Wonderful Weekend

Hi all! :) Just looking back on one of the nicest weekends I've had since moving to Amsterdam. I feel so lucky to have met such amazing people here... despite being from different cultures, we are all learning so much from each other. It's really something special.

Friday night, my team and I went to the "Nike Pub", the local bar that all the Nike people go to... we had to celebrate, because one of my dear co-workers, Sanne, had her contract extended until the end of our fiscal year. Up until Friday, we weren't sure what was going to happen because of the economy. We were really happy that she is staying to say the least! :)

I got home and decided that I was going to try out a new recipe, a healthy recipe for eggplant parmigiana. All was going well until I started making the sauce... it called for a little bit of red pepper flakes, and I took the lid off of the jar and started "sprinkling" in the flakes... only it didn't have the little plastic piece to only let a little bit out... so about half the jar came out. I got as much out as I could, and then made peace with the fact that it was going to be a little bit spicy. A little is about the understatement of the year... the sauce was so spicy that I had tears running down my face and broke into a sweat! Oh well... live and learn! :)

Saturday, I got up on the early side and drove to Rotterdam, which is about an hour away. I visited my friend Gulsun there, and we had a really lovely day. We spent a few hours shopping, as the sales in the Netherlands are this month, had a nice dinner, and then went to the evening session of skiing at this indoor ski place. I'm still far from being a pro, but I really enjoy it. This place was pretty cool... Holland is about as flat as Ohio, actually flatter, so there isn't much of a chance to do natural skiing. So, they have built a man-made hill inside a building, and there are two "slopes" to ski down. I can imagine that it isn't very challenging for people that are good skiiers, however it was just perfect for me!

One kind of "new" thing for me... so in the Netherlands, nudity is much more accepted/common than in the US. So... in the locker room at the ski place, I was only halfway surprised to see men changing from their street clothes into ski clothes out in the open. Saw lots of underwear that night! Very different from what I am used to , but I'm getting less and less shocked every time. And, NO, I did NOT join in on the fun! ;)

Here are some pictures from the evening:

Waiting in line to go up the tow line


Gulsun coming down the "mountain" looking cool on her snowboard


Doing my best not to fall since I knew Gulsun was taking a picture!

Gulsun - fabulous friend and hostess

I spent the night in Rotterdam, as the night session lasted until midnight and we didn't get home until after 1:00 am. Gulsun introduced me to all kinds of new treats... one of which is called "Duo Panotti" and is a twist of Nutella and the white cream from Cadbury eggs... yep, candy bar on toast! :) I had such a fun time! :)

PS - I booked my flights for my sister's wedding. I'll be in Ohio from April 17th to the 27th, and then in Portland from the 27th evening until May 2nd... mark your calendars! :)