So, it dawned on me this quiet, snowy morning, as I sipped at my coffee and watched the last bit of Moonstruck that was playing on tv, that I'm leaving in four weeks.  FOUR WEEKS!  I'm going to Belgium - alone - in four weeks.  What have I done?  What am I doing?  I think I might have even had a little anxiety attack about it, to tell you the truth.  Yikes.  One Month  Belgium.  Alone. 

I know it's a great adventure.  And I think, deep down, that I'll probably have the most amazing time.  But the execution of it - the actual getting there - is completely overwhelming me today.  For the most part, since I booked my trip, I've pushed the reality of it of out my brain.  I was stressing so much about booking the trip - should I, shouldn't I - that was it was done, I just stopped dwelling on it.  Today, again, I'm back to dwelling on it.  What have I done?  What am I doing?  And I have a knot in my stomach. 

So many 'what ifs' are playing through my mind.  What if I get sick?  What if I get lost?  (Okay, not that one so much, I do have a good sense of direction thanks to my Dad, but still, nothing will be in english.  The chances of getting myself re-oriented are significantly less)  What if I get on the wrong train?  What if I have a horrible time?  What if I get abducted on my maybe Paris day trip?  (Again, far fetched, I know, but I do worry about this)  What if I hate my own company after Day One?  What if I get hit by a bus and my family is far away and there's no one to help me?  What if, what if, what if.  

There is no going back.  I know that.  It's planned and booked and paid for and I'm going.  But, what if?   How about this?  What if I have the best experience of  my life?  What if my whole outlook on life changes because of this trip?  What if I meet new friends?  What if I see the colourful tulips blooming in The Netherlands? What if I eat the most amazing chocolate I've ever had?  What if I realize one of my dreams and see the Eiffel Tower?  What if I love it so much, I don't want to come home?   What if I discover the origin of Frenched Fries? :P What if?  

So, I am trying to look at the positive of this crazy idea of mine, and not freak out too much.  But guess what?  Today I am freaking out a bit.   Remember how I wrote about having a bawl in a public toilet somewhere in Europe?  I'm not exacty bawling today, I'm just a little overwhelmed at what I've committed myself to.  Can I really do this?  I guess I have no choice - I'm doing it.  And it will either break me or prove that I can do anything.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger (and yes, I am putting that song on the Belgium playlist!).  This won't kill me, I know that.  But I think it will test my limits.   That's not a bad thing.  Just scary. 

Wow, this has turned into quite a serious post.  Wasn't expecting that, readers.  But there you have it.  You said you wanted to read about all the preparations.  This is all part of it.  What if.   Tell me your what if's.  T, what if.........   Share all the what if's I haven't thought about.  I need some more stuff to obsess over, because clearly I like to torture myself.  hehehe 

T.
xx

PS:  Next time we'll talk about something funner.  Promise.  :) 

WOW!  Okay, first of all, I have say a big thank you to everyone who popped in here over the last few days.  WOW!  I am in shock; especially seeing some of you that I haven't talked to in a while.  And you know who you are, I won't say names.  I don't know if its blog etiquette to say 'hey', but 'hey'.  It's my blog and I can say 'hey' if I want to, right?  Yep.  :)   I could blab on for  ages about Carlos musings and black and white photos and oil paintings (good  one, Cindy!), but I fear none of that has anything to do with Belgium!  I'm going to try and stick to form if at all possible.  But anyone that knows me,  knows when I write, I tend to get off key rather quickly.  It's one of my  quirkies.   Ha.   I will save Carlos musings for a day when I don't have  anything to talk about, okay? 

So, second, I'll tell you where the title of the post came from.  The songs part is inspired from a FABULOUS concert I went to last night and the idea just sort hit me upside the head in the middle of a song.  And then I thought.......I have to blog about this!  So, thank you Dierks Bentley (who I got to meet, by the way, and who was so kind and sweet and who also rocked the house (yes, T does like to rock and roll despite her Divo affection)) for the brilliant idea. I think we're all going to have a load of fun with it.  But.......I'll get to it in a minute.  First let's chat about the "Soles" part.  

I love all the advice about what shoes to pack.  Really, I do.  Soooo much.  As someone commented, I wish I had a special man to wear those fancy heels for (not a word, Dad, not one word!) but alas, I do not.   That in itself could be ten blog posts, so we won't go there quite yet in the saga.  hehe  I'll save that for another day too.  So, of course I need to bring flats along, but have you ever heard of flats that convert into high heels?  No?   Well, neither have I.  Nope.  But they exist!  Can you believe it?  A fellow Canadian sent me this amazing picture, so I just have to post it here for everyone to see.  Aren't they just the coolest?  Seriously? 

I'm probably a bit slow on the uptake, but it took me a second to figure out how it worked, but I've got it now.  The bright pink high heel tucks into the bottom - or sole - of the shoe to make a flat.  There must be a flexible bendy part, or it wouldn't work and would be uncomfortable.  I'm sure the shoe engineers thought of that, because it must have been a girl who invented them, right?  LOL  Probably Canadian too.  :P  I have no idea where to get them or who makes them, I just thought they were the coolest thing I saw this week (besides Dierks, of course).  I love how they're in patent black; with pink accents.  The best combo.  Although I wonder if they come in red.  Hmmm.........

Okay, onto the 'Songs' part.  So, in the middle of Dierks' song, Free and Easy, it occurred to me that I needed to create a playlist for my iTouch for Belgium.  A playlist of fun, upbeat, you can do this and don't be a chicken T, songs.  Because I know there will be days, or moments, at least, that I will be completely overwhelmed and probably having a boo-hoo in some public toilet somewhere in Europe wondering what the heck I am doing there.  So.......I need positive, musical courage at my fingertips for those moments, which means I need to start compiling some songs.  And I need your help.   Will you help?

I've only got two songs so far.  I need lots more.  LOTS MORE!   One is the song that inspired the idea.........Free and Easy Down the Road I Go.  IE:  Don't be stressed, T, you can do this.   Free and Easy without a care in the world.  Song two is by my boy Keith, of course.  Days Go By.  A song that can pretty much convince me to do loads of things I'm afraid to do.  'You better start living right now, because days go by'.  Another shot of........you can do this.  You may never get the chance again, so just do it.   See, positive, upbeat, it's okay, don't freak out songs.  This is an adventure, not a big mistake.  Be happy.  Don't be bawling in a public toilet. 

So, suggestions?  Nothing sad or slow though, please.  These songs have to be empowering, okay?  That's my only rule.  Rule?  Well, I don't want to put rules, but you know what I mean.  LOL.  Think:  Songs that will stop T crying and get her out of the toilet.  Not songs that will put her in there.   hehehe   All genres  and years welcome.   Its a good project for us, don't you think?    I can't wait to hear all your songs, really I can't.  It's kind of exciting.  :D

Okay, this post is massively long.  And it's time for my bed.  I'll sign off for now......What's Brewin Readers.  I really need to come up with a name for you!  I'll keep working on that!    Nite nite, everyone!   Thanks for tuning in.  :D

T.
xx

PS:  Oh, before I forget.  In line with our coffee interest......since I was so tired this morning after being out late and dancing with Dierks, I had four coffees today!  Four!  Usually I have one!  So to go to four!  YIKES.  I was going to stop at three, but then someone from work brought me a Tim's and I couldn't say no to that, could I?    It was Roll up the Rim, too.   But I didn't win.  I never win.  Sigh.  And on that happy note, I shall leave you for evening, my TBrew's.  That' doesnt really work, does it?  TBrew.  Nope.  It doesn't.  Back to the drawing board.  :)

I must admit, I didn't expect to be back in here so soon.  I didn't expect eight comments on my silly little blog or 100 people to read it.  Who are you?  And I sure didn't expect my parents to log a comment!  Look at the two of you!  I am so proud of you for figuring out how to leave a comment!   (Even though I had to walk you through it on the phone!  LOL)  I'm very impressed.  Really!  Bravo! 

Okay, so Chris and Birgit........do you know what you started with that comment about Dutch Coffee Houses?  I honestly thought it was a brothel.  I did!  :)  But the moment I typed it into Google.......out came the truth!  Dutch Coffee Houses are.......well, am I allowed to say this?  Well, I can't imagine why not.  Because I'm sure half the world doesn't know.  This would educate them; like it educated me!  Although, according to Papa Brewin, he was very well aware of what they were.  How exactly do you know that, Dad?  Hmmmm? 

Anyhow, for those who may be in search of some, well, certain mostly illegal grasses that are rolled up in paper and smoked; a Dutch Coffee House might be the place for you.  I didn't read far enough along to determine if other types of..........well, drugs.......are available at these places.   I just know I won't be going to one!  I think the Belgian Coffee Houses sound nicer; real coffee and cakes.   Although, I'm already too fluffy as it is; I don't really need to eat any cakes.  :P  But if it 's cakes or grasses; well, I'm going to take the cakes.  Every single time!  :) :) :) 

So, there you have it.  Dutch Coffee Houses.  Learned something new today, didn't you?  Thanks to my Belgian girls.  If I can get it worked out; I'll bring you some really good coffee from Canada.  Tim's!   Tim's yummy yummy coffee.   :)

Now, the current dilemma for the trip is whether or not I should purchase a tablet to bring along with me, or if I should just bring my laptop.  I can't seem to post a new blog post from my iTouch, so I need to come up with Plan B.  Suggestions are most welcome.  I need to do some research.   And what else would you like to read about?  I could, in theory, post something every couple days, but I would probably bore you all to tears with my rambling.........as Mama Brewin said:  You just talked nonesense in Post One and rambled about nothing.   LOL.   Okay, Mum.  :P  

Anyhow, what are you interested it?  Trip preparations?  Dilemma's?  Tablet confusion?  Pre-trip shopping?  I might need some wardrobe and footwear advice.  I am stressing over that already.   I need comfy shoes for walking, dressy shoes for fancy restaurant visits and of course THE CONCERT!!  But I also have to walk to and from the train in my dress shoes, and I don't do so well with that, so I might need to bring my big red Carlos bag with me and hide the dressy shoes in him until I get the the venue, and then change from the comfy shoes.........SEE?  Shoe stress!!  And yes, this is really how my brain works.  Round and round and round.  And in the end, I'll bring five pairs and only wear two.  So.........shoe stress.   LOL.   Coupled with my horrible problem of over-packing, I could be in some serious trouble!  

So, I'll leave you all to stew about that for a while.   Any advice or thoughts, of course they are gladly welcome.  :)   I'm having so much fun with the blog, readers.  SOOOOOO much fun!  Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to hearing from you!   

T.
xx

What's Brewin.  Well, at first glance of that coffee cup - or first read of the title - you might think this is a blog about good coffee.  Or maybe beer.  Brewin' Coffee.  Brewin' Beer.  Get it?   Ha.  Of course you do.  But it's not about either!  At least I don't think it will be.  That's not to say you won't find mention of a decent cup of coffee if I happen to find one during my travels.   This is, I think, at least for now, the beginning, going to be a travel blog.  Whoever thought I would write a travel blog?  Not me!  But here we are.  Why, you may ask?  Why a travel blog and why call it What's Brewin?  Well......

First, the What's Brewin part.  Its just a clever play on  words that's all.  Brewin's my name.  Last name, not first.  Obviously.  Ha.  My dream was always to have a coffee shop named What's Brewin, but since it's impractical and not very likely to happen at this point in my life.....the genius of the clever play on words needs to be
used somewhere, doesn't it? What's Brewin blog it is.  Can't let a good name go
to waste now, can I?

Now, the travel part.  Well, if you would have told me I would be taking a trip alone to Europe a year ago, I would not have believed you.  I would have laughed and shaken my head and said no way.  And yet, here we are.  Wow.  So, considering that I am travelling alone and people will be worried about me - at least I hope they will be and you know who you are - and, I think there will be friends who will be interested in what I'm getting up to over there in Europe......the idea of a blog just seemed so much easier than sending mass emails out to people every day.  A blog just seemed......funner.  And yes, that is a word, by the way.  A me word.  Funner.

So, here's my idea for going forward.  There are pages to this blog.  The first one, as you can see, is......What's Brewin in Belgium.  I'll add any posts about Belgium onto the page.  I hope it works.  Since I haven't really tested it out yet, I'm not sure it will.  But one can hope.  And I will tweak as we go along.   I don't travel a lot, but usually go somewhere once a year, so my thought was to add a page for each trip. Make sense?  So, for example, maybe next year I'll go to......Oh, New York, let's say.  (That's not a bad idea, actually, must look into that!).  So the page would say, What's Brewin.....In New York.   Get it?  Got it?  Good.  I so hope it makes sense. But for today, for February 2012, we'll start small.  With Belgium.  And see how it goes. 

So, there you have it.  A travel blog called What's Brewin.  It could turn into anything.  It could be nothing and die out and fizzle.  I don't know.  But I'm going to give it a whirl.  Hope you come along.  And have fun.  And maybe smile at my crazy way of explaining things. And of course......you must leave a comment!  Especially while I'm travelling, so I can be close to my friends while I'm away and know they're thinking about me like I'm thinking about them.   Hmmmmmm, I hope this blog site lets you leave comments.  I should have checked that out!   Let's assume it does.  Okay?  Okay. 

And this, I guess, is the end of Post One.  Check back now and again. I may have some random thoughts as I begin preparing for this trip.   I wonder if they should go on the Belgium page or here on the home page.  Hmmmmmmm.......

As you can see, I'm terrible at making up mind!   I'll leave you with that, my friends. I need to come up with a name for you all.   Brewin's........   Brewin's what?  Hmmmmm........  More things to think about! 

T.
xxx

PS:  You might wonder about the picture.  Well.......It's Carlos.  He's a handsome man.  And since I had this picture, and he was holding a coffee cup, and the blog is called What's Brewin.........I just had to use it now, didn't I?  Uh-huh, Uh-huh.