Archive for January, 2008

From a fellow housewife: 
I love my husband because 

1. he’s cute (and has a cute accent )
2. he’s funny
3. he’s intelligent
4. he’s as crazy about our cats as I am
5. he’s level-headed
6. he understands me
7. he gets pleasure out of helping me when I need it
8. he accepts my help when he needs it
9. he’s honest and loyal
10. he’s so great that I would never run out of things to put here, but I’d rather spend time with him than type about him all day.

I received the TPM Medial of Honour for receiving no direct hits and biting no bullets in their God Game. Basically what this means is I didn’t contradict myself or come across as insane. Good to know.

I did eat the digestive but I haven’t burped yet. I decided to go ahead and do this one. 

IT’S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS! Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, and things. Nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same first initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question. 

Your name: Lorry 
Four words: laundry, like, leap, leaky 
State/country: Lebanon 
Boy name: Lauritz 
Girl Name: Lidja 
Occupation: lawyer 
Something you can wear: leotard 
Something found in a kitchen: lard 
Something you shout: lo and behold 
Something you do at school: learn 
Name of an animal: leopard 
Name of a drink: lemonade 
Name of a holiday: Labor Day 
Name of a body part: labia

1. EVER BEEN GIVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING? twice, actually 
2. LONGEST RELATIONSHIP? my marriage (only one of those) 
3. LAST GIFT YOU RECEIVED? a cute little ducky sleeper from Mom 
4. EVER DROPPED A CELL PHONE? yes, and it killed the Li-ion battery 
5. WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT? about 7.5 weeks ago 
6. THING(S) YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON? most of our money probably goes to food, but as for big-ticket items, the condo and our computers 
7. LAST FOOD YOU ATE? an apple 
8. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? hair 
9. ONE FAVORITE SONG? I finally gots me some MIKA so I’ll go with “Grace Kelly” 
10. WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Denmark 
11. HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED: A. Crawford Mosley High School 
12. CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER: CBB Mobil 
13. FAVORITE MALL STORE: Panduro Hobby 
14. LONGEST JOB YOU HAD: Mac Genius at Apple Store Rosedale Center 
15. DO YOU OWN A PAIR OF DICE? yes but I don’t know where they are 
16. DO YOU PRANK CALL PEOPLE?: no 
17. LAST WEDDING YOU ATTENDED: mine 
18. FIRST FRIEND YOU’D CALL IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY: my husband, but in case that doesn’t count, probably my mom 
19. LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BEST FRIEND: I’m sitting next to him right now (awwww) 
20. FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT: I still have a special place in my heart for A&W 
21. BIGGEST LIE YOU HAVE EVER HEARD: Scientology 
22. There wasn’t a 22 so I’ll just take his opportunity to say that I’m pregnant. 
23. WHERE’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS? BW3s or The Nook, and no, they don’t exist in Denmark *cry* 
24. CAN YOU COOK? yes, I love my cooking and so does Thomas (and not just because he thinks has has to say that ) 
25. WHAT CAR DO YOU DRIVE? I don’t 
26. BEST KISSER: my husband, but you’ll have to take my word for it 
27. LAST TIME YOU CRIED?: I’m crying like every 5 minutes (see 22) 
28. MOST DISLIKED FOODS: slimy ones, like pudding BLECH 
29. THING YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF: my personality! 
30. THING YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF: how damn tired I am (see 22 again) 
32. LONGEST SHIFT YOU HAVE WORKED AT A JOB?: grading finals as a TA, I never timed it but it felt like an eternity 
33. FAVORITE MOVIE? Brazil or Annie Hall
34. CAN YOU SING? no but I do anyway 
35. LAST CONCERT ATTENDED? Muse 
36. LAST KISS? I’ll kiss my hubby again for good measure 
37. LAST MOVIE RENTED: The Ex 
38. ONE THING YOU NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT: monthly DSB pass 
39. FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: so far, Oslo 
43. LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER? I have both but I prefer the laptop for pretty much anything except movie editing, well, and storing my music 
44. FAVORITE COMEDIAN? Julia Sweeney 
45. DO YOU SMOKE? no 
46. SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES? without 
47. WHO SLEEPS WITH YOU EVERY NIGHT? Thomas, Tycho, and usually Lidja 
48. DO LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS WORK? I married Thomas, so… yes 
49. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE? I don’t drive but I was in the car once when my friend got pulled over 
50. PANCAKES OR FRENCH TOAST? French Toast 
51. DO YOU LIKE COFFEE? not at all 
52 HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS? scrambled, over easy, sunny side up, over hard, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, in a basket, deviled, omeletted, benedict, florintine… I love eggs… 
53. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY? no 
54. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my husband, but I Skyped with Mom after that if that counts 
55. LAST PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALL LIST? my husband (he’s the only one that calls me, really) 
56. WHAT WAS THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECIEVED? something in Danish about missing Thomas’ call 
58. NUMBER OF PILLOWS? Currently… um… 4 
59. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? jeans and a bra which is now too small (see 22) and a fleece blanket 
60. PICK A LYRIC, ANY LYRIC: Why you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? 
61. WHAT KIND OF JELLY DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR PB & J? grape although strawberry is also very good 
62. CAN YOU PLAY POOL? it’s been a while but I used to be mediocre at it 
63. CAN YOU SWIM? doggie paddle only 
64. FAVORITE ICE CREAM? cookies and cream 
65. DO YOU LIKE MAPS? yes but if they are attached to an immobile structure, I only like them when they are oriented in the perspective of the viewer 
66. TELL ME A RANDOM FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: When I got rid of 90% of my possessions to move to Denmark, I still kept my large plush crawdad named Boo-Dan 
68. EVER ATTEND A THEME PARTY? you mean like any room at CONvergence? yes 
69. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON: I haven’t experienced them all in Denmark yet so I want to reserve judgement 
70. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AT SOMETHING STUPID? a few hours ago when a guy recommended Jysk for eco-friendly bedding items 
71. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP THIS MORNING? pretty much every hour between midnight and 7 (see 22) 
72. BEST THING ABOUT WINTER? I can keep my stuff in my coat pockets 
73. LAST TIME A COP GAVE YOU A TICKET? never 
75. NAME OF YOUR FIRST PET? Happy 
76. DO YOU THINK PIRATES ARE COOL OR OVERRATED? I don’t know any, but they do keep down global warming so they must be cool 
77. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND? this quiz apparently 
78. BIRTHDATE: 7 March 
79. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE? what I am, only with less nausea, heartburn, fatigue, etc. 
85. ARE YOU ON A LAPTOP? yes 
87. ARE YOU SMILING? yes 
89. DO YOU MISS SOMEONE RIGHT NOW? not more than usual 
90. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Iceland, or New Zealand, or BW3s 
92. ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL? no (see 87) 
93. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH? no 
94. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NAME? Sunflower Basmati Fach-Strothersen  
95. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHING SUIT? royal blue 
96. DOES YOUR SCHOOL START IN AUGUST? I don’t have a school, but I don’t know when school starts here either 
97. DID YOU GO ON VACATION LAST MONTH? no 
98. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A CRUISE? yes 
99. DO YOU HAVE A SISTER? no but I have two sisters-in-law 
100. ARE YOU UPSTAIRS? our condo is on the 3rd floor so I guess so 
101. ARE YOU IN LOVE? yes 
102. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL? when I was born 
103. DO YOU WISH YOU COULD SEE ANYONE PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW? not really 
104. WHAT JEWELRY ARE YOU WEARING? wedding ring, engagement ring, 16th birthday ring 

105. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THIS SURVEY? eat a digestive, I’ll probably burp a few more times, and maybe we’ll watch a movie

Comments from old blog

• Congratulations. Everyone seems to be having babies. Shaun and his wife just had one and Loren and his wife are due in April with their second. I, on the other hand, am quite content to only have a child of the four-legged, fur-covered variety.
  Aleesha | 2008-01-20 15:46 | # 
• Your Pregnant!!!! That is so great!
  I’m exited for you….
  Andrea (in NH) | 2008-01-29 12:10

 am officially a resident of Denmark, complete with a CPR number and a special sticker in my passport.

Ever New Year’s in Denmark, the queen gives a speech at 5:30. So any decent New Year’s party has to begin in time for everyone to be seated with a drink in hand before the speech. Martin’s party was no different. 

I understood slightly more of this year’s speech than last year’s, but I was still basically lost. I did notice when the queen accidently said 2006 instead of 2007. After the speech, the cameras show you several men in bearskin hats and fancy uniforms as they march around and do things with swords. One guy walked over to a flag (a Danish flag with the queen’s monogram on it), tied a cord around it, spent some time making sure the monogram was nice and visible, and then moved it a few yards. After that, all the bearskin guys marched into a building and the doors were shut behind them. At this point, we had a toast. 

After a bit of socializing, we moved into another room with a long dinner table. There were 15 adults and a baby. Thomas and I sat on a small bench at one end of the table. At each place was a large plate with a napkin on top. We were each brought a smaller plate to sit on top of the napkin. The smaller plate had some slices of meat, cheese, some green leafy stuff, and a blob of pesto sauce. Bread was passed around. 

After some eating, some talking, some usage of noisemakers and confetti canons, the small plates were removed, and the napkins were transferred off the large plates so that the main course had somewhere to sit. There was some meat, some potatoes, and some vegetable-creamy-salad things I’d never seen before but tasted good. Bread was passed around again. 

After eating, we watched some kind of 80s music special on TV. There was a documentary about a-ha’s rise to fame, including the opportunity to hear the famous “Take on Me” riff when it was still in “The Juicy Fruit Song” by a pre-Morten band called Bridges. It was interesting despite my poor Danish and Norwegian skills. (It’s worth noting that outside the US, a-ha was not a one-hit wonder, and they’re actually still quite good.) 

Just before midnight, it’s tradition to watch a short black-and-white film called Dinner for One. When it ends, there’s just enough time to pan across whatever area in Copenhagen it is that people gather to watch a clock, and then close up on the clock for the big count down. Another toast, and it’s time to go outside and set off about $1000 worth of fireworks. 

When everyone in the neighborhood is setting off $1000 worth of fireworks in every direction, let’s just say that the 4th of July in the US is really put to shame. It also means anyone driving in the wee hours on New Year’s should have the good sense to watch for people and fireworks in the street, but that didn’t stop one car from driving over a lit box, sending all of us running to safety until we could verify nothing would shoot towards us instead of up. 

After the fireworks, I went inside and fell asleep. I think everyone else was still socializing until something like 3 o’clock. A significant amount of time was spent trying to find a taxi back to Nivå. One arrived just as we had given up and resigned to sleeping at Martin’s. We ran out to the taxi, and I’m pretty sure I dozed off again until we got to Nivå. Charlotte gave us her key so we could say at her place instead of having to get all the way back to Herlev. This was very much appreciated. 

Though I was under the weather, and the vast majority of the conversation was in Danish, I had a very good time.