Busy Busy Busy

 I've been really horrible about posting lately, and I'm sorry about that.  But in my defense, things have been more than a little busy lately.  In the last week or so, we moved out of our lovely home and into an apartment/hotel in another town near by.  We've come full circle once again, because these are the apartments that we staying in when we first moved to Belgium, 3 very short years ago.  This is a difficult move for me, because as happy as I am to be going back to our friends and family in the states, I'm sad to be leaving the beautiful country of Belgium.  I know the odds of us ever getting to come back here are pretty slim (practically non-existent), so I'm trying to take in and enjoy every last minute that we are here. 

 So here is our last week in a nutshell.  We went to a nice little carnival in Peer.  It looks pretty empty here, but we walked around a lot when it first opened, and the crowds came later in the evening. 

 I paid one last visit to my favorite antique store, Slegers-Heise, with some friends and shared a few laughs.  I really do love this place.  You never know quite what you will find there.  I really wish I knew the history behind this grouping, don't you?  By the way, you'll be very proud to know that I didn't actually buy anything there!  (Of course, the fact that my household goods are shipped and they didn't have any new scales might have helped a bit on that one.) 

 I attended a couple of local weekly markets with friends as well.  I'm going to miss these so much.  It's so much fun to walk around, buy fresh produce and other interesting items, and then have lunch in a small cafe and chat. 

 One last trip to Achel Abbey with friends as well.  Heavy sigh.

 I have started organizing our belongings at the apartment in preparation for our flight out.  I'm sure the airlines won't have a problem with our 700 pounds of stuffed suitcases.  Maybe I need to organize a little more. 

And last, but not least, I've probably gained 10 pounds with all the eating out I've been doing with friends this week.  (There is a waffle buried under all that ice cream and fresh fruit.  The fruit makes it a healthy meal, you know.)  I'm going to add a Belgian waffle maker to my Christmas Wish List.  My booty won't thank me for that, but my heart will.  It will remind me of my time spent here, and that will make me smile.  It's so hard to say goodbye to the friends that I've made here at KB.  There are some really fantastic people stationed here, and they made our Belgian experience just that much better.  One step closer to home.

My Kind Of Monday

I think I might have hurt Stanley's feelings just a little bit. I asked him if he was ready to go home, and he sadly told me that there were still a few things that he'd like to experience in Belgium. I insisted that I was not trying to get rid of him. I just thought he might be a little home sick for his friends in Crestview, Florida. While he does miss them terribly, he said he couldn't leave this country without trying a couple of things that it's famous for. Never let it be said that I sent poor Stanley home disappointed. Today, I took him out to lunch with friends, so he could try some of the local food. No, I didn't let him drink my cappuccino. He did keep eyeing my little heart shaped waffle that came with it, though. Erika had to hold him back from grabbing it right off my plate! After a little discussion about good manners, we ordered lunch. It turns out that Stanley had been looking forward to eating one of our famous Belgian waffles. They aren't like the kind of waffles that are served in the US. They are very light and fluffy, and have a vanilla taste to them. As an added treat, they had fresh pineapples and whipped cream on top of them. You can get lots of great things on top of your waffles here. One of the most popular toppings is chocolate sauce! Stanley had the nice lady at the cafe add vanilla ice cream to his waffle. Just ignore that healthy salad in the background. Today was all about experiencing the treats that Belgium has to offer. (This might explain the lack of weight loss we've been experiencing at the gym lately, though. This also might not have been what that health magazine was talking about when they said to eat more fruit.) After we left the cafe, we drove over to Peer so that Stanley could visit Leonidas Chocolate Shop. He asked me to take his picture with this giant chocolate egg. He said he had never seen one this big before! It was big enough for Stanley to sleep in! After our lunch, we decided that we had eaten enough sweets for today, so we picked up a small bag of chocolate eggs for Stanley to try at another time, and headed on back home. Stanley can check two more things off of his list of things to see and do in Belgium. He mentioned one more thing that he'd like to see, so I'm going to do my best to take him there later this week. Hopefully it will work out. The place I am planning on taking him has a very special surprise inside. I have a feeling Stanley is going to be one very happy little boy when he sees it...