Other Bloggers #3

In the 2 years I have been blogging I have discovered a world of other blogs out there.  If someone leaves a comment on my blog or decides to start to following me via GFC or BL, I do my best to give their blog a chance also.  In doing so, I have actually found quite a few blogs I often visit or have even started following myself.  Besides connecting through comments, I regularly participate in blog hops... also a great way to find other interesting blogs floating around the internet.  Over the past couple years I have occasionally mentioned other blogs I visit/follow, so I thought it was time to introduce you to a few more from around the globe.  Please be sure to give them the same chance you have given my blog.

Australia : Have A Laugh On Me

England : Claire Justine OXOX

  India : i Share (Portraits of India)

Singapore : East Coast Life

Germany : Nine and Ninety Nine (American Expat)

 

World : Young Adventuress (Traveler)

America : Momspective

America : Kendi Everyday (Fashion)

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

New Pages

The time has come to expand my blog!  I've added two new pages, Book Reviews & Blog Hops, so be sure to check them out!

I felt with my connections and my love for writing & books, it would be a good idea to start up a place to host & promote books that catch my interest.  I love a good romance, but who knows what will turn up!

I'm often looking for a central location for blog hops so that I can quickly & easily promote my blog and link up to blogs I might not have found on my own.  I finally decided just to create my own simple directory. 

If any of you want to see your books or blogs end up on one of my new pages please pop me an email and I will be sure to reply.  (contact information located on sidebar)

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Good Bye & Good Luck

As an expat you make a wide variety of friends & acquaintances in your new country, ones native to the land you live in and then of course other expats.  When I moved to The Netherland over 10 yrs ago at first I acquired friends, mostly my husbands old friends & their girlfriends.  It didn't take me long to start making my own friends though, some of which I still see.  But for the most part my friends were Dutch, and it took me a while to realize that.  It wasn't until my daughter came along and I had to start seeking out activities with kids that I started making my own expat friends.  At first the relationships seemed ideal, no obligations other than occasional play dates, this fit into my schedule well.  But of course when you're seeing someone on a weekly or bi-weekly basis you can't help but get to know them better.  And of course a few of these people actually became friends.  When they talked about the possibility of leaving The Netherlands because of their husbands jobs it all seemed so far away.  I guess I figured I knew what I was getting in to and I was o.k. with temporary friends.  But now that a couple have actually left, permanently, off to new adventures, lives, jobs, & countries, it's actually sinking in.  The first one that left went fairly easy, I was able to say goodbye, I didn't mention to my tot it was the last time, I just let her enjoy her time with the little boy she had grown so fond of.  But this last friend to move has hit a little harder.  The way our schedules worked out we didn't even get to say goodbye properly, in person.  It's making me question if I can actually handle temporary friends.  Part of me knows I have no choice, being an expat and involving your kid in international activities means contact with people that are just temporarily here.  It's something I just have to accept.  I have to remember the fun we had and be sure to stay in contact, who knows where we'll all end up in the future.  So, I guess, it's good bye & good luck, and until the next time.

Guest Blogger???

Since I have an upcoming trip to The States planned, I'm looking for a few guest bloggers to help keep things interesting around here while I'm gone.  My blog is pretty random so I'm not looking for one theme in particular.  It's always fun to connect and also to promote other blogs... you know I love promoting blogs, stores, music, etc.  Maybe you just want to write about yourself and your blog, maybe you want to write about something on your mind, maybe you just want to ramble on, maybe you want to talk about expat life or parenthood, maybe you want to write about struggles or triumphs... I'll take it all into consideration. 

If you're interested please email me at :
danicasthoughts (at) upcmail (dot) nl

Please submit your name, contact info (including your blog address), and your idea for a post.  If you happen to already have a draft or finished post, you can also submit this via mail.  I also post pictures with every blog post I write, so also consider what picture (drawing, photo, etc. or even just a blog logo) you'd like to use.  In return I will let you know if it is something I am interested in and we go from there.  I'll be accepting applicants all this week and possibly into the following weekend.

Decent Weather

All of my plans for today fell through, but at least it's decent weather!  Today I was supposed to be in Amsterdam at a women's conference, called Women's Inc.  My husband was going to take the day off work so he could shuffle our tot to preschool in the morning and take care of her in the afternoon.  But things changed.  My daughter managed to get chicken pox again.  This meant, there was no way I was going to ask anyone to babysit, when she's sick she needs her parents.  But luckily my husband had put in his request for time off and she was going to be with daddy if she wasn't fit for school.  Then my husband found out an important customer requested a meeting.  For a lot of people a day-off is a day-off, the customer can reschedule.  But when you work for a family business and it's one of the larger customers you go to work.  And just like that my plans changed.  The decent weather helped to make up for it though.  I loaded my toddler into the stroller, bundled her up, hooked the dog to the leash, and we were all off for an hour walk.  It was nice to get them out of the house, no one likes being cooped up when sick.  And the weather, well, as you can see above, it was in the 40's, this is great!  (Remind me of this during the summer!)  After a cold winter and snow on the ground for weeks, blue skies and a temp above freezing was more than welcome.  I can't wait to get back to our outside activities... walking, the play grounds, visits to the parks.  The feeling started sinking in yesterday, I'm done with the winter and ready for spring!  What about you all?

Expat Blog

Here's another short post, but worth while to bloggers.  If you've followed my blog long enough you've realized I love "plugging" companies, other blogs, websites, and stores I like.  If any of you are unfamiliar with the term plugging, it means to advertise something... like in the movies where people only seem to drink Coke products.  Unfortunately I don't get paid to advertise even though I could (long-live Google AdSense).  Anyway, I side-tracked like usual...   

Expat Blog Community, the name of the website/company speaks for itself.  For those bloggers out there who want to find a place where you can inform people of your little piece of the internet or find other bloggers like yourself Expat Blog Community is for you.  Since signing up I have found a lot of interesting blogs throughout the world, ones I never would have thought to look for.  And a lot of new people have started popping up on my blog.  So if you're interested in networking, it's a good place for bloggers to start.  Just a tip!