Cosy times....

The Danes have a word which I love - it`s HYGGELIGT. There is no single word or direct translation for it.  It is a lot of different things. It is being cosy, being content, having good feelings, a warm glow. It is that feeling of well being and satisfaction. Hygge - is the Danish ritual of enjoying lifes simple pleasures. 

Well this week has been one of those HYGGELIGT weeks. I have enjoy some of lifes simple pleasures. I have experienced good feelings, warm glow, feeling content, satisfied and cosy. 

The week was busy at work. It was the final week of our fund raising and I was excited to see what the final amount would be.  The kids did a fantastic job raising the money.  I really didn´t think our rainbow would grow sooo much! I thought we would fill out the colours to the half way mark, but I really didn´t expect more than that. 

My boss Peter was dressed up as Frankie. Every Friday at Assembly we did a sketch announcing how much money was raised during that week. Kids that had done an expectional job were called out to get a prize. 

The kids had worked out that it was Peter who was dressed up as Frankie ...but for fun on Friday we decided that Peter would reveal to them and me, that he was Frankie. It was hilarious. I acted like I had no idea that Frankie was Peter and the kids (the really young ones) bought it. They really thought that I had no idea that Frankie was not a new friend but just Peter dressed up. So many of them after Assembly came and said how sorry they felt for me and they hoped I wasn´t too sad at not having Frankie as a friend. They were soooo sweet. 

The final amount raised was - 170.000,-kr which is approx17000 pounds!!! Totally amazing!!

Wednesday evening I met my friend Jette at our favourite cafe. We were having dinner together. Good food and company - the best combination.  It was soooo good to catch up with her again and we had a really cosy (HYGGELIGE) night together.

On Friday at work there was such a holiday feeling. We were getting ready for our Christmas Market which was being held on Saturday. Everyone was busy, busy, busy - it was just sooo HYGGELIGT!! 

Saturday morning I was back at work again ready for the Christmas market. We had about 2000 people come through the school. 

I was on the cake stall and we sold loads and loads of cakes. Thankfully I just had to sell them, and not make them! Parents and kids were helping with everything so we had a rota, which was great cause I got to go exploring in the flea market that we had. I had my eye on a few things that I had seen while setting up on the Friday evening - a Kenwood mixer, an old spinning wheel, and a food processor. 

The market started at 10am and since I was serving on the cake stall from 10am to 11am I was first able to get over to the flea market a few minutes after 11am. Unfortunately I was too late to buy the Kenwood mixer and food processor (both of which were like new) they had been sold. However I did get my hands on the old spinning wheel. I got it for 10 pounds!! A bargin!! I was happy. I also got myself a new book - in English!

The Christmas market finished at 3pm. We had a bit of clearing up to do but by 5pm I was finished and ready to head home - in the snow!! It had started to snow and by the time I reached home we had a real snow storm on our hands. It was soooo HYGGELIGE!! (cosy!!)

Home was also soooo HYGGELIGE! Kristian had been cleaning while I was gone, so I came home to a lovely clean, tidy house.

It has been a while since we have had sooo much snow and I was loving every minute. We spent Saturday evening curled up on the sofa. Laura came over and we saw a Christmas movie together. When it was finished I decided to walk her home (all the way next door! haha) I was in the mood to be out in the snow. Laura had gone home and Kristian was not interested in going out to play in the snow. Leah was in bed too, so at 11.20pm I went out and built myself a snowman. It was such a beautiful evening and being outside in the fresh fallen snow was sooooo HYGGELIGE:-)

Sunday morning and we were up early to get the snow dug away from our drive so we could get out. What a job that was!! 

We had been invited to Kristian´s sister ´s house for lunch, along with some of their other friends and we wondered if we would make it with all the snow that was around. We thought we would give it a try. Thankfully there was no problem getting in, the roads were pretty clear. 

We had the most delicious 3 course meal in with Hanne and Flemming. It was sooo HYGGELIGT!! We got to catch up with each other again and it was lovely to see their good friends Anette and Bent. The afternoon flew by! Before heading home we popped in to see Kristian´s mum.  It was good to see her too.

This morning on the way to work we got to experience the most beautiful sky. I got Leah to take a few pictures, but they don´t do the beauty justice. The colours were much bolder in real life. 

It sure has been a HYGGELIGE week.:-)

Last week....

..was a quiet week for us.

I felt tired all week - it must have been after my 12½hour day with Anne!! haha It took it out of me!

Last week I set myself a challenge. I decided, after watching Jamie Oliver`s 30 minute meals, that I was going to make one of the meals and see if I could actually do it in 30 minutes. He always makes it seem soooo easy and fun, plus the food always looks delicious.

So Wednesday evening was the night for my challenge. I was going to make macaroni and cauliflower cheese, with a salad and Danish meat balls (these I added to the meal because they are so quick and easy to make and we do like our meat at dinner ). Dessert was to be different fruits baked in the oven served with cream.  So I was all fired up and ready to go - dinner would be served in 30 minutes - or maybe not!

One hour and 10 minutes later I was finished. The meat balls were ready, the macaroni was too but the salad and dessert I gave up on. It would have taken me another hour to get them ready!! All that work and the macaroni and cauliflower cheese weren´t even that nice!! The only good thing were my Danish meatballs. Ah well, you live and learn!!

Last Tuesday Sara went for an interview. She has been a bit unsettled in her job and has been thinking about trying out something different.  In her teenage years she always wanted to be a flight attendant and so when she heard that DAF (Danish Air Transport) were looking for new flight attendant trainees, she decided to apply. She was called in for an interview and was offered the job. So she starts a new chapter of her life 4th January. I think she will make a great flight attendant. She is so service minded and a real people person, so I think she will do well there.

This weekend has been very quiet and relaxing.

After work on Friday I got into my car to drive home. I turned on the radio and what did I hear? Christmas music!!! Well that was that - I was in the mood for Christmas! So instead of driving straight home I decided to go visit the local garden center. They always have a fantastic Christmas display and I thought it was time to check it out.  I was not disappointed. I walked about the place for an hour feeling all cosy and Christmasy. It was just a great way to end the week.

It was awful to wake up to the news about Paris on Saturday morning. My heart went out to all the people who lost loved ones. We spent Saturday morning fixed to the TV watching the dreadful accounts of what had happened. So very sad.

Saturday afternoon we went out for a few hours to check out a new shopping center that had opened not far from us. We had a great afternoon wandering about the place checking out all the electronic stores we could find. We had a quick lunch and late afternoon headed home again.

Saturday evening I decided I would cancel my Netflex account as I haven´t used it for about ½ year. I only joined so I could see Downton Abbey. When I joined I saw series 1-4, which was all that was available at the time.

Well, when I logged into my account on Saturday, there was a message saying that Downton Abbey series 5 was now available to view. That was my Saturday night all fixed up. I watched the one episode after the other. It was fantastic!!! The Christmas episode did make me cry though. Hearing the English Carols just made me so homesick - I suddenly really missed home, so I sat on the sofa beside Kristian and had a good old cry!! :-)

Sunday evening we had a full house. Andrew, Camilla, Leah and Lasse were all here for dinner and we had a really cosy time together. The evening went by so fast and it was fun catching up with them all.

What a day!!!

Yesterday (Saturday) I got to spend 12 hours with my good friend - Anne. It´s so weird when the day goes by so fast and you feel like you have only had about 3 hours together, then discover it has been 12!!! We had a fantastic day!

It started at 10am when I jumped on the train and Anne was sitting waiting on me. The talking started and it didnt stop until I got off the train again at 10.30pm!!

We had planned a girls day out in Copenhagen. Our first stop was at a rooftop cafe for brunch. I must say we didn´t really take in much of the view, we were too busy talking. We had a delicious brunch though and then headed out to shop.

We visited a lot of shops and I bought a couple of plaques with sayings on them for the wall of my kitchen. (I don´t really have anymore room for them, but where there´s a will there´s a way!!) Anne bought some perfume. It was fun to shop.

Then at 2.15pm we headed over to the theatre. We were going to see the 3pm show of....The Sound of Music! We were as usual late!!! The reason being that we had come out of one of the department stores by the wrong exit and we were so busy talking that we didn´t realise we were going in the wrong direction until I saw "The Round Tower" which I knew we shouldn´t be seeing! HELP - we didn´t have time for this!! We had to walk very quickly and at times run to get to the theatre on time! We made it but we were so sweaty!! We sure had a laugh though!

At the theatre we met my niece. My friend Jette was actually meant to meet us at the theatre but she had gotten sick so 1½ hours before the show and we suddenly had an extra ticket. My niece lives in Copenhagen and so we thought if she could get down to the theatre quickly she could use the ticket and that´s what she did! I´m glad she was happy to join two oldies like us!!

As we walked into the theatre we literally bumped into 8 friends from church who were also there. There were loads of hugs and chatting!

I LOVE being at the theatre. It´s such a magical place!

What a fantastic show!!! I enjoyed every minute of it and the 3 hours went by in a flash!! What talent! (Oh how I wish I had the voice and the looks to be part of the theatre world!! Ahhhh wishful thinking!!)

After the show we said goodbye to Sigrid and then Anne and I headed out to eat. We found a wee cafe and had dinner while we once again solved all the world´s problems and our own!

We decided we would head to another cafe for hot chocolate and coffee and so we wandered through Copenhagen looking for a suitable cafe. The rain was pouring down and I was loving every minute of it! We were getting soaked and it felt soooo great!

A lot of cafes that we found were really packed so we decided to go down some of the wee side streets to see if we could find a cosy cafe of the beaten track - we did!!! We found this cosy wee cafe with a jazz trio playing in the corner. We were soaked through, so it felt so good to come into the warmth of the place. Anne ordered a coffee and I a hot chocolate. It was delicious, the best hot chocolate I have had in a long time! We sat and enjoyed the music while, once again, we rambled on about things in our lives. Finally at 9.30pm we thought we should head over to get the train home.

It was such a great day. We couldn´t believe how quickly the time went. I so enjoy hanging out with Anne although I felt sad for Jette that she couldn´t join in the fun with us - she was missed. Hopefully the next time we arrange one of these days she will be well enough to come along.

Today the weather has been beautiful, so this afternoon Kristian and I decided to head out for a bike ride. It´s been a while since we have been out together on our bikes. We had a great ride through the forest and it wasn´t at all cold for it being November!

(An update on the house situation....Thursday I rushed home from work, got the house aired out, everything in order ready for the estate agent to come. I waited an hour and no one turned up!! I kept checking with the other neigbhours to see if he had turned up at their place but he handn´t. All very strange. No one heard anything so we have no idea when he will come again.)

It´s not working....

....my most treasured possession (have I spelt that right?) is broken!! 

Yes, it´s my Kindle - it´s died!! I can´t get it to turn on. I have tried everything (at least I think I have) but it has still just got a black screen. I feel like I have lost a very dear friend. (Seriously - I LOVE my books!!! This is the best thing I have ever bought!)

In bed last night I was lying reading and everything was fine. Then this afternoon on my break at work, I was all alone, and thought I would use the time to read. I was so ready to put my feet up and enjoy my book for 15 minutes. (I had even bought a Mars Bar to enjoy with my cuppa tea and book. I was even happy that there was no-one to share break time with. I had my Kindle and that was all I needed!! I had looked forward to this breaktime since lunch!) 

It was then I discovered the sad fact. No matter what I tried I couldn´t get my Kindle to turn on. Talk about being disappointed!! I was one unhappy Mama!! So I drank my tea and ate my Mars and went quickly back to work again. 

I think Santa will need to bring me a new one for Christmas!! (hint hint Kristian!! haha)

We just love living in this old run down place!

So this week we got some news. I don´t know if it´s good news or bad news. The man who owns this house (which has 4 apartments in it) wants to sell. YIKES!!!!  On Thursday a real estate agent will come out to see the place!! The place will be sold along with us. So whoever buys it cannot put us out, not immediately. 

So this could be a good thing, as this place is soooo old and so many things need fixed (but the man who owns it now is not interested in fixing anything up.) We have done small things about the place so that we can enjoy living here, but there are some major things that need to be done to the place. So if someone new bought it and invested in it, it could be to our benefit. On the downside, if they do alot of work to it they could put the house rent up to more than we can afford. 

Also we don´t have any "rules" living here. Like in our old apartment you could only use the washing machine till 10pm. You weren´t allow to drill after 8pm etc. Here its like having your own home, you can do what you like. (off course we all respect each other and think about what time it is before we drill but there are no offical rules.) I hope the new owners don´t introduce a whole lot of rules. 

Then we are thinking that if this place is going for a good price that maybe we could buy it and fix it up. (We being Kristian and me or if its a bit more than we can afford then our neighbour Laura could get into the deal too.) Laura and I are dreaming away and poor Kristian just sits and shakes his head and says "Lets see what the agent says on Thursday!" 

There can be so many scenarios. I am thankful that I can just leave it all in God´s hands. He´ll show us what to do when the time comes. So we are really not worried.

Talking about worry. I had this wonderful phone call yesterday from my niece. I had shared a post on facebook about worry and stress and how we need to trust God instead of leaning on our own understanding. 

She had been really worried about a few things in her life and after reading the post she decided she was just going to trust God and not worry about it anymore as she could feel it was stressing her out. She not only was filled with peace but got an answer to two of her big worries within a few days! She rang to tell me this and to thank me for posting it. It really did my heart good that she had trusted God and to hear how God came through for her. 

Oops I forgot to update.....

Again it has been a week since I last updated!! So here comes another mega update....

Last Friday (23rd October) I had invited some of my colleagues (8 of them) home for dinner. So Friday afternoon I left work an hour early so I would have time to prepare for them. The best thing was - I wasn´t at all stressed. I came home and actually had a cosy time getting everything ready. I found myself enjoying it all. It felt totally weird not to be stressed. I got the food prepared, the table set, had a shower and even relaxed a bit before they came.

We had a great night together. My main course turned out brilliantly!! I couldn´t believe how everything turned out!! haha I was amazed - I even enjoyed the food and everyone raved about how good it was. They were a lucky bunch - they happened to visit on one of my good nights!

So we stuffed our faces. I had made a 3 course meal and in between the main course and dessert I had a quiz called "How well do you know your colleague". A quiz to see how much we knew about each other. It was fun and we had a good laugh at some of the questions.

The rest of the evening was spent chatting together. We did check out our 3D TV, which they wanted to see, so everyone got their glasses on and we saw a short bit of a 3D film. 

It was midnight before they all headed home. They seemed to have a really good evening, we really enjoyed having them. When they went Kristian and I decided we would get the whole kitchen cleared as we didn´t want to get up to a messy kitchen in the morning. By 1.30am the house was all clean and tidy again and we were totally ready for bed.

Saturday was a relaxing day. I spent most of the day reading. I got one book finished and started another. Saturday evening we had left overs for dinner and then Laura came over to see a film. We ended up seeing two films that evening and since the clocks went back an hour, we didn´t even get to bed late!!

Monday after work I went and collected my friend Audry and we headed to our favourite place - Ikea. We had a great night looking around. I only spent 33kr (3 pounds!!) while Audry went a bit mad and spent more than she should have! haha  When Ikea closed at 9pm  we headed over to McDonalds and ended our evening there, chatting and catching up on each others lives. 

It has been busy at work this week. The fund raising is going well and our rainbow is getting more colours on it each week. Only two more weeks left!!

One of my colleagues turned 50 this week, so we had a celebration for her. I think she really enjoyed her day and we got to enjoy some lovely home made scones and cakes from her. 

Thursday evening I went to a meeting in one of the local churches. A Messianic Jew and a Christian Palestinian were talking about their life in Israel and the work that they are involved with. They are trying to reconcile the two sides through the love of Christ. It was a really interesting meeting. It was great to hear both their view points on things and to experience the unity they had through Christ.

Friday I was at a first aid course with work. I am sooo glad I am not a nurse!! It was fun and interesting but I really hope I am never in the situation to have to give heart massage or mouth to mouth!

This weekend has been a really relaxing one for Kristian and me. Kristian is finally finished with go-kart races for this season and so he is now home every weekend. We just love to hang out together and that´s basically what we did this weekend.

We enjoyed the Autumn weather and the nature changing all around us.

In between hanging out with hubby and relaxing, I started a new book by John Bevere - Good or God, I think it´s going to be a good, challenging read.  I also found my flute again.  I got it cleaned up and I have decided that I am going to practise playing it everyday!! (ummmh....let´s see if that happens!)

On Saturday evening we made some great food (again) and got ready to welcome any neighbours that came by with children for trick or treat. I had craved a pumpkin, put up a few decorations and had loads of sweets ready if anyone did knock the door.  I also love any excuse to dress up so I got dressed up as the crazy cat woman, ready to scare anyone that knocked the door.

We had a few neighbours come by and it was just great to get to chat with them. They loved that I was dressed up and that the place was decorated. We found out where they lived in the village and had a really great chat and good connection with them.

Andrew came for dinner this evening. It was lovely to see him. Tomorrow he  heads to Dublin with his college. He will be there from Monday to Friday. Lucky him - I wish it was me going home again!!

Now a new month has began and along with it comes my, yet again, healthy eating plan!! Let´s see if I can get a few kilos off before Christmas!!!