Home Sweet Home

So my lack of updated blogs have not gone unnoticed, and you have let me know (thanks girlies) I will do my best to start updating again. I do lots of fun things with my absolute best friends in Utah... so hopefully I'll have enough to write to keep you all entertained!

Right now I am actually home in Michigan!! Its been an amazing visit home! Friday night was Kara Walters wedding. It was a fantastic night, beautiful wedding and lots of Deephers! High lights of the night. Waiter spilling water on me. Nick's cousin AND little brother creeping on us all. Cousin Mark... that girl over there (Kathryn Eby!) told me I should ask you to dance. KAT! Anyway, one was not enough and I was stuck SLOW DANCING to Journey with him... Don't Stop Believing. IS THAT EVEN A SLOW SONG?! haha very funny. Another highlight... being reunited with my DJ friend Kevin. I met him a couple years ago when I was working the wedding circuit (aka Emerald City Design). Not gunna lie, we flirted it up in the past... BUT didn't mean he needed to creep on me all night from the DJ booth! Awkward first conversation... 'I'm really glad you're here tonight.' Me: 'Uh ya, me too. We like to dance' AWKWARD! LOL The night was awesome though. Lots of dancing and seeing old friends.

Today I got breakfast with my favorite married couple Luke and Jenny. I love love love them. They are two of the most fantastic individuals I am honored to know. Its always fun to catch up with them, talking about embarassing (usually dating) stories, struggles and accomplishments. The rest of the day was spent at UMD for Bid day. I'm not gunna lie. I was extremely emotional today! Pref ceremony reminded me of my time in the sorority and the sisterhood I am apart of. You girls mean more to me than I could ever express. Thank you so much for always thinking of me, the calls, texts, wall posts... etc. I never feel as far away as I am. This weekend has been really special seeing so many of you. I am really excited for our new members too. They are gorgeous! Great job this year girls!

Tonight was a really fun night with the family. Dinner at the MacShack... just cant get enough! The usual Euchre game night.... and some extra time with my momma :)

Tomorrow is Best Friend day with Kelly :) Monday is home to Utah :( I really love it there, but being home reminds me of all my good memories in Michigan! Oh well, guess I just need to really enjoy the next two days!

Tennis Night

So last night I went on a really fun date. My date Cale (hey I'm writing about you in my blog, better than my journal!) works as a tennis instructor and made arrangements for us to play after hours at the club he works at. There were three couples... and needless to say, it was a really good time! It made me miss the summers of playing tennis with Luke, Tim and Joe. It also made me wonder how I had gotten SO rusty in a year! I was a mess! But Cale has assured me he's going to help improve my game, with a minimal fee ;-)

After church I drove 40 minutes to visit my cousin Michelle and her family. I adore them! They're so wonderful to me, and their kids are just the best! It was my first time to their house, which was beautiful. I was originally going to move in with them... and should have! Alee made me an 'Art Book' with pictures she drew for me while I was over. Tavo made me a folding box... don't ask, but it was cute. And the two youngest boys were just winning me over with their coy smiles and funny phrases. I hope to go over there more, I really want their family to know me and vice versa!

Tonight we were lucky to hear John Bytheway speak. For my friends not familiar with who he is, hes a member of the same church as me who has published books and CDs. He's a great public speaker, really funny. It was a treat to hear him speak in person and I was really touched by his message. The topic was having hope in these last days.

One Week to go!

Worst blog ever... haha So did I write about my upcoming trips... going to be home in one week! WOOO I'm really excited for Alum ritual, my dads birthday and seeing you all! There is nothing exciting to write about... I went on a good first date tonight. So woo for that, but its not like I can write about it... that wouldn't be creepy haha Yesterday I decorated a cake with my friend Sarah from work. She taught me how to make those frosting roses... so we covered a whole round cake in them. It looked pretty baller... one step closer to dominating the wedding industry I suppose haha I had a small Easter brunch on Saturday with Ashley, Greg and Joel... we decorated Easter eggs and ate pancakes. Fun. Cute... mmmm I got a new job... but haven't started it yet. Don't want to write too much about it until its official... more to come I guess. I'm sorry, I'm gunna keep this blog going as long as possible... but the stories aren't like the ones in Sweden! Corrigan, I'm sorry! It's just a struggle! haha

Love you guys, see you soon!

Across the USA!

Hi All! So its been 2 weeks since my last post. Whats new?? I've got a few friends I've been spending a lot of time with... Greg, Joel and my roommate Ashley. On St. Patrick's day we went to a dueling piano bar which was a lot of fun. Saturday night we watched movie at a blood bank haha Greg works there so we watched The Bucket List in the huge comfy seat (3/4s of us actually feel asleep they're so comfy) and ate all the snacks meant for the patients! So I'm usually with them if I'm not at work or with Whitney and Jon. Tomorrow is our other roommates birthday so we're taking her to dinner. I'm getting lunch with my friend Kenzie tomorrow. Drum role.... we're going to Cafe Rio. People FREAK OUT here when they hear I've never eaten there... so tomorrow is the day. I guess I'll write about it if its worth while.

So its funny, nothing too exciting has been happening here... but I'm writing because I've booked two trips I'm really excited for! I'm coming home for a visit April 15th-21st and going to visit Nick Evans in Palo Alta, CA mid-May!! One of the trips was free because I used my frequent flier miles (you can imagine I had a lot haha) I'm just so excited for both of the trips! I miss you guys so much... see you in April!! I'll write when more exciting things happen...

New Car

Hi!! So good news... I believe any day now my loan for my car will come from the bank and then I will be driving my new baby!!! Its a 2008 Mazda 3... Dark dark charcoal gray (aka black) with lots of perks! Low miles, I-pod hook up, volume control in the steering wheel, plus things I haven't even explored yet! I've already named him, yes its my first male car. His is The Prince, Prince for short. Roxanne and Hildegarde shall never be forgotten... but I'm pretty excited. Here are some pictures!


I also have a second interview for a job here, so I'll keep everyone posted once I know how that goes.

Lets see what I've been up to these past few days. Car and work stuff of course, last night Whitney and Jon had me and a guy over for dinner and games. It was pretty hilarious... I just don't recommend 4-person Catch Phrase unless you're ready for a heated game haha. Update on my cheesecake: it was a 'Mexican Cheesecake' and I attempted to make it Dulce de Leche style also... HOWEVER I used store bought carmel since I couldn't find any dulce de leche. It smelled like syrup lol (maple syrup) but I'm still please I baked it right. Tonight I had a great night at work... and tomorrow Amanda (my cousin) and I are heading to South Jordan to visit our cousin Michelle and her adorable family. I should probably go to sleep so I can wake up in time! Have a great night everyone. Love you!!

Cheesecake and Miss yous

Hey! So tonight after work I came home and made Dulce de Leche cheesecake for tomorrow's dinner. I'm taking a gentleman friend to meet Whitney and Jon. She's making us dinner (enchiladas) so I'm providing dessert. First time making cheesecake... and it looks pretty good, hope it taste good too!

So I had an interview today at a treatment center to work as a mentor. I felt really good going in, but there were so many other applicants that I guess I'll have to wait and see.

I really miss my friends from home. Its different than how I missed you guys when I was in Sweden... this time I miss you because I just know how amazing you all are... and I hate being so far away from everything going on. I know what I'm doing out here, but sometimes I just wonder "what am i doing out here" so I'm just feelin a tiny (only a tiny) bit down, thinking of the people not here with me, or... in other words that I'm not there with. Miss and love you guys.

XOXO Al

Long overdue.

hey blog readers. its been a little while. so ive been really busy and really happy. Two weeks ago i went though training at Macaroni Grill and I've been working on my own this past week. I like the people I work with a lot. Most of the girls are around my age, but all married... I figure they can set me up with their husbands' hot single friends. just kidding...

So what have I been so busy with you ask? I've made some great new friends that I spend a lot of my evenings with; Kara and Victoria who both live in an apartment right above mine. There are a lot of activities through the congregation I'm in at my church, and they're pretty fun! The girls are there too... so we always go together. We play a lot of games out here in Utah... but I like games so I'm not complaining. The only games I don't like are the kind with guys... they arent even 'games' but everyone are telling me about these stupid Utah rules... like not being able to date someone more than two times if you're not really interested, or you have to say yes to a first date... if you had fun on the date you text him thank you... and the list goes on and on. Its like, I'm not from here so why do I have to act like I am? Anyway I've gone on a lot of dates since getting out here... and I love it. Its hard though because of course I just wanna date one person... I'm a commitment type of person, so being single is hard for me...

Hey, just so ya'll know... I miss my Deephers so so much. I think about you girls all the time. Sorry to not write in a while... i just can't exactly put into words everything thats happening here. You guys can thank Allison for putting my butt in gear to get a post up. LOVE U ALL!

Friends and Family

So that birthday party was fun... too many yummy desserts! But I did meet a ton of people. The other girls that live in my stairwell are pretty awesome. They came over to watch Teen Mom with me (um, I don't even watch that show) and last night we went to this fresh-made-in-front-of-you Mexican place for dinner. Today my cousin Amanda and I got together for lunch. We had a pretty good time catching up and we're hanging out this weekend with her bf and his friend... so should be a good time! Tonight I went shopping with Whitney and some future co-workers, and then had a Grays night with homemade Blondies... whoa, yum.

So lets be honest... if I keep blogging like this, I'm gunna lose all my readers. So I have an idea of a topic to blog about... but I'll wait and see if anyone is even checking this still... til then... XOXO

New Beginnings

Hey all! So I'm going to try my best to update you on my past few days here. So to begin, I've been really happy here so far. Each day it seems that I've done something fun. I've met up with old friends and began making new. Travis (a friend from forever ago) had Whitney, Jon and me over for dinner on Sunday night. So that was fun... yesterday I got to see my friend Rhys and we drove to Park City where the Sundance Film Festival is going on! I see Whitney basically every day, and even when I don't we talk constantly. I went for my first free manicure today (as provided by the apartments). The girl Jamie who runs the Spa was super sweet. She even invited me to a birthday party at her place tonight for her roommate. So I'm excited to get to know her and meet some other people. Thursday I'm getting lunch with my cousin Amanda (we went to China together if you want a visual). She actually lives in the apartments across the street from mine. What are the odds!

So I really did like my apartment... now I'm not so sure haha. My one roommate Lizette and I hit it off right away. We talk every morning/night, super comfortable even though I've only been here since Friday. Anyway, shes moving out tomorrow! Way bummed about it. So the girl thats moving in seems fun and sweet... but I'm still bummed. And my apartment may be possessed, not sure yet. Something freaky happened last night... and then some really freaky talk was going around... but I sure hope that's not the case! But irregardless I don't like being alone here anymore, which is often during the day. I'll write more, if it becomes more evident that there is a problem...

Sooo I'm excited about tonight and I'll write about any fun encounters I have. Take care! And remember I have my phone so call/text me whenever!

New Adventures

So its been almost a month since my last post. I came home for Whitney's wedding the first weekend of January and spent 3 weeks visiting friends and family. I was thrown an amazing coming home party, went to the 20th anniversary party and watched the Bachelor, Idol and Biggest Loser during many girl nights. During my visit home I decided not to return to Sweden because I wasn't happy and myself there. I made the decision to move to the other place I had talked about going to, Utah.

So yesterday I flew out here. Flying over the mountains during this time of year was breathtaking. It felt like I was in another world... the snow covering the mountains, frozen lakes and land... I'd never seen anything like it before. I've really learned to appreciate the beauty in our own country since learning about the differences and similarities between the U.S and Europe... So anyway Whitney picked me up and has been a saint helping me get settled. The apartment complex I'm moving into is awesome... there is free tanning, fitness center, hair cuts, manicures, pedicures and facials. I found out today that you only get one of the free spa service per month... which makes more sense. So there were problems with the room I was originally supposed to move into (basically one of my potential room mates had moved into my room...) luckily the leasing office isn't going to keep me in that apartment, because I would have been the roommate that got the girl kicked from the big bedroom to the smaller one. Then they sent me over to another room in another apartment. As Whitney and I walked up the stairs, we noticed a weird baby-like blanket hanging in the window. Uh oh... my new roommates were going to be freaks. We walk in and there are dirty dishes everywhere... gross. Luckily those girls were also breaking the rooms and had moved people in that weren't supposed to be there. The girl that told me the rooms were all full was this big girl in her full out PJs at 5pm, it was bizarre. So I decided to wait until today and I will move into a completely different room. Hopefully #3 is the lucky charm!

So last night Whitney and I went to Target to buy bedding for me (I only spent $25 on a full cute bed set... score)! Whitney has been amazing giving me extra blankets and pots/pans etc for my new place. But the best gift of all... the hot pink snuggie! I think she's crazy for giving it up but I'm not complaining! We headed to Macaroni Grille for dinner to see Jon and to check out my future employment. I'm pretty excited to get back into serving. All the people seemed way cool... and less of your usual stereotypical servers. I must say, Whitney and Jon's place is gorgeous. I had seen it over Skype but it just didn't do it justice. Whitney has the place decorated extremely well... it all coordinates beautifully. I'm really happy for them! So back to the evening... during Grays Anatomy we made Monster Cookies... I had never had them before and they are delicious! Here is the recipe (below)!

So to wrap up, I hope I am moving in today. Whitney is letting me borrow her car since she will be at work. I am going to explore the area and hopefully find cheap cups/plates/etc. I'm pretty excited for this new adventure, but I still get really sad thinking about not being in Sweden and not seeing Jonas every day. I know everything will work out how its supposed to... but it still gets me down sometimes. So I plan on writing about my experience out here... because as my aunt said, Utah is just as much of a culture shock as Sweden was... so I will write about it and hopefully keep entertaining many of you like before!

Monster Cookies:

Yield:3 dozen
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook10 min
Total:23 min

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Home from Berlin

Hi!! We're back from Berlin safe and sound. I'm gunna try my best to write all of the fun/interesting stuff that happened! (Longest post to date!)

Arriving/Full Day 1: So to start our trip Judith and Anders picked us up from the airport giving us our first lesson in the Berlin subway system. We were pros by the end of the trip! We arrived late Tuesday night, so after some tea and snacks we went to bed. Hmmm must not have gone to bed early enough because we slept til 1pm that first day. But when we finally got up and out when went to see some sites. We first went to the Brandenburg Gate. According to Judith the statue was stolen from Napoleon and later retrived and brought back to Berlin. Down the street from the gate is the Jewish Memorial. There are 2,711 concrete blocks to honor the Jews killed throughout Europe during the wars. We also walked through a Christmas market which I really liked. It was fun to see all the German foods, and lit up booths. There was a huge ice hill for kids to inter tube down... too cold for any of us to try. The market was right near the Sony Center... which is one of the main city centers. We wanted to buy tickets for New Years day for Avatar in 3D... anyway the Sony Center was cool because back after the war, the war was built around this part of town which had originally been a thriving city area... but was then cut off from the wall. As soon as the wall went down in '89 they made plans to build up the area again to make it a thriving entertainment area like it originally had been. ANYWAY after we bought our tickets Judith left us (Jonas, Anders and myself) because she had to study at school. So we were left on our own to find a museum we had been recommended by Anna's (Jonas' sister) boyfriend. It was the Stasi Museum. Well we got to the right subway station... but then couldn't find the museum for the life of us. We walked around for awhile before asking a woman working at a pharmacy. Well we had to ask two more people before we were able to find the well hid building. The museum was in the actual Stasi headquarters (Ministry for State Security as they called it). Stasi is the name for the police in East Germany after the war. They spied on their own people (hello, they were controlled by Russia, surprise surprise) to ensure no one was trying to leave... which was basically everyone (well not really). The museum was good because it helped me understand the history after the war much better, but the museum exhibits were only in German which was a bummer... so we had to piece a lot of it together ourselves. A few cool things we saw were how they spied on people (cameras in birdhouses, microphones in watering cans, and machine guns in briefcases) and we could walk through the original offices of the last minister of State Security (Erich Mielke) and also see a jail cell and straight jackets... anyway intense stuff. After this full day of sightseeing we met back up with Judith, grabbed some dinner, Judith and I went to the solarium and then headed home for the night. So the tanning salon was a riot. This super tan, super old woman wearing really tight clothes explained to me how to use the tanning bed with charades twice, even though I understood the first time. Get this, we had to lay a plastic sheet over the bed to lay on... weird! Anyway it was really funny... even Judith had never done that before.

Day 2: This was Thursday, so the day of New Years Eve... once again we didn't get much of an early start but we tried to do some shopping... but found that all of the stores were closed by the time we had gotten to them. So Judith and I went to the grocery store to pick up some food to make pizzas at the preparty we were attending. Big mistake! All of Germany was doing the same... the lines were INSANE. We stood in line for an hour... not even kidding, and it was a big store, like Kroger) The really nice German lady in front of us told us we could put our stuff in her cart. Isn't that nice?? She kept trying to speak German to me as well... I think its funny that they know I don't understand but keep talking anyway... well the guys met up with us right before we checked out to grab a few things for themselves as well. So once we got home we got ready to go out for the night. Jonas and I had to repack our things because we were going to be staying the rest of our trip at this apartment where the party was at. We met up with Megan and Greg at the station near the party. I cried a little when I saw Megan... it was so overwhelming to have a friend from home. I spent most of the preparty catching up with Megan and Greg... I don't think we missed much because all the Germans were playing a card game... but kept speaking German even when none of us understood. We left around 10:45 to head to the party and to meet up with Chris and his group. We must have taken awhile... because we got to the party with 15 minutes before midnight. We decided to stay outside rather than try to go in. Best decision ever... at midnight fireworks went off from every direction around us. It was the coolest thing ever. Some of them were the big fireworks that the city put on... but then all the others were being lit by people a couple feet from us in every direction. It felt really dangerous... but was worth it!! After we finished celebrating outside we went in and just had a great time dancing. The music was just how I like it, none of that techno crap. There were some funny characters that were with Chris' group of friends... especially one French guy. He started by asking me if I was latina and telling his friend I was from Mexico when I said Michigan LOL then he was always lurking by us girls... but he couldn't speak much English and kept asking us to speak Spanish with him... sorry buddy I can't keep my Swedish and Spanish separate. At one point in the night he kept asking to take pictures of me and Megan... even though we told him it was okay, we didn't need any. Well the flash didn't work when he took it, so I just tried to pretend it did. Well he kept pestering us about the camera so I pretended I thought he wanted me to take pictures of him... thats why there are so many weird pictures of him on facebook. Anyway that didn't really work and we finally had to show him the picture didn't take... and try to escape. A few of our friends who will remain nameless got too drunk making for an interesting trip home. But we all made it to our places, feeling content with the great night we had.

Day 3: Well everyone slept in til after 2pm... no joke. Jonas and I didn't start our day til 3pm. We got some yummy yummy Subway and met Judith and Anders at the movies for Avatar in 3D!! Okay I was a skeptic before we saw it. But I'm soo glad we did!! I loved it. I think it was one of the greatest movies I've ever seen! It was beautifully made and an amazing story. Afterwards we went to the nearby mall and grabbed food and a warm drink. I had white hot chocolate... it felt like a great day even though we didn't do much.

Day 4: Everyone met up to spend the day shopping. Megan and Greg met us too (yay) The girls and boys separated so Judith could take us to more girly shopping. So when we were getting off the train, Judith led and I went to kiss Jonas goodbye and Megan did the same with Greg... well Judith realized that she hadn't kissed Anders and turned her head, contemplating whether to do the same. Well as she did this she misstepped and feel into the gap between the train and station!! I screamed and ran over to her to help. She was getting out pretty easily... but it all happened so fast. The guys ran off the train too to see if she was okay. It really was one of the scariest things I've seen, because while acting fast, in the same second I was imagining her leg being cut off... so scary! She was okay, just bruised the next day. Anyway the shopping area was really nice. This area of houses were turned into little shops. We found a few cute ones, but nothing was really calling out at me. All three of us bought clearance winter hats at H&M Divided (the hip, funkier H&M)... and the girls made some jewelry at this really funky awesome bead shop. It was very Betsy Johnson-esk. Jewelry made from bows, plastic animal figures, funky beads... really cool. There were gold spray painted mannequins on the walls wearing the jewelry... and me and Megans favorite was a dead stuffed squirrel wearing a funky broach coker and headpiece. We wanted to take the pictures but it was forbidden and the shop was small enough that they'd known we did it... and we didn't want to get kicked out! Megan made a cool skull charm to put on a gold chain at home... although I really liked the store, there was nothing I had to have. We met up with the guys shortly after this and had a kinda silly lunch at restaurant in a small shopping mall. We said it was the Big Boy of Germany... and they prepared all of our food in microwaves. It was cheap... so none of us really complained, even though Megan's tortellini had some cold spots... oops! Ew lol. But they had an awesome dessert selection so the Swedes indulged. After sitting for awhile we headed to the permanent Salvator Dali exhibit near the Sony Center. I saw a lot more of his work that I never knew he did... we had a pretty good time in the exhibit since Dali's art gave us a lot of stuff to talk about or laugh at. After we showed Megan and Greg parts of the Sony Center and Christmas market then walked to see the Brandenburg Gate at night. We stopped into some cheesy tourist shops per the American's requests. Enough time had passed that we were going to grab a fika (Greg really liked using his new word haha although like me, doesn't drink coffee) but fika turned into dinner, because we went to a place that Judith had been recommending... called Va Piano... and Italian version of Panera. OMG sooo cool. The interior was really warm and cozy. They give you a card, so you put all of your drinks, food or dessert of the card and then just pay it all at the end. We stayed there for a long time, eating yummy pizzas and dessert. Not to mention the free handful of gummy bears on the way out! We all said our goodbyes and headed home. Chris was leaving early the next morning and Megan and Greg weren't sure if they'd be meeting up with us for the flee market, so we said goodbye to them too encase.

Day 5 (last day): It seems like we had a lot of great days, and this was no exception. We met up at Judith's early (well early for us since we had to include travel time) and brought breakfast with us. I finally caved in a took half of a croissant type thing with Nutella inside. Nutella is a German product and if you haven't tried it... I would suggest you do! It doesn't make much sense to me... since its basically spreading chocolate on bread, but its really hazelnut and chocolate. It smells and tastes just like the filling of my favorite packaged cookies in Sweden... so I knew I'd like it. But I had been avoiding all the stands of Nutella crepes and Nutella pastries... but it was our last day. So not only did I eat the Nutella croissant, I took a knife full and spread on extra haha. After breakfast we headed to a flee market that is only open on Sundays. Although it was now the coldest day yet, it was a lot of fun. I found this really pretty sparkly earrings (clipon, oh geezs) that look a lot like a pair my grandma wears. Me and Verda setting fashion standards one day at a time... haha. And some stuff for my dad. So on Sundays ALL the stores are closed in Germany... even the malls. So I was kinda bummed since I had never found anything fun for myself... oops I thought too soon. We started to walk back to the subway and I noticed a really cool shop open. We were freezing so everyone was willing to go inside. Alright, it was amazing. A mix of Bella Mia and Forever 21... but prices worst than either. Oh well... I found 5 dresses I loved, but narrowed it down to two. Some of the only shopping I've done in the past 5 months. Jonas bought one for me for a Christmas present (its what he knew I wanted him to do) and I forked out the cash for the other... actually Anders had to loan me the money since I was out of Euros and this was going to be our last purchase... so no need to take out more. Anyway I'm in love. The store was called Who Shot Bambi and was a German store, perfect!! I had kept us there for quiet awhile and by the time we got back to Judith's flat we had enough time to relax before heading to the airport. Judith went above and beyond to make our trip amazing, which it was. So at the airport the airline we were flying with was similar to Ryan Air, very strict about carry on. The guy even made me put my bag in that box they always have near the gate, but you never really care about. I was sure it wasn't going to fit... but it did! I showed that jerk. But then I was afraid I couldn't get it out... but obviously I did. So we were a little stressed, because this carrier, EasyJet tends to be late... and after our scheduled time to land we only had 25 minutes to make our bus (there were no trains running that late to Jonas' mom). And to make matters worst the plane WAS late, but not late enough... and so we made it. I slept most of the way home since it was so late, and we didn't get to Halmsted until after midnight. Henrik was nice enough to pick us up and drive us the 30 minutes back home. Whew! Lots of traveling... but not as much as I'll be doing Wednesday/Thursday.

So I have to leave late Wednesday night by train to Copenhagen and spend the night in the airport since my flight leaves early in the morning, but too early to make any of the morning trains. Bummer. I will be flying from Copenhagen to Oslo to DC (I think) to Detroit!! I can't believe I'm coming home. Anyway, this might be my last post before I come home. If it is, I'll see you back home!

Christmas Update

Well Christmas Eve turned out to be really nice! The family exchanged presents, and I was expecting to just get a few from Jonas' sisters and one from his mom... but they really included me and gave me quite a lot! It was nice doing it at night because it went much slower, and each gift was really examined and appreciated. The rhyming was fun too... trying to guess what each present was. Of course, I didn't get any of the rhymes in Swedish. Anyway here is a summary of some of the gifts I was given:

A super cute cupcake tin with cute cupcake ingredients
Cute knee high white fashion socks
Body Shoppe bath set
Best American Cookbook (in Swedish lol)
Shimmery body lotion
The nighty I mentioned already
Tea
And Jonas' grandma gave us money! which I hope to spend in Berlin

Anyway after presents we had desserts and played a fun card game... although it was in Swedish I was pretty good! Came in second :)

Today I'm skyping with Matt and my family... I am looking forward to both! Thank you everyone for my Christmas wishes!

God Jul and Merry Christmas!!

Hi everyone! So I have been in Bastad since Sunday after I took my last exam. Jonas and I had a very interesting bus ride from Jonkoping to his moms. We sat in front of this guy who was making these weird grunts and nasal noses... WHILE he was saying 'satanic' chants... needless to say it was a strange beginning to this holiday break.

Yesterday we put up all the Christmas decorations, which is typical to do the day before (not the day after Thanksgiving like we do!). Jonas and I trimmed the Christmas tree and made a gingerbread house which is on display (pictures to come later).

So today is Christmas in Sweden, or they at least celebrate today. So the festivities started by watching a very old Disney Christmas special that is aired every year. It had all the happy clips from movies like... Cinderella, Robin Hood, Lady and the Tramp, Jungle Book, short Mickey and Donald Duck clips... and the list goes on and on. It was funny because they have dubbed all the cartoons in Swedish, which they usually don't do. We had a Christmas fika while we watched. Next I helped prepare the Julbord (Christmas table, with all the food for dinner) The dinner was in stages and here is what we ate that I can remember (well, what was on the table... I didn't eat everything) Round one: Herring (in many different forms) and crisp bread, red beet salad, cheeses, sausages... Round two: Salad, shrimp, thin salmon (looked raw, didn't eat it) weird eggs... probably more that I'm not messaging and Round three: meatballs, ham, yummy apples, special potatoes, sausage and who knows what else! Anyway, I've been very selective of what I eat these past few weeks in preparation for the wedding and super small jacket I have to fit into! So my dinner really was... shrimp salad, apples, a taste of herring and a piece of bread. VERY EXCITING I KNOW!

Now we are preparing to exchange gifts... so I will have to update more later. But as of now... Anna showed me the gift she got me, a very cute nightie, but she wasn't sure if I'd want to open that in front of everyone else! One tradition is you give a rhythm along with the gift to the person it is for, kind of as a clue.

I will write more as I experience more. I miss home very much and Christmas is no where near the same!! I love you all and hope you're having a very merry time with family and friends. See you in 16 days!!

Luke and Lincs Talky Blog

Hey :) so Luke and Linc (two friends from home) have a video blog that they update each Thursday. They have a goal of getting 100 followers by New Years, please follow their blog and help me help them!

http://lukelinc.blogspot.com/2009/12/talky-blog-sette.html

festive weekend

Hello all :)

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday preparations, I miss Christmas shopping and ugly sweater parties. (Yes they have Christmas, but I'm low on the cash flow so I'M not Christmas shopping, and I've thrown too many events at my apartment the past month to throw an ugly sweater party). Anyway, I had a pretty enjoyable weekend. On Friday a group of people went to Harry's (my work) for 'after work' a free dinner buffet and then we headed over to Joel and Amanda's apartment (Joel... Tommy Lee from Bday party) to watch the Swedish Idol finale. Apparently their final is the largest in the world. It was pretty good, the guy I thought would win did. The song that was the winners first single was pretty good. I don't know if this link will work in the States... but check it out: http://www.tv4play.se/noje_och_humor/idol?videoId=1.1390994

Okay I think its really good!! And don't be alarmed by his tight skinny leather pants and blonde hair, its normal here. LOL but anyway while we were waiting for the results to be announced we were switching between that and the Noble Peace Concert being hosted by the Smith family (as in Will Smith's family) that was really good too! I also was able to watch President Obama give his acceptance speech will receiving the Noble Peace Prize. I'm not sure if they aired that at home or not... but it gave me pride to watch :)

So today is 'Lucia,' I woke up at 7am (keep in mind I went to bed after 3am after work) to watch the ceremony. I had to ask Caroline (because Jonas couldn't really tell me) who she was. Lucia was a Christian in Italy (so why is she being celebrated in Sweden... I wondered the same thing) who helped the poor. Anyway she was persucuted for her beliefs and burned at a stake and stabbed. So now she is portrayed wearing a headpiece of candles to represent the flames and wears a red sash around her white robes for the blood from the stab... yaaa so anyway she is accompanied by a choir (all holding candles) in a church while she enters walking through praying. Anyway I was told it was really nice... but it was kinda boring and early... I also went to church with Caroline and her parents who were visiting and another girl. I had to wear a goofy translation headpiece so I could understand the sermon. The guy was sitting two spots away from me so I was joking with Caroline that he should just whisper in my ear... LOL yes, I was the only English speaker there. But it was cool to attend a foreign service.

Well its finals week (like the rest of you) and its gunna suck. Good luck everyone, I miss you and love you! See you soon!!

Hipp Hipp Sopa

Kat, dad, anyone who I can usually get a laugh from... this is for you:

If I haven't already mentioned the worst part of my job... it's when we have to sweep all the trash from outside of the club (cigarette buds, napkins, hot dog chunks, beer cans). So Saturday night, myself and two of my fellow closet coworkers were outside sweeping and 4 times, 4 times, a van full of drunk people drove past us yelling.... "oooooooooooooh sopa!" I didn't really get it and finally after the fourth time Sophie and Alex explained that in Swedish the word 'sopa' means both 'sweep' and 'suck' as in... you suck. Get it? It's based off a comedy clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUE08pltk1s

I actually thought it was hilarious and I hope you guys do too. Enjoy my humility in Sweden. LOL

Celebrations.

Hi everyone! Well to begin, today has been one year since Jonas and I met... awwww. And how are we celebrating?? He's taking me to New Moon!!! But as most of you know... my birthday was Friday! I had a really great day, but it still didn't top last year, which I got to spend with so many people who I know care about me :) Jonas took good care of me all day. He surprised me with Ugg boots that I didn't even ask for (but NO girl complains about getting Uggs)! The first thing I thought of was Melissa and Kat, I feel like I can officially be in the club haha. The only problem is... his friend had them imported for me, and they are a size too big... but its the thought that counts and better too big than too small! He also got me a tanning gift card which I really appreciate, especially since I want to have some color for Whitney's wedding! We went out for a nice lunch... and then got ready for the 'Born in the USA party!' If you haven't seen the pictures yet, the idea was that everyone dressed up as their favorite American! I was really impressed with the effort. I created a 'American Goodie Bag' with treats from the states for the best costume (it was a twix bar, pringles, oreos and budweiser) The top three costumes were: Tommy Lee, Risky Business Tom Cruise, and Phoquin Phoenix. It was really funny because during this part everyone was really loud with ooohs and ahhhs and cheering after everything I said. But the winner was Tommy Lee, our friend Joel who had actually bought parts of his costume off the internet (annnd not to mention he had a sock in his pants... you get the idea) so his effort was rewarded and he shared his treats with the party. The apartment was packed with about 30 people, so it was crazy. A lot of people baked treats... a cheesecake, a peanut butter chocolate brownie cake (please her heart) a huge gingerbread cookie with birthday message and I made 30 cupcakes (without muffin tins... so they were every shape EXCEPT round lol) and it was all eaten! Not by me lol. After hanging out for a while, we headed to the student pub which was open for a special night. Usually they are only opened Wednesdays.

Like I said, I really enjoyed my birthday but last year meant so much to me. Almost every night that week, I spent with close friends celebrating. I just really miss you all and can't wait to see you in 5 weeks :) :) :)

Oh I should also thank Kelly for sending me a package in the mail, and my mom... but I'm still irritated because one of my mom's packages didn't arrive. Some of the girls at the party said it was probably because she put food in there... hopefully it will come tomorrow.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Puss och Kram, Alyson

YUCK!!! thanks enrique for the link!

Here is an article from an online Swedish newspaper written in English. My friend Enrique posted this on his facebook page. Stockholm is much more north than where I am, so our city has been even gloomier!!!

Stockholm suffers nearly sunless November

Published: 30 Nov 09 16:02 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/23568/20091130/

The month of November was one of the gloomiest on record in Stockholm, meteorologists said on Monday, as the Swedish capital registered only 17.5 hours of sunlight for the entire month.

The sun shone on average for only 35 minutes a day during the month, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) said.

In the past quarter-century, only the years 2000 and 1993 had darker months of November, with eight and nine hours of golden rays respectively, while the average for the month is 54 hours.

Because clouds trap heat and prevent clear skies and crisp temperatures, November 2009 was also one of the warmest Novembers in 25 years.

The average temperature in Stockholm was 5.6 degrees Celsius (42 Fahrenheit), compared to an average of 2.9 degrees over the past 25 years. Only the year 2000 was warmer at 7.0 degrees.

Stockholm, one of the northernmost capitals in the world, also has less sunshine in November because of the shorter daylight period, with around seven hours of daylight in November.

By contrast Sweden has long sunny days during the summer months, on average 292 hours of sunshine in June and 260 hours in July.

Thanksgiving 2.0

Last night a classmate of Jonas' (Anna) threw her own Thanksgiving dinner. She lived in the States and Thailand for a while and said she learned from the Thais the important of tradition (Thai people celebrate all holidays, kinda like us... cinco de mayo anyone?) Anyway, she did an awesome job! While she was cooking she had arranged a scavenger hunt for us! We were in 4 teams. Each destination had an envelope with a task. And then we had a list of things we could do for extra points (example, take a picture with the whole team on a swing, with a dog, with an old lady over 75) The first task was to make a turkey mask and take a picture with 3 strangers wearing it LOL then some of the other tasks were puzzles or questions. One task was we had to write a Haiku, well 3rd grade with Mrs. Fedoroff came flooding back to the Haiku poems we had to write, 5 syllabls, 7, 5. BOOM. We were the ONLY group that knew what a proper Haiku poem was :)

Here is the picture we had to write a Haiku about:

Big Bird's friends betrayed
On the table he was slayed
A good meal was made

Needless to say, OUR GROUP WON!! It felt pretty good because another girl in another group was talking a lot of trash and was pretty competitive (like me haha).

Here are some other highlights of the game:

Asking people to wear the turkey mask. Swedes are very very shy/reserved (until they are drunk) and so we could only get Asian exchange students at the bus stop to do it haha and even that was a challenge, but hilarious.

Second, when we asked an old lady to take a picture with us (well only one of our team mates could ask in Swedish) she told us no, and I still wasn't sure why, but I think she said she was scared. BUT for the points I still took a picture of her LMAO "its all about the competition!"

Highlights of the dinner: TURKEY AND PUMPKIN PIE!!! I think I mentioned in my last blog that the turkey was too expensive for us to buy, but Anna is a baller and bought enough Turkey and chicken to last a week... seriously. And another American there is married to a Swedish girl (its a very cute story: David studied as an exchange student here 2 years ago and Kiki his wife was his 'host Swede' meaning she was his contact person in Sweden to help him if he needed it, and now they're married!) Anyway he still lives in the States, shes working on getting her visa, but HE BROUGHT CANNED PUMPKIN from home!!! Did I mention in the last blog I went to 4 stores (5 if you include the Asian food store LOL) looking for pumpkin, but they don't sell it. So I was so so happy that there was a real pumpkin pie with whipped cream!

Happy Turkey... (i mean Chicken) Day!

Well I need to update my blog, don't I?! Before this past week I didn't feel like I had much to write about... now I have too much. Lets start with last Wednesday. Jonas and I participated in a dodgeball tournament. It was a ton of fun. Each of the teams dressed in a theme, ours was pretty lame... but others were really funny. Jonas dressed up as Bjorn Borg (famous Swedish tennis player) and then a few of us dressed up as tennis players or wore shirts saying "I love Bjorn Borg" The other team were.... the nerds, hulk hogans, Christmas themed, ninjas, 80s aerobic, and the frenchmen. Our team was undefeated! But at the game for the winner we lost. Then we had a catered pasta dinner after :)

Alright, now to talk about the past two days. As many of you know... I booked a ticket home! :) I really need a trip home to see everyone to keep me going here. I'm pretty lonely here... and I only think its because I left SO SO many amazing friends back home! So I fly into Detroit Jan 7th. Buuuut On Jan 9th I am going to be the MOH in one of my best friend Whitney's wedding in Tennessee. So I'll officially be back in town the 10th through the 21st! I have so many things I'm excited about; besides the wedding, there is the Deephers 20th anniversary party and Kellys sister, who is like family, is having her baby in December!! So I think its going to be a great great visit.

So yesterday was Thanksgiving! I know everyone loves Thanksgiving, but isn't it the same every year? Ya usually. That's why I think yesterday was so so special for me. I planned a huge dinner and had 8 people join me. Jonas helped me go shopping for all the food on Monday, and on Tuesday I created a 'Thanksgiving Game Plan' which I was teased about yesterday haha! But I had to so I could pull the dinner off!

Here is the menu:
Whole Chicken (the turkey was really expensive!)
Mashed potatoes
Campbell's green bean casserole
Candied carrots
Reeve family rolls
Jello with whipped cream
Swedish apple pie w/ Häagen-Dazs and vanilla sauce (made by Krister, so so good!)
Chocolate chip, cranberry oatmeal cookies

It all turned out really good! I was especially happy that I was able to make my family's dinner rolls that we have at every holiday. Usually my grandma, aunt or mom makes them, never me! And I've heard many horror stories of them not working out. And the best feeling was when I pulled the rolls out of the oven and it smelled like home. I've never experienced that before. It really was special! I felt just as happy for Krister who had never baked ANYTHING before and made a huge amazing Swedish apple pie. Our family always has jello with our holiday meals for fun. The adults eat the fancy gelatin and us kids always ate the flavored jello with whip cream. So I tried to make jello for my meal... strange enough they call it 'jelly' here in Europe and it wasn't as firm as Jello from home. So it kindof turned into a big joke at dinner. Anyway it was a really great night of food, football (Krister has NFL ticket so we streamed it live) and Beatles RockBand. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!