About Me

A Dutch MS-warrior Bird Nerd

What can I tell you all about me? My life motto is Carpe Diem, seize the day. I am a Dutch woman, living in the US, after accepting a job with IBM here many years ago. The plan was to live here for a few years and then get back to civilization. That was in 1994 and I clearly never managed to do that.

Do More, Own Less

The older I get, the more I realize that I treasure experiences and travel way more than I treasure possessions. I am slowly trying to declutter my home to a minimalist environment. While living a life to its fullest, close to nature, family and friends. I used to blog a lot about my family at Our Deer Baby and about my go obsession at Because It’s There! .

That stopped when life happened and I got addicted to discovered Facebook. Therefore I stopped blogging. In my opinion, Facebook is nice for pictures and keeping up with family and friends, but not as good for longer stories and observations. So here I am, back to blogging. Carpe Diem!

Traveling The World (With MS)

• Smorgasbord of our Travel Pictures from All Over The World (Theme: Old and New);
• Canada
  • On the West coast: British Columbia Parliament Building in Victoria BC;
  • at the other coast: Quebec Parliament Building in Quebec City.
• Costa Rica
  • Visit to Don Juan coffe and chocolate plantation in Monteverde;
  • Never Smile at a Crocodile! We learned who is the #1 predator of crocodiles.

Travel Hacking For The Win

Since I am Dutch, I always try to find the best and cheapest deals for our travel.

• How we stayed at Atlantis, Bahamas for cheap;
• Using Hilton Honor Points for free hotel stays;
• Best uses of Hilton Honors Free Night Certificate.

Travel During The Pandemic: Carpe Diem Close to Home

When I started this blog, we could travel the world and Covid-19 didn’t exist yet. Let’s just say that that isn’t the case anymore. Here is how we adjusted our travel to the new reality.

• Our first pandemic trip: Travel to Vermont during Covid-19;
• Happy things to do in Kennebunkport, Maine during the pandemic;
• National Parks and more in New Hampshire;
• Do you know who is one of the worst presidents in US history? Visit The Pierce Manse.

Birding Travel

Maybe I should mention that my friends call me a bird nerd…

• Snow geese are superlatively awesome. Find out all you want to know about snow geese!
• Enjoy the birds of Costa Rica.

Whale Watching

Never saw a whale on my first three whale watching, but I totally made up for that on later ones.

• We got to touch whales in Magdalena Bay!
• Did you know you can whale watch from Quebec City?

Geeky Bucket List Travel

Because everyone needs a weird hobby and a reason to check out new travel destinations! Yup, we are trying to visit all the US state capitols and state houses. Of course, it means we learn all kind of cool facts, here is what we have done so far:

• Ten Surprising New Hampshire State House Facts New Hampshire people are cheapskates!
• Ten Surprising Vermont State House Facts Discover ancient fossils;
• The Maine State House With bells on;
• The Massachusetts State House Where the Boston Italian North End was born;
• The Old State House in Boston, site of the Boston Massacre.
• Connecticut Capitol Fun Facts Home of the so-called “Black Law”;
• Rhode Island State House: Ten Surprising Facts Discover its Dutch history;
• New York State Capitol. An expensive boondoggle;
• Alaska Capitol. Which animal guards it?
• Washington State Capitol. Women’s suffrage for the win!
• Breaking news: why Puerto Rico has a State House of its own!
• The US Virgin Islands have a Capitol Building in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Voted the state Capitol building with the best view!
• Get inspired by our Travel Quests and start your own!

Large Family: Never Boring

My first marriage didn’t work out husband wise, but it gave me many wonderful children. For a few years I was a single mom. Luckily, I met the man of my dreams to whom I have been happily married to for five years now. We have eight children, two grandchildren and a large extended family in America and Europe. Lots of opportunities to Carpe Diem with them all!

We love to travel, love visiting friends and family, love birding and photography and I will try to make money by writing and blogging, sharing my journey with you all. This blog is a work in progress and I am excited about starting it and being back to sharing my observations with the world.

Find out how we survived 2020: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Multiple Sclerosis

I was diagnosed with MS on Halloween 2017 and I am sharing my experiences with the world. Multiple sclerosis doesn’t mean your life is over. It just means you have to figure out which adaptations will work for you!

Life with MS

• Summer 2021, I got featured in Momentum, sharing tips for summer things to do with MS. Carpe Diem!
• Pondering my MS diagnosis under a blue moon.