Christmas and More

Sorry about the last post being so incorrect in grammar.  I really used to be bad at spelling and grammar and trust me this year is not helping.

I opened my presents today.  Thank you to Deb and Merle for the wonderful calendar as well as the card.  I really liked the pictures in it, but can't talk about it because others can't know the secrets the calendar contains.

Also thank you Mom, Dad, and Cam for all the wonderful stuff.  The head phones are great and will stay on while I ride my bike.  And the Jiff low fat peanut butter will be very nice on the home made bread here.  I am very thankful for skittles as always, and the oreos.  Those were both from Java.

I am aware there are still more packages coming my way.  That you soooo much for everything to make my christmas nice.

I am going to London in two days, but will post more about it later on.  I know that I am staying for 9 nights in London and will hope to visit family while there.

Can someone say SPISE!

Today I made my first ever meal... complete.

Although it is a summer meal I thought ribs with sophies potatoes and a fruit salad would hit the spot.  Thus the long process of making the ingredients started.  Thats right, I had to make the things it said to mix.  I made french onion dip as well as cream of chicken for the potatoes.  I made Montgomery in sauce for the ribs.

Everything was finished, and the house smelled so good.  I was amazed at what I tasted though.  The meal was perfect.  The potatoes were delicious and everybody thought so.  The ribs tasted just like at home, and were cheaper in cost too!!! A lot!!! All together I learned a lot.  I feel now more confident that I can do something write.

For more info on the meal, please visit me at my web site, or email me a kas8970@gmail.com

Tak 

P.S. I don't have a web site.

The Christmas Count Down 9-days

I am back, although I have not really been away.

I really miss violin music.

Way back when I was a really little kid up until a few years ago, life was always full of violin music.  It seems like Cam was always practicing.  Other then that there was also Papaw who played with Cam.  It was always soooo boring to listen to it, but it is not the intensive listening that I miss.  I miss the fact that even when not noticing it, violin music reached out to me.  I think that music can do that to anyone, if they just accept it.  I miss the music.

I am thankful for parties.

Parties are something very new in my life, and if taken responsibly can really improve ones social status.  I have had the good, bad, and ugly of parties now, and I believe that it will prepare me to make wise decisions into the future.  College, here I come, but I come with more knowledge then the other freshmen!

Christmas Fest... lots of fun!

The December Count Down 12-days

As Christmas quickly approaches I find myself really thinking about what people want.  Never before has it been so difficult to think of things, and with the addition of 6 more people to think about, it makes it even more difficult.  I find myself looking at candy as an easy way out, but I really do not know what they want.  I have not given them a list, as they have not asked me what I want, but in return I have no lists from any of them.  For all I know they are not expecting any presents out of me at all.  This challenge is added to the difficulty of finding things DANISH enough to be sent home.  Everything here seems to be about USA.  Shirts are all in english and stuff like that.

That was just a short rant for the day on shopping.  I hope everyone reading this is having very good luck with their own shopping.  

A little danish, a little english, and a lot of layers of your favorite instruments!

The Christmas Countdown 14-days

I really miss family sharing.

This might not make sense so I will explain a bit more about what I mean.  At home if I am going out during the winter I would take a pair of gloves which the family owns, a hat maybe personal but wearable by anyone, a scarf which would be dads, and maybe even Cam's big rubber boots if I am shoveling snow.  Here we don't have an overflow of supplies which can be shared.  I have my pair of gloves which I don't expect anybody to use, and then everyone else has their pair of gloves.  Also this goes with such things as borrowing a cell phone, which would never happen no matter what the circumstances other then for a single call or text.  People have possession of things within the house to a greater degree.

I am thankful for having a new cell phone.

After my cell phone died last week I was afraid I would have to go out and spend 2000 kroner on a new phone, but as it was I got to borrow a brand new one from far.  This one is in much better condition and I will take more care of it then the last one which seemed like it was used for 3 or 4 years before me.  I can now arrange plans while on the train or the bus and a cell phone makes me a lot more comfortable going somewhere.  If I get lost without my cell phone, then I have problems that will happen, but now that I have my cell phone things will go back to normal.

Also.  Soon is coming a great new song to all of you.  It will be in danish and recorded with guitar, vocals, bassoon, and piano... I hope.  Wish me luck!  Hope to post that video soon. (I read what I just wrote, and I will leave it as is, I think it shows how my english is changing. HAHA)

The December Count Down 15-days

I really miss having a bath tub.

Strange as it might seem I used to take a lot of baths where I could relax and read or even sometimes watch a movie.  Now I only have a shower.  There is very little wrong with the shower, but I never feel very comfortable while taking showers here.  Sometimes I just wait until gym class to take a shower, but most the time I take a quick 5 to 8 minute shower in the morning before going to school.  My shower time is no longer really for comfort as much as pure hygiene and thats no fun.  That is why I miss my shower and bath tub, not to mention bath beads. haha

I am thankful for my guitar here.

I do not know what I would be doing with all my time if I did not have a guitar right now.  I record and play songs all the time.  Sometimes I think it annoys the family, but for the most part it makes my life a lot more interesting.  I have become the master of social online projects like blogtv, facebook, myspace, and this blogger.  It seems like no matter what social network people are in they can find me.  Aim, Msn, Skype, but not yahoo for me.  I have slowly navigated away from talking about it, but I am really glad for my guitar here.

The December Count Down 17-days

I really miss the feel of my bed.

It might not be the biggest deal in the world, but my bed here is short and small compared to at home.  In some ways I like my bed here, but it is always a reality when nothing feels better then sleeping in your own bed.  I imagine the feeling of the first day home will feel really really nice.  Sinking back into my own scent and feel.  I also really hope that in college I don't have to sleep on plastic.  That will be bad... but has nothing to do with Denmark! Så!

I am thankful for Boris. HAHA

Boris and myself get along really well.  He has never acted annoyed by me and it really is comforting knowing that we have no hard feelings against each other.  We do not hang out very often, but what brothers do?  But the fact that he exists and can help me out if I need it is really nice.  Brothers are nice.

The December Count Down 18-days

sorry for not posting yesterday... long day of practice

I really miss familiar birds.

One of the first things that I discovered when I arrived is that I had never heard these bird calls ever before.  It was kind of a shock when I thought about it.  The American Robin was no longer a common, or even known, bird.  I miss falling asleep to the crickets and waking to the birds.  I only see crows here.  The crows are huge about 4 times the size of our crows and their beaks are also that much bigger.  I was actually afraid of them.  No worries though, they seem more afraid of me then I am of them.

I am thankful for hot drinks.

Here it seems like each day begins and ends with hot drinks, including many hot drinks in between.  I have begun drinking coffee because I thought it would be good to mix it up between coffee and hot chocolate.  The oddest thing is that the tastes of things no longer bother me at all.  I can change the taste of something in my head if I don't like it to pull out a taste within that I do like.  That is how I started liking coffee.  Coffee is also easier to make then hot coco because we own a coffee maker that you only have to press go and in 20 seconds its in your cup.  Yay!!! Warm things are good. 

Is christmas blogging really worth this pain...

My fingers hurt

Christmas is coming soon!

The December Count Down 20-days

I really miss a valid shipping address.

How often when you are shopping online do you discover that the product can not be sent to your location.  For most people this is almost never.  Unfortunately it is not the same here in Denmark.  It has become extremely difficult to shop online.  When I shop I almost always find that it ships to USA only and if it is European sometimes it still does not ship to Denmark.  In order to shop for products shipped to Denmark it is required that you enter the information in danish.  This is a problem for my lack of danish vocabulary.

I am thankful for Min Først Jul.

Although I have had lots of christmas seasons, this is my first "Jul", which is danish for christmas.  What I mean when I say this, is that I am happy that I will see a different tradition.  We eat out on christmas day and have a small tree that is growing in the back yard that we will pack in a suitcase.  This is so different, but I feel a lot better now that the christmas decor is coming out of the attic.  I watched mor og far make christmas cookies and I enjoyed the smell and feelings it brought.  This christmas will be an experience of a lifetime, something new, and something to be thankful for.

The December Count Down 21-days

I really miss cars.

It is strange how large an impact cars have on my life.  I never really thought of the comfort a car can give to somebody.  Especially now that winter is here, I really miss getting in a car and having a little heat and protection from the harsh wind.  Instead of traveling by car I travel on my bike.  It has some pretty big problems as far as being a main method of transportation, including the fact that it seems I get a lot of flat tires.  On the plus side it seems I get a lot more exercise by riding a bike everywhere.  It makes me savour getting in a car, bus, or train.   I also love getting on a bus and sitting in the comfortable seats as I travel.  Remember this the next time you get in your car, it is a luxury.

I am thankful for Remoulade!!!

Remoulade is the 2nd most wonderful condiment in the whole wide world only to be topped by ketchup.  I could put it on almost everything and surely will miss it when I return home.  I will find a place in the US to buy it.  It has a taste of its own and can fit into almost any meal.

Happy Holidays!

The December Count Down 22-days

Each day I will post one thing I miss from home and one thing that I am very thankful for here.

I really miss Grandma and Grandpa's house.

It is funny how sometimes certain smells can suddenly send you into a whirlwind away from reality.  I went to a house the other day and it smelled exactly like Grandma's house.  It was exciting and fun to think quickly about all the fun things there house holds in my memory.  Easter egg hunts, especially when we were younger and there where a lot of us searching for eggs.  Birthdays, and the most wonderful smell of sophies potatoes cooking in the oven.  All the way back to pretending I was a cowboy or Indian riding on the horse as fast as I could while listening to Grandpa's record and picturing the movie Dances with Wolves.  These are all great memories from their house, but my favorite memory about the house is every year at christmas.  All the stockings, the food, and of course the people.  Church the night before, and always a little party afterwards.  How can life get any better then at those times when everyone is there.

I am thankful for handball.

It is great when you can begin a sport when you are a bit older.  I might not be the best on the team, in fact I think I am the worst, but it is great to go out and play.  Handball gives my nights a little more impact.  Handball gives me some time to stop thinking and just receive instructions on what to do.  It is easier to be told what to do then to think of what to do on your own, and trust me, I do a lot of thinking of what to do.  If nothing else, I have learned to play a new game and am a little more physically fit because of it.