2. Have you ever taken a trip by train? If so where did you go and what did you think of the experience? If not do you have any desire to do so? Where would you like to go? (You might find inspiration here-The Best Train Trips in The World)
Well, yes I have, thanks for asking. My first train experience was from Minneapolis, Minnesota to West Glacier, Montana. It was 24 hours on the train and so cool to go through North Dakota and see so much of the USA I would have never probably seen otherwise. In 2013, we did a quick trip from Washington DC to Charlotte, NC so the girls could have their first real train ride.
We spent a month living in Brussels, Belgium so we took trains a lot during that time.
We quoted this for years..."de volgende halte is" means "the next stop is" in Dutch.
This was the train we took for a weekend trip from Brussels to Paris.
We took the chunnel train from Brussels to London on Isabella's 13th birthday.
More recently as I shared here, I took Amtrak last month from Vancouver to Seattle. If you're wondering, the business class ticket was worth the small upgrade price.
I will write about this train ride later, but we took the most amazing train ride excursion in Alaska too.
I have also taken the train a many a times in New York City, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Paris and throughout Belgium.
Thank you for reading my train talk! :)
3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells...choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.
I would say in a nutshell, I am feeling content with life now. I am so thankful for the growth I have experienced through being alone and the transitions that have happened this year. In a nutshell, I am claiming peace for my life and learning/practicing not giving anyone else power to take that away. It is a good place to be!
4. Tacos, pistachios, oysters, clams, eggs...your favorite food on the list that comes in/with a shell?
Eggs would be my favorite from this list. I like pistachios, but I like them unshelled, like my eggs, ha!
5. Are birthdays a big deal in your house? Is your own birthday a big deal in some way? Elaborate.
Yes ma'am. I actually just said those words to my daughter two weeks ago. I mentioned I may be traveling near her birthday but would be back on her actual day. I told her every birthday is a big deal and to celebrate. Here is a link to a past post on my kids birthday party themes. I loved planning their parties!
Here are a few of my birthdays in years past:
This is with friends from church at my 54th party.
With my sister on my 50th
This was 40 something
This would have been 44 when I lived in Colombia. My sweet Colombian friend wanted to celebrate my birthday with me. She knew only hello and thank you in English and that was about all I knew in Spanish too at the time, but we sure laughed a lot together.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Last week the ladies at my church had our bible study kick off gathering at the rooftop of a local building overlooking the square. We had appetizers and desserts surrounded by friends and a pretty view!
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OH I much prefer to buy my pistachios already shelled too. All of your train rides sound like a lot of fun. I just LOVED planning parties for my boys. Themed parties were the best. Now I mostly get eye rolls when I talk of planning a party for them. Evan's already warned me he's not coming home for his next week since and I quote "I've celebrated with you guys for 18 years; I'm celebrating with my friends this year." I could have taken offense but it just made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteFun post to read! I enjoyed seeing all of your train pictures and hearing about your train trips. You have been to so many places by train. Oh my goodness, your, "The next stop" in Dutch, I can relate to so well. I can still hear those same words in German from riding cities buses so much in Austria. "Die nachste Haltastelle ist..."- that phrase will pop into my mind from time to time! The dessert spread looks so good and how fitting that you have a train picture from the same event!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about all of your train excursions! So that's why Isabella is obsessed with the Royal family, right? Is that when that happened? It's fun to think back on birthdays over the years; I love what Joyce said about wanting someone else to do all the planning on her birthday. I'd agree with that! I love those town views from the rooftop!
ReplyDeleteI think I am so missing out on train travel- love seeing all of your adventures! Also loved your answer to "in a nutshell" and being content in your life- Praise God- you deserve all the joy Marilyn!
ReplyDeleteI see that you are a fellow train enthusiast!
ReplyDeleteI love that rooftop party and view! How cool!
I love that you have had so much growth this year personally and are feeling more contentment.
I have ridden a lot of trains, but haven't taken an actual train vacation. I'd like to though. The trains in Europe make travel that way so much easier and I wish we had more of that in the US. I loved planning birthdays for my girls when they were growing up and we had some fun themes. Not it's fun to see them doing the same with their little ones. I will try to come back and read some of your Alaska postings. Hope you're doing well!
ReplyDeleteSo many great train trips! I'm glad to hear you are content in your life!
ReplyDeleteThose train rides sound fantastic, especially the one in Alaska!
ReplyDeleteThat is good you are content with life, you do sound in a really good place!
Fab photos from the birthdays and that looks like a gorgeous location for a get together!