It wasn't the flu.

Nope. No flu.

Bronchitis.

Oh joy of joys! I've spent most of this christmas sleepless, feverish, coughing and crying because I was hurting. From friday to monday I only slept 4 hours in total. The night from sunday to monday not at all and on monday evening I was having coughing fits that made me practically choke everytime I dozed off, which was constantly because I hadn't slept since two nights before.

I'm still too sick to recap all this and I'm on a serious cough syrup that makes me see pink elephants and enjoy looking at my hands (I tried three different ones before I got one that worked, and imagine what a coctail of fun I had taken... Now I have a whole range of prescription meds that could fetch a nice price on the black market yikes!). I feel like I'm sitting inside my head looking out, or my head is one size too small without it being painful just weird. I'm not really controlling what I'm typing, and I try to clear out the weird words as I see them, but if this entry doesn't make any sense, it's probably because the elephants are here again.

I'm off work for a week now, thank goodness. I need some peace and quiet.

Perfect timing.

Guess who's caught the flu?
Yup. Me. Fever, cough, head ache, general ow-my-body-hurts ache and all the works. Yay!
Yesterday I forced myself to work after having stayed up all night because I simply couldn't fall asleep and because I have chronic guilt for missing work unless I'm chained to a toilet.
Probably not the smartest move. But then again, if I had been on duty today, I probably would have been there today also. Thank goodness I wasn't. I spent most of the day in bed or on the couch snoozing. Having a fever is interesting. I was so hot I swear you could fry an egg on me, but still I was freezing under two blankets.

Today I've eaten the grand total of two mozart kugeln and some flatbrød. And heaps of lozengers. Not to mention the 3 liters of water I've gulped down. I'm crossing my fingers that I can sleep a little tonight, otherwise tomorrow will be interesting. It's sis' birthday, and she's always a bit excited, I'm sure she'll be disappointed if I slump in a corner and snore.

On a much happier note though, Love got his company's christmas gift today! A backpack full of christmas goodies. Smoked salmon, "sylte", herring (eww...), marzipan, coffee, biscuits, twist, cheese, nuts, dried figs. Basically all the typical 'wegian christmas ingredients. And too much food for us two alone, so we will be sharing the loot with our families.
It was so hilarious to have Love come in the bedroom and pull out one item after the other from the backpack. It was absolutely crammed with stuff! So I guess we're ready for the holidays.
As I'll be pretty much caught up in family craziness the next week, I'll wish you all a very happy holiday right now. I hope you enjoyed our little holiday short and take care of your family and friends.

Happy holidays!

Happy Holidays!

I <3 the Veronica Mars show!

You scored as Veronica Mars. You used to be really popular, but now you are the school outcast. You are really smart and somehow have all the answers... and you can snark like no other. Veronica Mars 56% Keith Mars 56% Backup (2.0) 38% Lilly Kane 25% Eli 25% Wallace Fennel 25% Duncan Kane 13% Logan Echolls 6% Which Veronica Mars Character Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Snarky, me? Nooo. Never.

Pretty little tree.

In Norway it is custom to decorate for christmas (including putting up the tree) on december 23rd. Little christmas eve, as it's called here.

But Love and I never do because that's my sister's birthday and that leaves no time for decorating. This year we've gone a bit radical though. We put everything up yesterday! It feels so naughty, but that was the only time we could do it this year with him working his ass off to get the holidays free from work, and I have to step in at work too. AH! When does the relaxing start already?

Amidst all this hectic, an elf named M dropped a parcel in my mail box yesterday. That is, the mail elf who delivered it actually forced it into the mail box so that it got jammed in there and we had to bend the whole mail box apart to get it out! Seriously, mail man, if it doesn't fit going in, it won't come out either! So now we need to get a new mail box... Or try to duct-tape the old one. I am slightly pissed at the mail man, but then again, I was absolutely delighted when I opened the parcel. M had sent me a new dose of the Tazo tea I love so much (and can't get my hands on here in Norway) along with adorable snow man stuff (soap and shower poof, now my bathroom can look festive too!) and a cd with several Sarah McLachlan mp3s. M, you're a saint!

Now then... Onto the christmas tree!
This year we went for a small one in order to fit it and visitors in our dining room.

Here it is:



And this year's new ornaments:

This and the penguin below was Love's gift for me when I was done with my exams. They're from "Accessorize" and they're pretty adorable if you ask me.



But the coolest of them all was the "Nightmare before Christmas" ornaments we ordered from play.com. It's one of my favorite movies, and although my mother in law will probably tilt, these ornaments will hopefully be with us for many many years to come.


The Jack-santa had broken three of the four fingers when it arrived, so I had to play around with glue again. Not the dries-in-two-seconds kind this time though, more of a 15 minute hold-and-press kind of glue.






The glass snow crystal is also new. I got them this summer on sale. Go figure... But when I get it dirt cheap, why not buy it a little ahead of time and tuck it away? If you're lucky, you forget that you got it and get a lovely surprise like I did ;)



The brass classic ornaments come out this year also.



Wooden snowmen are also new of this year, curtesy of Lidl for 30 kr for one box of 15 snowmen.



And I even had time to decorate the gingerbread people yesterday. This one got a heart-y dress (by the way, I did the loony face on purpose. The pretty smiley face got old after a couple of cookies).



And last, but not least, the ginger bread mansion. A bit lop-sided and sticky, but it smells lovely and looks even better when the faerie-lights inside are lit.

Oh no! I think housewives aliens have taken control over my brain!

On Monday I had my final exam for this year, the examen philosophicum, as in the philosophy exam. I've pretty much been cramming like mad for that, so I've had no life the last week. But good news now is that I'm officially on Yule Holidays! :) I still have a couple of days at work, but besides that I have all the time in the world to finish doing my holiday preparations.

After a day's mental and physical hiatus yesterday, I'm back on track today. Seriously, I'm a regular Martha Steward today(minus the time spent in jail). Gingerbread dough prepared from scratch? Check! Kitchen hosed down and every spot cleaned? Check! Floors vacuumed, cleaned and waxed? Check! Holiday cards hung up on the walls with an ingenious sollution? Check!

I still need to make another batch of gingerbread dough as the design for a house we've picked this year requires 3,6 kg of dough, plus another 900grams if I want to make the snow man bridge to stand next to it.
I HAVE 3 kg of dough already, but that's not enough. When you also calculate in the eat-while-rolling-out factor, I'll be needing another extra kilo and immediate medical care.

And later I still need to finish the christmas decorations I'm sending my auntie and finish up their parcel 'cause I just discovered the deadline is in two days to get it to Germany before Christmas. Rats!
If there's any time left before I pass out later tonight, I'll see to it if I can write our Yule cards so that they can be sent tomorrow IF those photos I've ordered developed show up tomorrow.

Isn't the holidays fun? *deep breath*
But I think I can walk on the floors again now, so I need to get housewifey.

Norwegian Supreme Court

This had me laughing my pants off (pun intended). Recently the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled that stripping should be considered art, which means go go bars don't have to pay taxes on their earnings from stripping. Well, that kind of gets the world's attention, doesn't it?

Aye, haggis please!

Wanna know what I did this weekend? I'll give you a couple of hints. River Clyde, kilts, haggis... Yep. I spent this weekend in Glasgow, Scotland! Love's company sent the entire staff with partners on a weekend trip to Glasgow, all expenses paid for. And I know, we're lucky bastards.

But the last couple of days I've learned a few things about the scots:
1. They don't really speak english. They talk seriously weird. And if they mistake you for a local, they blabber on like mad and you can only nod and smile and hope your timing is right.
2. Door knobs are funky. Us 'wegians only have door handles.
3. English breakfast is not very healthy. Fry up? No thanks. Especially not with haggis as a side order.
4. Shortbread = yuck. Which leads me onto number 5...
5. They absolutely love BUTTER. I personally can't stand butter. I only use margerine, and that's only when I'm baking cookies.

We did, though, have a lovely time with nice dinners and an entire saturday shopping!
There was so much to see that we don't have at home, and so many christmas presents to be bought. Mum gets the best one (shsss, don't tell!). One of the malls had a "Build-A-Bear" shop, and we got her a very special teddy complete with outfit and shoes. I can't wait to see her reaction when she gets it, she's crazy about teddy bears and she's been wanting a "Build-A-Bear" ever since she heard of them (unfortunately for her, the only shop in Norway is too far away for her to visit).

But let's get to the photos! I uploaded them so that I would have a visual aid when telling about our trip.



This is the River Clyde which runs through Glasgow. It's not a very large city, and you can comfortably walk around in it.



Love and I at the start of our major shopping spree (although we didn't buy that much to be honest. A couple of gifts and some jeans for Love.).



This bakery had the lovliest little cookies and cakes I've ever seen. As well as pralines and chocolate.



And to my big surprise there was a German Weihnachsmarkt! Germany is famous for its many christmas markets, and to find out that Glasgow has a tradition for having one each year was just such a lovely surprise. The booths were even manned by Germans, and I bought a really nummy Cranberry Christstollen (a kind of fruit cake) from one of them. They also had the typical German hot dog booth, with the typical German "bratwurst". Yummy!
In this photo you see one of the booths, a very typical one. They have everything from christmas decorations to old fashioned toys and cookie cutters.



At night, several streets were decorated with christmas lights. This is the Museum for Modern Art, and it had a ceiling of light span over to the next building. When our group saw this, it was a very "wow" moment, you know, those where the whole crowd just simultaniously gasps.



Another GoMA shot



I don't remember what this square is called, but all this electricity sure can't be cheap! Pretty though.



The view from our hotel room early in the morning.



And Peter Pan is probably missing Tinkerbell. Because she's in a jar by my bed now, you never know when you need that pixie dust. By the way, I cut air holes for her. What do faeries eat anyway? Bugs?



This is us being very, very silly before going out.



And this is sunday morning, from the bus, on our way to the air port. I saw plenty of sheep and even some highland cows! Very excited, I must say, to see those long-haired cows. The countryside in Scotland is so totally different from here in Norway. But absolutely gorgeous. And so green.



Here are two sleepy faces on the plane.



But the view was nice!


All in all, a very successful trip. Now we're practically done with our presents, and I've only opened three days worth of advent calendar chocolates!

'tis the Chocolate time of the year *singing*

YaY! December 1st is always welcome. Why? Do I need to explain why?
Sure?

Well, there's all the beautiful lights and the christmas spirit everywhere. There's only 20 days left until winter solstice, that's always a selling point. It's time to bake gingerbread cookies and castles (and to try not to get 3rd degree burns from the melted sugar glue). Gifts to be bought and wrapped, carols to sing, snow to be admired... But most of all, getting up every day is a joy because I have this waiting for me! A Reber chocolate advent calendar! *dances around the room* It has fancy chocolate, nougat and marzipan, one each day.

But then again, December is also the time for exams. I have one this tuesday and another one next monday. Eeek!

But afterwards? All the time in the world for ginger bread castle constructions.
I'm not yet feeling the season spirit though. Maybe because we have around 5 to 10 degrees celcius and no snow? Apparently northern US and Canada are getting all the snow, while us in Europe get unusually warm weather. Well, on the bright side it means no slippery streets for Mrs. Bucket to tackle.

What's your favorite part of the holidays? The food? The gifts? The smells? Right now our entire appartment smells of hyacinths. No, not Mrs. Bucket, but the flowers hyacinths. Each year around this time, Love and I get two of them, one pink and one blue/purple. They've just started blossoming, and it smells lovely!