American in Norway

What happens when you take the son of a fisherman & a girl riddled with Catholic guilt? You kill the dream of going to the big castle wedding in Tuscany...damn it. I was really REALLY hoping i was going to be able to pull the trip to Tuscany in May off....but it looks like I have to accept the facts that the dream is dead... Bjørn being the son of a fisherman (never knowing what the next season would hold...) is the King of "WHAT IF..." Sure things are good NOW...but WHAT IF one of us loses our job? What if.... BLA BLA BLA .... Then the catholic guilt begins to take over on my side.... (I'm not catholic but I played one growing up...) " ya, it is KINDA selfish to want to go to this wedding...." ya, it is going to cost 10 xs more than I am planning on..." It is over Dane's birthday.... before you know it, I have talked myself out of it.... (the logical FISHERMAN ALWAYS wins.... damn it....) We are already going to Rome in March, so try t...

Yes... once again, I have set GOALS for myself... THIS is THE YEAR ! This year my goals are simple, yet important to me.... This is the year that i will be able to wear a tank top in the summer, without looking like a Russian Weightlifter..... THIS is the year I will be ORGANIZED.... I mean REALLY ORGANIZED..... & this is THE year I will be the best mommy I can be..... This is MY year to make positive changes in my life for ME...... Today is Jan. 5th & today I sent me 9 year old off to school in below freezing weather (I did have a hat & gloves for him...good start) only to find out THERE is NO SCHOOL TODAY... (it is teacher in service day....) After roaming the empty halls of the school, Dane found a teacher who informed him there was NO school.... He said all of the other teachers were kind of sitting there giggling..... I asked him if there were any other kids who showed up? .... NOPE just him.... The kid with the American mother who doesn't read notes sent h...

To say my last night in 2008 was a BLOW OUT would be an understatement & I don't mean BLOW OUT in a nice way... Yes we headed over to our American Friends home... in hopes of what would become an annual tradition... New Years at their home & a brunch on New years morning with the 2 families.... Leanna made all of the yummy dinner, & I had prepared the brunch for the following morning... The night went along well as we rang in 2009.... We ate/drank.. & were merry as we lit fireworks with the children.... Not long after midnight I felt a sudden URGE to run to the bathroom... Nice... too much CAVA (Spanish wine) from Leanna's friendly neighbor? I wasn't sure... but decided to call it a night I crawled into bed in their guest room without even saying goodnight to anyone, only to be awaken by Bjørn ... telling me Eva had just thrown up all over herself... & me... (she had crawled into bed with me & gotten sick...) NICER.... we got the mess cleaned up ...

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays ...( a little belated ) My Holiday was spent between being sick in bed (Christmas Eve & day) & working... Not so much fun But Bjørn did an awesome job of picking up the slack & made a delicious American- ish Christmas dinner while I was delirious with a fever.... (Yes, he bought another Turkey...we didn't serve the rotten one... : ) ) Santa was very kind the kiddos this year leaving the much wanted Wii ...... & Wii Fitness.... (I am volunteering to be a spokeswoman for Nintendo....) Bjørn & I have been burning off a calories after we put the kids to bed...wink wink... (boxing & doing the HulaHoop game....) Being sick & on heavy cold medication was probably a blessing, had I been in my right mind, I would have been very very homesick as my sisters & brother all flew home with their families ,to my mom & dad's .... : ( , there are 8 grandchildren between the ages of 10 & 4 (with another on the...

Sooo, as I go down to the basement get some food out of the freezer last night...what do I stumble upon? A bag with our Christmas dinner.... 2 turkeys & a large ham.... sitting BESIDE the freezer... completely thawed ... When Bjørn arrived home, I asked if he had taken the stuff out of the freezer? Hmm? NO... Oh, maybe he had on Saturday night.... But it was probably still OK... (I could see him calculating how much the 2 birds & pig had cost him...about $100...this is crazy expensive Norway remember...& wondering if they could be saved) I insisted that they would have to be thrown away... yes our unfinished basement is COLD...but not the COLD... hubby did the only logical thing... he called his MOTHER.... during his conversation I hear him repeat the advice his mother gave him... "if it smells like farts...don't eat it...." (in case you are wondering...NO I do not make this crap up.... MIL & I come from 2 VERY D I F F E R E N T worlds.....)...

The computer killer is BACK! & this time I have learned my lesson...(I hope) we were able to transfer all of the important stuff (Eva's life in pictures) over to Bjørns computer... We will have to transfer them back to my laptop in order to burn them... which we will do tomorrow ....(heard that before?) I know what i will be doing during my 2 free days of Christmas , trying to set my laptop back up again.... It is sooo sad how dependent i am on my computer.... Had we not been able to save the pictures on my computer, Eva's life in pictures would be GONE..... I have maybe 20 pictures laying around the house... how scary... At least with Dane , i have boxes & boxes of photos before I went digital. (just a warning, i do not have English spell check on this yet...so bare with me... no mean comments as i am a horrible speller... & I had a crappy week... so be nice!) Is it Christmas already? I am sooo trying to get into the Christmas spirit, but it has yet to hit me......

Yes...another computer bites the dust... my laptop this time.... 2nd computer in 3 months... Did I back up all of the kids videos on the laptop? Noooooooooooo... baby pictures? Noooooooooooo Bjørn is now convinced that I am a COMPUTER KILLER..& he may be right... I am just S I C K..... I am not allowed to be on HIS work laptop in case i get the urge to STRIKE AGAIN... I am sooo bummed.... hopefully Bjørn can get an IT guy from work to look at my little baby, if not I may not have a computer until after NEW YEAR.... (once again a thought which makes me SICK...) My laptop is like my left arm.... I sleep with it... (I use my earphones to listen to my HYPNOSIS thing as I drift off to sleep...down 11 lbs) Roll over as soon as the alarm goes off to check in with work, I have my life line to the US an (American telephone line) on that baby... & of course all of my online shopping... which I was going to do this weekend for all of my nieces & nephews.... CRAP..... So if I a...