End of summer update

I got behind on my blog again. I still have a ton of pictures to put up, but I usually forget once I get home to my computer after work. I will try to remember to do that soon.

Life is doing pretty well right now. I recently purchased my new lover, as I like to say. A trusty companion that I will likely have for the next 10 or more years. No, it is not a dog, although that would be nice, too. I have purchased my first car...a new one, too. I bought a nice, deep black Ford Focus 4-door hatchback (picture coming soon). I know everyone and their mother has this car, but I thought about it a lot and the price and the mileage were what I was looking for. It feels and looks European to me, and I like that. It has a 6-CD player, which currently holds 2 ABBA cd's, Dolly Parton, and the very best of E.L.O. I think the other two slots will be something Danish...I need to keep the language fresh in my mind! :) Anyway, I have had the car since August 15th and we are having a great time together. We have been to two weddings in one day, golfing at Washington National in Auburn, camping in the mountains, and of course our daily drive to work. It is definitely time for her (his?) first bath and we are both looking forward to the start of football season! We will have to choose our Husky bumper sticker wisely. A DK sticker will be put up shortly!

In other news, I will be planning a trip to Poland next summer to attend the wedding of my dear friends Gosia and Hector! Congratulations to them on their recent engagement! Maybe I will have to crash the Mexican wedding, too! I am hoping to do some site seeing in the southern areas of Poland and Krakow and then definitely spend a few days in Denmark visiting friends and family, too. I know the visit will be way too short and I will become homesick for Euro life once again. I wonder how much it would cost to ship my car to Europe if I were to move back....

My good friends Kelli and Ricky were just married a little over a week ago. It was quite an experience! The day started with a traditional Sikh wedding in a temple in Kent (only 2 minutes from where my ex boyfriend Martin lived!) It was very interesting to follow their traditions of removing shoes before going in the temple and then covering your head throughout the ceremony. Kelli looked beautiful in her red and gold-bead-trimmed bridal costume and Ricky looked amazing in his white costume and turban with a sword...think: Aladdin! We were treated to delicious Indian food before and after the ceremony and blessed porridge, too.

Kelli and Ricky's "western" wedding took place at the Seattle Asian Art Museum at Volunteer Park on Capital Hill. It was a perfect setting for a wedding, and fortunately, it only sprinkled and never full-out rained during the evening. The reception took place down by the amphitheater under party tents with cozy lit tea lights and bright Gerber daisies as the center pieces. The food was delicious! Wonderful salad, salmon, chicken skewers and rustic breads! If I ever get married, I will remember them as a possible caterer!

The day after that wedding I was up early for the Husky Band Alumni Golf Classic at Washington National golf course in Auburn. It was a long drive with rain the whole way, but my little lover handled it like a charm! :) I played a best-ball round in the rain with an HMB alumni from the late 80's and his buddy from college. Together we shot a 4 over par...with the help of several $5 mulligans which benefit the HMBAA scholarship fund. We returned to the club house to the sounds of a Husky pep band and enjoyed some of the old tunes I know so well, and some of the new ones I have never heard before. There was a silent auction after our barbecue lunch, which was hosted by none other than the man under the mask of Captain Husky! :) Former Husky coach Jim Lambright was there golfing with his daughter, too! It was a great event and for a very good cause (HMBAA awarded me with a scholarship back in '98) and I look forward to next year!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom who turns 60 today!! I hope I look as young as she does at that age! It must be her good kids! :) I love you, Mom!

Husky football starts Friday against Syracuse in New York! Go Dawgs! The first home game is September 8th! I can't wait! No marching for me! Just HMBAA! :)

The best to you all! Pictures to follow very soon!

Danish Camp Planning Meeting

On May 5th we held the scheduled Danish Camp Planning Meeting where we finalize the plans and activities for camp and figure out who is doing what and bring what to camp in June. We had the meeting at Maren's parent's house in Milwaukee, Oregon. It was a nice day with 'aebleskiver' for breakfast and a visit to the chicken coup for fresh organic eggs!

Maren holding fresh gathered eggs in her shirt.

The chickens on the Frick-Wright farm!

Sisters Annelise & Carley

Camp counselors (L-R): Jake, Maren, Ruth (mormor), and Greg.

More counselors: Carley and Cassy (our director) in back, Joyce and Scott on the right.

Greg's awesome "hygge" tatoo that he designed. "Hygge" is a Danish word that really means a lot to the Danish people. It is always difficult to translate, because it can mean a lot of things, like coziness, warmth, friends, good food, candlelight, friends, happiness, and love...all in one.

Homemade Danish aebleskiver frying in the pan. They look beautiful!

Maren, the expert aebleskiver maker!

Chris & Emily's wedding in April

One of the reasons I left Denmark when I did was to make it to Chris and Emily's wedding in Seattle on April 27th. Chris and I have known each other since junior high school where we both played clarinet, again in high school, and then in Husky Band. I met Emily before Chris as she auditioned for me for a spot in the Husky Band clarinet section back in 1999. I had set her up with Chris in my mind way back then and sure enough! they did get together and now their married! :)

Mr. and Mrs. Brown at the reception.

My assigned seat at the "Pisa" table. There was an Italian theme as the newlyweds were headed to Italy for their honeymoon.

Their beautiful cake.

Emily and Chris freshly married and walking up the aisle after their vows. The church was beautiful and the acoustics were amazing while the choir sang.

Happy 1st of August

Yesterday was July 31st, which everyone knows was Harry Potter's birthday, and after reading (and finishing last night at 1:09 a.m) the final book I know that he would be 27 years old. My family celebrated in a slight way by eating Shephards Pie and rhubarb crisp with custard sauce, both dishes mentioned in the H.P. books. If it is not already in process, a Harry Potter cookbook should be on it's way. I would love to be able to make some treacle tarts for his next birthday! ;)

It's been a while since I posted and I have so many pictures I want to share, but since I am at work right now, I don't have the pictures on my computer to do that. Most of my free time in the evenings has gone to re-reading Harry Potter and preparing myself for the last book of the series. Now that that is done...I guess I really should be finishing my thesis...I don't want to talk about it.

Yes, I finally have a job and I have been working at a pretty nice company not too far from home since June 11. It is so great to receive a paycheck once more, although my job starts out at temp to hire, which means I don't get paid all that much until I have worked 90 days to fulfill my obligation to the company who is contracting me to this company. This company has promised that I will be hired on permanently at the end of that time, so I have something to look forward to in the middle of October...beyond that of my 30th birthday and the arrival of my first niece or nephew. I am not working in my desired field, which would be something like international communication, but I am glad to have experience anywhere, which can only improve my chances of that dream job one day. Considering I am writing this post while I am at work means that I am not always that busy. In fact, most of my time here I have been doing mostly nothing. I have actually been getting paid to read Harry Potter. They promise me things will pick up, so I am actually forward to those days when I will actually be working at work.

It is alright being back in the States, but I am having some pretty severe withdrawals from Denmark. I have to catch myself sometimes and try not to be too overly critical of Americans and the way they live. I don't mean to be critical or offend anyone, it's just that you notice things so much more after spending such a long time in another country. Although, Denmark is by no means perfect. There are many things there that they could definitely improve on. It isn't any easy situation to be in, because in so many regards I sometimes can't figure out where I belong anymore. I am stretched between two continents and only time will tell where I end up in the end. I know I will always be an American, but I will never be able to get away from my passion of Denmark.

A few weeks ago I had my very good friend Marieke visiting from Munich. We had a great time while she was here and I have lots of pictures to share, which I will try to post soon. I really love having friends from Europe come to visit. So all of my friends who I have met through living in Aalborg and Copenhagen should know that my home here in the Seattle area is always open to you! Although I am still living with my parents, as soon as I have a place of my own, there will always be a couch or floor for you to rest upon! :)

Well, I better get back to acting like I am working. I will try to keep updating this blog regularly like I used to while in DK. For some reason my life in Seattle doesn't seem as exciting to post about, but I will try to improve on that and start sharing more of my adventures on this side of the globe!