Everyday Life

Well - I haven't updated this blog in forever so I thought I would post some pictures so you have something new to look at!

Here are some pictures from Malmo.


Mexican Restaurant .... yummmmmm.



Ron and I eating Ice Cream. =)



Me posing with a really cute statue.


Malmo.







Ron and Jack cooking Thai food and Tempura mushrooms.







Ron just bought his very first home! So I decorated the apartment to celebrate.I will post pictures of our new place as soon as I get some!






And heres a more recent picture of me - my hair is getting long!


And heres another picture of Ron. =)


Ok - thats all Ive got for now! I promise to post more interesting blogs in the future and update more often! Haha.

Happy Birthday!!!

Well, as you probably already know - yesterday was my 25th birthday. Although I feel as though Ive been celebrating for two months now! Last month when Ron's parents visited they got me a birthday cake and took us to the nicest restaurant in Karlskrona to celebrate!And not only that,but they also sent me a birthday card in the mail and a super cute e-card the day of!I was really surprised that they did so much for me and it really meant alot to me.

Also my parents sent me a birthday package .... the only problem was it arrived 17 days before my birthday!! All the presents were individually wrapped inside of a box so I took them out had them sitting in the living room. All but three presents made it to my birthday without being opened - and I'm very proud of that! Haha.The night before my birthday at 12:01 I rushed over to my presents and opened all of them ... very exciting!I got great presents - books,clothes,accessories,purses,bath & body works ... I was in heaven!!!

A week before my birthday Ron treated me by paying for my hair to get done at a really nice salon in downtown Karlskrona. ( I really needed it! ) When I started grilling him about what we would do the day of my birthday - he started teasing me by saying that there were no plans and we were just going to hang out and do nothing! I knew he was joking, but then I started to worry that he was serious! He isn't really into celebrating and buying presents and he's not really a card person either ... so I was starting to wonder what he had planned.

My birthday landed on a Monday so he was at work all day. Around 4pm I started to feel antsy - and then he came home. He bought me this HUGE bouquet of the most amazing sweet smelling fresh flowers, AND he bought a bottle of champagne and a birthday cheesecake from the local bakery!!! I almost started crying!Then he made dinner for the two of us and wouldn't let me in the kitchen to help or clean - it was really really nice. We had a great dinner and yummy cheesecake and I felt really special and just overcome with happiness ... I couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate my 25th birthday!

Poor Hippie Girl

Okay, well I am not exactly sure of when the transformation took place .... I think at first it was a matter of comfort and then just a part of my daily routine - throw on my comfy jeans and my converse and it might be chilly so I would put on my blue hoody zip up sweater and maybe throw my hair in a ponytail ... whatever.

This turned into my everyday look. It was simple and its not like I'm going somewhere fancy or trying to make a fashion statement. And yea, my hair was growing out and I really needed a salon visit ... I just could not choose a salon and I didn't realize how bad my hair was.

Well if you know me - you know that I LOVE clothes and shoes and going to the salon. So to see a series of pictures of me going back a few months and noticing that I wear the same jeans everyday and that my clothes are slowing fading is basically like watching me turn into an alien.

My poor mom called to see if I own more than one pair of jeans and if I had money to buy shoes !! Haha. And even Ron was starting to wonder about my hair!! Well I have good news ... I got my hair done and I own a million bajillion pairs of jeans and plenty of pairs of shoes so I promise to stop wearing the same thing every day!

I'm sorry for turning into a bum, I'm back to my normal looking self. ;)

American visitors !

So last month Ron's parents came to visit. They stayed for a week and we had a great time sight seeing and going on small road trips. It was fun for us to have some Americans out here to see where we live and get an idea of our everyday life.

First we visited Kalmar Castle.

The history of this legendary castle stretches back over 800 years. During the 12th century a defense tower was erected to protect against pirates and other sea-faring enemies. A harbour was constructed and in the course of time a castle grew around the original tower. Kalmar Castle soon became “The Key to the Kingdom”, a significant defensive fortification on the Danish border with an essential part in international, political life.

It took about an hour to get there, but the scenery on the way was great. We couldn't take pictures inside the castle so here are some pictures from the outside and in the courtyard.








Ron had to work on Monday and Tuesday, so while he was at work I walked around the downtown area of Karlskrona with his parents ( Nancy and Mike ). They belong to a photo club and take amazing pictures ... here are some pictures they took. =)











After a long day of walking around we stopped at the local ice cream parlor ... you would not believe the serving size at this place = enormous! Well there was an abandoned ice cream cone and these birds would take turns swooping down to get a bite ! It was really cute.



Also while they were here we took a drive over to Vaxjo to visit the immigration museum and see the glass museum. The immigration museum was really interesting.We didnt actually walk through the glass museum but there were a few art pieces that were really cool.






Okay, so Vaxjo is a much larger city than Karlskrona and had a big downtown area with lots of restaurants and shops to choose from ... so when it was time for lunch we thought it was just a matter of where - not how.Unfortunately Sweden has not mastered the art of the restaurant. Literally you walk into a restaurant and there is no proto call! No one acknowledges you and it is unclear whether a waitress will come to your table .... it's just a complete disaster. We think if we opened a restaurant here and did it right - we would make a fortune. And its not just that we are American and thats why we don't understand what to do, because we ask Swedish friends of ours and they don't know what to do either! Its just a wild guessing game. Anyways, this particular day we went into a few different restaurants and depending on how ignored we were and how confusing it was - we would move onto the next place. We ended up eating at this Greek restaurant. It was a good experience for his parents because we have trouble explaining the food here .... it looks right, but the taste is just a little off. Not bad tasting - just off.



Most all the pictures taken in this blog are taken by Nancy and Mike. One morning Mike woke up early and took some pictures outside looking across the water from where we live. I look at these pictures and they look so surreal and amazing. I really don't have any spring photos of Karlskrona so these are great because it really has warmed up here and its so pretty outside. We had nice weather the entire time they were visiting and we think that they brought the California sunshine with them! =)






Alright, well I hope you enjoyed this blog. We had a really great time with Nancy and Mike and we were so excited to have them here !!