Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday

Even though my calendar says that it is Halloween, it doesn't feel like it here.  Yes, the danish stores sell pumpkin and ghost decorations...even a few costumes...However, I have yet to see the massive 'shrine to candy' in any store or even a single trick-or-treater (well there is candy but it is, most likely, in the usual aisle and in the same colored wrappers as always). I am okay with this though, because it feels and looks like fall here.  I think it was Friday morning that scout and I set off to find this small lake near our house.  We found the lake and after seeing just a few seconds of it,  I decided to turn around and run home to grab my real camera because I could not get over how amazingly spectacular the colors and overall ambiance were on that morning (that sentence just makes me sound like a weirdo.. spectacular ambiance?)  Maybe the pictures, from just a regular camera will prove this to you :)

Trail towards the lake

The water had been like glass when I was there 20 mins earlier.  By the time I returned, ducks had arrived.

All I can say is that the picture just doesn't do it justice.

It actually looks warm in this picture!  I can assure you that it was still quite cool

Now here the water was like glass

I seem to take a lot of this type of photo

And the humorous part of this particular morning was that there were probably 100 toddler, preschool and elementary school-aged children around the lake at the same time.  I, with a cute-faced dog, am always popular with the kids....only problem here in DK:  most kids only know a few words of english. (such as 'ciao'  which I had to tell them was actually italian)  But, my beginner danish was enough to communicate with them...and they seemed to understand me, which gave me about the biggest boost in my 2nd language quest yet :)  Scout eventually became impatient with all the inactivity and began whining. The kids thought he was whining about the ducks..I didn't really know how to tell them that he was ready to go, but they thought that I didn't know what a duck was in danish.  They started to say "quack" in danish...which I attempted to say back to them..obviously wrong...bc one of the girl did the most dramatic "rappen" (quack), rolling R and all ( & danes don't roll their r's)  It was just so funny to me and I enjoyed it.  I also noticed that the teachers here seem a bit more relaxed with where the kids are and what they were doing.  A group of toddlers was playing by a lake for pete's sake! (and climbing through dense foliage in areas..do kids not get lost here??)  I just don't see that happening in the U.S....unless a fence was installed around the lake and maybe then...

Now I will end this post by wishing one of my best friends a happy, happy birthday...She was told growing up that people dressed up in costumes just for her every year...To Rachael, I hope you have a great day and see many costumed people :)  

Farewell Texas, it's been good

Tonight is my last night in Texas for awhile.  I have had such a good time here so I am a little bit sad to leave, but I am really looking forward to being with Ed again.   Skype is great but nothing beats being with someone in person. So, here's a look back at my past few weeks:

I love cupcakes so much that mom and I decided to make a batch....then I was allowed to attempt to decorate them.  Found out it's more difficult than it looks haha

ugliest cupcakes ever. They tasted good though

 I met up with Jennifer, my friend from middle school, to have dinner...Nothings really changed between us except that we are older, married and maybe wiser :)

 Scout went to the vet at Shepherd AFB to have his traveling paperwork filled out.  My parents were expecting to witness the 'tan terror' that Ed and I know in the car but apparently he wanted to impress his 'grandparents'

 Again, the huge zucchini...

I went to see my friend Spring play her recital...She was amazing!  

Spring's sister Autumn--One of my best friends.  She too had to pose with the baby-sized zucch.

Autumn & I

I finally had a ride on the 'secret' motorcycle that my parents tried to hide from Ed and I (yes, they never told us that they had bought a motorcycle...they owned it for months before my grandma accidently mentioned that she had been on it over the phone)

Tonight, my parents and I went to the State Fair of Texas.  I thought that we went a lot when I was younger but I guess I was remembering stock shows and other livestock/fried food events I attended growing up in this area.  I suppose we never went because it is so expensive.  $16 dollars a person adds up quickly.  Thankfully, we found out that on Tuesdays, an empty Dr. Pepper can will get you a $4 ticket. We all had a Dr. Pepper before heading in

I felt bad for this Longhorn. His horns were about as wide as the pen

Mom and I waiting for the 'amazing doberman' show.  I wouldn't say it was amazing but it was pretty cool.  Alot of dogs hopping on their back legs and hurdle-jumping dobermans.

 A pinwheel park.

 Mom and I on the ferris wheel

 Texas Star

 Mom and Dad with Big Tex

We found the fried bubblegum too late.  This is the hot item at the TX state fair this year...

Well, I worked on one other project the entire time I was here--I refinished (with the help of both my parents) a chair and a bench that sit out in my parents yard.  They are not finished yet but almost! I guess I will have to put a picture up later

And that about covers it!  Next time I write, I will be writing from my own computer, in my own (rented) house! Until then, farvel!

This weekend, my friend and former college roomate Rachael came to visit me for a few days.  Most of my friends from college have drifted into acquaintance-ship but Rachael and a few others have remained for the long-haul...or at least I hope so! The greatest part about spending time with Rachael is that we don't really need to do anything special to have fun & we talk about anything and everything.  Even if we don't agree with each other, we say what we think, agree to disagree and move right along.  We spent time in a tire shop, twice, drove many miles on DFW toll roads, stayed up really late chatting, drinking mint water and watching HGTV, went shopping and even were pulled over....Gee, some things never change ;)  The irony in being pulled over is that minutes before, Rachael declared "wow, all the cars are flying around me...on both sides! I should probably speed up to go with traffic"  and then somehow that led us into a conversation about being pulled over and tips, not involving tears, to avoid tickets...  2 minutes later, blue and red flashing lights appeared behind us.  Thankfully, no ticket was given (probably because of recently discussed tips!) I think Rachael's car was targeted because of it's expired TX registration sticker..with oklahoma plates.  He claimed she was going 20 miles over the speed limit (which she wasn't!  She drove slow all day!!! I can attest to this!)  Anyway...we had a good laugh.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend

Rachaels first time in IKEA...I decided this room would be the dream homeschooling 'classroom'

Amazing Texas Sunset...no editing or color enhancing done

And, a picture taken minutes before Rach left town...which explains the delightful brick building in the background

Kelly

For someone who often says "you hurt my feelings", "I just had a feeling" and "That's just how I feel about it", I am not good at putting my true feelings into spoken words, and especially not written words.  Even though the "idea" behind my blog is that it is a diary that is read by people other than me, most of my 'diary' is filled with events and observations, not deep, dark secrets or feelings.  Today, I feel like I should express some of my feelings, even if for just a few sentences.

One of my mom's friends, who eventually became my own friend, died tonight.  Her name was Kelly. She made amazing food, was hard-working, godly and had a care-free but elegant style that I admired (she reminded me of suzanne somers, I think they were separated at birth).  I don't remember when I learned that she was sick, but a few weeks ago,  I told my mom that when I arrived in Texas, I wanted to visit Kelly. Unfortunately, I never made it down to where she was being treated. If I had, I would have given her a hug and thanked her for making my wedding beautiful.  She prepared all the food and made it look like a million bucks.  I would have encouraged her to remain strong and courageous, and to not be afraid...but I never had the chance.  I am saddened for the hole that is being left in her daughter's, family's and friend's lives.  I know she was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

Recently, between the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Kelly's death, and other happy & sad events in the lives of my friends, I have often thought about the verses in Ecclesiastes 3:

¹ There is a time for everything, 
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 ² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.

And 12:13, at the end of the book, says this:

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 

I know Kelly lived through all the ups and downs of life while fearing God and keeping His commandments.  Even though I am crying and cannot sleep, I am happy that this life is not the end for her. Till we meet again Kelly...

Postcard Love

I love postcards.  I am not sure when my love of them started, but I do remember the first time I went on a trip and sought out postcards to purchase.  I probably remember this distinctly because I still see them from time to time in my stationary drawer.  I went to Alaska with my dad in the 9th grade and bought about 20 postcards ranging from beautiful alaska sights to a bear ripping a wooden porta-potty off the top of a camper (Not sure what I was thinking with that one).  My love of postcards has continued through the years..I try to buy some for a few of my friends on every trip, and I have a few friends that remember me on most trips they go on.  I love it!  When I lived in Oklahoma, I covered the metal electrical box in my apartments with postcards from friends(held up by magnets from my magnet collection)  I recently saw this slightly more adult way of displaying postcards as well. 

 Thanks Young House Love!

Anyway, a few weeks ago (much to my delight), I discovered that another blogger, Michelle from Hot Pink Combat Boots, had a little postcard exchange set up on her blog between herself and whomever wanted to give and get a postcard. Obviously, postcard obsessed me is sending her a postcard from DC.  Once I am settled in Denmark, I may have to start up my own postcard-writing mill...though I may just be writing to the people I already write to now :)

Postcards from my recent DC adventures

I Love You Fresh Market!

Oh hello blog. Long time, no see. 

I have been busy the past few days, busy creating masterpieces ;)  Maybe I will put some pictures up later...  So this post is a catch-up of a few days

This weekend, Ed and I continued our furniture shopping quest in hopes of finding a place for our tv.  We have a really, really big cabinet now. I have a feeling that after another PCS, this cabinet may arrive in a pile of sticks.  

We had zero luck.  So the tv may be sitting on the floor.  (On a brighter note, our table comes today, and chairs come tomorrow!)  Ed has been busy getting things ready for our move!  There is so much more that he is having to do in order for us to leave for this assignment.  And it seems that most of these tasks are things I wouldn't be able to do...Thanks for all the hard work Ed! 

I promise you, I was not holding him hostage!

In my last post, I mentioned taking the bus for a 2nd time.  I have become obsessed with the bus.  I do not know why I never bothered checking out the bus.  Having a car makes grocery shopping convenient but for everything else I ever did around DC via car, I could have taken the bus.  It's cheap, I don't have to be stressed about being in traffic, I won't get lost,  I can get to places that the metro doesn't  go (and you can basically be dropped off in front of whatever you are going because there are so many bus stops-I am not lazy, it's just HOT outside) The bus is just awesome!   There is a bus stop down the street from our house in DK.  I am not going to lie--I am just a little bit excited :)   So there is a point to my bus ravings.   I decided over the weekend that I would plan a "trip" by bus.  My destination of choice: The Fresh Market

Side-note:  I love Fresh Market! We lived near one in Florida and it was so great.  I never did all of my grocery shopping here (just coffee, orange juice, specialty ingredients not found at the regular store) because I haven't found my money-tree yet (It's fairly expensive)  If you ever have a chance though, definitely go.  They have classical music playing, serve really good, free coffee (with more than powdered creamer in a cylinder shaker) , have cheap, cute, reusable shopping bags if you're into that... Just go!  

Okay so a new fresh market opened about 8 miles from where we live on July 20th--after we had already shipped our car!  I was sad...until I discovered the bus.  I decided to drag my new friend Emily along since adventures are more fun when not alone. The trip there was uneventful--aside from having to wait 45 mins for the bus.  We spent an hour shopping and drinking the free coffee and orange juice.  We had a really good lunch at a restaurant around the corner. We laughed, I ate 2 salads, and then it started to rain.  

 We noticed the storm clouds building as we were waiting for the bus but I wasn't complaining.  Rain and clouds mean cooler weather right??  I actually said " if it starts to rain, i will run out into the rain and throw my hands up in the air and spin around"   Rains not the right word. It was a downpour.  We left the restaurant and walked under the covered section of the strip mall in hopes of finding the covered bus stop.  Most of the bus stops along the street had been covered.  I figured we would see it, dash  across the street and wait there... But no.  When we spot the bus stop across the street, it is not covered.  There were plenty of benches but no hutch.  I didn't know the exact time the bus was coming so we didn't want to miss the bus and have to wait another hour for the next bus--so we went into the rain.  We huddled under a tree for a bit but the rain drops were bigger under the tree!    

After being completely soaked, it stopped raining about 2 minutes before the bus pulled up!  We could have waited under the strip mall covering and still made the bus--dry.  Better safe than sorry, right??  :)   

I never did spin around in the rain with my hands in the air but it was still a really fun trip!  Thanks for joining me Emily!

Fireworks over DC

I was too busy to actually type my post about this day on the actual day, but I was thinking about it :)  I remember on July 4th of last year, we had just learned the location of Ed's upcoming assignment.  I recall thinking, "in one year, we will be living in Washington DC on the 4th of July, preparing to move to Denmark."  And now, here we are, in DC, preparing to move.  We are currently looking at a promising house to rent in DK.  It'd be nice to know where we will be staying in advance but I'm not going to count that egg till it's hatched. But back to the 4th:  We left our apartment around 2pm to eat the required patriotic holiday meal: hamburgers and hot dogs. (am I wrong??)  We don't have a grill here so we went to 5 guys :) 

After lunch, we walked down past Iwo Jima to the Arlington National Cemetery, where we spent 2 hours going up to the Arlington house, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Kennedy's grave and a few other places.  The cemetery was quiet and peaceful even though it was a holiday.

  We walked back to the large hill that overlooks DC, below the Netherland's Carillion.  We found an open space with a view of the monuments and sat down in the grass to wait for Ed to arrive with the blanket.   It did sprinkle a little bit but thankfully the rain stayed away for the evening.

Waiting for Ed...hoping the sprinkles stay sprinkles and don't become downpour.

Ed & I

1 1/2 hrs before the fireworks...the hill was already filled with people.

Ed and his 'grass trumpet'  :)

By the end of the show, the smoke blocked the the view of
the capitol and washington monument.

Beginning of the 'grand finale'

It was so amazing to see fireworks over our nation's capitol.  I truly think it's something that everyone should experience at least once... I feel blessed to have been born in a great country. While I am looking forward to living in a foreign country for a time, I will always be proud to be an American. 

Amy left early on Tuesday morning and made it home with zero problems! (though my drive home from the airport was less than successful. Part of the traffic circle to come home was closed and so I was forced into DC proper--last place I want to be during morning traffic. I thankfully had the GPS up and running so was able to make it home with only 1 angry honk from another driver) Natalie's flight wasn't scheduled to leave till 6 pm so after she packed her bags, we went to DC one last time and went to the National Gallery of Art.  I will have to go back again before we leave because we were only able to see a little over half of the upper floor despite spending 2+ hours there.  Natalie's trip home went smoothly as well.  It seems that travel, free of delays and missed flights doesn't happen all that often for these 2!  

My final thought on the 4th of July, 2011...Next year, we will be living in Denmark, maybe celebrating here, the location of the largest 4th of July celebration outside of the U.S.  Cool huh?

The 10K walking tour of DC

My cousin Amy and my childhood, actually teen-hood (that's my made-up word of the day) friend Natalie were here this past weekend.  We had a great time together!  We are all living in different cities and are in different places in our lives now but when we are together, it's like things have never changed from our younger days.  There's no drama and there are always lots of pictures taken. Neither Amy nor Natalie had been to DC before so I thought the most important thing for them to see would be the big, famous places first.  They can visit museums next time they are here! All of the pictures in this post are from 1 day of serious walking.  DC has a decent metro system that is really clean and generally on time, but when it comes to doing things around the downtown area, it's almost better to walk, especially on the weekends and holidays in the summer.  There  are many more people trying to get on and off fewer trains throughout the day. So, with all that said, we started our day at Eastern Market and walked from there...more than 6 miles.  Here was our day:

Beautiful flowers at the indoor part of eastern market

Escaping the heat in a firetrap bookstore just off eastern market.   Like my cow book?  That's actually how I felt the following day after the cupcake pigout, i mean cowout.  

Supreme Court...

And capitol.  Natalie said it is much more beautiful in person than in pictures. I agree.

We decided to give the self-photography a try at the Washington Monument.  Aren't my 'tar-bans' (target ray-bans :) great?  Ed hates them.

Freedom wall at the WW2 memorial..each star represents 100 American service personnel who were killed during WW2.

Amy and Natalie taking a break at the Korean War Memorial.

One of our few successful pictures taken by strangers. Abe's head was not cut off and the guy taking the picture took it in under 30 seconds.  Bravo picture taker.

I have always wanted to visit this statue of Einstein near the National Academy of Sciences. Since we were on foot, and nearby, I thought that we should stop by. It is so big and it's neat because it is a sculpture that you can actually touch in DC so people were crawling all over it when we first arrived. 

DAR headquarters.  Heather and I were here before but I never had a chance to have my picture here.  

 Amy and Natalie at the White House. We had another stranger attempt to take a picture of the 3 of us here....she tried so hard..but could never get a good shot, even after taking 5 pictures.  

Ahh, at last. We reached the metro station to head home after a long, long day of walking!