Bram and I are officially back in the Netherlands, grateful to be back in the comfort of our own “home” and relieved to get back to the “working world”.  After all, there’s only so much of being in San Francisco, amidst wedding planning and family stress that one can take. We will always have a special place in our heart for the City by the Bay, but for now, we belong in the Low Countries.( Front view of our neighborhood, with our apartment on the right)

What I least expected was to be living in a foreign land blanketed with snow, and the general havoc that would result from problems with transportation and lack of salt.  Nonetheless, I am trying my best to have a better attitude towards a momentary nuisance and in due time, Spring will be right around the corner.

(In front of my  in-law’s house facing a river. Charming neighborhood isn’t it?)

I am sincerely grateful for having a wonderful loving fiancé, a roof over my head, supportive friends and a promising and unforgettable new year ahead.  After all, this is the year we are getting married and starting a whole new chapter in our lives.

Sometimes life is all about taking a leap of faith and learning to embrace opportunities and the life we have now rather than living in perpetual regret about certain choices we made and wishing for a different life. A dear friend of mine posted on her status, an all too honest, relevant truth:

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” {Helen Keller}

With that said, its time for me to pursue whole-heartedly a dream that I’ve had my heart set on for a while, but not enough courage to do so. It also means that for now and for the next 8 weeks I’ll disappear in the real world and make occasional guest appearances in the digital world.

Until then, all the best and wishing you a Happy, happy New Year from Dutch Winter WonderLand!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.