Scenes from a Belgian Restaurant

Song of the Week: 3

Ok, time for song of the week selection number 3!  I am excited about this one.  It is by an artist I have liked for sometime but have just recently been able to purchase his music.  It has been my go-to song this week as I watch exams approach.  I find it particularly appropriate for the occasion as I can't describe my life any differently now than a sea of books in which I am trying not to drown.  So enjoy Jack's Mannequin: Swim

Study Break

So, over the past week and a half, I have studied more than I ever thought was humanly possible.  Food and sleep are no longer a huge priority.  The Lisbon Treaty has taken over my life.  I have been spending most of my time with my American friend, Alexandra.  We seem to operate on a similar wavelength and so have found studying together to be quite productive.  About two days ago, we both discovered that we love Twilight (the series, not the time of day; although, that is nice too sometimes).  Anyway, neither of us had seen New Moon yet and we were both dying to go.  We were planning on biking to the theater (crazy), but without a car, what else can you do?  Belgium literally rained on our parade last night with the rainfall that the entire state of Washington receives in a year.  We decided to postpone for one night (for that is all the longer one can be asked to wait for Robert Pattinson).  We set a clear study goal and decided to shoot for the 10:30 showing.  We reached our goal, but God, despite his original promise, had refused to close the heavens on Bruges.  We had had enough.  We took a taxi to the movie theater.  I can't believe it, but we paid more for transportation than we did for the show and snacks.  And you know what?  It was WORTH IT!  We arrived at the theater ten minutes late, ran to grab the sugar-free popcorn from the case, looked desperately for a soda fountain and, finding none, settled on two bottles of water while hurriedly being forced to choose our seats (who the heck needs a seating arrangement to see a movie??) and then racing down the corridor giddy as, well, giddy as two school girls.  As we sat in the plush seats of our own row in the theater, we were beaming.
The movie was GREAT!  I am not sure if it was the fact that the movie was good (probably not) or that I have not been to a theater - or out of the city - for months.  But I have not been this happy in a long time.    The entire experience was hilarious.  It was a rather cultural experience in fact.  No one else in the entire theater laughed.  At all.  Ever.  Alexandra and I were cracking up half the time.  I am not sure what the Dutch subtitles were saying, but something was lost in translation.
I did not want the movie to end!  So sad when it did.  Alas, then it was back outside to wait for a taxi home.  On the ride home we were both still giddy to be riding on a two-lane road, to be in a car even.  It feels as if we were under house arrest and we finally got our ankle bracelets off.
It was lovely to escape for a little while; pretend like we were back in the US.  Laugh hysterically while repeating lines from the movie, chow down on salty delicious popcorn, and just RELAX.  It was nice to be reminded that there is a life that does not involve the European Union, or politics, or books.  Just stretches of beach in northern Washington where the only thing you have to do is take a walk with your smoking hot (vampire) boyfriend.  My bad, that's not my life.  But I can dream, can't I?
Good night, be sure to let the vampires bite!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Thanksgiving

Mission: Complete.  I did it.  I found a Cherry Coke in Europe.  It may not have been a Diet Cherry Coke, but it was cherry just the same.  My plans to go see New Moon were rained out this evening so I decided to venture out to the night shop for a bar of chocolate and some caffeine.  That is when I saw it, buried at the back of the refrigerated case at the night shop, the red cherries glistening like a beacon of hope.  I have never seen such a beautiful beverage in my life.  So my day was devoid of turkey, pie, and green bean casserole, but I have seldom been so happy with a snack.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  I am thankful for all that I have.

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Paul and Me

I couldn't ask for a better host counselor.  Having Paul is like having family in Bruges.

Another Great Night for Rotary

A much needed study break presented itself in the form of my fourth official Rotary presentation this evening, and what a lovely evening it turned out to be.  I would like to give a special thanks for Rotary Club Brugge South for hosting me this evening.  It was wonderful meeting all of you and I am looking forward to coming back in January!  You guys were great!

The evening was, in my opinion, a success.  Paul and I agreed it was my best presentation and also the club with the best atmosphere.  He described it as being "jovial" and I couldn't agree more.  This club has energy, initiative, and lots of fun it seems.  I was happy to be their guest (cue Beauty and the Beast song).   I was a bit flustered, having spent the last few days locked in my room studying the intricacies of the European Union's Treaties, but I pulled myself together by the time Paul arrived to pick me up.  I cannot tell you how happy I was when we drove OUT OF THE CITY!!!!  It was my first trip outside of "the ring" since arriving in Brugge.  Please consult the map to understand what I mean by the ring.  It is, in my opinion, a 9 km long invisible wall that has kept me under siege for the past three months.  But not anymore.  Tonight I broke free.  This school is nuts.  End of story.

Back to the good story.  We had a drink and a lovely meal with the first coed Rotary club in Brugge (also one of the youngest clubs).  Then I gave my presentation and for the first time, people had questions for me!  I was highly pleased because the questions were very appropriate and demonstrated a level of interest in my presence that I had yet to experience.  I was even quizzed on some Belgian politics (at least I know a little something about the royal family.  It could have been bad.).  
So it was just nice to be welcomed with such enthusiasm.  It was a long evening but so worth the time!  I will visiting again at the end of January to join the club for bowling!  I am so excited!
Anyway, that pretty much wraps things up.  The only other exiting news (having something to do with life outside of studying) is that I took the plunge and got my haircut today.  This was a HUGE deal for me.  I am very particular about who I trust with my hair, but it was getting to the point that I had to trust someone new - and a non-native English speaker at that.  Kaatje recommended the salon and the stylist was great!  I love my hair.  Crisis averted.
Anyway, enjoy the pictures from the evening and I will try and post again soon.

Peace, Love, and Waffles.  (Wow, I could really go for a waffle right now.)

The Depths of Procrastination

My first exam is on November 30.  And while my dreams have been plagued with visions of total failure, I am still unable to motivate myself to really study.  To give you a taste of the extent to which I am capable of procrastinating, I have made three new iTunes playlists this week, viewed several useless Youtube videos, re-watched the latest episode of Survivor twice, and drew a picture.  This is just the beginning.  I also started an application for the Peace Corps and have vacuumed my room twice.  The depths of procrastination were reached recently when I began taking the seasonal quizzes on Marthastewart.com.  Now, I love Martha Stewart.  This, by now, should be common knowledge.  However, under no circumstances do I support the quizzes she has available on her website.  But I have reached a low point in my life where the thought of taking a quiz is exponentially more appealing than reading a scholarly article about European law.  For example, just a couple of days ago, I took a quiz entitled "How well do you know your cat?"  (I know, I know, I kind of hate myself for it.)  This particular quiz was prepared by a "cat expert." Seriously Martha?  The woman employs an in-house cat expert?  But at the same time, I can't talk.  I took the stupid quiz.  Believe me, it was really stupid.  So stupid in fact that I emailed the link to my Mom so she could take it.  The saddest part?  I got a perfect score.  I don't even like cats, not even my own.
Today I took a Thanksgiving-themed quiz entitled "What Thanksgiving Side Dish are You?"  Honestly, I couldn't care less.  Yet, once again, I took the quiz.  This time, I was highly disappointed to discover that I am "roasted root vegetables."  First of all, what the heck kind of side dish is that?  And second, why couldn't I have been the green bean casserole with extra Funions?  It was at this point, when I realized I was actually disappointed with my results, that I knew I had hit rock bottom.
So I may be a cat expert and a roasted root vegetable side dish, but I am in no way, shape, or form ready for these exams.  Or at least not ready to begin studying.
So if you are interested, I am currently accepting donations in the form of distractions.  Send me an email, a Facebook message, Skype me whenever I am online, comment on the blog!  But please, don't send quizzes.  I have enough on my plate as it is.

Peace, Love, and Waffles (no roasted root vegetables, thanks).

Tourist Time Picture

Is it Time for Song of the Week Yet?

Because I have some good ones lined up and I don't like waiting for Saturdays to roll around to use them.  So think of this as an early Thanksgiving gift (for the Europeans reading this blog: just to clarify, gifts are not usually given on Thanksgiving). Anyway, this is a new band (for me) that I have just started to get into called Deas Vail.  I love the chill vibe!  And this song has made it onto a mix I have been working on for Bruges.  I hope you like it!  If you do, check out the albums and EPs they have out.  I especially like "White Lights," the EP from 2008.
Happy listening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NPDHrcBxLM

Hot Chocolate = GLEE

 

I Hope You Enjoyed the Song

As much as I enjoyed my weekend!!!!!!!  Sorry for the brief hiatus, but I am back from the land of paper writing and ready once again to satisfy your blog-reading needs.  So, this past weekend was pretty much perfection.  I'll go ahead and admit that it was the best two days I have had since arriving in Belgium.  As you all know from previous posts detailing my anticipation, my best friend Sally (yes, that is correct, Sally and Ali.  You got it!  Our names rhyme.  Moving on.) came for a (way too short thanks to all of my ridiculous work) visit.  But come she did!  And I am still running off of the high from Friday and Saturday. Everything went according to plan - which almost never happens when the two of us are involved.  She arrived Friday at around 8:45.  We promptly went to the Markt square and ate hot "frites" (that's French fries, or Belgian fries, for those of you who didn't know) on a bench under the belfry.  From there we proceeded to a certain dessert establishment of which I am ashamed to mention the name so I won't.  Here we basked in the glory of hot waffles, GIANT cappuccinos, and wonderful conversation.  The waiter offered to lock us in for the night and then roll us out the door the next morning.  We politely declined, but we may have to go back and take him up on his offer.
From dessert we headed to one of my favorite bars in Bruges, De Garre.  It is a teeny-tiny ancient establishment that could have come straight out of Hogsmeade (some of you know what I mean).  We had a couple of beers and spent a few hours planning our future - which, to give you a hint, involves lots of cupcakes, concerts, and a sweet apartment in the great state of Arizona.  At  some point, deep into our evening, we ended  up getting invited to another table by an American couple from Connecticut on their way around Europe tasting beers.  They were sitting with a couple from London and the six of us ended up staying far past closing just laughing hysterically at the quirks of Bruges.  Eventually the staff literally told us to leave because they wanted to close.  Mind you, it was only about 1:00 a.m.  But still I find it funny that we were kicked out of the bar.  From there we went back to my room and managed to stay awake for about an hour of the Holiday, which provided the inspiration for the next morning's activities.

I have been cutting hair for almost 10 years now and I have been cutting Sally's for three.  Whenever we get together after a separation a haircut is usually involved.  This visit was no different.  Except this time, Sally wanted Cameron Diaz's haircut from the Holiday.  Please see before and after pictures.  To make a long story short (pun intended) it was a daring morning set to the soundtrack of "A Rocket to the Moon."  So fun!

The rest of the day was spent meandering around town, being complete tourists, taking amazing pictures and visiting one of my favorite finds in Bruges: The Old Chocolate House.  This is the place to go if you love hot chocolate.  It is a miniscule 2nd floor tea room that doles out GIANT mugs of steamed milk to which you add chocolate cups and morsels that you then whisk into the milk yourself.  Simply delightful,
especially on cold dreary Belgian afternoons.

This was followed by more frites, (what can I say, we really like food.  Besides, it is a cultural activity after all.  We are in Belgium).  We proceeded to head back to my room where we spent some quality youtube time with our favorite bands and a few more hours just catching up with each other.
Sally's dad had flown into Brussels on Saturday (he is a pilot) so we met him at the train station in Bruges and he took us out to dinner.  It was so nice.  Such a perfect, relaxing evening.  Good food, good friends, good conversation and matching grey elephant necklaces from J. Crew.  Need I say more?
Neither of us stopped talking for more than a minute at a time.  We had too much to say after 6 months apart.  Even with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Gmail, and Skype, nothing does it like seeing someone face to face.
Best weekend ever.
Sorry for the ramble, I just really had fun and wanted to share!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Song of the Week: 2

It's a new week and time for a new song.  I hope everyone enjoyed The Weepies from last week!  This time, I am going to take it back to my junior year at Furman (so really, not too far back) to one of my FAVORITE bands: The Maine.

This song choice is due to the fabulous weekend I spent with my best friend Sally.  More blog posts will follow on that subject, but for now, in the interest of time and in the interest of my grade on the paper I should be writing at the moment, I will just link you to this video.

Sally and I have seen these boys 3 times live together (I think Sally has seen them 5 or 6 times), and we are, in every sense of the word, groupies.  So I hope you enjoy my obsession and the boys' fantastic new video.

This post is dedicated to Sally and the many mosh pits we have braved together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bfzyWWQNcc

I Think Friends are Neat

So, basically, I have some pretty wonderful friends.  I came back to my room today after ever-more lectures to two packages sitting on my desk.  They were from Ashley, one of my very best friends from home and someone I have known for the past 22 and a half years.  I was so excited!  I opened them and discovered that she had blissfully and wonderfully ignored my request not to send anymore food (although, that still stands).  Inside I discovered four Betty Crocker Warm Delights of the chocolate cake variety.  Um, perfection.  I am not above admitting that I immediately tore one open, added two tablespoons of water and the fudge topping, then dashed downstairs to the microwave, mouth watering the whole way.  I tried to savor it; I tried to make it last.  But lets be honest, it took me about 45 seconds to indulge in my first chocolate cake since leaving the good ol' U.S. of A.  And it was wonderful.  So thank you to friends who make the effort to make my days a little brighter.  Thank you for the little things that mean so much, the Creme Savers and the chocolate cakes and even letters from Paperchase.    
Basically, I think friends are really neat.  And I love all of my friends dearly.  New and old, near and far, you are my only tenuous link to reality and I couldn't make it without you.
Thanks Ashley for inspiring this post and for just being your wonderful wonderful self!


Oodles of love,
Ali

And the Winner is . . .

Me!  Well, me and my debate team.  This was my day today.  I finished my second paper around 3:00 a.m., slept five hours, got up for two hours of lecture, went shoe shopping (Hey, I needed/deserved a break!) and then spent the next two hours talking to myself like a crazy person while practicing for the debate I participated in for my EU foreign policy class.  Two cappuccinos and a Diet Coke later my teammates and I were seated at the panelists table in front of the rest of the IRD department.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  I love that kind of stuff: high pressure, high profile.  What can I say?  Sometimes I enjoy a little limelight.  Anyway, my team was the pro side and while we lost in the class vote on the resolution, we won the "Best Team" vote.  So I feel pretty awesome.
The past few days in general have been pretty fantastic.  While I spent most of the weekend shut in my room writing paper 2, I managed to have a wonderful Saturday evening.  I went out to dinner with three Italian friends and we shared a giant bowl of French fries and then went to dessert and got real, huge, strong cappuccinos (not from an automated machine that uses powdered milk) and warm waffles!  My waffle had banana slices!!  I cannot tell you how happy that evening made me.  It was a perfect mental break and a chance to spend some time with some girls I don't get to see often enough with my crazy schedule.
So now it is Tuesday and I am preparing to commence work on paper #3.  The last big project of the semester before exams.  I am so tired of footnotes I could throw something.  I am actually looking forward to next week when I will have enough time to just do the course readings again.  But I am working hard so I can have time to spend with Sally this weekend!!!  I think that her upcoming visit is the reason I have been in such a good mood the last few days.  I should be super stressed (and trust me, I am) but I am just so excited to see her!
Hopefully this mood and my current motivation level will last until Monday.  I have the feeling I have an all-nighter in the near future.  But I'll deal with that later.
That's all for now.  I hope life is lovely for all of you.

Peace, Love, Waffles, and Visits from Best Friends!!!!!!

Song of the Week

Thanks to several generous donations, I have been getting lots of new music from iTunes.  I absolutely LOVE this song.  It has kind of been my theme for the last week and I recommend having a listen.  Enjoy!
(The video is kind of cheesy, but the song is awesome!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JscAwVu2QI&feature=fvst

Ouch

Today hurt.  Physically, mentally, emotionally . . . .   It was just one of those days.  It began far too early this morning and with far too little sleep.  I arrived in class this morning (miraculously on time; it's amazing how fast you can walk when you have to be somewhere!) and strapped in for three hours of EU legal aspects.  Ew.  Then I ate lunch.  Then I had another two hours of legal aspects.  Ew, ew.  Then we had a fifteen minute break.  Then I had three hours of global political economy.  Ew, ew, ew.  Then I went to dinner, proceeded to get my favorite scarf stuck in the zipper of my favorite coat, from whence I concluded my fabulous day by tearing my scarf and breaking my zipper beyond repair.  So now I have no more favorite scarf and no more (functional) winter coat.  And it's cold.  Great day.

Anyway, let's just say today was not my day.

But yesterday was pretty cool.  I would like to take the opportunity to thank Brugge West Rotary Club for welcoming my host counselor, Paul, and me to your club yesterday evening.  I really enjoyed meeting all of you and I hope you enjoyed the presentation!  Thanks for the hospitality.  I have never found it to be lacking in Brugge.
Yesterday was a busy day as well, but I must say that I really look forward to giving these Rotary presentations.  It's always fascinating to meet some of these people, most with either an amazing job, life story, or crazy connection to someplace/someone I know.  It's a chance to share a (delicious)  meal with new people and to really establish that special Rotary connection.  I must admit, I was skeptical about the idea when I first learned about my scholarship.  I thought, honestly, who cares who I am, where I am from, and why I am in Brugge.  But I have been so utterly and pleasantly surprised how much they (and I) appreciate exploiting the connection we have as members of this extraordinary organization.  In what other setting is one given the opportunity to travel to a foreign country - to which one has never been - and be taken into a "family" of caring, like-minded individuals that want nothing more than to help other people and understand one another better?  It is truly amazing and a wonderful blessing.  I do not know of any other such global "support network."  The Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship is one essential tool in building cross-cultural understanding and international networks.  As a political scientist  (ok, yes, go ahead and call me one) and as someone who has always recognized the value in travel and culture exploration,  I can say that I see the true value in this program.  There is not another opportunity like it.  So thanks again to all of my Rotary friends, new and old, for getting me to Belgium.  I am honored to be a part of this organization.

So sorry to those of you who don't know much about the scholarship or about Rotary in general.  But you should really check it out.  They are doing some amazing things in the world.  (Much more amazing even than sending me to Belgium :)  Seriously, go to Rotary.org and have a look around.

Sorry to the rest of you for the inadvertent publicity.  Back to my original topic.  This evening has slowly improved; although, I don't think it is in the running to beat yesterday anymore.  But I talked to my best friend Sally on Skype for about an hour and a half after dinner.  And considering I have not talked to her in a month or seen her since MAY, we were long overdue for a chat.  Luckily she is coming to Bruges on Friday to see me!  I then proceeded to spend the next hour learning vital survival skills and negotiating strategies in this week's episode of Survivor!  (LOVE!!).  So now, I think I need to get working and keep working this weekend so I can finish my papers and take next Saturday off guilt-free!
On that note, off to do some German.  Have a wonderful, and hopefully warm and dry, rest of the day everyone!

Peace, Love, and Waffles!
(The next waffle I will eat will be with Sally on Saturday!!  Can't wait!)

OH MY GOSH!!!

I just submitted my first paper to the College of Europe.  I am hyperventilating a little bit; I won't lie.  I hate pressing the send button!  It means that you lose all control over your grade and therefore, your future.  I usually need some moral support at moments like these.  Most of the time I have to call someone and have them talk me through it as I press the button.  I managed to do it on my own tonight, but it was tough!  Now I just get to look forward to doing it another three times in the next two weeks.  Joy.  But at the same time, after I press that button, there is some sense of relief.  At least until I get the paper handed back.  But I won't get into that now.

So, aside from this VERY big news, today was a pretty cool day.  We had the official opening ceremony of the academic year this morning.  It was a formal event and I quickly realized I have no nice winter clothes; so I was absolutely freezing the whole time in my cotton dress and peep toe pumps.  Not to mention the fact that walking on cobble-stone streets in heels is nearly impossible.  I think I got stuck like six times on my way.  I must have looked really funny to whoever was walking behind me!  Oh well.
So the actual ceremony was a bit different.  There was some good and some bad.  Bad was the 40 minute speech by the Rector of the College on the life and teachings of Charles Darwin (ps, Darwin is the "mascot" of our promotion.  Don't ask me.  I don't get it either).  At times I was a bit offended.  But that is beside the point.  The man never made any connection between Darwin and the study of political science (although I am not sure one can be made).  I did learn that he married his first cousin.

Good was the string quartet that played during the opening and several breaks.  They were AMAZING! The whole ceremony should have been a concert by the string quartet.  I would have loved it!
Also good, though, was the fact that we had the President of the European Parliament as our keynote speaker. He gave a very nice speech on the future of Europe, you know, the usual.  But it was good.  Although he did keep mentioning how proud "we" should be as Europeans.  :)  I was sitting next to a girl from Colombia and every time he referred to the audience as European we just laughed.
Following the speech was a fancy reception and plenty of finger food and mingle time.  It was really fun to see everyone all dressed up!
So those were the highlights today.  Now I have to do some reading.  Have a great afternoon, evening, night everyone!  (No reference to "The Truman Show" just to differing time zones).

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Short and Sweet

So I just read my last post and realized that it was probably too long for the information it gave.  So this one will be short (but hopefully good).  It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon in Bruges.  I just finished my first paper and am about to start researching for the other two I have due in the next two weeks.  But I thought I would take a short break and write a quick post.  Remember what I said about the weather?  Well, it heard me and today's high is 45.  Yikes!  So my run this morning was a bit chillier than usual, but quite refreshing.

No class today, but work, work, work.  I did manage to take a small break after lunch to "shop." I am on the prowl for a cute winter hat.  My bangs are long enough now that I can wear a floppy hat without looking like I am on chemo-therapy or a man.  So I really want to find a good one.  I really want a yellow hat!  So far, not much luck, but I am optimistic.  Yellow and purple are the colors this season so I think I just need to expand my search.

Anyway, nothing else too exciting going on.  I have another Rotary presentation to give on Thursday and I am looking forward to that. (I think dinner is involved and any excuse not to eat at the dining hall is ok by me).  These are also my last two weeks of class, so it is a mad dash to the finish line.  I'll need some serious prayers as I head into exams!

Well, I promised to keep it short and this is the best I can do.  I will bother you with more musings on the simple things in life at a later date.  As for today, just have a good one!

Peace, Love, and of course, Waffles.

Something Orange

Well, I suppose it was inevitable. November has arrived.  Sigh.  I am not sure how I feel about this, other than highly pleased that the warm-ish weather is holding out here in Bruges.  It may be rainy, but at least it is not frigid.  Although, perhaps I shouldn't mention this because I will of course wake up tomorrow to a giant frost or something.  So pretend like I never said anything about the weather, okay?  Thanks.

Anyway, yesterday was a really fun day.  I did my first official presentation to my host Rotary club.  It was a lovely afternoon.  Paul came and picked me up and we walked over to the Crown Plaza Hotel on the Burg.  Then it was time for some mingling and small-talk at the bar.  I need to insert another special thanks here to Piet for bringing me some of the homemade apple juice I talked about earlier and some Belgian peanut butter!  It does exist!  So thank you thank you!  (And please tell Anouk congratulations for me :)  After receiving these exciting gifts, I met most of the club informally before my presentation which was very nice, but also a bit counter-productive.  You see, my presentation (as instructed by Rotary International) was about me.  I am supposed to go to these Rotary clubs and tell them who I am, where I am from, what I am studying, why I came to Belgium . . . etc.  The problem is, when you meet the club before hand, all of these questions are usually asked and answered by way of small-talk.  It got to the point where I was telling people (jokingly of course) that I couldn't answer anymore questions because it would ruin my presentation.  I wasn't even safe with the topic of Cardinal's baseball!  It was quite hilarious.  Anyway, the lunch was fun as I was seated at the President's table between Paul and Piet, so even though I understood maybe five words of the meeting, I had an enjoyable lunch-time conversation.

Side note, Rotary really needs to rethink sending people to a country (or a region) where they do not speak the native language.  I was told that my French and English would be adequate to study and give presentations to the clubs, and that is true.  However, I feel terrible that I do not speak Flemish.  And I feel even worse that I do not really have the time to learn with my current academic schedule.  I know my presentations are understood, but I believe that speaking the language of the people you are living amongst is a simple sign of respect.

Okay, side note over.  Back to my interesting afternoon.  I met tons of kind, interesting, and hospitable Rotarians and it was very nice to be introduced to the club.  The flag-exchanging ceremony went well, too.  So I am looking forward to coming back!

After the meeting I attempted to do work without much success.  At five-o-clock I received a lovely Halloween surprise from Kaatje and Paul!  Kaatje brought me this lovely flower arrangement.  She said they couldn't bring me a pumpkin but at least it is something orange.  I totally agree.  So thank you both so much!  I absolutely love the flowers.  They brighten my room and they brightened my day!  They were just what I needed.

After a dinner of a peanut butter and honey sandwich (YAY!)  Rita and I went over to another residence to celebrate our friend Juliana's birthday.  It was a nice relaxing evening with good friends, good music, and lots of pictures.  I opted out of the giant Halloween party (I never could find a costume anyway) which was just as well because I had had a wonderful day.  So I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!  Keep the comments coming, I love hearing from everyone!

Peace, Love, and Waffles