Something #13

I hope you had a good day today... Tell me about your holiday!

I opened some presents this morning. I got a necklace, a scarf, chocolate truffles, oil and vinegar, a digital picture frame with pics of the fam and..

A trip to Paris!

Although that's not all, since I was opening all of these packages, I thought it quite fitting to keep going, so I thought I would open a little something.

But first, a pic of the remaining little somethings... There are still quite a few.

So which one should I pick today?

Ultimately I decided to go with the one with the prettiest paper. It's red. white, blue and green and very Christmas-y.

I can already imagine the cranes I will make with this one.

Oooh! I will make two pretty cranes!

A nice flat package.

What's this?

Who?

What?

When?

Where did you get this?

Why?

It's lovely as it is. As soon as I return for my trip, I am hoping to place it in a frame with a black mat, kind of like this photo here. What do you think?

M e R r Y c H r I s T m A s !

~xoxo

LYMI

Thank you Internet!!!

La loca:

Congratulations on Crystal City 1969!

Avatar

I just saw this movie in 3D here in Leuven.

It was A M A Z I N G ! ! !

Absolutely stunning!

This is the future of movies. I am curious to know what you think.

Yes, it has been snowing here, it's so beautiful. Jon has the camera cord, otherwise I would post photos. Soon. I promise.

I think we are going to a country that rhymes with:

romance

and

dance

for Christmas.

Yay!

Jon is the best!

Something #12

Last Friday, I pulled a little something off the shelf as I walked out the door. This day was going to be tough, Maggie was breaking her big cancer news to her class.

By the way, I snapped this shot for you of the center of Leuven. You had asked if it was getting Christmas-y here.

To which I say, yes, it is!

This is the little something I pulled. I like the sun.

Actually, I LOVE the sun. I miss the sun. It's been a dark time here, just a little rough with the constant gray clouds and also the situation in the classroom. Maggie is preparing to leave, and I ache for her. I am so sensitive, I can identify what she is going through to a degree and feel like there is nothing I can do. And there is impending change... I feel that I don't do well with change. (Even though I should be an expert at it by now.)

I waited until the end of the day to open this little something, because Jon and I were going to the Christmas Market in Brussels, and also... it was FRIDAY!

But first, a few shots as I walked to the gare (train station) in Waterloo.

I stopped in a chocolate shop and who should appear?

SINTERKLAAS!!!

And the sun came out!!!

Albeit for a minute, but STILL!!

I hopped on a train and went to Brussels to wait for Jon. We had a date and I was really excited. We planned to meet in a brasserie in Grand Place. I told him about my day and then pulled out the little something.

I asked him to take pictures while I opened #12, but he mistook that for, "open #12." So in this picture you actually see Jon's hands opening it up...

Tropics on the brain...

Yes indeed. I keep thinking about a certain sun...

"Whoa!"

Which cracked me up, I think he thought it was a nude photo.

But it was a thoughtful, sweet photo of you looking out across the ocean in Jamaica. I turned the photo over and read the note:

My co-worker Bethany and I planned this trip while working over a weekend on Raising Helen. They were repaving the road outside the editing rooms, BUT the editor INSISTED we work through. SO, Disney put up thick insulation over the windows and we worked all weekend in extra dark rooms with the low rumble of jackhammers outside. It was so ridiculous and unnecessary to work through the construction - all we could do was book a trip to the Caribbean! Ha ha!

I have several pictures from Mexico, and Something #12 prompted me to look through them all, which may explain the delay of this post.

You see, there are good parts and bad to that time in Mexico. Sometimes it is difficult to look at the past, but here is the good news: my finger has become friends with the delete button and I am not feeling guilt or pain as I select and edit. It's quite cathartic.

I think that there is a lot of editing and deleting that I need to do in my life.

I'm sure you've heard the quote, "time the great healer."

While it's always nice to put distance between events and people in life, it's a false comfort if you have not bid adieu to the situation. I am finding in these dark days in Belgium and as the first decade of the new millennium comes to a close that I have not really kissed a lot of these events and people properly good-bye.

That is a hard thing to admit.

I love this photo:
This is from my 32nd birthday that I spent all alone in Mexico, and was one of the best days in my life. That is a little dock about 20 yards from the shore. Isn't that so romantic? That day I wished someone was with me... to take a picture while I sunbathed by myself! Haha! No, seriously, I wished for what I have now.

This was my daily indulgence:
This was the show every night around the corner from my little studio apartment. I am glad that I took advantage of that time every night that I could.

Ok, back to reality. Back to Belgium, back to Brussels.

Here we are at the Christmas Market. Did you check out the post on my blog?

Jon took these photos. You should check out his Flickr page...

One more photo from that night that I wanted to share:
This is an installation from French photographer Thierry Bouët. It's from his series The First Hour where he took 50 portraits of babies in Paris the first hour that they were born. Check it out on the web, there are photos of babies everywhere if you google his name.

By the way, I do want to see those photographs.

Thanks for your patience, I hope you get a golden ticket because I would love for you to come visit.

xoxo

LYMI

Something #12

I had meant to get to this earlier, but it's already past midnight. I will post more tomorrow.

Goodnight and Happy Sinterklaas!

xoxo

LYMI

Full Moon Over the Red Light District

On the way home last night.

North BLX.

Something #11 LMAO!

LMAO! I really detest acronyms like that, and LYMI for sure, but this little something had me laughing on a day when I really needed it.

I arrived in Waterloo ready to ride and take on the day, only to discover that my bike had been "tagged" with red permanent marker (no photo, sorry) AND I had a flat tire. Do you think these two incidents are related?

I walked my bike unsuccessfully through town only to discover that the air valve will not fit the valve on the air pump at the Auto Shop. (I am not even sure I am using the correct terminology.) AND I do not speak a lick of French! This all made for an interesting morning.

Also, school is kind of a bummer these days. The teacher I work with has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She hasn't told the kids yet and she will have surgery two weeks from today. She is young, kind, a wife and mother. She is going through so much emotionally. We talk during the day and I've shared my experience with her, but she will soon find out for herself and have her own experiences.

When I talk with her, it all comes back to me and I wince at times from my memories of -

the sores in my mouth
the weakness
the aches
the nausea
the 30+ pounds I gained from the steroids

the two years it took to loose them

the chemical burns on my skin

the constipation
the hair loss

my cold head against the pillow
the fear
the constant tiredness
the exhaustion of people telling you everything will be ok over and over because it makes them feel better.

But I do hope everything is going to be ok...

Jon had a late night tonight, and I went to the International Short Film Festival in Leuven.

I wish you could have been here with me, but tonight's selection was so morbid and melancholy. The best short I saw was Wes Anderson's Hotel Chevalier.
Did you know it's a prologue to The Darjeeling Limited? Another film I saw out of the US, in Mexico...

I also saw this short:

I was a little depressed as I walked home tonight, not to mention I was FREEZING!

Thankfully, I had this at home to make me laugh:

Oh Steph! What did you do to this poor child?!

Just look at those cheeks!

I'm still cracking up...

xoxo

~LYMI

Legally Bonded!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to let you know, Jon and I just got back from city hall and I am good to stay in Belgium! (For now, but still!) Thanks for all of your support. Opening another LYMI in celebration. Will post later this weekend.

Promise.

xoxo

LYMI

Happy Birthday To You!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!

As I write this post, it's almost tomorrow here. Jon and I have been compiling all of our papers for our BIG appointment tomorrow.

I have a special gift - a post just for you. Something told me you were curious, and even if you weren't I thought you would enjoy it. I wanted to share a typical day in my life. You know, that *seemingly* Boring Beyond Belief Belgian life I've been talking about...

I'm warning you now, this post is long, but only because I took so many photos.

This was the scene outside my window on the train this morning. It had stormed pretty bad last night, and I wasn't expecting to see the sun at all today. But she came out for a bit just before 8:30 a.m.

Lovely, eh?

Now, let's go back to last week. I have been thinking about doing a post like this and had actually started to document my day sometime last week. I think this was last Wednesday or Friday, but the weather was cold and clear...

For this photo, I am standing where I usually catch the bus in Leuven. Our apartment is behind the St. Peter's church on the right. Everyday bells ring on the quarter hour, starting past 9:00 a.m.

The train station in Leuven, which is actually quite nice...

This is the train I take.

Do you see the number 2?

That's for second class passengers. Like me!

The train to Waterloo leaves Leuven on the :08's of every hour. I am scheduled to arrive in Waterloo 1 hour +12 minutes later. Lately, there have been consistent delays.

Here are some things I do to keep busy on my commute. First, I always check to see if Metro, the free paper has a Sudoku puzzle. I've gotten very fast, and they are mind numbingly addictive. I usually sip my cappuccino, typically my second of the day, while I knit, crochet or read. Occasionally I listen/watch my iPhone, which is now used like an iTouch. International roaming charges? No, thank you!

Here, I prepare a lesson for tomorrow's private English lesson and catch up on my 5th grade reading: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

I pass through Brussels everyday, blah, blah, blah.

However, I like this stop at a small station outside of Waterloo.

I like the shelters and the graffiti.

This is Waterloo Station:

Exciting, right?

I make my way to the bike parking to pick up Humphriet, my bright green bicycle.

Can you spot him?

There he is!

Before I ride, I don the latest cycling fashion. I am bringing back the tight-roll, but going a step further and pushing it inside my sock. I do this, so grease won't get on my pants.

FYI or TMI? Those socks are wool, and I am wearing wool leggings underneath my pants.

Now for Part II: the bicycle ride.

Parts of my ride are on the street:

Parts are on this skinny trail:

And some parts and walked because some people don't know how to park!

Finally, I arrive at my destination:
You know? A school is a school, no matter where you are. At least to me it is. It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to ride to school from the train station, and about 15 - 25 on the way back.

I usually have some down time before I start, so I usually just sit in the lounge and drink another cappuccino. This day, I wanted some juice so I went to the cafeteria. Check out the decorations!
Also, note the trays and glasses that are set, waiting for the children. It sort of reminds me of IKEA.

Here are some high school art projects that decorate the cafeteria. I like these:

What do you think?

The kids are studying a unit on light and sound. These kids LOVE science! I can't get over it, I don't remember loving science this much. Today, the kids had presentation on light and color in the Performing Arts Center, which like Dallas' is also called PAC.

The set from the play The Canterbury Tales.

Of course the girls pleaded, "make it rainbow!"

My journey home is pretty much the same as my journey there, except there are screaming high school students the first twenty minutes or so, then the business traffic from Brussels push their way onto the train. I tried to take a picture of the Red Light district for you, but I wasn't close enough. That's about as exciting as it gets on the train.

We do make a stop at Brussels International Airport everyday.

Passengers get on and off with their luggage and inevitably I imagine all of the exotic locations people are going without me.

It's dark by the time I get home - but this is my favorite part of the day. I love, Love, LOVE walking off the bus, towards our apartment and seeing the old town hall.

Isn't it gorgeous?

We live above an olive/middle eastern import store and these creatures live in our stairwell. It's always fun to fumble in the dark and turn on the lights to see this:

Do you need 6 foot wooden psychedelic neon painted camel?

Typically, I cook, but tonight was a celebration in honor of you, and the fact that I couldn't stomach anymore leftovers. :)

We tried a restaurant called Dewerf.

Jon had a "man's meal," beef and baked apples served in a bread bowl.

I had the broccoli bacon quiche with a side salad.

Jon won tonight's plate challenge.

Lekker!

Because it was your birthday, and because you love chocolate cake so much, I ordered one in good faith that it would be the best chocolate cake I had ever tasted. After all, this is Belgium...

Alas, it was dry and hardly tasted of chocolate at all.

I stuck the Prince cookie on top symbolizing my wish for you... Someday, your prince will come. Or the artist formerly known as Prince will come.

Happy Birthday Steph!

I am truly enjoying this LYMI Belgian experience, and have you to thank for it. I wish you the best year of your life, continued success and creativity and strong poses. This is the time of our lives. Thanks for helping me enjoy mine.

Much love,

xoxo

~LYMI