Aside from an array of other good things happening lately, I was busy the entire week everyday helping around the home of my mother-in-law.

There are some things which are common to the Netherlands. Bicycles, windmills. . . But there are some things which you only notice if you've lived here for a while. You may notice these things differently or have a different list, but here is my personal Top 20 of things typically Dutch, good or bad:

I'm certainly not a fan of going to the d

Call it what you want, but sometimes I find myself speaking this rare form of language when I must speak Dutch. Sometimes, when I can't find the right word for something in Dutch, I'll either call it een ding [a thing], or I will use the English word.

American foods in the Netherlands. Not always easy to find. I think this is something any American living here eventually wants to find. I've never met an American here who doesn't admit to wanting a jar of their childhood-favorite peanut butter or just a taste of root beer. I am almost out of maple syrup, so this is on my mind at the moment. I found at C1000 a Vertmont brand maple syrup. Sold in a small glass jar, it is thick and tastes like maple syrup.

I'm an American woman in the process of changing my life around completely, which seems to keep happening. This time it's all about documenting this new life I created for myself in Amsterdam.

I'm really late with this - if you read any other blogs from anyone living in Holland, I'm sure they've already mentioned that for the first time in 12 years, the Netherland's canals froze this month. I didn't take any of my own pictures, if you follow that link you'll see a great photo on the International Herald Tribune.

I'm an American who came to the Netherlands 7 years ago. I am now happily married to a Dutch man. This blog is my view of what life's like for me living halfway around the world from what was once home.

There's a law in the Netherlands that says cyclists must use lights when they ride at night. White in the front, red in the back. A lot of people have lights on their bike, but those get stolen frequently - my solution is to keep little lights pinned to the bag I always carry. As long as I go out with the same bag every time (which I do about 90% of the time), I always remember my lights.

Have you heard that going by bike is absolutely the best way to get around Amsterdam?