; make eye contact and really listen to one another when you are talking.</li>
<li><b>Know your partner's love language. </b>I show love and expect love in a completely different way from my husband. I am an acts of service so someone taking out the trash or doing the dishes means the world to me, but my husband, he likes little gifts; like if I surprise him with his favorite snack or a new game I know he's been wanting. For years we'd been showing each other love the way we wanted to be loved instead of tuning in to what the other person wanted. This has done wonders for our relationship.</li>
<li><b>Marriage is hard. </b>You are always working at your relationship, this never stops, but it should be enjoyable.</li>
<li><b>Marriage is fun. </b>Marriage may be hard because it takes constant work, but you get to live your whole life with the person of your choosing. You get to mold your world with this one person, it is the most fantastic time of your life...thank goodness it lasts that long!</li>
<li><b>Apologize. </b>If you were wrong, apologize it. If you were right, accept that apology gracefully and don't rub it in the other person's face. Be mature and remember to fight fair.</li>
<li><b>Have a sense of humor. </b>Having a sense of humor will get you through the tough times, and if you have a husband like mine it will prevent you from taking all his ribbing seriously!</li>
<li><b>Tell your partner when you are proud of them. </b>Whether it is work related, doing something around the house, or just being an awesome human being make sure they know you are proud of them.</li>
<li><b>Have confidence. </b>Confidence is sexy, and when you don't have it and accuse your spouse of stuff you only drive them away. They are with you because they love you, accusing them of things will only drive them away.</li>
<li><b>Have a scheduled cuddle session at least once a day. </b>We cuddle for a good 15 minutes in the morning before we start our day. We told some friends this the other day and I think they thought we were kidding. We started this about 3 or 4 years ago and it has made such a difference in how we connect. Plus, it is a nice way to wake up.</li>
<li><b>Never stop dating. </b>Once a week, once every other week, basically however you can squeeze it in make sure you get dressed nicely and go out, one on one, no kids, just the two of you-maybe some friends every now and again-and connect with out distractions. We've been doing this since 2004 and it really turned our marriage around. Sometimes we stay home and make a romantic dinner or dessert and watch a movie, but we try our hardest to get out of the house. Just makes it more special.</li>
<li><b>Kiss your partner. </b>A lot. It reminds you of when you dated, plus it is relaxing and can instantly put a smile on your face. So, remember to kiss.</li>
<li><b>Tell your partner you love them. </b>I never let my husband leave the house without telling him I love him. I want him to go out in to the world knowing I love him and I will look forward to him coming back home. </li>
<li><b>Never talk ill of your partner to others. </b>You may now commence eye rolling, but I am actually serious. It is one thing to vent to your mom or best friend about how your husband forgot to take out the trash-again...but doing nothing but talking about his faults to your girlfriends will paint a bad picture of him. If your partner is just really ticking you off-TELL THEM! Communicating is the entire basis of a marriage if you just complain that won't take care of anything.</li>
<li><b>Finally, give each other some space. </b>It is ok to have a girls night. It is ok to go to a museum while your partner stays home to play video games. You don't always have to do everything together. In fact, being yourselves and doing what you want can actually enhance your marriage and gives you more to talk about. </li>
</ol>
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I'm not saying these will work for every marriage but these are a few of the things I have discovered work for us. <b>What is your best tip for a happy relationship?</b></div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-74240942650924430632015-09-07T22:49:00.003-07:002015-09-07T22:49:54.700-07:00Summer Holiday Recap in St. Augustine BeachWell, well, well. Here I sit trying to figure out how to get back on my blogging path. I started yesterday with my <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/09/menu-plan-monday-21-day-fix-extreme.html" target="_blank">Menu Plan Monday</a> explaining the 21 Day fix, but overall it has been a really long and wonderful summer. My last post was during my <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/06/how-i-met-my-husband.html" target="_blank">anniversary week</a>, which my husband spent in Los Angeles, after he got home everything got crazy. In fact, I finished a ton of posts for that week and I wound up never finishing them, but I have them scheduled throughout the rest of this month so I'm reliving it all. During this time it was the kiddo's last week of school, it was my friend's last week here so we were bouncing all around trying to see each other (only reason the expat life sucks, people come and go), and then we booked last minute trip to visit my parents in Florida, whom we hadn't seen in two years, since our last visit there in the <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/p/travel.html" target="_blank">summer of 2013!</a> So, basically I haven't been blogging because I have been super busy living life! I am returning though with a heart full and ready to share so much with all of you!<br />
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Today, I want to share with y'all our time in Florida over July and August and hopefully give you some super fun ideas to plan your next family vacation as there really is more to Florida than Miami and Mickey Mouse!<br />
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The first place I am going to highlight is St. Augustine. I seriously cannot say enough about this wee little city. It is not only our nations oldest city, celebrating it's 450th Anniversary this week, but it full of so many fun activities!<br />
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<b>Beach, beach, and more beach!</b><br />
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We vacation in Crescent Beach, which is just south of the St. Augustine Beach Pier.<br />
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It is really beautiful and there are many places to rent along the beach. It is less populated than the popular pier area and you can still drive on parts of the beach, although I wouldn't recommend unless you are experienced.<br />
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Obviously I think catching a sunrise is the bees knees, but if you are at the beach during a full moon a moon rise is pretty darn majestic.</div>
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Once you're on the beach it is always fun to check out the wildlife.</div>
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<b>Wildlife </b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulqA5l_6Fns1qrrTqfzuEtoLlwJHZ79sJXdHeCkGvlYm_CnRvRwwDtbzpFeBNUZCFU6p2A9npOihWAv55je4F4o1j55IEXQKz1lNJQ2T1mDCiy74XUYx8OsFtFqfylGjov3GZQzw93hCx/s640/blogger-image--1486741139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulqA5l_6Fns1qrrTqfzuEtoLlwJHZ79sJXdHeCkGvlYm_CnRvRwwDtbzpFeBNUZCFU6p2A9npOihWAv55je4F4o1j55IEXQKz1lNJQ2T1mDCiy74XUYx8OsFtFqfylGjov3GZQzw93hCx/s400/blogger-image--1486741139.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating a crab for breakfast.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LLAMdajI48sece275WhJMwi1Ezd5RnoM4bv30LIuP-zrgElVrdCme2HDK79o9DTq4Miu5KOrG8JxgeD53ugDEJ2w-HgEb-K6ksvt3MSpwOLXtX7Ws8BW10WVEbwtit_MhbpCHMXwTmGr/s640/blogger-image-405460889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LLAMdajI48sece275WhJMwi1Ezd5RnoM4bv30LIuP-zrgElVrdCme2HDK79o9DTq4Miu5KOrG8JxgeD53ugDEJ2w-HgEb-K6ksvt3MSpwOLXtX7Ws8BW10WVEbwtit_MhbpCHMXwTmGr/s400/blogger-image-405460889.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
A full muscle this is rare.</div>
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These were just a sampling of the fun things we saw on our walk. The starfish, if they were alive I threw them back, which is why I was holding the one, he was moving quite a bit so I threw him back, I threw the fish back too although it totally freaked my teenager out.<br />
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While we were there the shark life was very active as well. A number of fishermen caught the small ones and there was a decent size one swimming in the surf as well one day. We saw a stingray and some dolphins as well!<br />
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<b>Surf</b></div>
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In this area there are several places to rent a board that are extremely affordable. They all offer lessons as well. We rented from the <a href="http://www.surf-station.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Surf Station</a>, they have a little "sub station" South of the original Surf Station on A1A next to South Beach Grill. This was walking distance down the beach from my parents place and we were able to surf down the beach on our trek to bring the board back...the guy mentioned that was a first ;)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bR2nd7Nb_OhBB69xrJ6JUWs5UoYX0cfbrLzhn6H2NxkSctzaTZY3wX2Wd83iewii_-spYJxjHlY9uVrum4f7AlRizKluF_GcZq_uhB7KQhw2zuCQ-3yRwpoY-H_PRx2TxbYPOWVrTs74/s640/blogger-image--94292614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bR2nd7Nb_OhBB69xrJ6JUWs5UoYX0cfbrLzhn6H2NxkSctzaTZY3wX2Wd83iewii_-spYJxjHlY9uVrum4f7AlRizKluF_GcZq_uhB7KQhw2zuCQ-3yRwpoY-H_PRx2TxbYPOWVrTs74/s400/blogger-image--94292614.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyUKaNLyEiNalPYdSlrP5NHS-M6odR_Lku7jQOFAejgVwYpRMiV2P9MoMJIXan_KdX_-9xTNWe4S9lbsU7t3bo99dq6yj6AB_PDI-B6cqhuJoYPVhBi4Ng0jc3c1r1F3czC26p22nSsxT/s640/blogger-image--816361329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyUKaNLyEiNalPYdSlrP5NHS-M6odR_Lku7jQOFAejgVwYpRMiV2P9MoMJIXan_KdX_-9xTNWe4S9lbsU7t3bo99dq6yj6AB_PDI-B6cqhuJoYPVhBi4Ng0jc3c1r1F3czC26p22nSsxT/s400/blogger-image--816361329.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj3BuQ6f-Z5bKty97dwsUmkaun8UOGfyOtyzuyh1ZEmiZBWeTQVk7Ge9oLeu6AHFsJdkTdn-sbuuv7oxyrMtf1BcJCwCji8tCIS0UMZ_S0kwxgpiD86h7IFaeqS-oo44_2HTjuMamI2xX/s640/blogger-image-760845715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj3BuQ6f-Z5bKty97dwsUmkaun8UOGfyOtyzuyh1ZEmiZBWeTQVk7Ge9oLeu6AHFsJdkTdn-sbuuv7oxyrMtf1BcJCwCji8tCIS0UMZ_S0kwxgpiD86h7IFaeqS-oo44_2HTjuMamI2xX/s400/blogger-image-760845715.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>Stand Up Paddle Board/Kayak</b><br />
I sadly have no photos as we didn't get a waterproof camera this time around and I have no special case for my phone. But, if you go out to Anastasia State Park and go down to <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2013/07/will-my-days-ever-be-normal-again.html" rel="" target="_blank">Anastasia Water Sports </a>they have a great shack there with all sorts of sporting equipment to rent. It is the same place we rented in 2013 with my brother and sister in law. (P.S. Get the ice cream...its call Big Kahuna or something cheesy but it is freaking amazing! Best enjoyed in the pouring rain ;))<br />
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<b>Go to the Farmer's Market</b><br />
The one on Wednesday at the Pier is my absolute favorite. Boiled peanuts, great produce, and a fab natural soap stand. Go check it out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGBrC1SeRvHCcNRDbVaGIfG-I0bdhT9PmTJ-AuvlLF8x2BJH0MVRyiIpUUjLLNJ77O0D-mU5ihkyxRYaNjBTBHazo_I8I9glLfJI5OEs4nP0I7Hjr2eFTLvNOWMqK3TL95yWrYRQ24K_b/s640/blogger-image-1963882118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGBrC1SeRvHCcNRDbVaGIfG-I0bdhT9PmTJ-AuvlLF8x2BJH0MVRyiIpUUjLLNJ77O0D-mU5ihkyxRYaNjBTBHazo_I8I9glLfJI5OEs4nP0I7Hjr2eFTLvNOWMqK3TL95yWrYRQ24K_b/s400/blogger-image-1963882118.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo actually has a cute story. Our friend had a dollar in his wallet from the last time he was in the U.S. When my hubby came home for a week he gave it to him to spend and my hubby forgot, so we took the dollar and put it to good use, sent this photo to him so he'd know what his dollar bought! ha!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9LZiZD09fApRovaWWQhcrl1F7fvof0sSYEnxLblOE7pkfxcSlG4xeNDeOB8xb4NiP4ZBNSVAprdIJBhoH2Xh5gTTIAoBkwJNvpMjUK3uym70aERaESutJ_9-W0d0KyqlDY-lDx4oyP61/s640/blogger-image--757675387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9LZiZD09fApRovaWWQhcrl1F7fvof0sSYEnxLblOE7pkfxcSlG4xeNDeOB8xb4NiP4ZBNSVAprdIJBhoH2Xh5gTTIAoBkwJNvpMjUK3uym70aERaESutJ_9-W0d0KyqlDY-lDx4oyP61/s400/blogger-image--757675387.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our market spoils of fresh peaches, watermelon, all sorts of veggies, and boiled peanuts of course!</td></tr>
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<b>Visit Downtown St. Augustine</b><br />
There is The Fort, George Street, a beautiful cathedral, and the Lions Gate Bridge, and an awesome carousel and park. Go visit. Now.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBSLDJ_a-6GVt1FwWTIp9Ch6iB7nstGhRa11keAR7T0HzYVT1G2EgSPAnSwlH0_DGef4qtM3-0jUtQDQuVYESUxlDt3sOd1l6suinSV_naEWsONIckpis5A2XPteYgiO0WdegjFGFWHlFu/s640/blogger-image--2099517226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBSLDJ_a-6GVt1FwWTIp9Ch6iB7nstGhRa11keAR7T0HzYVT1G2EgSPAnSwlH0_DGef4qtM3-0jUtQDQuVYESUxlDt3sOd1l6suinSV_naEWsONIckpis5A2XPteYgiO0WdegjFGFWHlFu/s400/blogger-image--2099517226.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Fort.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPzxPioEhWnkmh1z9uap1nVPaj0Ec8zBDu4OfrOJZSNO1T4_cRUacMMmmk1uOPX9GF3qp_QQkQBUcuAteh3fo1537TSgk8BRLZ6K6DVNmgjRuyavcyk-ajYUstbGLZ8XYm86DJMset_HT/s640/blogger-image--1034780495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPzxPioEhWnkmh1z9uap1nVPaj0Ec8zBDu4OfrOJZSNO1T4_cRUacMMmmk1uOPX9GF3qp_QQkQBUcuAteh3fo1537TSgk8BRLZ6K6DVNmgjRuyavcyk-ajYUstbGLZ8XYm86DJMset_HT/s400/blogger-image--1034780495.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of The Fort.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53qnECzBn4E5hQYhBNZ36B7BEwheB9QgEhyphenhyphenZgLpbgcDgLMNFMX0i9dYWK31MsOvJppgYbhbVaDxloaLn4pb09lnkpZQHjoomEdEn8xg-UFyvA5GoVXZ27Xc-bXFo4Q8djsxjQXkpXjOu8/s640/blogger-image--1347433138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53qnECzBn4E5hQYhBNZ36B7BEwheB9QgEhyphenhyphenZgLpbgcDgLMNFMX0i9dYWK31MsOvJppgYbhbVaDxloaLn4pb09lnkpZQHjoomEdEn8xg-UFyvA5GoVXZ27Xc-bXFo4Q8djsxjQXkpXjOu8/s400/blogger-image--1347433138.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On George Street.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJ4HCfn8GYN7A3sRAdPlasQxd5GoLl9rEBTHhItItQ2eO7gAY2PnBgc7YI6z9l6UdHvSGdyEG14MHrbbN3sXPEIB6X6WCyGQc21Oyz9Qu6LbYePURq1j4xrkMkOSN7Y-s4kbOT8p4rmVk/s640/blogger-image--836244737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJ4HCfn8GYN7A3sRAdPlasQxd5GoLl9rEBTHhItItQ2eO7gAY2PnBgc7YI6z9l6UdHvSGdyEG14MHrbbN3sXPEIB6X6WCyGQc21Oyz9Qu6LbYePURq1j4xrkMkOSN7Y-s4kbOT8p4rmVk/s400/blogger-image--836244737.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the carousel. This carousel is quite old, much older than me in fact! There is also a park here and it is located next to the local library!</td></tr>
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<br />
<b>Shopping at the Outlet Mall</b><br />
We didn't take any photos here but we sure did buy a lot of freaking clothes. We always hit this place up when we come back. It has improved a lot since I left there in 2000, if you want a deal, this is your place.<br />
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St. Augustine truly is a favorite place of mine to visit. There is even so much more to do than I have listed here, this is just what we did this trip. <b>What is your favorite vacation destination?</b></div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-90678816196055883522015-09-06T23:00:00.000-07:002015-09-07T09:39:54.998-07:00Menu Plan Monday-21 Day Fix ExtremeHappy Monday y'all!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNyAUCsmFZKH-JAQeWpkIScRnZNL7c4xGcK6oZZFRA767pFtDG_bmMQT21aWe0bMKirDyUWpJiH6fZwR4NwMgv8eIG5jvkHhDffzfwrkO8Ci_S9JIFDA-NZs2AdBSATsPkbthi7uR6HCD/s1600/weekly+to+do+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNyAUCsmFZKH-JAQeWpkIScRnZNL7c4xGcK6oZZFRA767pFtDG_bmMQT21aWe0bMKirDyUWpJiH6fZwR4NwMgv8eIG5jvkHhDffzfwrkO8Ci_S9JIFDA-NZs2AdBSATsPkbthi7uR6HCD/s400/weekly+to+do+graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I am finally back with a renewed spirit for blogging. Later today tune in as I have more details about our summer vacation, which is the reason I took quite a blogging break! I am working on a few posts about our travels around The Netherlands since we got back and the trips we have planned!<br />
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But, for now let's talk weekly menu.<br />
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For about two weeks after I got back I played around with the 21 Day Fix Extreme workout programme I bought when I was back in the U.S. For about two years now I have really struggled with diet and balancing what I am eating to fuel my body correctly for how hard I work it between extreme workouts like P90X, P90X3, Insanity, and T25. I was feeling the effects of not eating properly and had a feeling 21 Day Fix could help.<br />
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I decided to go with the extreme version because the workouts indicated they were a bit more difficult and since I've never wavered in that area I figured I would be fine...and I have been.<br />
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Last week was my first full week of 100% following the nutrition along with the workouts. I feel amazing and am really seeing a difference. So, this is week two for me and I am stoked...here is what we will be eating.<br />
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<b>Breakfasts</b><br />
Monday: Egg whites with spinach and sauteed pumpkin with onions and peppers (1 Red, 2 Green)<br />
Tuesday: Pumpkin spice oatmeal with 1/2 scoop protein powder (1/2 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green)<br />
Wednesday: Egg whites with spinach and sauteed pumpkin with onions and peppers (1 Red, 2 Green)<br />
Thursday: Pumpkin spice oatmeal with 1/2 scoop protein powder (1/2 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green)<br />
Friday: Egg whites with spinach and sauteed pumpkin with onions and peppers (1 Red, 2 Green)<br />
Saturday: Pumpkin spice oatmeal with 1/2 scoop protein powder (1/2 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green)<br />
Sunday: Egg whites with spinach and sauteed pumpkin with onions and peppers (1 Red, 2 Green)<br />
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<b>Lunch</b><br />
<b>Watch my Instagram this week to see what I pack in my teenager's yumbox!</b><br />
Monday: Protein oatmeal with banana (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple)<br />
Tuesday: Chicken salad with cottage cheese and pumpkin seeds (1 green, 2 red, 1 orange)<br />
Wednesday: Protein oatmeal with banana (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple)<br />
Thursday: Chicken salad with cottage cheese and pumpkin seeds (1 green, 2 red, 1 orange)<br />
Friday: Protein oatmeal with banana (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple)<br />
Saturday: You aren't supposed to cheat but we are doing something touristy so I'll have a Pannenkoken and a locally distilled adult beverage (one nice cheat meal keeps me sane)<br />
Sunday: I will scrounge around and use up leftovers<br />
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<b>Snacks</b><br />
This is where I fill in what containers I need. They usually consist of yogurt or cottage cheese and berries (1 red, 1 purple), a protein shake (1 red), hard boiled eggs and peppers (one red, one green), or a combo there of.<br />
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<b>Dinner</b><br />
Monday: Balsamic Steak Salad (hubby will have this minus the salad and with a bake potato) (1 green, 1 red, 1 tsp)<br />
Tuesday: Tacos! (I just make regular tacos for the family and I portion out using containers so it is 2 green, 1 red, and 1 blue)<br />
Wednesday: Omelettes or leftovers<br />
Thursday: Beef and Pumpkin stew (1 green, 1 red) and hubby will have a grilled cheese and chicken soup<br />
Friday: Cheese burgers in a lettuce wrap with sweet potato/reg potato wedges and broccoli<br />
Saturday: Chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and gravy/sweet potato and green beans (1 red, 1 yellow {sweet potato}, 1 green)<br />
Sunday: Eat at the Pure Market (YUM!) When I eat at this place, it is a paradise for a healthy foodie. I will see what they have but will focus on veggies and lean meat.<br />
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Since I'm doing the 21 day fix, it is a 7 day a week workout program with 30 minute workouts here are my workouts for this week:<br />
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Monday: Plyo fix extreme and stretching<br />
Tuesday: Upper Fix extreme and 10 min hardcore<br />
Wednesday: Pilates fix extreme and foam rolling<br />
Thursday: Lower Fix Extreme and 10 min hardcore<br />
Friday: Cardio Fix Extreme and stretching<br />
Saturday: Dirty 30 Extreme and 10 min hardcore<br />
Sunday: Yoga Fix Extreme and foam rolling<br />
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<b>On my agenda this week:</b><br />
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<li>Rijksmuseum (done)</li>
<li>Get the kiddo's phone fixed (done)</li>
<li>Zaanse Schans</li>
<li>Get Cologne Itinerary settled</li>
<li>Start on artwork for the walls (yes, sadly after a year we still have nothing on the walls, need to fix that)</li>
<li>Complete all 7 21 Day fix extreme workouts, 1 week down, 2 to go.</li>
<li>Do some home repairs like fix light bulbs that are out but aren't easy to repair, plus get one light switch fixed that is "stuck".</li>
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What do you have going on this week? Anything fun?<br />
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Linking up with <a href="http://orgjunkie.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I'm an Organizing Junkie</a>, <a href="http://www.mommyrunfast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mommy Runs Fast</a>, and<a href="http://jillconyers.com/2015/09/fitness-health-and-happiness-11/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Jill Conyers.</a></div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-19739673199960267782015-06-23T23:07:00.001-07:002015-06-23T23:07:16.679-07:00How I Met My HusbandThis week my husband and I are coming up on 16 years of marriage. 16!!! I am only 34, going on 35 later this year..hard to believe that in a few years I will have lived with him longer than I lived with my own parents! Shocking right?!<br />
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Well, in honour of this momentous occasion I thought I would do a series of posts detailing our story.</div>
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Today, the first day...I will tell you how we met.</div>
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It is a bit of a funny story actually. </div>
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I went to one high school, my boyfriend at the time went to a rival high school.</div>
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My boyfriend at the time had been a very good friend previous to us deciding to date. After deciding to date he at some point asked me to his school's prom and of course said I would go. Well, prior to prom we actually broke up-it was totally mutual-and being good friends and a mutual break up we still went to his prom together.</div>
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Upon arriving at dinner after trying not to stab him with a pin for the corsage there was a guy in the corner in a <i style="font-weight: bold;">baby blue, </i>oh yes, you heard me right <i style="font-weight: bold;">baby blue</i> suit. All I could think of was "who the hell is the nerd in the terrible '70's-esque wedding tux." I mean I really cannot tell you how terrible this thing was. I wish I had a photo of him in it...seriously. </div>
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As we were all finishing up dinner getting ready to head to the prom I discovered he had a top hat and cane..wtf. I looked at my date and was like you know the wierdest freaking people.</div>
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Moving on...summer arrives and blue tux weirdo is working the same summer camp as me. ...and being the lucky girl I was he followed me around most of the summer asking me out. He wasn't as lucky as I was {insert sarcastic eye roll here}.</div>
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Move on to that winter he is home from college and I am Christmas shopping at our local mall and see him. Seriously everywhere I freaking turned he was there...I didn't realize who he was at the time though because so many months had gone by and honestly I'd sort of forgotten I just knew his face was super familiar.</div>
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Fast forward to the following August I am at college, he shows up. I am like holy crud, I cannot escape this guy! He asked me out-again-and I said sure, because ya know, why not? It was the worst.date.ever. Seriously awful. I didn't see him again for months.</div>
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Until Christmas. I picked up one of my friends that was still in high school to take her Christmas shopping, I'm at the ATM and I hear a whistle. Being slightly annoyed I turn around and all I said was "YOU!" ...yeah, he asked me out AGAIN. I have no idea why, I mean our first date was horrific...and I have no idea why I actually agreed to try again, but I did...and well, the rest is on the books ;)</div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-61717858447493989842015-06-22T23:00:00.000-07:002015-06-22T23:00:02.640-07:00Our first dance as husband and wife...Ahhh, first dance as husband and wife. I wrote <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/02/compassion-in-right-place-at-right-time.html" target="_blank">a couple of months ago</a> about an experience I had when I was first married, so I thought this week I would share with you a little something about our wedding. When we got married, I was 18, the hubby was 20; It was 1999, there was a lot of good music to choose from. We knew we wanted something from our decade as I was a music junkie enjoying our local station that often played rap/hiphop AND alternative rock. So, I had a varied music taste, hubby listened to Jim Rome...his favorite songs at the time were No Scrubs and No Pigeons. You see what I was up against here.<br />
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We knew we wanted something that would be easy to dance to as we didn't have the extra cash for dance lessons and I wasn't up for teaching him ballroom, I mostly only knew Swing at the time, so an easy to move to song was a necessity. We also wanted it to be something that really felt like us and that we would be proud to have our children listen to.<br />
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So...this was our song...<br />
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At the time, being only 18 and 20 I don't think we realized how true this would wind up being to our relationship. Our lives hadn't been that long. We are coming up on celebrating 16 years in June, 3 years away from being together longer than we ever were apart for me, 5 years for him. </center>
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We will often turn the song on and just dance to reconnect if we've had a particularly busy week or month. Our daughter loves to listen to it because it is quiet and comforting. </center>
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All my life I waited for someone to go on an adventure with and I found him. I was one of the lucky few who found that person early in life and grew with him, and we grow closer all the time. Love truly is a powerful thing that I am so lucky to have found, and have had it for so long.</center>
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As a funny, here are a few pictures from my wedding day...</center>
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A few grey hairs and dye jobs later here we are thousands of miles from where we started. </div>
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Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-44714209270167558572015-06-09T23:00:00.000-07:002015-06-09T23:00:02.886-07:00A Perfect Day, filled with Perfect EatsLast Friday we had a very busy day, well, I did at the very least. It was probably the only summer day we are going to have this year in Amsterdam so I made sure to enjoy it, too bad the kids had to be in school!<br />
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I somewhat kid...it was 33C out, now we are back in the 50s and climbing into the 60s..we are supposed to have one more day this week where it reaches the 30s but it is supposed to thunderstorm all day. I love living here but the weather is really hard to deal with, but everywhere has a down side, right?! So, I will just go on and tell y'all about the most awesomest summer day ever!<br />
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Today I'm linking up with Jenn over at <a href="http://peasandcrayons.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Peas and Crayons</a> for What I Ate Wednesday.<br />
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Our day started with a lovely sunrise bike ride and picnic...<br />
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If you are curious, in the Netherlands to achieve this perfect sunrise...you must be awake at 4:45 to pack your picnic and be out the door by 5:05 to cycle to where you want to watch the sunrise at 5:20..on this day, now it is almost rising at 5:15.</div>
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Was so worth the early wake up to have some early morning eats with this girl in the calm morning light.</div>
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Our spread...Pofferjtes (I warmed them and put them in foil to keep them warm), banana, peanut butter, whipped cream, nutella, and strawberries.</div>
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It was delicious and such a tasty treat!</div>
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A view from behind the dune area.</div>
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After getting everyone off to work and school I said screw the nap and decided it was a great idea to bike 16km one way with my good friend and her 2 year old to a medieval castle that was built in the 1200's...<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2014/11/a-day-at-muiderslot-castle.html" target="_blank">Muiderslot</a>. </div>
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You can tell I am tired.</div>
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Along this route there were free roaming sheep! They belonged to farm as they were tagged, but they just grazed along the bike path and down near the water. It was so amazing. The path is only open from March to October.</div>
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We arrived at the castle and it was a gorgeous day to let my friends son run around.</div>
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I drank this awesome Lemonade from there tavern...</div>
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With the lemonade in the pink cup I also had a bottle of water and a boterham sandwich...which you would think has ham...no matter how many times I see this here I don't think it will ever sink in that "boterham" is just the tradition Dutch sandwich: butter (yes, like real butter), cheese, and this one also had lettuce and honey mustard. They are very good, don't knock 'em 'til ya try 'em!</div>
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This is a shot I think of the Ijslameer on our ride home, we rode over a giant huge bridge. Was so fun!</div>
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After that I raced home to pack our beach bag and meet the teenager. On my bike ride to her school I snacked on a nectarine. It was so delicious!</div>
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We were trying to smile through the heafty clouds we saw rolling in when we pulled in to the Haarlem train station which is two stops from the beach. The doors opened and it was very chilly.</div>
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...because it had started raining when we stepped off the train it wasn't easy to find a place that had seating...but we found a quiet place with a nice menu about a half mile from the train station, thank goodness it was only drizzling.</div>
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After this photo it started pouring and was lightening! ha!</div>
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This was after the heavens opened and the storm started to move away. The chairs are facing away from the water as they were trying to clean up and bring everything in. Here you can rent beach chairs by the hour or day.</div>
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The kiddo and I both decided on fish and chips because of the cooler, rainy weather. It was amazing.</div>
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This was our excited, yup we deserve some appletaart!</div>
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Mmmm...appeltaart and slagroom!</div>
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After dinner we went for a walk on the beach. We were doing our best to not be incredibly sad we didn't get to surf.</div>
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The sunset made it worth going out there even though we didn't get to play in the water...</div>
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...but we did...we weren't leaving without putting our feet in the North Sea. It was chilly, but actually warmer than the air outside! ha!</div>
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By the time all was said and done I'd drank a total of 5 of these bottles and could have gone for more! This bottle is one of my<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/04/top-travel-essentials.html" target="_blank"> top travel essentials</a> and I never go anywhere without it since it is self filtering.</div>
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I hope you enjoyed my eats with a little recap of our one summer day. To learn more about going to the beach in the Netherlands check out these posts: A day at the beach <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2014/09/a-day-at-beach-in-holland-part-1.html" target="_blank">part 1</a>, <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2014/09/a-day-at-beach-in-holland-part-2.html" target="_blank">part 2</a>, <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2014/09/a-day-at-beach-in-holland-part-3.html" target="_blank">part 3.</a></div>
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<b>Has summer arrived where you live? How do you remember to stay hydrated?</b></div>
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<br />Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-43669835205305449802015-06-08T23:00:00.000-07:002015-06-09T05:38:52.633-07:00King's Day in the Netherlands<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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King's Day is a new name for this celebration...a short summary is King's Day came about after last year (2014) when Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne and her son, Willem-Alexander, took over. Previous to this it was Queen's Day. It stayed the same for two Queen's in a row, being held on 30 April, despite Queen Beatrix's birthday being in January.<br />
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So, this new celebration is held on the 27th of April now, know this people because inevitably people were showing up on the 30th and the celebration had come and gone. So, get with the program and know if you are planning a late April visit to the Netherlands (which I 100% recommend) be here for Kings Day on the 27th, 26th if the 27th is a Sunday.<br />
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So...moving on. We had a great time. I know I am writing about this late, but ya know, better late than never.<br />
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Our friends have an apartment down in the Jordaan, so we went there and our kids got to hang out and we got to hang out. It was a blast. There are a few things to remember for King's Day though:<br />
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<ol>
<li>If you want a night time party with lots of music on stage go the night of the 26th...music plays until about 3am, but know it will be crowded.</li>
<li>The morning of the 27th everyone sets out their stalls to sell pretty much everything they've saved up for the past year. This is the only day in the Netherlands where you can sell stuff without a vendor permit.</li>
<li>Be patient. Kids will be in your face to buy stuff and they will try to get to you buy access. Be firm but nice and they back off pretty quick. But, if they want to put a Dutch flag tattoo on your face for €2, just pay them and let them do it, it will totally make their day.</li>
<li>Be ready for a crowd. You know how I said the night before is crowded. The day of is too. You have to know you will be shoulder to shoulder, back to back, and you will get pushed. Keep your cool and just go with the flow...most of the time it gets you to the bar anyway so life is good.</li>
<li>Finally, above all...be patient and always have a smile. Will make for a wonderful day.</li>
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There was an oyster and caviar bar, it was right next to the champagne bar...coincidence...I think not!</div>
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Look at that crowd. It was really crazy..and all down the sides of those streets were people selling stuff!</div>
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So many people were on the canals. Personal boats and rented boats. They don't do any canal tours that day, they are only to rent a seat on for King's Day. You can also buy a ticket for a space on a party barge and they will have a DJ, drinks, etc.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We got the opportunity to walk among the vendors and talk to so many interesting people. For a lot of them this is a favorite day of the year. It is a wild party and you really get a good feel for the community of Amsterdam.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was something someone was "selling". €2 and you could swing on the swing that had you swinging out over the canal! I tell you, the cultural experience you get here is an eye opener. I love it. But, hubby wouldn't let me swing sadly...can't say I really blame him.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hubby and I checking out some architecture.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We ended the day with a look out from the rooftop of our friends building. They took this awesome photo of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you decide to plan a trip to the Netherlands, I do feel the best time is the last weekend in April. You'll get to celebrate King's Day, see the tulips in bloom at <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/04/keukenhof-tulip-gardens.html" target="_blank">Keukenhof Gardens</a>, and you can enjoy a bike ride through the<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/06/spring-bike-ride-through-dutch.html" target="_blank"> countryside. </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Spring truly is the best time of year for a visit..<b>.tell me, where do you live and when do you feel is the best time to visit? </b></span></div>
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<i>P.S, Linking up to: <a href="http://tatertotsandjello.com/2015/06/link-party-palooza-and-50-amazon-giveaway-4.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tater Tots and Jello</a> and <a href="http://nap-timecreations.com/2015/06/create-link-inspire-68.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nap Time Creations</a>.</i></div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-14028033461308352852015-06-08T08:14:00.001-07:002015-06-08T08:14:34.973-07:00Currently, Vol. 11Once again I am linking up with Becky over at <a href="http://choosehappybb.blogspot.nl/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Choose Happy</a> for her weekly Currently link-up!<br />
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We had a crazy busy week last week and that will only be a bit crazier this week since the husband is gearing up to go to a big conference in Los Angeles as the end of this week. I am sad, but it will give the kiddo and I some good one on one time and I can hopefully drag her around to see a few sights...I'm thinking even a few day trips might be in order on the weekends!<br />
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Well, I could get really off track here so let's get back to currently...<br />
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<b>Eating...</b>Pofferjtes-or "fancy foreign pancakes" as my brother calls them (haha)-with nutella and whipped cream. Friday morning we got up for a sunrise bike ride and picnic...was so peaceful. But I will warn you-sunrise bike ride in Amsterdam means getting up at 4:45 as the sun is above the horizon by 5:15-5:20!<br />
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<b>Wondering...</b>why The Netherlands can't have more gorgeous clear blue 30C degree days like this one last Friday....<br />
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<b>Loving....</b>that I have great friends to sight see with and they can take awesome pictures like this of me-with their cute toddlers hanging out in the background giving me rocks hehe<br />
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<b>Riding...</b>my bike EVERYWHERE! I can't stress this enough-everywhere! The weather has been so nice, meaning not raining, so I haven't been on public transport once and it has been so nice...but my thighs are screaming! haha<br />
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<b>Crying...</b>well, I'm not but the teenager will be when she see's this! haha We were having milk from the Melktap last week before riding home and she didn't want me to take her photo..but I did anyway, I still think it is pretty darn cute!<br />
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Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-55952730553625408042015-06-08T00:55:00.000-07:002015-06-08T01:07:12.043-07:00Weekly Menu, #21 +T25/P90X3 Schedule Week 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Before I get on to business I feel like this weekend's epic-ness deserves a little recap..</div>
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Friday I wasn't at home all day. I started it off with a 5 a.m. bike ride picnic with the teenager. It was the best. Next time we do this we are going to bike all the way downtown to see it over the Ij. The teenager thinks I'm a little insane but deep down I know she loves it. </div>
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Then, I rode a total of 36km +/- with my friend to Muiderslot Castle. </div>
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After that the teenager and I headed to the beach. Still pretty epic, but as soon as we got there the skies opened up on us. We still enjoyed the opportunity to sit in the ocean-front restaurant and enjoyed watching the storm. </div>
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We did manage to put our feet in the ocean before we left though!</div>
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Saturday we went to a polish-style housewarming. I brought my typical Dutch treat housewarming gift/what I lay out for guests when they come to our house the first time and are new to The Netherlands. It consists of Vla, these s'more's -ish waffles, and stroopwafels, usually I put some haggelslag in there as well, but I forgot sadly.</div>
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Sunday was Amstelanndag which was a festival highlighting all the fun stuff to do near my house. This is the same area as I take you through in my post from last week, a <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/06/spring-bike-ride-through-dutch.html" target="_blank">Spring Bike Ride through the Dutch Countryside.</a></div>
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It was a packed weekend, I am hoping to make this next week a little more low key, but since quite a bit of sun is predicted I doubt that will happen! haha</div>
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One more thing before moving on..if you haven't linked up your travel posts with our #Reasons2travel link-up please to so<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/06/a-walk-through-jordaan-reasons-to.html" target="_blank"> here!</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fSFHFUm-ZFvbxm5xutJ2dbbGINaqfkWu6Gr9WVzyhrzxNCk-szGRfxaiPoIcqtKvrGFEBj8pEPB-OkeaSBTIgGSBGRLWjHQzu2PJSsF5YfrL5Q7tMqGIJnSzxjqCOjx7DzISPRsNZ06m/s1600/weekly+to+do+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fSFHFUm-ZFvbxm5xutJ2dbbGINaqfkWu6Gr9WVzyhrzxNCk-szGRfxaiPoIcqtKvrGFEBj8pEPB-OkeaSBTIgGSBGRLWjHQzu2PJSsF5YfrL5Q7tMqGIJnSzxjqCOjx7DzISPRsNZ06m/s400/weekly+to+do+graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Last week was very successful. I joined a group of ladies who are determined to work out everyday this month, even if it is just an easy walk or stretching. Just doing something everyday to keep in the fitness groove and remind us why we aren't hogging down on hot dogs and m and m's! haha So, even though my workout schedule wasn't exactly like I had planned here is what I did do...</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Sunday: Rest/Stretch-</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: red;">Yoga</span></span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Monday: </span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">T25 Alpha Cardio</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">/</span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">P90X3 The Warrior-</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: red;">Piyo Sweat (late, late, late at night) plus 10km biking running errands</span></span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Tuesday: </span><span style="color: red;">T25 Lower Focus/P90X 3 MMX</span></span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Wednesday: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: red;">T25 Ab Intervals/P90X3 Agility X + 50km biking and sight seeing-I was exhausted</span></span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Thursday: T25 Speed 1.0/P90X3 Pilates-</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: red;">Workout with the teenager-HIIT Run and a half hour stair workout</span></span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Friday: T25 Total Body Circuit/P90X3 Dynamix</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: red;">-36+km bike ride sightseeing...I decided to sleep when I got home to recover after being in the hot, hot, hot sun all day.</span></span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Saturday: Blogilates 100 Burpee Burnout/T25 Cardio</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: red;">-Yoga. I was really sore and my hips were all out of whack.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">I've learned a bit about myself this past week. I am going to keep up the double workouts as I've been completing a lot, but I do need to focus and start getting up earlier to get my workouts completed before I start going for the day. I hate working out late in the evening, so getting up with the sun will be helpful for me I think. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This week's workouts:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Sunday: P90X Stretch</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Monday: Dynamic core/MMX</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Tuesday: Speed 2.0/Accelerator</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Wednesday: Core Cardio/Decelerator</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Thursday: Pilates X/Cardio</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Friday: Total Body Circuit/Agility X</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Saturday: X3 Yoga-then we are sight seeing so keeping it short :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><b>Goals</b></span></span></div>
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<i>Last week: </i></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Get gifts mailed out (one is really belated, so I really have to get to the post office)-<span style="color: red;">Done!</span></span></li>
<li style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Stick to workouts and menu-<span style="color: red;">Done!</span></span></li>
<li style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Get the courage to list a few items I've made in my Etsy store-<span style="color: orange;">Still not done :(</span></span></li>
<li style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Visit two more museums on my list-<span style="color: red;">Done! I managed the Hermitage and Amsterdam Museum</span></span></li>
<li style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Take two bike rides-<span style="color: red;">Done! One to Amsterdam Noord, the other to Muiderslot.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><i>This week:</i></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Visit two more museums on my list</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Sight seeing trip to Enkhuizen</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Stick to menu and workouts</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Increase unique page views by 100 this week</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Actually list the items in my Etsy shop</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Find at least 3 link parties to link up to each day</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Post more content on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofanurbanhousewife" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, increase interaction</span></span></li>
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<b>Breakfast:</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>Sunday: Granola with banana slices</li>
<li>Strawberries and cream oatmeal x2</li>
<li>Acai Bowl x2</li>
<li>Friday: Egg scramble with toast</li>
<li>Saturday: French toast with berries</li>
</ul>
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<b>Lunch:</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Sunday: Omelettes, toast (homemade bread), nectarine slices</li>
<li>Monday: Half a baked potato topped with mixed veggies</li>
<li>Tuesday: Sandwiches</li>
<li>Wednesday: Leftovers</li>
<li>Thursday: Sandwiches</li>
<li>Friday: Leftovers</li>
<li>Saturday: Picnic of hard boiled eggs, bread and butter, fruit, cheese</li>
</ul>
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<b>Dinner:</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>Sunday: Tacos/taco salad</li>
<li>Monday: BBQ chicken breasts with sugar snap peas and brown rice</li>
<li>Tuesday: Lentils topped with BBQ chicken (leftover), and mixed veggies</li>
<li>Wednesday: Hubby's last night here so we will eat out</li>
<li>Thursday: Coconut crusted fish with mango rice</li>
<li>Friday: Veggie pad thai with any leftovers</li>
<li>Saturday: Eat out...will be doing a lot of sight seeing so hope to find some where scenic and unique to eat dinner.</li>
</ul>
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That is it for me this week! <b>Tell me, what makes for the perfect weekend for you?</b></div>
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<i>P.S. Linking up with <a href="http://www.mommyrunfast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mommy Run Fast</a>, <a href="http://jillconyers.com/2015/06/fitness-health-and-happiness-4/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jill Conyers</a>, and I<a href="http://orgjunkie.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">'m an Organizing Junkie</a> and <a href="http://www.singlemotherahoy.com/2015/06/goal-setting-for-greatness-2015-06-08.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Single Mother Ahoy.</a></i>Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-48355002128029382972015-06-04T23:00:00.000-07:002015-06-04T23:00:01.864-07:00A walk through the Jordaan +Reasons to Travel LINK UP! <div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: large;">Living in any major city you know there are a lot of neighbourhoods. Amsterdam particularly has a ton of them and they are pretty important as on all the street signs it will have the name of the street and the neighborhood under that in the lower right hand corner usually. While I am giving a bit of street sign reading advice let me tell you this: in Amsterdam, most street signs are located on the sides of buildings, usually you can see them if you are right under them. So, be warned.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyKiucvX0TpR0zyV8RD54CVuKx6Ab0AdbGnt_4KYCpH_UTJMHqzSfyG9Ms0BzIeuW4vQXupxKP_xYApz2T0JxkeD3_G3QiXC5a7VLOGsbIlUeEbTDNOKsqTk4agj0heCcIuRqLiEsH7n9/s1600/A+walk+through+the+jordaan+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyKiucvX0TpR0zyV8RD54CVuKx6Ab0AdbGnt_4KYCpH_UTJMHqzSfyG9Ms0BzIeuW4vQXupxKP_xYApz2T0JxkeD3_G3QiXC5a7VLOGsbIlUeEbTDNOKsqTk4agj0heCcIuRqLiEsH7n9/s400/A+walk+through+the+jordaan+Collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, two weeks ago now my friend Jackie, whom I've mentioned before, decided to go on a photography journey around her neighbourhood-the Jordaan. This is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Amsterdam. There are loads of historical buildings, hofjes, and fun markets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I started out in Rembrandtplein, as I rode in to work with my hubby...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7MLNxsYDNVcEH9Z8fh6uAYAsguNSDGGbKSC6zWhK0Mx4iMD0w8lX51CK3qrmXhZmsSxs1GWIYlQW0k7UDe-MPi4osVuuByoIEqCvV1tyK8tZrj7fyCkEJNUcJT9IB_zBZ88ffkkkPCkQ/s1600/jordaan+walk+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7MLNxsYDNVcEH9Z8fh6uAYAsguNSDGGbKSC6zWhK0Mx4iMD0w8lX51CK3qrmXhZmsSxs1GWIYlQW0k7UDe-MPi4osVuuByoIEqCvV1tyK8tZrj7fyCkEJNUcJT9IB_zBZ88ffkkkPCkQ/s400/jordaan+walk+1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was no one out on the patios yet, this is a rare occasion.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWODnMlYH8PEf6ZhgwVToZvCHeRQjhkMJq0GM5H4-LOjiihoeM4wfwX1lKYBTsKkq_z8nZTJLjmI6JdY9P9Bb8hbo_9ohx0FB-DDs9iWoH-_b1LD1TLa0ho4OSNLNE9ysrhw_Sstt2DE7c/s1600/jordaan+walk+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWODnMlYH8PEf6ZhgwVToZvCHeRQjhkMJq0GM5H4-LOjiihoeM4wfwX1lKYBTsKkq_z8nZTJLjmI6JdY9P9Bb8hbo_9ohx0FB-DDs9iWoH-_b1LD1TLa0ho4OSNLNE9ysrhw_Sstt2DE7c/s400/jordaan+walk+2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everyone must have just gotten to work, but the bikes were lined up so nicely, hardly a cycle out of place.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWOh77HT5rfVouenY1LNVZYSUvSdWsE1ljC-SpyreGWY6kw2TzmVN3v_vy8zn9rzwFr6sVXF7vtCSx1fNSTkw0XQ_TIICXGUDRNm2Rh7UF9u84N_yy3PK0Py6T7YVSDy2DGuWOAojuSx1/s1600/jordaan+walk+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWOh77HT5rfVouenY1LNVZYSUvSdWsE1ljC-SpyreGWY6kw2TzmVN3v_vy8zn9rzwFr6sVXF7vtCSx1fNSTkw0XQ_TIICXGUDRNm2Rh7UF9u84N_yy3PK0Py6T7YVSDy2DGuWOAojuSx1/s400/jordaan+walk+4.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In case you want to know where the Anne Frank statue is hiding, if you are facing the Westerkerk Church it is on the east side.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2MEDp5DFEVTwye1lJDgiUc0zc9TsGtPiHy6bdD-8q6BnR8KM1FzsbfJaQdojx5EykV_YxfmcFeZ1r390q-rTe4Xu4TmAX4dVyMPEpbVMf3mDQbmSmVEgliZTikQDc459Y0mQvYNGAPbQ/s1600/jordaan+walk+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2MEDp5DFEVTwye1lJDgiUc0zc9TsGtPiHy6bdD-8q6BnR8KM1FzsbfJaQdojx5EykV_YxfmcFeZ1r390q-rTe4Xu4TmAX4dVyMPEpbVMf3mDQbmSmVEgliZTikQDc459Y0mQvYNGAPbQ/s400/jordaan+walk+9.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I got to the Westerkerk a bit early so I decided to pop in and see if anything was new and I discovered a few gems including their Friday Concerts. Will try to get to one this week.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N0kBwOuAkNhOD8ueOyDMFEwnctnix3X7DagYY3KxXipCzzxRAxqfAdNF0qK0WdQZY1PKkM_mGW234ItKgE3RFBzDxhZ719VYWz6gzhFibVF09arcK7C8aOG8xBXAvGrnMfCE5pfZijQB/s1600/jordaan+walk+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N0kBwOuAkNhOD8ueOyDMFEwnctnix3X7DagYY3KxXipCzzxRAxqfAdNF0qK0WdQZY1PKkM_mGW234ItKgE3RFBzDxhZ719VYWz6gzhFibVF09arcK7C8aOG8xBXAvGrnMfCE5pfZijQB/s400/jordaan+walk+5.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They had the altar all set up.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWaxXq4A8TfER_wn-tt1ugSFd5SfgXwJvCO02pChx7lDHS-9db3QePAlASsM7kUxGYirP079iU_CoLg4qEW7v_ZgaHej7B05bdkDsFPFvy9Xme3aIy6c22QMcU-KbBn2vct1m7C8Po4hU/s1600/jordaan+walk+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWaxXq4A8TfER_wn-tt1ugSFd5SfgXwJvCO02pChx7lDHS-9db3QePAlASsM7kUxGYirP079iU_CoLg4qEW7v_ZgaHej7B05bdkDsFPFvy9Xme3aIy6c22QMcU-KbBn2vct1m7C8Po4hU/s400/jordaan+walk+6.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was a model of the steeple.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbspR0LumYoZ8jEujFDJnonVqJQAZerZOwhglPMRygeW0jC9G-JZb0xf0H3bnHn-zTSaSqUpv7-lnXEF2sXeV5P3KK5eoiEwip6p0KBWkJApdBHab89Zs8fr-8yaQRrhY3mx57Ms3VRfuf/s1600/jordaan+walk+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbspR0LumYoZ8jEujFDJnonVqJQAZerZOwhglPMRygeW0jC9G-JZb0xf0H3bnHn-zTSaSqUpv7-lnXEF2sXeV5P3KK5eoiEwip6p0KBWkJApdBHab89Zs8fr-8yaQRrhY3mx57Ms3VRfuf/s400/jordaan+walk+7.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a really cool candle holder. You light a candle like you do in church in honour of a loved one, when they put the candle out in the evening there is a lid they just push down! It is pretty unique and makes for a very gorgeous display.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When you leave the Westerkerk you'll notice a very long line that is the entrance to the Anne Frank House. One door down from that is what was once the physical entrance the home in which Anne Frank lived with her family and friends for so many years. This entrance is no longer used, but it remains.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo4pybxTpbaj2FTBS6WIrD_mGiPWu5HMoMsh4AuF7jiXrfDNc7Q_ln5LXVf7JkUgB3ZQhcDu9dEJu-zDcSgoIBNr1wfWeHmKS8bQ6MkwuXNG_-3-y4sCDUqEK-i7NZZOw3Tq4811AILTg/s1600/jordaan+walk+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo4pybxTpbaj2FTBS6WIrD_mGiPWu5HMoMsh4AuF7jiXrfDNc7Q_ln5LXVf7JkUgB3ZQhcDu9dEJu-zDcSgoIBNr1wfWeHmKS8bQ6MkwuXNG_-3-y4sCDUqEK-i7NZZOw3Tq4811AILTg/s400/jordaan+walk+11.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After this we decided we wanted to try and capture the "Amsterdam Snow". If you've read The Fault in Our Stars you know what this is....for those that haven't read it, basically it is the Elm Tree's that have fully blossomed their petals are flying in the wind, it is pretty magical.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTK6a-1NXlOcgYmuwVLpjri7gGMPn-xa-9P5VrhznM4EJRKGswv2CAcxjL3VN_PvqprL15i1ZqN6IHDRwgOoPhCOZjlrv6xbUAeB-53eeimvJqc4fVg_-y8t4jgt6Ql4PX8i1V-_8OHtuz/s1600/jordaan+walk+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTK6a-1NXlOcgYmuwVLpjri7gGMPn-xa-9P5VrhznM4EJRKGswv2CAcxjL3VN_PvqprL15i1ZqN6IHDRwgOoPhCOZjlrv6xbUAeB-53eeimvJqc4fVg_-y8t4jgt6Ql4PX8i1V-_8OHtuz/s400/jordaan+walk+18.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3P9tNAzL8V4PNVci_1rNSzf2oCfK0BXCGYvEdZ0eFBPB1Z0L3au-H67ePgo9gMhvxkEkyEdZZQVIGMxDEehmYKlEvWzpTu0swuB_94iawV11mLCVhb1vmxV-sp8dmxggLj931ZLhT86Ly/s1600/jordaan+walk+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3P9tNAzL8V4PNVci_1rNSzf2oCfK0BXCGYvEdZ0eFBPB1Z0L3au-H67ePgo9gMhvxkEkyEdZZQVIGMxDEehmYKlEvWzpTu0swuB_94iawV11mLCVhb1vmxV-sp8dmxggLj931ZLhT86Ly/s400/jordaan+walk+20.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We walked a bit more and found some rather picturesque canal houses and decided to get them in our photo albums.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gEqROyjGoXyjoiZeXTfJASzoe63k8YK-lg5IgDxotEdi99WvddZ11qMT2LLJx1B1Y7x7Ykdl9ZRZJvanqjTbiG2cq7wMQdAwqvTYnnMFaxAgqKnUhLp6IE_DWRV4aL48W6_4Gamf_LYH/s1600/jordaan+walk+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gEqROyjGoXyjoiZeXTfJASzoe63k8YK-lg5IgDxotEdi99WvddZ11qMT2LLJx1B1Y7x7Ykdl9ZRZJvanqjTbiG2cq7wMQdAwqvTYnnMFaxAgqKnUhLp6IE_DWRV4aL48W6_4Gamf_LYH/s400/jordaan+walk+23.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think red shutters are the best thing in the world....love them!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2EwtgN3273TwxJgziszeX5-6_EJT85tFXbmMGqG5xOsHugDGG0oPuxmYqlk8LDH2x1qmSGMJu24n-dQhCLuHeowxmi6EkEYDXTpX3-xHspKIMMiCwPtnsq5_6juNzyc7CD0ZTzmQFGQC/s1600/jordaan+walk+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2EwtgN3273TwxJgziszeX5-6_EJT85tFXbmMGqG5xOsHugDGG0oPuxmYqlk8LDH2x1qmSGMJu24n-dQhCLuHeowxmi6EkEYDXTpX3-xHspKIMMiCwPtnsq5_6juNzyc7CD0ZTzmQFGQC/s400/jordaan+walk+26.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikajzb-JeHGkK0fACm-JoBCJtGevNf5ZwCpwsJseyS4s1djh1leAp8hs3-8rdjMvQrcs5U_VYF9BwnOU7DUgsQ6AD6yBuV4RTC8jeWWi3OM-_VK26Nv_Qx6ERLJ6Ne_IvMVt48hgd2U-rX/s1600/jordaan+walk+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikajzb-JeHGkK0fACm-JoBCJtGevNf5ZwCpwsJseyS4s1djh1leAp8hs3-8rdjMvQrcs5U_VYF9BwnOU7DUgsQ6AD6yBuV4RTC8jeWWi3OM-_VK26Nv_Qx6ERLJ6Ne_IvMVt48hgd2U-rX/s400/jordaan+walk+27.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM3ibL6xWVyKe-t_zQYOrPW70tDGnjUJ0HuNxiujX4YUra9hTlZLf9bwSBIX3nJuFtltrBbCF05Nnx-l1oYi2AvMNv1hCUj0ab3XAFVFgoNnajlQYCSCbxHljCAuItQ9e1MxbxrbOKjFC/s1600/jordaan+walk+30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM3ibL6xWVyKe-t_zQYOrPW70tDGnjUJ0HuNxiujX4YUra9hTlZLf9bwSBIX3nJuFtltrBbCF05Nnx-l1oYi2AvMNv1hCUj0ab3XAFVFgoNnajlQYCSCbxHljCAuItQ9e1MxbxrbOKjFC/s400/jordaan+walk+30.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was a pub, the reason I took a photo is really for the head next to the name. The head with the open mouth like that indicates that this was once a pharmacy. I will learn more about this when we take a trip out to the Zuiderzee Museum, but from what I do know is these open mouths used to mark the pharmacy so you could go in for medicine. A lot of places here were marked with signs and specific sculptures way, way, way back when I guess because so many people couldn't read. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd52_Na4M1QXo_F1edFPRsGIQOA8TZh3ymyMFlaL1BpFa4_DMFqWuWWLg8TC905vk0S0Lv8IZmO-8Wz8Yf2WqtGjvhc6jQLRG1-l6BrLO944lAgGjxBCDmRbY028Xv5sD9znBvon-LAKFV/s1600/jordaan+walk+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd52_Na4M1QXo_F1edFPRsGIQOA8TZh3ymyMFlaL1BpFa4_DMFqWuWWLg8TC905vk0S0Lv8IZmO-8Wz8Yf2WqtGjvhc6jQLRG1-l6BrLO944lAgGjxBCDmRbY028Xv5sD9znBvon-LAKFV/s320/jordaan+walk+31.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next we saw these cool signs on this house. Not sure what the mean or stood for, but they sure were cute! I loved this picture in particular because it was a picture of my friend taking a picture and you could see her photo all lined up in her camera.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYrIVko-tL3u2rO_mWvlYUDeDmMplB42ovcpRLCE0qdT69Y7ado8iziz50mC3SD26djahc1sAecHfdXyW-g7AUya0qwlMb62XkWgn1WlHvT8oi9PkarQZDGJOvZqKI9zDDuvSBchTKBaqq/s1600/jordaan+walk+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYrIVko-tL3u2rO_mWvlYUDeDmMplB42ovcpRLCE0qdT69Y7ado8iziz50mC3SD26djahc1sAecHfdXyW-g7AUya0qwlMb62XkWgn1WlHvT8oi9PkarQZDGJOvZqKI9zDDuvSBchTKBaqq/s400/jordaan+walk+33.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next, we went in to a Hofje. When you see these marked around town, during certain hours (usually 8.00-18.00) the courtyards are open to the public. So we went in to a couple that are on this street.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Hofje is usually very old. They were often created by the rich or well-to-do as places for people-typically poor widows, abused women, or poor young childless couples to live in. They were typically built around a church, but not always and were only for the poor. Today, I do believe they are still low income housing and are kept up by the decedents of those that originally started the Hofje. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaX1GKyRD5x3eDi83bIhajUnzdK4V7mouq8EuWkluysROyl9iyLeaeWI3VAxrA2UGHDD5dxIMV6tByONiPOmKaewkPNoMfEjLHEls9FUYL6QhaXwkpZ4sXiyFvjKjflXwTrWJOljKAkQD/s1600/jordaan+walk+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaX1GKyRD5x3eDi83bIhajUnzdK4V7mouq8EuWkluysROyl9iyLeaeWI3VAxrA2UGHDD5dxIMV6tByONiPOmKaewkPNoMfEjLHEls9FUYL6QhaXwkpZ4sXiyFvjKjflXwTrWJOljKAkQD/s400/jordaan+walk+41.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We met these two sweet kitties when we walked in. They were very friendly and followed us about.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTjIRX_FDPqkUNDtEhFztv4xwlsVNshG7BvTIfmT85VstLgi_37NOJx6laH5ryiMrVLFWsY41QdgIwVguItZozRAdcJ3qSFvi4Uu3G3S1kWTZsBBPBJ-oAIq4LvCKFpXpO31EDPtlUaNq/s1600/jordaan+walk+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTjIRX_FDPqkUNDtEhFztv4xwlsVNshG7BvTIfmT85VstLgi_37NOJx6laH5ryiMrVLFWsY41QdgIwVguItZozRAdcJ3qSFvi4Uu3G3S1kWTZsBBPBJ-oAIq4LvCKFpXpO31EDPtlUaNq/s400/jordaan+walk+34.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this particular Hoofje today there are 20 or 30 students (I can't remember exactly) who reside there along with a care taker.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjRqQia9qtO7O42ILRN9BHIt9J4iW2eM8V8ujz7qWzAYR9EVsdwTp7iGMNOP9ScEdkaVCMAGPOKNSxiAZPh2D5G2ziVtVX7V1zG4TaEBbemQgvbGcXYr3VB_huHAlizHyTPdAtMrSxSB-/s1600/jordaan+walk+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjRqQia9qtO7O42ILRN9BHIt9J4iW2eM8V8ujz7qWzAYR9EVsdwTp7iGMNOP9ScEdkaVCMAGPOKNSxiAZPh2D5G2ziVtVX7V1zG4TaEBbemQgvbGcXYr3VB_huHAlizHyTPdAtMrSxSB-/s400/jordaan+walk+36.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcEkSeACxoap9kI-TadLhF1qmVXDTgNI8K7xh77XYxQPbcHK5y32MlLXtZn3t6JzZoFWJgszTIDuHifZKNC8j1CkE82b_Cq0H3BXtGFMiO_pnSfIQ9vkHjSGnrR6xZxtfojUOfbsgYOld/s1600/jordaan+walk+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcEkSeACxoap9kI-TadLhF1qmVXDTgNI8K7xh77XYxQPbcHK5y32MlLXtZn3t6JzZoFWJgszTIDuHifZKNC8j1CkE82b_Cq0H3BXtGFMiO_pnSfIQ9vkHjSGnrR6xZxtfojUOfbsgYOld/s400/jordaan+walk+35.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The garden.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRxSoehn4Lmfs6EWSS3Nx7Pwj91pxDyOhhM0F3soApGg8HCi2NdCfvIEtsW0qEByF_xDx95UHR1yg-nCfgjIsYsRkq-KH5KKoCEoJsU-CgrQpepBL5wfybsZ-n9cdPpWo2hZwEAE3i2Dv/s1600/jordaan+walk+37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRxSoehn4Lmfs6EWSS3Nx7Pwj91pxDyOhhM0F3soApGg8HCi2NdCfvIEtsW0qEByF_xDx95UHR1yg-nCfgjIsYsRkq-KH5KKoCEoJsU-CgrQpepBL5wfybsZ-n9cdPpWo2hZwEAE3i2Dv/s400/jordaan+walk+37.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mermaid statue.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheolDQORt849OwoCoVKTJLpsgsFF3cf_HsVK3T3fGLfr2wwK7C_TXCrmlI8YODEaZAQkwdPgrvxuQJ2m08Ny3SwdssodMssItc0oPy6mZWGy5DKBaGPmplRjatlXVpb73XYnCc9sjljh4M/s1600/jordaan+walk+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheolDQORt849OwoCoVKTJLpsgsFF3cf_HsVK3T3fGLfr2wwK7C_TXCrmlI8YODEaZAQkwdPgrvxuQJ2m08Ny3SwdssodMssItc0oPy6mZWGy5DKBaGPmplRjatlXVpb73XYnCc9sjljh4M/s400/jordaan+walk+38.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDoJoOgc5P9sQEux1IGlrA0HFEY47qOonKIyDqAS-1URXWsh_b6lGV_WwJBH-L4hB258yyyu_Svy-KhGAXoAxhEZFU3MqTh91uuO7PHjNlqf8w9iNSVoTEB4iIwzbPe55FOf0S3-okTDoJ/s1600/jordaan+walk+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDoJoOgc5P9sQEux1IGlrA0HFEY47qOonKIyDqAS-1URXWsh_b6lGV_WwJBH-L4hB258yyyu_Svy-KhGAXoAxhEZFU3MqTh91uuO7PHjNlqf8w9iNSVoTEB4iIwzbPe55FOf0S3-okTDoJ/s400/jordaan+walk+40.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just two doors down from the Hoofje above there is a second Hoofje. I believe this one was created because the man who funded it got stuck in a beer cellar or something and there was no way anyone would find him. So, he prayed and told God if he was found alive he would fun a Hoofje. So, he did! A second fun piece of information, when they cleaned out the cellar of this place a while back, they found several casks of really old beer!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pTIvqDLMvibTqL1maX4LwjMuUDEv5yniqjF4e9K-bBXkoDk__ec7OI3CSJjgj00MeVN4tB_X1X84_-9eRBVCHFRBU-sQbRfcKX8eFVa91peo9v48TpvFEz4dlZNuyzFhTiCZsXNKBhLz/s1600/jordaan+walk+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pTIvqDLMvibTqL1maX4LwjMuUDEv5yniqjF4e9K-bBXkoDk__ec7OI3CSJjgj00MeVN4tB_X1X84_-9eRBVCHFRBU-sQbRfcKX8eFVa91peo9v48TpvFEz4dlZNuyzFhTiCZsXNKBhLz/s400/jordaan+walk+42.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was the well they would pump water from.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo7dP9XZLDZ8ba5srqXXd8RiSSN4XJaFi-yd8y0gFNDx8IBbw8ymJ6E9MK-tNZ2yRyUqpC5Vq0ZOQpYFrpreo7bW62shQ9ToMmkxcLPGF3nhTqanQ_rVrYso__WyHENjhPJneZV2m1rMB/s1600/jordaan+walk+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo7dP9XZLDZ8ba5srqXXd8RiSSN4XJaFi-yd8y0gFNDx8IBbw8ymJ6E9MK-tNZ2yRyUqpC5Vq0ZOQpYFrpreo7bW62shQ9ToMmkxcLPGF3nhTqanQ_rVrYso__WyHENjhPJneZV2m1rMB/s400/jordaan+walk+44.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"pump water" I am guessing this was drinking water...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClK0UcHaM9DOfaiwEdMO-5BFXKltL63bWzqVc7dME2QHyBMrOTRaQr-vnesHHyId9QO6MsIaAHVpiUn1oTsPXb22FeYqjcYTomGDFXKguXO9BFv7vyqa0btQ2cEE_HWOOoVRj9R5jFWAQ/s1600/jordaan+walk+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClK0UcHaM9DOfaiwEdMO-5BFXKltL63bWzqVc7dME2QHyBMrOTRaQr-vnesHHyId9QO6MsIaAHVpiUn1oTsPXb22FeYqjcYTomGDFXKguXO9BFv7vyqa0btQ2cEE_HWOOoVRj9R5jFWAQ/s400/jordaan+walk+45.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"rain water" I assume this is what they used for cleaning and watering plants and what not. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d4xxDsSy_2EF6STyo_JioVd8RcheTHsJH_3lh0p4fUypa8KP8T5yTWv7z_oCDdSnwm0QPx6GGlkXPCNVpbTErG2wtamvhQmbltmBVR-IdJ4a61k5mh3jAhBytHUAo8SVJuFe0CU4YFJ-/s1600/jordaan+walk+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d4xxDsSy_2EF6STyo_JioVd8RcheTHsJH_3lh0p4fUypa8KP8T5yTWv7z_oCDdSnwm0QPx6GGlkXPCNVpbTErG2wtamvhQmbltmBVR-IdJ4a61k5mh3jAhBytHUAo8SVJuFe0CU4YFJ-/s400/jordaan+walk+43.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These were the bathrooms! Cute, huh?! Now they are storage...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAGX4hFBr9HYk0aF0qw5tuCvzzkor-teXCMkcVLlawDqxR8diJy0VHJxPvdZ1685YiKG2ki1Piaqd57OIt6BWYParbZo-eLGEdcGXijtL9IGbJmWlaj8lLipD7GOVL1y8uIIfRIzoMaJH/s1600/jordaan+walk+46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAGX4hFBr9HYk0aF0qw5tuCvzzkor-teXCMkcVLlawDqxR8diJy0VHJxPvdZ1685YiKG2ki1Piaqd57OIt6BWYParbZo-eLGEdcGXijtL9IGbJmWlaj8lLipD7GOVL1y8uIIfRIzoMaJH/s400/jordaan+walk+46.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A lot of cute places to sit for a cuppa.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3l9cE1yE9dXLjA6yfpedys3RVRonbWY1xLHSJkGrYklIRoYkoELlkk7ugVaobDTrdhkioS7DCHPvesE3HOFbV7cBHx8Rb1FxqIKRYdY-Kmvs5iN4XZ8-u8zlFQb_oRlnlVA3dVY-jPl6u/s1600/jordaan+walk+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3l9cE1yE9dXLjA6yfpedys3RVRonbWY1xLHSJkGrYklIRoYkoELlkk7ugVaobDTrdhkioS7DCHPvesE3HOFbV7cBHx8Rb1FxqIKRYdY-Kmvs5iN4XZ8-u8zlFQb_oRlnlVA3dVY-jPl6u/s400/jordaan+walk+47.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghULDdYMAvOwe7fx-1QV8m_DP4Yi5AeSlLskUODdSr432wuHn8lVfyIOvX5p4EIdDLfV4IOEdTweA0bGgIncMQ9hXLf1iFfgsySHnwtoO01Zw02A9fBQGxaPOjSedD_Rh41TLdgEyCtC4f/s1600/jordaan+walk+50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghULDdYMAvOwe7fx-1QV8m_DP4Yi5AeSlLskUODdSr432wuHn8lVfyIOvX5p4EIdDLfV4IOEdTweA0bGgIncMQ9hXLf1iFfgsySHnwtoO01Zw02A9fBQGxaPOjSedD_Rh41TLdgEyCtC4f/s400/jordaan+walk+50.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The door to leave...there is a little bell in the upper right hand corner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After the Hoofje's we walked through the Monday Market a bit...it is HUGE! The next Monday it is really nice I want to go out again because I probably only covered a third of the Market. There was everything there from fresh fruit and veggies to people who collected antiques to used clothes, new clothes, and everything in between! A must-see when in Amsterdam, especially if you are looking for cheap souvenirs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After this we decided to head in the direction of my friend's house for lunch and found some neat things to photograph. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you don't know Amsterdam (and this is honestly true of many European cities) many places are either closed on Monday's or don't open up until 1pm or later. So many places were still closed.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ek1dVyG9lsa4XrYZxl2omVBby5epKts6JPtCaQ9zU057pnZJUHRlgv3sLodjCJC7wGqUVM7ymKxApH8wPnXEbNfsaN_CbF-5wf2WjcIBVm3F8vvUPVBHbVf7jOwK2yvAHjuMTMaedHg1/s1600/jordaan+walk+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ek1dVyG9lsa4XrYZxl2omVBby5epKts6JPtCaQ9zU057pnZJUHRlgv3sLodjCJC7wGqUVM7ymKxApH8wPnXEbNfsaN_CbF-5wf2WjcIBVm3F8vvUPVBHbVf7jOwK2yvAHjuMTMaedHg1/s400/jordaan+walk+51.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wish this picture had turned out better but if you click it to blow it up we were originally attracted to it because of the sunglasses-then we looked up and discovered the weird naked mannequin busts and heads. Strange place...you can see the reflection of the church behind me in the window. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HWreH8_gP_luoDn-dTc3hd7gWGzaqFc05WVrfPuCq3-exYHTAzmF7EckexUPGSOQsphS6ydNulPwccNBOu9VjfDre-nrKb24GY6Au1M_8KioOxLqfvyKfr6_XtcJidokm_94ApEYg7Xg/s1600/jordaan+walk+52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HWreH8_gP_luoDn-dTc3hd7gWGzaqFc05WVrfPuCq3-exYHTAzmF7EckexUPGSOQsphS6ydNulPwccNBOu9VjfDre-nrKb24GY6Au1M_8KioOxLqfvyKfr6_XtcJidokm_94ApEYg7Xg/s400/jordaan+walk+52.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was highly attracted to this building.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteamisl1SwKQXskvyZLiEixOZRU-KKPgyMSlZomwnqX4uDVlg49Ke3akCMJ9J0eHteopSVyBZpsFshNSCslSrDQU0ET7S4zVN5Q8jxknUwRtl7blD2TPV7hOE-vi3o8b5SakUcHXbSUps/s1600/jordaan+walk+53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteamisl1SwKQXskvyZLiEixOZRU-KKPgyMSlZomwnqX4uDVlg49Ke3akCMJ9J0eHteopSVyBZpsFshNSCslSrDQU0ET7S4zVN5Q8jxknUwRtl7blD2TPV7hOE-vi3o8b5SakUcHXbSUps/s400/jordaan+walk+53.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A bit more reflection (I really need to practice capturing reflections), but here you can really see those weird mannequin heads...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5YLXZQ0pk5w7LP8Omwlh5HzNFLUSwOcICKoETn6w0j43VThDq7lo218Uj4i3XNvUPmfB7GZ3hCUQ352_bbQxurpqRFwb8nLTKOiEHfXL7gWvFRs7rh5YuR2MIry6PEX3bUdlbLJkVEVG/s1600/jordaan+walk+55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5YLXZQ0pk5w7LP8Omwlh5HzNFLUSwOcICKoETn6w0j43VThDq7lo218Uj4i3XNvUPmfB7GZ3hCUQ352_bbQxurpqRFwb8nLTKOiEHfXL7gWvFRs7rh5YuR2MIry6PEX3bUdlbLJkVEVG/s400/jordaan+walk+55.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What is this? Wisteria? If so it is blooming everywhere right now!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26YohFNo3BBNHr0-aExNBUwAwqXh2Goq7adCZ_l2ymubpzR6oq1Pk9GqG3GnU_oZ7-uaKZwdJCvpeK9qwsmaPucoRD72T4RmLsm7BVs3P2V8JbE2MPP8rcg77gQPmHa_JCEckbG9827b6/s1600/jordaan+walk+56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26YohFNo3BBNHr0-aExNBUwAwqXh2Goq7adCZ_l2ymubpzR6oq1Pk9GqG3GnU_oZ7-uaKZwdJCvpeK9qwsmaPucoRD72T4RmLsm7BVs3P2V8JbE2MPP8rcg77gQPmHa_JCEckbG9827b6/s400/jordaan+walk+56.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We came across this super cute record shop. I loved the pole with the record on the end...outside they had some clearance records being sold along with some jam and fresh veggies.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkprQGHnKQHEj-X3u2M1MlrWxXHqKvs7I6CmxP9Oh9iYS80VEb38SWzDrKh-0CsbjCj3wSYNnR7pZBBfOqQ7HTJl0V-I_lwhmq1lJb_-zgdM41ReyZJgmVzH-QQ8hYbigngHTFU7W0S3K/s1600/jordaan+walk+61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkprQGHnKQHEj-X3u2M1MlrWxXHqKvs7I6CmxP9Oh9iYS80VEb38SWzDrKh-0CsbjCj3wSYNnR7pZBBfOqQ7HTJl0V-I_lwhmq1lJb_-zgdM41ReyZJgmVzH-QQ8hYbigngHTFU7W0S3K/s400/jordaan+walk+61.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A larger photo of the front.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNYxQlyfKmWgTvRDQTZhYKmR7CZ9Y6oH8h1biQkofqUmfc40PwuZGvZUGgOmBNNCMxlhTlRhtR1aF-ObYX5tRiS-O6B9oqH-VamLKmMfrXY4SDENcwT7Dji2Nnv7iBDW8vn9WIfP9E6gF/s1600/jordaan+walk+58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNYxQlyfKmWgTvRDQTZhYKmR7CZ9Y6oH8h1biQkofqUmfc40PwuZGvZUGgOmBNNCMxlhTlRhtR1aF-ObYX5tRiS-O6B9oqH-VamLKmMfrXY4SDENcwT7Dji2Nnv7iBDW8vn9WIfP9E6gF/s400/jordaan+walk+58.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These sorts of plaques are everywhere. I am not sure about these ones in particular but many of the ones you see like this actually marked people's homes in the 16th and 17th centuries, much like the gaping mouth that marked the pharmacy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The plaque below translates literally to "Faith, Hope, and Love". I think I would like that hanging over my house! :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-dEaxbs_3b4o0Ds9ru_yzlSP_Q-ROGBcPUMkP6ep0jAkGs-jvtQyNUawR6QroEy_Gw2A2RG_qs_tH3obdbG9QlfI1B5xD5WFdMRFuLbEqbIovWB2dKnAnIw_evpEneA_FnC94qqgxulD/s1600/jordaan+walk+60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-dEaxbs_3b4o0Ds9ru_yzlSP_Q-ROGBcPUMkP6ep0jAkGs-jvtQyNUawR6QroEy_Gw2A2RG_qs_tH3obdbG9QlfI1B5xD5WFdMRFuLbEqbIovWB2dKnAnIw_evpEneA_FnC94qqgxulD/s400/jordaan+walk+60.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was a bit cloudy, windy, and rain was moving in but we had so much fun and saw some really beautiful things! Remember-when in Europe-<b>LOOK UP</b>! It is so important and you could miss some really amazing things!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Do you remember to look up?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">What is the coolest thing you've seen on holiday?</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Link up your travel related posts below!</span></b><br />
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-78051423176950840662015-06-04T05:54:00.001-07:002015-06-04T05:59:15.325-07:00Spring Bike Ride Through the Dutch Countryside<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Riding a bike in Amsterdam is one of the most amazing experiences. It is a must-do as a someone living here, but as a tourist as well it is something you really should put on your list. That being said, there are many more places to rent a bike and ride other than Centrum. Centrum can be infuriating to ride in because of all the cars, trams, and just people! It can be hard to actually see anything. So, today I am going to show you a bit of the country side that is just minutes from the city and is right behind our house! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KialRAEsk6h7GiLUSwRtQ_d2HukliA7ULF8yen3-wiuDK8uXt6gT5vUyRv4A5qvgUTAqYU-3mBX1lSTbPLEXxt3CewaKq0kmRiQsSe4aBYpcM7DR2rLEiT_d2tthBmRAnAtMbtnOL_Af/s640/blogger-image--929023187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KialRAEsk6h7GiLUSwRtQ_d2HukliA7ULF8yen3-wiuDK8uXt6gT5vUyRv4A5qvgUTAqYU-3mBX1lSTbPLEXxt3CewaKq0kmRiQsSe4aBYpcM7DR2rLEiT_d2tthBmRAnAtMbtnOL_Af/s400/blogger-image--929023187.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last year I gave y'all a tour of my <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2014/08/neighbourhood-tour.html" target="_blank">neighborhood</a>, well, Amstel Park that I talk about in that tour...this is what lays just behind it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In yesterday's<a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/06/what-i-ate-last-wednesday.html" target="_blank"> What I Ate Wednesday post,</a> I promised you a look at our sight seeing tour, so here goes...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are several ways to do this tour, the easiest though is to head up the path that runs parallel to the Ring-weg Zuid beside Amstel Park, you go over an over pass and can enjoy the views of the Amstel River from way up top. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You then go down a large hill and make a left at the bottom passing a training facility for the police, the K9 Unit, and the Equestrian Unit. You then make your next right and will travel on some farmland, when you get to the end you make a left and will travel for a couple of miles...this is what you'll see...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMVyQ73BizmYOdIziGHymer_xAJu67QLUMXwahWa204u-isTO0STCKJCchooAkhdg1ntr71wdgvZ2hSwQ18NYC9JzHgh0qLy2kRaazOvLtQ44LjE6UNbM1fv6fR5xbbbu2BFD3OD64bzY/s640/blogger-image--1809759633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMVyQ73BizmYOdIziGHymer_xAJu67QLUMXwahWa204u-isTO0STCKJCchooAkhdg1ntr71wdgvZ2hSwQ18NYC9JzHgh0qLy2kRaazOvLtQ44LjE6UNbM1fv6fR5xbbbu2BFD3OD64bzY/s400/blogger-image--1809759633.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gazing out along the Amstel. There are so many people rowing and boating a long here.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMyD5LtlDhzpOMQJpWeEtEPNS7QawfYA9oKWOrnLIiuZcOHNo1qgTaE0S6EZGwAT-HBRWwH4cqRSBzktfgFuawuh7b3d7xbGdDmbghz_KjlD9yyq0Hyryhu2JqbC9oZYdvUl2YsdFDXge/s640/blogger-image-1265935398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMyD5LtlDhzpOMQJpWeEtEPNS7QawfYA9oKWOrnLIiuZcOHNo1qgTaE0S6EZGwAT-HBRWwH4cqRSBzktfgFuawuh7b3d7xbGdDmbghz_KjlD9yyq0Hyryhu2JqbC9oZYdvUl2YsdFDXge/s400/blogger-image-1265935398.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is a windmill on the path, I am not sure what this one is called, but it is beautiful.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hello!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBVIOj9s3knd-22fuLu9NeMdtzZMZpOzMth94xl_LHjIUvASbDwbS6Gx7WBllbTo7iC7tCJyMm02JV-fIkvpq3bPyniU6uQSrj9YGbw1_E1wTLe2v9l5sa3XOhsOv98cwGx3iUY69MOez/s640/blogger-image--358903611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBVIOj9s3knd-22fuLu9NeMdtzZMZpOzMth94xl_LHjIUvASbDwbS6Gx7WBllbTo7iC7tCJyMm02JV-fIkvpq3bPyniU6uQSrj9YGbw1_E1wTLe2v9l5sa3XOhsOv98cwGx3iUY69MOez/s400/blogger-image--358903611.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Next to the windmill is a graveyard.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some more biking.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio82hLhMzAGVCDG_bfYx5U5RXBOumXVmxS25cXTXMIuDoqOViDhpiesHhYSzbmylM868Fgr-Z0yC7SuNb9nBOdPUObdSciZcervDProaRi1utOus3TuPNlRycSC9ZLFZMMgCkRTmP3hW1H/s640/blogger-image-1532002021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio82hLhMzAGVCDG_bfYx5U5RXBOumXVmxS25cXTXMIuDoqOViDhpiesHhYSzbmylM868Fgr-Z0yC7SuNb9nBOdPUObdSciZcervDProaRi1utOus3TuPNlRycSC9ZLFZMMgCkRTmP3hW1H/s400/blogger-image-1532002021.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">After much biking we came to the Melktap.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiwV0dScOkGNiKl-ypCxi6xxgRZaaEYvb99GDGtYuYq6Vr4QGsYdy6VYAP9vL7lTdB4Xys5ulHKTOlCUa4Ssw8H9zlP1aTMCffIGdleALOaiQOleiUk5xIpXE1YRAxOXg086XRVEeRZlH/s640/blogger-image--674493586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiwV0dScOkGNiKl-ypCxi6xxgRZaaEYvb99GDGtYuYq6Vr4QGsYdy6VYAP9vL7lTdB4Xys5ulHKTOlCUa4Ssw8H9zlP1aTMCffIGdleALOaiQOleiUk5xIpXE1YRAxOXg086XRVEeRZlH/s400/blogger-image--674493586.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This place is pretty cool. Located on a dairy farm you can see the cows grazing, and often the farmer and his wife out working.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUikGI3V0UgIMOxKv-P_f6GTzy0oNSoYhhAClLcd8zbOlP9U58ejjAF_PnK86IKx0SHzWZmWy8H3_dwJ57_HHAIMty5-IoxPwsqljvdWFtwSEXEKu51_PYAnzIfO0Dw3D8GCoqtax5FaI/s640/blogger-image-908828220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUikGI3V0UgIMOxKv-P_f6GTzy0oNSoYhhAClLcd8zbOlP9U58ejjAF_PnK86IKx0SHzWZmWy8H3_dwJ57_HHAIMty5-IoxPwsqljvdWFtwSEXEKu51_PYAnzIfO0Dw3D8GCoqtax5FaI/s400/blogger-image-908828220.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pouring milk, pretending to be a milk maid.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS7rvfO7SlpXCLWgwZgkNe0L4plHy12Z3lECOoAvU_LCtFp2VAdk_EsaOlYS_f_PoMUaJCFqmGEVD7-bSqo5bAkoTD4edH3gtx3jrw7xsIHH267cBLMLasEavsq88biZa95du3WNCvSz_/s640/blogger-image--1117083103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSS7rvfO7SlpXCLWgwZgkNe0L4plHy12Z3lECOoAvU_LCtFp2VAdk_EsaOlYS_f_PoMUaJCFqmGEVD7-bSqo5bAkoTD4edH3gtx3jrw7xsIHH267cBLMLasEavsq88biZa95du3WNCvSz_/s400/blogger-image--1117083103.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love how you can make hot chocolate.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAclAfAB9SBv2UInPjHOG5tZoVLwRPqmcevlvp-RZMP4HwXBN7EyGYVH6Kgrk4GZWbXq6y2Wo_6iN73x3x69nHtXEaETYfhsuGb-sqVtw6J7W_6KZKXswt9f0GHEwQv03CPeRy6aM90n_/s640/blogger-image-686660892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAclAfAB9SBv2UInPjHOG5tZoVLwRPqmcevlvp-RZMP4HwXBN7EyGYVH6Kgrk4GZWbXq6y2Wo_6iN73x3x69nHtXEaETYfhsuGb-sqVtw6J7W_6KZKXswt9f0GHEwQv03CPeRy6aM90n_/s400/blogger-image-686660892.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A little play space for the kids.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGjjgaOB21BMnkdSjgIdkcJJqsOwqawl3t0MC5i0iVHFLmpA-zlGbgsw82WkxJa0PvDVD8CXEjSUla-5DCkj6GIpjs2mLXZrKH6sYU9HqM46QP-WYbYqOreoDrm4ngv3eY_jX_uGx3HfP/s640/blogger-image--208698817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGjjgaOB21BMnkdSjgIdkcJJqsOwqawl3t0MC5i0iVHFLmpA-zlGbgsw82WkxJa0PvDVD8CXEjSUla-5DCkj6GIpjs2mLXZrKH6sYU9HqM46QP-WYbYqOreoDrm4ngv3eY_jX_uGx3HfP/s400/blogger-image--208698817.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can sit outside and enjoy some milk.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCHAHXMY6g8l55eMNJZ3aC6j-lghCcVXD5a2pCd1M6fX1v5Tka6uLG2c3tbyRGAL5KchSeM4OesADhXkSab_laOcgQ9fjcwy8KkK_8_FSU069VB4Bt9JtSpSx7VNgheK_WNwkdd2giGwv/s640/blogger-image-752140893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCHAHXMY6g8l55eMNJZ3aC6j-lghCcVXD5a2pCd1M6fX1v5Tka6uLG2c3tbyRGAL5KchSeM4OesADhXkSab_laOcgQ9fjcwy8KkK_8_FSU069VB4Bt9JtSpSx7VNgheK_WNwkdd2giGwv/s400/blogger-image-752140893.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Where the cows live!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRytcF-12yjq3o7rn0BsrxR4nagFY9WJYwWEYk9IvXv6_tjwD_RJ_0DFzqI-UWWianPggkGlrbI6bhrNv2QbPTOUJuCZOE3Bq1oVWEVDwhx6bJvCRC7kLqc-nVx4auuUt8Yk3nH6z6l9-j/s640/blogger-image-1061397273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRytcF-12yjq3o7rn0BsrxR4nagFY9WJYwWEYk9IvXv6_tjwD_RJ_0DFzqI-UWWianPggkGlrbI6bhrNv2QbPTOUJuCZOE3Bq1oVWEVDwhx6bJvCRC7kLqc-nVx4auuUt8Yk3nH6z6l9-j/s400/blogger-image-1061397273.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cycling back along the route that run parallel to the highway. Country on one side, highway on the other.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">After cycling through the countryside, we decided to have lunch in Amstel Park. This is a view of the lake from the Asian Garden area.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskdxVg3lqQg8OE2nMrnSfkGM7lSGC0gGH3ioBxkrcM7qUWWi_qMI9x24nyqa12of0rLWjk5lcEopaC1X8E56pLGymqMfthyduwj7ILZbbf91KP68pMLmqCd1zzihQ9TEhyphenhyphenVaJ6cBkRnD2/s640/blogger-image-1266817819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskdxVg3lqQg8OE2nMrnSfkGM7lSGC0gGH3ioBxkrcM7qUWWi_qMI9x24nyqa12of0rLWjk5lcEopaC1X8E56pLGymqMfthyduwj7ILZbbf91KP68pMLmqCd1zzihQ9TEhyphenhyphenVaJ6cBkRnD2/s400/blogger-image-1266817819.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a view from the Amsteldijk. This is heading back in to centrum.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NxCG6z7BbldvlitN9ICaULeZrw8gG6iwzqZXhOR6i8lC_7HczD2SeDC8tUfPioD1A3mHa16vlIrmYIhRRG2iASBfd_xUJVn82Q-3dcK6CdCTIQ2EkHAmQOExLTfCIO-jlRSL47-PN_oF/s640/blogger-image-104296096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NxCG6z7BbldvlitN9ICaULeZrw8gG6iwzqZXhOR6i8lC_7HczD2SeDC8tUfPioD1A3mHa16vlIrmYIhRRG2iASBfd_xUJVn82Q-3dcK6CdCTIQ2EkHAmQOExLTfCIO-jlRSL47-PN_oF/s400/blogger-image-104296096.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A close up because as many times as I have passed by here I've never noticed this bridge. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a beautiful area to explore, it really gives you and all around feel for what Europe is really like I think. I've been to several cities and they all have one thing in common-bustling city lying right next to gorgeous countryside. Definitely not something to miss!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is an overview of the map</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlY23_dnlRy68S8WjPxqviVu7tn_KS1v_40JsPv07_QwYUE2Fw4J-7fh_rhI3R-6-7-J0PgoO-U_40-xRYAhlARwAyxDOyQXCbko726yUMz1LOo32JvT8hvvqne2gvbwdO_PDM4Y5TjFW/s1600/Amsterdam+Countryside+bike+route.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlY23_dnlRy68S8WjPxqviVu7tn_KS1v_40JsPv07_QwYUE2Fw4J-7fh_rhI3R-6-7-J0PgoO-U_40-xRYAhlARwAyxDOyQXCbko726yUMz1LOo32JvT8hvvqne2gvbwdO_PDM4Y5TjFW/s400/Amsterdam+Countryside+bike+route.jpg" width="358" /></span></a></div>
<br />Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-55183407636124721632015-06-02T23:00:00.000-07:002015-06-02T23:00:00.820-07:00What I Ate Last Wednesday<span style="font-size: large;">This week I am back to my usual What I Ate Wednesday posts. The last two weeks were specials from my trips to <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/05/what-i-ate-in-berlin.html" target="_blank">Berlin</a> and <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/05/what-i-ate-in-london.html" target="_blank">London. </a></span><br />
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<a href="http://peasandcrayons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/WHAT-I-ATE-WEDNESDAY-NEW-BUTTON-PEAS-AND-CRAYONS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://peasandcrayons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/WHAT-I-ATE-WEDNESDAY-NEW-BUTTON-PEAS-AND-CRAYONS.png" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm linking up with Jenn over at <a href="http://peasandcrayons.com/" target="_blank">Peas and Crayons</a> for the What I Ate Wednesday Party, come check it out!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This week, the photos I took were from my sight seeing day with my good friend, Jackie. She came over to my side of Amsterdam and we took a very long bike ride, which I will tell you more about tomorrow, but the food of course was delicious as always. See it now...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJBXsFt993ShAcDV_YFyk-ME1Yf6nYGxZHIPKfk08rgzGXXjC1GQ-zzRxi9ZVvwweeIWVM0c_v3bNQE4bEa2jNvSuxzTeI7igh0lfgqgZWX5MsoKTVX_JbY0Le1KzAXgesKmZ3uDhQ3f_/s640/blogger-image-1141652009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJBXsFt993ShAcDV_YFyk-ME1Yf6nYGxZHIPKfk08rgzGXXjC1GQ-zzRxi9ZVvwweeIWVM0c_v3bNQE4bEa2jNvSuxzTeI7igh0lfgqgZWX5MsoKTVX_JbY0Le1KzAXgesKmZ3uDhQ3f_/s400/blogger-image-1141652009.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As always, starting off with my favorite bullet proof-esque coffee. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is my favorite recipe:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1 lungo nespresso capsule</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1 espresso nespresso capsule</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1 tablespoon of coconut oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1 tablespoon grass fed unsalted butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1.5 tablespoons local honey</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">75 ml steamed milk (this recipe is now steamed, local raw milk)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mix together with a spoon or an immersion blender if you are super picky...it usually blends really well for me, so I don't typically have to use the immersion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is so high in calories and good fat from the oil, butter, and milk that it serves as my breakfast along side a banana with peanut butter, which will not be having it's modeling debut today ;) But, it is good and gives me the energy I need to get a workout completed most mornings!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, this particular morning I did not workout as my friend met me at my house at 10, we had some lavender mint water I'd made. Super simple and delicious:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1-2 sprigs of dried lavender, with the buds, a sprig of mint, let sit in 1 liter of water over night and then drink up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, when we left for our bike ride, we were out for a basic stroll, but I knew we were going to wind up at the local Melktap as she grew up on a dairy farm that her family still owns, so I wanted her to see this. There are several around the Netherlands, this one is just 3 quick miles from my house. It is raw milk that you vend yourself...come back tomorrow for more info on it. The milk is amazing and we each had a cup before we left!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJelOVgy6W5Jf0kl2gq200Evhh4VgLzJe29JwzShyxmWCWzwnDZ-AwwKPQQyR9zU6uw_jO3WRFIEQkEvm9L2qlJjjXDVrwAeupeLHHZ63q_LwQLLpXNbLNg5gk3T2qJ9qbk86zY8XyxYQk/s640/blogger-image-2128679287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJelOVgy6W5Jf0kl2gq200Evhh4VgLzJe29JwzShyxmWCWzwnDZ-AwwKPQQyR9zU6uw_jO3WRFIEQkEvm9L2qlJjjXDVrwAeupeLHHZ63q_LwQLLpXNbLNg5gk3T2qJ9qbk86zY8XyxYQk/s400/blogger-image-2128679287.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yum, yum...fresh from the cow milk!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After this we made our way back over in to the city, but we weren't done with nature yet so decided on lunch in Amstel Park. This park is wonderful because you are completely surrounded by nature, but can be back in the city within a 10 minute bike ride. There are two full service restaurants in the park. The one we went to, De Hop 2.0, is the more laid back of the two and has much better food.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq95elBqgDWFxEAfdTFLtdKb6SMPEfJ0_FI9LyvqgSOhMo9ucjjkG7GhMYLrxg2UAsoNQZpsO4NBg59shp81aTEzQNZkOAWbV2htHnQtIOq3nxnmx885eQq57eR5Dn_z8PePyQQQ66F9g/s640/blogger-image--1942722641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbq95elBqgDWFxEAfdTFLtdKb6SMPEfJ0_FI9LyvqgSOhMo9ucjjkG7GhMYLrxg2UAsoNQZpsO4NBg59shp81aTEzQNZkOAWbV2htHnQtIOq3nxnmx885eQq57eR5Dn_z8PePyQQQ66F9g/s400/blogger-image--1942722641.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Exhibit 1: Pancake. It is filled with cheese and ham and is as big as that plate. It was amazing. I could only eat about a quarter of it though....and they were worried I really didn't like it...I'm all over here do you people see how big this thing is?! </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURfgskLNZH_Cw9LuW9crwKx47rjbaXONsNo0nzDqV9WNXq9jbGKJbIBQlKuBOkiOTIce5Wgsd2Ho_oT5fxvU8Nxusp1zPcKkyTfI1QHdbKbhNBLCsk6YkQoABpyhhQzZJ72P5es0ki6pr/s640/blogger-image-1839700375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURfgskLNZH_Cw9LuW9crwKx47rjbaXONsNo0nzDqV9WNXq9jbGKJbIBQlKuBOkiOTIce5Wgsd2Ho_oT5fxvU8Nxusp1zPcKkyTfI1QHdbKbhNBLCsk6YkQoABpyhhQzZJ72P5es0ki6pr/s400/blogger-image-1839700375.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Exhibit 2: Wine, pretty large pour as well, gotta love Europe!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After eating I headed home to meet my teenager. We weren't very hungry so we went for a walk and stopped by the grocery store, by the time we got home we were starving! She wanted to cook so I threw the menu out the window and let her have at it..how cute is she?!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl5D010ZS5K4AmQdzc4yJqFzW8Z1WQ66-NjGQW1bTaJz6XQPztWF7UuPGkeaA9Txmj8KLh6gIqYZ0EGgEenoMYWJMWp8FdzLskouTrwUdCJhUWL3l2av8zWOV8DGusymLEzg8YAZjvOg1/s640/blogger-image--1085700259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl5D010ZS5K4AmQdzc4yJqFzW8Z1WQ66-NjGQW1bTaJz6XQPztWF7UuPGkeaA9Txmj8KLh6gIqYZ0EGgEenoMYWJMWp8FdzLskouTrwUdCJhUWL3l2av8zWOV8DGusymLEzg8YAZjvOg1/s400/blogger-image--1085700259.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cooking up a storm in the kitchen!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">She wound up making a delicious, healthy, protein packed dinner of red lentils, she topped it with chicken, scrambled egg, tomatoes, and sweet chili sauce.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Vo4Cfe-rkSEihGPth24lrI_g80Z_j0syo89O1LF-PgB9gLtbZxWbgEh6pMMh_YJDjRmysSAIkzPTz8ki7AWSSjvARnkI3vKpHND3vDe7Vp7GvEEaGxhPRzLGHeyhrL64PVcM_xJxgJpx/s640/blogger-image--285190804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Vo4Cfe-rkSEihGPth24lrI_g80Z_j0syo89O1LF-PgB9gLtbZxWbgEh6pMMh_YJDjRmysSAIkzPTz8ki7AWSSjvARnkI3vKpHND3vDe7Vp7GvEEaGxhPRzLGHeyhrL64PVcM_xJxgJpx/s400/blogger-image--285190804.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This week wasn't filled with tons of food, but what I did eat was extremely filling. Tune in tomorrow for more on the bike ride we did!</span></div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702554842645783934.post-23167991427130126942015-06-01T23:00:00.000-07:002015-06-01T23:00:00.577-07:00Romantic Quote Cards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Blogging A to Z challenge has been a tough one for me to keep up with! I have so many great posts but the weather is so awesome I've been forgetting to finish prepping and posting them! Make sure you check out my <a href="http://thediaryofanurbanhousewife.blogspot.nl/2015/03/a-to-z-blogging-challenge.html" target="_blank">original intro post</a> for all the other posts I've done so far, I will be trying to catch up as I have some really lovely things for y'all...but for now, lets get to the letter "Q".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNcLHHDLSNSpB7NaZwTo89lz__0YagAuS6eZGa0boWqV7lXLmoPDa6QlbhoGtd0avWMEScpR5-wvGTQObB__-3EFb-8vy5ILxoFfeoq9QlN4t2Iiig4ecSfYA8vz6ksBWFs3PRmYtu2Rz/s1600/Letter+Q.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgNcLHHDLSNSpB7NaZwTo89lz__0YagAuS6eZGa0boWqV7lXLmoPDa6QlbhoGtd0avWMEScpR5-wvGTQObB__-3EFb-8vy5ILxoFfeoq9QlN4t2Iiig4ecSfYA8vz6ksBWFs3PRmYtu2Rz/s1600/Letter+Q.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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In February I came up with these adorable quote cards. I gave a few to Hubby the week of Valentine's and the rest I am saving up to stick in various places in his suitcase when he will be gone for nearly two weeks in June. </div>
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These quote cards are simple, quick to make, and can be customized for anyone or any holiday!</div>
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Mine are based on<i style="font-weight: bold;"> lurve </i>because I intend to give them to my beloved, but you could easily make some for lunch boxes, or with inspirational quotes for a RAK, or even some to put in your kid(s) backpack for them to find throughout the day (I did this once and my kiddo has it hanging on her wall, melt my heart.)</div>
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So, this is what I used to make mine:</div>
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<li>Pencil</li>
<li>Two types of card stock in coordinating colours</li>
<li>Stencil from HEMA</li>
<ul>
<li>If you are really lucky and have one, you could use a <a href="http://eu.cricut.com/intl" target="_blank">Cricut</a> to cut nice tags, I wish I could have brought mine when we moved to Europe, I used it all the time and have thought of numerous times when I wish I had it. If anyone from <a href="http://eu.cricut.com/intl" target="_blank">Cricut Europe</a> out there wants to send me one, I'm game haha</li>
</ul>
<li>Paste or Glue dots</li>
<li>Gel pen, I used metallic</li>
<li>Your favorite quotes</li>
</ul>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Trace the stencil onto your paper, make as many as you would like ot cut out.</li>
<li>Cut those.</li>
<li>Measure and cut squares to mount on to the decorative tag you just cut out. I didn't measure mine exactly, but just made markings and after cutting that one, drew lines to mark out where to cut. (See photo, hard to explain)</li>
<li>Mount the square tag on the decorative tag using paste or glue dots.</li>
<li>Write your favorite quotes on each of the cards!</li>
</ol>
<div>
The quotes I used on them were as simple as I love you or I love you always to Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite. I just googled and came up with some good ones. My favorite ones though are the song lyrics I used from our first dance song, KC & Jojo's All My Life.<br />
<br />
My hubby really enjoys finding things like this in his lunch or backpack. Sometimes on a business trip I will stash one in his pants pocket, jacket pocket, or shirt pocket so each day he finds something different, which is what I am going to do when he leaves to the U.S. for two and a half weeks next month. Can be a nice little pick me up when you are in and out of stressful meetings. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pf9F-ZDgaghBH-WkGw7ivtoxDNmerC_NiJqfgrrj_EkZqna8OJnd2hJLy7CSUWyCi_24lHM2WvjZ4Z2Q_LTTVQbPVIkOgbJ5XcJkw5dKS_DW6sRUgtGPE_HoUrfYsKgd9b1x_iTHCxJ7/s640/blogger-image--843574105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8pf9F-ZDgaghBH-WkGw7ivtoxDNmerC_NiJqfgrrj_EkZqna8OJnd2hJLy7CSUWyCi_24lHM2WvjZ4Z2Q_LTTVQbPVIkOgbJ5XcJkw5dKS_DW6sRUgtGPE_HoUrfYsKgd9b1x_iTHCxJ7/s400/blogger-image--843574105.jpg" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsoiOcV6rNkN-6zBKtHZDaqDWeEG0e1gxFFbDpwhA35P_d0hnpL4pmae7H0AczzCLDYIhSF6mk2vAHMwQ9MCLPoX3OeGxpCmrIP5ot0qywBQzCwEuZFXnbzvZJPQC7nRVeDtiCGvcIiM07/s640/blogger-image-466120240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsoiOcV6rNkN-6zBKtHZDaqDWeEG0e1gxFFbDpwhA35P_d0hnpL4pmae7H0AczzCLDYIhSF6mk2vAHMwQ9MCLPoX3OeGxpCmrIP5ot0qywBQzCwEuZFXnbzvZJPQC7nRVeDtiCGvcIiM07/s400/blogger-image-466120240.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>What is your favorite quote?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Do you do any thing special for you significant other when they travel?</b></div>
Don’t knowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02830669296605985336noreply@blogger.com3