Entries in family (11)

Wednesday
Jul212010

summer on sjælland continues...

DateWednesday, July 21, 2010 at 3:00AM

Another great summer weekend in here in Sjælland (the big island we live on).

Friday I traveled out to western Sjælland with Christian’s mom, a friend and Christian’s siblings Emilie and Magnus.  We stayed at a “summer house” on the peninsula called Røsnæs just outside the city of Kaldunborg.

We took a boat trip out into the bay to look for some dolphin like fish, the closest English translation I could find was “porpoise” but I think they’re still a little different.  I don’t know, we didn’t see any in the end.  Which I’m sure you can guess, was fine by me the fish hater. ;)

We left late Saturday afternoon and I headed into Copenhagen to meet up with Jeanette for dinner, a movie and drinks.  Sounds like a romantic date, haha.  We ate at ChilliMilli and saw Shrek (the 4th?) which was fine, definitely not as funny as the first two but anyone could have predicted that.

We were going to get a beer at a bar or something of the sort but decided to buy a few beers at the grocery store and sit in Nyhavn and people watch instead.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s my favorite thing to do on a nice day in Copenhagen.

I like to watch all the people walking by and guess where they’re from.  Come join me sometime and I will share with you my skills on guessing.

I took a train home around 11:30 and missed a connection by 4 minutes and ended up with a 200kr ($35) taxi ride home from the station.  Oh well, it was a really nice night and worth it!

Yesterday I relaxed for most of the day and then joined Christian’s uncle’s family and Farmor to Gillileje for dinner in the harbor.  I found the one bit of chicken on the menu (I’m pretty good at that) and we ate outside and enjoyed the evening sun.

We took a walk on the rocky/sandy beach there after dinner.  We looked for amber and special rocks that had what looked like petrified starfishes on them.  I found a piece of amber, not sure if that’s special or not, though.  The kids took a swim and then we started out to go home.

On the road out of the town there was a circus setting up.  They literally had just arrived and the animals were out getting some fresh air.  We stopped and got to be pretty close (without anything than a mere rope between us) to elephants, zebras, camels and horses.  Pretty cool.

In other news, most of you probably read on Facebook that I got a job here, finally!  I am absolutely  over the moon about it.  I definitely need structure and routine back in my life, not to mention a Danish income!!

I’m working remotely until the end of the month for my old job still and then supposedly I start my new job the first of August.  So I never really was unemployed, kind of nice.  I’ll know more details this week when I go in to sign some paperwork. :D

Thanks for all your love and support, as always.

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AuthorJillian Als | Comment1 Comment |
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Saturday
Jul102010

summer has arrived

DateSaturday, July 10, 2010 at 11:46AM

My friends and family love us so much they sent us their east-coast heat wave.  :P Only problem is that we don’t have those fancy, new-fangled things called air conditioners here! Or outdoor public pools.  Plenty of beach, though!  Danish summer is here!

Christian and I went to the beach last week and it was awesome.  There weren’t waves but the water was not atrociously cold and I could see through it (and we know this is important) so I had a blast just slashing around so to speak. 

Before it gets too far gone I should talk about last weekend.  There was a lot going on!

Friday we helped Christian’s uncle with some floral arrangement delivery and decorations for a horse show in Sweden.  The customer was a bit off her rocker and we moved everything like 400x for her but I think it turned out well!

(yes, that is in a horse stable)

Saturday we went back to Sweden for Christian’s grandma’s sister’s 75th birthday.  Did you follow that?  Christian’s grandma (Farmor – the little one who lives across the terrace) is Swedish and is one of something like 7 or 8 children, no one can really answer that question for me.   So there is a lot of Swedish family.

Lots of Swedish family that no one really knows through whom they’re related.  I thought I was struggling to understand Danish… you should hear Swedish – it makes me laugh mostly.  It’s definitely a whole different intonation than Danish, yauh.

Apparently birthdays aren’t a big gift giving ordeal but everyone comes and brings maybe a small gift and sits down for coffee and 3 courses of cakes, cookies and other delicious desserts (see picture of dessert table below).   I see where Christian developed his sweet tooth!

Sunday we had the brunch for Emilie’s graduation and it was also the 4th of July and so obviously we had to celebrate!  We hosted a barbeque at our house in the garden (ok backyard ugh where is this proper English coming from already?!) and invited friends and family.

Apparently evite is not commonly used in Denmark and hit half of our friends spam folders instead of inboxes. Whoops! So our brave and handicapped friend, Sillas, made the trip out to grannytown from Copenhagen to spend the 4th with us and Christian’s family.

We made so much food.  I made Kayte’s guacamole recipe and some fresh pico de gallo and served with tortilla chips as an appetizer. Ok so not American but hello, every American loves Mexican food.  Or it’s just me. Either way YUM. 

We grilled all kinds of meats and corn on the cob. I made potatoes and a salad to serve as side dishes.  I was particularly proud of my salad – mixed leafy greens, cucumbers, red onion, strawberries, blueberries, walnuts and feta cheese with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.  Delicious! I also made the cake shown above. Cake mix from a box does exist here but it's just not the same! ;)

We drank a few cocktails and played a Danish yard game.  It’s called I forget… Købclub or something.  Haha I totally forget what it’s called but it was super fun.  I played on the winning team the whole day until the very last round. 

It would take me forever to explain the game so maybe you should just come over and play it with us sometime instead!

It’s been sunny and warm, if not hot, every day for a long time, I almost don’t want to jinx it!  I am loving it! Hope all is well with my loyal readers!

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AuthorJillian Als | CommentPost a Comment |
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Tuesday
Jul062010

danish 'high school' graduation

DateTuesday, July 6, 2010 at 5:23PM

I thought moving to Denmark and working from home would mean that I’d have all the time in the world to do things like blog and be lazy. Errrrt. 

One thing we’ve been celebrating for a little over a week now is Christian’s little sister’s graduation from Gymnasium (Danish High School).  The high schools here are notorious for gruesome exams and it’s not an easy school to get through so we are very proud of her.

Danish tradition lesson time!  Remember when we were trying to steal booze from our high school graduation parties? And how alcohol on school premises was pretty much forbidden in an amendment to the constitution somewhere? Well we greeted Emilie in the hallway immediately after her last exam and popped champagne! 

It was pretty emotional  for Emilie…. and obviously for me. I’m practically walking Hallmark these days, so touched by everything.  I cried, eh god.  No I think it was a very proud moment for everyone there (mom, grandma, brothers etc).

The following day we held a 10 minute party for Emilie’s entire class (~30 ppl). Huh?  Well tradition here is that once all the students in a class finish exams, they take a ‘party bus’ around to everyone’s house. 

 

Ok what?  So high schools here are small classes that ‘specialize’ / ‘major in’ specific academic areas.  Christian’s class was Math & Science and Emilie’s was Language and Social Studies (I think that would be the translation anyway).  So they’re taking all the same courses together for three years.

The party bus is a Danish long-time tradition.  The class one year behind them decorates the truck with laurels during a small ceremony held in the morning after exams.  Then comes party party party.  The first house usually serves some breakfast but then on out it’s mostly a liquid diet and they leave as quickly as they arrive.  25+ houses in one day is a tough feat!! 

We served champagne, fruit and softice for Emilie’s class at Christian’s mom’s house.  They were at the house for literally 10 minutes.

These trucks are found all over on the Friday after exams – and everyone honks at them. You can hear them a mile away. Emilie’s truck had its own DJ, I was so jealous.  I so wanted to get on and pretend I was just finishing high school again! ;)

Another tradition are the hats/caps that the graduates wear.  They don’t do typical graduation ceremonies with caps and gowns like we do in the States but their hats are cooler and have more meaning anyway!  All your classmates/friends/family sign the inside of the cap and some bite on the rim for good luck (something like that anyway.)

We culminated the celebrations yesterday with a brunch to celebrate with family and some of Emilie’s closest friends.  We love you Emilie and are so proud of you! xo

AuthorJillian Als | Comment1 Comment |
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Thursday
Jun032010

live & direct from DANMARK

DateThursday, June 3, 2010 at 5:29PM

It’s me, I’m alive and officially living in Denmark, GASP!  Yayy.  It’s been a LONG time in the works but so happy the time has come for me and Christian to have our happily ever after. :)

Our travel back to Boston and our flights over went off without a hitch.  Didn’t sleep much/well on the way over so imagine my grogginess when SURPRISE YAYYY WELCOME TO DENMARK parade was waiting outside baggage claim. J So cute.  Nearly all of Christian’s family was there to greet us LITERALLY with bells on… ok with noise makers, flags and banners and shouts of cheer.  It was awesome.  Only embarrassing for like half a second, mostly just so heartwarming!   Unfortunately they forgot to take pictures :(

More surprises on the way home!  The flag pole at our house had an Danish and American flag waving and a big banner in the driveway saying “Welcome Home!” – too cute.

We went to Christian’s Mom’s house for some frokost (lunch) straight from the airport.  Upon arriving at Mors house was my new beautiful bike, who I have since named, Maggie.

Isn’t she cuuuuute?!  I looooveee her! Christian’s uncle (professional florist) did the flowers on the basket and the whole family went in on the bike as a present to welcome me to Denmark.  I am 93% Danish with this bike.  I will be 100% Danish when it’s raining out and I ride it anyway.  :P 

Frokost consisted of nearly all my favorite Danish foods – Frikkadeller (Danish meatballs), Danish rye bread, potatoes, and get this… RIS ALMONDE!! Uhmm whoa.  So awesome.  Ris Almonde is a traditional Christmas dish so it was quite the treat! Tak Mor!

Once we got home after lunch I come in to the house and see… more surprises!  I had a brand new bedroom rearranged.  Chr got crafty and made us a new headboard – he picked the fabric and everything. How frikken fracken cute is he?!   He rearranged the furniture and gave me some space for all my CRAP! ;)

And on the bed?! PRESENTSSS.  Gosh I love him, he knows the way to my heart.  Some fun, little ‘getting set up in Denmark’ presents like the shampoo brand I use, toothbrush, some oreos for when I miss home, perfume, pj pants and an IPHONE.  Man… he really is working hard to buy time on this puppy business. :D

Look outside and…??? A manicured garden and some beautiful outdoor furniture complements of Ann, Christian’s Dad’s girlfriend.  She is awesome!  She tidied up the garden that definitely needed mending, planted flowers, gave me a gardening starter kit and the table and chairs. SO sweet.  I am so lucky to be loved so much even all the way across the ocean from home.

Tuesday we went to the Kommune (county) to register me as officially living in Denmark. :D Social security card is in the mail what what!  I need to register for school next but we haven’t quite gotten that far yet. 

I’m working remotely for my old job 28 hrs a week which is awesome for some income but adjusting to ‘working from home’ in a new country takes it to a whole new level.  I just want to unpack and decorate and play in the sun? haha. Speaking of, the weather here is gorgeous!  Light out until 10pm, love it!

With one trip to Ikea down, I’ve got some things to help organize the chaos I have dropped EVERYWHERE in this house.  It literally looks like a bomb went off, whoops. Christian is leaving for some work in Norway for a long time come Saturday so I’ll have plenty to keep me busy with, that’s what I keep saying anyway!

This evening I finally went and got some exercise after an almost two week sabbatical from working out – boy did I need it!  I think I’ll join the gym Christian belongs to up the street.  I might embarrass myself in class when she says to lift your arm and I lift my leg because my body vocabulary is still coming along but oh well.   I wonder what the Danish ‘gym scene’ in this old lady town is like.  Eh god.

So that is the word on Denmark thus far.  More updates to come. I’ll email friends and family shortly re contact details/skype/telephone number etc.

Love you and miss you all! Xo

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AuthorJillian Als | Comment5 Comments |
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Thursday
Feb252010

dear readers, love jillian

DateThursday, February 25, 2010 at 9:36PM

This post is dedicated to Gail Felcher.  She has inspired me to think completely in Dear Such’n’such, Love Jill statements. xx

Dear hurricane,
You have made me miserable, congratulations. Apparently you’re here for the weekend. Awesome.
Regards,
Soaking wet Jill

Dear LuLu Lemon gym bag,
Thank you for being waterproof and saving my most prized possessions from water damage.
Thanks a mil,
Glass half full Jillian 

Dear hot shower,
You saved my life tonight...
Warm regards,
Clean Jill

Dear roommate’s pizza in the fridge,
I want to eat you, but I can’t.
Best,
Hungry, Hungry Hippo Jillian

Dear Ultimate Loser competition,
Thanks to you I cannot even order my own pizza to eat… and it’s also your fault I am so ravenous right now.  Here’s to the greater good, though.
See you at weigh in tomorrow,
Still not skinny Jillian

Dear Kelly,
Thanks for pushing my limits tonight, despite my sheer miserableness.  I can now say I’ve done 150 pushups in a workout session and ran at 9.0 on the treadmill.
Cheers,
Jillian Athletica

Dear Body,
You’ve been a real trooper, thanks for hanging in there.  Sadly I cannot tell you things are going to change anytime soon other than your weight – I mean it.  Lose it already.  I’ll write to our metabolism and see what she can do for us.
Many thanks,
Your BFF Jillian

Dear Metabolism,
Your letters keep getting returned.  More than ever, I’m convinced that you’ve left my body and put up camp in someone else’s body.  Someone else more deserving of nachos and margaritas, I suppose.  What can I do to make it up to you?  You’re welcome back anytime.
Hope to see you soon,
Patient and sad Jillian

Dear Bank Account,
Happy Bonus Day!  I am sorry I immediately paid bills with all your new found money.  Someday we’ll live in harmony.
Best regards,
Fiscally responsible Jillian

Dear Weekend,
Can’t wait to see you.  Please don’t tempt me with delicious, salty treats and cold beers.  You know they’re my downfall.  Regardless, we’re going to get some good sleeping done!
Woop woop,
Happy Jillian

Dear Atlantic Ocean,
You suck. I wish I was with my hubby right now, and always.
Sincerely,
You suck

Dear Co-Workers,
You guys are saints for putting up with me some days… most days.  Thanks for making life a little more bearable on the not-so-good days.
Thx,
Jillian Web Marketing Specialist

Dear Lady Gaga,
You rock; you’re an inspiration.
Lots of love,
Gaga by Night Jillian

Dear Husband, Family and Friends,
Thank you for always encouraging me and supporting me.  I wouldn’t be here without you. I love you!
Love always,
Jill/Jilly/Bean

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AuthorJillian Als | Comment1 Comment |
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