Iowa Trip

This is Byron's dog Amy. She is a sweet pup.

I accidentally deleted almost all of the photos from our Iowa trip. After lots of tears and anger at my stupid mistake, I am just happy that some of the photos survived.
Clementine and Dash. I love this little guy so much. Lots of smiles.
My mom and her brother Don. Don is in the midst of a long recovery from a devastating motorcycle accident. He remembered me and said I was his first niece...and I am.
My mom and her little lover-bunny NK.
My youngest brother Luke. I would dog nab him and take him to Norway if my mom wouldn't miss him so much.
NK and JH during our bowling fun with the McFadden family.
JH and his bestest college buddy Lance McFadden. We had a great few days with the McFadden bunch.
Lance and Brenda. Of course since we introduced them we feel lots of pride in seeing what a wonderful family has blossomed.
The three little McFadden girls. I tell NK he can marry anyone he wants...Meg, Allison or Lauren.
NK cuddling or maybe farting on his "bonehead" his grandpa Jack, my dad.

Too Long

You realize it has been a long time since you have blogged when your computer doesn't recognize your blog address. Ha. Well, I am back computer. Get it? Consider the address saved.

It snowed today. Yes, today, April 18, SNOW! But hey, it is Norway for Pete's sake. In 2007 it snowed in June in Raufoss. The sun is shining right now and the wicked and wild wind that has been blowing for a few days stopped. Yesterday I had to keep my mouth shut when I was outside. Okay, stop your laughing. Yes, I am known for usually having my mouth open, so it was difficult to keep my mouth shut. Each time I opened it I had Iceland crunching between my teeth. A volcano erupts in Iceland, it grinds air-traffic in parts of Europe to a halt and it scratches my veneers. I read the ash is actually tiny, very tiny molecules of sharp glass. I could feel it and my teeth kept crunching the glass. JH and I thought it sounded like a licked a beach.

We saw the Northern Lights the other night. After returning last weekend from the US we were still awake at 2 a.m. when NK made a great discovery of a beautiful green ribbon winding around the sky. We watched it on and off until 4:30 a.m. Needless to say it was a l-o-n-g day at work on Wednesday. Zombie. I will post some photos.

I need to upload the photos of our US trip. It was so nice to be back in the Midwest. We had a great trip. I will type some stories when I post the photos. We left mid-spring and returned to late winter/early spring in Norway. Although, in the last week a lot of snow has melted in our yard. The snow earlier today has already melted for the most part and we still have the mounds of drifts which are hard as ice and covered with dirt (maybe ash) and they have been slow to melt.

I will say one thing about our trip to the US. We came back heavier. I am not just talking about the suitcases, although we shopped 'til we dropped. We each gained pounds in America. Fast food combined with fattier food, combined with Mt. Dew, combined with the kindness of family and friends cooking festive dinners resulted in us eating, and eating and eating. Nearly every night in the US I went to bed with a stomach ache. I guess I really did forget how our diet has evolved. We simply don't eat fast food, or the abundance of fatty foods in Norway as we did in the US. More grains, more fish, less soda pop, less red meat and less fried food. I kind of felt like the guy from that move about eating every day at McDonald's, and I am convinced I would have had to seek medical attention for my stomach ache had we stayed longer in the US. I just couldn't stop myself from brownies, McDonalds, fries, steaks, yellow cheese, and the heavy sauces and dressings I LOVE in America.

Forrest the cat is so happy with spring. He has been out and fighting his way through the neighborhood to reestablish his prominence as king cat.

We are returning to longer days. I love it. For most of my life I was a night owl and to some extent I still am, so it is nice to live in Norway during the warm months. Lots and lots of daylight. I miss the dark nights and starry, starry skies, but I don't miss the long dark days of darkness that is winter in Norway.

Tonight I will figure out how to work with my two new (yes 2) cameras to upload photos and after some photo shopping I will post annotated albums of photos. So I guess, coming soon....

Excuses, Excuses

I had someone ask me this week, "Why haven't you posted anything on your photo-blog?" I have no good reason. I have a reason but I don't think it is a good reason, I think of it more as an excuse. Around the holidays I had a couple of people say to me "So, what fabulous place are you going this holiday season?" And it wasn't a nice question, but more of a derogatory, jealous child emphasis on the FAB-U-LOUS. I guess I felt a little bit lousy. Angry, yes. Mad, yes. And so each time I have sat down to post something or upload photos I got pissed-off and did neither.

Should I post my ugly pissed-off photos? The photos of me or JH after an argument? The photos of Nick after he cried because he is homesick for America? The photos of me looking like a fat pig in my bathing suit regardless of how I photo-shop it?

Should I post stories about how miserable I am in Norway (still some days) hating this stupid culture and missing my family and friends and job in the US? I don't know, maybe I should. Would it make the people who have criticized me for having a "wonderful and privileged life" feel better to know I have a lot of misery and pain?

I had someone close to me say that my life (mine???) is so easy, that I always I come out on top. Well life is a bowl of cherries for someone, but it ain't for me. I bust my ass to make my marriage successful. I am not the nicest person in the world and I sure as hell am not the easiest person to live with. I am negative, mean, spiteful and ugly...a lot.

I am middle age, fat, have congestive heart failure, asthma, weak spine from a failed spinal fusion, bad joints, nerve damage and I am a little OCD.

For a long time I din't like my job...I hated Norway, and I was a miserable mess. But, everyday I got out of bed, put a smile on my face, greeted my husband and son with love and patience, and went forth trying to make to the next day.

Do I have a fabulous husband, an incredible son, a job that pays me way too much money, a loving family, a great house, lots of friends, and many amazing life experiences...yep.

Do JH and I still have $20,000 in student loans...yes. Do I have a lot of nerve pain...yes, daily.

I worked hard to get a masters degree while working full-time and I was pregnant. I fought my way into a management position at a young age by working harder than everyone else, working longer than everyone else.

So what the hell?

Is my life rosy and easy...nope. I work hard. I work hard to make my marriage happy, my son a good person and to keep my self mentally stable (from not being depressed because I miss America and everything in it). Life isn't easy. It is not easy at all. I realize I am so richly rewarded. So if my photos of lots of world travel, doing exciting things and enjoying life looks incredible...well, it is. I work hard, I deserve it. I studied my ass off, I make good money, I am not afraid to take chances and I take each day...one by one. I keep trying and trying...even when it hurts to try.

Okay, there. I said it. I feel better. Stop envying me. If your life sucks...do something about it. Don't whine to me...I don't care. If you care, do something about it...I do everyday...and it isn't easy, but it is worth it.

Hello Twenty Ten

Alicante from the air.
Fireworks over the city building & plaza with the castle on the mountain behind.
Unique flower planters...old shoes!
NK in a tree that has survived the modernization of Alicante from a fortress city on the shores on the Mediterranean to a bustling Spanish city.
People crowding into the main plaza below our veranda.
So spectacular. If you can be anywhere on New Year's Eve 2010, be in room 209 at the Mediterraneana Plaza in Alicante. Definitely a room with a view.
We toasted with champagne and kissed on the veranda above the masses at midnight as NK took video of the madness.
A street party.
In the lower right corner is the drum group ala Stomp.
NK the videographer.
Our crazy clown.
Ole!
The mad elf.
Blueman.
NK holding up the city of Alicante.
JH enjoying the vista on a cliff above the sea.
The rooftop patio at our hotel.
The plaza before the midnight masses.
JH standing next to ruins of an ancient fortress.
The Blue Moon.
A Jesus statue erected on the site of a Moorish Fortress. Remember the crusades?
An ancient walled city.


Relaxing along the seawall.
Long and winding roads through the Andalusian countryside.
NK skipping rocks into the sea.

Our hotel pool early in the morning.
Sunrise over the Mediterranean.
The Woman of Mojacar.
Stairs everywhere in the Mojacar Pueblo.
NK and I enjoying a restaurant terrace in Andalusia.
The fields are terraced everywhere in this region for groves of olives, oranges, lemons, bananas and root vegetables...and lettuce varieties. Also, there are many wine vineyards. We enjoyed some of the local table wine and brought some back to Norway.
Mojacar from the seaside.
The beach in front of our hotel.
Peaking into a mountaintop church.
NK enjoying lunch with a view.
Exploring caverns.
Orange orchards. The juice was magnificent.

A new year. 2010. Wow.

We read today that Betelgeuse might burn out in the next few years. What the heck? Betelgeuse has to be the star with the best name, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse. It is not my favorite like say Mizar or Alcor, but still. Burning out???

We spent New Years eve at a KA-RAY-ZEE celebration in Alicante Spain. We had a room overlooking the central plaza with a veranda to lookout at the Castle Santa Barbara. What we did't know is that all the people in Alicante go to the central plaza for a party which STARTS at midnight and then goes for hours of dancing and conga lines with loud music and thousands of hip wiggling Spaniards. It was a blast. We had the best room in the city...by accident. A group kind of like stomp set up below our veranda with their drums and played a concert which lasted about an hour. NK loved it.

December 31 was also a Blue Moon day. The second full moon in one month. We saw a beautiful corona around the moon as we walked along the beach front in Alicante.

We drove down the coast (Costa Blance) of Spain to a resort outside of Mojacar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojacar with a lovely beach front area with the mountains on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. Beind the hotel perched on the mountain was the Mojacar Pueblo where several hundred pepole still live. The town is whitewashed and cobbled together as it was when the African Moors established it. Described as being a mini-Casbah, it has winding roads and staircases leading up and up and up. It was so incredible. The sites and places I have been, this ranks in the top five. Sitting in a courtyard sipping drinks and snacking on local breads while enjoying the view for hundreds of miles. Amazing.

We enjoyed exploring all the ruins along the southeast coast of Spain. Old castles and fortresses from the Moors, Romans and Greeks. We enjoyed the food, the fresh orange juice from the orchards and the pleasant people. We celebrated our 14th anniversary in Spain. On the day of our anniversary JH had a touch of food poisoning, so NK took me out on a big date. He carefully selected a restaurant...that he liked...KFC. Yep, we ate chicken. NK was so proud and he at the restaurant he leaned across the table and asked me if there was anyone other than his daddy for me to celebrate my "honeymoon" with, was I glad it was him. Of course I was glad, even though we sat holding hands across the table at KFC. It was a perfect moment with my son. He is a great stand-in for his dad.

It was difficult to return to Norway the land of lots of snow, freezing temperatures and darkness. Since December 21 the days are getting longer...a tiny bit each day, but at least it is going in the right direction. It didn't take as long as we thought it would to dig our car out at the airport, but we had a long trip home in the bowing snow on snow and ice packed roads. But, alas, it was wonderful to be in my own bed.