this weekend

I just had the greatest weekend with Andreas. Saturday we picked apples from the little tree outside the building (I think we took all the apples left on the tree, that's how small it is) and made apple crumble pie from scratch and ate it with vanilla ice cream. YUMMY!
Sunday I made 3 curtains AND a table cloth. I have never been good at sowing and have actually only made to pillow covers before so this was a huge project for me. I took me about 8 hours and I am very proud.
While I was sowing Andreas put up a shelf, a mirror in the halway and shoeracket. It is getting cosier and cosier in his apartment.





Next time we go to IKEA I want to buy Christmas decorations :P

my favourite blog

This blog is a blog that is inspiring in every way.
I read LOLITA every day (and sometimes I even read it 3-4 times a day) She writes about fashion, music, food (delicious recipes), beauty, make up, and different forms of design (interior).
Some of the fashion blgos of this time is all about the "trends" but Lolita manages to make a classical twist of most of the seasonal trends. It is a joy NOT to have to read about latex tights in a blog.

I have followed so many fashion blogs for the last 2 years, and she is definately the one worth mentioning.
Thank you Lolita!

And now she even has a competition.

Want to learn English?

Fortunately I passed the English test when I started at newbold and therefore I never had to take any English classes.

Andreas says the guy reminds him of Kaj, the only German on campus.
It would be a great act for international night. =)

you can still be my boyfriend

I made a quiz about myself on facebook and apparently it isn't very easy. Here is how Andreas did...

He thought it was a bit embarrasing so he did it again and got 100%. So there shouldn't be anything wrong with his memory. Maybe it's just the listening skills... ;)

If you think he must be a terrible boyfriend have a go yourself at the quiz: here (You will have to add the "quizzes application")

If you want to cheat and see how Andreas did click here.

why men are happier than women

1. We keep our last name.
2. The garage is all ours.
3. Wedding plans take care of themselves.
4. Chocolate is just another snack.
5. We can be president.
6. We can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
7. Car mechanics tell us the truth.
8. The world is our urinal.
9. We never have to drive to another gas station because this one's just too icky.
10. Same work, more pay.
11. Wrinkles add character.
12. Wedding dress - $5000; tux rental - $100.
13. People never stare at our chest when we're talking to them.
14. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
15. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle our feet.
16. One mood, ALL the time.
17. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
18. We know stuff about tanks.
19. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
20. We can open all our own jars.
21. We get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
22. If someone forgets to invite us, he or she can still be our friend.
23. Our underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
24. Everything on our face stays its original color.
25. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
26. We don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
27. We almost never have strap problems in public.
28. We are unable to see wrinkles in our clothes.
29. The same hair style lasts for years, maybe decades.
30. We don't have to shave below our neck.
31. Our belly usually hides our big hips.
32. One wallet and one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons.
33. We can "do" our nails with a pocket-knife.
34. We have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
35. We can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives, on December 24, in 45 minutes.

My roommates fiance posted this on myspace. It made me smile. Some of it is not very Scandinavian, but it is becoming more and more like America even there. Yes it is stereotyping, but ironically there is small a factor of truth in it.
How predominant are gender differences in your country? Personally I think the problem is that we ARE different but our differnces should be seen as complementary not one being better than the other.
Are female characteristics such as nurturing, feelings, intuition etc. seen as weaker attributes?
Why does women in leading positions get less paid than men?
Why are women less likely to ask for more pay?
As women we should be careful so that we do not forget that we are in fact women and there is nothing wrong with that. That doesn't mean that we should be treated with less respect.

(A recommendation; NEVER read 'Why men don't listen and women can't read maps*. It made me furious and is not even partly based on scientific research although it claims to be so.)

For now, lets just laugh at our differences but keep the logic and mentality behind it in mind.

if you're feeling in love

This song makes me happy in many ways. First of all the song in it self, the beat, the sound, the lyrics. Secondly I love Alicia. She is a beauty and her voice is absolutely amazing. (thank you for not trying to fit size 0 before making a music video, it is nice to see people with a "human" shape.) I remember when I first heard "Falling" and although this is something very different it makes me happy, and that is what I am looking for in music, that they manage to create an emotion.

So now I've put this song here so all of you can enjoy, at least I will while I am eating chocolate and listening to Andreas talking to his parents... or maybe I should make some brownies :)

Depression?

PSALM 88
1 O LORD, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily upon me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9 my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Selah
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, O LORD, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
15 From my youth I have been afflicted
and close to death;
I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.


Coming to England I have got a feeling that sadness and vulnerability are not welcome in the church. It is almost as if God's people have to be "happy-clappy" all the time!
It is frustrating me!
As human beings we experience pain, relief, agony, love, frustration, anger, depression, happiness, and a huge spectrum of sometimes overwhelming emotions. In the Bible we learn how even those who were closest to God struggled with depression (psalm 88). So why can't we express these feelings in Church? The Church should be a safe place where people can meet the grace, love and embrace of a faithful God. Who cares if you wear a tie? Struggling with God and your faith is so important, and the Church should be the place where people can express these struggles and be met with understanding.
I almost want to start something called "depressed-Church" where doubt, anger, sadness and tears can be released and where you won't be asked if "God has been good to you?" and are expected to clap your hands and laugh. Surely God is worthy of praise, but He is also worthy of honesty. He knows what you are struggling with anyway so share it with Him, communicate! Express your confusion of emotions to God!

Who created emotions?
Who is faithful?
Who is all knowing?
Who is always present?

Psalm 62
1My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

a last note... The book of Psalms in the Bible were the "Hymn-book" in the time of Jesus. Do we have anything like psalm 88 in todays repetoire? Shouldn't we?

Where is home?

My parents have now moved to Denmark. All of a sudden I feel like I don't have a "home" anymore. I have most of "my" things here at Newbold, but our family is at this moment living in Sweden, England and Denmark. So where is home?

Is it here?


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I do miss my family right now...

Listening

When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving advice, you have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell my why I should feel that way you are tramping on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem you have failed me, strange as that may seem.

Listen! All I asked was that you listen - not talk or do. Just hear me.

Advice is cheap. A quarter will get you both Dear Abby and Billy Graham in the same newspaper.

And I can do for myself. I'm not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering but not helpless.

When you do something for me that I can do for myself, you contribute to my fear and inadequacy.

But when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, no matter how irrational, then I can quit trying to convince you and can get about the business of understanding what's behind this irrational feeling.

And when that's clear, the answers are obvious and I don't need advice. Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what's behind them.

Perhaps that's why prayer works sometimes for some people - because God is mute and He/She doesn't give advice or try to fix things.

So please listen and just hear me. And if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn and I'll listen to you.


Beyond Sympathy by Janice Harris Lord

a word of advice

Do not buy this toothbrush: Colgate 360*!

It is absolutely horrible. There is plastic in the middle which rubs against your teeth and makes a whisteling sound. I got chills down my back from using this.

...and remember to floss!