Ah crap!

Jeg er lige blevet ringet op af Nordea, som undrede sig over nogle bevægelser på min konto, og ville høre om jeg havde autoriseret at der blev trukket US$1400 sent i går aftes. Eh, nej! Ganske vidst brugte jeg mit kort i går, men ikke online og BESTEMT ikke for et så højt beløb - det ville jeg have kunnet huske! (Ganske vist køber jeg meget online, men ikke for så store beløb... selv en tiendedel ville være usædvanligt).

Men hvor er det heldigt at de holder øje med sådanne ting - transaktionen var ikke engang kommet på min netbank endnu. Jeg gad dog vide hvad det er der får dem til at tage kontakt til kunden... det kan næsten kun være beløbet, for jeg køber jo tit ting online, men i følge hende jeg snakkede med var det den eneste "mystiske" transaktion. Jeg har heldigvis holdt øje med min konto de sidste par dage, så jeg kunne hurtigt sige at alt op til og med i går var rigtigt nok.

Jeg spurgte hvor pengene var trukket til, men det måtte hun tilsyneladende ikke sige. Det giver vel egentlig mening, men hvis mit kort er blevet "compromised" fordi jeg har brugt det på en forkert internet side (og jeg kan ikke helt se, hvad ellers det skulle være), ville jeg gerne prøve at se om jeg kunne udlede noget og finde ud af hvilken.

Nu skal jeg bare finde ud af hvordan jeg lige får købt ind i dag, for de har spærret mit kort (selvfølgelig!), jeg har ikke ret mange kontanter på mig, og jeg får muligvis først fri efter bankerne er lukket (det er heldigvis torsdag, så der er en chance for at det går). Ah well, jeg har stadig mit Master Card på mig, så hvis alt andet fejler kan jeg da bruge det.

Men som sagt, jeg er meget taknemmelig over at de opdagede det så hurtigt og straks ringede til mig!

Og så den mindre vigtige ting: bah, nu skal jeg til at lære et nyt kortnummer udenad! (Ja, jeg kan mit Visa/Dankortnummer udenad... eller kunne i hvert fald - det gør det så meget lettere når jeg køber ting online). Det gamle var så let fordi der var en masse gentagelser. Ah well, jeg plejer at være god til tal, så mon ikke det går ;)

Bøger læst i november

Alcott, Louisa May: An Old-Fashioned Girl, 10/10
Anderson, Jodi Lynn: Peaches, 8/10 (Tellerup)

Canavan, Trudi: The High Lord (The Black Magician Trilogy 3), 10/10
Canavan, Trudi: The Novice (The Black Magician Trilogy 2), 9/10
Chidley, Elise: Your Roots Are Showing, 8/10

Fitzpatrick, Becca Ajoy: Hush, Hush, 6/10 (Tellerup)

Gordon, Noah: The Death Committee, 6/10

Hendrix, Lisa: Immortal Warrior, 9/10

Keyes, Marian: Last Chance Saloon, 9/10

Lenahan, John: Shadowmagic, 7/10 (Tellerup)

Pickens, Andrea: The Spy Wore Silk, 9/10

Ronald, Margaret: Spiral Hunt, 8/10 (Tellerup)

Seth, Vikram: A Suitable Boy, 7/10

Webster, Jean: Dear Enemy, 9/10

Akiane

I recently bought the book "Akiane: Her Life, Her Art, Her Poetry" and was completely blown away by the talents of this young girl. I was first introduced to her through this youtube video of an interview with her - she's a child prodigy who at the age of 4 told her atheist mother that God had spoken to her and then started drawing/painting the images He showed her. She's never taken any art lessons but doesn't consider herself "self-taught", rather she's "God-taught" as she views all her talents as God-given and wants to use them to help others.

With a few notable exceptions, I'm no great lover of poetry, so I can't vouch for her talent there, but her paintings are amazing. They'd be gorgeous no matter what, but knowing that they were painted by a pre-teen (she's only just turned 13) makes them even more incredible. They're so far beyond her years in both technique and concept. I wish I could afford prints of some of them, but unfortunately they go for more than $1500, so I don't see that happening any time soon.

Most of her artwork/poetry can be seen at her website, I've just decided to show some of my favourites here.


Father Forgive Them - Age 9


Found - Age 9


Co-Creating - Age 11


The Separation - Age 11

The rest of her work can be found in her gallery. This is only a very, very small selection, because she's an extremely prolific painter.

Bøger læst i oktober

Abdel-Fattah, Randa: Does My Head Look Big In This, 9/10
Abrahamson, Eric: A Perfect Mess, 7/10

Cabot, Meg: Avalon High, 9/10

Gayle, Mike: My Legendary Girlfriend, 3/10

Hart, Raven: The Vampire's Revenge, 7/10, Armchair Interviews Review

Jackson, Neta: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught (Book 5), 9/10
Jackson, Neta: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out (book 7), 10/10
Månedens bog: Jackson, Neta: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling (book 6), 10/10
Jackson, Neta: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough (Book 4), 10/10
Jürgensen, Dennis: Sagen om den brændende klovn (The case of the Burning Clown, 7/10, Tellerup Review

Lund, Ulla: Frit fald over Amazonas, 8/10

Masse, Stephen V.: A Jolly Good Fellow, 7/10
Montgomery, Lucy Maud: The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volume II: 1910-1921, 8/10

Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 10/10

Westerfeld, Scott: Extras (Uglies #4), 8/10

The Bible in a Minute

Too good not to share. Den varer kun 52 sekunder - AFGJORT tiden værd.

Flere bøger... tro det eller lad være

Bare for det tilfældes skyld at jeg ikke syntes jeg havde nok bøger at læse er jeg nu blevet hyret som engelsk konsulent for Tellerup (de spurgte mig også om jeg ville være tysk konsulent, men der måtte jeg sige nej tak!), så nu skal jeg være med til at anbefale bøger til oversættelse. Fun! :-D

We're going!!!! :-D

Jeps, Mixi og jeg skal til London til january til en New Kids on the Block koncert.
17 år forsinket - it's about time! :-D

Jeg havde stort set besluttet mig i går - snakkede med en af mine venner om det, og at jeg ikke var helt sikker på, om det ville være det værd. Hendes svar var, "Maria, hvad vil du fortryde når du er 80?" Ja, ok så.

Så i går aftes tænkte jeg på at Mixi jo normalt er til boybands, til koncerter og (især) til London, så jeg ringede til hende for at høre om hun ville med, hvis vi gav koncertbilletten i julegave. Would she EVER! Hun skulle bare lige høre om hun kunne få fri, og så var hun frisk.

Det gjorde hun, og det kunne hun, så jeg bestilte billetter og nu skal vi afsted! Forfærdelige billetter - ude til siden, oppe øverst, men hvad. Uanset hvad bliver det en oplevelse.

Min indre 11-årig sidder og hopper så højt at min ydre 29-årig er lige ved at følge med. Jeg har ingen anelse om hvordan koncerten bliver, men jeg GLÆDER mig :-D

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! :-D

New Kids on the Block

For et par måneder siden hørte jeg rygter om at New Kids on the Block var samlet igen og igang med at optage et nyt album. Min indre 11-årig løftede interesseret hovedet, men da jeg ikke hørte mere om det, faldt hun til ro igen.

I går sad jeg så og så nogle gamle NKOTB musikvideoer på YouTube og skimmede de øverste kommentarer: "I'm going to their concert next week. Can't WAIT!" "Just saw them in concert yesterday, they were GREAT".

:-O

Google to the rescue - selvfølgelig har de en officiel hjemmeside, og den er god nok. Ikke alene har de fundet sammen igen, de udgav et nyt album i sommers, og er i øjeblikket på tourne i USA og kommer til Europa til januar!

11-årige Maria måtte holde sig selv for munden for ikke at 'squee' (uoversætteligt!) alt for højt. Men æv! De kommer ikke til Danmark. Irland, England, Holland og Tyskland... ikke Danmark.

Jeg brokkede mig over det til Lars, og sagde i spøg at jeg måske bare skulle tage til London og høre dem der. "Ja, det kan du da sagtens! Så kan jeg give dig billetterne i julegave" !!! Okaaay... jeg havde på intet tidspunkt seriøst overvejet det, men nu skulle jeg lige pludselig til at finde ud af om det rent faktisk ville være det værd. Lars skal arbejde den weekend, så han ville ikke kunne komme med. Ikke at det er noget problem, men det er altid rarest at rejse sammen med nogen.

Min største bekymring er om jeg vil kunne lide deres nye musik. Jeg elsker "Step By Step", men det album er fra 1990, og jeg kan ikke rigtig regne med de vil spille så mange 'oldies' til koncerten. Hvis det var en 'nostalgi' koncert med alle deres gamle numre ville der slet ikke være nogen tvivl, men nu... Tja, jeg havde slet ikke hørt deres nye album endnu.

Det har jeg så nu. Jeg købte det online og downloadede det for at lytte til. Jeg foretrækker stadig langt deres tidligere musik, men det er måske også unfair at sammenligne sange jeg har hørt 3 gange med sange jeg har hørt et sted mellem 300 og 3000 (hvis det kan gøre det) gange. De er ganske gode... men gode nok til at det er det værd at tage til London for at høre dem? I don't know...

Mit rationelle jeg tænker, "Nah, det er nok ikke det værd. Især ikke når jeg skal afsted alene. Jeg venter bare og ser om de kommer til Danmark en gang i fremtiden." Mit 11-årige jeg tænker, "Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!!!!"

Ved endnu ikke helt hvilket 'jeg' jeg skal lytte til, så nu bliver jeg ved med at tænke og lytte weekenden over, og så skal jeg bestemme mig. Det ville trods alt være FOR ærgeligt at beslutte mig for at tage afsted, og så finde ud af at koncerten er udsolgt.

Bøger læst i september

Armstrong, Kelley: Bitten, 9/10

Bourdain, Anthony: Kitchen Confidential, 9/10

Canavan, Trudi: The Magicians' Guild, 8/10
Carmody, Isobelle: Ashling (The Obernewtyn Chronicles 3), 8/10
Carmody, Isobelle: The Farseekers (The Obernewtyn Chronicles 2), 7/10

Davis, Susie: Loving Your Man Without Losing Your Mind, 7/10

Fowler, Karen Joy: The Jane Austen Book Club, 7/10

Jones, Diana Wynne: Spellcoats (Dalmark Quartet #3), 7/10, Tellerup Review

Lee, Tosca: Demon: a memoir, 8/10, Armchair Interviews Review

McCaffrey, Anne: Dragondrums (Harper's Hall #3), 7/10
McCaffrey, Anne: Dragonflight, 8/10
McCaffrey, Anne: Dragonsinger (Harper's Hall #2), 10/10
McCaffrey, Anne: Dragonsong (Harper's Hall #1), 9/10
McKillip, Patricia: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, 7/10

Pickens, Andrea: The Scarlet Spy, 9/10, Armchair Interviews Review
Pierce, Tamora: Kejserindens vrede (Cirklen gendannes 2), 9/10, Tellerup Review

Rothfuss, Patrick: Vindens navn (Kongedræberkrøniken 1), 9/10, Tellerup Review

Månedens bog: See, Lisa: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, 9/10

Menighedsråd

Der var opstillingsmøde for det nye menighedsråd i går, og jeg må sige, jeg har en rigtig god mavefornemmelse omkring det. Jeg tror vi har fået nogle rigtig gode folk ind i det - både som faste og suppleanter - personer der ikke umiddelbart virker som om har deres egne kæpheste at ride.

Der er også kommet flere unge (eller yngre - alt efter hvordan man ser på det), hvilket jo bare er helt fint!

Nej, jeg tror, det bliver rigtig godt, og glæder mig til at komme i gang.

I like this quote!

Live your life in a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the Devil says, "Shit, she's awake.."

Ved desværre ikke hvor den kommer fra.

Billeder

En glad unge.

From Misc

Hvorfor må jeg ikke komme ud i køkkenet? Der er meget mere spændende!

From Misc

Bah! Så sover jeg da bare i stedet!

From Misc

En glad moster.

From Misc

Når bare man har Elliot kan man sove hvorsomhelst.

From Misc

Og fra lørdag aften hjemme hos Henriette.
Vi prøver vores nye spil.

From Misc

Fuldstændig forrykt... på den HELT rigtige måde.

A few photos...

... of stuff I bought :-D








No, not all of them ;) I use Swarovski crystals as somewhat more expensive but also durable souvenirs. The parrot is from Livigno, Italy; the cat from Zell am Ziller, Austria; the porcupine from Berlin, Germany; the owl from Amsterdam, Holland; and the two turtles from London, England.

Yes, I went to London and didn't buy a single item of clothing. On the other hand, I think I only bought about half the movies and books I'd like to. And I was very sensible and chose the second-cheapest Swarovski figure.... when I really wanted this one. But £125... that's a lot of money!

(see previous post for a description of our vacation)

London - LONG post

Thursday
We got up much too early in order to be at the airport by 8am. Had plenty of time until 5 minutes before we had to go when time suddenly ran away from me. Have NO clue how that happened, but we ended up leaving at the last minute - made worse by the fact that my suitcase accidentally opened as I picked it up, and I had to rush to get everything back. Not impressed! We made the bus with time to spare though, and the rest of the trip was uneventful. We met up with Henni at the airport, our flight wasn't delayed, and we had no problems getting to the hotel and checking in. Well... almost no problems. Lars' and my room wasn't ready when we arrived, but we just stuck out suitcases in Henni's room and left for the city. No big deal. We stayed at the same hotel as last time - a small one 2 minutes walk by Kings Cross Station. Nothing special, but when all you need is a place to sleep at night and some easy breakfast, then it's nice and central.

Lars went out trainspotting, and Henni and I decided to walk up and down Oxford Street to get a feel of the city. We did a lot of browsing, but actually didn't buy anything the first day, as we figured we'd have plenty of time to return later in the week, so Lars actually ended up spending more money than we did! Something we teased him about mercilessly :-D I love the atmosphere of London, so it was nice to just stroll around and reacquaint myself with the city.

We met up with Lars by Piccadelly Circus at 7pm and at my recommendation had dinner at T.G.I.Fridays. I think their food is absolutely delicious, and as we don't have the chain in Denmark, I try to go whenever I'm in London.

After dinner we went back to the hotel for a cup of tea at our room before going to bed.

Friday
Lars went out trainspotting again as he'd actually managed to arrange a tour 'behind the scenes' at Kings Cross and St. Pancreas. Nice! Even I thought that sounded interesting. Henni and I had decided to do some proper sight-seeing today, and as the weather was decent we started by heading towards London Eye (135m). I've wanted to go practically ever since it was build, but it's quite expensive, so I hadn't gotten around to it before now. I'm glad I finally got to go up though! Sure it was expensive (£15.5), but actually worth it I thought. Because we arrived so early there was no cue at all, and we could enjoy the view on the 30 minutes it took to make a full rotation. GORGEOUS view especially towards Big Ben.

After we got back down again we discovered that each 'wagon' (have no clue what else you'd call them) was checked by two people working there before the next load was let on. They used special canes with mirrors on to check underneath the bench and on top of the ventilation for things left behind - intentionally or not. I'm glad I didn't notice that until afterwards, because it did make me wonder if they were just being careful, or if they had a reason to be paranoid.

Anyway, from the London Eye we'd seen a museum called the Movieum, so decided to go check that out. It was located in the old county hall building, and it took us awhile to find the proper entrance. When there we asked if we could buy the tickets there, or if we had to go to one of the special ticket booths they had around the city.
"You have to go to one of the booths."
"Oh, okay. Do you know where the nearest one is, and what the tickets cost?"
"10 pounds, but I can sell them to you here."
Whereupon he proceeded to sell us two children's tickets for £7 each! Henni and I discussed afterwards if he was just being nice or if it was an unsuccessful attempt to chat us up. The museum was quite interesting with lots of props from different movies (British and American both) and fun facts. It'd be fun to go again in a couple of years to see what's changed.

My leg was starting to ache around now, but we knew there was a Florence Nightingale museum nearby and wanted to see that as well before lunch. It was okay, but I didn't feel I learned as much about her as I would've liked, so probably not somewhere I'd go again.

We wanted to get to the Millennium Bridge next and so walked along the Themes to get to it. On the way we found a very charming arcade called Gabriel's Wharf where they had a Crepe Cafe House that sold both savoury and sweet pancakes! The perfect place to eat lunch and rest our legs for a bit.

As the Millennium Bridge is right by Tate Modern and entrance there is free, we figured we'd take a look. They had pictures by Picasso and Monet, so it couldn't be all bad, right?

Wrong! I guess I just don't get modern art, because most of this was just plain UGLY to me. We went through half a floor and then decided it was a waste of time. The only thing I found even slightly interesting was a sculpture made out of 900 items (spoons, forks, plates, even a trombone) of silver that had been run over and flattened by a bulldozer! Everything else was either boring, ugly or both.

Ah well, at least it was free ;)

We walked back across the Themes via Millennium Bridge (which is just a pedestrian bridge, so I don't really get the fuss) to St. Paul's Cathedral. However, my legs were KILLING me at this point, so we didn't go in, but after a quick stop at Covent Garden (I wanted Henni to get a feeling of the atmosphere there - very unique) found a nice coffee-shop where we sat and read our books for a couple of hours to rest my legs.

At 6:30pm we walked back to Leicester Square to meet Lauren and Tane - my friend from NZ and her husband. It was SO GOOD to see Lauren again. She was one of my best friends in NZ, but except from half an hour in 2004 we hadn't actually seen each other since 1999, yet we immediately started talking a mile a minute just like we would've back then. Poor Henni, Lars and Tane when we got talking about old mutual friends ;) But at least they had each other. I'd never met Tane before, but he seemed really, really nice - open and friendly. I'm glad I finally got to meet him. We had dinner together at a nice Italian restaurant, and spent several hours just talking about everything. I hadn't properly realised how much I'd missed Lauren, but it was just wonderful to catch up with her again :)

We went our separate ways at around 10'ish and Henni just about laughed at me because I looked so happy :) It did make me terribly homesick though, although I'm not sure what for, as just about all my old friends have moved away from Palmy now... probably just homesick for 'back then' I guess. No matter, it was great seeing them and probably the best part of the entire trip for me.

Saturday
Lars had deigned himself to spending the day together with Henni and me - yay :) We walked from the hotel at 9:30 to make the Games shop when it opened. Unfortunately we misremembered and it opened at 11am instead of 10am, so we were an hour early! Fortunately the British Museum is right across the street from the shop, so we decided to spend the hour there, looking at Greek and Egyptian statues.

Once the shop opened we ran amok - pretty much as expected. It was rather amusing though - we were looking at extensions to Munchkin, Settlers and Carcasonne (bought one of the former and the latter) and one of the people working there came up to us while we were looking at Settlers.
"Oh, if you enjoy Settlers, you might like Carcasonne as well."
"Yes, we do, we've found an extension we like."
"Excellent! Seeing as you like those, you'll probably enjoy Munchkin as well."
"We do, we own all the extensions except this one." (holding out the one we were missing)
"Right then. I can see you know what you're doing. I'll just stop helping you now then."
We cracked up laughing :-D

After spending too much money there, we proceeded down to Oxford Street and the HUGE DVD/CD store on the corner of Oxford and Tottenham Court Road. I'm usually fairly sensible with money, but when I go to London, something snaps. Compared to Denmark, stuff's just CHEAP!

We had a quick lunch at the foodcourt of The Plaza (foodcourts are a great idea. Why hasn't Denmark noticed yet?) and then walked via Hamleys (5 story toy store) to the HUGE Waterstone's down by Piccadelly Circus. I LOVE British book stores. We have absolutely nothing like them in Denmark, which sucks. Here book stores are a lot smaller and you'd never find any with couch areas or an in-store coffee-shop. That's just not the Danish mentality. Probably just as well though, taking my weakness for books into consideration ;) Anyway, it means that once in a proper book store I can spend HOURS on end there. Fortunately Lars and Henni are almost just as bad, so none of us ended up feeling rushed or bored.

As we were having a late dinner, I decided to take Lars and Henni to the Häagen Dazs restaurant which I'd been introduced to when I was in London last. They have some expensive but DELICIOUS ice-creams :-D

Despite his love for acting, Lars has no interest at all in actually watching musicals, so we separated again for a couple of hours at 5pm - Henni and I to go see "Avenue Q", Lars... well, you guess ;)

"Avenue Q" was HILARIOUS! Not nearly as crass/crude as I'd come to expect, but really, really funny and well made. Both Henni and I loved it, and I bought the soundtrack the following day - the songs are REAL earworms though! Have any of you seen it? What did you think?

After the show we sat talking about it for awhile, until Lars had finished whatever he was doing, and found us again for dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant. Yum!

Sunday
Sunday Henni and I intended to do some more sight-seeing, but it backfired on us, as we hadn't thought as far as that most churches would be closed for tourists on Sundays!

We'd originally talked about starting at Petticoat Lane Market, but seeing how fast my leg gave up on me the previous days, we figured it was silly to use good walking time on something we weren't both all that keen on doing. Instead we went directly to Buckingham Palace to see the Royal Mews. The British royalty have some very impressive coaches... and some very UGLY ones. Still, I'd never seen them before, and it was actually quite interesting. Especially seeing the Irish Coach which was given to the royal family... on some anniversary for the Indian colony, I don't remember exactly what. Anyway, it was decorated with the English rose, the Irish shamrock, the Scottish thistle and a palm tree to symbolise India! Very nice :)

From Buckingham Palace we walked along Regents Park to Westminster Abbey (gorgeous from the outside, but entrance was £12.5 so even if it hadn't been closed, we probably wouldn't have gone in) and on to the nearest subway station to take the train to Temple, as we wanted to see the Temple church. Unfortunately the map was quite misleading, so we ended up going 3/4 around the block instead of the 1/4 it would have been if we'd gone the right way! No big deal, but we were utterly amazed at how deserted the area was. Most parts of London are buzzing even on weekends, but this basically looked like a ghost town! Anyway, we finally found the church only to discover that it was closed on weekends, so we'd have to return tomorrow. Ah well. Henni had wanted lunch at a typical London pub and there was one right by where we had a DELICIOUS lunch so it wasn't a complete waste of time :)

We went back to central London and... hmmm... I actually don't remember how we spent the rest of the day. I know it involved a "quick" stop at Foyles (another huge but not as well stocked book store) and a couple of hours spent reading at a Pret A Manger (coffee house) to cater to my bad leg (it can handle less and less for each passing day unfortunately) before meeting up with Lars for dinner.

After dinner we went back to the hotel for a cup of tea in our room and ended up talking until far too late - the atmosphere was almost slumber-party'ish. Very cozy :)

Monday
Monday was our last full day, so Henni and I decided to spend it shopping ;) Nah, not quite, but as we'd browsed a lot of shops Thursday, but not actually bought anything, we went back to many of those shops. We started by taking the train to Oxford Circus and then walked down Regent Street to the Swarovski boutique (it was too fancy to be called a mere 'shop' ;-) ). It was Henni who introduced me to the tradition of buying crystal figures when abroad, so of course we went to buy some together. There were many absolutely gorgeous figures and most of them were FAR out of our price range, but there were still enough within it that it took quite a while for us to make up our minds - and I found heaps I'd love for another time ;) Henni ended up buying a cute frog, and I two baby turtles.

From there we walked on towards Trafalgar Square to find the Kiwi shop as it had been closed Thursday (we'd actually arrived just 5 minutes after it closed - annoying!) so I could browse around and get even more homesick ;) I actually ended up not buying anything though (other than Jaffas, but that's a given, so that doesn't count!), because they didn't have the book I wanted, and buying Kiwi souvenirs in London is just a tad too sad... even for me ;)

We'd seen Sunday that Temple church was open from 12-2 on Monday, so as it was now 11:45 we decided to go back there (and got to see the changing of the guards from Horse Guard House on the way!) and this time figured we'd walk the RIGHT way around the block ;) The church wasn't anything special, but at least we got to see it. We had lunch at the same pub as the day before (I told you it was good food :) ) before we went back to Oxford Street and more shopping - Henni wanted to visit the Esprit shop and I'd found a dress I wanted to try on.

Visiting the Esprit shop really showed us just how low the pound is at the moment, because the tags there show prices in several different currencies, so we could compare the prices in Danish kroner to the price in British pound and discovered that Henni would save somewhere between 20-30% by buying clothes in London rather than in Denmark! Not bad! I felt like I'd already spent too much money though, so I ended up not buying anything - the dress made me look like I was born 70 years too late (when we pointed it out to Lars the next day his response was "I'm glad it didn't fit!" Alright then...), and I decided to be sensible and not try anything else I might fall in love with. Instead we found a Starbucks inside Borders and sat there reading (I'm SO glad Henni's as much a bookworm as me so she didn't get bored with the limitations my leg put on our wanderings) until it was time to meet up with Lars and go visit Alisa - a classmate from high school (Henni and Lars were classmates in high school).

Alisa turned out to be really, really nice and we had a great time together. I'd never met her before, but she's extremely friendly and we clicked immediately, so while they did talk a lot about people I'd never met, I was mostly not bored at all ;) Besides, I'd heard so much about her, it was great to finally meet her. We caught the last train back to the hotel and once again got to bed much too late.

Tuesday
The morning was spent packing - trying to get everything to fit into our suitcases. Thank goodness we'd thought to bring one each rather than share one. Sharing would have been no problem at all on the way to London, but on the way home? Let me just say it was a good thing we were allowed 20kg each! ;)

The trip to the airport was uneventful, but I goofed majorly at security. I'd brought a pair of scissors for my embroidery and somehow they'd gotten mixed up in my jacket, so I'd forgotten to pack them in my suitcase and they ended up in my carry-on instead! I thought nothing of it when I was pulled aside after they X-rayed my bag - routine checks, happen all the time, I'd nothing to worry about... I thought, but was mortified when he asked if I had a pair of scissors in my bag and realised what had happened. It was a very blunt pair of scissors and obviously no threat to anybody, but he had to keep them anyway because of policy. I felt so stupid and my respect for authority is apparently such that I had the worst bad conscience... over a pair of scissors. I can laugh about it now, but I'm glad Lars and Henni didn't tease me about it back then!


All in all - a really great trip, and we now know for sure that the three of us 'work well together' on vacations without getting tired of each other's company :) (we've seen each other twice since already!)

Bøger læst i august

Bøger markeret med * er læst for at anmelde den.

Ahern, Cecelia: Where Rainbows End, 8/10
Alcott, Louisa May: Little Women, 9/10

Bagshawe, Louise: When She Was Bad, 9/10
* Baker, Peggy B: The Scrapbook, 7/10
Barclay, Florence L.: The Rosary, 10/10
* Brennan, Kate: In His Sights, 10/10
Månedens bog Brooks, Geraldine: People of the Book, 10/10

Duncan, Lois: Stranger With My Face, 8/10

* Flacco, Anthony: The Hidden Man, 6/10

Guccione, Leslie Davis: Tell Me How the Wind Sounds, 6/10

Holst, Hanne-Vibeke: Kronprinsessen, 9/10

Jackson, Neta: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down (Book 2), 10/10
Jackson, Neta: The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real (Book 3), 10/10

Mandela, Nelson: Long Walk to Freedom, 10/10
* Meltzer, Brad: The Book of Lies, 8/10
Meyer, Stephenie: Breaking Dawn, 10/10

Travers, Pamela L.: Mary Poppins, 5/10

* Various: Horror.dk, 7/10
* Vork, Teddy: Hvor skyggen falder (Where Shadows Fall), 7/10

Walker, Alice: The Colour Purple, 7/10

Life Books

What are the books that, in some aspect, define you? Think about who you are in terms of spirituality, love, economics, values, worldview--the list could go on and on. These might be non-fiction, self-help, fiction, picture books, children's books, etc. Give us your life in books.

This was actually a lot more difficult than I'd expected, but here are my books (or at least some of them - some categories I just couldn't find any for).

The Bible (Everything) Obviously :)

Do You Think I'm Beautiful (Self) I think it's truer to say that this book defines how I'd LIKE to think about myself. It's a book about finding worth in yourself, because you're a diamond in the eyes of God. It teaches not to let your feeling of self depend upon the accept of other people, but on God. I'd like to be able to live it someday.

Little Women (Family) I'm the oldest of four girls, and have grown up in a very loving home environment where Christianity played a huge part. While there are of course big differences between the life of the Marches and that of the Tonderings, the love and comradeship described fits my family quite well :) The characters of the girls also, although not quite in the same order. While I'm Meg and Mixi's Amy, I'd say Nina's Beth and Bekka's Jo rather than the other way around ;)

The Yada-Yada Prayer Group (Religion) My faith is a natural part of my every day life. It's a very big deal in that it means everything to me. It's not a big deal in that it's not a 'show' I put on, it's part of who I am. Praying should (but doesn't always) come as natural as breathing, and worshipping God should (and thankfully often does) make me lift my hands to the sky and unable to stand still. Now I 'just' need the last part - surrendering completely to Him and His will.

Outlander (Love/Marriage) Actually probably the entire series and not just this one book. Marriage isn't all flowers and sunshine. It's hard work at times. But even though you get mad and fight occasionally, at the end of the day you belong together. Two things in particular I got from (or at least was reminded of by) this book: 1) To have a good marriage, you have to be best friends as well. 2) A marriage has room for secrets, but not for lies.

Under the Tuscan Sun (Travelling) The best way to travel is to get to see the country as the natives see it. It's seldom possible, but once in awhile you're given the chance to do just that - and a country viewed that way will never again be the same. For Frances Mayes it was Italy, for me it was New Zealand, but the experience was the same.

So Many Books, So Little Time (Books) The title says it all ;)

Bøger, bøger, bøger, bøger, bøger

Gæt hvem der skal anmelde bøger for Tellerup.

Kom nu, gæt :-D

Og det bedste af det hele: "Vi vil nok mest bruge dig til at anmelde oversatte fantasy titler." (som rent tilfældigt, uden at jeg har nævnt det for dem overhovedet, er min yndlingsgenre).

Som Lars sagde: "You may never need to buy a book again!"

'Betingelserne' er de samme som for Armchair Interviews - ingen løn, men jeg får bogen gratis.

Yay :)

Jeg har fået to meget positive anbefalinger af mit arbejde for Armchair Interviews på LinkedIn - en fra en forfatter jeg har anmeldt en bog for, og en fra ejeren af sitet. Jeg føler mig ca. 10 fod høj lige nu :)

Herligt at have et bijob, jeg holder så meget af, og så også finde ud af at jeg rent faktisk er god til det :-D

Bøger læst i juli

Blædel, Sara: Aldrig mere fri, 8/10

Carmody, Isobelle: Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles 1), 8/10
Clark, Mary Higgins: Let Me Call You Sweetheart, 7/10

Davidsen, Leif: Den serbiske dansker, 7/10

Eliot, T.S.: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, 8/10

Holst, Hanne-Vibeke: Kongemordet, 9/10

Månedens bog Jackson, Neta: The Yada-Yada Prayer Group, 10/10

Kipling, Rudyard: Just So Stories, 7/10

Lewis, C.S.: Prince Caspian, 9/10
Littke, Lael: Haunted Sister, 6/10

Montgomery, Lucy Maud: The Alpine Path, 6/10

Orwell, George: Animal Farm, 7/10

Picoult, Jodi: Perfect Match, July 2008

Streatfeild, Noel: Ballet Shoes, 7/10

Tyler, Anne: The Amateur Marriage, 5/10

Wylie, Trish: The Millionaire's Proposal, 8/10, Armchair Interviews Review

Hvis det ser ud af lidt lidt er det fordi jeg også har læst 16 bøger i Animorphs-serien - perfekt til lidt nostalgi eftersom det var nogle Ben og jeg diskuterede ivrigt i 1996/1997.

Seeking Worship

I've had a very interesting and God-centric Sunday so far, and it's only 12:30pm! Who knows what the rest of the day may bring :)

To start from the beginning - Friday I read The Yada-Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson, was extremely affected by it and started thinking that I'd really like to get back 'properly' in touch with God. I don't mean to say that I've moved away from Him, but reading about the experiences the women in the book had made me realize how much I miss the worshipping aspect of church services. My church is great for sermons and fellowship, but worship? Not so much. It's mostly hymns and while I love most of them, they don't get me moving the same way worship songs do. That was one of the things Central Baptist church in Palmy did really well, and one of the things I miss the most from that church.

Yesterday I came down with a cold and consequently slept really badly last night. As I was lying awake, I started missing my church life in NZ more and more and the thought kept going through my mind that I ought to try to find a church here that could provide me with what I needed, worship-wise. Unfortunately I don't know of any Evangelical Lutheran churches that would have that (actually Haraldskirken is probably one of the ones that come closest), but I have a friend who got married at a Pentecostal church relatively close to where I live (on Drejervej by Nørrebro), so figured I might look into that. This morning when I got up, I tried Googling it and discovered they have three services each Sunday - an 'ordinary' service at 10am, a youth service at 12:30pm (which was on Summer break in July and August though) and an international service at 3pm. The descriptions of all of them said they "put great emphasis on worshipping". Excellent! It was 9am at this time, so I figured that since I was up anyway, and didn't have any responsibilities at Haraldskirken, I might as well jump in right away and go.

I am SO glad I did. It was just what my soul needed. I'd brought my "The Message" Bible (the Bible written in contemporary English) as it's the most handy for lugging around, and while I was sitting waiting for the service to start, I flipped open the Bible to read through some Psalms. The first one I stumbled across could not have been more appropriate. Psalm 108, verses 1 and 2: I am ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe. Ready to sing, ready to raise a God-song. Yes! I know it's paraphrased, I know it's not exactly what it says in other translations (after all, I had to look it up in the Danish Bible when I came home), but at that moment it described my emotions exactly. I was so ready to open myself to God. So ready to lift up songs of praise and let myself be filled with His Spirit. In that Psalm, David expressed exactly how I was feeling at precisely that time. I was ready 'from head to toe' to start worshipping God.

It's seldom I receive that clear a word from God that I'm doing the right thing :)

And the service was great. Wonderful spirit-filled worship, heartfelt prayers and sound theology. I'd been a bit apprehensive about the message of the sermon, as I really don't know much about how Pentecostal and Lutheran theology differs other than adult vs. infant baptism, but today's preaching was on Matt 15:21-28 (Jesus helping a Canaanite woman after initially refusing her - an odd story until fully understood) and while perhaps a bit 'easier' (I wasn't challenged much, but reminded of things I already knew) than I would have preferred, absolutely both sound theology and interesting preaching - didn't get bored at all though the sermon lasted for 30 minutes :-D

So the verdict for now is that I'll definitely be going back, and I want to try out the two other services as well to see what they're like - have a feeling I'd probably feel quite at home at the international one, but I want to give them all a try. While of nature not quite as charismatic as Pentecostals, I'm definitely at home in more charismatic services than found in the Danish State Church (LOVED the Baptist services in NZ), and it gave me such a sense of freedom and relief to not feel out of place loosing myself to the worship.

I'm not saying I'm ready to leave Haraldskirken, 'cause I'm not. I love the people there and enjoy Morten's preachings. Also, I'm still in the church council and have agreed to stay there for another term (4 years), so changing church homes completely would feel a bit too much like abandonment. Besides, I can't really base anything on one visit, and want to be sure I'm not made to feel uncomfortable by having different beliefs on some issues than they do. But taking into consideration how amazing I felt when the worshipping started, I could see myself coming regularly both places.

It was just what I needed.

Bøger læst i juni

Alliott, Catherine: Rosie Meadows Regrets, 9/10
Applegate, K.A.: Animorphs #1-10, 7/10

Binchy, Maeve: Whitethorn Woods, 7/10
Blackman, Malorie: Knife Edge, 8/10
Bowen, Claire: Sorry, the Stork Takes No Returns, 8/10

Dellosso, Mike: The Hunted, 9/10

Eggehorn, Ylva: Saras latter (Sara's Laughter), 6/10

Hosseini, Khaled: A Thousand Spendid Suns, 9/10

L'Engel, Madeleine: A Wrinkle in Time, 7/10

Pilcher, Rosamunde: Wild Mountain Thyme, 6/10
Potter, Alexandra: Me and Mr. Darcy, 8/10

Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen, 10/10

Månedens bog: Shriver, Lionel: We Need To Talk About Kevin, 10/10
Smith, Alexander McCall: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, 8/10

White, E.B.: Charlotte's Web, 6/10
Wolff, Isabel: Behaving Badly, 9/10
Wyss, Johann David: Swiss Family Robinson, 7/10

Visiting Todbjerg

As always, we had a wonderful time with Nina, Christian and the kids. Lars and I arrived late'ish Monday evening, so Miriam was asleep, but Isabella and Jordan had been kept up to say hello to us before going to bed which was nice. Christian, Nina, Lars and I sat up talking for awhile - catching up on our lives - until getting ready for bed ourselves.

The next morning I woke already at 7am (yes, I get up at the same time when visiting Nina et al as when going to work - go figure ;) ) and could hear that at least two kids were up and about, so quickly got dressed and went downstairs (the guestroom is upstairs to give as much privacy as possible) in time to say goodbye to Christian before he left for work, and help Nina feed Miriam and Jordan. Unlike her two siblings Isabella isn't a morning person and didn't get up for another hour or so ;)

After a cozy morning of playing and getting reacquainted, we packed our bags after lunch and took the bus to a kid friendly pool in the area. Fortunately all kids LOVE taking the bus, or the 45 min drive could have been torturous. Lars entertained Isabella, I sat with Jordan and Nina got stuck with Miriam ;) After some initial hesitation the kids quickly took to the water, and we had lots of fun there.

When we came home we discovered that Christian's brother, SIL and their two kids had come to visit, so Nina and I made waffles for all of us :D Christian's brother and SIL were going out that evening, so we babysat their two kids, and the five of them had a great time together.

Lars and Miriam bonded wonderfully all that evening, and he got to put on her pyjamas and even brush her teeth. He was going to tuck her in too, which I thought would be great practise ;) but unfortunately she's going through a phase where ONLY her dad is 'good enough', so Christian had to take over. I was a bit disappointed about that, but Lars took it well enough, and commented that Christian gave up before he did. I'm glad he wasn't discouraged :)

The two oldest were quickly put to bed too, and Lars and I got to introduce Nina and Christian to Jeff Dunham and "Arguing With Myself" :D

Wednesday morning I ended up being a bit discouraged, because neither Miriam nor Jordan wanted to have anything to do with me. I know kids well enough not to take it personally, but it was still disappointing. Once Isabella woke up she was happy enough to have me help her get breakfast though, and the others soon warmed up too. The weather was gorgeous so Lars and I took the kids outside and played with them there. Miriam loves running back and forth between us and throwing herself in our arms - she's so affectionate and such a charmer :)

After lunch we once again went to town, because Lars had arranged to take Isabella and Jordan out to look at the trains! Jordan is almost as fascinated by trains as Lars, and of course Isabella didn't want to be left out, and they all actually ended up having a great time. I was just grateful for this chance for Lars to bond with the kids - they looked so cute walking off together, this TALL guy with two small kids only just reaching past his knees. Cute :D

We went our separate ways after that, as Lars and I had a train to catch, and Nina drove home with the kids. As always, a wonderful couple of days :)

Match Race

Monday my 'team' at work (the CRM team) had a social event. I love my colleagues and we ended up having a BRILLIANT time.

It all started at 11:50am when three taxis came and took us to a nearby harbour where we were going match-racing! After a quick (VERY quick) introduction to the boats, we were separated into 3 teams and had another 10 minutes to get to know the boat before the first race. Sailing the matchrace boats was hard work but so much fun! Whenever we turned to sail cross-wind we'd tilt so much I was at first scared we'd go overboard, but of course that's just 'how it is' and we never did. We had time for three races, and my group won two of them, despite being the only team who switched places in between races. Weee :-D

My arms were insanely sore the next day though.

The original plan had been to sit by the waterside and enjoy the weather for a few hours afterwards, but unfortunately it was spitting, so not really an option. Instead my boss had made a call to the local Microsoft branch and had obtained permission to use their lounge (complete with couches, xbox, drinks and sandwiches) instead - working for a MS-friendly company does have its perks ;)

We ended the evening on a very small but VERY good Italian restaurant. Delicious food and entertaining company :) It could only have been better if it hadn't been a Monday so we could've stayed out late with a clear conscience ;)

A couple of Match-Racing photos...

The natural tilt of the boat


Trying to keep it level...


Sailing is hard work!


But there's also time to sit and relax


All three boats


We're the one in front ;)


We won!

I have a reputation to uphold

I just received a call from Jakob about a maths problem. When a conversation starts: "It's well known, that you and Uncle Claus are best at maths in this family..." it becomes a matter of pride to be able to answer it.

And fortunately I could :) After all, he's only in 8th grade, so it wasn't terribly difficult, just one of the more obscure trig formulas around.

I'm dorky enough to really miss maths, so I'm glad Jakob is now approaching an age where he may just need my help :)

Retreat - three weeks later

I'm currently reading a book on the Saviour's Reef and a suggestion of how to use it for meditation, and it got me thinking. I honestly hadn't thought it would be the case, but I miss being on Morfar's retreat. It's been almost 3 weeks, so I can no longer blame it on feeling 'alone' after being together with so many people (the 'Day After Syndrome' that so often attacks the day after any good camp, party or happening).

Truthfully, I can't say what part of it I miss... it may very well 'just' be hanging out with my sisters and their kids - you know how much I love them :) but I have a feeling that part of it is also the chance to slow waaaay down and just concentrate on what's important. Morfar radiated such peace when he held the meditation sessions, that although I've yet to 'figure out' how to meditate, I still feel like I benefited from it.

I really should make the time to slow down like that more often. While reading helps, being at home with all the usual chores doesn't. I'll have to see what I can figure out.

Manglende selvdiciplin = ondt i ryggen

Jeg har et dårligt ben.

Det er bare 'stating a fact' og ikke noget jeg tænker over til daglig. Jeg klarer min hverdag uden problemer og uden at tænke over det. Jeg synes altid det er interessent når jeg hører nye historier om min tid på hospitalet, ting jeg har glemt (eller de ikke syntes der var grund til at jeg vidste dengang - som HVOR syg jeg egentlig var f.eks.) fra Morten, Mor eller Far, og jo, selvfølgelig lægger jeg mærke til at jeg har et ar der vinder alle konkurrencer på min ene læg, og et andet - bare for at prale - på mit andet lår, but so what? Det betyder bare, at der er det mindre at skulle barbere, og at jeg altid har noget at imponere og skræmme små børn med.

Men i praksis? At jeg ikke liiiige kan løbe så godt som andre, at jeg går med speciel-sko og har en stok stående i hjørnet - en stok som jeg rent faktisk bruger til andet end klæd-ud på trods af at jeg kun er 28? Nej, det kunne ikke være mere ligegyldigt.

Hvilket desværre betyder at jeg ind i mellem glemmer at jeg er nødt til at tage hensyn. Det er så svært at finde gode sandaler og sommersko der kan komme gænge under, så ind i mellem tager jeg 'almindelige' sko på. Jeg har efterhånden lært at lytte nok til min krop og vide hvornår jeg skal skifte tilbage til gænge igen, for at undgå at få ondt i ryggen.

... det nytter bare ikke noget, når man så går ned og træner for at være sund, og derfor fremprovokerer resultatet.

Av! I det mindste ved jeg hvad det er, og hvad der skal gøres og er derfor ikke bekymret - det måtte bare godt gå lidt hurtigere. Måske man skulle udnytte firma-forsikring og få henvisning til en kiropraktor.... ;)

Bøger læst i maj

Jeg har læst en masse rigtig gode bøger i maj. Tror 7/10 er den laveste karakter :)

Alcott, Louisa May: Eight Cousins, 10/10
Alcott, Louisa May: Rose In Bloom, 9/10
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi: Infidel, 9/10

Chang, Jung: Wild Swans, 9/10
Chapman, Gary: The Five Love Languages, 10/10

Green, Melody: No Compromise, 8/10
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants, 9/10

Henderson, Dee: The Truth Seeker, 7/10

Kaye, M.M.: The Ordinary Princess, 9/10
Kingsolver, Barbara: The Poisonwood Bible, 7/10

Månedens bog Martel, Yann: Life of Pi, 10/10
Meyer, Stephenie: The Host, 10/10
Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Across the Miles, 9/10

Nesbit, Edith: Nine Unlikely Tales for Children, 9/10

Pierce, Tamora: Shatterglass (Circle Opens #4), 8/10

Stewart, Mariah: Mercy Street, 8/10

Winfield, Jess: My Name is Will, 8/10

Retreat

I'm back after a lovely weekend together with my family and friends. It was filled with funny and sweet episodes.

I arrived at the retreat at 7pm after a long but really easy drive. Wasn't half as bad as I'd expected, as Lars had found a very simple route for me to go (nothing but numbered roads - didn't have to remember a single street name, but just memories a list of numbers. THAT I can do ;) ), so I just plugged in my audiobook and headed off.



Once there the others were just finished eating, so I got myself settled and played with Isabella, Jordan and Anne while I waited. Anne is my 12-year-old cousin and she's just wonderful with the kids. She loves playing with them, and they absolutely adore her. Probably because she's young enough to play after their rules ;) It was great to see them together all weekend.



The retreat was a mixture of meditation, fun and relaxation which worked a lot better than I had feared. I love the idea of meditation in theory but in practise I just can't seem to understand how to go about it, so I had been a bit apprehensive about how it'd go. Fortunately the 'scheduled' meditation sessions were all relatively short, so even the ones (like me) who had no clue what they were doing didn't get too bored ;)

Friday we were introduced to each other and to the Saviour Reef which the retreat would focus on. After the evening devotional/meditation us four girls went to sit in Rebekka and Peter's room and just talked for hours. We so seldom have time for that kind of girl-bonding, so it was great to have the opportunity for it before we went to bed.

Saturday morning we started the day with another devotional before breakfast and after that Mum, Dad and I took Isabella and Jordan to the beach to play for awhile. The water was ICY cold, but the kids didn't seem to mind not going in for a swim and had lots of fun playing in the sand. Jordan was afraid of the waves and told me he needed Lars to protect him, but after awhile he got used to them and was almost as fearless as Isabella ;)



Lars arrived just before lunch and Christian just after, joining us for the prilgrim's walk in a nearby forest. I spent most of that walk helping Nina take care of the kids, but had time to enjoy the scenery as it was absolutely gorgeous. Jordan absolutely adores Lars and kept asking for him which was just sweet :)



Dinner that evening was the celebration of Morfar's birthday - great food and some really eloquent speeches, once again reminding me why I am so proud of my Morfar. He'll help anybody in need with no thought for any form of gain for himself. Among the guests were an ex-Buddist he'd met in India, a couple from church he'd been a big part of bringing to Christ and a lady from church he'd been showing a lot of support lately.



The evening devotional Saturday was probably the most powerful event of the entire weekend. At least it was the devotional I benefited the most from. Jordan and Miriam had been put to bed, but Isabella had been allowed to stay up until it finished. She immediately ran to Morfar (her great-grandfather) to sit on his lap. He ended up holding the entire devotional and meditation with her on his lap, and she never stirred or fidgeted. She just sat quietly with his arm around her, listening to what he had to say. She's only 4! I'm impressed.

For the meditation part of it Morfar asked Jakob to improvise something on the guitar to play. The theme was peace and carefreeness and the mixture of his playing and Isabella on Morfar's lap put me in the perfect mood for it. Absolutely amazing.

Isabella did NOT want to go to bed afterwards, but wanted to stay in church! I told her we'd be having another devotional the next morning, this time concentrating on the two love pearls. "This one is to remember that Jesus loves you, and that one is to remember the people you love. Who do you love, Isabella?" "Auntie Ma'ia" she answered. I just about melted ♥

I sat around talking a bit with Morten, Christian, Mum, Dad, Morfar, Michala and Norman (the ex-buddist) afterwards, but was pretty tired, so soon went to bed.



Sunday morning I woken up early and was lying listening to my audiobook when I received a text message from Nina asking me to come play with her and the kids. Don't have to twist my arm ;) Turned out she'd also woken Anne up by sending her a similar text, because immediately after Jordan woke up he'd asked "Play with Anne? Where's Anne? Play with Anne?" She didn't mind either ;)

The rest of the day was spent pretty much like Sunday with different devotionals and lots of good food. Isabella has cast all her love on Morfar and wanted to sit with him for lunch, and behaved exceptionally well :)



The weather was absolutely AMAZING (which was a good thing as we'd all have gone stir-crazy if it had rained) so a bunch of us just sat around on the deck and talked while Morfar read aloud to Isabella (one of the others took the sweetest photo of it. I'll have to get her to send it to me), the 'big boys' played soccer with Jordan and Norman treated me to a foot-rub :-D Doesn't get much better than that.



It had been a wonderfully relaxing weekend, so we were actually all rather reluctant to leave. Before they drove off, Isabella kept asking her mum when Uncle Lars and Auntie 'Ria would come visit and take them swimming (we've never done that before, so I don't know how she got that idea, but hey, whatever works ;) ), so I've taken a couple of days off work next month, and we've arranged to go there then. I'm looking forward to it already :)

Siblings

Yay! Friday! All day yesterday I was CONVINCED it was Friday, so having to get up early today to get to work was quite harsh.

I had a really good evening yesterday though. Mixi turned 23, so we all went to Mum and Dad's place to celebrate her. 'All' being Mixi, mum and dad (obviously, Peter, Rebekka, Emil, Lars and I. We had a really cozy evening, and it was neat seeing Emil again. He's grown heaps in just the 10 days since I saw him last :)

Today Lars is going out with Peter for a beer-tasting thing Peter's work arranged (Peter took me to the wine-tasting and Lars to the beer-tasting... fine by me!) so I'm planing on hitting the gym on my way home as I've neglected that terribly lately. I really enjoy training once I'm there, it's just getting out that takes a bit of effort. Fortunately I've discovered that I can use the cross-trainer without problems, even with my leg - and the screen (showing effort level, time etc.) is a perfect 'stand' for whatever book I'm currently reading ;)

Tomorrow Henni is coming over so we can plan our trip to London in September (since Lars will be trainspotting most of the time anyway, all of us thought it a brilliant idea when Henni asked if she could come along, as I'd have company that way ;) ) - booking flights, hotel and picking out the musical we want to see. I love London, and it'll be great having Henni come along. Hopefully I'll also get to meet up with a dear friend from New Zealand while I'm there. I haven't seen her since 2004 and even then it was only for a brief hour or so. Can't WAIT!

Speaking of New Zealand, I wasted some time on facebook yesterday and found SO MANY of my classmates from 1996/1997. I have no clue why I didn't think of looking for them earlier, but think I found 10-15 people yesterday :) Of course I sent friend requests to all of them right away, and now just HOPE that they'll actually remember who I am ;)

Anyway, I know I'm jumping subjects, but spending yesterday together with two of my sisters and looking through our old baby-books got me thinking a bit about how alike and different we all are.

Nina was born in 1981 when I was 4 days shy of 1.5 so I don't remember a time when I didn't have her around. From memory we've always been very close, and best friends as well as sisters. Of course we didn't always agree, but as we're quite different in temperaments, our fights were never vicious nor lasting (again - as far as I remember ;) ) Nina was the one I could (and did) talk to about everything and up until the age of 14 we often slept in the same room. In high school Nina was just one class below me, and quickly became the "IB Little Sister" as she hung out with my class quite often.

Nina is the creative one out of the four of us. She write great stories, sews clothes for herself and her kids (and the rest of us once in awhile), is great at drawing and painting and and impressive dancer having taken lessons in ball-room dancing, tap-dance, jitterbug, and at least two others whose names have escaped me. She currently teaches dancing to young kids.

Nina is the home-maker. She's the one most like Mum, and the one who's followed most closely in her footsteps. She was the first of us to start a family, and is now very content being a SAHM taking care of her three kids and her husband.

Rebekka was born in 1983 so I vaguely remember her birth. Or rather, I have a memory of staying at Farmor and Farfar's place that may or may not have been from when she was born ;) Rebekka is probably the sister who resembles me the most in temperament, which was cause for some major fights when we were in our pre-/early teens. We consciously made up just before I went to New Zealand (as we were very aware that we loved each other even if we exasperated each other at times too) and have been mostly good friends ever since ;)

Rebekka was usually the one I'd share boy stories with as she had more experience there than Nina did (who married her first boyfriend). Rebekka is probably the rebel of the four of us, as I think her teenage years were 'wilder' than they were for the rest of us (at least Nina and I).

I think Rebekka is also the most ambitious of us. When she decides to do something, she throws herself into it heart and soul. I remember her having a talk with Mum and Dad because they thought she was spending too much time on her jui-jitsu classes, but that's really par for course for her. Anything worth doing is worth doing 110% seems to be her motto. The same has been the case for her medical studies, where I'm sure she'll do really well.

As the youngest, Michala was born in 1985. Her birth I remember very vividly, as I was 5.5 at this time. Despite us really not being all that far apart in ages, the fact that there were two other sisters between her and me made her seem younger than she is, and for a long time she was the 'baby' of the family... which probably also meant that she was more spoiled... or perhaps it just seemed that way at the time ;)

I think that it's occasionally been difficult for Mixi to be the youngest, and she's probably often felt left out as the rest of us got to do things earlier than she did (earlier in time, not earlier in age - it was probably quite the contrary there, actually), especially my last year of high school, as the three of us were all at the same high school and went to the same school parties that year. I know that's also the case now, where the rest of us have all gotten married, and she doesn't even have a boyfriend. Not that she's in any rush to get married (at least she says she isn't, and seems content with her life), but it frustrates her greatly when everybody asks "So, when are you getting married?" and that she no longer has an obvious room-mate when we go away on vacation together.

Though definitely book-smart as well, Michala's greatest asset is her street-smarts. She's had more jobs than the rest of us put together - not because she couldn't keep them, but because she started much earlier than the rest of us. She really likes working retail, loves the customers and her dream job is running a Danish version of Virgin Megastores.

It took some years before the age difference 'levelled out' in my head, but Mixi is now the sister I spend most time together with, and Lars' darling as well :) (not that he doesn't love Nina and Rebekka as well, but there's a special bond between him and Mixi). I also happen to think Mixi is the most beautiful of us all - which I've told her :)

Sinfest

Tegneserien Sinfest tager tykt grin på alt og alle. Den er sjælden særlig ærbødig, men ofte både sød, tankevækkende og underholdende.

Og ind i mellem rammer den bare plet. Som f.eks. her. (Hvis billedet ikke ser rigtigt ud, kan tegneserien findes her.)

Bøger læst i april

Hvordan kunne jeg dog glemme min bogliste?! Men her kommer den. Links går igen til Bogormen.

Auel, Jean M.: The Clan of the Cave Bears, 9/10

Auel, Jean M.: The Valley of Horses, 10/10

Bronte, Charlotte: Villette, 8/10

Cross, Donna W.: Pope Joan, 10/10

Månedens bog Dumas, Alexandre: The Three Musketeers, 8/10

Foster, Richard J.: Celebration of Discipline, 8/10

Freese, Mathias B.: Down to a Sunless Sea, 3/10

Holt, Victoria: Seven for a Secret, 7/10

Koller, Jackie French: The Primrose Way, 9/10

Picoult, Jodi: Change of Heart, 9/10

Pierce, Tamora: Briar's Book - The Healing in the Vine (Circle of Magic 4), 7/10

Pierce, Tamora: Daja's Book - The Fire in the Forging (Circle of Magic 3), 9/10

Pierce, Tamora: Sandry's Book - The Magic in the Weaving (Circle of Magic 1), 8/10

Pierce, Tamora: Tris' Book - The Power in the Storm (Circle of Magic 2), 7/10

Verne, Jules: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 8/10

Wambaugh, Joseph: Hollywood Crows, 7/10

Top Hat

Man skal passe på med at prøve at genopleve 'barndommens glæder' hvis man ikke vil skuffes ;-)

Mandag opdagede jeg at min YNDLINGS-is fra jeg var barn var kommet tilbage - Tophat. Chokolade-kerne, vanilie is og så chocoladeovertræk med nougat. Når mine søstre og jeg måtte få en is efter at have været i svømmehallen var det så godt som altid den jeg valgte, og jeg savnede den flere år efter Frisko var holdt op med at lave den... så sent som tidligere i år snakkede jeg med Lars om den.

Som sagt, mandag ser jeg så en reklame for at "80'ernes is-hit er vendt tilbage!" På vejen hjem fra arbejde tog jeg forbi hver eneste kiosk for at finde den, men Nestle is er åbenbart en del mere populært end Frisko for hele vejen fra Friheden station og til os var der ikke en eneste kiosk der havde den - suk.

I dag fandt jeg den endelig og betalte straks de 14 kroner den nu koster, og æv - den var ikke NÆR så god som jeg huskede den. Nougaten i overtrækket gjorde den alt for sød (det havde været bedre med nødder i stedet) og chokoladen i midten var blødere end jeg forventede.

Så vidt jeg kan se er der tre muligheder: jeg blevet mere 'vant' til god is, isen var bedre dengang (eller jeg var uheldig med den ene jeg fik i dag) eller - hvad der er mest sandsynligt - isen var blevet meget bedre af at have stået i hukommelsens lyserøde skær så mange år.

Ak ja.

Men det skal dog også siges at isen var noget større end jeg huskede den. Forklar DET, hvem der kan.

Family weekend

I've had a GREAT weekend though. Saturday Nina, Miriam and Isabella held their joined "Princess Birthday Party" (Isabella's idea) and yesterday my cousin Jakob was confirmed. We had a great time at both parties. As always, it was wonderful to spend time with my sisters and nieces/nephew and the weather was just perfect. Lars had lots of fun playing with Isabella and Jordan on Jakob's tramp :-D The more I see that guy together with the three kids, the more I see what a great father he's going to be. Isabella hurt herself on the tramp, and he immediately cuddled and kissed her to make it better. SO SWEET!

Lars and I drove Isabella and Jordan from the church to the place of the reception (7 mins walk) on our bikes, and I think that must have been the highlight of the day for them, because for the rest of the day they talked about how "Unce Lars and Aunt 'Ia" (sic) had given them bike rides :-D


I also got the chance to have a long talk with all three sisters which was definitely the highlight of my day. It's so seldom we have time to talk all four of us and JUST the four of us (without husbands and kids to interrupt us), but every time we do get the chance to do so, I'm reminded why my sisters are also my best friends :)

Home again

Back home, and BOY it is good to be home! Lars surprised me by coming to pick me up at the airport last night. We went home and more or less straight to bed, and I slept for 10 hours straight. The bed at the hotel in Amsterdam was horrible so I was absolute knackered and glad to be back in my own bed with Lars lying next to me. All good :)

Wednesday I got the chance to have dinner with Paula who was also in Holland on business. Wonderful coincidence :-) Though we've known each other for about 10 years, we've only met once before, but I knew her to be of the race that knows Joseph and was really looking forward to seeing her again. With good reason :-) We met at 6:30pm found a nice Chinese restaurant nearby and proceeded to talk non-stop for the next 3 hours, making her miss her first train. Oops! Sorry about that, Paula.

I had a great time, and it was without a doubt the most comfortable and relaxing three hours of my entire stay :-)

But now I'm glad to be home, and hope to stay home for a couple of months.

Austria

Feeling more myself today after a nice long night's sleep and a day of doing absolutely nothing. I took today off work which was definitely the right thing to do.

I have very mixed feelings about the skiing trip this year. Parts of it were EXCELLENT - definitely the best yet - but then there were the hours I spent being miserable and sick which were probably the worst yet.

We arrived to hotel Sunny Sölden at 1am Friday morning and were immediately very impressed by the rooms. I shared a room with 3 others and had expected it to be a tad crowded, but the rooms were HUGE!

Two large bedrooms (larger than the one I have here), a living room, a walk-in closet, a toilet and a HUGE bathroom with two sinks, a shower and a jacuzzi! So first impression=definitely great.

The next morning as we went to rent skis, we discovered that the people arranging the trip had somehow gotten permission to hang the NC banner from the hotel flag pole! THAT I had not expected!


Unfortunately the weather on the slopes wasn't too great - foggy, snow falling and you couldn't really see more than 10-20 meters in front. A huge shame, as they were some of the best slopes I've ever tried. Next time I'm going on a skiing trip with Lars and Henni I'm going to suggest going to Sölden instead of Livigno, because even though the town isn't as cozy, the slopes are MUCH better.


After 5 hours on the slopes, my legs were wasted, so I went back to the hotel for a shower and to relax a bit before meeting the others for after-ski. Here came the second surprise - the after-ski place had a NC banner as well!!!


The after-ski went as it always does, with lots of egg-shells (snaps and mango liqueur) and Flügeln (red vodka and red bull)

as well as lots of dancing, fun and laughter.

At around 7pm we went back to the hotel to get changed for dinner. Austrian cuisine is one of the most boring I've experienced, but that doesn't matter much when the company is great :)



At 11pm some of the others went to a disco, but I was tired and wanted to be ready for a new day of skiing, so I decided to just go to bed. Unfortunately, that was not to be... well, I did go to bed, but after about an hour I got such a stomach ache that I couldn't sleep, and at about 2am it turned into horrible nausea instead :( I didn't sleep a wink all night, and felt like death warmed up the next morning, so instead of going back up on the mountain I felt I'd better stay in bed :( I felt so incredibly sorry for myself, I could just have cried. Lars had had a night shift, and was fast asleep, so I called my parents for some pity.

Around noon I felt better and went for a walk around town. I still didn't feel well enough to go to the slopes, as I felt like I might be sick at any moment and didn't want to risk it, but despite the nausea I was starving so I found a place that served soup for lunch. I felt no worse and no better after eating that, so apparently my upset stomach didn't mind what was in it, it was just gonna be upset no matter what? Weird!

Fortunately I finally managed to get some proper sleep in the afternoon and therefore felt well enough to join the others for dinner. I'm glad, because we had so much fun!!! The table next to mine kept performing "Bananaphone" (one had it on his cellphone and sent it to the others, so they'd all play it at the same time and sing along. Could have been really annoying, but it actually ended up being loads of fun!) and the table I sat at got into the weirdest inside jokes and just couldn't stop laughing. :-)


We went early'ish to bed as the bus was picking us up at 3:30am the following morning, and the trip home was utterly uneventful. I was feeling well again (but TIRED) and extremely annoyed that I'd been sick at all. So all in all, I think I'd have to say it was a good trip... at least, it had more good moments than bad :)

Tomorrow I'm heading off again - this time on a business trip to Holland. At least I get to meet two friends while I'm gone :)

1990 - Part 5: More school stuff

Typisk, den morgen jeg skal afsted på skiferie vågner jeg og er snot-forkølet. Am NOT impressed. Ah well...

Næste 'kapitel' i 1990 minderne.

P.E.
During the year we'd have different "Modules" in P.E.. I'm going to mention three of those here: Swimming, folk dancing and preparing for the gym competition.

* During the summer term we had P.E. classes in the school pool which was great when the weather approved, and really, really cold when it didn't ;) It was a rather shallow pool - no more than a meter deep I'd guess - so obviously no diving of any kind was allowed. Instead, for free play if we could get it organised we got everybody in class to stand in a long line and walk around the edge of the pool. With proper spacing we were enough to make a complete circle, and could really get a current flowing. Then at the appropriate time somebody (usually Mrs. Gilliland) would yell "Turn", and we'd all turn around and try walking the other way, against the current. Typically completely impossible and we'd fall and falter, all the while shrieking with laughter :)

* I don't even remember why we had a folk dancing module any longer, but it was lots of fun and ended with a performance for all our parents. We were taught several different dances, and practised them daily. Unfortunately I remember nothing of them any longer, but at the time I'd dance around to music in my head at any and all times :-) I was paired up with Daryl - one of the few Maori boys in class. While not Daniel, I liked him a lot and he was one of my good friends in class.

* About halfway through the year those of us who wanted to could sign up for a gym competition, with events on the bar, the mat, the 'horse' (okay, have no clue what that's called in English, it's a 'horse' in Danish), a balancing beam and jump rope. I did fairly well, but felt extremely cheated with the grade I was given on the mat. We'd been told it was a square mat, so that's what I had rehearsed my routine on. We came to the competition to discover it was a rectangular mat instead. I adjusted as well as I could, but was graded down because "I used too many superfluous steps". Yes, of course! I had to change the routine from a 5x5m mat to a 3x7m! Bah!

Where The Wild Things Are
About halfway through the year our class was visited by a student teacher. Ms. Saathof was studying to be a teacher, and as part of her training, she had to have some practical experience, so she helped teach us for about a month or so. As she was majoring in music and drama, her final project was to write and instruct a 'musical' with her class.

She decided to make a musical adaption of "Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak, writing out lines and songs for us to learn by heart. Meanwhile we spent the art classes making costumes (brown bags and scary masks) and set. Everybody had at least one line (is it sad that I still remember my line? "Brain the size of a pea?!" if you were wondering... which you probably weren't ;-) ) ). I was a bit sad I only had one line as even then I loved acting, and the girl who had been chosen to play Max' mother wasn't too pleased that she'd been given a part with many lines, so we tried to convince our teachers to let us swap. They wouldn't :-( Instead I was chosen to lead the gnarling and slashing when the Wild Things tried to threaten Max, so it wasn't all bad ;-)

We had a blast! It was simple, it was fun and it was just perfect for the age group. We performed it twice for the rest of the students as well as family and friends (I later discovered that Michael had actually been to see it!!! It's a small world) and were sorry when it ended. Like I said, I still remember most of the lines and practically all the songs. Some of them had words I didn't understand at the time, but I just LOVED to say! Like this: "We're proud we're loud, untamable, exceptional, immutable. We're the wild ones, that's who. We've come to frighten you (BOO!)"

Fun times :-)

School camp
In November standard 3 and 4 of Winchester School went off on a school camp (I was std 4) for a week. We had a great time! Every evening we were told to spend some time writing a camp diary. Most people found this an awful chore, but even then I knew I'd love to have such a diary later in life, and spent a lot of time on it. I was right, and have kept it around ever since. Not that I read it often, but it's just nice to have available. I reread it last night, and realised two things: 1) My English (written at least) was definitely NOT as good as I remembered it ;) 2) Even though I remember myself much older, at 11 I was still a young kid.

Anyway, the camp was great fun. We stayed near Wanganui which apparently has the oldest brick house in NZ - oldest, being from 1870 or so. I remember the others being suitably impressed, and me trying my hardest not to laugh, as it seemed so young to me (our local church was from 1100).

Some of the best things about camp:
* A tree swing - not the ordinary kind though. Of course you could use it like an ordinary swing, but a ladder had been put next to the tree it was tied to, and by getting up on the branch it was tied to and getting somebody else to pass the tire to you, you could throw yourself out from the tree, and get really, really high. So much fun!! I almost fell off once, because the tire snagged on a twig, which scared me off it for a couple of days, but before camp was over I was right back on it.

* The last day we were told to make our own lunch over a camp fire we had to build ourselves. We were split into teams of 4 and each team was given branches (I think), matches, a billy casserole, a sausage, a carrot, some potatoes and some chicken-noodle soup. Thanks to Mum teaching me how to build a good fire (and a LOT of luck) we were the first to get our fire started, and actually managed to make a delicious casserole by cooking everything in the chicken-noodle soup, instead of attempting to cook the things separately.

* The last evening we had lots of entertainment to end the camp with a blast. Everybody who wanted to could put on a show of some kind. There were skits of all sorts, as well as songs, dances etc. I remember very few of the acts, but know that Katie, Sarah and probably Steph danced to "The Right Stuff" by New Kids On the Block, and another group put on an act to "Tonight", also by NKOTB. They were HUGE in my class that year! ;) Andrew G and some others put on quite a funny skit about "the ugliest creature in the world". We ended the evening by playing games and eating chocolate. It was fun!

* While we were gone, the rest of the school had painted a mural on one of the school walls of the Maori legend of how the Manawatu Gorge was created (unfortunately I can't find a link to the legend), and of course our class were to add to it the week after. The school wanted us 'visitors' to paint something typically Kiwi on the mural, so I got to paint a kiwi bird :)

The camp was also where I first learned how to play knucklebones, but I think I'll save that for another post.

Hyggedage

Det har været skønt med et par fridage! Det føles lidt som om jeg lige har haft en weekend, og nu får en til med det samme - just what the doctor ordered :-) Og dagene har været ren hygge og afslapning.

Torsdag aften havde vi Peter, Rebekker, Peter og Camilla på besøg til en Settlers aften. De kom dryssende mellem 4 og 5 og vi hyggede os med god mad og snak indtil bordet blev ryddet og der blev sat op til et 6-personers spil "Byer og Riddere". Camilla vandt, og vi er allerede helt på det rene med, at det er en tradition der skal gentages :)

Jeg nyder altså at familiemedlemmer ikke bare er familie, men også venner :-)

I går besluttede Lars sig for at tage mig på en sight-seeing tour. Han havde taget en sikkerhedsvest med hjem til mig, og så tog vi ellers toget til Svanemøllen station, og gik derefter langs banen (på et lukket spor, der kun bruges af arbejdskøretøjer) fra Svanemøllen til Østerport station. Altid sjovt at få en tur hvor 'almindelige dødelige' ikke må færdes. Og det var jo heldigvis dejligt vejr, så vi fik en rigtig hyggelig tur ud af det.

Vi skiltes på Østerport station, for jeg skulle videre ind på hovedkontoret på Grønningen, da der var arrangeret bordfodboldturnering den aften. Min makker og jeg vandt kun et enkelt spil og endte vist nok næst- eller tredjesidst. Men hvad - vi morede os gevaldigt alligevel.

I dag er planen så at tage hjem til Henriette og bruge en hyggelig aften sammen med hende, og så står i morgen endnu engang på ren afslapning.

Jo, det er skønt med sådan en forlænget weekend.