Live from Denmark

Hello from the land of many islands!

We are at our fourth stop: Karin & Jesper Skovsgård's house. (I am typing on a Danish keyboard, so I can use all the interesting Danish alphabet letters: æ, ø, å, €, µ). They, and their three kids- Morten (17), Simon (15), and Anne (12) - were all in CA this past July.

First, my aunt Carol and my Mom picked me up at the Kobenhåven airport (that's Copenhagen to you Americans) on Friday afternoon. My flights were smooth, but a few minutes late. They did not even look at my passport, much less stamp it!

We stayed in Kobenhåven one night, walking down the Strøller, or the "walking street". The hotel was a very old building downtown. The walls were so thin that we could hear everything people said on our floor all night long! Good thing there were no honeymooners!!

Everything is compact here: the shower, the bed, the room, the elevator, the CARS!

We met up with my Mom's cousin Holger's second son, Jan for Saturday breakfast at our hotel. He is 42 years old, but looks 29 at the most! He has a website for his acting career in Denmark that I will search for when I get home. He was very nice and funny. He even drove & walked around Kobenhåven with us for the day. We saw the oldest operating fort, the queen's residence, the little mermaid statue, and the new opera house. There is a very beautiful walking street with different colored buildings and a harbor, and tons of restaurants where everyone is eating outside and sitting to drink beer and wine.

Later we drove to Sweden to stay with Lone and Thomas Lundquist. (They didn't stamp my passport, AGAIN) They are so funny and really welcoming - just like everyone! Their kids are Patrick(20), Camilla(17), and Madeleine(5). We walked around the neighborhood to see all the different, as well as typical, Swedish houses. They made a huge dinner, gave us Swedish cards and t-shirts, and stayed up late talking with us. We all invited Milla to come and stay with us this summer to practice english and see California.

We slept very late on Sunday, ate another huge amount of food at their house, then drove into Malmo (population 300k) to see the Twisting Torso building, and the awesome shoreline walking street. We walked in downtown, too.

Also very late, we left Sweden after dinner with the Ludquists. We drove into Denmark to mom's cousin Andres Peter's house. He looks very much like my Grandpa! I remember meeting him a couple of times when he vistited my Grandparents. He remembers everything! He thanked me for letting him sleep in my bed when I lived with my Grandparents and he visited. He was wonderful, as was his lady friend Hanne. He had just finnished renovating the entire house! he said "I made it new for you".

WE spent the day with the two of them. later, AP's sister Hanne also came over! It was wonderful to be treated like royalty with all the food laid out all the time- We have to be careful not to gain a hundred kilos while we are here!

Then, we arrived by 6pm at the Skovsgård's.

Whew, I guess I should update more often to save you from reading this long long letter.

I did keep it short, so I will have to remember the details of the amazing landscapes, expensive toll bridges, and Strong wind!

Remember: left is venstre and right is højre. (I am trying to learn Danish...ha.)

So that's why we pay so much to live here!

Beautiful, huh?

This was me driving safely to school two weeks ago. There was this most amazing clear air to properly display the breathtaking view.

Just wanted to share!

Good Morning (oh wait, it's afternoon already!)

If the title of this post doesn't fill you in, allow me: I Am Busy!

I am at work. I am heating up a microwave lasagne as I type. I just realized I haven't updated the world (or whomever actually reads this thing) on my super fab life.

Today, I am:

• scheduling the next year of programs for the rec district.



• (including: basketball, swim team, water aerobics, tennis, golf, Swimming lessons, track team, t'ai chi chih, and more!)



• preparing some mailers/flyers for said programs, including the soledad Pool schedule.



• rescheduling my pre-op appointment with Dr. German



• ordering all the lifeguard training supplies i need April 4-16.



• getting my board members orgainzed and prepared for our meeting on Monday



• preparing for my new endeavor: the Healthy Soledad collaborative



• revising the wind & wine festival sponsor packets and food/wine packets



• turning the swimming pool systems back on & troubleshooting



• writing out work orders for the lifeguards as they prepare for the pool reopening in my absence

Whew....

Next week: I leave for Denmark! Thursday, March 22 at 4:35pm you will hear the roaring of the 747 jet engines as I soar off into the bright and promising skies of adventure! I expect to encounter wonderful people, become fluent in Danish, and consume more pastries than my workout partner reccommends. Ah, it is my light at the end of the "preparing for vacation" tunnel.

I return April 2nd, but will stay in a hotel in SF to attend my classes at SJSU the next AM. That's right, friends. I will not miss a single class for this trip! Right-o!

I am experiencing the euphoria of dreamland right now, so I will enjoy it. Thanks, Stouffer's.

Non-Baby Woes

Here is my beautiful baby nephew Trevor! This photo was taken last month when Blaine & I babysat for 1 week (2 Feb- 9 Feb). I tried to take a picture of him everyday so I could give it to his mom, but I just take forever to get them to his mom!

Speaking of being a mom, I am super bummed (this word is much more neutral than my real feelings) that I will be having shoulder surgery & thus cannot be preggo.

I am REALLY sad.

The schedule is such: it is now March 7th. I leave for Denmark in 2 weeks - March 22nd. I get back on the 3rd of April. Then, I have a prior engagement on April 13th (my half-birthday, by the way). I will try to schedule the surgery for the w/o April 19th. That's two more months of no baby!

That just seems like for-ev-er. (Picture Squints Paladoras saying it from the movie The Sandlot) For-ev-er!

So, please commiserate with me & leave a comment. Just don't tell me it's not really that big of a deal, because I just need to mourn for a bit. Thanks.

Valentine's Day Flowers

Just wanted to add a picture of my fabulous v-day flowers from Blaine.

Loving Blaine

I've had a difficult week and just wanted to praise to the internet heavens my dear husband Blaine. I've been a big ball of complaining goo & he has been mildly amused my me while not complaining much in return. I really appreciate him.

Here's a list of great things about Blaine:

1. He bought me beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day (even after I was a little insistent, you know - giving him the name & location of the florist). They were a beautifully arranged mix of 5 red roses and some awesome orchids (white w/ pink tinge). AND...ordered mini pizzas - that he served up on our china - because it is my favorite food.
2. He took me out to dinner for our anniversary - five "blissful" years.... to Roy's at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach. It was delicious.
3. He went to brunch with my family last Sunday in Salinas. Neither of us really wanted to make the drive after all the driving we do all week, but he did & DIDN'T COMPLAIN. (that is really important to me)
4. He has listened to my constant complaining about school.
5. He came with me to the Soledad Awards Banquet ( I was awarded by the Oldtown Association for "Volunteer of the Year").
6. He is funny & makes me smile.
7. He cooks yummy dinners practically every night.
8. When I cry about getting that danged "monthly visitor" again, he tries really hard to say the right thing.

Basically, Blaine is a lot nicer than I usually make him out to be. I just wanted everyone to know that I really do love him & am thankful that he is my husband.