I need your prayers

Please pray...I woke this morning with a bit of a sore throat (again!). Now (Friday evening) I am burning up with a fever. (Can you believe it?!! ) So I am heading off to bed to try and sleep it off. Please pray it is not a flu and I get over it quickly.

Then another prayer request....for the weather!! This evening the weather forecast predicted snow for Wednesday! The problem with snow is that it can delay trains and buses and we have two trains and a bus to catch before we get our plane. We leave home at 8.00 am and arrive at the airport by 1.00pm. Our flight is at 3pm so after we are up and away it can snow all it wants!!

Pray, pray, pray!!

Bargins galore....

Anyone that knows me well knows I love a bargin. I think I must have Scottish blood in me, cause I dont ever pay full price for anything (if at all possible). For example....

Just after Christmas my friend Laura came by and we got talking about DVD´s. I happened to say that I had bought Polar Express for Leah for Christmas and how we really enjoyed it. She then asked if I had bought it in the bookshop in town. I said "NO way - they are too exspensive, I picked it up in the supermarket on sale for 30kr (about £3)" The look on her face was priceless.

She had paid £20 for it in the book shop. She had bought it as a present for someone. She then went on to say that the DVD she had bought had 2 DVDs in it, with some computer games on the one, so that was probably why it was so exspensive. I went to get ours to check it out. It had exactly the same. Poor Laura could have kicked herself for paying so much and she could have strung me up for telling her how cheap I got, exactly the same DVD.

Then, just after Christmas, I went into one of the local clothes shops to have a look around. I came out with a 2 new pairs of jeans, and 3 blouses for £25. (£20 of this was a gift card that I had got for Christmas, so I was literally only out £5.) When I came home and counted what the clothes would have cost without the discount it came to 1450kr (about £140) Now that´s what I call a bargin!!

I had my eye on a pair of boots. They cost 299kr (about £29) - I got them a few weeks ago for 75,-kr (about £7.50) Sometimes its worth wating for things.

So that brings me to my next story....Yesterday on the way home from work I went into the supermarket to buy 2 litres of milk. That was all I needed. But that wasnt all I came home with.

For about a year now we would have liked a navigation system for the car, especially me as I am forever getting lost. But I always thought they were a little too dear and well, there were other things we needed more than that. Then yesterday in the supermarket I saw a Route 66 navigation system for 600kr (£60) the orginal price was 2995kr (nearly £300!!) My eyes nearly popped out of my head! (Bargin, bargin, bargin, was flashing in my eyeballs - haha) There were only 2 on the shelf-so I grabbed one and put it in my basket. Then it was on the phone to Kristian. I got him on the internet to research it - was it any good? All the reviews he was reading about it gave it top marks, and the price on other websites was 3000kr, on one website it even cost 3500kr so guess what - I bought it!!! I just couldnt resist.

So we have a navigator system - I cant get lost now - can I??? I havent tried it out yet, but looking forward to the weekend to give it a go!!

So if I added up all the money I saved this month, well, its alot! I just dont want to think about the money I had to spend so I could save all that money!!!!!!

I had a dream....

...well I have a lot of dreams!! But one of them is to have a wee house in the country. So over the past few weeks I have been searching the internet for houses. Oh how I love to dream, (even about houses that are way out of our price range.)

Well Kristian is not a dreamer. He is the practical one, the sensible one, in our relationship. Many times when I find a house, even one I think we can afford, he comes with all these practical, sensible, things that I havent thought off, like taxes, heating, interest, and how much it will cost to fix certain things in the house....and suddenly we cant afford the house anymore.

So this week I found this house that I fell for. I thought it had character. I could see it was old and needed work done to it....but I could also see us living there. So I sms´d Kristian at work and warned him not to burst my bubble - to play along with me and then the bubble would probably, naturally burst on its own. I told I had found our house and I bummed about all the things we could do with it. I told him to see the possiblities! He was a wee darling....he played along with me, even though I could tell by his face that he didnt love it quite as much as I did. But just that he played along for the evening was wonderful....we planned what we could do with it, where the sofa could go, etc.. (I know I am a little crazy - Kristian deserves a medal for putting up with me!!) Then I sort of forgot about it.

Then this afternoon we had nothing on, so Kristian suggested that after church we should drive out to the house and just see where it was, what the area was like. It was out in the country about 25 km from where we live now.

So that´s what we did. We drove out and saw the house.....and what a disappointment it was. It wasnt just old - it was REALLY old. The photos we looked at made the garden look huge - but it was tiny. The photos made the house look like there was open space around it. There wasnt. It was squashed in between a whole lot of other houses.....it was a wreak!! And that´s when my bubble burst - naturally. It was wonderful. As soon as I saw it I knew it wasnt for us.......and we drove home happy.

(Thanks Kristian for not bursting my bubble but letting nature take its course - I told you it would burst naturally!)

Now I am happy for my wee apartment - I think I will drop the house hunting....at least for this month!!

A day of culture!!

It´s been a day full of culture experiences.

Mia, Leah and me were going to collect Mia´s mum (Laura) and we were going to one of the local Culture Centres to hear some irish folk music and see some irish dancing.

The centre was really lovely - there was a cafe, a gallery, a cinema, a music school and then the stage area were different people perform on a Saturday.



The music was great and the dancing was really good. I am just so amazed at how easy they make irish dancing look. How light they were on their feet and the guy could jump really high - and so gracefully too. Leah and Mia were amazed at it all and they seemed to really enjoy themselves.


When it was finished we headed home to Lauras for some lunch. The irish dancing made an impact on the girls and they spent the rest of the afternoon making up their own irish dances.

Laura is another one of my firiends that loves to cook and bake. So while we were there today, she baked som Lemon squares. They were delicious.

The two girls enjoyed eating their lemon squares while sitting in a cardboard box!

Laura and I then spent the rest of the afternoon sorting out our receipe books....writing down new receipes and just generally trying to get our receipes sorted into some sort of order. We have been planning this for a whole year - so it felt great to actually get started on it today. Still a bit to go, but at least we started.

Finally we headed home after a wonderful day with Laura and Mia.

After dinner tonight Leah and I decided to try and bake the lemon squares for ourselves. It was a bit of a job following the receipe as all the measurements were America, so they used cups instead of grams. (and I dont have an America cup measurement) I was sure it was going to be a disaster, but the Lemon squares actually turned out great.

Now I´m in bed and beside me is Leah. She fancied a night with mum in her bed so asked her dad if she could swap beds with him - she could sleep with me and he could sleep in her bed. So while I am writing this Leah is lying writing in her diary all about her day. Rather cosy....

The two big ones have gone for the evening. Sara is down staying with her cousin Christine and Andrew is staying over at his friends Thomas. Weird only having the one kid at home....but I suppose it´s something we have to get used too.

We love our Fridays!

In the Rasmussen household we sure love our Friday nights!! A time to relax after a busy week!

We have all had a busy day. I had to work overtime today - lots of things to do and not enough people to do it - so I did a 10 hour shift - Whew!!! but it really wasn´t so bad! When you work in a great place with great colleagues then you really dont mind doing a little extra from time to time.

I left work at 5pm. Kristian was soooo sweet - he came and picked me up in the car!

When we got home there was a lovely surprise waiting for us - well especially for me. Leah had cleaned up the house....and she did such a good job, without us even asking or pleading!

She had emptied the dishwasher and put all the dirty dishes from breakfast into it. She had tidied up the living room. She had tidied Saras room - which, believe me, was a mess!! She had folded and put away the pile of laundry that had been lying on the worktop in the bathroom. She had made our bed and tidied her own room too. WOW - I was in shock.

And as if this was not enough - Andrew was cleaning his room! (He got me to inspect it afterwards, the funny thing was that I HAD to run my fingers along the top of his door and wardrobe and even his blind to see if there was any dust on my fingers.....there wasn´t!! He was very proud of the good job he had done. So I am not really sure what has come over my children today!!! Weird but wonderful!!

So as I was saying at the start - we love our Friday nights. Tonight Leah had invited her friend Mia over to stay, so just before dinner Mia arrived.

Sara came home from work just in time to eat. She was exhausted after having worked all day in the shoe shop. She was in need of a back massage so Leah did the good deed of massaging her back and then going for a walk on it - always helps Sara feel better!

The girls had planned a beauty and movie night. So while Sara, Andrew, Kristian and myself saw X-factor (I know we are more to be pitied than laughed at....but we do love our X-factor! )they were in showering and getting all ready for an evening in their PJ´s in front of the TV.

I had promised Leah that she could take over the living room, we would move the mattress in there so they could make it all cosy for watching the film...






After a lot of organising they were FINALLY ready to see the film. I was banished to my room (which was ok with me, there was peace and quiet in there) Kristian hid in his wee cupboard, racing his cars off course!! Sara went to bed early and Andrew was playing a game with his friend over the internet. The girls really enjoyed their film. Now they going to sleep in the living room in their cosy arrangement.

Its been a nice Friday evening - we had time with each other and time on our own doing our own thing1 The best thing is.... tomorrow we dont need to get up for work, we can sleep in!!!! Yipieeeee!!!!!

Todays been nice...

Todays been nice!!

I haven´t seen my friend Rhona since before Christmas, so today after work, she popped by for a cuppa and a chat. We had a lovely afternoon catching up on each others news. There was only one problem with the afternoon - it went by too quickly! Before we knew it she had to go to get dinner ready for her family and I for mine. But it really was great to see her again! (Thanks Rhona for popping by! and you even managed to get out before I remembered to take a picture!!! Arrgghhh!!)


This evening we have just been relaxing. I watched some old family videos on our video camera - that was sooo funny, give me a good laugh! Kristian and Leah sat and watched the Handball match between Denmark and Norwary (and every now and then took a peek at the old videos.)

At Christmas Andrew and Kristian got a head massage thing in their sock....my family has this thing about getting their head rubbed! They just love it! So when I saw this head massage thing I just had to buy it for them. Leah was spoiling her dad tonight with a head massage while he was watching the Handball game. He just loved it.


I on the other hand hate the thing. It gives you the heebeegeebees (as I call it!) It is the most awful feeling. But my family all love it, so they want me to love it too - so I always have to try the thing....along with a whole lot of instructions about how to relax and enjoy it. Well the photo´s speak for themselves - I just cant relax and enjoy it.....it tickles too much!

A little up-date about the cat. She is doing really well and is back to her normal self. Full of life and still wanting lots of cuddles.....

As you can see below, her wound is healing nicely.(Dont look if you cant stick wounds and nasty things like that!) She goes back in 2 weeks to get the stiches out.

I am about to head off to bed - you can tell I dont have to much to report these days when I am writing and taking pictures of the cats wound!

But good news is - it´s Friday tomorrow!! It doesnt seem like a week ago that I wrote that sentence in another blog post - where has this week gone???

And then there were 3

Friday aftenoon Sara, Kristian and me made a trip to Jylland together. (Leah was going to stay with her friend Mia and Andrew was staying on his own. It was his first time to sleep alone in the house!! He could hardly wait to get us out!!! haha) So why were we 3 going away? Well, we had been invited to Winnies dads 50th birthday. (Winnie is Saras good friend from go-kart - so we know her parents too.)

Kristian came to get me from work on Friday. It was then home to pack an overnight bag, have a quick shower, change our clothes and then away we went. We had a 3 hour drive in front of us. The time went quickly. Sara slept and Kristian and I chatted away - it was rather cosy.

We arrived around 7.30pm and had a lovely evening together with Winnie, her mum and dad, plus a whole lot of aunts, uncles and cousins!! Around 11pm Kristian and I left. (Sara was staying with Winnie and then going on to visit some other friends on the Saturday.) Kristian and I drove for about an hour and around midnight arrived at his cousins Jacobs house. We were going to spend the night with Jacob and his wife Louisa.

It was so good to see them again! We had such a great Saturday with them. All we seemed to do was eat and talk....but that was ok - thats two of our favourite passtimes!!

Finally late afternoon we left for home. (We really would have loved to have stayed longer - we enjoyed ourselves so much! but we had to pick Leah up again around 7pm.)

Thanks Jacob and Louisa for letting us bunk down for the night in your cosy home. It was so good not to have to make the 3 hour journey home at 11pm!!

Our poor wee cat....

...our poor wee cat has been through the wars today. My heart aches for her. Being a woman I can sympathise totally with her.


She´s been to the vet and got sterlised....had her ovaries and womb removed and now has a big scar on her wee tummy...she looks a sorry sight. Not to mention her big sad eyes. I will be honest - I shed a few tears for her when she came home with Kristian - she just looked so pathetic!


It´s so amazing how one can get so attached and involved with a wee animal!


I have also been sick for the past few days. Sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, coughing....well I think you get the picture!! It started on Sunday evening, but I went to work Monday and Tuesday, however by Tuesday evening I was feeling really rotten. I then got a fever and so spent all day Wednesday and most of today(Thursday) in bed. I now feel alot better - more like a human being again!! So I plan to be at work again tomorrow.


Tomorrow, Friday, my favourite day of the week!! Oh how I love a Friday!


Anyone who has not been on the blog for a while - check out the post about Februarys chat night - LIVE!....some very important information in that post!

Februarys chat night - LIVE!!

I´ve had an idea!

What about we do next chat night live - and I mean really LIVE! - We could look at each other, laugh with each other, and if we really felt like it, even give each other a hug!! Have I found some new technology that can connect us in this way?? Well I sure have - it´s called an aeroplane and I plan to be on in and in Ireland for our next chat night!!!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

Well I cant really believe it yet, it has all happened so suddenly.

Yesterday afternoon I was on surfing the net - as you do! I am always going in and checking flights to Ireland, just in case there are some cheap flights. Over the last few months there have not been any cheap flights, but yesterday there was! - and they werent just cheap but REALLY cheap.

Now those that know me well, know that I love a bargin and that I just cant let it pass me by. So I had to do something about this bargin right in front of me.

I am off work for Winter break for 1 week in February but there was one small problem...to get the cheap flight I needed 3 days off work before my Winter break started. I have 2 days of extra holidays left to take, so I could use them, but I needed 3 days!! So I sms´ed my boss and explained the situation. (Have I ever told you about him? He is such a good boss! A REALLY GOOD BOSS!!) He rang me up and told me to go for it, and that I could work over time between now and the 4th February (when we leave) to make up the hours for the one day extra that I needed off. Isnt he good?!! So I booked the flight.

Leah, Sara and me will come from 4th February to 11th February. We wont arrive until the evening of the 4th and will leave early in the morning on the 11th. The goal of this trip is to see dad so I can help him with some things around the house. So part of the time I will spend working away on his house. (Guess what Leah and Sara will be up to while I´m helping dad??? Yes, you guessed it - shopping in Primark!!! )

But it cant be all work and no play - so that´s when the idea hit me! - it´s the first Saturday in the month - our chat night, and since I am in Ireland how about we all meet up and do something crazy together. So what do you think??? Anybody up for it????

Let me know what you think! If you have any ideas about what we could do pass them along too, along with what time suits you best to meet on Saturday 7th February 2009!!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!!!

Parlez vous francais?

....Do you speak French? No?!! Well neither do I, but oh how I would love to learn! (Although some people seem to think that I should learn to speak Danish properly before I attempt another language!!)

So why the interest in learning to speak French? Well, maybe it´s because we are going camping in France this summer. YIPIEEEEE!!! We booked our holiday today - 10 days in France.

We are going to a campsite situated in the Jura mountain region. It´s a campsite called Domaine De Chalain (www.chalain.com) and it is very close to the Swiss border - not too far from Geneve. We have actually been there 3 times before and we have LOVED it every time. The last time we were there was in 2005! It is such a beautiful campsite - clean, organised and right down by the Lake Chalain, which is so beautiful. Have a look at some of the pictures....

One time when we were there we actually got a tent really close to the lake - it was so beautiful to sit out and eat breakfast looking down at the lake... or in the evenings sit and watch the sun go down....Ah - I can hardly wait!!

They have also got an excellent swimming pool for the kids. The thing I like about it (although you cant see it in the picture) is that behind the swimming pool there is a beautiful nature area, that raises up into the cliff....with a wee stream running down through it. So you can be sitting under a tree or in a really grassy area, near the stream and still be in the swimming pool area to keep an eye on the kids. There is also a good indoor pool.

I couldnt resist putting in the picture below. It is Andrew probably about 7 or 8 years old, enjoying the last part of the day down at the lake. We always went down there at sunset and the kids had a final swim before going to bed....

What are my two girls like??? I cant believe it´s them - they have gotten so big since this picture was taken, just another one I couldnt resist putting in! haha - Ahhhh, memories!!

I was actually in favour of going to Italy. I wanted to try some good pizzas!!However when I asked the kids where they wanted to go they replied ...."Lac De Chalin!" Kristian had already hinted that he would like to go back there, but I was hoping the kids wanted to try somewhere else....like Italy. I tried to bribe them with promises of brilliant pizzas and ice-cream, but no, nothing was changing their minds. (And if I am totally honest - I love Lac De Chalain as well - so it really didnt take too much to change my mind!) So Italy will have to wait! Camping in France won!!

Now I have to go and look out my "Learn French" computer lesson. This year I AM going to learn French!!!

Still alive and kicking

...doesnt time fly!!! It´s been a while since you heard anything from me but life has been busy. Nothing exciting, mind you - just normal everyday things, like work - washing - cleaning - shopping - cooking and, the thing I love most of all (NOT) - making packed lunches!!!

Yes - its´back to porridge here in Denmark. It´s actually been ok getting back into the routine of things. I was ready to go back to work - although now after 3 days I am ready for holiday again!! haha (not because I dont like work - I just dont like getting up early in the morning!)

So basically I haven´t posted anything cause I really didnt think I had anything interesting to say. So now here I am waffling away, trying desperately to think of something interesting to tell you.

Well, I could tell you about the weather!! (WOW) We did have our first "real" cold weather. On Monday when I woke it was minus 9 degree´s - boy could you feel that! (I felt like crawling back under the duvet, but didnt - I got myself ready for work instead.) But when I went to unlock my bike, the lock was frozen! Panic, panic, cause I needed to catch a train, and buy my monthly ticket before that, so it was a mad rush up to the house to get a bottle of hot water, which did the trick. I got the lock opened and started to bike - then my gears were frozen, so I had to bike all the way to the station in first gear. My legs were going a mile a minute but my bike was not going anywhere fast!! and it was cold - soooo cold. But by some miracle I did get to buy my monthly ticket and I still made the train. (I believe it was the power of prayer - honestly - I was praying the whole way up to the station that I would make the train!)

Oh, another wee story about prayer. Kristian couldnt find his keys. Sunday evening we were getting everthing organised for work, like our keys, finding gloves, packing bags etc. Well Kristian realised his keys were missing so we started to look for them. We looked in all the usual places - we turned the place upside down. Well after about an hour of this, he was starting to get really worried - where could they be? - he needed them for work the next day. So I prayed and said something along these lines - "God you are a God who is interested in all the little details of our lives so please help us find the keys - I move this mountain in Jesus name - Thank you that we will find the keys"

I then got this thought about looking in the cleaning cupboard in our hall. I laughed to myself and thought "That´s a waste of time they wont be in there " but decided to open and look anyway. Well what do you think was lying in the box with our cleaning stuff - YES - Kristians keys!! (Now who would put keys away in such a place???!!! Eh? -Probably me!! I do things like that if I am clearing up and thinking about something else at the same time - but dont let on to Kristian!! - I am still denying it was me! haha)

Then our wee cat is going to the vet next week to get sterlised, but what do you think happened on Monday? She went into heat! Typical!

Andrew rang me at work and told me the cat was acting all weird. She wouldnt stop meowing, was extra loving, was rolling around the floor weirdly and was always sticking her bum up at him (you get the picture?! ) So for 2 days we have had constant meowing, although thankfully at night she has been quiet. I read that it can last from 2 - 19 days!!(so I was in a bit of a panic that she would be like this for 19 days!!) However already today she isnt meowing as much, and is returning to her more normal behaviour - it´s only when Andrew comes out that the meowing starts...I think she quite fancies him!!

Ok I think I better end now. Kristian and I are going to go and plan our summer holidays. We have a few bouchures to look through. Yipieeeee love doing that!

We have some weird friends!!

Our friends Anne and Peter came over for coffee/tea and cake yesterday evening. You have probably read about Anne in this blog - she´s my crazy friend. (When she´s around you just cant help but laugh!) It being Anne I thought I would dress up. I took on my roller wig, put on my bath robe and made a paper cigarette, so that when they rang the door bell I could open the door looking a bit like Hilda Ogden from Coronation Street (remember her??)

The door bell finally rang and when I opened it there was Anne and Peter. Peter was looking normal but Anne was also dressed up in her false teeth and pink hair band. What a laugh! Well you can take a look for yourself, at the two beauties below...

Then it was time for some fun!!! We got out all the wigs and had a blast trying them on.

We did eventually calm down and spent the rest of the evening having a good old natter and eating lots and lots of cake.

Do you have a dream?

When we were down at the Logos Hope Kristian bought a CD by BeBe Winans. One of the songs has become a favourite of mine, it´s called "I have a dream". (You can listen to it by pressing the button down below.)It´s a song made out of Martin Luther Kings "I have a dream" speech.

Martin Luther King had a dream.....it might have looked like an impossible dream at the time.... but he dared dream it. "I have a dream" is sung over and over again in the song and it really spoke to me. How important it is to dream....

Last year, at the start of 2008, I had a dream. I dreamed about losing weight. I dreamed about being a fitter, healthlier person - and believe me it looked like an impossible dream at the time for me.....but with hard work and dedication my dream did come true.

What is your dream for 2009? Does it seem impossible?? Well don´t give up - grab that dream, work at it, be dedicated - you CAN see your dream fulfilled.

Suppose what I just want to say in this post is, allow yourself to dream. If you don´t have a dream - get one! Take time out, search your heart. What do you burn for? What are you longing for? Find your dream and go for it. The road towards making that dream come true may not be easy, it may be costly, it may be hard work, but when the dream is reached, it is worth it all.

What if Martin Luther King never had dreamed...what if he had given up on his dream?

Martin Luther said and I quote "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I believe his children have seen that dream fulfilled by the election of the first black president. If only he could have seen it too.

The road to fulfilling Martin Luther Kings dream was long, the road was hard and costly but Martin Luther King dared to dream and he dared to dream BIG!! His dream inspired others to dream.

Whatever your dream is for 2009 I hope you embrase it with a passion. Keep it before you and go for it!! and who knows, your dream could also be an inspiration to others...

I Have a Dream - BeBe Winans