Glad to be just doing nothing this New Year's Eve. It's been a hectic December winding down a fun and fulfilling 2011. Am excited for the adventure that awaits me in 2012!

Lunch and afternoon at the spa with Robin and Jenna today. We realized we've been doing our annual spa-treat for about ten years now. What a wonderful tradition with two stellar ladies!

Had a nice catch-up call with Charlie today. I'm really glad we're still in each other's lives.

Kristen and Marla are such good friends. I really appreciate the effort they've put into our friendships. I'm lucky to have such fabulous ladies in my life.

I love my new iTouch!!!

Lazing around the house today feels fabulous!

Jimi got my computer to work again! I am so relieved. It was becoming a real pain to not have a computer.

It's the chaos that makes a house a home! Family dinner with 14 tonight for Christmas Day dinner. Nice visits with everyone and so much yummy food that I am okay with starting to be good food-wise tomorrow!

Christmas morning with my family. The way it should be.

Kimm, Jocelyn, Andrew.

Today I'm particularly grateful for the friends who made such an effort to say goodbye to me. Leaving is tough but their efforts made it that much better.

Jocelyn, Andrew, Mike, Andy, Adam.

I had my going away drinks and dinner last night. There was a big and varied crowd and I managed to visit with everyone, I hope.

I was truly blown away with the effort that went into the going away gifts that the team put together for me. The camera lens and hood were picked up in Rotterdam! The cards signed by P&T and UIX were lovely. And, la piece de resistance, the penguin poster and costume - This Time It's Technical!

Everyone on the team dressed up in the suit they gave me to wear in Antarctica and posed in front of the green scene in the iScope. Then they put it all together and presented me a big team poster.

I then had to put ON the penguin suit. I just kept it on and wore it from the pub on the tram all the way to the restaurant! Too funny!

I feel very loved and grateful for all that they did for me and I'll miss them all!

My health during this stressful time of leaving the Netherlands and the build-up to Christmas is holding up... so far! :o)

Javastraat 84B.

May 7th, 2008 to December 14th, 2011.

I'm grateful that I seem to be able to follow the 'love like you've never been hurt' mantra, however I do need to be a bit smarter about remembering some of the lessons I've learned along the way.

My departure from Den Haag is imminent and it's now in retrospect that I realize how happy I've been here and how good 2011 has been. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to be here, the adventures I had along the way, and the incredible people I've met. How I will miss the likes of the OPCW and UIX crowds!!!

If I wasn't meeting Meg for a run I definitely would have kept sleeping this morning. It's good to have running buddies.

After all these years, I'm so grateful for the friendship that Andy and I now have. Six months in the same town has been nice. I'll miss him.

I saw so much talent on the stage of Billy Elliott tonight. I'm so lucky to be here in London and get to see such amazing dancers on stage. I simply must sign up for a tap class when I'm home.

Today I'm grateful to have such great friends as Lisa and Jesus in my life. I've known them for ages and no matter the time between our visits, we always just pick up where we left off!!!

Checking out Oxford today I felt grateful that it wasn't raining for my first look-see...

Today I saw Stonehenge with my extended family, Lisa, Jesus and Arthur! What a special place. And...the sun made an appearance making the photos really great.

I nearly floated out of the dentist's chair filled with so much gratitude at him being able to fit me in for an emergency root canal. Take that Tooth27! It's still tender but not driving me to madness anymore!

Fun banter on my recent Facebook status update. It made me smile. There are a lot of other grammar geeks out there!

I can breathe through my nose again and tie my shoes without my head throbbing. Boy-that was a doozey of a head-cold. So glad it's run its course!

Grateful for the +20•C afternoon spent in Barcelona November 12th. Nevermind the downpour of rain on the following two days of my trip there, it was still a real treat!

The little things like getting to check a bag for free today when checking in to my flight to Barcelona. Nice.

Glad to have a couple of girlfriends who are crazy enough to join me for 6:30AM runs through the Hague when it is still asleep!

This morning I found a voice mail from a dear friend who told me she loves me. My day is made. :o)

Up before work to run through The Hague with two other crazy fools! I'm grateful about that for two reasons. One, I CAN run and move and am healthy! Two, I'm in awe of the history of this city and checking it out in the early morning hours on a quiet, still morning is really special!

Grateful for so many wonderful friends' good spirit and creativity at this year's Hallowe'en party. I am lucky to have so many warm hearted people in my life. It's starting to hit me that I'm leaving the NL soon though!

I was able to be there for a friend having a hard time. She turned to me and I was able to give her two shoulders to cry on and a couple of listening ears. Distance be dammed. She was in the middle east and I was exploring Luxembourg.

Trying to look on the bright side today so here's my attempt: one day, years from now when I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by a loving family, I will look back on this time of loneliness and be grateful that I don't have to endure weeks on end without hugs or affection again.

Clean bill of health from the doctor today. I don't take that for granted!

Sherrin leaves tomorrow for Vienna and her new adventure. I am grateful to have had her in my life to the extent I did while we were in the same city. She and Jocelyn have made such a difference to my Hague experience; they are real gifts!

"Popped" over to London for the weekend...because I can! Saw a musical, caught up with friends, shopped, drank cocktails, explored Kew Gardens and saw the Tower of London. Life does not suck! ;o)

It all came together today. I get to leave the NL at Christmas and start my new job on July 1st. I get a 6 month sabbatical in between. That's everything I asked for in May and for that I really am grateful! I feel so fortunate.


Now...to keep hoping my request for a boyfriend might get filled sometime soon...

When the phone rings in the middle of the night I worry something must be wrong. I don't know why, I just do. In any case, at 6:20 this morning the phone rang but I couldn't get to it in time. Only family has my home number. Uh oh...I thought initially, what could it be. I had to call home to find out.

Mom answered the phone and sounded cheery and told me it was Susan who'd been waiting to call me. At that point I was pretty sure what it was.

Confirmation that I'm going to be an auntie again (around my birthday) was a great way to start the day. Hurrah and congratulations to Susan and Jimi!!!

A string of green bikes (lights) got me home that much quicker tonight. Score!

I turned off my iPod on my walk into work this morning to listen to the birds. There's something special about bird songs in the mornings. (Exception=seagulls!!!)

I get to bike to work! What a luxury. It's one of my favourite parts of living in the Netherlands.

Feeling grateful for my promotion back in Feb/09 particularly after hearing about promotion struggles today from colleagues. Kept my mouth shut and appreciated how fortunate I was to get it at a time when the company was laying people off! I don't take it for granted.

Puttering around the house in my PJs by myself, catching up on TV shows and generally being lazy after being on the road for pretty much 5 weeks. Ahhhh....

Great dinner last night at the Daily Review in Houston with Ken and David. So glad for the wonderful company and the novelty of sitting outside at night without a jacket!

Dinner at a great restaurant in Houston called Tony's.  Wow...never been to a valet only restaurant!  Fancy, schmancy!

Grateful for so much today.  Flags at half mast for the anniversary of 9-11. 

Got my leave of absence approved for next year.  Holy crap!  Do I ever feel lucky.  Begin 'Operation Penguin 2012'!!!  HUGE DAY!

-Gigglefest with Fideo. I love hanging out with him. We are so silly together. What a precious friendship.

-Dinner with Robin and Mike and their adorable girls tonight. It's so nice to have friends that I can visit as if i'd seen them yesterday, not a couple of years.

-I'm Canadian! I love being in the customs line at the airport with my Canada logo facing out for the world to see

-Kari and Riley made it to Split with no hiccups in their 25 hour, 4 leg/3stopover journey

-the security screener at Toulouse airport started his day with a genuine 'bonjour' to all his colleagues, and me
-my hamstrings hurt like the dickens because of the pilates I did at Les Tilleuls...they're QUITE the souvenir of a fantastic 5 days
-I found this villa on the Dalamtian coast that I get to occupy for a week with Kari and Riley