Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Year's Eve


As 2009 hobbles out on it's walker, we are preparing to celebrate the birth of 2010. I'm not a huge fan of New Years Resolutions. This is probably because I, like most people, tend to aim just a little too high. You know how it is...get in shape, stop eating junk food, exercise every day (who are we kidding with that one?), save X amount of money, ...the list goes on and on. Let's face it, by the third week of January, the resolutions are out the window and life is back to normal. All good intentions are laid to rest. It's a shame, really. This year, I'm going to try to do a little better. I'm going to try to pick more attainable goals...things that I should do every day anyway, but sometimes I just need to be nudged to remember them. So here goes...
  1. I will try to remember the hubby's motto of "Is there any added value...?" This is really a great thing to remember. It relates to just about everything. Before I react to situations (or people) that irritate me, I will stop and think for a minute. Is there any added value in saying or doing something rude in return? Will it change anything? Will it make anything better? Probably not. Best to just let it go.
  2. I will try to add just a little less sugar to my morning coffee, eat one less piece of delectable Belgian chocolate, get a slightly smaller serving at mealtime. The little things add up.
  3. I will try and visit the gym. I hear it's a lovely building with interesting and educational equipment in it. If I'm lucky, I might even climb on one of the machines and ...exercise. Baby steps...baby steps....Remember, the key to success lies in attainable goals.
  4. I will try to learn a little more Nederlands (Dutch). Apparently, being able to order basic items off of the menu and saying "please", "thank you", and "the boy is reading" in Nederlands is not quite enough to successfully carry on a conversation with the locals. Who'd have thought?
  5. I will buy one less item at the antique store. Well, maybe not. Let's not get carried away here.

That should just about do it. I think these goals are more than reasonable. Attainable. Easy to remember. These are my kind of goals. I wish all of you well on this fine New Year's Eve. It's been a good year. 2010 promises to be just as enjoyable, only with a little less sugar. I'm just saying.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

2009...A Year In Review

2009 is slowly drawing to a close. Well, that's not entirely true. I would have to say that 2009 screamed through our lives with the velocity and beauty of a Bugatti Veyron. (Don't worry, I'll give you a minute to google that. You and I both know that you're going to do it, so don't pretend otherwise.) I thought I'd take a little time today to reflect back on this past year, and the changes that it brought to our lives. We started the year in our traditional Alaskan way...an Aces hockey game! They have a game each New Year's Eve, and it's always a blast. If you've never had the chance to watch a live hockey game, you are really missing out.
Technically, I met these Aces players just before the New Year, but I just had to throw this in there. Why? Seriously? Uh...look at the picture again. You're welcome. The new year in Alaska brought out all of the regular visitors. This Mom and baby moose stopped by for a little nibble on our tree out back. We had the usual group stop by...black bear, moose, eagles, etc. These are the things that I miss most about Alaska. I love that you are living in a land that has been lost to most of the United States. Wild. Natural. Unspoiled. March trotted in on canine feet, with the Last Great Race...the Iditarod. Fur Rondy is a week long celebration to mark the finale of a long winter, and ends with this most difficult test of endurance and heart. The Iditarod covers over 1,150 miles of the most beautiful and unforgiving territory known to man, and it begins in beautiful downtown Anchorage. March held a couple of surprises for us as well. Not only did we have the normal amount of earthquakes, we also had some trouble from a cranky volcano. Mt. Redoubt decided to blow her top a few times, and one of the eruptions ended up with clouds of ash heading into Anchorage. That's not snow on the truck. That's volcanic ash. We were lucky that it didn't do any real damage. Other than bringing all traffic to a standstill (including the airports) and keeping all humans stuck indoors, you'd hardly notice anything was amiss. Well, Tink did panic a little bit, but we don't like to talk about that too much. It's a tad embarrassing. In May, I was very fortunate to be allowed to meet the Palins. I got to follow them around for the morning and take pictures of their visit. It was loads of fun, and Sarah Palin is a very kind and beautiful person. She's not the typical politician, and that's what I like most about her. (P.S. The rumors of me taking the State Crest from the speaker's podium are unequivocally untrue.) Todd Palin. Yep. Feel free to pause here a minute. No rush. I totally understand. Once again, you're welcome. A very sad occurrence happened at the end of April. Ashley and Tink boarded a plane and flew off to spend a very long "vacation" with Grandma and Grandpa. The Grandparents were kind enough to babysit them for us while we took a little detour overseas. For 3 years. Poor kitties. Well, poor me. The kitties are being spoiled rotten, and have both doubled in body size. Let's just say that Grandma is not adhering to the strict diet that I had the ladies on earlier this year. They are now both roughly the size of this ottoman.May brought a big truck and a group of burly fellows who proceeded to pack up all of our worldly possessions and ship them off on an ocean liner. We had been trying to go overseas for our entire military career, and had pretty much given up. We were in the process of trying to decide where we were going to retire when the orders came through. Belgium. Go figure. Early June had us flying into the glorious country of Belgium. There aren't words enough to express how excited our whole family was about getting this opportunity to go explore Europe. I won't bother re posting pictures of our adventures here so far. Feel free to browse the blog if you care to. In the 6 months that we've lived here, we've traveled around Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. We've explored castles, toured breweries, and visited amusement parks. We've experienced things that we'd only seen in books in the past. We're crossing some things off of our "bucket list" and are adding more all the time. I'd like to thank everyone who had a part in getting us over here. We really appreciate this opportunity, and are definitely making the most of it.
Looking back on 2009, I realize how truly blessed we are. We are all in great health, and are living in a country with so much beauty and history that is just waiting for us to explore. I wish all of you a very Happy New Year to you and yours. If you want to read more about our Alaskan adventures, feel free to check out my old blog GrizzlyBarb. (If you'd like to scroll back up and take another look at that picture of the hockey players now, feel free. Again...you're welcome.)

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas! Gelukkig Kerstfeest!

We decided to do something special for our first Christmas Eve in Belgium. To start off the evening, we went to a candlelight service over at Kleine Brogel. It was an evening of fellowship, singing, and yummy treats for all! After the service, we headed out for more holiday fun. The town of Bocholt was holding a traveling live nativity on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I'd never heard of anything like this, so I really wanted to check it out. It was very cool!
The Romans led a procession through the streets of Bocholt...some were on foot, and others were on their trusty steeds. Despite what history tells us, they were a friendly bunch. The pilgrimage ended at the city gates. The Romans opened the gates and let the people into the city. The entire evening was narrated in Nederlands (Dutch). The story is the traditional one, so you can pretty much figure out what's going on. Surprisingly, all of the songs that the choir sang at the end of the night were in English. We appreciate that. This is Mary and Joseph, being told not too kindly that there was just no room at the Inn. The program was very impressive. You moved from one scene to the next in the centrum of town. There were little fires here and there, so you could stop for a little bit and warm up if you felt the need. The program was over a little before 10 pm, and then the Roman guards led the people into the church for the evening service. We took a peek inside, but didn't stay for the service. Churches are so beautiful here. The amount of hand carved details inside is amazing! Back home and into bed we went, dreaming of Santa coming to make his deliveries...We had a fantastic Christmas morning. I'll spare you the pictures of everyone in their jammies. The kids were thrilled with their yearly haul, and are now playing games and enjoying their spoils. The scent of baking ham fills the air, and we are all anticipating our big Christmas meal. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a glorious New Year! If 2009 was half as great for you as it was for us, then you are very blessed indeed!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Winter Wonderland!

This was what we saw when we got up this morning. It's a winter wonderland! My gumdrop bushes are looking mighty festive with their sugar coating. The car is ticked off, because once again, the van has the garage. Poor car.The wind is really whipping the snow around. It build up this little drift against the sliding glass door. When I opened the door, it was still standing.

Our first heavy snowfall of the season! Ironically, I sold the snow shovel when we left Alaska. Go figure!

Snow and Ice Festival: Ice Age3

Beautiful Bruge

It was a beautiful day in Belgium, and we all loaded up on a tour bus at Kleine Brogel and headed out to Bruge for the Christmas Market. The added bonus of the day is that Bruge is also the home of the Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival, featuring Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs! If you've never had the chance to take a bus tour, you are truly missing out. It's the best way to travel to different cities in Europe. You don't have to worry about where you are going, where to park, or anything else. You just get to relax and enjoy the ride!The first thing we did when we reached Bruge, was go to the Ice Festival. It was lots of fun. The entire thing was inside a big thermal tent, with a constant internal temp of 21 degrees F. The snow and ice were carved with everything from spades and knives to chain saws. Everything was made from ice and snow, including the walls and stairs. Walking through the maze of sculptures was like walking through the movie. To enter the building, you get "eaten" by a big dinosaur!Here is Sid, the sloth, carrying the dinosaur eggs out so he can be a Mommy. Ellie and Manny are nearby. Trying to figure out what the heck Sid is doing. The dinosaur bones trapped in the ice cave wall were awesome. You could see them from both sides of the wall. The attention to detail was fantastic!You can't blame Sid for wanting to adopt these three baby dinosaurs. They were adorable!Momma dinosaur wants her babies back! Sid doesn't look too concerned with the situation. But then, Sid never does. Here are Manny and Ellie with their baby. I just thought this wall was beautiful! Again, the attention to details was amazing!Brandon went up the ice stairs to the back of the giant dinosaur. They made the back and tail into an ice slide for the kids. Now Brandon can say that he's slid down the back of a dinosaur during the Ice Age!After you go through the ice maze, you end up in the ice bar. Everything was carved out of ice. I loved the bookshelves with their nicknack's. Very elegant. The flowers were beautiful. This is the ice bar. The bar, stools, and tables were all ice. I think that even some of the glasses were ice. Can you imagine how cold the bartenders were at the end of their shifts?The polar bear was near the exit to say good bye. He was animatronic, so his head swung back and forth as you walked by. A beautiful canal at the edge of Bruge. When we were through touring the ice sculptures, we headed toward the center of town where the Christmas market was taking place. The old buildings and cobblestone streets were beautiful. There is a lot of history here.
There were several small markets tucked here and there in the city. They sold everything from Christmas decorations to food.

This is Sint Salvatorskathedraal. It was a beautiful building.
This statue in front of the Cathedral was so pretty with it's light covering of snow.
This is the main part of the square called The Market. There was an ice skating rink in the center of the square, and lots of little booth selling their wares all around it.

This statute in The Market commemorates local heroes Pieter de Coninck and Jan Breydel, who led a violent revolt against the French in 1302.

It was a very popular place to spend a Saturday.

This is the Belfort Tower. It was 366 steps to the top of the tower. We didn't get a chance to climb them this day, but we plan on going back in the Spring and giving it a try. They promise a beautiful panoramic view of the city from the top. If you have seen the movie "Bruge", you might remember this. (It's a funny movie, but bad guys cuss a lot, so be warned. It's not a family film. It does show a LOT of the city, though.)

I think that these buildings are on just about every tourist pamphlet about Bruge. You can see why. They are very pretty.
It was getting late, so we started wandering back down the streets and to the bus. This was a pretty little are down one of the streets near the Market. It's a nice place to relax with a cup of coffee and just people watch.
This is Belgium, so here is your chocolate picture. This chocolate fountain had both white and dark chocolate, and I found that pretty impressive. If you are like some of us and haven't finished your Christmas shopping yet, I'd like one of these. What? I'm just saying...