A Case for Hope

Sometimes there are moments in all our lives when we look back and realize we HAVE done something right! Erin, our youngest daughter, took us on a rocky journey from her thirteenth birthday onward. Although she had a genius IQ and nearly every talent and gift you can imagine, she suffered from self-esteem issues as well as an addictive personality.

Coupled with a fiercely independent spirit (she told us several years ago that when Dad and I told her, ”No,” that was the green light!) and a risk-taking approach to life, we wondered if she would even LIVE to be 30! Yet, through it all (and there are stories you would be hard put to believe), I believed in her and prayed for her and supported her.

Today she is a lovely young woman with two college degrees and a wonderful job in fashion design. Those of you who know Erin or who have prayed for her over the yeas will be particularly touched by the words below, and those of you who don’t, can relate, I’m sure, since all families and relationships have their battles and their triumphs, their ups and their downs, their laughter and their tears, their fears and their hopes.

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I thought you all might enjoy my latest portrait!;-)

To learn more about my “serious” work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.

BALTIC SEAS ADVENTURE – May 23- June 4, 2011

Princess Cruise Line
Ship: Emerald Princess

Travel Buddy: Nancy Cobb, a dear friend from Illinois, has traveled with me before to Venezuela, Antarctica, India, Thailand, Viet Nam, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. We really enjoy each other’s company and as we often say, “We each are blessed with different skills!” Nancy is an early riser and takes care of most of the details, but she needs me to help her find all the things she loses! I am the messy one who over packs and spreads out all over, but dear Nancy puts up with me! However, I am also the documenter and the one who remembers all the goofy things we hear– I remember the short term things and Nancy remembers the long term ones, so we make a good team! We both enjoy learning, meeting other people, and adventures, so we have become good travel buddies.

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Barbara is enjoying her wonderful birthday cruise on Princess Cruises. Her voyage began in Denmark, then sailed on to Norway, next was Berlin. After enjoying some time at sea, they will be visiting St. Petersburg – Russia, Helsinki – Finland, Stockholm – Sweden, ending back in Copenhagen -Denmark. What a beautiful adventure. Bon Voyage!

Is there someone in your life whom you need to thank? As the school year is drawing to a close, we often think about all the people who have had a positive influence in our children’s lives: teachers, mentors, volunteers, and coaches. We have the perfect gift you can give to show what a profound impact these special people have made in this world!

“I have given this book as a gift to my own children’s teachers and coaches and have seen first hand how touched they are to be appreciated,” says Laura Roberts, Director of Client Services at Barbara Glanz Communications. The front page of the book has a dedication page where you can put your name and your own personal message. The book is also a wonderful gift for co-workers, volunteers, or employees whether in a school or work setting. Everyone wants and needs to feel appreciated.

“The Simple Truths of Appreciation” is a beautifully crafted gift book that incorporates amazing photography, powerful quotes and inspirational stories about how we can make a difference in the lives of others. Barbara Glanz has created an instant classic that takes you on a journey through 10 key principles of appreciation. If you’re looking for a great gift to recognize someone special or to simply say “Thank You”, then this is the perfect gift.

Special:
Retails at $15.95 but get this wonderful book for ONLY $12.00 to show your appreciation to all the special people in your life!
(The special price of $12.00 a book will show when you go to check out.)
Special price $12.00 plus shipping and handling until June 30th.
Click here to order.

A speaker friend, Lenora Billings-Harris, and I spent the day sightseeing in Amsterdam on Sunday after the Global Speakers Symposium ended. We began with a canal tour.

Of course all the streets are very narrow, and since so many people bike, there is always a very narrow bike path on one side of the tiny streets which leaves even less room for cars. The canals, which are about 3 meters deep, were built in the 17th century, and as the city grew, they were built in semi-circles out from the center. One of the most interesting things about the canals was that in the 1960’s they finally built short fences on some of the canals (although the ones outside my windows have nothing between the street and the water). The guide told us that still at least one car a week goes into the canal!

Amsterdam is 1 ½ meters below sea level, so most of the houses are built on piles. (Schipol Airport is also below sea level…..) The reason the houses are so narrow is that they were taxed on their WiDTH, so they were all built long to the back. There are many different kinds of interesting gables, often indicating the wealth and status of the owners, and I was intrigued with the large hooks at the top of each gable. Because the houses and the stairways were so narrow, all the furniture had to be brought in through the windows, so the hooks were the first form of moving equipment! I took many pictures of the charming rows of house fronts along the canal, many former mansions.

We saw wonderful sights like the largest floating Chinese restaurant in the world, the “house with 1000 windows,” the “Crazy Jack” Tower, so-called because the clock could never keep the right time, and hundreds of house boats—some lovely with little floating gardens and others that looked barely afloat! Interestingly, they all have gas, water, and electricity.

After our canal ride, we went to the Van Gogh Museum, and since Lenora shares my penchant for shopping, the first thing we hit was the Museum gift shop….and then lunch in their garden cafeteria. The museum itself was very crowded, but we were able to see most of Van Gogh’s amazing work. I did not know that he only painted for ten years and then became ill and despondent and shot himself. Sadly, his work did not become famous until much after his death. There was also a traveling Picasso exhibit at the museum which we found quite interesting. He is so famous for his cubism that I was not aware of the many other kinds of work he did.
On our way back to the hotel, we HAD to stop at the Hard Rock Café for gift t-shirts and an empty Heineken beer bottle in Dutch!


We dropped off our purchases and then did a quick walk through of the Red Light district. My children had warned me NOT to go into a coffee shop ;-), so I had to at least take a picture in front of one.
Even though I had been there many years before, it was still a bit shocking to see all the girls in the windows, dancing, seducing, and nearly nude, and of course even the shop windows and all the “toys” available brought color to our cheeks! Interestingly, there were all sizes, ages, and nationalities of women – someone for everyone, I guess.

That evening Nicolette and Jelle entertained us in their lovely home. We were deeply touched to see that Nicolette had a framed American flag that had flown on a battleship in her living room. Their garden was extraordinary (we loved how many of the homes had small gardens either in their front or back yards), and they were the most gracious of hosts.

See earlier blog posts on other parts of the trip. To learn more about Barbara’s work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.

A wonderful friend sent me this precious poem that he wrote on Good Friday for Easter. I hope your holiday will be blessed with peace, love, and joy.

“This Easter Morning”
by Mike Hall

There is power in the silence
power in the heads bowed, quiet contemplation
of all You did for us

There is beauty in the silence
beauty in the quiet recognition
that our lives mean nothing apart from You

There is love in the silence
love that binds us together and forgives
our failings when we drift away from You

There is peace in the silence
peace that we long for when this spinning world
gets the best of us and we come humbly back to You

There is joy in the silence
joy in every breath when we try to comprehend
the miracle of Your life and the meaning of Your death

There is hope in the silence
hope that the rising of Sunday
will one day be ours

There is power in the silence
power, beauty and love
peace, joy, hope and forgiveness this Easter morning

AMSTERDAM TRIP

Amsterdam is certainly a city of contrasts. Amidst the charming gables, miles of canals, and lovely old churches, one finds very modern buildings and the Red Light District where prostitution and marijuana cafes are legal – quite different from the US!

However, the people are so open and accepting that I feel perfectly comfortable here and have already made many wonderful new friends. I read this description of the city: “The traditional images of Holland—picturesque windmills, wooden shoes, and waving fields of tulips—find their contrasts in the capital city of Amsterdam. Often described as ‘a city with a split personality.’ Amsterdam blends a deeply historic and reserved core with a thoroughly modern tolerance that is unmatched anywhere else in the world.”

THE GRAND HOTEL

Thanks to my clients, I am staying at the Grand Hotel (Sofitel) which is regarded as the best hotel in the Netherlands. From the lightly starched fresh sheets every day to something I have NEVER seen before in all the world – a TV mounted in the wall at the end of the bathtub—I feel like royalty.

I am staying in a room which is the Maria Stuart Room (1631 – 1660), the Princess Royal and eldest daughter of the English King Charles I. She was a guest in the hotel in 1642.
I have breakfast each morning in the Council Chamber which was built in 1924 as the headquarters for Amsterdam’s City Council. In this majestic setting, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was married on March 12, 1966. Every detail has been taken care of in the room, including fresh bottled water, biscuits and dried fruit each day. It will be difficult to leave here. 😉 Ironically, however, as I mentioned the contrasts earlier, the hotel is half a block away from the Red Light District! I just heard last night that Michael Jackson always stayed at the Grand Hotel when he was in town…..;-)

IMPRESSIONS OF THE NETHERLANDS
The dollar is very low here right now (about 1.5 exchange rate), so you have to remember that everything is 50% higher than what the EU price is. Food is VERY expensive. Breakfasts (eggs, etc.) are from 30 – 35 EU ($45 – $50), dinners with just one appetizer, one entrée, and one glass of wine are from 50– 60 EU ($75 – $90). At least tipping is not expected in most places and only 10% in the restaurants.

I have really enjoyed the food here although it is surprising how few vegetables they eat. No restaurant I have been in has a green salad, for example, and dinners come with mostly fish or meat and some kind of starch. At the hotel in Noordwjik the lunches were almost completely starch – sandwiches and pasta. There are very few obese people here, however, because EVERYONE rides bicycles. Literally hundreds of them are parked along the canals.

Two of my favorite meals have been with friends here. One was typically Dutch, served with ham, small boiled potatoes, huge white asparagus, and finely crumbled eggs, all drizzled with butter. Each meal begins with an “amuse” which is a small treat prepared by the chef or hostess. This was my lunch yesterday (everything comes in VERY tiny portions):
• Amuse of a cucumber soufflé, a tartare, and lotus flowers (like potato chips)
• One mussel surrounded by vichyssoie and fennel
• Tuna and cucumber tartare
• 4 scallops on top of asparagus risotto

I found clothing to also be very expensive, but I still had fun buying a couple of outfits to remember my trip! 😉 My friends, Nicolette and Anne, took me shopping in Utrecht after my presentation on Wednesday, and again I felt like a queen, having three people “dress” me – both them and the sales lady showing me different tricks to look my very best!

There are round-abouts everywhere, so you can never drive fast on the local streets, and the traffic usually prohibits that anyway. Amsterdam is known as the “city with 1000 bridges,” and there are over 100 canals, all built in concentric circles around the city. I had absolutely no sense of direction in the city and I am sure would become hopelessly lost if left on my own.

To learn more about Barbara’s work and travels, go to www.barbaraglanz.com. THe next blog entry will share our tour of Amsterdam.

Yesterday was certainly a highlight of my trip to Holland! My new friend, Nicolette Wuhring who lives in Amsterdam, picked me up at 9:00 to go the the Keukenhof, the beautiful bulb garden in Holland. It is only open from April to May each year and gets about 10,000 visitors. Begun in 1949, growers and exporters of bulbs each have a section of the huge park that becomes their visual display. Each section contains artistic creations with flowers and many places to take photographs. Each part of the park seems more beautiful than the next, and each has a special feeling to it.

Also, in each section there are greenhouse areas–one for ever variety of orchid, another for dozens and dozens of different kinds of tulips, and others for arts and crafts and souvenirs. Throughout the park are bulb shops (of course, I bought several to bring home), coffee and waffle stands, outdoor cafes and children’s playgrounds. I especially loved Mitty’s playground, named after a huge white rabbit called “Nijntje” in Dutch which is the most famous toy in Europe. (Nicolette told me that “Little Kitty”, which is so popular in America, is a Japanese counterfeit of Nijntje, and there have been lawsuits about it going on for years!) At one point in the afternoon, we stopped for fresh raw herring which was served with chopped onions — a typical Dutch treat. I wasn’t sure I would like it, but I had to try it, and I did!

Of course, there are wooden shoes everywhere, a windmill, fountains, swans, and even a street organ.

We walked for five hours and still did not cover everything. I took almost 200 pictures — just could not stop admiring the awesome beauty and peace of this special place. And our timing was perfect. Each year at the end of May all the thousands of bulbs are dug up and refrigerated until the next spring when they are replanted. The work and the designs were awesome.

The flower-bulb sector in the Netherlands provides jobs for about 15,000 people. Together, they bring ten billion flower bulbs–70% of the total world production–to the market. These bulbs are grown on 20,000 hectares of land, which is the equivalent of 40,000 football fields. More than 75% of the bulbs are exported to over 100 countries. On the way there and back we passed miles and miles of fields of yellow daffodils, purple hyacinths, and every color of tulip, all in different colored rows like stripes. We stopped and I bought a bunch of two dozen pink, scalloped edged tulips for $7 to beautify my hotel room.

Other than losing the only jacket I brought with me (all we could remember was that we must have laid it down when we were taking pictures), it was a PERFECT day. Ironically, Nicolette told me that she had not been to the gardens since she was a little girl. Just like most of us, we often do not take advantage of the things in our hometowns that tourists come from around the world to view!

Today was filled with wonderful speakers whom I will write about tomorrow. I am just getting ready to go to a “Dutch night” party — what a JOY to be here!

I am too tired tonight (it is 10:30 and I just got back to the hotel after 5 hours of walking in the gardens, the President’s reception and a lovely dinner) to write about the gardens except to say that they were SPECTACULAR!!!! I will write more tomorrow, but I want to share some pictures with you.