Happy Feet in the Netherlands -: DETOXING Happy Feet: On Blogging, Simplifying and Decluttering 2017 Part 2

Read other parts and future posts of this Series, using the tag: Detoxing Happy Feet 2017

“Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?”

― Stephanie Perkins

This is the image (our back garden, my oldest daughter waving through the glass door of our kitchen) which greeted me after I brought youngest daughter to school, and biked home. On my way home I saw middle daughter biking to school.

I love mornings like this. Simple, predictable, routinary. It is strange and somehow difficult to look back and point specifically a point in time, when I used to dread mornings like this for the very same reasons.

The more I gain structure and stability in life, the more I have deep appreciation and take deep comfort in simplicity. The more my focus sharpens, the more I find creative ways, tools to aid me in simplifying.

Simplifying, I have experienced is best achieved when you have set clear goals. My main Happy Feet in the Netherlands blogging goal this year is enjoy the process of training for Berlin Marathon by documenting every step of the way. I have not been able to do so previously (with Berlin Marathon 2012: my first marathon) in a satisfactory manner.

Two weeks, ago I created a draft to record my first week of training for Berlin Marathon. I published this draft, which was originally only suppose to be covering the first week of my training, yesterday. It ended up to be a post of 3 weeks of back to training. From today on, I will call it my "Back to Berlin" blog series.

Yesterday's after run selfie, using the Photo Booth of P's (my husband) iMac.
A celebratory photo of my first official run for 2017

I am so excited because I feel everything (daily life, marathon training, blogging) is taking beautiful shape, as I had hoped they will. When I made up my mind in 2015, that I will no longer let my bipolar disorder rob me of my life, I knew it will take time to be mentally strong. I have been working on myself for over 20 years!

Two years of patience and perseverance, and our home is slowly becoming the home we visualise. Two years of never giving up, and I keep feeling more and more at home in my own skin, ready to keep on going.

Speaking of keep on going! I will revive My Daily Moorings in the Netherlands blog.

I am using the energy and motivation of training for Berlin Marathon to write about anecdotes, the family and I do not want to forget as well as the regular outings we would like to do this year. As much as possible we would like to explore Holland on foot during weekends.

Happy Families have Happy Feet, right?!

A look back of some of the "highlights" of the last 6 months in pictures; a lot of changes in our family, our home and how I will combine working out for my marathon and renovating our house.

There will be a lot more at "My Daily Mooosings . . ." in 2017! I can't wait to share our stories and travels with all of you. :)

Last Sunday, our 2017 " January Carfie" ;) on our way to a family gathering

Toasting the New Year! Welcoming the first minute of 2017 with positivity :)

Our traditional "Girls in front of the Christmas Tree" picture
December 24th

November 2016
A photo from a collection of photos taken for an Instagram planking challenge
(probably my last online challenge for a very long time!)

Happy J on her 17 Birthday
October, 2016
I was very happy to finally surprise her with balloons, s
he's been wishing for since we moved in this house (March, 2013)