Our Danish Weekend

What a FUN FUN FUN weekend we had!!
Saturday we went to Sarah's house to have dinner with her and Jens. She lives in the Nørroboro area of Copenhagen. We had FANTASTIC food and really had a great time just sitting around talking with them. After dinner we watched the Denmark - Spain Soccer game on TV. It was surprisingly not as boring to watch as we had always thought it might be. Actually it was really interesting to watch. We have always wanted to see a live match and now after seeing that game on TV, I think we are even more excited to see one in person.

Sunday we helped Klaus move into his new home. Actually Michael helped move him. I sat around and hung out with his sister and mom. It was great to see his mom and dad again since we hadn't seen them since Christmas. His mom is really good at speaking Danish to us even though we don't know a ton of it. She speaks English, but not as much as many other Danes so I think its easier for her to speak Danish to us more because its just easier. It was nice to see that we actually understood a lot more of what she was saying this time. She made dinner for us as well which was also very tastey. All the Danes just seem to know how to make and cook wonderful food.

Spring is finally starting to show up here. We finally got past the 50 degree mark and we have been having days in the lower 50s and it feels soooo wonderful. We have been sitting in the sun room and on the balcony. We can finally go outside without a heavy jacket from time to time and after we leave the gym since we are usually really hot after that, we don't even need a jacket on at all. Its great. We had Daylight savings time and we were thrilled to see how long the sun was up yesterday. Longer and warmer days make us happy!!!

Life Without the Internet

Finally, I am back and connected to the world via Internet. It was 2 weeks and oddly and for the first time ever, I wasn't counting down the minutes till I got it back and never desperately wanted it. How peculiar. It wasn't that I was really that busy with other things, but, just didn't find myself caring much about it. I didn't even go across the street to the internet cafe. However, it is nice to have it back. Though I feel like I have a TON to say but don't even know where to start.. so I'll just write. :)

We have gotten lots done since we moved in 2 weeks ago! The movers came on January 2nd and it was kinda funny to see the same big container (that we nicknamed Rusty) outside our flat in Denmark after watching it be loaded up outside our place in Plano. The movers moved everything in, and unpacked everything all in just about 4 hours!!!I love that TI always pays the unpacking fee, it makes life so much easier for us. there were 5 guys and all really nice and did a great job. They actually weren't even suppose to start unpacking the boxes till the next day! So that was a nice surprise.

The "Danmark Mobile Transport" people left us a "Welcome to Denmark Move -In Box" and that was pretty cool to get.

We got all sorts of fun stuff for the flat and for our tummies. We even got a coloring book and crayons for the kiddos...that we don't have. ;) I thought it was pretty nice of them to stick that in their boxes for the families that do though, I can't imagine being a kid and having to move to another country just because your parents decided to.... that would be difficult I think. At least we both have a say in what we do... oops, I went off on a tangent, back to our lives:

Since our stuff arrived we have been busy making our flat, a home and I think we are doing a pretty good job so far! Our office area isn't set up yet, but we need to get a desk before that can happen and we have a few things that don't have a place yet, but we are getting there.

We quickly went and bought some new lights/lamps. We didn't bring any because of the whole different plug thing, but had forgotten most places, dont have built in lighting and since we moved in at one of the darkest times of the year, lamps were a must. we got some nice ones thats we are happy with.

We also got a brand new TV! Isn't it pretty?

We brought both of ours but not to use, more to have when we go back to the states. We FINALLY got a flat screen, we have both been wanting one for years now. It isn't enormous and also isn't tiny. Just the perfect size for our flat and our entertainment center. Cable is included in our rent we are paying but we weren't sure which package, when we plugged it in, we were happy to see we have the biggest cable package, so we have some cool stations. Granted there are only about 40 of them, but for here, I suppose thats a lot of stations, but nothing compared to the 300 stations back in the states. LOL. We have only had it a little over a week now and those first few days it was really hard to pull ourselves away from the tv (which is very unlike us because we don't typically watch much TV) because we have wanted just sit and watch our new toy :)

This place has already become more homelike then our apartment in Plano ever was. I didn't realize how after 18 days of being there, and finding out we were moving again, that neither of us cared one tiny bit about it,making it home or even keeping it organized. It hit us both that we really haven't felt like we have had a real home since August when we were still in our house in Allen.

Today... I'm going to take loads of pictures of this place and get them all up on here!!! I'm excited to show everyone our new place with OUR stuff in it!!!

Michael, Don't Make Me Leave!!!

Great News!! (no no, we aren't having a baby ;o) )

But really, Michael got some good news yesterday. The woman that was living in our flat moved out yesterday. The landlord is doing the stuff he needs to do to it to get it all ready for us....and we get the keys on December 29th. While it is only like 3 days early, its nice to know we can get into it then. We contacted the movers/shippers and our stuff is scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen on the 26th of December. But we aren't sure if will have already been through customs or not. Michael is going to schedule a move in date with the movers today. It may be next Saturday, or it may have to wait until Tuesday. If it is Tuesday, we will stay in the hotel until then, so we can have a bed to sleep in. If it is Saturday, we will probably stay here until Sunday morning.

When we got all this information I actually found myself sad and not wanting to have to leave "hotel life" and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why because I am so incredibly excited about our flat and the town we will be living in. I'm excited to get all our stuff and putting the place together, REALLY excited to be able to start cooking again and to get into a daily routine. So why on earth do I want to stay in this hotel as long as possible??

Then I had an epiphany.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had felt this strong feeling of not wanting to leave before, many times, and all in one particular circumstance. All my apprehensions I was having about leaving this hotel are the exact feelings I always get when we are getting ready to pack up and leave from a trip/vacation. In particular when we are leaving other counties. In the past 6 months alone I have experienced it 4 times now...Tokyo in June, The Cruise to Mexico in August, Denmark in October, and again, right now.

My epiphany: I realized that I haven't realized that we are staying in Denmark!!

I am finding myself not wanting to "leave" because I have enjoyed our short time in Copenhagen. It has been so refreshing to step outside and walk to the city center and just...."BE". Be in the moment, be in the city, be in awe of everything Danish.. you know, just "BE". It has been wonderful to be able to take in life and watch others live theirs, enjoying the simple things like fresh brisk air, cobblestone streets, Christmas decorations and a warm steamy cup of coffee. It's no wonder I have attached all of that to being here, in the hotel, and it's no wonder that living in a hotel has somehow convinced my inner voice that this is just a little jaunt to Europe and like always, Michael is going to FORCE me to pack up and drag me back to the US against my will ;) (Sheesh, the nerve of him!)

So... I guess, I don't believe we are here to stay and apparently it hasn't dawned on Michael either. To him, it feels like a long business trip. I wonder when it WILL hit us?? Perhaps when everything we own shows up on our doorstep? (It hit us pretty fast in Dallas, and I am sure the biggest factor was that Hendrix and the Blazer were both with us when we arrived and they both signified "home") I will say, it is nice to know that I am enjoying being here so much that even though we AREN'T leaving Denmark... I am having "I Don't Want to Leave Denmark" Syndrome.