*Tap Tap* Is This Thing On?
/Tap Tap
Umm hello?
Cough Cough
Can anyone hear me?
Ohhh wait! This is a blog and you can’t hear me, but read me!
BBOOYYY it has been AWHILE!
For those that can’t remember (and I know I have done this before when I have taken time away from the blog but bear with me) my name is Dani and this has been MY little slice of the internet since May 2011.
Life has come too much. Okay work has come too much that my little slice went to the wayside. It has been at least 6 months since I have given it the time and energy that it - but really - I need. This blog is my space to brain dump the shit going on inside my head. And no time more than when I am living this #ExPat life that has left me discombobulated for 1 year and 8 months (20 months in toddler ages).
So why write now?
At the end of the NP workout on 18 September I heard “Dani! I follow you on Instagram!”
And the sweet Elana came over. She has been following my IG and reading my blog for years & I don’t think you could wipe the smile off my face. She happened to be in Amsterdam (from Pittsburgh) and on a run tour of the city when her guide happened to run by the Nemo and well me! 🙂
This might’ve been the sweetest thing I’ve heard in ages:
Thanks for being so warm and kind - that’s how you always come across online anyway, but it was just an exciting and cool moment.
Ooohhh this was just the little oomph I needed to get to writing again.
I have soooo much to catch people up on: races since 2017, how we are getting along in Amsterdam, my weight loss (or rather weight gain as it is going) & overall how my overall happiness/anxiety/depression is going.
i want to take time to update on all of that, but I wanted to give you a quick update: #ExPatLife.
As a refresher, we moved to Amsterdam on 14 January 2018 so we are at 20 months (as mentioned above) and I am FINALLY feeling more confident and comfortable. Mainly thanks to… November Project Amsterdam. I have been so moved by this group I even wrote a blog post about it for them.
Yyyess that also made me want to dust off WOMS too! It felt so cathartic to share what had been rattling around my brain for a year. Why can’t I listen to my inner monologue?
While we just got home from completing the 36k challenge in Disneyland Paris (yes I need to share more about these races)…
… we are already thinking about packing back up for Berlin as I am running the Berlin Marathon (marathon #16, world major #3 on Sunday)!
Now while I am pysched for Berlin, we got pretty out of this world news while on the train to Disneyland Paris. You wanna know what it is? Did you already see it on Instragram, Twitter or Facebook (YEESS I AM EXCITED)…
… I GOT INTO THE TOKYO MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it is still surreal that this is happening. BUT we will also check out Tokyo Disney! I mean we HAVE TO! Am I right Disney folks? It will be the 4th out of 6 Disney parks for us to visit.
Now besides all the awesomeness happening, we have some sad news. We had to say goodbye to our dearest Molly on 15 August. It was one of the toughest days of our lives and I don’t wish that pain on anyone. I still find myself thinking she will walk around the corner when I am on my Peloton bike or try to kiss me while doing a post-run stretch.
Laney is having some horrible separation anxiety since then as she hasn’t ever been on her own without Molly. Molly was 6 when we got Laney and she passed at 15 so Laney’s entire life she has had Molly by her side. So it has been a hard adjustment for all of us. We know we cannot get another dog so we are trying to see what other tactics we can use to help Laney with the adjustment to this new life.
Anyone have any advice on this one?
Overall, things are on the upswing, but this week - okay this day in particular - I feel like I am trying to be knocked back down. But I want to focus on the positive that I took the time today to write on this blog and even though I didn’t change anyone’s life this really paid off for me.
So thank you all for having my back, following on IG & generally sharing in this journey of life with me!
