Beer with Chocolate

Zoë goes to the park and eats it.

2010-06-22T20:57:00.001+02:00

Zoë on her Bumbo and Play mat

2010-06-02T17:24:00.001+02:00

Zoë's 1st Week

2010-01-12T13:06:00.005+01:00

Has it been only 1 week! Our little girl is growing so fast, already gaining lbs. and smiling...we think.

She Has Come And...

2010-01-06T13:57:00.002+01:00

we gave her a bath! HERE IS Zoë

40 Weeks!

2010-01-03T14:44:00.004+01:00

I've reached the endgame! Tomorrow is the official due date and soon I'll be transitioning from "pregnancy talk" to "motherhood talk". :) Here are some final pictures that Michael and I took yesterday to remember the pregnancy. I can't believe that soon this will all be a distant memory and that we'll be a family of three.

I'm probably feeling better now than I have at any other time in the pregnancy. It's really nice to be off work and to be able to get all the "little things" done - getting the baby's room ready and doing a little bit of housework each day and packing our hospital bags. I finally feel like I'm ready for the baby to be here! So goodbye pregnancy, hello motherhood... any day now. Roll the credits!

Winter in Brussels

2009-12-17T19:23:00.003+01:00

It's been way too long since I've updated the blog, but I've just been way too tired. Tomorrow is my last day of work and then hopefully I'll be able to get some much needed rest for a couple of weeks before the baby arrives. We're down to the last 2.5 weeks -- almost there! In the meantime, we got some snow today in Belgium, and Michael convinced me to try out our new video camera by making a video with him. So here it is - think of it as an electronic Christmas card to all our friends and family from Jane, Michael, Zoë, Pi and Finnigan! I'll keep the posts coming in the next few days!

Nice to Meet You, Third Trimester!

2009-10-11T18:41:00.006+02:00

I've made it to 28 weeks - the official start of the third trimester! My friend Angie calls this the "uncomfortable stage" and warns that it is followed by the "miserable stage"
(actually it's 29 weeks now, but this is the 28-week picture).

Michael and I have started our pre-natal classes, and all this talk about how you know when it's time to get to the hospital and what to do after you arrive home with a newborn has suddenly started to give us a sense of urgency... even if there are still over 2 months to go. On the other hand, preparing for the baby gives us something to do other than looking at each other every night and saying "omg, what have we done?", and a little distraction is welcome at this point.

I've started to get the backaches and general uncomfortableness that comes with this stage of pregnancy, and unfortunately for Michael they tend to be harder to deal with at night after a day of work, so he bears the brunt of the whining and complaining. He asked that I point out to everyone that he is very good at giving me back rubs and bringing me tea after I get comfortably arranged on the couch, and that he has been doing all the cooking too (on the menu this month - lots of omega-3s to help with brain development).

We're now looking forward to two November events - on the 9th we're doing the tour of the maternity ward to see the place where I'll be giving birth, and then on the 20th we have a final ultrasound to make sure that the baby has turned and is in the right position and that everything else is looking OK. It's the home stretch!!!

An Exciting Shopping Trip

2009-10-11T17:57:00.007+02:00

Michael and I recently joined the Brussels Childbirth Trust - a non-profit, English-speaking organization here in Brussels that offers all sorts of services for young families in Brussels. We're starting pre-natal courses through this organization this week, and they also organize playgroups and events for babies and toddlers (and their parents) after the birth. This weekend, they held one of their bi-annual "nearly new" sales, so Michael sacrificed his lunch break in order to dig through tables of baby clothes, toys, books and equipment. Since Michael has a limited lunch break, we set out a strategy to get in and out as quickly as possible. Priorities were English books and newborn clothes that are only ever worn for a few weeks.

The sale started at 1:30 and came with a warning to "show up early in order to get the good stuff", so we arrived at about 1:35. The line to get into the place already reached all the way to the main street, and people were streaming into the line quickly. We waited in the line for 10-15 minutes (luckily it wasn't raining), and paid our €1 fee to get in and join the mob! It was packed wall-to-wall with people clustered around the clothing tables, people trying to manoeuvre through the crowd carrying high chairs or rocking horses or bassinets, and Michael's favorite - people stopped in the middle of a travel lane to have a chat. The first table was the books table, and Michael and I both managed to muscle into a spot and start sifting through the options. Michael's best finds were a dinosaur pop-up book and an "I spy" picture book based on fairy tales. I got two books about fairies and a couple of others that looked like they had nice illustrations.

Next up: Clothing! We started making our way toward the newborn table at the other end of the room, but before we could get there Michael got frustrated by the slow walkers and pregnant women not moving quickly enough and headed off to the rack of 3-6 month clothing. I eventually made it to the newborn table and started to pick out little onesies and sleepers, along with all the other pregnant women asking each other how many hats a baby needs and if it's even worth it to buy socks. Michael eventually joined me with his selections of outfits "for the summer" when the baby gets a bit bigger. We have realized two things: the first is that it is hard not to buy all pink things when you're shopping for a little girl, and the second is that we are both suckers for anything with winnie-the-pooh on it.

At the end of the day we ended up with 10 books and 21 outfits for €72 euros - not a bad deal at all, and a good start to both the library and the wardrobe! The next sale is in March, and we're already writing down the next battle plan.

In the meantime, Finnigan can't wait for the new arrival - she definitely knows that something is up now!

OMG Maternity Pants!

2009-09-26T12:14:00.002+02:00

I took these pictures about a month ago (at 21 weeks pregnant), and have been meaning ever since to write a special post about how much I love maternity pants. I have read quite a few complaints from women on pregnancy forums about how they can't find pants that fit them, and how they wish they could still fit into their normal pants... I am the total opposite. Saying that you can't find maternity pants that fit is like saying that you can't find sweat pants that fit! These are the best. pants. ever. I'm never going back to normal pants.

For those of you who haven't experienced them yet, these are pants with a huge elastic waist band that comes up to your armpits, which doesn't sound terribly comfortable, but really is. It's like wearing sweat pants all day! And the bottom parts of the pants look perfectly normal, so once you put your shirt on over them it's all style. I must admit though, that the best part about them is that they are so stretchy and flexible that they always fit -- so Michael can pick out my size at the store and bring them home and I never even have to shop! Perfect.

25 Weeks

2009-09-20T19:08:00.003+02:00

Finally! Definitely pregnant!

Also, well past the halfway point, and looking forward to the official start of the third trimester in another 3 weeks.

Last week I was telling everyone how great I was feeling - the tiredness really hadn't hit, and although I was having some trouble sleeping at night (due to some of the craziest nightmares I've ever had in my life), I really had nothing to complain about. Well, I obviously spoke too soon, because this week I've been hit with a huge wall of tired. I mostly attribute it to the fact that I think the baby has had a growth spurt this week, but it also must be due to the curse of overconfidence. This curse hits me whenever I'm playing freecell and think I have it all wrapped up, or when the hardest part of some task is done and I'm sure that it will be straightforward from now on. The curse also hits every player in Survivor who claims to be completely in control of the game.

So just as a test, here are some of the things that I'm not experiencing right now: Swollen ankles, insatiable hunger, and the urge to clean the house. $50 says that now that I've mentioned these things they'll be my main complaints for next week.

Pic of the Day: Oh Finnigan

2009-09-09T13:42:00.002+02:00

Oh Finnigan

Picture of the Day

20.7 Weeks

2009-08-22T11:38:00.003+02:00

I have to start off by saying that I was a bit disappointed by the fact that my 18 week picture looked so similar to my 16 week picture, so this time I decided that maybe wearing yellow would be enough to mix it up a bit. Add that to the fact that I've had a bit of a growth spurt just this week, and we have a recognizable change for the halfway mark at 20 weeks!

I was really looking forward to the 20 week blog post, because this marks the halfway point in the pregnancy, and I was all set to blog about how I'm already halfway there and how it was all going to go quickly from here. Unfortunately, for most of this week I've been feeling more only halfway than already halfway - it all seems to be going so slowly.

However, this week actually has ended up being somewhat of a turning point. I've started to get some comments at work from the cafeteria ladies, asking if I was pregnant and offering their congratulations, and also this week I went out and bought my first maternity clothes. Ok, to be fair since I know that he will comment about it, I admit that the way it actually happened was that Michael went to the store during the day and bought some things in my size from the maternity department, and when I got home at night he told me to try it all on and that he would return anything that I didn't want the next day. What can I say, I hate shopping.

But most importantly, I'm really starting to feel the baby move around and kick this week. I started to feel occasional gurgles of movement about 2-3 weeks ago, but they weren't happening every day and felt so much like gas or digestion that it was always hard to tell if they were actually kicks. This week it's all becoming more regular, and I can tell that the baby is getting stronger because she's getting better at kicking. Michael even felt a couple of the kicks last night when he had his hand on my stomach, which was exciting for both of us!

Finally, I can just about say that I'm 21 weeks in now, and the only thing better than being halfway there is being more than halfway there! Only 19 weeks to go!

More Pictures From Tunisia

2009-08-19T20:15:00.006+02:00

We've been back from our vacation for a week, and I'm just now getting around to posting some more of our photos. As you can see, the weather was great and so was the water! Notice how Michael is in the water for almost every photo? And he wonders how he ends up with a rash...

Scenes From the Sea

2009-08-11T21:26:00.007+02:00

We're on our second-to-last day of vacation! We've spent a whole week enjoying the sun, sand and sea at the El Mansour Hotel in Tunisia and we've had a blast. The internet connection here is pay by the hour, so this is our first time logging on, and we're really only logging on today because Michael is suffering from some type of rash that could be due to the sun, or the sea, or some potion that he's put on, but in any case we're both happy to spend a little time inside today. The weather has been gorgeous - not a cloud in the sky the whole time - and we've spent most of our time down on the beach underneath an umbrella enjoying the breeze coming in off the sea. We're back in Belgium on Wednesday late at night, and I'll post some more pictures and stories on Thursday. For now, here are some of our best shots.

The view from our balcony:

The view from our beach chairs:

Michael in the Mediterranean:

My "pregnant chic" look:

Happy on the beach:

R&R in Tatooine

2009-08-05T18:25:00.000+02:00

We're off for a week of vacation at the El Mansour Hotel and Resort in Tunisia. I'm not normally one for beach vacations, but in this case I just can't wait to spend a whole week relaxing either by the pool or on the shores of the Mediterranean. The hotel is right on the coast, and the beaches in this area are legendary. We got an all-inclusive package, so all our meals, drinks and snacks are already taken care of - we never have to leave the hotel!

Our original vacation plan was to go to India for my friend Anita's wedding. Michael and I talked about it for a long time, and in the end we decided that it just wouldn't be a good idea for us right now. I'm not a great traveler to begin with, and add to that the burdens of traveling around India to see the sights with the heat, and worrying about food, and less-than-luxury travel methods, we didn't want to end up being miserable the whole time (ie. Michael stated quite flatly that he refused to spend two weeks in India listening to me moaning and complaining and refusing to leave the hotels because I didn't feel well).

So we're onto plan B. We went into a travel agent and asked for a last-minute deal. Some of our other options were Spain and Portugal, but I didn't want to feel obliged to go out and see things. The appealing thing about this resort is that there is absolutely nothing else to do there. 40% of the country is covered by the Sahara desert! Michael is threatening to go out to see the remains of the Star Wars movies (all the scenes on Tatooine were filmed in Tunisia - this is Luke's home planet, and also where Jabba the Hut lives). I told him that if he wants to get on a camel to venture out into the desert to see the remains of an old movie set, then to make sure he gets a picture of himself going "These are not the droids you're looking for", and that I will see him again for dinner back at the hotel.

We're not sure if there will be internet access in the hotel or not. If there is, then we'll try to post the occasional picture, and if not, then we'll be back in a week!

Will the nursery be pink or blue?

2009-08-04T17:48:00.002+02:00

We just got back from the doctor's office! We aren't scheduled for the "full anatomical scan" for another 3 weeks - this is the ultrasound when the doctor has a detailed look at all the baby's organs and makes sure that everything is in place and working. But with the less detailed scan that we did today, it was still possible to determine if we're having a boy or a girl! First of all - the baby looks great, moving around well with a strong heartbeat. Secondly, the doctor couldn't be 100% sure that she has predicted the gender correctly, because the umbilical cord was slightly in the way. We'll get 100% verification in 3 weeks at the big ultrasound, but in the meantime, it looks like we're having a little girl!

The first thing I said was "This is wonderful! She and I will be able to do science experiments together!", to which Michael replied (a bit haughtily) "Boys can do science experiments too, you know". But the point is that boys like to light things on fire and blow things up, which is not the same as experiments. And I have never heard of a girl wanting to put goldfish into liquid nitrogen. Of course, it's equally likely that she'll be into poetry or something, but I'm trying not to think about that for now. :)

Everything the Light Touches

2009-08-03T12:25:00.002+02:00

Michael's latest invention is a double-paned piece of plexiglass that fills in one complete side of the double-doors that lead out to our porch -- with a cat door installed in it! The cats adore it - now they can come and go as they please to explore their territory, or to simply bask in the sun on the porch before coming back inside to cool off a bit, and then heading back out. Finnigan has also been practicing her quick escapes in anticipation of the not-so-distant toddler years - she has heard horror stories of tail pulling, not to mention the dreaded "tea parties".

18 Weeks

2009-08-03T11:51:00.003+02:00

I've made it to 18 weeks! This is one of the milestones that I've been aiming at, which mostly has to do with the bizarre way of counting weeks and months during pregnancy.

A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks, or 9 months. But usually you would count 4 weeks/month... you can see that the math doesn't work out. So some "months" are actually 5 weeks long, while other "months" are 4 weeks long, and to make it especially confusing, everyone has a different way of counting the months. It may not seem like this is important, but when you're constantly running to google to see if your symptoms are normal, it is a big source of stress ("Is that ache in my stomach round ligament pain? I'm not supposed to feel that until month 4... wait, what week am I in again?").

In any case, it is Universally accepted that month 5 is weeks 18-22, which straddles the halfway point at week 20. This is a big month, because it is during this period that the sex of the baby can be determined for the first time, and it is also during this period that the baby's movements can first be felt. Two very big steps! And, according to What to Expect When You're Expecting, by the end of this month the "in between" stage should be over, and there should be no doubt that I'm actually pregnant. FINALLY!

A big purchase

2009-08-01T11:41:00.004+02:00

Our latest escapade started out with a fairly innocent comment. Michael picked me up from work and when I got into the car, he said "Baby 2000 is having a sale this week, want to go over there now?" (Baby 2000 is a big box store, very much like Babies R Us). I didn't want to go right then, because the place is usually packed with traffic - it is right beside IKEA - and since they are doing construction on the roads near there it is quite a chore to get in and out. In any case, they close at 7pm and by this time it was already past 6... "No problem" says Michael, "I'll go check it out tomorrow on my own".

Fast forward to the following morning. I'm at work when my cellphone starts dinging me with text messages from Michael: "I'm at Baby 2000 now, they have the stroller we need to get and it's on sale! We have to get it today". At this point I'm thinking, wait - we haven't properly RESEARCHED strollers yet. I know that I want something that converts from pram to stroller, and that three wheels are better than 4, but I still have no idea what the best brands are, and which features are actually useful vs. just trying to get you to spend more. And what about weight? Folding capabilities? Have we read any reviews yet?

Next thing I know, Michael is back at home sending me reviews via google chat. He's picked out the Urban Jungle stroller made by Mountain Buggy (a New Zealand company), and sure enough the reviews are great. It turns on a dime, it can manoeuvre anywhere - streets, trails, grass, sand, it goes there. The kids love it, it's comfortable, easy to push, fully adjustable, lightweight, folds down easily. It's in the top 5 of all the major baby product review websites. Best of all, Michael texts me, "It's Orange!!". Now usually I would scoff at the idea that the colour is more important than say, will I be able to lift it into the trunk while holding the baby in one arm, but in this case I have to admit that orange was a bit of a turning point for me.

All of a sudden Michael and I are in Baby 2000 together on my lunch break, after having eaten some Swedish meatballs over at IKEA. I'm insisting that we have to push every single one of the 100+ different strollers in the store to get a good feel for what the options are like, while Michael is insisting that if we don't buy this today, then we're just going to end up coming back and getting this exact model when it isn't on sale ("The next sale isn't until December! That's just cutting it too close!").

So we chat with some salespeople and the next thing I know we're loading this super-duper state-of-the-art all terrain stroller into the back of our car, along with the buggy/pram attachment and some extra goodies that came with the deal - a baby bag that clips on to the handlebars and a baby sleeping bag that I swear is warmer than my own winter bag that is rated to -40 degrees, and that has special holes in the back of it so that the stroller's safety harness can thread through it. We also got an infant car seat, which was a no-brainer - it's a Maxi-Cosi brand, which will also fit directly onto the stroller frame, and it was 40% off.

I'm still in a bit of a state of shock over this big purchase. On the other hand, I don't think Michael's feet have touched the floor yet. He has been talking nonstop about how he can go jogging with this stroller, and how perfect it will be for shopping trips, and how if we can get the baby to sleep in the pram attachment, then we'll never even have to move him, and won't that be great? I tried to get the cats to sit in it, so that I could practice rolling it around with a live thing in it, but neither of them would stay. So I've been going up and down our (fairly rugged) driveway with an empty stroller instead, which is also fun.

Cruising through Sterrebeek

2009-07-30T19:08:00.002+02:00

It was an exciting day! After months of speculation, today I got to attend a meeting at work to discuss our brand new company car policy! Most companies in Belgium offer company cars to their employees because it turns out to be a win-win situation for both employer and employee, but until just this week my company was in the minority of those not offering cars.

The cars are not free (if I choose to subscribe to the policy, a set amount will be taken from my salary every month), and there are a total of 10 models of car to choose from in 4 different price categories. But it turns out to be a very good deal. The policy includes insurance, maintenance of the car, winter tires, and best of all, a gas card! At the top of the list for me right now is the Peugeot 407 SW seen in the image here - doesn't it look like a nice, reliable family car? (airbags, check. isofix car seat attachments, check. ESP braking, don't know what it is, but check.) Other models in the running are the VW Polo & Golf, the Mini Cooper and the Audi A4.

In any case, it will be a brand-new car, a huge step up from my first car, Speedy, who was a great little 1991 Honda Civic. Once I make the decision, it will be a 4-year lease, so it's important to choose carefully. So exciting!

Tut, Tut, A Visit to London

2009-07-28T21:23:00.002+02:00

Last week Michael and I spent 3 days in London. The original purpose of our trip was to go and see Michael Jackson live in concert. Unfortunately, that didn't work out - ensuring that the best story that the baby would ever have in his life (that he saw MJ while in the womb), was destroyed before he was even born. But since we had the hotel and train reservations already, we decided to take the trip and hit up some of the London theater instead.

(As an aside, due to the cancellation of the MJ concert, we were given the option of either getting a full refund on the tickets or we could receive the original tickets in the mail. I think we should have received both.)

The first stop on our theater tour was Wicked. Michael found it a little bit scary, since there were fire-breathing dragons, flying monkeys and wicked witches in it. I loved the costumes and the sets, and the girls in the main roles were wonderful. I only wish that the music had been better - the songs all sounded the same. But the show is a really great production with some great special effects and a great story.

Our second night out was spent at Avenue Q. Michael enjoyed this one because he likes to tell people the story of how the original creators of Sesame Street all did a lot of drugs and only decided that the show should be for kids as an afterthought. I was grateful that there weren't any jokes about bodily functions. In fact, I thought it was really funny and entertaining.

Both of these shows were doing something that I have never experienced before - charging for programs! Not only for the fancy full-colour keepsake programs, but also for the regular programs full of advertising that usually get handed out on the way into the theater. Is this happening everywhere now? It made me sad, because I like to read the bios of all the actors and writers, and I feel like I'm not giving them proper credit if I don't even look at their names, but to have to pay $3 for even the basic program is way too much! They must not be making enough money off tickets. It's a sad, sad world.

A Canadian Treat

2009-07-25T17:42:00.003+02:00

Seeing as how the British tend to love their pies and tarts, I always assumed that Butter Tarts, one of my favorite treats, were a delicacy that originated in England. Their scarcity in the States had me convinced that they weren't American (although a cousin of the butter tart, pecan pie, is my favorite "southern" dessert).

So you can imagine my disappointment when after entering multiple pastry shops in London this week, there was not a single butter tart to be found! It turns out that these heavenly tarts are a uniquely Canadian food. The good news about this, is that now when I get into conversations with my friends about foods that are unique to our particular countries, I don't have to say "poutine, and that's pretty much it" any more. Now I can say "poutine and BUTTER TARTS!"

The other bit of good news to come out of this story is that although my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook is conspicuously missing a butter tarts recipe, there is a recipe in The Best of The Best of Bridge cookbook that my mom gave me. Now all I need is a pound of brown sugar...

For the Record

2009-07-25T15:26:00.003+02:00

After my last post, Michael asked me if I could clarify to the internet that although he has occasional bouts of craziness, it is mostly attributable to the fact that he has been working so hard to make sure that I am 100% happy at all times.

He really has been wonderful, and I tell him all the time how much I love and appreciate him, which is why I can get away with teasing him. But here for the record on the internet is a sample of some of the nice things that he's been doing that give him full license to act a bit crazy from time to time:

These days when I start to get hungry, I generally have about 15 minutes between "I'm starting to feel hungry" and total meltdown. So last week Michael baked some chocolate chip cookies from scratch, and then carried them all over London along with some special K bars and a variety of fruit juices so that we could have instant snack breaks no matter where we were.
For the times when we are at home, Michael has been keeping a constant supply of fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, mixed nuts, ice cream and lots of juice in the house.
I've been getting back rubs every night.
Michael has very patiently watched every pregnancy-related movie and tv show that I decide we must watch for the sake of the baby. Although I think he is starting to regret that he showed me how to use bit-torrent.

He knows how much I love him for all these things, and now so does the internet! So when I tease him for his strange ideas (the latest one is that he's decided to blur out the baby's face in any baby photos posted on the web until he/she officially reaches the age where he/she can consent to having his/her image online... and don't even get me started on his idea to decorate the nursery in a Vampire theme), it's because he really is genuinely funny, and someone needs to share his stories with the world.

In the line of fire

2009-07-24T16:32:00.002+02:00

With all the pregnancy hormones at work in the house over the past few weeks, there has been a fair share of irrational behaviour going on. But who is responsible for the most atrocious acts of irrationality? Here are some of the most recent incidents:

Family Member #1:

Hitting someone in the metro with an umbrella because they stopped to talk to someone at the bottom of the escalator.
Throwing a tantrum in Marks & Spencer because they have the heat on in the middle of summer.
Smashing chocolate chip cookies into a glass with milk and eating it with a spoon.

Family Member #2:

Having a fit because the lever that turns the shower on in the bathroom is corroded and hard to pull up.
Insisting that we walk up and down the street across from Harrod's one more time because according to Google there is a bagel shop there.
Shouting angrily at the family member who was almost permanently stuck inside the metro due to a lack of money on their travel card to "Just sneak out behind the next person to go through the turnstile, already!!"

But which acts can be attributed to Jane, and which ones are all Michael? Remember, one of us has the excuse of having to deal with pregnancy hormones, while the other one only has the excuse of having to deal with a hormonal wife! :)

16 Weeks

2009-07-19T17:23:00.003+02:00

Here I am at 16 weeks, trying to look pregnant! I still feel like I'm in an "in-between" stage, where I'm starting to look a little bit rounder, but not yet obviously pregnant.

I haven't had to adjust my wardrobe yet, but I did stop by a maternity store the other day, lured in by the 70% off signs in the window - but of course they are just getting rid of their summer stock, which reminded me that anything that I buy to fit the new me will have to be autumn/winter clothing, and the thought of shopping for a winter wardrobe right now is just too much to handle.

I tried to take a picture of myself a few weeks ago by balancing the camera on a stack of books, hitting the timer and then running into position, but they all came out badly. I'm much happier with this self-portrait method, especially since it gives me an excuse to hide my face, which always seems to ruin the picture (I'm still working on the "blissful joy of impending motherhood" look, it's not easy to master).

This photo was partly brought on by the fact that the other day Michael came across a really neat piece of videography by another expecting couple, and it has me slightly worried that I'm not doing enough to document the whole pregnancy experience. I haven't even written a letter to the unborn baby yet! My excuse is that I'm not artistic enough... instead of taking daily pictures, I've been researching the processes through which amniotic fluid is replenished in the womb, which when it comes right down to it is probably more valuable in the long run.

A special shout-out goes to the Red Pine Camp sweats I'm wearing in this picture - celebrating their 15th year in my wardrobe this summer! w00t!

Even the outfits are boring...

2009-07-14T16:37:00.003+02:00

If this doesn't exemplify the cultural differences between Europe and North America, I don't know what does. Last week's Michael Jackson memorial was broadcast by only one network - CNN International. On the other hand, there is no mistaking the fact that the Tour de France is on in full swing. Every single day, the tour is broadcast on at least 8 different networks for a total of about 6 hours a day. Each network gets the exact same video feed from the tour organizers, so the only difference is the commentary, which you can watch in any of the following languages:

French (from France)
French (from Belgium)
Dutch (from Netherlands)
Flemish (from Belgium)
German (from Belgium)
English (from the UK)

Additionally, there are at least 3 options to watch in HD, if you aren't satisfied with the regular coverage. For some reason, Michael loves to watch the race, and insists on watching it every single day despite the fact that interesting events like crashes or breakaways are few and far between and are usually showcased in the primetime highlight shows. I've just downloaded The Business of Being Born, and I can't watch it until today's stage is done... lucky for him, Michael went and got me McDonalds for lunch, so I'm in a particularly patient mood.

Our Family is Growing!

2009-07-11T17:44:00.005+02:00

After a long period of silence on the blog, it's only appropriate to resurrect it with some big news: Michael and I will become Dad and Mom on or about January 4th, 2010!

Here is the first picture of the baby with some key features identified (click to enlarge):

The picture in the upper left shows a nice profile of the face, and in the lower left picture the face is being partially obscured by a little arm.

I'm now 15 weeks into the pregnancy (25 more to go...) and am really happy to finally be in the second trimester. The first three months passed in a bit of a haze that seemed to last forever - I was feeling sick almost every day, no appetite, and so tired that simple activities such as taking a shower left me so exhausted that I needed a nap. Lately though, I've been getting my energy back (thanks, placenta!) and it feels great to be able to do a little exercise and play mario kart without feeling dizzy.

We're well into the baby names discusssion (currently on the table if it's a boy are Luca, Oscar, and Andreas and if it's a girl Hazel, Raphaella, and Zoe - but these are subject to almost daily change), and the pregnancy is starting to feel "real" enough that we've also started browsing the catalogues of the local baby stores - a truly intimidating experience (there are more models of strollers than cars!).

So now that I have something to talk about, I'll try to do more blogging. Up-and-coming topics to include: the joy of heartburn, the joy of elastic waistbands and of course, the joy of hotdogs.

If...

2009-04-17T14:40:00.001+02:00

You had to eliminate a single type of insect permanently from the earth, what would you get rid of?

Anybody Need a Burger?

2009-03-30T16:52:00.000+02:00

The sun has finally revealed itself from behind the clouds here in Belgium! You know what that means! Barbeque time! Unfourntinely for us we had left your good old Canadian Tire grill back in Chapel Hill. We spent the last season using an old charcol hibachi, which was not going to cut it for us this year.

That is were our new friends at

Standard - AHZ come in and save the day. I didn't want to get another grill that was just going to rust and needed to be replaced in a year or two. We had looked at our local Brico and didn't like anything we saw, still don't know what that side burner is for. So we headed east to Leuven, just about 20 minutes from our house, to Standard - AHZ. We were greeted with more choices then we could ever imagine, and a few beers! We quickly decided upon a good old Canadian made Broil King Signet, no side burner in sight.

Anybody Need a Burger?

If...

2009-02-04T08:46:00.003+01:00

... You could occupy the world described in a novel, which would you choose?

Neef Matt Bezoeken België

2009-02-03T11:37:00.006+01:00

...or he might say "Kusin Matt besök Belgien" since he now lives in Sweden. For those of you in the Americas that would be "Cousin Matt visits Belgium." Anywho we had our 1st visit of the year, we are off to a good start.

We had grand plans of going to Ghent and enjoying some pintjes' and some traditional Flemish food at "Het Grote Vlees Huis" but after our night of heavy snow here in Vlaams we only made it to Tervuren.

We had been decided to check out some of the trees at the Arboretum. I often ride my bike or run on many of the trails but I had never been down there with snow on the ground. Not being prepared for the snow we wrapped up as best we could and set out for a little trip to check out the Giant Sequoia Grove. Nothing like what you would see in Northern California but still massive tress.

It was great visit but short. Jane and I are planning a visit up to Sweden in the summer. We hope the weather will be nicer then it was for Matt's trip here.

It has been how long?

2009-01-29T11:08:00.009+01:00

Wow we made it through our 1st year. As we settle in here in Belgium and become accustom to the customs we have neglected our pour blog, sad. However, with the new year we are going to commit to posting more. We may not always be posting about Belgium, the Beer(me) and the Chocolate(Jane) have a few adventures in the works. As well, we have our up coming 20k of Brussels at the end of May, fun! I have already started training and Jane will be starting soon too. Where else to display our training progress but our lonely blog.

We are looking forward to an interesting year full of adventure. We extend our best wishes to everyone in this year of the OX.

Straks.

Entropa

2009-01-15T16:53:00.006+01:00

Entropa

Today was the official unveiling of Entropa. Entropa is a satirical sculpture created by controversial Czech artist David Černý and commissioned by the government of the Czech Republic. Having been alerted to Entropa by Jane earlier in the morning and after reading the NYT story about it I had to go. Justus Lipsius, the building where the exhibit is being hosted and also the home of the Council of the European Union, is only a short bike ride away 10k. With the sun shining and a clear sky (yes I said clear sky in Brussels) I set out to see what this hoax was all about.

The design is that of a brand new set of model or puzzle pieces each, "lampoons the socially activist art that balances on the verge between would-be controversial attacks on national character and undisturbing decoration of an official space".

Austria, a known opponent of atomic energy, is a green field dominated by nuclear power plant cooling towers

A view from under Entropa

United Kingdom, known for its Euroscepticism and relative isolation from the Continent, is "included" as missing piece (an empty space) at the top-left of the work

Sweden does not have an outline, but is represented as a large Ikea-style self-assembly furniture box, containing Gripen fighter planes

Spain is covered entirely in concrete, with a concrete mixer situated near the Basque country

Slovakia is depicted as a Hungarian sausage (or a human body tighten by Hungarian tricolour)

Slovenia is shown as a rock engraved with the words first tourists came here 1213

Motto for 2009 in French

Motto in English

Sardinia

Romania is a Dracula-style theme park

Poland has a piece with priests erecting the rainbow flag of the Gay rights movement, in the style of the U.S. soldiers raising the Stars and Stripes at Iwo Jima.

Portugal is shown as a wooden cutting board with three pieces of meat in the shape of its former colonies of Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique

Netherlands has disappeared under the sea with only a several minarets still visible; the piece is supposed to emit the singing of muezzins

A closer look at Entropa

Luxembourg is displayed as a gold nugget with "For Sale" tag^[7]

Malta is a tiny island with its prehistoric dwarf elephant as its only decoration

The lower left hand corner

Lithuania has the Brussels landmark of Manneken Pis urinating on its eastern neighbours

Latvia is shown as covered with mountains, in contrast to its actual flat landscape

Italy is depicted as a football pitch whereupon the North and the South of the country play against each other, with moving players holding their balls in the "strategic position"

Ireland is depicted as a brown bog with bagpipes protruding from Northern Ireland; the bagpipes play music every five minutes

Hungary features an Atomium made of its common agricultural products melons and Hungarian sausages, based on a floor of peppers

Greece is depicted as a forest that is entirely burned, possibly representing the 2007 Greek forest fires and the 2008 civil unrest in Greece.

Germany is a series of interlocking autobahns, described as "somewhat resembling a swastika", though that is not universally accepted. The cars move along the roads.

France is draped in a "GRÈVE!" ("STRIKE!") banner

The Floor

Finland is depicted as a wooden floor and an [apparently drunk] male with a rifle, imagining various animals

Estonia is presented with a hammer and sickle-styled power tools, the country has considered a ban on Communist symbols

Denmark is a face depicted in Lego bricks, reminiscent of the cartoon controversy

Czech Republic's own piece is an LED display, which flashes controversial quotations by Czech President Václav Klaus

Cyprus is jigsawed (cut) in half

The Crowd

Crete

Bulgaria is depicted by a series of connected "Turkish" squat toilets

Belgium is presented as a half-full box of half-eaten Praline chocolates

Captions curtisy of Wikipedia

A wedding in Romania!

2008-11-15T14:41:00.006+01:00

We were very lucky recently to have been invited to the wedding of two of our good friends from UNC - Calin & Amelia. The wedding took place in Calin's home town of Blaj, Romania, and it was simply amazing. Calin had always told us that his father worked in a winery, but we were never expecting to be treated to such an amazing night of food, drink, dancing and singing, all catered by the local winery!

The wedding started off at 7:00 with a glass of champagne and a plate of cold meats, cheeses and vegetables (I think we all started in on the wonderful cognac at this point too).

Soon traditional Romanian singers and dancers arrived to entertain us, and the Bride and Groom made their appearance. The dancers were really neat -- Michael took three videos of them, and if you want to see the rest, they are up on YouTube (search for Calin's Wedding Dancers). These dancers re-appeared several times throughout the night in different costumes; the last costume of the night consisted of sequened jeans and cowboy hats - I think it was their American dance. :) Another note about the video below -- about two-thirds of the way through you'll see a little blond boy wandering through the video in front of the dancers - this is Henry, the two-year-old son of our friends Mark & Miranda, and he is just adorable!

At about 8:30pm the soup course was served. Each time a new course came out, music that I can only describe as "Canada's Wonderland music" started to play and lines of waiters and waitresses emerged from the kitchen carrying plates of food for everyone. The soup was followed by more dancing, which was a mix of traditional Romanian music and current hits.

By about 10:00 we were all happy to hear the Canada's Wonderland music start up again, and we all sat down at our table again to enjoy the fish course. By this point, Henry, the two-year old son of our friends Mark & Miranda, was fast asleep on the chairs by our table. How he slept through the rest of the party, I'll never know, but he was out for the night despite the loud music and singing and dancing. Once we finished the fish, it was back to dancing until about midnight when the meat plate was served - it was a selection of pork, chicken and veal served with vegetables. By this time, not a single person had left yet; the party was just getting started!

At 1:30 the cake appeared and once again everyone sat down to enjoy a slice and a much-needed cup of coffee. We assumed that the cake marked the end of the dinner service, but the best was yet to come! At 3:30am we enjoyed our last course of meat wrapped up in cabbage rolls and served with sour cream - the traditional pigs in a blanket that Michael had always enjoyed as a child.

All of us finally made our way back to our beds at about 4:15am. Calin's mother had arranged for the whole UNC group to stay together in a small hostel run by local nuns. We had the whole place to ourselves, and it was perfect for sitting around and chatting and catching up. The night of the wedding had been absolutely fabulous, but our trip to Romania wasn't over yet! The next day we were treated to a wine-tasting at the vinyard, so we spent Sunday afternoon in a castle drinking even more wine and cognac.

Our 1st Anniversary...

2008-06-30T09:40:00.022+02:00

Which we spent in Bouillon. Bouillon is beautiful city along the Semois river in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. The drive from Sterrebeek could not have been easier only taking about 90 minutes. We arrived in the Ardennes early Saturday morning to a light mist.

Bouillon is home to Château-Fort de Bouillon. The Château is famous for being used to finiance the 1st Crusades. The Château was also the home of Godefroy of Bouillon who became the 1st ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Along with many tunnels...

And Dungeons

Along with some great views.

Once we finished with the Château we walked around town and took some more pictures then enjoyed a great meal at the Vieille Ardennes.

We then headed to our hotel and called it a night. In the morning we headed on our bike tour of the local area as well as some local brew.

The tour was called the Greedy Excursion 40km VTT. We set of from Bouillon around 10:30am and arrived at the 1st stop within the hour.

After some coffee and cakes we set off again.

Stopping to take pictures along the way. Here is Jane standing on the edge of a cliff.

Me enjoying some Sangría.

Jane enjoying a local brew and view, Point de Vue Champs des Charmes. Below is the barbecue, fresh bacon of the Ardennes, poultry-sausage skewers and Beer.

Jane heading home after our last stop.

We had a great weekend and can't wait for next year when we...

The 20km of Brussels

2008-05-28T11:42:00.006+02:00

Well the day has finally past and I can say that we both are alive to talk about it. The day started out great, we had been expecting rain all week. It turned out to be a partly cloudy day with the tempature around 20(68), it was all one could hope for.

Jane and Myself before we left our house.

Follow the Link below to see how Jane and I did. Also click on the Nike to see videos of the 2 of use.
http://results.20kmdebruxelles.be/index.php?type=club&keyword=MARS

Team Mars

The Great Birthday Adventure: Day 2

2008-04-29T18:46:00.008+02:00

Day 2 of our adventure was spent in the Keukenhof Gardens. We had heard rumours that it's best to arrive early to the garden because the crowds get huge in the afternoon, so we left our hotel at around 9:45 and we were in the park by 10:20, with only minimal traffic. Michael overheard onethe parking staff say that based on the number of cars, there were about 25,000 people in thegardens already when we arrived. Keukenhof has got to be the closest thing to Disney World thatEurope has (except maybe for EuroDisney...) - big crowds, girls dressed up in traditional Dutch outfits and wooden clogs, food stands selling warm ham on a bun, men playing accordians. But the garden grounds are immaculate, the atmosphere is festive and the colours everywhere are absolutely incredible. Here are the pictures!

The Great Birthday Adventure: Day 1

2008-04-29T18:05:00.005+02:00

On April 22nd Michael celebrated his 32nd birthday, and today I'm celebrating number 31. Our birthday present was a trip to see the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands - it's the largest tulip garden in the world. This past weekend was also the day of the famous flower parade that winds through the towns in tulip country. We spent Saturday at the parade and Sunday at the gardens. Both days were beautiful and sunny, we couldn't have had a better weekend. Here are the pictures!

Our rental car was a mini in British racing green -- too cool!

At the flower parade, even the police were in a festive mood.

This year, the theme of the flower parade was "Vakantie": Each float represented a type of vacation that you can take.

This is the vacation in a car.

Or, if you're tired of car vacations, you can go to India instead!

Daffodils made out of... daffodils.

The musical entertainment in the parade.

This is the float advertising for a London vacation.

Dragons are also big this year, because of the Beijing Olympics.

Flower kites.

Shaggy-maned lions representing the safari vacation (these are my favorites).

More musical entertainment from the giant music box (you can also buy a CD of the music for only 10 euros).

Yes, the parade really was this exciting! (to see any of these pictures blown up, just click on them!)

By the end of day 1, we were tired but excited to see the gardens on day 2!!

If...

2008-04-28T13:53:00.006+02:00

you could be any flower, which type would you be?

Michael: Tulip

Jane: Tulip

More to come...

If...

2008-04-01T08:22:00.003+02:00

you had to have been any dictator or tyrant in history, which one would you choose to have been?

UNC in the final four

2008-03-30T16:37:00.002+02:00

I hope you're all watching the tournament, UNC looks great! They are such a fun team to watch, Hansbrough is awesome and they're going all the way this year.

The 20 km of Brussels

2008-03-30T15:07:00.003+02:00

Am I the only one who didn't realize that a 20 km race is also known as a half marathon? Michael and I signed up to run the 20 km of Brussels, thinking that it would be fun. Mars is one of the sponsors, so we get to be on the Mars team and wear special Mars outfits, how could I resist that? It's really only dawned on me this weekend that I'm going to have to follow a rigorous training schedule to be able to do this race - I have my 8-week training plan all ready to go.

Cue the Rocky music... because you know what you need when you have to learn something really fast and you don't have a lot of time? You need a montage!

The Blog that made me add a "Blogs We're Reading" sidebar

2008-03-28T15:42:00.002+01:00

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time

Check out the particularly funny entries in the "full list of things that white people like", including graduate school, public radio, david sedaris, dinner parties, and juno.

Who is in Charge at CBS?

2008-03-28T10:07:00.004+01:00

I've been watching what should be one of the greatest seasons of Survivor ever - another All-Stars survivor, this time pitting former survivor greats against "superfans" who have been devoted to the show since day one. Sounds great, right? And it should be, with an all-star lineup including James, Ozzy, Amanda, Ami, Yau-Man, Cirie and Johnny Fairplay.

"Fans" Kathy (on the left) and Chet (on the right) both voluntarily left Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites.

Here's the problem: of all the "superfans" that could have been picked to be on this show, the casting directors ended up with two real winners: Chet and Kathy. Chet asked to be voted out two weeks ago because he was "physically unable to continue", and last week Kathy asked Jeff Probst to bring a boat to camp before they could even make it to tribal council so that she could exit the game. This week's episode was pre-empted by the Sweet 16 games.

It's clear that Survivor strategy is evolving. Long gone are the days when tribe members who are clearly physically/mentally/emotionally unable to continue would be voted off for that reason alone. On the contrary, contestants who have "given up" are seen as easy to manipulate, and are kept around regardless of their own personal wishes because their vote still counts.

On the other hand, CBS wants to keep ratings up and knows that no one likes to see all the weakest players staying around until the end, so they are contstantly upping the ante -- trying to make the challenges more physical and the living conditions more difficult.

I don't have a problem with any of this, but for crying out loud get some decent contestants who aren't going to quit! So many people would kill to be on survivor fans vs. favorites and it just doesn't seem fair that 2 of the people who got the chance chose to walk away from the show. Way to go, CBS!

I still can't wait for survivor: Antarctica...

Earth Hour 2008

2008-03-28T09:51:00.005+01:00

Earth hour was created to "take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced" (the threat is global warming). Personally I think it's more precise to call it the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced... but that's really just a matter of semantics.

We're all supposed to turn off our lights for one hour at 8pm on March 29th -- that's this Saturday. Will it actually help stop global warming? Will it actually help raise awareness about the current environmental issues that we're facing? I don't know, but I don't think it will hurt, and it's a good excuse to play board games by candlelight for a night instead of watching tv.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

2008-03-25T11:09:00.007+01:00

We have not had snow all Winter. Once Spring started we have had almost daily snow showers and last night it was cold enough to accumulate. I had to build a snowman, we will call him Jacob!

If...

2008-03-23T23:15:00.002+01:00

If you could have composed any single piece of music that already exists, which would you chose?

Michael: Lenin/McCartney "A day in the life"

Jane: The "Happy Birthday" song

Arising from the dead...

2008-03-21T14:53:00.003+01:00

As a way of celebrating Easter, I've made a resolution to ressurect this blog from the dead. It turns out that I'm not very good at maintaining consistent communication (everyone who knows me has been well aware of this forever). I'm going to apologize this one time, right here, for allowing so many long lapses in the blog. Hopefully this apology will cover all past and present lapses, as well as the lapses that are bound to continue well into the future.

Image: One of many Americans apologizing to the world for the re-election of George W. Bush, on www.sorryeverybody.com

What I'm Reading

2008-03-21T14:08:00.002+01:00

The last book that I finished reading was David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, and I actually finished it months ago, but never got around to this post. The first thing that I have to say about this book is that it is amazing, really. The writing is incredible, the plot lines are unpredictable and the way that the book is organized is totally unique.

With that out of the way, every review of this book gives roughly the same synopsis of what it's all about and it goes something like this: The story begins in the 19th century, somewhere in the South Pacific. We are reading the journal of Adam Ewing, a notary on board a trading ship. His descriptions of the native islands that he visits are wordy and formal and difficult to read. It's hard to uncover the story with all the formal stuffy language of a 19th century Englishman who is trying to explain the "barbaric" and "uncivilized" land that he has found himself in. But just when you're about to give up on Adam Ewing and his outdated musings the story ends mid-sentance and another story begins.

This time, we are reading letters from a young composer in 1930s Belgium to his friend back in London (mostly asking for more money and complaining about the fact that his family has cut him off financially for good). These letters end as abruptly as Adam Ewing's diary did and the story continues with a John Grisham-esque crime and conspiracy novel set in the late 1970s in California. In all, this book contains 6 separate stories that reach accross the globe and throughout time, incorporating drama, romance, sci-fi, crime and action themes. The stories are nested one inside the other, so when you get to the sixth story you get to read it all the way through, followed by the second half of the fifth story and so on all the way down until the end of Adam Ewing's adventure.

The stories are connected, but the strength of the connections varies in importance and impact from story to story, and every time you think you see a theme emerging that ties the stories together it vanishes when you turn the page. This could lead to frustration in any other novel, but in Cloud Atlas you never really feel like you're grasping for something that isn't there. Each story has its own answers and its own conclusions and in the end you realize that each commentary can either be interpreted on its own or as part of the whole, and it works equally well either way. I'm putting this book in my list of favorites, right alongside of Life of Pi, The Time Traveller's Wife, and The Namesake.

Last Book: Martin Amis' tale of love in a Soviet gulag, House of Meetings.

Up Next: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi.

Name this Mystery City!

2008-02-03T13:13:00.000+01:00

Michael and I left Belgium again two weekends ago, and added another country to our list of places visited. This is probably the single easiest mystery city to identify in the whole world, due to the copious amounts of recognizable landmarks scattered throughout it. We like having contests that everyone can win, so that no one feels left out of the game. :)

To start off our day, we took a bus downtown, and walked down a large avenue filled with stores and cafes, until we found ourselves at the base of a giant archway:

Next we made our way down to the big river, where Michael made fun of the people taking rides on the sight-seeing boats:

We posed for pictures in front of the big tower:

Then wandered around until we discovered a large building with a gilded dome:

And we walked over a bridge adorned with statues:

Soon we found ourselves in a well-manicured garden inhabited by marble statues and two big fountains:

At the end of the garden path was a giant glass pyramid stuck right in the middle of the courtyard of a gorgeous old museum with beautiful architecture.

Crossing over the river once again, we found ourselves in front of a massive cathedral:

The magnificence of this building is in the fine details of the stonework and glasswork:

These pictures are really hard to take - the interior of the Cathedral is dark, and getting a clear picture requires a very steady hand!

On day two of our weekend, we walked down to this building. The sign outside claims that it is the oldest observatory still in operation in the world.

We walked down to one of the large cemeteries in this city, and found some notable tombs.

A simple resting place for the mathematician Henri Poincare:

The often-visited gravestone of the author Sartre:

And Michael's favorite photographer, Man Ray (unconcerned, but not indifferent):

Finally, the astronomer Verrier:

In a city this large, it's hard to see everything in a single weekend. Luckily, we'll be going back in only two weeks to experience this city once again. The train ride from Brussels is only 55 Euros (round trip), and takes 1 hour and 20 minutes, so it is easily accessible to us year round!

Our IKEA living room

2008-01-16T19:55:00.000+01:00

Our new couch from IKEA arrived yesterday, and we're so happy with it! Here are some pictures of our new couch along with the matching IKEA chairs.

A Quiz on American Military History

2008-01-13T13:09:00.000+01:00

We have had some requests for more quizzes on this blog, to allow more people to have the opportunity to win the chocolate fondue at the Hagen-Daaz cafe prize.

This week's quiz is based on our trip to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. The Cemetery is the final resting place for the many American soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge near the end of World War 2 (December 1944 - January 1945). The image to the left shows American soldiers from the 75th division in the Ardennes - the image is from Wikipedia.

The quiz question is this: Which US general is buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial? His tombstone is shown below. The winner of the contest gets chocolate fondue at the Hagen-Daaz cafe in Brussels!

Our trip to Luxembourg

2008-01-13T12:19:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we took a day-trip to Luxembourg to visit Matt and Liv, who were spending some time in that city with Liv's parents. Michael took some really amazing pictures, the city is beautiful and we were lucky to visit on a bright, sunny day. In addition to seeing the sights in the city, we were treated to a fabulous meal prepared by Liv's parents. We can't wait to go back.

Luxembourg may be small, but it has maintained its independence through many European wars, proving that good walls make for good neighbours.

Matt and Liv at a scenic overlook.

Rivers flow through the city center.

Structures emerge from the cliff face.

I'm doing my best to ruin Michael's picture of the Ducal Palace, the official residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Looking down from the top of the cliffs.

Another view from the cliffs.

This bridge is made of sandstone, which qualifies it as a contender for "architectural blunder of the century".

A nicer picture of the Ducal Palace.

Sculptures winking at Michael just outside the Palace.

Houses built right into the cliffs and city walls.

The skyline of Luxembourg city.

Malm or our new dressers from Ikea

2008-01-05T20:42:00.001+01:00

After the use of a tape measure and some good luck we now have a great dresser that fits perfectly into the triangular shaped space in our bedroom!

We are feasting like Kings!

2008-01-05T17:01:00.000+01:00

Today we went to the grocery store, and on our way there we noticed that all of our little bakeries were full of cakes with crowns on them! Of course, we had to buy one. We chose a chocolate flavoured cake - I'm not exactly sure what the other choices were. The cake was packed in a special box covered with pictures of crowns, and we got our own crown inside the box to put on the cake when we arrived home.

We had to resort to google to figure out what we were celebrating with this very interesting cake. As it turns out, we are celebrating the Epiphany - also called Twelfth Day, and also called Three Kings Day. It is the day that the three magi visited baby Jesus, revealing him as God in human form. It is celebrated on January 6th, but we'll probably eat our cake tonight - there is apparently some controversy about whether we should be celebrating on the 5th or the 6th, so no one will notice anyways. :)

According to wikipedia, our cake should contain either a bean or a trinket of some sort, and whoever gets the trinket is declared King for the year, and also has to bring the cake to next year's party. Michael has already decided that he is this year's king, as you can see in the picture of him. He will be wearing the crown all night!

Merry Xmas Uncle Gordon!

2008-01-04T20:10:00.001+01:00

The gourmet cats

2007-12-29T13:30:00.000+01:00

Pi and Finnigan are rapidly adjusting to European cuisine. They have switched from Friskies and Purina to Whiskas cat food (Mars makes both Whiskas cat food and Pedigree dog food, so I can buy them both at a discount). More importantly, they have discovered a multitude of new flavours! Both Pi and Finnigan love the rabbit cat food, and Pi also likes the sardines and the duck. Finnigan enjoys lamb. Neither of them are crazy about mussels yet, but since it is a staple of Belgian cuisine, we're sure that they'll warm up to it soon.

O Christmas Tree

2007-12-29T13:07:00.000+01:00

This year, we didn't have a Christmas tree for several reasons - our lack of a Christmas tree stand and ornaments and our inability to effectively transport a large tree without a car amoung them (but not, it should be noted, due to any feelings of moral obligation to try to end the yearly slaughter of young pine trees -- we fully support the slaugter of both plants and animals for our consumption, comfort, and for decorative purposes).

Instead of a tree, this year our one decoration was a "creche animee". It's a little wooden ornament with candles near the base of it. The heat from the lit candles causes hot air to rise from them, and this hot air propels the fan blades at the top of the ornament. The little people who rotate around the stem are various wise men and shepherds and some angels with trumpets, and a man and woman with a little baby. According to the note that came with our creche, these ornaments were originally made in Germany and Bohemia in the 17th century, in the deep depths of the forests where there were also quite a copper mining industry. During the long winter nights, the miners and their families would keep themselves entertained by making little wooden figures and toys, and this is where the creches originated.

A Christmas in Jersey

2007-12-25T11:56:00.000+01:00

Felice Navidad

2007-12-24T23:25:00.000+01:00

Here is my favorite version of Felice Navidad. Danielle on vocals and Lauren on guitar and vocals. I hope ever one out there enjoys it and has a safe and very Merry Christmas.

Feed the World this Christmas

2007-12-23T20:30:00.001+01:00

Everyone should go now to FreeRice.com, where you can play a fun game to test your vocabulary and donate rice to the World Food Program, which distributes rice worldwide to people in need. It is completely free to play, you don't have to enter any information about yourself whatsoever, you can play the game for as long as you want to and you can end any time. Every time you correctly identify the meaning of a word, 20 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Program, and that's really all there is to it. According to the FAQ on the FreeRice website, the money for the rice is raised from the advertising banner that you see on the bottom of the screen as you play the game. When more people visit the site and stay to play the game, more money comes in from the advertising.

As a bonus, the site keeps track of your vocabulary level and gives you words based on the level that you're at. Your vocabulary level can go up to 50. So far, my high score is 40. It's really, really worth checking out this site.

What I'm Reading...

2007-12-23T16:02:00.000+01:00

I actually finished this book quite a while ago, but without internet at home I wasn't able to blog about it. My latest read was Martin Amis' House of Meetings, a book about two brothers who are in love with the same woman and who end up spending time together in a Russian gulag.

This book got great reviews and it is well deserving of them. This is the first novel that I've read by Amis, but it probably won't be the last. The writing is great at capturing the sense of loss and despair that the brothers feel while spending the best years of their lives in captivity.

I'm already halfway through my next book, which is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I decided to pick it up after numerous reviews described it as "simply brilliant". So far, I agree with that assessment and I'm really anxious to finish it to see how everything ends up.

Last Book: The heartbreakingly sad novel by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones.

Up Next: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

Let there be Light!

2007-12-23T15:17:00.000+01:00

We're finally back to the land of the living! Today's visitor was more exciting than Santa Claus will ever be -- the telenet cable guy was here to install our cable tv, internet and phone. We have wireless internet now, so we're able to communicate again, and to Michael's delight we are hooked up with the cable channel NASN - the North American Sports Network. On tv right now is hockey night in Canada (the Leafs vs. Florida just ended, and we're now watching Vancouver vs. Phoenix). Later on tonight, a few of the NFL games are going to be on - Michael is worried that he doesn't have enough beer to last him the whole night. :)

In addition to the sports channels, we have the national geographic channel, 3 discovery channels, the History channel, BBC World, Al Jazeera English, MSNBC, BBC 1 and 2 and a bunch of movie channels. So we are very happy with our English-language line-up, and Michael will continue to watch his daily shows in Dutch to help him improve his skills in that language.

We'll be posting more now that we have our link to the outside world back, so come back often!

The Cats are now in Belgium

2007-12-09T08:15:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our cats, Pi and Finnigan. They started their quest to be reunited with us on Thursday around 7am when my parents brought them to the cargo area. Where they boarded a flight to Newark from Raleigh. The Flight was delayed almost 1 hr. but arrived in Newark with almost 6 hrs until they were scheduled to depart for Brussels. There they waited at the kennel for the flight, which was delayed due to Cargo. Hmmm, wonder who that could have been?

(Pi Behind a Curtain)

Pi and Finnigan touched down in Brussels around 8 am our time (GMT +1) Friday. Jane and I had rented a car and where at the cargo area of the airport by 8 am. This being Europe we had to do some paper work. It seems the Vet was busy and then he had to go on lunch. In the mean time we had to run all over the airport and get this paper stamped and pay this fee. Then wait in this line to get yet another stamp. When everything was said and done we left with the cats around 2 pm!

(Finnigan on a Sweater)

Dairy Products in Belgium

2007-11-25T14:20:00.000+01:00

This weekend we decided to make one of our favorite meals - Chicken
fajitas! We were happy to find nearly all the ingredients that we
needed in our local supermarket - the "international" section carries
El Paso tortilla shells (both hard and soft), as well as salsa, chips, and Mexican seasonings. As it turns out, the two things that we had the most trouble with were very unexpected -- sour cream and cheddar cheese.

I know that in Canada, sour cream is translated as "creme sure", but I've read that in France it's known better as "creme aigre". We found neither of these in our Belgian supermarket, but we did see lots of "creme fraiche" and an extraordinary amount of yogurt. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to find sour cream in Belgium? Is it called something different here?
Our second hard-to-find dairy product was cheddar cheese. The most common cheese in our supermarket is "emmental", which is a Swiss cheese. It is very tasty, and I really like it, but Swiss
cheese doesn't exactly fit with fajitas. We can hardly complain with the wonderful assortment of
cheeses that we've found here, including my favorite,Boursin, and some Chimay cheeses made by the same Trappist
monks who make the famous beer, but we'll likely be making a trip to
London soon for some good cheddar. :) In the end, we chose the "gratin"
cheese mix, which tastes like fondue cheese, for our fajitas.

What I'm reading

2007-11-25T14:00:00.001+01:00

Well, I finally made it through Alice Sebold's novel The Lovely Bones. This was a hard one, even for me (in general, I like books that have more sadness in them than happiness). In the opening paragraph, we are introduced to Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl who has just been murdered. She spends the book watching her family from heaven as they try to deal with her loss. I couldn't read this book on the plane to Europe because it was just too emotional, and even in the privacy of my own apartment there were parts where I just had to put the book down for a while and have a cup of tea. Alice Sebold has a new book out called The Almost Moon, in which a woman who has been caring for her elderly mother who is in the advanced stages of dementia finally snaps and kills her. The writing in The Lovely Bones really is wonderful, but it's not a light read at all, and it's not happy.

Last Book: Ann Patchett's novel, Run.

Up Next: I've started in on another book with a happy subject, The House of Meetings by Martin Amis. It's about two brothers in a Russian slave camp in the 1950's.

Our First Visitor!

2007-11-25T13:33:00.000+01:00

Last weekend, we had our first visitor! Heather was my roommate on Rue Durocher while we were both going to McGill. I was a physics major; she was studying geography. Now Heather lives in Amsterdam and works for a bank. She has been spending most of her weekends in London, where her boyfriend Scott lives, but she will now be dividing her time between London and Brussels! Heather reluctantly agreed to test out the Haagen-Dazs chocolate fondue dessert extravaganza with us, and although she said afterwards that she thought she had consumed enough chocolate to last her a lifetime, we're sure that she will be back again soon for more!

Has it really been 3 weeks!

2007-11-24T13:18:00.000+01:00

Wow, time has really cruised by. Can you believe it's been 3 weeks? It does not feel that long since we left Toronto for North Carolina, but low and behold it's almost December! So I put together some pictures of just a few of the places we have been since we got here. I hope you enjoy them, we sure did seeing them.

The Beer and Chocolate Connection finally proved!

2007-11-16T16:59:00.000+01:00

This week, an article
in the National Geographic news discussed a new finding by a
team of researchers conducting archaeological excavation in the
Honduras. Evidence of traces of cocoa on some pieces of pottery that
they found leads the team to believe that chocolate was actually
discovered accidentally by beer makers trying to find a use for one of
the by-products of their brewing.

This article raises a couple
of interesting questions. First of all - if Central Americans were
making beer out of cocoa seeds 3,000 years ago, then why are we all
drinking Budweiser and Molson Canadian rather than chocolate beer?
Secondly, can it be that we have finally discovered the link between
chocolate and beer that explains why Belgium is so good at making them
both?

Michael enjoys both chocolate and beer. :)

An Astronomy Ph.D. thesis in plain English - Part 2

2007-11-16T15:57:00.000+01:00

Last Time: In the first post in this series I discussed the way in which stars get redder as dust and gas pass between us and the star, which is very similar to the effect that we see as we admire a red sunset. When the stars get redder, they usually get more faint as well, as you would expect if there is dust passing in front of them.

The next important property of the young stars that I was investigating is their polarization -- that is, the preferred direction of oscillation of the light waves being emitted from the star. A beam of light can be thought of as a combination of many individual light waves, and each wave can be thought of as having a "direction of oscillation". Think about all the different ways that you can shake a skipping rope held between two people, or a string on a guitar, or a clothesline fixed at both ends. You can shake it up and down, or side to side, or on any number of diagonals.

A light wave is a lot like these ropes and strings. The light travels from one end of the string to the other, and while it travels it is allowed to oscillate in any of the directions that you can think of to shake the string (the thing that is oscillating is actually two things - the electric and magnetic fields that are associated with the light). The normal, unpolarized light that we see all around us is composed of many different light waves, and all of them can be oscillating in their own direction: there is no preferred direction of oscillation (the first image of the yellow arrows). However, some processes in nature can produce a preferred direction of oscillation, or a polarization of the light (like the second yellow arrow, below).

Some of the most important mechanisms that cause a polarization of light are (1) the presence of a magnetic field where the light is being generated and (2) the reflection of light. In my thesis, I was mostly concerned with polarization that was caused by the reflection of light. Once again, this is something that happens all the time here on Earth. Sunlight that is reflected from a surface such as water on a lake or an ocean or snow on a ski slope tends to be polarized. Sunglass companies have capitalized on this fact by marketing sunglasses with a polarizing filter in them that cuts down on glare from the water or from the snow. The starlight that I was observing is not reflected by water or by snow, but it is reflected by the dusty rings surrounding the star, and the light that is reflected by the rings is more polarized than the light coming to us directly.

By watching the star and observing the times when the most polarized light is reaching us (and hence, the most light reflected off the dust), we can try to figure out the shape and size of the dust distribution, as well as the composition of the dust, and the density of the dust. All of these things will eventually help us to understand what the conditions for planet formation are, and how often these conditions arise in star systems outside of our own solar system.

Next Time: A curious "blueing" effect sometimes seen when the stars become very faint...

Now All We Need Are Guests

2007-11-15T19:23:00.000+01:00

Today we went house hunting out and around Brussels. As things would have it we feel in love with the very 1^st house we looked at. It is a very nice little place in an area just to the east of Brussels. For everyone that has Google Earth, Sterrebeek, Zaventem, Belgium is the official name of the commune. It is in a Flemish area but it is right on the cusp of both French and Flemish speaking areas, which is very common for Brussels. Our agent, Sarah, told us that the area has many Canadian as well as American Families living in the commune. Jane’s office is less than 2 miles from the house and can be reached by both bus and bike. We will be able to walk or bike to the store and all the local restaurants and bars. We are both very happy with the place which is an older home but has been remodeled in the style of IKEA. It has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, a large garden and a modern kitchen. The 2^nd bedroom will be great for all the visitors we are hoping to have. The garden is very nice which I am sure the kittens will love.

Wondering about Reality TV...

2007-11-13T21:35:00.001+01:00

I've had this discussion more than once, but here it is again. Every time I watch reality TV (which is every day), I have a little voice in the back of my head wondering if all the drama is more of a creation by good editing than actual real-life drama. For the most part, I think that it's a little bit of both, but I always like to see evidence of good editing replacing "real drama". To see what I'm talking about, here is my very favorite example of tricky editing, from one of my favorite movies (this can also go under the category of framing, for those people out there who care about that kind of thing):

The Monday Molecule - Belgium Version

2007-11-12T19:53:00.001+01:00

One of the features on my dad's blog, Sandwalk, is the Monday Molecule, where his readers have to guess the identity of a random molecule. This is the Beer with Chocolate Belgian-style Monday molecule! The game is that you not only have to identify this structure, but also the molecule from which it gets its shape.

To make it even easier, I'm posting multiple views of the structure.

An Astronomy Ph.D. thesis in plain English - Part 1

2007-11-11T20:19:00.000+01:00

Michael posted the abstract to my thesis a while ago, but for a while now I've been meaning to make a few posts that clarify what I did for all those of you who don't have an advanced degree in astronomy. The goal of my thesis work was to try to come up with a better understanding of what the regions around young stars look like. This is interesting to astronomers, because lately we've been finding more and more planets around stars other than our own. We would like to understand what the conditions for planetary formation are, and one really good way of doing that is to look at very young stars, that should be in the process of making planets.

The young stars that I was studying are actually between 3-8 million years old. This doesn't seem very young to humans, but in astronomical timescales it is a blink of an eye. Our own sun is 4.5 billion years old, and these young stars are only 0.1% as old as that. If we were to scale the age of the sun so that the sun was 100 years old, then the stars that I studied would only be a couple of months old - they are really "baby stars".

I was looking for several different effects when observing these stars, and the first one that I'm going to write about today is a "reddening" effect. This effect is very familiar to anyone who has seen a red sunset. The reason that sunsets are red is because red light has an easier time penetrating dust and gas and water vapour than blue light does. The blue light tends to bounce off the tiny particles in the air and never ends up reaching us. Sunsets can be particularly red when there are extra particles or smoke in the air: large volcanic eruptions are notorious for causing red sunsets all over the world; the recent California wildfires had the same effect.

When we observe distant stars, we can see them becoming more red as clumps of dust and gas pass between us and the star. This dust and gas will eventually start to clump together to form planets, comets, and asteroids, but in young stars all of this material takes the form of a disk or rings, much like the dusty rings that surround the planet Saturn. Usually, as the star gets redder, it also gets more faint, which is an additional indication that the star is being obscured by dust in its immediate surroundings.

Next time: How an additional property of light, its polarization, can help us to determine the shape of dusty structures around the star.

The Grand Place

2007-11-11T20:06:00.000+01:00

The central square in the middle of downtown Brussels really deserves its own post, and here it is! The most spectacular building in the square is the Town Hall, seen here, but what makes this square so impressive is that when you step into it you are surrounded by fantastic architecture just like this on all sides. Of course, the square is always full of tourists taking pictures, and the little shops right around it cater to the tourists as well - but we're still "tourists in our own city", so we don't mind too much. Every other year in August, the square is filled with a carpet of flowers - and the next time the event will happen is August 2008. Mark your calendars!

Holidays in Brussels

2007-11-11T19:40:00.000+01:00

This weekend, one of our goals was to really figure out the downtown area in Brussels. It is difficult to navigate for three reasons. First of all, no one street runs parallel to any other street in the downtown area. Secondly, there are roundabouts every couple of blocks, and the names of the streets leaving the roundabouts are never the same as the names of the streets going in. Finally, guideposts and street signs are very rare (although we did realize this weekend that the street names are on plaques on the buildings, rather than on posts near the road like in the US). The good news is that armed with a little hand-drawn map and a plan, we made some real progress in getting our bearings downtown - and not a moment too soon!

The holidays are coming up, and all the little Belgian chocolate shops are proudly displaying their seasonal chocolates in the windows, which makes the downtown walks really enjoyable. In Belgium, the most important gift-giving celebration is on Saint Nicholas day, December 6th, and chocolate figures of the Saint in his bishop's outfit are ubiquitous. We're also starting to make lists of the places that we'll take people when we start to get visitors! So far, the bar "Le Roi d'Espagne" (the King of Spain), is a high priority. At this bar, you can enjoy a raspberry beer while overlooking the "Grand Place" - the main central square where the Town Hall, Guild Houses and "Breadhouse" are all located. It is really a wonderful sight, but it's hard to compare it to windows full of Belgian chocolate.