Home Decorating

I know I need to post pictures of my new house, but I thought I'd let those of you who didn't go shopping with us today see what we bought.

This painting of aspens and two iron-worked, shutter, candle holders. Without the flash:

With the flash:

And a fun blue carpet with a flower-petal pattern. Kind-of like temple carpet.

This is how it looks with my couches.

Right now it's dark outside, otherwise I'd go out and take more pictures. Hopefully, I'll be able to do that soon.

PTCs

Parent-Teacher Conferences are completed! Well, I had two that didn't show and will have to contact them next week, but the long evenings are over! They actually went very well but it just feels good to have them finished.

China

Some cool pictures of our time in China! (They're not in any particular order.)




Shanghai financial district



Throne room in the Forbidden City



Dad catching rings with his head in the park of the Temple of Heaven



Me, on the Great Wall

Mom and Dad on the Great Wall

Kim and I in Tiananmen Square (Yes, Mao's picture is still there)

Kim and Kiki (a lady on our tour with us) in a Rikshaw

A giant panda in a tree, he climbed up there just for us!

There's more but I just don't have the patience to wait for them to upload again, sorry.

Hello from Texas

Here I am "deep in the heart of Texas." I'm visiting Lynette and Anthony for a week and a couple days. So far, I've driven from San Antonio to Corpus Christi and then today I drove with Lynette from here to Houston and back. I'm tired.

Still Alive

Just so you know, I'm here! I haven't dropped off the face of the earth completely. But it is summer and I tend to retreat into a reading haze. Also, I've done some really fun kayaking with my roommate, Kim. I don't have any pictures yet, but I'll try to remember my camera/phone one of the next times.

Oh, I have also had a great time with this summer's TV shows. Burn Notice, Royal Pains, SYTYCD, Good Guys, In Plain Sight, Flashpoint, Lie to Me, and last but definitely not least Leverage. And in the next couple weeks: White Collar, Psych, Warehouse 13, and Eureka (I think that's all of them).

Ride

As you can see, I have a new car. I just love it! I usually have a reason for getting a new car (even if it is only so that I can have cruise control and power windows, right Lynette?), this time's no different. I decided that I needed an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicle for the commute to my school during the winter. If Utah ever canceled school due to snowfall, I probably wouldn't worry about it so much but Utah follows a strict never, never, NEVER cancel school policy (at least along the Wasatch Front). Because of this, I had a great reason to purchase a car: a 2008 Subaru Forrester, L.L. Bean edition. Don't worry, I paid cash for it so I don't have a payment. Isn't it cute? I never really thought that I'd buy a blue car, or a two tone car, but I really like this one.

Yapple Dapples

My visit to Arkansas was a success! While at the Battlefield we found a ton of Yapple Dapples. Well acutally, that's not their real name but we couldn't remember what the name was so Shawn came up with a new and I say better name.





I had a great time in Arkansas! I love it there! Thanks for having me, Bills!

Not in Greenland!

Guess what? I got a job yesterday! I'll be teaching fourth grade during the morning and I'll be the Math Specialist in the afternoon. The math part is somewhat undefined as of yet but should be a good program to get up and running! I will be working at my old school, Westland Elementary, in West Jordan--yes, that's in the Jordan School District. And yes, I interviewed yesterday morning with the new principal and after being home for about an hour, he called and offered me the job. Yesterday was my hire date and I will have students on Monday! It's been pretty great to be back with all of my friends at Westland--I love the feeling of being liked.

Back in the States, with Friends and Family

I know that I have been shockingly remiss in updating my blog for the last four months. I've been to Paris, London and surrounding areas, Scotland, Bountiful, St. George, Bear Lake and Lava Hot Springs. You might say that I've been living it up and you'd be right. I have thoroughly enjoyed sleeping-in, staying up late, and in general doing a whole lot of "nothing." Here are a few pictures, in no particular order. If you want to see more, you'll have to come on over and I'd be happy to treat you to a slide show!

Louis at home in the woodshop at SLCC.

Veronica

Roxanne

Jane

Jenni in front of her new home.

Kim and I at Stonehenge.

Standing in two hemispheres--The Prime Meridian.

In the Catacombs of Paris--how scary!

And the Eiffel Tower, just lighting up for the evening.

Spring in Denmark

I went for a walk today and these are some of the pictures I took.





I know they're a weed but sometimes I think they're pretty.


I think this is some kind of magnolia. Angie says Japanese Magnolia but I don't know. I just think they're pretty.

Lynette, this one reminds me of you. Don't know if it's the same as the one you like but I think it looks like that one.


Spring is here! I love it!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I know you have all been waiting and wondering how my birthday went--being in Denmark and all. Well, it was pretty good. We had a great dinner of ham, twice-baked potatoes, green beans, peas, green salad, broccoli salad, and of course cake for dessert (it was a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding frosting with whipped cream). I don't know if you can see, but in the picture, I have a huge mound of whipped cream--Scott's idea, I don't think he knows what it means to stop. As you can see, Dang came over and we had a great time!

Then on Saturday, Dang and I went to the temple and then into Copenhagen. You'll notice that I've not posted any pictures from Saturday--I forgot to take my camera. Don't worry, I'll go back to most of them before I come home so that I can get those pictures that I missed. I've also talked to and/or emailed with many of you either on my day or some time thereafter. I hope that you're all having a great March! Some people have a birthday week, I think that I prefer the idea of a birthday month. Then I won't be offended if you can't remember the exact day.

Angie and Scott are pretty busy getting things ready to move. Trying to sell a bunch of stuff that they just don't want to take back, some electrical things that just won't work and other furniture-type things that they just don't have room for in their house and other food-storage things that the US just doesn't allow you to bring back (even though it was bought in the US). It's going to be a crazy month and a half. We're all getting pretty sick of being in school but we only have five weeks left (of school)!

Still Here

So I was kind-of waiting to post until I had three comments on my Pay-it-Forward post and then I decided that I was right when I wondered if anyone would want anything I will make. Just you wait until you see what I make for Lynette, you'll all wish you'd signed up when you had the chance.

Anyway, this is what I've been up to. Teaching, teaching, teaching. People keeping asking me and this is really the main thing that I do. I have been able to make some sightseeing trips but will post some of those pictures later. Just so you know, I'm alive and well. And although some of you seem to think that when I said "I don't want to sound trunky," I meant that I was. I'm not. I am still having a great time (that was not said, thought or typed in a defensive manner). Every time I walk down the street, get on a bus or go to church, I still think, "Wow, I'm living in Denmark! How many people EVER have the opportunity to say that?" Don't worry, I know that it's not that many because there are only about 5 million people that live here. Guess what? It's my birthday month!

Pay it Forward

I was number 3 on Shawn's blog. He got it from Daniel. Daniel got it off of Bekah's blog who got it off of Candice's blog. So, here are the rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.

I really can't wait to see what I make and who I get to give it to!

FYI

I don't really want to sound trunky but . . . start the countdown--less than 100 days!

Stateside

For those of you reading this who aren't members of my family, I feel sorry for you because you're not a part of this great thing. I don't very often brag, but I am constantly amazed by and grateful for the members of my family. Don't know what I did to deserve them but it was a good move on my part.

The first stop on this trip was a stop with Michelle in NJ. It was so much fun. As you can see, these kids are adorable! We did do fondue on Sunday (I didn't post that picture because the flash didn't go off and it turned out really yellow). Then Shellie & I stayed up talking, I loved it! Thanks Shell, Steve & crew!





On Monday I rented a car and drove to Palmyra--about 6 hours. The car I rented turned out to have been rented previously by some smokers (what a treat for me). I drove most of the way with my windows cracked. When it finally got too cold for that, I pulled over and bought a vanilla tree and opened the whole thing at once. It actually did a pretty good job of at least running neck 'n neck with the smoke smell.

While in Palmyra, I got to go the the Grandin Building (which I missed last time). I was kind-of wondering what could be there (I mean, didn't it all happen in the grove?). But the visitors' center there and the tour that they give is pretty great. If you're thinking of skipping this one, don't.

I decided that I needed a picture of Mom and Dad. I thought it turned out pretty good. I love spending time with them. Thanks for the time talking.


Early Thursday morning I was off again, driving another 5 1/2 hours to get to Arlo's. Don't worry, my driving was exceptionally safe. And I didn't even fall asleep! That's a pretty major accomplishment considering that there's no way I was over jet-lag by this time.

I sure do feel like it's too bad that I had such a short time in all of these places. I had such a great time! Arlo & I stayed up talking to the wee hours (one thing we're all pretty good at). As you can see the one day that I was in Poughkeepsie was Pirate day. And what a cute pirate we have here! Sorry that I didn't get any pictures of Tyler--he didn't get home from school before I left and I forgot to take pictures the night before.


They make such great friends!
I sure do love seeing my siblings (including in-laws) and their kids--although I do think that I look a bit like I've not had enough sleep--'member, this was a whirwind trip, I kind-of can't believe that I did as much as I did.
When I got back on Saturday I sure felt like now that I'd travelled for a week, I could sleep for the next week. No such luck.

New Year's Movie

On New Year's Day I went to a movie with my one friend here. (She's from Thailand and her name is Dang.) We went to Australia. I was pretty excited as it was my first venture into the world of movies here in Denmark. I was mostly excited for that first whiff of popcorn as you walk into the theater. Alas, as we walked in, there was not whiff of popcorn buttery goodness--just coffee. It turns out that the foyer of the theater was more of a cafe than anything. Then, before we went into the theater there was this sign posted and I'm not sure but I think that it said, "Popcorn not allowed in the theater." My Danish isn't that great so, I could be wrong on that one. But once we got into the theater, I felt like we'd stepped back in time. There was a player piano at the front that was actually playing! Great way to set the mood. There were about 30 people at the 8:00 showing of the movie. And we had an intermission. I realize that this was probably because of the length of the movie--maybe someone that has seen it in the states could enlighten me--did you have an intermission? I thought those had gone out of style or become obsolete or something.

As far as the movie goes, I liked it. It had a similar feel of Gone with the Wind in that it didn't just have one plot line and end. When WWII started, there was kindof another story that imposed itself on the lives of the characters. Overall, I enjoyed it--you all know how much I love a good flick!

In with a Bang!

Happy New Year! I know that it's kinda lame to take pictures of fireworks because they are so dang hard to take and so rarely turn out well but these are some of the results of early this morning/late last night. The Danes have a thing for big fireworks on New Year's. Everyone buys their own big rockets and sets them off. This first batch is of some of the ones we let off in our front yard.





This next batch aren't quite so impressive because I just couldn't get the timing right. But they are pictures of our surrounding horizon line. Most of them are from my bedroom window. They kept going off sporadically till maybe 2:30 or later. I don't know for sure because I was asleep.