Je donne ma langue au chat!

Translation: I give up!

While this is not the exact translation, it is a french idiom that I learned in class today and have said approximately 534344 times in the past 2 weeks.

It is hard to explain just how hard the last 2 weeks have been.  Locking ourselves out of the house was just the beginning of a string of "learning experiences."  A part of me wants to list everything that has gone wrong so that someone, anyone, can feel my pain.  But, I won't do that to you.  Just know there has been a lot of crying, cussing and then hugging it out between Rob and I as we blow up appliances, replace items lost and stolen, and learn how to do adult things like take care of a yard. Every single thing we do takes at least 3 tries to get it right...every single thing.

A few highlights from the past few weeks.  Unfortunately there are no pictures...my phone and camera were in the purse that got stolen.

On September 1st we took the train to Brussels (30 min each way and cost us 7 euro/ticket) for the Brussels Beer Weekend.  There were 250 Belgian beers to try and we got through about 5 before I looked down and realized my purse was gone.  We were having the time of our lives with our new British friends and then it all came to screeching stop when we realized I had my iphone, new camera, debit card, car and house key and train tickets in there. Luckily we had also met an American couple that drove to Brussels that day and they gave us a ride home and helped us break in our house...for the second time in 3 days. Back to the festival...it was SO much fun! Best day we have had since moving here for sure. Cannot wait to go back next year and catch some more festivals throughout the year. By far my favorite beer was The Pink Killer from the Brasserie de Silly.  It was sweet and delicious without being too much.  A perfect brunch or tailgating beer.  Rob loved it too so it wasn't too girly.

On Friday we took a day trip with Rob's team to Dinant, BE.  Rob and I are planning to go back soon.  Its a great little river town with little patisseries, shopping and live music.  It's know for being the home of Adolfe Sax, who created the saxophone.

On Saturday we went to SHAPE Fest.  It's the base's biggest event of the year.  Each country represented has a booth with native food, drink and items to purchase.  There was SO much food!  If you are wondering...we went to the American tent and they served chicken wings, burgers and hot dogs and Budweiser products.  Oh and Nelly was playing while we were there, representing the Lou.  The American tent was by far the loudest, because that is how we are.  You don't realize it until you aren't in US anymore, but we are loud. There was live music all day and carnival rides of those who have kids.  It was fun but we decided that next year will be better when we actually know a few people.

I started french class on Monday which I have been looking forward to.  Most of the people in there are American but there are also people from Spain, England, Sweden, Romania and Slovakia. It feels good to be in the classroom again for sure. Since being here I have a new found respect for those people living in foreign countries and not knowing the language yet. Side note: After class I met Sally-Anne from England and we realized that she has a 15 month old Labradoodle...Duke will have a friend when he gets here!

All of our household goods arrived, and nothing was broken and I think everything made it.  I can't tell if we got lucky or if Karma decided to give us a break.  Our next project is to break our brand new box spring to get it up the stairs and then put it back together again.  That probably won't happen for a few more weeks because Rob will be in Germany all week next week and I no longer touch anything in the house unless I know it works, I swear I mess up everything I touch.

We got cable and Internet at our house yesterday! Feels good to be connected again without sitting in a cafe.  Our wireless is great so we can facetime and skype regularly now. I have a feeling that me and BBC are going to be very close since that is one of approximately 8 English stations. But the french channels are good  to help us with learning the language.  Last night I came across MTV with the translated version of Jersey Shore, turns out there is no translation for "guido."

My plans while Rob is gone next week...french class, yoga class, baking, and maybe a trip or two to the some shops I have had my eye on.  I'm really not looking forward to him being gone. I would give about anything to have Duke here with me but I am sure it will be fine and go quickly.

And last but not least... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this little one.  I hate that I am not there to help her celebrate but I plan to be there when she can remember her birthdays :)  Aunt Jill and Uncle Rob will celebrate in your honor from across the pond.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Oh, and I certainly drank more than one bottle of wine/week these past two weeks. No pics of the bottles but I have been hooked on German Rieslings lately.

Should we call a locksmith?

Before I get too far into this post, everyone needs to know the song I am listening to right now in a cafe.  I can only imagine listening to it while reading this post will make it that much better: Barbara Streisand.  Before this, my best musical experience was a cab ride in Brussels listening to Ja Rule among other rappers from 2000 or earlier.  It was a great cab ride needless to say.

This week we moved into our house and within 48 hours managed to lock ourselves out.  We determined with the help of Rob's fellow dentist/neighbor (thank the lord) who is fluent in french that breaking our window and unlocking the door would be cheaper than calling a locksmith after 8 pm.  See disaster below.

And this is Rob chipping away at the rest of the glass out so can fix it. 

sunglasses to protect his eyes.  His hands are fine unprotected, he doesn't need them, right?

We also got good news that our stuff is being delivered 2 weeks earlier than expected.  Should be here on Tuesday! So excited to have our own items to sleep on, cook with, etc.  Other than that we have been busy making trips to Ikea (Rob walked away is a haze since it was his first time) and we bought a lawn mower as opposed to paying someone 120 Euro/month to mow our lawn 2 times.  We did that math over 3 years and almost threw up. 

This has been my bottle of wine for the week, aren't you proud it has lasted me a week? I am.  It was 5 Euro. Wine is quite cheap here and I think I mentioned earlier that we can get it duty free.  Tax is about 21% here so this helps, a lot! I enjoy drinking wine but I would be lying if I acted like I knew that much about it, but I have this feeling I will be learning quickly. I plan on buying an inexpensive bottle/week and documenting so I can remember if I liked it!  Based on the near empty bottle, this was very good and great to enjoy on our back porch! 

2005 Chatau De Hauterive Medoc

Heading back to Brussels on Saturday for the Brussels Beer Weekend 2012. Pics to come I am sure.  Instead of the flower carpet in the middle of the Grand Place, there will be beer vendors. Viola! 

I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day!  I can finally express my excitement that Rachelle and Jerry Dittmer are expecting their first baby in February! Just another little one that I get to fall in love with! 

La Masion Masterson

We found a house! Its actually the first house we looked at which is very rare.  I met a guy yesterday that has looked at 40 houses and is still looking.  We looked at a few others besides this one but nothing compared to this actual house and location.  We are about 15 minutes from the base, walking distance of a lake and hospital and about 1 km from downtown Soignies, Belgium.  Oh and an incredible yard for Duke! We move on Tuesday.  Goodbye American hotel with all the amenities we want, hello empty house.  We will be renting the bare minimum furniture for a few weeks until our stuff arrives mid September. The house has plenty of space and is in good condition for houses here.  Unfortunately, we can't paint the walls which I was bummed about.  But all the windows need curtains so those will be my first projects.  If only I could sew.  I am going to try to use this DIY tutorial of no-sew curtains and see how it goes. And since we sold our kitchen table and living room tables we will begin looking for these pretty quick.  There are tons of flea markets, thrift shops and markets around here....I can't wait to go to them! And if all else fails, there is always Ikea. Decoration thoughts and ideas are welcome!

House from the street, love the brick, beautiful yard and the shutters that actually work

back yard for duke.  our neighbor directly behind us has chickens and ducks

living room, doors open to back yard- favorite part of the house

huge master bedroom, there are two more bedrooms that look similar to this

kitchen, appliance will be added when we move in

pink bathroom- least favorite part of the house but trying to come to  terms with it 

Not sure the actual purpose of this room but it will be our closet 

Brussels/Bruxelles/Brussel

English: Brussels
French: Bruxelles
Dutch: Brussel

Took our first trip this weekend! It was actually unplanned.  Friday at about 5 we saw the dentist that works in Brussels at our hotel and he offered his apartment for the weekend and to take us around Brussels.  We had already planned to go to Brussels on Saturday to see the flower carpet but we decided to take him up on his offer for the weekend.  An hour later, we were in Brussels!  Having a local tour guide makes a WORLD of difference. He has only been here for a year but its amazing how well he can get around. The only lows of the trip was how hot and humid it was on Saturday and how bad our feet hurt after walking all day! Sunday we went to Ostend and spent time on the beach...yes Belgium has beautiful beaches! My camera died so I don't have any pictures of it. Guess we will have to go back!  Ok, enough chatter...here are pics from our trip!

Maison du Roi or King's House.  Located in the Grand Place

Flower Capet, started in 1971 and happens every other summer in the Grand Place. This years was a tribute to African tapestry weavers. More info here

Flower Carpet

Mannequin Pis or Peeing Boy.  He is often dressed for every occasion.  If there is something the Belgians do well, it is parties and festivals and he is always dressed accordingly.  Saturday's occasion, Delerium beer garden...so we stuck around.

Start of Delerium parade.  More info about the  "robes" about 50 people were wearing. 

Me and the hubs

Inside the pub.  Too  hot to sit inside since there is no AC in Belgium.

See peeing boy on the left...they was actually beer coming out of there and spraying the crowd

Palais Royal de Bruxelles or Royal Palace of Brussels.  The king doesn't live here but he does work here.  Beyond immaculate. 

This is a main reception room, the chandeliers were exquisite. Can't  even tell you how many just this room had.

More beauty

Parc de Cnquantenaire or Park of fiftieth anniversary, built to celebrate 50 years of independence.  This is the triumphal arch  is the center of the park.  Sun was going down so its hard to see the detail from here. 

Top of arch

Arch from below

Week 1

It's kind of hard to believe we have been here for a week.  It feels like it has flown by! This week brought a lot of firsts with it including...first time driving in Belgium, first time attempting to speak french, first time entertaining (had Rob's new co-worker over for dinner last night...and when I say over I mean across the hall in the hotel), first chocolate purchase, first wine purchase, first Belgian beer purchase.  We have spent a ton of time driving around and looking at different areas to possibly live.  We think we have found our house but its not final so I don't want to get too excited.  The roads are beautiful so we have enjoyed the views.  The Belgians don't mess around with their yards, I don't know who the "Joneses'" are but they have set the bar high! We are planning to head to Brussels this weekend for the Flower Carpet Festival.  And of course eat pom frites and waffles.

View from hotel room

Rue d'Ath, beautiful tree lined road

New Home, New Look

It was time to update the blog now that we have started our next journey.  After six months of planning and 12 hours of traveling we are officially in Belgium.  On the first plane ride I had an "oh shit" moment and felt this overwhelming feeling of being homesick. Luckily I haven't felt that feeling since then.  Our first 24 hours in Belgium have been great.  The base is small and easy to get around, hotel is super nice and we even went on our fist date last night.  There was a major language barrier but the staff was friendly and the pizza and beer were delicious. Somehow, Rob could figure out what the waitress was asking so he did most of the responding.  Its hard to describe how green it is here, it has been such a nice break from the heat.  Ask me how I am after it rains for 10 days in a row and I may not feel the same.  

I plan to flood my posts with pics....I promise some are coming as soon as my phone starts working again!

3,400 miles

In June I traveled approx. 3,400 miles going back and forth from Colorado to Missouri.  In 3 different cars over 3 different weekends. While I loved seeing family and friends, I am pretty glad I only have to make the road trip to Missouri one more time.  That's right, the next time we drive to MO is when we begin our "Tour De Missouri" before we leave for Belgium. 38 days until we leave.
This past weekend Rob and I were both finally in town together.  We had friends over on Friday and then I played 3 soccer games between Saturday and Sunday.  There is a reason I haven't played this many games in a weekend since I was 19.  Pretty ugly although I had a blast playing soccer again.  We also bought a new mattress for our master bedroom in true old married couple fashion.  The only bummer is that we won't get to use it until our stuff is delivered in Belgium...in September.
July will be filled with visitors from friends and family, Rob graduating from is residency, packing and moving our stuff (yes, our stuff is being moved mid July and won't arrive until mid September), getting to the mountains one more time, and leaving Colorado for good.  Life is moving quite fast these days, but the reality is I have been saying that for at least 2 years now and I don't expect it to stop any time soon.

This little bug turned 2

Beautiful wedding in Plattsberg, MO celebrating the Hildebrands

This stuff really exists and is apparently pretty good since half the bottle was gone the night we got it

Baby Pierce and his mommy Laci, love these two