Home Sweet Home.

FINALLY!!!!! After living at my parents' for what seems like an eternity, we are moving out. We closed on our condo yesterday. The fact that it cost us about $80,000 more than our HOUSE in West Jordan and is also half the size should probably bother me, but it doesn't. Living in Norway you can't let stuff like that bother you. Then you'll be bothered about everything and I refuse to live life like that.

I really want to pay tribute to my parents who are A-W-E-S-O-M-E! They are the most generous and caring people on the planet. They have been so patient with us mooching off of them, and not to mention so patient with having 2 little kids in the house again. I am so fortunate to have such great parents.

Being a home owner again feels great. I can't wait to get all our stuff out of storage. I've almost forgotten what we have stored there. It will almost be like getting all new stuff. We don't move until April, so it's a little long to wait, but that's OK. More time to save some more money and enjoy my Mom's great cooking. He, he.... Come April it will be soups and Ramen Noodles again.

Here are some pictures. (The furniture obviously belongs to the current owner.)

Hallway:

Dining area:

Living room:

Kitchen:

Bathroom:

Bedrooms: (There are 3, but I only have pictures of 2 of them)

Sunroom:

Torture.

YAWN! Happy New Year! I just have to say that it's a hard life, going back to work after 12 days off and all. Especially when those 12 days have been 12 lazy days. But I'm the first to admit that it was great to be lazy. It was great to spend time with the family and enjoy the holidays. I will give an update on The Present (my hubby's much anticipated present) later as it wouldn't be right to publish the story without pictures to go along with it.

I just wanted to let everyone know we survived the holidays. Nobody consumed a lethal amount of food or went in to sugar shock, nobody had a heart attack at the arrival of Santa or during the present ceremony, and most importantly, nobody froze to death. And that in itself really is a miracle because the weather gods forgot about us mortals before they went on vacation and left the temprature at a very cold and uncomfortable level. At least I think 6°F is cold and uncomfortable. Especially when you know you have to go ice skating because your daughter has been asking for days to go, and you don't have anything warm to wear on the lower part of your body.

So, yesterday it was back to work for me. And just to make it even harder to get out of a nice, warm bed, the thermostat showed -17°C, which is about 1°F. It was so cold I thought the few brain cells I have left after having 2 kids would freeze. It should be illegal to go outside when it's that cold. What was even more shocking was when I saw a lady jogging! "What are these Norwegians made of?" I asked myself and once again questioned my own nationality as I know for a fact that I am not made of the same material.

Christmases past.

Can I just tell you that I love Christmas? Well, I'm going to anyways. I love the lights, the music, the food, the baking, the gift wrapping, the decorations, the stories, the feeling, the movies, and most of all all the traditions. If you're a ba humbug kind of person, expect a kick in the rear end from me.

This last week I've been thinking about Christmases past. I remember one year my brother made me cry on Christmas Eve. How evil is that? Making a little kid cry is the one thing that is completely taboo on Christmas Eve. I guess one important fact worth mentioning is that it wasn't really his fault. We were having our traditional Norwegian dessert: rice cream with an almond hidden in it. Whoever gets the almond, wins a marzipan pig. He got the pig, I didn't. Which is why I cried.

Then there's the Christmas I figured out that Santa isn't real. (Or is he?) My oldest brother was Santa that year, and my comment to Santa when he walked through the door with all the presents was "Take off your mask." I guess the disappointment was so big that I couldn't even play along to make him feel better as I'm sure he didn't exactly jump for joy when asked to be Santa.

One year, while living in the States, my sister and I completely failed the baking test. We were trying to make some Norwegian butter cookies, but something went wrong and all the small cookies just blended together on the baking sheet and came out of the oven as one large cookie. Don't even ask me how it's possible.

Another year my husband and I decided to get the flue shot. We were deadly ill for over 2 weeks, and of course during Christmas. So sad. Quite depressing as a matter of fact. (We were both suffering in bed and swimming in tissues while everyone else in the world celebrated a new millenium with excitement and expectation. Sympathy is always appreciated and welcomed.)

The ultimate Christmas was 10 years ago. That's when my then boyfriend came to visit and we got engaged. The best Christmas EVER!!!

I can honestly say I honor the Spirit of Christmas past, present and future. "God bless us, everyone!"

Christmas surprise.

I like to start my Christmas shopping early. Not because I'm the ultimate super planner, but because I like to keep my sanity during the Christmas season. I hate shopping in December when the malls are overcrowded, the stores are understocked, my wallet is starving and my blood pressure is reaching dangerous territory.

The only disadvantage about getting my shopping done early, is that I have to wait for so long to give the presents away. It's especially hard when you find the perfect present for someone. I get really excited about this. Just like a kid waiting to open presents, I jump up and down with excitement and anticipation about giving the perfect present. Like that one Christmas when I got my husband his Star Wars Monopoly game. I ordered it on line and had it sent to a neighbor's house. Not only was I worried my husband might find it hidden in the closet, I was actually more worried I just wouldn't be able to stand it any longer and just give it to him early.

Classic pre-Christmas conversation:

Me: "Honey, I got you the coolest thing for Christmas."

Hubby: "Cool!"

Me: "It's just so cool, I can't wait to give it to you!"

Hubby: "Cool!"

Me: "I'm just really excited about it!"

Hubby: "Cool!"

Me: "Do you want me to give you a hint about what I got you?"

Hubby: "Not really."

Me: "Are you sure?"

Hubby. "Yeah."

Me: "But it's a really cool present."

Hubby: "But I want it to be a surprise."

Me: "Are you sure?"

And so on.....

So, I got my husband's Christmas present a month and a half ago. And this year I really got the coolest present!!! I can't wait to give it to him. It's the ultimate present. I know he will jump through the roof when he opens it. I got him .............

And of course I can't post it on my blog. Yet. In case he decides to pop in and read. So you'll have to wait until after Christmas to find out what I got him. If I can stand the torture of having to wait. So far so good. Just about another 478 hours to go. Happy Waiting!!!

The Meat Market served its purpose.

Once upon a time (15 years ago to be exact), I was loafing around in the US. Without a care in the world, I just wanted to enjoy life and play. Which I did. It was brilliant.

But the fun is more fun when shared. So luckily my friend Judith (or better known to some as Jude) was in the area as well. We took advantage of our carefree life and soon become experts in a number of different areas: which single wards were the best, which movies were playing at the dollar theatre, how to best achieve a strike while bowling, what's the minimum amount of sleep required in order to still function and so on. And of course we became experts on church dances. It's almost like we developed an addiction for them. Which really, when I think about it, is quite a mystery to me. I think you should know that I really am not that fond of dancing. Jude is, though. So I guess my fondness for the oposite sex was enough to get me to go to The Meat Market, a.k.a YSA Church Dances.

There is quite a variety of products to choose from at this Meat Market. Something for everyone, I guess you could say. In fact, I found it quite entertaining just to observe all the products.

One night while dancing the night away with all kinds of products, a very juicy steak asked me to dance with him. He didn't have to ask me twice. We danced together for a while. This in itself is quite an accomplishment. If you dance more than the 2 "I'm-a-good-mannered-and-polite-kid" dances, you've sent The Signal. Meaning that you don't think your dance partner is a stalker or otherwise abnormal and weird. I acutally found this Prime Steak fascinating and worth my precious social time. When he later asked for my phone number, I did not hesitate to give it to him. He was later informed that this was a rare treat and he should consider himself lucky.

What I didn't know was that he had a friend who had previously asked me for my phone number, which I had elegantly declined. Now he had asked the Prime Steak to get my phone number for him. Lucky for me he kept it to himself and ended up marrying me 6 years later.

So, The Meat Market served its purpose, thanks to Jude and her passion for dancing.

BOOOOO!

Halloween is an absolutely fabulous holiday. Since I didn't start celebrating Halloween until I was 27, you could say that I have the mentality of a 9 year old when it comes to Halloween. I love the decorations, the pumpkins, the costumes, the candy and just the whole atmosphere. I'm glad to see Halloween forcing its way through a stubborn and somewhat narrow minded Norwegian barrier.

The day after Halloween we went to a Halloween party arranged by our 7 year old ballerina's dancing school. The party was at Hoppeloppeland, which is an indoor playground with all kinds of fun stuff. This is when I realized that I'm not the only one with the mentality of a 9 year old. Check this out:

That's my wonderful hubby feeling right at home among all the other kids.

We had a fun Halloween with plenty of sugar and a high energy level, as well as plenty of fun and games with some great friends.

I figured I'd better post some Halloween pictures before Christmas comes around. Which technically is very tricky since I basically would have to post them before Halloween (Christmas comes around early even in Norway.)

A man of many talents.....

Clearly ambitious.

Last night my husband came home from work with post-it notes stuck to his shirt. This may seem odd to you, but just so you know, it is actually perfectly normal. At least on the day before the US election. My husband had made his own election stash (i.e election buttons) from post-it notes to let everyone know who he voted for. I just really don't have a comment for this. I'm utterly speechless.

When my 7 year old asked him why he had notes stuck to his shirt, he jumped on the teaching opportunity and explained the election to her. When we told her that she can vote when she's 18, even in both the US AND Norway, she was deep in thought. She then proceeded to inform us that when she is 18, she will be the president, and we can vote for her. I always knew she had lofty goals, and I will support her all the way!

I asked her what she will do for her country when she's president. She thought for a minute before she campaigned for freedom to choose and a zero-tolerance policy for animal cruelty. There you have it. No doubt a presidential candidate to my liking.