Smakelijk!
Amazingly, our timing for our Dallas trip coincided exactly with when Amy would be visiting from Belgium to see her family there! Amy’s family lives on the same side of Dallas as Gina and fam, so when Amy told us she and her sister were doing a local(ish) 5K Sunday morning, we decided to cheer them on at the finish, then get Starbucks after.
Me and Amy!
I had met Amy’s sister, Christy, and her mom, before*, but not Amy (we’ve been internet friends for at least four years)! Amy told me her estimated 5K finish time so we cheered on the runners while watching the clock and looking for her. She came in right at her estimated time (and got first in her age group, woot woot) but saw us (edited to add: Steven reminded me that she said she recognized his beard from far away, ha!) and waved enthusiastically well before she got to the finish line! Luca and I gave her high fives on her way in!
We cheered Christy in too, and chatted and hung out until the awards ceremony, then hit up Starbucks. It was a warm day, with a pleasant breeze that made it perfect for enjoying a hot or cold drink on the patio with friends!
Amy is sweet, kind (she brought us Belgian cookies and chocolate NOM NOM NOM!!!), and easy to talk to, so we all hung out and talked for a long time! Honestly, I had kind of forgotten about the joy and excitement in meeting other bloggers – it’s been such a long time since I’ve done any blogger meetups**. But it’s so cool to meet someone face to face that you feel like you already know – you often pick up as if you’re old friends. And it’s always fun (especially with Amy, since she lives outside the states) to hear about someone’s experiences and how they’re different AND the same as yours. Isn’t it amazing, that even when you feel like you have all the people you need in your life, you still meet people and think “how can I spend more time with this totally cool person?!” Ahh, the fluidity of life’s friendships.
It was a treat to see Amy in person, and I’m grateful it worked with all our schedules! Everyone hit it off well, so we decided our next outside the states vacation with Gina and family should be to Belgium. Hee hee. Belgium Marathon 2017?
Oh! The post title! When we sat down with our drinks at Starbucks, Amy said “smakelijk!,” which is Dutch for “bon appetite!” That would be a fun thing to start saying with drinks… if I could remember how to pronounce it. Ha!
*They recognized me at the Dallas Marathon in 2014!
**It’s interesting… I found my people, and stopped reaching out/interacting as much. It’s kind of like how I used the running club to find my people, then left it (only I’m still blogging… so kind of not like that? Ha.).
Themocracy
That’s awesome you gals got to meet up! And congrats to Amy on the AG victory!
I’ll have to YouTube on how to pronounce that word… Too many consecutive consonants we don’t see in everyday English to wrap my mind around 🙂
It was so fun! I loved hearing her stories. And I would REALLY love to go there some day. Especially after seeing In Bruges, ha ha ha.
Yeah! I should try that! I told myself to remember it, and… immediately forgot 😉
How cool that you were finally able to meet Amy IRL! I’ve only been to Belgium for like an afternoon when my dad and I were driving around those parts. I would love to go to Brugges. Also, how were the chocolates?
OMG THE CHOCOLATES WERE AMAZING!!! I didn’t want to share. But I did.
That is cool you’ve been there a bit! Have you seen In Bruges? LOL 🙂
I can relate on not wanting to share sweets! Oops spelled Bruges wrong! Yes, I’ve seen “In Bruges”! Really made me want to go there even more. 🙂
Me too! Even though Colin Farrell’s character hated it!
This is so cool – I love blogger meet ups! I hope to someday meet Dutch Girl Fran, either here in the US or there in the Netherlands.
I hope you get to see her in BOTH places! 🙂
That’s so nice! Maybe sometime I’ll get to teach you how to say Slainte 😀
That would be awesome 🙂
That’s a nice way to connect – cheering and then coffee! On a different note, I like the bike t-shirt you’re wearing!
Thank you! Funny thing about it… it was a gift from my snister, and she found it in the pajama section of the store! HA! We both wear it as a regular tank!
Very cool that you got to meet an online friend in real life! And Belgium sounds like it would be a fun trip 🙂
Wouldn’t it be?! Steven and I have been both to Europe by ourselves, and he came once to visit me when I lived in Rome, but we have never traveled there together, and I’d really like to! 🙂 Gotta start saving up. Maybe 20..18? 19? LOL
So are you and Amy friends-friends or “blends” now? 😉 So cool that you got to meet up over your trip to Texas! And it was really nice of you to go cheer her on?
Was Steven honored or horrified that she recognized him by his beard?
How do you say “smakelijk”? In my head, I’m saying it as “smake leek,” but I don’t think that’s right.
Ha! Blends. Another “word” I refuse to use, like “runch.” Eek. (Although, I have so many made up words that Steven and I use that my snis asked me a few times this weekend “what are you talking about?” Ha ha) But. It was so cool to meet her!
I think Steven was honored!
I still can’t remember how to say it! I should email Amy and ask her to spell it out for me. Ha.