January 20, 2010

Posted by Rie On 9:30 AM
My life is fine, nothing there. The usual ups and downs but nothing that I can handle or control.

But... my friend/co-worker is going through hell and my heart breaks for her. Her little girl has been diagnosed with lymph-cancer (is it called that in English?) and will be starting chemo either today or tomorrow. She's 7 years old! We all got the news while having our daily meeting at work yesterday and I can honestly say that we really had to fake being happy in front of the kids. They don't really know what's going on, except that they ask on a daily basis where D is.

FUCK! (Yes Mormor and Bebba - I know you guys don't like it when I swear.) I'm just seriously pissed off at the world right now. How can that happen to such a great little girl and her family? It's so not fair for them. I can't even imagine what D is thinking and going through right now. And I can't do anything to fix it.

Not only is D my co-worker but she is also a great friend.

One day at a time, right?

January 13, 2010

Posted by Rie On 9:14 AM
I don't understand why I ALWAYS have a really hard time getting up in the mornng! It doesn't matter if I slept well or not, or if I slept for many hours or not.... I'm always struggling to get up in the mornings! Especially those days where I don't work until early afternoon and I don't have plans in the mornings with friends. It bugs me!

ARGH! My rant of the day!

Ok, it's a little after 9 am and I'm still pretty exhausted. I have to open in the one youth club, make food and entertain the few kids that show up. Then I have to run some errands downtown - going to buy some fabric because I have a sewing project in my head!! Then it's off to Nørup for another club evening with the kids. So.... I actually don't feel all that guilty for sleeping in since I won't be home until 11 pm anyways.

Nothing much new here. Work as usual. My scooter garage is on hold for the time being - it's all about the money which means we don't even know if we can ever open again. Seriously, that sucks! Not just for me and my financial situation but for the kids who came every Saturday afternoon - I think they really enjoyed being there and now it's gone (for now at least). I'm hoping to hear something very soon. I did go by there last Saturday for a couple of hours - without pay - just to keep the group somewhat together until we hear something more definite.

Other than that, nothing much happened this weekend. Went to Ikea - yay and woot woot to IKEA! Behaved myself but still got some cool stuff that I just absolutely needed. My apartment is getting there but it's definitely a work in progress. But then again, I'm not planning on moving for the next LONG time so I'm having fun with it as the time goes. I love my little home. It may be small and old but it's got character and it suits me perfectly. It's funny - Lise and I have the exact same apartments (she lives right next door) and even though we have the same taste in many things, our homes look completely different. She's got a super cool little apartment and I'm "stealing" inspiration from her all the time.

I have little over an hour left before I have to go so I'm going to log off, make coffee, listen to happy music and get ready for a long-ish day. So that is the end of my babble for now!

(But I have a feeling that it's going to be a good day!)

January 7, 2010

Posted by Rie On 12:20 AM
..... that I finally update my blog. I knew I was behind in "Rie posts" but I didn't realize that I was several months behind!! Crazy!! But I'm here and be prepared, I am ready to babble! And I'm including pictures! Yay and woot woot!

It's really hard to summarize what I've been doing for the past few months. When I got home to DK from my wonderful trip to my Canadian home, I drowned myself in work and tried to also have a somewhat social life. Work is good - I have now 4 jobs but I'm happy. I'm able to keep myself slightly sane, slightly busy and definitely entertained. I have 4 jobs because none of them are full time (37 hours weekly).... so I'm divide my time between different jobs. Three of them are with kids and youth clubs and the newest one is just for fun. I now work at one of the local bars here in Vejle and I have a blast doing so. I get to go out, hear music, see friends, meet new people, get some exercise (coat check with stairs!) and get paid doing so. Perfect for me at the moment.

Christmas 2009 was a quiet but definitely a nice evening. (Remember, us crazy Danes celebrate Christmas Eve - eat, drink and be merry in the evening with family/friends) I went over to Karin and Ernst's place in the afternoon and had a really good time. Jesper (my cousin) and Vibeke and their two kids celebrated Christmas with us - it's been a long time since I spent the holidays with toddlers. They are cuties! We ate good food, drank wine, pop and coffee, ate too much chocolate, danced around the tree and opened presents - merry christmas to all! It was a good time.






We got snow this Christmas! Yups - a freaking white Christmas! I don't really like the snow, unless I am skiing, but it hasn't been that bad. It's been really cold but also really pretty - good thing I can do the layers of clothing to keep myself warm enough to brave the 40 cm snow whenever I have to go outside. (But now we've had snow for 2-3 weeks and I'm tired of it. It can go away now). Heidi, one of my oldest friends here in DK treated me to a fun (cold) Sunday in Ã…rhus where we visited "Den Gamle By" (The old city). It was great seeing her again and lots of fun walking around, drinking coffee, taking pictures, seeing the sites and just hanging out.





Another fun day was one of the first snow days in DK, before Christmas holidays. Lise and I had so much snow in our courtyard (she's now my neighbour!) so we had to have a little fun. We made a snowman, snow angels, tossed around snowballs and basically goofed around like little kids - and froze our asses off. I know that I'm Canadian and should be used to snow BUT it's been a long time since I had a really cold winter. And I'm not used to it anymore! Hey, I was only barely 13 years old when we moved from Alberta to the Island!





I turned 30 this year... well, technically it was last year since it's now 2010. But yups, I hit the big 3-0! It didn't hurt too much and I figure, I don't feel old (normally) and I don't look old so it's just a number and that's it. I celebrated my birthday in style and had a good evening with good friends. I didn't want to make it into a big deal so it wasn't a formal birthday party - just friends, loud music, food and drinks. I think I can say for all of us that we had fun. I even wore a dress!! (Just to live it up a little!)



Yes, I'm still babbling.....

I've been doing random things with friends and family between shifts at the different clubs and at the pub. Dorte turned 40 on Hallowe'en so we celebrated her with style and had a good time. It was nice seeing Anne again and it's always fun hanging out with Dorte!

Frederik came and visited us in DK in October and I was also able to spend an evening with him, his wife Nicole and our friend Heidi. We even found time to visit the youth club in Nørup - Frede used to be our DJ before he took off to LA so we couldn't resist taking a group photo, for old times sake.



Just a picture from work - a Net party with the youthclub. I was exhausted and was having a hard time keeping myself awake!


What else is new?? New Years Eve was spent working at the pub (www.tartanpub.dk) and that was fun. I spent the xmas holidays relaxing, sleeping in, hanging out with friends, working at the pub and youth parties and just basically finding my energy and spending my energy having fun.

Now that all the Christmas parties are done and life is getting back to normal, I'm trying to get my shit together again with work and stuff. I have the usual New Year goals for my life and will take it all one step at a time but I'll keep you posted on how things go. I promise, it won't go several months again before I update my blog. And I have lots more to write about but it's 1am and I'm tired. It's bedtime for me!

Welcome to 2010!

October 26, 2009

Posted by Rie On 10:43 AM
I'm sitting here, at my kitchen table, stuff is spread all over the floor and I'm just listening.... no sounds other than the cars on the street and my computer humming. No puppies. No cat. Definitely weird. I guess I quickly got used to mornings at my parent's place.

The trip back to DK was fine. Long but I survived. Probably unintentionally gave people dirty looks in Frankfurt because I was grumpy and tired but I made it back to DK all in one piece. Dorte and Lise made me laugh - I could see them in the arrival hall when I was picking up my suitcases. One short person and one crazy-haired person were jumping around, waving like idiots. That made me laugh. I needed a good laugh after saying goodbye to my life on the island.

I hate goodbyes! You would think that since I've done this several times now, that it would get easier. Nope. I still cry. And it still sucks. I guess it'll take a couple of days before I'm feeling "normal" again.

I had the most amazing trip back home. My island/Victoria/BC/Canada home. I love that place so much and could easily see myself living there again. But DK is also a home and now it's important that I get back into the swing of things here and not dwell on the sadness of leaving Victoria. I have today off work - my final day of vacation - and plan on listening to loud music while putting things away and getting everything organized. I have plans for my little home!! And I have crafty fun things planned! I'm meeting up with some good friends tonight - Fred is back in town from LA. so Heidi and I will be meeting up with him for dinner to catch up on our lives. We haven't seen him in 7 or so years....

I'm running again. Need to get some things done now.

October 22, 2009

Posted by Rie On 4:32 AM
Canada 2009 - Victoria, Calgary and Banff.
Friends and Family.... Lots of Laughs and Lots of Love.


Glenda and Aidan. I love them both very much!




Mom and Spencer


Kim and Me - saying our goodbyes at the airport in Calgary.


My big little brother!



The city of Banff.


Group shot with one arm stretched out. But I did get us all in the photo without looking!


Goofing around while we were headed up the mountain.





Just having some fun with the camera.



Dim Sum with Glenda, her mom and Aidan.


Rachel and I went out to pick fruit.


Allison came over for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really yummy food!
Posted by Rie On 2:02 AM
I'm trying to make the most of my last few days here at home.... My other home... It really sucks sometimes having two homes. I just LOVE the island and even after 12 years, it still feels like home. BUT... I love DK too. See the problem? And why do they have to be so freaking far away from each other?

Ok, enough of that. It's depressing me.

I'm enjoying a quiet afternoon, waiting for mom and dad to get home. The dogs are snoring and Alex is demanding extra attention. (We had a long cuddle on the couch so he's not being neglected at all.) This trip has been amazing. It has been so nice seeing my parents and my friends - just hanging out and getting to know them again. And going to Calgary to visit my brother and meeting his wife was a huge bonus.

What have I/we been doing? Nothing. Everything. All sorts of things. We had some quiet nights here at home, just reading books, talking, drinking coffee, walks with the dogs (and sometimes cat) and mainly just enjoying each other's company. Mom is busy with knitting projects and I definitely do feel inspired to start my own projects. I have bought so many books and that is one thing that is keeping me sane about leaving them again. When I get home - DK home - I have so much stuff to do. Things to make and I feel so motivated and inspired to get back on the creative track. Anyways, we had Thanksgiving with Alli and it was wonderful food. Wow, I have certainly missed my dad's cooking!

I was in Calgary visiting my brother and finally got to meet his wife, Kim. He had to work the first afternoon/evening I was in town, so Kim and I did a girly trip into town and poked around. We ate pizza for dinner and then went back to their place to chat and watch tv. On Saturday, the three of us drove over to Banff and spent the day up in the mountains and walking around Banff, poking around in different stores and taking loads of pictures. We went for breakfast/brunch on Sunday and then did some shopping - more bookstores ;) and watched movies in the evening. The weather was pretty decent - definitely colder than Victoria but nothing all too crazy. Very mild and the snow melted again by the time I flew back to the island on Monday. It was great seeing them and finally seeing what their lives are like in Calgary.

I've also been hanging out with Glenda - she's still on mat leave - and I got to meet her little boy, Aidan. Lots of shopping, lots of food (perhaps too much food!) and lots of good times. We have talked about nothing and everything and I love the fact that I've been able to hang out with her so much. I've hung out with Nathan - ate pumpkin pie and drank coffee. Dinner with Glenda, Nathan and Lance where we had some drinks and just talked for many hours. Hung out with Rachel - again, more coffee and more food and definitely more talking. I met up with Glenda, Leah and Christine for after-dinner drinks and just relaxing. Finally got to see Dee last night where her, Glenda and I had a girl's night out - dinner and a movie. It's just so great seeing everyone again and I wish I had more time to spend with all of them. I may have been gone for 12 years, but I really do have some great friends out here. My trips out here seem to always be too short.

Now it's Wednesday and I'm flying back to DK on Saturday. Mixed feelings. I will be happy to sleep in my own bed and be home in my own little apartment. I miss my friends over there and I miss my job... yes, I actually miss my work. But I hate leaving everyone here. I'm going to cry - I just hate goodbyes, even though I know I'll be back and I will be seeing everyone again. And having the internet with skype, msn and facebook definitely helps.

I will post pictures here on my blog later on tonight. Mom just came home from work and we are taking the dogs out for a walk.

October 12, 2009

Posted by Rie On 12:24 AM
This is a serious picture post. (They're all on facebook) But my grandparents in Ontario don't have a facebook profile so I will post them here too. They are kind of in random order but with Alli, mom and dad distracting me (good distractions!), I have decided that it is more important that I post them will short explanations instead of waiting for a better time.

Talking a walk with mom into town. A guy was practicing bagpipes and wanted to enjoy the sunshine too. That's the water taxi and downtown Victoria.

Water taxi. $9 from downtown Victoria to Hidden Harbour... we walked.

Johnson Street Bridge.


Charlie!


Charlie on the boat!


Mom, dad and computers!


Alex on the table, while we want to eat dinner.


Goofy picture, downtown Victoria through the branches.


The path mom and dad walk every day with the dogs.



Dad is watering the plants in the "backyard".


Hidden Harbour



Hidden Harbour


Dad, flower, wine and the computer.


Mom is on the phone with Biksen.


Me just having some fun.


Mom is relaxing in the sunshine.


Thanksgiving dinner!


Girls' night out! Leah, Glenda and Christine.


Glenda and Christine


Walking into town.



Lance and his new house.


Me and Spencer!