Swimming

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

The highlight of my day today was swimming with the kids. Typically I sit on the edge and watch them, talking with friends, or reading a magazine eating a snack and having a drink. But today I decided before we left that I would also go swimming.

I actually love swimming and the feeling of being in the water once I’m in. I just don’t like being cold and having to redo my frizzy hair afterwards. That’s what happens when your an adult. Kids don’t think of these things. They just enjoy the pure fun of being in the water.

I swam 15 laps and and also played with the kids. We touched the bottom of 13 feet in the deep end. We did handstands and back flips and got water up our nose. The volleyball was thrown around for awhile and we had water gun fights. I gave Charlie a piggy back ride and held Juliana like she was light and little again.

I loved being in the pool today with them and thought of Irma and how much she loved the water too. It’s great to be a kid (at heart!).

When was them last time you went swimming? It’s never too late for some fun!

29Jul2013

Stuff and More Stuff and Finding Space for Stuff

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How much stuff do you really need and why is it so hard to throw stuff away? And have you ever noticed how long it takes just to sort stuff to decide what you actually need and what you should pitch? That’s what we did today. Moved books and boxes of boring stuff that have been sitting for so long taking up space. We need to make new space for when our shipment arrives in a few weeks and we’re moving bedrooms and my office to make room for growing kids. This takes time and it’s incredibly tedious and boring. We worked on stuff all day and are still not done. I think it drove me a bit crazy.

I did so well with limited stuff when we moved away, even though I missed having the stuff around me like easy access to Sharpies and scotch tape, paper products and pens. Seriously? How many pens and pads of papers and sticky notes does one family need? I’m sure not as many as we are hoarding. And for some reason I don’t want to throw them away because they’re still good (and taking up space) and you never know when you might need them. How can I change my thinking? It just so happens that as soon as I throw them away, I’ll need them… probably not really, but that’s what I tell myself in order to hold on to the 5 pairs of scissors and 10 pads of post-its and the list goes on.

We sorted through 2 kitchen junk drawers, my office desk drawer, the craft drawer, shelves of books, the entire pantry, and all the miscellaneous cables, wires and old electronic items that we’ve been collecting over the years.

We’re sorting through papers and photos and just plain sorting and purging and categorizing.

Are we done yet? I wish.

I think the secret is to stop buying and bringing in more stuff. I’ll let you know if it works and if you have a secret solution or process that works for you, please do share! I could use all the help and space I can get.

Aaaahhhhh…. stuff it! 😉

28Jul2013

California – I Love You

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

Have I told you how much I love California? I absolutely love this place. There is so much to see and do and explore in this beautiful state. I think this is my favorite place on earth.

This weekend we drove from Northern California to Southern California. It takes 5 1/2 hours to drive from my house in the Bay Area to my family home in Thousand Oaks along Highway 101. People in SoCal refer to the highway as THE 101, but NorCal folks prefer to leave out THE article and just call it 101.

Before we left Thousand Oaks, the kids all enjoyed swimming in Irma’s pool with our adopted family.

I loved the feeling of being together and in the water and the sunshine. Christian also enjoyed going for a bike ride with his expat friend from Korea. We kept procrastinating leaving, as goodbyes are never fun.

One of a Thousand Oaks.

I wanted to leave early enough so that we could stop in my favorite city along the way.

San Luis Obispo is where I graduated from college and I absolutely love this college town. I hope we have a home here one day. This is my favorite place because people seem to be so happy. There is a peaceful, zen feeling in SLO town and I want to live where the pace of life is SLO and simple, with natural beauty surrounding you everywhere.

We arrived in time to stop for dinner at Firestone Grill on Higuera Street and sat outside on the patio with the sun still shining. The air was cool enough for light sweatshirts.

Afterwards, we strolled down town and the kids stopped in the candy store, Rocket Fizz to pick out some fun candy and Jeff stopped in the adult beverage store to pick up some fun brews that Steve told him about – Tap It, a new microbrew from SLO. We also had to walk down Bubble Gum alley for the smell of Cal Poly nostalgia.

Continuing on our journey, I actually appreciated the sun shining on my face and the wide open spaces and rolling hills. Jeff always appreciates the fog rolling over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the Pacific Ocean.

Our new minivan is like flying first class. The kids enjoyed their music and DVDs with headphones, Jeff loved XM radio and listening to classic hits, and I loved playing Candy Crush, perusing Facebook, texting my sisters and reading magazines.

It’s good to be home in California again.

I am happy.

24Jul2013

Wilted

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Today I felt like this flower. Wilted.

Still standing, but feeling kinda heavy.

Nothing in particular but lots of little details that added up to a lot. We had a busy weekend with Jeff returning home, car shopping and buying all day Sunday and Charlie’s birthday party and all day and night celebration yesterday.

Today had the refrigerator repair guy, the Sears washing machine repair guy and the bathroom remodel repair guy all over throughout the day. I had my three kids and two of their friends bopping in and out, and trying to get the kids to read and help with chores in between today was a bit too much for me.

I am exhausted!! Calgon, take me away!!

We still managed a family dinner, our first one with all of us together again, just the five of us at home, which I loved, despite my nag session.

Even though I feel wilted, I know how good life really is. Hope you had a good day! xx

23Jul2013

Life and Death

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Today was bittersweet.

We celebrated life and death on the same day. I felt conflicted. Happy and sad. Yin and yang.

Charlie celebrated his birthday today, so excited to be celebrating his special day that he woke up early around 6 am waiting to go see his birthday surprises that awaited him on the traditionally decorated kitchen table.

I’m not sure what time exactly, but sometime this morning, Irma Kackert began her journey to heaven at the age of 97. Irma was our family neighbor and a mentor to women all around her. She traveled the world and taught swimming to over 1000 children.

We all admired her and feel sad letting her go, even though she was ready. She used to read my blog regularly and would send me private messages thanking me for my writing and sharing my journey. My words helped bring back memories of her traveling days and she would share her stories with me. We had a connection and mutual admiration of each other and I’m going to miss her dearly. God bless you Irma and your family as they adjust to life without you on Earth. You will be missed.

Charlie enjoyed his special day with a pool party and friends. How fitting that he also enjoys the water, just like Irma.

Thinking back to the day he was born and remembering how we didn’t know if he would survive, helps us to really celebrate and enjoy life. He taught me grace and to live in the moment as that was all I had back then for his first two years of life. He gave me the biggest gift, that I enjoy and cherish to this day. Thank you, Charlie! I adore you.

So live it up my friends.

Celebrate life, love and each other.

Godspeed Irma…and be sure to write!

Namaste.

P.S. Photos courtesy of Juliana and Kristine’s Facebook posts today.

22Jul2013

Buy a Vacuum, Get A Car Free

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I texted my parents today, telling them we bought a new vacuum today. My dad asked if it was electric or push. I told him it needed gas, and was very expensive! It came attached to my new car!!

One of the selling features of the new Honda Odyssey 2014 model is a built in Shop Vac with a hose that stretches the length of the car. It also comes with a sunroof, widescreen tv, cool box for drinks, and seats 8. I didn’t want another minivan, but after sitting in the SUVs with third rows, nothing compared to the Honda. I have big kids now with long legs, and they need leg room and extra seats to carry friends. We tend to carpool and have friends and family over quite frequently who like to travel with us. We also like to take long road trips and having 3 kids sitting side by side doesn’t make for an enjoyable trip. We also don’t travel lightly and need room for five suitcases plus carry-ons. I think we’re going to like our new wheels!

Life is good!

21Jul2013

Home Sweet Home

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Jeff came home today!! Our family is complete. I was glad that we came home first and got settled and over jet lag and that he stayed back to close up shop, so to speak. He handled the packers and movers and cleaners and final walk through. I am blessed to have a great life partner and I’m so thankful he’s home with us again. I bet I’ll be able to sleep better now!

We had a wonderful homecoming dinner with our family friends and our beloved shared Traeger smoker!!

Life is good and simple!

20Jul2013

I Am Home

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I Am Home.

It still hasn’t sunk in yet, but today I just got a receipt! This shirt arrived in the mail as a surprise from Marcia today. It’s proof that I really am home. I cried when I opened it and loved seeing it, thankful to be home and also feeling a bit of sadness that we don’t have our house in Holland anymore. The transition is happening and I’m in the midst of it.

I’ve been enjoying everyday, visiting with and catching up with our friends, shopping and preparing for Charlie’s birthday party next week, enjoying our beautiful weather and the beach, and waiting for Jeff to move back home.

I’ve been car shopping and having repairs scheduled for various household parts and loving on the kids and their friends. It’s nice to be back in the same time zone as my family and friends in California and to be able to pick up the phone and not think what time it is where they are before calling. I’ve been emailing my Holland friends and keeping in touch there too. Transitioning. This is what it looks like for me.

I Am Home.

Thank you, Marcia for my awesome shirt and the welcome home. xo

17Jul2013

Community Relations Manager

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I’ve given myself a new job title.

Jeff asked me what I did today. I told him I was busy building community relations and I didn’t quite get to the car search I was supposed to because I was working. It sounded so much better than saying I arranged a play date for Charlie, and went to Suzsi’s house for coffee with the neighbors, and lunch with Val to catch up and celebrate my belated birthday. This is important work, you know!

I told him about my new job title and he asked where he could get a job like this, and I told him it was unfortunately already taken and that he’d have to continue with his job to provide for our family with benefits and money! 😉

We laughed. But I think it’s a pretty good gig. I love the work, love the people, love the hours and the benefits are priceless, and I’m good at it! I think the payoff is great – even if it’s not a financial gain. The joys of living in the moment and making connections and taking care of each other is a beautiful thing. I think every town should have several community relation managers, don’t you?

Thank you Suszi for hosting us this morning and for your delicious baked french toast. Thank you Val for spoiling me and taking me out to lunch and sharing a wonderful conversation. Thank you to Gina and Ken for stopping by to chat in the street and catch up. I love this neighborhood. Thank you honey, for letting me lean in to my chosen profession and supporting our family! And thanks to my other family for coming over for a shared dinner tonight! It’s so nice to be home again.

Namaste.

16Jul2013

Best Part of Being an Expat

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Some people have asked me what the best part of living overseas was. There are several experiences we enjoyed. We traveled to new and exotic places. We learned a new language. We immersed ourselves in Dutch culture. We made wonderful new friends and embraced daily life together.

I think that was the best part for me… just sharing time together as a family. We have always been quite involved in each others’ lives. But being in a new country had us depending on one another more than usual. Everything was new and we were sharing these new experiences together.

I have to say the best part of living in the Netherlands was the quality family time we had. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but it was different than the family time we shared at home. There were less distractions. We did a lot as a family unit, and most nights we shared a prayer, conversation and a family dinner. This was priceless to me and something that was more difficult to share back in the States with longer commute times, more hectic sports schedules, harder homework, and more volunteer commitments. Seeing my kids together now back home, I can feel and see the bond between them that we created overseas. I hope it lasts!

Can’t wait for Jeff to get home and join us. The movers came last week and the house cleaner is finishing up tomorrow. A few more steps before he journeys back to us and life can resume as “normal”, whatever that may be as a family.

Saying goodbye to the Aunties and cousins, Hartley style!