Christmas Eve

Well, we made it to Christmas Eve, and I think everything is under control. Going to make some fudge today and make sure the house is picked up and clean. The kids have a few small presents that they are going to deliver to their friends, and we have an azalea that we're going to give to our neighbor next door. I realized that we don't have any Rice Krispies to make Rice Krispie treats, and they only sell them at one or two stores in Oslo, so I'm sending Gaute out on a Rice Krispie run.

It's sunny and cold today, just like it has been pretty much every day since the beginning of November. Snow on the ground, and it feels like Christmas.

Christmas vacation

Yippeee! Today was the last day of school, so Christmas vacation has officially started. No work until Tuesday, January 4th. I was really ready for a vacation now. Not a day too soon...

Last night we put up the Christmas tree. Late by American standards, but in Norway, the tree doesn't go up until the 23rd. So basically, we didn't get it right according to any standards :-)

Anders and Johan have been counting and sorting the presents under the tree today. Brings back good memories from my youth...




By the way, the iPhone 4 I'm getting for Christmas arrived today.

Snow storm

Well, not a storm exactly, but it is snowing outside, and it has been on and off since yesterday. It will definitely be a white Christmas here this year. We've had snow on the ground since the middle of November, and that is not the norm here in Oslo. The white snow makes it seem less dark, so everyone's pretty happy about it.

Slowly but surely, I feel like I'm getting ready for Christmas. I long for the days when December was a fun, festive month. The last few years, it's felt incredibly stressful. I had a slight meltdown last night, when I found out that Gaute put off buying my Christmas present (iPhone 4) too long, and that it won't be here until after Christmas. I think I will survive, though :-).

Tonight we're all going to see a movie (not sure which one yet) and then out to dinner afterwards (probably at TGI Fridays or Hard Rock Cafe). Espen's girlfriend is coming with us, too, so Espen is pretty happy. Espen and Malene celebrated their 10 month anniversary a few weeks ago.

Well, time to go blowdry my hair and put on some makeup. Busy day today!

Johan's Birthday

Yesterday was Johan's 10th birthday. True to tradition, we woke him up with the Happy Birthday song and a cinnamon roll with a candle on top.





Johan finally got what he has been waiting for for a long time - a "one-piece", a kind of jumpsuit made out of fleece with a zipper that goes all the way up the hood. He has been waiting for one of these since before summer vacation, and he was VERY happy when he finally got it yesterday :-).





After his birthday dinner of cheese tortellini, Bestemor and Bestefar came over for chocolate cake. Johan declared it one of his best birthdays ever!

2 days in a row

Not much going on tonight. Tomorrow is Johan's birthday, and he is very excited. He didn't fall asleep until after 11 last night, and both he and Anders are pretty wired this evening.

But, now the birthday cake is in the oven, and things have calmed down a bit. Espen is at football practice, and Anders is working on his math homework.



Johan and Gaute are watching the Discovery channel. Soon time for Johan to take a shower and wash his hair. And then Anders, Johan and I are going to watch the final episode of our favorite outdoor reality show, 71 Degrees North. Should be an exciting finale...

I'm back...

...at least for now. I haven't blogged for almost a year, and I've kind of missed it lately, so here goes - again.

Last night was our work Christmas party. It was at a restaurant downtown, and it was pretty fun, despite the fact they were about an hour and a half late serving us our food. I had my camera with me, and we took lots of pictures, but I promised everyone that I wouldn't post any pics online, so all you get to see is a cropped picture of me :-)



This being Norway, the party didn't break up until the wee hours of the morning. My friend Linda and I made a 3 am stop at McDonalds to get some grease in our systems before we went and waited in line for a taxi. Waiting in line outside for a taxi when it's freezing cold, the middle of the night and you're wearing party clothes is not the funnest thing in the world, but we finally got a ride home. I got home at about 4 in the morning, so most of today has been spent on the sofa.

We just finished dinner a little while ago, but it was just Gaute, Johan and me tonight. Espen is eating at his girlfriend's house and Anders is at a birthday party.

One more full week of school, and then school on Monday and Tuesday of next week, and THEN it's Christmas vacation! Can't wait!

It's the 3rd Sunday in Advent today, and just like everyone else in Norway, we have 3 purple candles lit tonight (purple is the color of Advent, according to Norwegian tradition).

Taking a break

Not really sure if anyone checks this blog anymore, since I haven't posted anything for a really long time. I want to keep in touch with everyone and let everyone know what's going on around here, but Facebook is a much funner way to do it. Sooo - if you want to know what's going on, then you'd better friend me on Facebook :-)

Diesel, baby

A little note to my post yesterday. I've been googling Jettas this evening, and I see that there are many reviews of the 2009 Jetta TDI, which is what I am buying. And the reviews of it are pretty great. It's a turbo diesel, which they claim gets as much as 40 mpg, performing great at the same time. Oh, yes...

In Norway, Jettas aren't popular at all. Volkswagens are super popular, but sedans are totally out. Everyone around here wants either a station wagon or a hatchback, and anything else is uninteresting. Kind of lame, but, on the other hand, it means that I got a really good deal on this Jetta, which I like!

New car

So, I bought a new car today. Excitement, excitement... Actually it's not a brand new car, but a 1-year-old VW Jetta (I've always loved Jettas...). We've been thinking about buying a new car for a while now. Gaute's 15-year-old Volvo is falling apart and didn't pass its last inspection, so it is pretty much done for after February, when the registration expires. My car is 5-years-old, and still runs and looks great, but it's starting to run into those 5-year-old car problems which have a tendency to show up (at the moment, my parking brake isn't working, for example). So, first we thought we would buy a new car for Gaute, something about 4-5 years old, in fairly decent shape. He was actually all set to buy a car, and the deal fell through, and the his motivation was gone. Then we started thinking that maybe we could get by with one car for a while, and get a new family car instead. So we started looking at Volvo V70s, which are really nice, but not so cheap. We found one that we liked, and had the dealership give us a trade-in price for my car, which was ridiculously low. And the car we wanted was really pushing our limits.

So, then Gaute came up with a great idea. We could buy a new "commuter car" for me, and my Renault could be our 2nd car, which he can use. My car is pretty big, with lots of room for when we go to our cabin and stuff, and runs fine (just have to get that pesky brake fixed). And I really wanted a car with an automatic transmission for when I sit in traffic on my way to work. I'm pretty happy - I think this was a good compromise. Now I get a new car, and Gaute gets a car, too. If we would have bought the Volvo, we would have spent more money, and Gaute wouldn't have had a car. Plus, the Volvo was smaller than the Renault. Now we have a big car with room for 7 people (as long as two of them are midgets) plus a mid-size car with room for 5 people.

Anyway, this has been a rambling post, but hopefully you get the gist of things. I don't have my car yet, they're going to give it a service checkup and stuff, but I have been promised the car by the end of next week. Here are some pics of the car from the online ad:

Twenty-ten (otherwise known as two thousand and ten)

2010...It's kind of hard to believe I'm still alive. When I was a kid, 2010 sounded like it was sooo far in the future, that I couldn't really imagine what life would be like. Was pretty sure that we would be riding in hover cars and that robots would be cleaning our house. But here I am with a car with 4 tires and a Polish cleaning lady...

Christmas vacation is over, and I started back to work this week. I was actually kind of looking forward to getting back to work. And I have had a nice week at work. What hasn't been so great is the feeling of total exhaustion that I have had every evening when I get home. We were staying up really late every night during vacation, and sleeping in really late. My body has gone into shock this week, getting up at 6 every morning. I'm hoping that my sleep habits will adjust themselves soon, so that life feels a bit more normal.

It's been super cold here this week. Today it was -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) pretty much all day. Makes me happy that I got a new down jacket for Christmas!

Off to the cabin

Christmas is over. It was, as usual, a high-technological Christmas for the Langaas family. Two iPhones, two mini-laptops and a Wii. No one has any reason to complain, at least. And thankfully, they're not.

Unfortunately for them, we have a low-tech cabin, where no laptops or game consoles are allowed. (Actually, iPhones are allowed, though. And we do have a TV and DVD player there.) The plan for the next few days is to do lots of skiing and relaxing. Everyone got new books, too, so there will be reading.

We are going to celebrate New Year's the same way we have since we got the cabin. A yummy dinner of cheese fondue followed by bottle rockets and other cool fireworks in the snow. It's almost always super cold up there this week after Christmas, and it's supposed to be just as cold this year. And sunny and nice. With lots of snow. Should be a good week.

We'll be back on Saturday - and then back to work/school on Monday. Two weeks vacation isn't that much, actually.

Christmas eve

It's been snowing hard since I woke up this morning. Very Christmas-like in Oslo this Christmas Eve. I got the rest of the baking done this morning, now I just have some presents to wrap and then I can relax. I recorded Christmas Vacation last night, so I think I'm going to force the kids to watch it with me. It's important that they're familiar with all of Chevy Chase's greatest works.

Yesterday, while Gaute was "working", I took the kids to see A Christmas Carol. I really liked it a lot, but Anders and Johan thought it was pretty scary. Johan held my hand through most of the film, and Anders had his eyes closed a lot of the time. We saw the 3D version, but what I didn't think about until we got there, was that 3D is not easy for Espen. His eyes can't focus well enough to be able to get the 3D effect. The movie actually looked better without the glasses on than with them. And if you've ever watched a 3D movie without the glasses on, then you can imagine how much fun it was for Espen.

The plan is to go see Avatar on the 26th, and I think we'll see the 2D version.

Merry Christmas

Wasn't really sure if I was going to pull it off this year, but it looks like we might have Christmas after all. We got the tree up and decorated last night, the gingerbread house is all set, and I even made some Christmas cookies today. Yesterday, I did had a marathon shopping trip, and I think I have everything now. I'm trying to convince myself that what I have is enough, and not rush out tomorrow to pick up a few more gifts. The kids' stockings are big, though...

Tomorrow, I'm taking the kids to see A Christmas Carol. The last few years, we've had tickets to see the Nutcracker on the 23rd, but this year, I didn't get my butt in gear early enough, and it was sold out. So, we'll be seeing a movie this year instead of a ballet. The kids are probably happier, but I know they think it's fun to get all dressed up and go to the opera house. I know that I like it, at least.

Merry, merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas vacation

Today was the last day of school before Christmas vacation started. It feels weird to think that I have 2 whole weeks of vacation ahead of me. Probably won't really sink in until Sunday night when I realize I don't have to turn on my alarm...

I still have A LOT of Christmas presents left to buy, and we don't have our tree yet, but I think Christmas will come, regardless. And I'm starting to think that homemade Christmas cookies are overrated.

Thank God for vacations!

Home alone weekend

It's Sunday evening and I'm just waiting for the potatoes to finish up so that we can eat dinner. Swedish meatballs, boiled potatoes and broccoli for dinner. With a bit of lingonberry relish on the side. Very Scandinavian (think IKEA).

Gaute and the boys were up at our cabin this weekend. They got back a few hours ago, and it seems like they had a good time. There's a lot of snow up there right now, so they had a nice x-country ski trip yesterday. That is, everyone except Espen, who claimed that his arm was still bothering him after he got the swine flu vaccine. He kind of lucked out on this trip, because he had a semi-legitimate excuse for not going skiing.

I stayed home, because we had our work Christmas party on Saturday. Since Gaute and the kids left Friday afternoon, I had the whole weekend to myself. Heaven! It's not often that I get to be alone these days.

The Christmas party last night was a lot of fun. But, in true Norwegian style, everyone drank way too much and the party didn't break up until the early morning hours, so today I've been lying on the sofa watching back to back episodes of Big Love and eating frozen pizza. Ah, yes, quite the Sunday!

Back to work tomorrow. Only this week and next week and then it's 2 weeks of Christmas vacation. Yea!! These next two weeks are pretty low maintenance, too. Not much planning that needs to be done from my side. Lots of Christmassy events, which should be a lot of fun!

Christmas play

Just got home after a 12-hour day at school. Whew - I'm pretty worn out. Not feeling good today, either, which makes a long day that much worse.

But - my class had their Christmas play today, and it went really well. They did a great job - I was really proud of them. I think they had a lot of fun, too! The parents had cake and coffee with them, so we hung around and chatted for about an hour afterwards while the kids ran around, and it was nice getting to know people a bit better. It seems like they're pretty happy with me and with how things are going in the class, which is always nice to hear :-). I got a very nice gift from everyone, too. On evenings like this, it's fun to be a teacher!!

Things weren't going quite as well when I got home. All of the kids have now gotten the swine flu vaccine at school, Anders and Johan yesterday, and Espen today. And they're all feeling pretty bad because of it. Both Anders and Johan woke up crying early this morning because the arm that got the shot was hurting so much, and Espen was also in pain this evening. They're vaccinated for the greater good of the community, though!

Back...

I know - this is not the first time I write a blog post in which I apologize for not writing for so long and vow to get back in the saddle. But, who knows, maybe I'll keep it up this time. Just like I might start going to the gym to work out again...

It's December 1st. The kids opened the first window on their advent calendars today. They have the kind with a little chocolate for each day, as they have every year. Cheap and easy, and they're happy to get a little chocolate before school every morning.

This year, I had to get some advent stuff ready for my class, too. Advent is a big thing in Norway, and in elementary school, at least in the lower grades, December mornings usually start with an advent gathering. We sit in a circle, light some candles and sing Christmas songs and read Christmas books (it's pretty dark out still at 8:30 in the morning). I also got an advent calendar for my class where they get a little miniature book for each day. There are 23 kids in my class, so they each get one book, and then I get the book for the 24th. Perfect! We started today, and it was pretty nice.

I was home sick from work yesterday, for the first time in a really long time. I have a pretty bad cold, and yesterday I pretty much lost my voice. Not a good idea to try and teach with no voice. I was back at school today, feeling a bit better. I might have stayed home one more day, though, if it weren't for the fact that I feel like I've got too much to do to be able to stay home.

Because, tomorrow night, my class is performing a Christmas play for their parents. I think it will turn out pretty well - we've practiced a lot - but I'm still nervous. This is the first time I've been responsible for something like this. I'll be happy when it's over.

And now for some pictures from a hike we went on last weekend (these have already made the rounds on Facebook, but still...). The teenager you don't recognize is Espen's friend Harald.

Ryan

I feel like I need to write something here, I hope no one is upset by the fact that I'm doing it...

This evening, just as we were on our way out to T.F.I. Friday's to celebrate Espen's birthday, Josh called. He asked if I'd heard the news, and my heart dropped. Ryan, Tess's husband (the one you see in all of the wedding pictures I posted a few days ago), had an aneurysm in his aorta burst late Sunday night, and he died immediately.

I couldn't/can't believe it...Ryan wasn't even 30 years old. Strong and healthy.

When I got back from dinner, I got a hold of Tessy and talked to her. She sounded amazingly calm and collected. As she said, she may be in shock, but that's probably a good thing as it's helping her get through this week. It was really good to talk to her, and to hear that she was making it okay. My mom is up there, Keith has been there, and Bubba and Amanda have been there, too, in addition to Ryan's family and friends. It seems like she's getting a lot of support, which is great.

I feel really far away from everyone, and a bit sad that I didn't know anything about this until several days later. I realize that everyone has had more than enough to think about, but I've had this week off of work, and really think that I might have flown out. Not necessarily because I think anyone needed me to be there, but because I think I need to be there...

There will be a memorial service on the beach at sunset tomorrow evening. We will be thinking of you, Ryan, with love.

Zion, July 2009

And moving right along, we have now made it to Zion National Park in southern Utah.

Lots of red rocks...




And scary drop-offs












Nothing like an evening swim after a day out and about.


Josh, Melanie and the kids came down to join us. And we hiked The Narrows (of course).
















And the next day Josh and Gaute hiked Angel's Landing, while us scaredy cats hung out with the kids.


They saw some California condors on their way up...




And later we all relaxed at the hotel pool.

Salt Lake City, July 2009

Still making my way through our summer vacation pics. It was a long vacation, and many pictures were taken. And here are some more of them.

On our way to Salt Lake, we stayed overnight in Elko.


And drove the rest of the way the next day.


We saw a box car on fire.


And stopped at the Bonneville salt flats.


The next day we watched Tae-Kwan-Do-Taige get a new belt.








Later, Espen and Tia watched TV together...


...before we celebrated Josh's 37th birthday.


The next day, we went on a hike up at Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon.










On the way home, we stopped at East High - now famous around the world as the alma mater of the High School Musical gang.


The next day was spent slippin' and slidin' in the backyard.