Where are the preservatives?

Everytime I think I have things figured out here...

I was getting some ingredients out for a marinade yesterday, and one of the ingredients was cider vinegar. I had bought some after we moved here, and I got it out. But I noticed that there was this white sludge at the top -- like a slimy moldy piece of goo. Immediately cursing at how quickly everything seems to spoil around here, I called good old mom to vent. She told me that it was probably something called "mother of vinegar" and that her grandmother had used it to make her own vinegar. Skeptical, I did some research on the internet, and sure enough, it was true (www.solutions.uiuc.edu/content.cfm?series=3&item=295&Parents=0%7C28). Not that I didn't believe my mom -- but this goo just looked too nasty to be there on purpose. So I filtered the needed vinegar through a coffee filter. I'll be using it tomorrow, so I'll let you know (if I never blog again, you'll know that mother of vinegar isn't a good thing).

I was nearly in my first accident today. I was driving down the street, not thinking about whether I was on a priority road or not. I drove by a street, and a car coming out to my right laid on the horn. Ooops. I was supposed to stop to let this car on the right pull out. Luckily, he was more used to the "priority on the right" rule than me (or, should I say, he was more used to people not paying attention to priority on the right), and we escaped unscathed. This time. It's really hard to get used to the idea that sometimes, the car on the right has the right to pull out in front of me.

The kids and I were out and about , trying to find a windmill. There's an old one not too far from our house, and we'd seen it from far away but I wanted to see what it was like up close (answer: abandoned, shut down, and fenced off). Another disappointment for the kids.

So then we went out to Baby 2000 to try to find more pacifiers for Jack. (I've decided I'm just going to overload his crib with pacifiers in the hopes that he can find them himself in the middle of the night.) Of course, they didn't have his Nuks. But before we discovered that, we spent time trying to find a parking spot. It was completely packed (everyone goes shopping on Saturday, since everything closes early during the week and is closed on Sunday) -- much like it would be on the day after Thanksgiving. A lot of stores also had "Sale" signs in the windows. There are sales only 2 times a year, and I guess now is the time (hmmmmmm....wonder if there is some shopping in my future).

For those who are curious, the greek food that I picked up at the market today was delicious beyond words.

My French lessons continue to go well -- I just had my third one. While I don't yet know a ton, I'm starting to recognize a little more (though not enough for conversations to make sense), and at least I'm learning more about the language. Whoever decided that nouns need to be either masculine or feminine have my eternal scorn. Really, why is that necessary? Although the cashier at the pet store says that learning English is way more difficult. Could be, but I have my doubts.

The prices for flights to Brussels are dropping to $540 (round trip from St. Louis) once you hit September, so if you're thinking of visiting, the fall is the time for you!

I can't tell you all how much I would like Taco Bell right now. Isn't that a strange thing to miss? All this wonderful food, and I miss Tacos. My Starbucks withdrawal has abated a little bit, as I've discovered an instant cappuccino mix that is surprisingly awesome. I'm not one for rehydrating my coffee normally, but this is quite delicious.

Next weekend, we're going to a July 4th (belated) celebration at the Brussels American school, sponsored by the military. Real barbecue, kids' activities, and fireworks at dusk (which is 11 p.m.). We obviously won't make it to the fireworks, but it should be a nice time nonetheless.

Time to go study my French. Bon soiree!