Today is a fine day in the Kindom of Norway
Today is the day we celebrate our independence
Today is the day to dress in your finest, our national costumes
Today is the day for parades and songs
Today is the day we greet the kings and queens.
Today is the day we fill with family and friends
Today is the day for fun, good food and ice cream
Today is the DAY!
Happy birthday everyone!
A video, explaining it all.
I should be sitting in the middle of an scrumptious brunch right about now, at a spa and wellness center in the middle of the woods. Well that didn’t happen. Instead I’m sitting at home having my morning smoothie (which, btw, is pretty good too).
Really? What happened?
Remember I told you earlier this month that this would be a busy month? With three big birthday celebration, traveling to both UK and Oslo and a 4 day stay at a spa and wellness center?
Yeah, we remember. You had just been to your first birthday party. Your stepsisters 50th. And you were off to England next. Didn’t you go?
Oh, no, I had my trip to England as planned. Took off on a Tuesday and back home on Sunday (well Monday morning really) and it was a good trip, all sorts of fun. I will tell you more about it later. Now when I got home though, I got sick, which for one, kinda sucked (who wants to be sick).
No, being sick is’t all that great.
The worst part, though! I had to cancel going to the birthday party in Oslo.
Oh, no..
Yeah, I had been really looking forward to hanging out with my family. You see, I haven’t seen them in quite a while. And I also have some friends in Oslo that I also haven’t seen in … like… forever. I was kinda hoping to party all night 🙂 And then, next day, if my stepbrother and his wife felt up to it, I could have popped by their place for a few minutes, to hang out with my super cute nephews and check out their new house.
Guess that didn’t happen!
No, and I didn’t get to hang out with my other friends either 😦
So, what about the Spa.. you did go, didn’t you?
Sadly, no. The spa was part of my Oslo trip, so we cancelled that one too.
Noooo!
Yeah! Hanging out in the middle of the woods, with nothing but nature around, swimming pools, saunas, yoga, exercise classes, massages and I’m sure, loads of great food. It sure wouldn’t have hurt, either!
Bummer!
I’m with you on that one 😉 Guess I’ll just have to go later some time… Next year maybe?
So what are you up to now then?
Now? Now, I’m sitting here, enjoying the heck out of this smoothie 😉
Here we are, already into the month of October. I can’t believe how fast time is going by! What on earth happened to September?
Oh yeah, that’s right, September I was knee deep into my declutter challenge, no wonder time flew by!
So… what have I got up my sleeve for this month?
All I can say, is, that there are going to be a few trips and a whole lot of celebrating 😀
You see, October is the month for birthdays, and big ones at that!
Yesterday I celebrated my stepsister’s 50th. It was an awesome party, and a very, very late night 😉
Next, is a trip to UK, to celebrate my brothers wife’s 40th birthday. We’ll be stopping at Mums for a couple of days first, and then it’s “London, here we come” 😀
As soon as I’m back from England, I’ve got a few days at home, before I’m off again. This time it’s Oslo time, to celebrate my younger stepbrother’s wife’s turning 40.
So you see what I mean by there being birthdays all around 🙂
And what’s on the agenda as soon as all the birthday celebrations are over?
Well, then I’m off to a spa and wellness center, for 4 days of bliss 🙂 (I’m gonna be needing to recover from all the partying you know 😎 )
Will you be hearing from me while I’m on the road? Off course! I will certainly try. Somewhere in all this I should find a moment or two, to jot down a few words!
A fair warning, mind you!
I will not be bringing my laptop on any of the trips. I was thinking of testing out a iPad mini only scenario. I would like to find out how well I can manage, especially on blog related stuff.
You see, I am working on this minimalist list of items to bring, on future travels, and if I find I can get away with iPad only, for blog related stuff (or any stuff really), I will have significantly lightened my load. And then… maybe… there might be some hope, that I can get down to my minimalist backpack.
OK! Confession time!
I have never really properly finalized a post without my laptop! I reckon there will be some trial and error until I get it right (and probably some cursing.. now lucky you, you won’t need to listen to that, poor B on the other hand… )
So, this is my disclaimer!
I give NO guarantees for how it’s gonna look… I’m just saying 😏
It’s a new year, the partying is over and it’s time to start on the every day stuff again 😉
I’m so impressed with all the bloggers out there who has it all together, pumping out one post after another about their 2015 reviews, lessons learned, experiences they’ve had and goals they passed with flying colours. And not to forget, posts about their 2016 goals and plans. And they did it all in the days just around new years!
Me! Yes, I have plans for reviewing 2015 and setting goals for 2016… but I have not had my shit, ops, sorry, act together enough to actually get these things down and out on my blog. It will come, I promise, but it will take me a few days before I’m all sorted 
I have a few posts, rattling around in my head… Have I started on any of them? Well, no, and therein lies my problem… I need to get myself organized!
Since I’ve been such a slacker, unlike my blogging friends, these posts will be showing up, slowly but surely.
And while you are waiting for me 😉
Why not check out Elvis, as he does Slowly but surely much, much better than me 🙂
It’s incredible how fast this year has gone by! I can’t believe we are right back in the middle of Christmas 🙂
This years Christmas celebration is being spent with my mum in England, and happily we get to celebrate it the “Norwegian” way, with our Christmas starting on the 24th. I explained it all in my post last year.
Our suitcase (as always around Christmas time) was filled with our regular Norwegian christmas dinner, jams, chocolate and a bunch of other little goodies. No “minimalist packing” this time around, with the exceptions of clothing, as there wasn’t room for much outside of food 😉
I’m sure some of you have found yourself in similar situations, dragging food “across the oceans”, for family members for special occasions, like maybe even Christmas 😉
We’re planning on enjoying ourselves with good company, great food, a few drink and loads laughs. And this is my wish for you….
I wish you a wonderful holiday, with family and friends, great food and a drink or two, days filled with laughter and hugs, loads and loads of hugs 🙂
Happy holiday everyone!
“Woohoo! I’m two. I’m two. Today I’m two.. . Wake up, wake up. I’m two.. you gotta wake up!!!”
What on earth? I’m slowly trying to crawl out of sleep land. What is all this ruckus about? There is this blaring coming from my phone, computer and Ipad all at the same time. What’s going on?
“I’m two, I’m two.. common I’m two.. waaaaake uuuup… ” It’s like having a small kid tugging at my arms all antsy to get my attention.
I’m desperately trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes, getting dressed and fumbling my way downstairs to the living room. And there I see it, my computer positively vibrating, it’s that excited!
I open the lid and Minimalist Sometimes jumps right at me, shouting “It’s my birthday, I’m two, it’s my birthday, woohoo!!!”
“Oh gosh, it that what all this is about? I get it, you are all excited, but you gotta slow down. I’m not even awake yet”
“But it’s my birthday, you gotta waaaaaaaake up” I’m starting to see a small vibration in the lips…
“Hang on, just let me have a cup of coffee,and I’ll be good to go, OK?” Ahh.. there we are, back to all smiles again.
“When is the partyyyyy?”
“Party?”
“My birthday party! We are having a party aren’t we?” Dang, there is that quivering lips again.
“Yes, off course” I’m sweating a little “Off course, we are having a party” Minimalist Sometimes is running around like a toonaloon, jumping up and down all excited. Crap! How on earth am I to hold a party? How do you host a party for a website? I’m at a loss for words here.
“Goodie, goodie. I want balloons, I want blue balloons, oh and some red balloons. Oh and cake, can I have a birthday cake? I want chocolate cake, big chocolate cake. They are so yummy 🙂 And pressies. I will get pressies don’t you think?” The kid is looking up at me with shiny eyes.
“Uhu, I’m sure we can find a way to get you balloons and cake” I’m silently hoping we can forget about the gifts, how on earth do you give gifts to a website?
“I want everybody”
“Everybody? What do you mean by everybody?”
“Everybody in the whole wide world”
“Hey, listen kid, we live in a 807 square feet house, we can’t fit everyone in the whole wide world into our house”
“Yes, we can”
“No we can’t”
“Yes, we can.. ”
“Now, hold on a minute…”
“We can.. we can, we can…” The two year old is jumping up and down tugging at my arm… “I’m on the interweb, we can invite as many as we want…”
Well, yes, that is a good point, kinda smart for a two year old I must say. Even so, I’m thinking we need to narrow it down somewhat.
“I think everybody is a bit much. What about picking just a few friends?
“Yeah, but that is not fair. All the people that have visited me, should be able to come!”
“Sweetheart, you’ve had 10,897 views, and 3,885 visitors these two years, which is wonderful. But you know it’s a lot of the same people that have visited you over and over again, and it’s impossible for me to separate them. What about just picking some of the people you hang out with the most? Just a few of your 289 followers? ”
“But I have so many friends, and their all my besties! Like Heather and Nancy and Melinda, oh and Wendy, she’s always soo funny, and SimpleLivingover50, and Jessica, and Therese, and Bun and AllRoundBetterMe and..and, and Jillian, and.. there is just too many..” I’m starting to see a very determined look in my two year old. “I don’t want to choose. It’s not fair.” There is some stomping of feet going on over here “I don’t care what you say, I’m inviting them ALL!”
Oh boy, I’m starting to see that my two year old is winning this discussion. I guess we’ll just have to find the space somehow. I have to admit, the thought of inviting everyone is kinda growing on me, what a party that will be 🙂
“OK, kid! Everyone is invited, are you happy now?”
“Ohhh, goodie, goodie…” Big smiles going on over here.
“Why don’t you go a make an invitation for them?”
“What should I say?”
“I think you should write – You are invited to my birthday party – I think they would like that”
“Okidok, I can do that.. ” My two year old runs off grabbing some paper and pens. Phew, finally quiet, now maybe I can grab that morning coffee 😉
“I’m done…”
“You’re done? Let me have a look” Hmm, ok, not the best paper.. but then again, it’s a two year old.. so.. I think we will let this one fly… “This is great, I love your balloons and cakes. Why don’t I take a picture of it and put it out there for you. Is that ok?”
“Goodie.. I can’t wait for the party to start” My two year old are all smiles, jumping up and down, all excited.
So there you have it folks! We are holding an open door birthday party. Everyone is invited! Friends and friends of friends.
It’s you that have made this possible. It’s you that have cheered us on, made us laugh, held us accountable and given us some great days here on the “interweb”. We can’t imagine celebrating our two year anniversary without you.
So if you happen to be in the neighbourhood, feel free to stop by and say hello. I’m sure my two year old will get a kick out of that.
Christmas starts today! Or actually it kinda started yesterday, with what we call “little Christmas eve”, the day when a lot of people decorate the tree and the house.
Today is the day we celebrate! Christmas eve is filled with Christmas dinner, a walk around the Christmas tree and the unwrapping of all our Christmas gifts.
Unfortunately since I have family in more that one country we don’t get to celebrate with everyone. Last year I was in UK at my mums place, so this year I’m spending Christmas eve at my step-mums place here in Stavanger. Fortunately mum don’t get to be alone as she is spending Christmas at my brothers place in London 🙂
Christmas eve celebration in Norway typically starts with dinner around 5 or 6, followed by very inpatient kids nagging us about “when are we going to unwrap the gifts” until about 8 or 9 when we dive under the tree 😉
Since Christmas eve tends to turn into a late evening/night, it means that Christmas day we get to sleep in 😉
Christmas day is still a day where family meet up for brunch or dinner, loads of cake and good family fun. This year we are having dinner at my step-sisters place, followed by a family brunch on second Christmas day (26th) at my place. Before some of my family members board a plane to go back to their home town.
As you can see, Christmas here, are a few days hanging out with family and enough food, to which I’m sure, will leave us with thoughts not to eat so much next Christmas, just as we did, last Christmas 😉
Here is wishing you a happy holiday, with family or friends, good food and drinks, and hugs, loads and loads of hugs 🙂
Happy holiday everyone!
Would you believe it, today is my one year anniversary. One year! I’m sure for people out there, who have been at this for years, one year is nothing, and I get that. Hopefully I will be among those one day. But for me, here, today, one year of blogging is significant!
A year ago, I decided that a goal for 2014 would be to shed on average one item a day. And I got this idea, that I would start a blog to keep me on track, which as you can see, I did 🙂
So why is celebrating one year such a big deal? Well, you see, when I started out, I had this intention to blog for a year, but to be quite honest with you, I wasn’t really sure if I would actually manage to stick with it. I’ve tried journalling before and never succeeded (and I’ve tried several times), so why would writing a blog be anything different? But believe it or not, here I am, one year later, still posting the occasional words on my blog, and that’s why one year is such a big deal. Not only was I able to stick with it, but I’ve found that I like doing the occasional writing, and being part of a blogging community.
Little did I know, when I started out, that this world of bloggers, would enrich my life, as they have truly done.
This year, I have changed some of my ways. I’m sure some of this change would have come about any-ways, because of the journey I’ve been on the last few years. But there are no doubt that I have changed even more because of the blogging community.
You never know, I might let you in on some of these changes, over the next weeks and months 😉
It’s funny, how when you start a journey, it’s like the universe align itself to help you out, and put the right people in your path. And that’s how it feels, one year in. Starting a blog seems to have been one of the better decision I could have made. Through my blog, I’ve met some wonderful and creative people, who’s writings I can’t help but to be influenced by.
I’m really looking forward to continue this journey of mine, together with all of you, who so graciously have invited me into your “homes”. Without you, this blog would surely no longer exist!
I can’t wait to see what the next year will have in store for us all 🙂
Happy anniversary!
Last night I found out that I had gotten a wonderful mention from Laura over at The Next 50 Years.
Saturday was her 1 year blog anniversary!
Laura decided to honour some of her fellow bloggers, and could you believe it, she choose me first. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it, I was completely floored, and honoured.. and did I mention floored? Not only that she would choose my blog, but also for her lovely words. You can read her post here.
Laura found me December 23rd 2013, 10 days after I started my blog. She have practically followed me since the beginning.
I love Laura’s outlook on life, how she embraces single living, how she completely nails it in some of her single living specific posts, how she makes me grin or even laugh out right.. and not to forget… she makes me think!
It’s wonderful meeting bloggers and making new friends. And I can’s say how much I appreciate Laura being a part of my world. Should I ever be in her neighbourhood (in the US), I’d love to stop over for a cup of tea and a chat 🙂
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary, Laura!
I hope you’ll continue to share your thoughts with us for years to come, I know at least one who will enjoy that 🙂
I invite you all to mosey over to Laura at The Next 50 Years, for a looksie 🙂 Enjoy!
It’s that time again! That monthly catch up to let you know how I did with my decluttering task last month 🙂
So how did I do? Well, actually not to bad for a change. Much better than the last few months.
SEPTEMBER TALLY of things “out-the-door” = 103 items!
81 – items on my – Another crazy purge! And a very happy neighbour. – day!
What else? Lets see – there was:
Now… There is just one thing! As you know, I’ve just had a birthday and as part of having a birthday I added some items to my possession. Between the birthday celebration in Stavanger late August which I told you about in – I’ve been partying 😉 and my celebration trip to Houston (where my suitcase also got lost for a few days) written about in – What I gained this trip – a few items have made it in-the-door!
Let’s see… oh my gosh it’s – 33 items in-the-door!!!
Stavanger party – 6 items in-the-door
Houston trip – 27 items in-the-door
So… I got a question for you!
When items comes in-the-door, should these be offset against items out-the-door? (I kinda think so)
Or do should I get to keep my out-the-door items “intact” for my final count for the year? What do you think?
Minimalist Sometimes 