American in Norway

I know it is early...but here in Norway it is bed time.... (yawn) Friday Foto Fiesta..FAVORITE FOTOS ..... It's Friday, It's Friday, Thank Goodness it's Friday!!! YIPPEE!I'm playing Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish again this week .So after you're done here, go over there and check out who's playing thi s week!!! as most of y'all who have been with me for a while know, I ended up losing A LOT of my pictures when both of my computers died.... So every time I find a surprise foto , which I thought might be gone i get sooo exited. ( I found this one today....YEA!) Can you guess why this is one of my FAVORITE FOTOS ?.... I was a first time...NEW, mommy (Dane is about 3.5 months here....) I walk in the bedroom & find my two favorite guys staring at each other...each of them amazed with the other... Bjørn went to sea when Dane was 2 weeks old, & was gone for 3 months... this is right after he got home & the boyz were getting to k...

First let me just say it is WAY tooo easy to do a BITCHY post.... to tell y'all what bugs me & who is driving me nuts..... But this morning I woke up with a smile on my face... & I thought I would tell you why... Once a month Hubby & I will have a fight about Who does what... Who does more.... These DISAGREEMENTS ... begin when hubby makes the mistake of coming home & asking "So honey, what did you DO all day?" That is ENOUGH to say "Game ON baby, lets compare notes..." Yesterday, I had a day off & must confess did pretty much NOTHING around the house.... hubby come home after a 14 hour work day... house was NOT tidy....dinner, still all over the kitchen, with my big rump parked on the couch watching GOSSIP GIRL.... Shhhhhhhhh .... ( NO talking while it is on....) despite everything, hubby was an ABSOLUTE doll...didn't say a negative word, didn't ask me what I did all day...just let me be & watched the end of Gossip Girl wit...

So I wasn't going to say anything... stiff upper lip & all... but I LOST several followers in ONE DAY ... What'dIdoooooo ? SORRY.... I was trying to Shake it off, and be a big girl about it.... But you do start wondering.... Is it cause I am not being Mommy enough? American enough? Norwegian-ish enough? Am I moaning about too many things? WHAT? WHYYYYYYY ? But as I have been reading around the blogashpere that a lot of people have been losing a lot of followers in one day that blogger might be dropping them off... True? false? Anyone know what is going on? I have one friend that appeared to drop off... but when I looked on her blog it said she was still following .... Not sure I can take much more of this.... ARG .... I have a Hanne- Power of Prayer.... update....waiting to see if I hear back from her... will keep ya'll posted....

Heaven's Gift entered the Black & white contest over at iheartfaces.... Thought I would too... FUN... I am submitting one for the kids & one for the adult ... (aren't I the risk taker...) So this little diddy is of Eva...Although not as sharp as I would prefer..I just LOVE her hair blowing in the wind.... just makes me gobble my baby girl up...(I am allowed to say that out loud right? even if she is mine?) Be sure to click over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com / and either play along or see who the winner(s) are this Friday.

Heaven's Gift entered the Black & white contest over at iheartfaces.... Thought I would too... FUN... I am submitting one for the kids & one for the adult ... (aren't I the risk taker...) This picture was taken by my 9 year old... I played with the lighting... Be sure to click over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ and either play along or see who the winner(s) are this Friday.

What a day...(weekend) My b-day wasn't as I had planned... originally I had planned to use the spa treatments Bjørn gave me for Christmas... instead, I had to go to a fire fighting course for work.... interesting...it was on an Army base...& we spent a bit of time putting out fires at an airplane grave yard... Cutie pie hubby,had the kids & car packed ready to go when I got home around noon... He took us all out to do a little of this...with the skis we got for Valentines day... & then stopped here for a picnic lunch & hot chocolate, & birthday cake this was my first time cross country skiing...it was actually a lot of fun...the first few M I L E S.... as I was skiing I kept thinking how cool it was that here I was cross country skiing in a beautiful area... I was excited that i was doing something different on my b-day...I started wondering what i would try next year? Rock climbing? We skied for several hours & ended up spending a quiet night...

Happy birthday to Me... Happy Birthday to Me... I am now OFFICIALLY in my LATE 30's ..EEK... This is one of my favorite "baby pictures" 1.)because it is the only one I have over here in Norway... 2.)I was REALLY blond here, without any help... : ) 3.) I look just like my daddy Plans for my big day? I am off to a fire fighting class for work....(ya, don't ask...) should be a really good time... never mind the massage I had planned... Then a fun filled day with my hubby & babies....(Bjørn took the day off work to spend the day with me...CUTE? yes very....) I'm not sure what the day holds...but I think it has skiing involved.... Friday Foto Fiesta..Happy Birthday..... It's Friday, It's Friday, Thank Goodness it's Friday!!! YIPPEE!I'm playing Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish again this week .So after you're done here, go over there and check out who's playing thi s week!!!

OK... so let me just vent here , so that i can smile afterwards & PRETEND that I am not irritated. So I am having a party on Sat. It is a Birthday/Housewarming party.... I am kindda excited although I suffer from performance anxiety...(a whole nother post...) I want to be like Martha... but I am not... however... I have planned & shopped & am almost ready for my party on Sat. I have the food planned, the drinks...yummy cosmos... I looked all over Sweden & Norway to find martini glasses... OK so you get my point? I know what I am doing...I planned, I am organized... I am almost ready to go.... So my darling hubby comes home tonight... & as we begin to discuss the party, he smiles & lets slip that "the food is all taken care of...." " Ummm of course it is taken care of, we went shopping in Sweden last weekend & dropped about $500 bucks... on all sorts of yummy AMERICAN favorites, I was there, remember?" "Just saying it is all take...

Took this little diddy from lifeinredshoes today... & I think it is PERRFECT after the Jessica post... cause really-- What are we doing to ourselves & our daughters sisters? Hmmm makes you think... This picture was created by none other than the fabulous Patti Friday over at Liberty Post. Let's do it, let's show the women of tomorrow and the ones of today that Loving Yourself Just The Way You Are is what it's all about. Embrace who you are right now, help another woman love herself too. Life is to short, time is to precious. Let's wear our hearts on our feet, put on your red shoes and walk with your head held high! Let's do this for every woman who has ever felt she was never good enough. If you would like to join in, just add this photo to your sidebar. Come on, do something good for the women in your life...past, present and future.

Sigh....opened up yahoo today to find yet ANOTHER article on Jessica Simpson & about how she has BALLOONED ( to what? a size 6-8?) I don't know if it is living in Europe or having a daughter I can finally see how CRAZY the media really is PICKING on these celebs.... Can you imagine having to live with someone judging you every time you gained a few pounds or had a zit .... ( No wonder Britney went crazy & shaved her head....) Of course I get sucked into the article... ( which is what they want...right?) & you have all of these 15-20 girls calling her all sorts of remarks about her being a pig...etc. Are you kidding me? WHAT IS WRONG WITH US? You wonder why we all have body issues....gosh, if she looks like a pig...what do I look like? MOOOO MOOOO Jess, I only wish I looked this good... (not loving the outfit...but to each is own)

Happy Monday everyone..... I thought I would try a Friday Fragment...um, on Monday... I have so many things on my mind... none of which deserve a post...(well one maybe)... so I thought I would get it all out there to start the week with a clean slate.... (my therapy if you will...) weekend wrap up... *** Valentines Day ...NADA... (in all fairness, Bjørn asked me if I wanted to to do something) I wanted to pop Midol & lay in the fetal position all day, instead.... we made a run for the border (Swedish) for a little cheap-er chicken & BOOZE... EXCITING Sweden shopping news...( only expats will understand my excitement)... I found CAPTAIN CRUNCH granted it was $20 per box...WITHOUT crunch berries... COME ON PEOPLE, no crunch berries? who's zooming who? Oh my honey did get me skis downhill & cross country... this week I promise to practice the cross country bit... Thank you honey....LOVE YOU. **** I am a Grown up ..I know that I must really be a grown up now, honey ask...

Friday Foto Fiesta..Norwegian Carnival..... It's Friday, It's Friday, Thank Goodness it's Friday!!! YIPPEE!I'm playing Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish again this week .So after you're done here, go over there and check out who's playing thi s week!!! So today was Eva's Carnival at school... I remember while living in Germany carnival was a big deal...for children & adults alike... I think it is only celebrated in the pre schools here... So the theme today was Jungle.... Eva wanted to be a Cheetah ... NOT a Cheetah girl.... (remember, I have a little tom-boy on my hands....) Um, I was unable to find anything Cheetah - ish , so she agreed to be a LION.... So we show up at school today & OF COURSE... she was the ONLY little girl NOT dressed as a Princess.... Good for her... cause she was the CUTEST darn lion I have ever seen....(my mother says i shouldn't say things like that out loud...good thing it is MY blog.... hee hee ......

This is half as long... but You can still get an idea of this couple..... & lets be honest.... she is as horrible as he... If I found out my husband was this big of an a$$ I would refuse to do the rest of the interview... she says something about not being able to spend too much time with the kids or she gets grumpy.... HELLO? Their kids are little robots... I love the fact that they were exposed to EVERYONE that knows them... She has had to shut down her website... (maybe they can use the time off of work thinking about the kind of people they want to be....Hmmmmmm)

OK, I'll admit it... I love me some bad reality TV.... I logged onto my yahoo account & happened upon this... 'Worst husband ever' Have y'all heard about this guy..I mean JERK? If you can, take the time to watch the youtube video.... OMG... seriously.... Although very sad for Gayla... I love that ABC went through with airing the show to show what an absolute A$$ this guy is.... I guess within a half an hour Smarty Pants Stephen ended up ruining both his & his wife's careers...... Wonder if old Stevie boy is in hiding or on his way back to England..... Ouch.. Once again, a horrible sad story for the kids.... but mabe Steve the genius & is "LIFE COACH", International wife realized what they are doing to their children.... Hats off to Gayla for being a trooper & sticking in there....(I would be a big blubbery mess curled into the fetal position if someone was this hateful to me....) With all of the attention this episode is bringing to the sho...

The boots..... Beautiful ,black patent leather, ECCO boots.... I fell in love with the as soon as I saw them in the window..... I went back to the store 2 x's before I caved.... only one pair left... & surprise, my size...... I have been trying to find a reason all day to return them... I really don't need them...(yes I do) How long can I wear patent leather? They are flat.... I never wear flat shoes.... they are twice the amount I would normally pay for boots.... (I am a cheapskate) I won't be able to wear them to my meeting tomorrow because of all of the snow etc... bla bla bla.... BUT then..... I was able to actually zip them up over my new jeans---(yes, I broke down & bought new jeans yesterday too....) So you can actually SEE them... & to my surprise, my thighs don't really look THAT fat with my jeans inside the boots..... HOW CUTE are these going to be when I go to Rome next month? CUTE CUTE CUTE... no snow there....& they are FLA...

'Why would she do this?' Oh & now grand mamma is playing the "poor me" card... Well I guess you should have gotten off of your butt & found some help for your CRAZY daughter? ! Serisouly, I would have had the girl committed... I just feel like the entire family is out after something... UGH Remember how I said I thought she was TRYING to look like AJ.... I think she may ended up looking a little more like MJ (Michael Jackson...) Girl, lay off the lip injections, botox etc... I just want to know where she is geting all of the cash for this....

It has been a BUSY weekend.... Yesterday was Mothers Day in Norway.... (lucky me, I get to celebrate 2 x's a year) My adorable husband & children prepared brunch for me & my mother in law..... The babies gave me this super cool "Worlds Best Mom" pillow..which is going to look AWESOME in my family room if I ever get it finished... The kids bought me flowers as well as the hubby... so the house smells awesome... We had a great day.... (mommy tried some new eyeshadow yesterday... I look like I have been beat up.... note to self- get rid of dark whorish eyeshdow....) Huge snowfall on Sat. so everything was bright & lovely... super day to take pictures of the kids outside. We FINALLY bought the kids ski's ... They each got 2 pair... one cross country & one downhill.. (I think I am more excited than the kids.... they were VERY excited..) They each spent the weekend cross country skiing... refusing to come in until there little feet were frozen. Dane...

California Medical Board probes octuplet birth Yea! Hope he gets what is coming to him/her... SabrinaT " OK, here are my thoughts! I think the doctor is the father of these children. In an interview she said all of the children have the same father. I also think she did it FOR THE MONEY! I think the first 6 kids were failed attempts at the magic 8. With 8 she will have everything handed to her on a silver platter. Cars, houses, diapers. She KNEW what she was doing. This doctor has to be in on the mess. Otherwise why would he do this for free. I know several families that can not afford this procedure. My heart and prayers go out to those innocent babies that did not ask for all of this. Her 6 children that have been hounded by the media! I hope all 14 children have some peace and love in their lives!! " Oooo... I never though about that...the Dr. is the dad? You might be on to something! Did she get all of these prcedures FREE? ( i would really be sick then... when you think...

So have you y'all heard about that lady who had 8...E I G H T babies? C R A Z Y!? ( People...I am KIDDING) The entire WORLD knows about her.... I usually don't write about current events... but I see people writing about Nadya Suleman all over the place.... My personal thoughts about the whole thing? (I am sure y'all really care) but here goes..... Obviously the woman is a little screwy...I mean who in their right mind would do something like this? I know this won't happen, but I think the BEST thing that could happen is that she just fades from the spotlight .... Just go away...& raise your babies.... I (like many) of you am pretty sure she thought she would be able to out do John & Kate plus 8..... look at what a hit they have been. They have 8 ..but i have 14 BWAAA HAA HAAA .... Can you IMAGINE the weirdos who will be coming out of the woodwork once Nadya Suleman gets her 15 min. of fame.??? Next you know, someone will try to have 14 at once. I have ...

OK... Norwegian Winters aren't always GLOOM & DOOM... Here are some of my Favorite Norwegian Winter FOTOS.... Dane picked this one out as his favorite.. Friday Foto Fiesta..Norwegian Winter..... It's Friday, It's Friday, Thank Goodness it's Friday!!! YIPPEE!I'm playing Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish again this week .So after you're done here, go over there and check out who's playing thi s week!!!

As my mamma always says..."If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all..." Not that either of us have ever lived by that advice... but i thought today I would try.... (and keep my mouth shut...) As you know.. this week I am in my mid winter blues... a funk.... trying to find things to life my spirit.... what makes me happy? Hmmm ... Taking picture s make me happy.... But I tend not to take pictures in the winter....not unless I have to. I like natural light, and in Norway, good natural light in the winter, is hard to find... My plan this month, is to get some of my favorite photos printed out & actually framed.. before I end up losing them all AGAIN... I found these little diddies ...(actually I found about 600 I would like to share.. but I will spare you...) Which remind me of SUMMER & SUN & WARMTH & ICE CREAM & CORN ON THE COB....... YUM... Summer is on its way....RIGHT?

This is going around on Facebook....& thought I would play along...25 RANDOM things about Me.... (& yes...I did copy some of these from a previous post....) 1.) I see dead people- OK..I don't really see DEAD DEAD people...but I do have a SIXTH Sense... I know this is probably weirder than you were wanting but... I would have premonitions of things that would happen...usually bad. For a while I even had my sister asking me if she should fly or not.. Kelly over at Song for Whoever can attest to my psychic abilities... 2.) I have an irrational fear of sliding into a body of water in my car... or driving through long tunnels... I tend to hold my breath & have to white knuckle it... 3.) I have "middle child syndrome"... (yes it is a very real condition) & I am the WORST SPELLER EVER... (these were both Soo lame...I figured they only counted for .5 of a fact.) 4.)My first name is Meri. (Mary) (these are getting lamer as I go on...) 5.)I speak/understand 6 langu...

Yawn..... I'm back..... I would love to tell ya, I had nothing for you.... I have lots of great things ... (great in MY opinion ) for ya... I just can't seem to get them written... I am in a totally FUNKY.... FRUMPY....FUNK I feel & look like a total FRUMP... you know those weeks? & it has nothing to do with PMS... I am SOO tired. I am really hoping it has something to do with the weather. I could sleep 12 hours a day.. & still feel tired. (on Monday, Eva actually did sleep from 5 pm until 6:30 the following morning...) Trying to combat my "FRUMP-I- NESS " I did something I haven't done in 5 years..... I painted my nails.... ( Bjørn tried to bust me on this one.... I have had clear polish...OK...) But this time I painted them a deep dark red..... (sad, that this is something I see as blog worthy isn't it?Even more sad...everyone at work noticed) Once upon a time long, painted nails... my reddish lipstick & heels were the NORM ...