The 'what do you do' question

Unit 2 Dutch Breakfast 1

But first, coffee

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Ford Mustang

The pool

Planning trips 2

We're halfway! Oh wait, I didn't mean to put an exclamation mark at the end of that sentence. It is not something I am thrilled about. The saying 'time flies when you're having fun' really applies in this case, and I don't like it. Because I really am having fun, and time really goes by too fast.

Most people, however, do wonder why I have so much fun, and what exactly I am having fun with.

We go on trips a lot, but that is still only 10% of our time here. So everyone always (and I mean always) asks me: what do you do all day?

Well, let me tell you. I usually wake up around 8 am and have breakfast (boterham met kaas!). On Monday mornings I clean this darn big house, on other days I either have coffee with someone or go to the gym (routine is key ladies and gentlemen). Meeting for coffee with one of the 'Dutch wives', or occasionally all of them, became one of my main social outings, which is maybe a little bit sad, but also very 'Housewives of Beverly Hills'-like (just without the bling bling and botox faces). While sipping our Cappuccino's with 2% milk, or the infamous Caramel Macchiato, we fact-check the people we know and talk weather, clothes and mandatory social gatherings, like real proper housewives.

When I'm not drinking coffee I stretch my legs at the gym in the morning. Or better said: I watch a movie while doing something on some machine. Because that is what I do, I go to the gym to work out in the 'cardio cinema' (love it, see my blog about the fitness). Or to walk around to see and be seen. But I seriously prefer the first option...

On my way back from the gym I usually grab some groceries (and more coffee), and run other errands, before driving back in our red Mustang GT to jump in that lovely pool to cool down a little. Since it's too hot right now to do anything else, I spend the afternoons studying Japanese (Watashi wa nihongo o benkyō shimasu, according to Google translate anyway), writing this blog, editing photos and plan more trips. The last one is my favorite activity and actually takes a lot of time. Because like I said, we do travel a lot while in the States. We're trying to see everything in three years, which we found out is unfortunately impossible. So we hit the road, and the sky, just as much as we can instead.

Besides these everyday activities, I am also a volunteer for Wanderful, an organization for women travelers. Once a month me and another wanderful woman organize get togethers here in Tucson to talk travel, and wine (mostly). It's a way to make me leave the house and meet new people. Even though most of them are 65 and older.

Some nights we are lucky and get to go out for dinner and/or have drinks with friends (yes, I have friends here, don't believe it either), or we go watch a movie at the Roadhouse Cinemas. And this place is even better than the cardio cinema, because not only do you sit (or rather lie) down on one of their recliners instead of working out, they also serve food and drinks during the movie. It's so brilliant, I just can't believe that I spent the first 26 years of my life packed in a room on an uncomfortable chair with too many noisy people and with only a coke and popcorn. Ridiculous.

So, yes, life is tough. And that is why I'm going to miss it when it is time to go back to Europe.

The 'American dream' must be something like this for a lot of fortune seekers, even though we are not technically earning it by hard work (no just kidding hubby, you're doing great!). It was something that we got the chance to experience, and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world!

We are collecting great memories. That is what I do all day.