it could be worse

i'm sitting on the beach in San Diego. It's perfect! I'm trying to post some pics I took with my phone, but apparently that's impossible. Grrrrrrr.

I had a bit of a rough time getting here. For the first time in my life, I missed a flight and it was my fault! So instead of getting here at 8:40 am, I got here at 5:40 pm. Very frustrating . I was exceptionally mad at myself. On a good note though, I got to spend the whole day with the absolutely fabulous Rachel. Having a whole day to just hang out with her is as relaxing and recharging as sitting on the beach. Girl talk is a good thing.

As soon as I got here (finally) we went to Horton Plaza. Our old stomping ground and home of Nordstrom & See's. This time we also hit the Clark's store where I got not one but two pairs of Privos (a belated b-day gift).

I don't work for Steve, I work for Bill

My husband fancies himself a comedian. he thinks teasing me about Apple is great fun. Really, he's not so much funny. Seriously. does it count as funny if he's the only one laughing?

Tomorrow I'm going to San Diego. Yay! It came about rather suddenly...sort of.

It's a sickness, really

Bath & Body Works is having a HUGE sale right now. And by HUGE, I mean H.U.G.E!! I don't shop there very often. I'm allergic (Body Shop is even worse....100% no-go). I stopped in the other day, though. When Chris and I were in Osage Beach what seems like a lifetime ago, the girl at the B & BW told us our fave body wash from Bigelow would be back out on the shelves during the upcoming sale. Fast forward to this week, and boy was she right! I stopped in after work, and it's 75% off! Holy Cow!!! It started at $13, so that made it like $3.25!! Needless to say, I bought 8 bottles. Chris wanted to know if we actually NEEDED 8 bottles of body wash. I told him need was not the issue. So, we're set on personal hygiene until the next big sale! Yay!!

Blog on, blogger

That's what Chris would say to me while waiting during my marathon blogs while we were in Scandinavia. Someone commented the other day that it had been a while since I blogged. It has quite literally been forever. Seriously. Honestly, I just wasn't that interested. I think I blogged myself out. And I never even finished retelling the whole Scandinavia trip! Silly me.

Already, this has been an extremely busy, yet exicting and awesome summer. We joined a neighborhood pool. Not in our neighborhood, but in the one where we used to live. Funny, huh? We've really been enjoying it and using it a lot (and by we, I mean I). Chris likes to relax there, but what with the regular working hours and all....let's just say that I get to spend a lot more time there. We signed Bob (that would be my mom) up with us, so she and I hang there and my good friend Stephanie has been a member for like 20 years, so we all just have a blast! Noone will ever believe it. I've been to the pool no less than 20 times, and I don't have one picture. I think I pictured myself out too!

Speaking of pictures, I've been sending piles of them to Winkflash. They're having a sale right now....$.06 per print. Holy cow!

Long Day's Journey into Night

Phew! We made it home. If felt like it took forever. We spent all but our last 100 Danish Kroners in Copenhagen's airport. We tried to so hard to spend it, but it was like they just didn't want us to. So we kept it and changed it into Euros in Amsterdam. I mentioned the guy in the kilt. There were actually a bunch of them, and they were all on our flight. I really wanted one of them to sit next to us so we could ask him if he had anything on under that skirt. Ha! None of them did.

We thought we were going to have tons of time in Amsterdam. We didn't. We thought we were going to have a snack (we got sandwhiches on the flight, but the one was Pastrami and pickles on dark bread....um....yuck). We were also going to get online, as we didn't use all of our time on the way over and still had the codes. Nope, nothing. The boards said we had to head to the gate and it would take 15 minutes to get there. Thankfully, we believed it. But, we'd just changed our Kroners into Euros, and that coupled with our leftovers from Finland we had like 24 Euros (we got 9 Euros for our 100 dkk).

I wasn't about to take that home with us. Surely we could find SOMETHING in Dutch in the airport to take home with us. Now, there is tons of shopping to be done in the Amsterdam airport. Literally tons. But most of it is well over 24 Euros (remember, add about 30% to translate it to American), and we were quickly running out of time. So we bought cheese! I wanted some good ole Dutch cheese anyway, and they had a four pack of cheeses for 22.95. Perfect!

Our flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis was fairly uneventful. Well, other than the medical emergency just 30 minutes into it. We sat next to a nice couple from Salt Lake who had been in Switzerland. I finished my book in the first our of the flight, and was thankful for the in-seat movies. I watched three! The only new one was Music & Lyrics. I absolutely loved that movie! Also watched Dave and You've Got Mail. Two of my all time favorites. You've got mail finished just 20 minutes before we landed. Perfect.

I have to say, though, we were slightly unimpressed with our Flight Attendant. He was honestly the shabbiest Flight Attendant I've ever had; both in appearance and demeanor. I think the medical emergency right off the bat threw everyone off a bit, but he was the only one who let it show. They kept running out of things a row or two ahead of us. We had to have vegetarian meals because he ran out of the chicken meal. He ran out of orange juice. He'd come around to do water service and run out and forget to come back to us. It was most annoying when they said they were out of stuff, but the people on the other aisle were still getting it. It was like he just couldn't be bothered to ask them to share. And, he was basically tossing stuff at people. Another couple talked about it with us while waiting in Customs, it was that bad!

Customs was no big deal. We got asked over and over about bringing liquor and cigs. in, but we had none, so no biggie. The first guy asked if we had any food. I told him just the cheese we bought in the airport, and Chris brings it out of the bag to show him. It totally cracked me up. The way he brought it out the bag and showed the guy, it almost looked a fisherman showing off his prized catch. That cracked a smile on the grumpy Customs guy's face, and he said welcome back. We got toally passed by by the most adorable drug dog on earth. Oh, was he cute! Always a good feeling to get passed by the drug dog! Even when you have nothing to worry about, it still makes you nervous. We got our bags, dropped them off, went through security again (I didn't know you don't have the option of not removing your shoes any more), and we were officially back in America. And it felt good.

We hung out in the main hall for a while. Checked out the shops, watched a little FoxNews for a while. We were totally news starved. We only actually saw tv a couple of times while we were gone, and that was either sports in another language or the BBC and (trust me on this) the BBC gets really old, really fast. I called Mom collect. It's been a really long time since I've made a collect call. But, we didn't think it prudent to lug our cell phones (that's mobile to the Europeans) all over for 3 weeks just to have them for the 2 hours in Minneapolis. It was really good to hear Mom's voice. We talk every day, and most days about 52 times, so it was good to talk again after so long.

Sitting there, on the phone, I noticed there was an iPod vending machine across the way. Now, I've seen these before, most notably in Macy's in Dallas in the Men's cologne department (weird), but there in the airport, wedged between the water fountians and the women's WC, it struck me as odd. Oh, I've been wanting an iPod, so I'll pick one up at the airport on my way out. Never mind the fact that you have to charge it to use it and connect it to a computer and get all of the music downloaded. And then I noticed another one just around the corner. There's that much use that they need two of them, literally, like 30 feet apart? Wow! 

We had some good 'ole American fare at Chili's and it was GOOD. Chips, salsa, queso, and quesadillas,  washed down with all the Coke we could drink. Yum, yum, yum! I have to admit, the Twin Cities airport isn't my fave on earth. They do have good stores, and we bought a "city" mug at the Starbucks, but I just didn't like it all that much. There was that smell of canned air about the place. You know, when you're on an airplane and you've pushed away from the gate, and there's that stale, canned air mixed with just a hint of jet fuel. Yeah, that smell permeated the airport. Yuck. And what's worse is, for some reason that specific odor sets off my allergies and turns on the nausea and dizziness. Yay! I got a rootbeer float at the A&W stand to help a little. After all, ice cream is a cure all. Rootbeer, however is not. To make matters worse, after we got down to our gate and waited for a while, they quite nonchalantly decided we were going to be delayed. By 40 minutes. NOOOOOOOOO!!! We were at that point where all we wanted to do was get home. We needed to be home. In bed. Something was going on with the crew, and once we were on board, the captain announced the situation. They are required to have a certain amount of rest time, and had arrived late in the morning, so they had to push back the evening's flight. Interesting, no?

Thankfully, the powers that be approved us leaving earlier than the estimated 40 minutes, and we were on our way soon. We think one guy got left. He was in the gate area, pacing, talking on his cell phone; got huffy at the announcement and walked off. We never saw him again. But then, we both fell asleep before the plane took off. I was in and out, Chris was mostly out. After about 20 minutes, Chris woke with a start and said, why are we still on the ground? Huh? I was so confused by his question, as I was looking out the window and could see the black night and lights of little towns below us. I told him to look out the window, but he didn't get it, so I had to spell the situation out for him. Cracked me up!

Finally, we were home. Bob picked us up and brought us home to the puppies. They were so confused. I think they thought we were never coming back!

Leavin´on a jet plane

We´re at the CPH airport. I´m yhe geek stnding at the internet kiosk, typing on the miniscule keyboard, while everyone else sits typing happily away on thier laptops in the wifi zone. next time, I´m bringing one of those miniscule laptops with me. There's wifi everywhere here. Guess that's why I had such a hard time finding the internet cafes, huh?

We made it through check-in and security without too much trouble. We did self check in, only it didn't want to work that well. It checked us in through Tulsa, but only printed our boarding cards to Amsterdam. Then it couldn't get our baggage tags printed. But, the totally helpful KLM desk agent got us all taken care of. At security, I beeped! Me! The person who makes sure Chris takes everything out of his pockets (which he never remembers, and almoat went through with a pocketful of change, a camera and various and sundry other things) and wears a sports bra for the express purpose of avoiding these things: Guess it was the zipper in my fleece. Chris had his on too, but it did't go off. Humph!! I won't kid ya about it,it is quite intimidating to get wanded,patted down in another language. I'm just sayin'.

Now, we have to figure out how to spend the $20+ in change we still have. We saved up so we could pay for the Metro/train combination out here. Turns out I was making it harder than it needed to be and cost us 54 DKK instead of the 133 we were expecting. Hey! A guy in a kilt just walked by! I guess there were a lot of Brits, Irishmen, what have you heerer this weekend for a rugby tourney. Yesterday, we saw a guy wearing a shirt that said, "I´m Irish." I noticed it, walked beside him for a minute, and then looked over and said, "So you're Irish?" He and his buddies just died laughing. Cracked myself up a bit, Im must admit. Turns out, he'd gotten the shirt at a rugby tourney over St. Pat's in Savannah, Ga. Too funny!

Well, the back is starting to hurt from standing here, and I need to go see if they've decided on a gate for us yet. No one can make fun of me anymore (yes, you can tell, even in another language when they are making fun of you...the phrase Internet kiosk was a dead give away).

 

we contemplated alternative lifestyles...they`re not for us

Tomorrow`s the day. The fun is over. We are going home. I don wanna go home. I miss home, but I don`t want it to be over. We have had a really, really good trip. even with all of the hiccups, it`s been wonderful. Better than I`d imagined. In fact, I had a hard time imagining it before we left. And, I`ve never had so many surreal moments in my life. I think I`ve done a good job this trip living in the moment. Not worried so much about what comes next, but enjoying now. Maybe I should have been more worried about what came next! Ha!

So what did we do today? Other than the day spent on the train, it was probably our most relaxing yet. The perfect way to end such an active vacation. We woke up at the same time but were lazy about it (which means Chris pretended to be awake, but his snores totally tipped me off). We stayed in bed and read and talked and tried to stay warm under the miniscule comforters. We have a double bed, but it`s actually like two twins pushed together and we each get our own comforter. Which, is actually a good idea, but they aren`t wide enough. If they were just a foot wider, they`d be perfect!

Finally, we made our way out into the day. It was noon. We needed food. We stopped at 7-eleven for Frankse Dogs. It`s the craziest thing. They take super skinny hotdogs and put them in bread that is actully like a mini baggeutte with one end cut off and a hole drilled 3/4 of the way down. Before they stick the dog in the hole (as it were), they squirt it full of whatever you want. Ketchup and mustard for us. It was great! Too bad, though there was waaaaayyy to much of the condiments toward the bottom. I couldn`t eat it all.

We intended to go to Our Saviour`s Church, just around the corner from our place. We walked there, and wouldn`t you know, it`s under construction? Everything we want to see is under construction. The awesome spires of the church in Roskilde were covered in scaffolding, the Rosenborg Castle was under total renovation (only 3 of the rooms were open plus the treasury), the castle looking thing at Tivoli. Don`t ever travel with me, everything you want to see will be under construction! And by under construction, I mean completely closed, and you couldn`t even go in the main gate. I was totally disappointed. I was looking forward to climbing the spiral spire. Very cool.

Instead, we continued on our way to Christiana. It`s Copenhagen`s "free society." To tell the truth, I was a tad nervous walking in. I (and by I, I mean we) don`t really fit in in places like that. Hippies, we are not. And no, we didn`t fit in. We stuck out like sore thumbs in the communal living that is Christiania. It`s an old barracks that was empty and just taken over in the 70s (I think). It´s definitely thought provoking. Should it be allowed to remain open? Or should the residents forced out and back into greater Copenhagen? I think maybe I don`t mind it so much. It`s not for me, but it works for them. There used to be lots of illegal activities there. That`s the only part I mind. And yes, we did smell the wacky tabbacy several times. But other than that, who are they bothering? I know the city is thinking about turning it into condos, and if the city actually still owns the land, they can do whatever they want, but maybe it`s better for now to let them have their place?

As we contemplated how glad we are we earn a good living, have electricity and own our own home, we walked back to the main shopping street to go in a few shops and see some Danish design. I read the best place for that was at Illums Bolighus. Wow! Very cool stuf, but very expensive. I really want to get Scooby a Fatboy dog bed. Really, Mimi will probably use it more, but we`ve started calling Scooby the Fatboy since we first saw them in Norway, and now he will have to have one!!

Just down from the shopping street is Nyhavn. One of my favorite places in Copenhagen. It`s wonderful to sit and people watch and take in the scenery. We sat for a while and then went and got a take away pizza. Brought it back and ate by the water. Wonderful. There are restaurants lining the area, but they can be quite expensive, and you know what happens at the end of vacation! But, we didn`t really mind eating that way. The water area is always lined with people. Tourists, yes, but sitting and enjoying their city are the Danes. Very cool. We hung out for a while and then took an ultra touristy canal boat tour. Not much to say about it. Good thing it was only $10 for both of us.

We came back and got beers and ice cream and hung out at Nyhavn some more. We were getting seriously annoyed by the family who comes around every 2 minutes trying to take your bottles and so were they guys next to us, and we started talking about it and just kept talking for the next hour or so. One was German, one was Latvian. It was very interesting. The German thinks our President is not so intelligent, and not very clever. And then he brought up Michael Moore. The Latvian seemed to take a more critical look at things. I think because of all they`ve been through with the Russians, they are wary. Like I said, very interesting.

And then it was time for dinner. We headed back down the shopping street, past the city hall (Radhus) to Tivoli...for the third time. Yep, we`ve been three times! Tonight we had dinner at the same place we ate the first night. Super awesome Italian food. Yum! We walked around, bought christmas ornaments, and waited for the Illusions show. It`s a water, light, and smoke show. The first night we were there, it was broken. The second, it was Saturday, and it didn`t run until 12:15. Tonight we finally saw it, and it was actually worth it. Very cool.

And that`s it. The end of our trip. Makes me sad. Now we have to go back, pack, sleep a little, and travel the 17+ hours home. At least we`ll be at home in our own bed with our own pillows (and a puppy sleeping on my head) tomorrow night. I am really looking forward to that. My own pillow. Maybe my neck will quit hurting so much. It`s going down my shoulder now too. Okay, so I`m out for now, but I`m planning on going back and telling some of the untold stories!