The Petersburg club

Last weekend was the much heard about, much anticipated little Norway festival! This festival is held on or nearest to the closest weekend of May 17th, which is Norway's national constitution day when they became independent from Sweden in the year 1814. The constitution declared Norway to become an independent nation, a time for much celebration, dancing and plenty of traditional food!!

This was my first trip ever to the little town of Petersburg, and the name of the post comes mostly from things I had heard about the town before visiting, for example "the town can be a little clickesh," "the town can be very snobby," "the town gets tons of RAIN!"

All of the above we experienced on our 3 day visit, all except the rain that is.....the weather was more than wonderful, I even got a slight sunburn on the first day.

And really it reminded me of home, a fishing village filled with some extremely nice people, some partiers, and some people who like to dress up (This weekend just so happened to be the time to dress up as vikings!!!) and the only catch; you can only dress up as a Viking If you happen to live there. If you are outside of this little exclusion be prepared to get threats to get your ass kicked!!
Sadly, we were considered tourists, even though our genealogy (and the fact that we also reside in this great state of Alaska) IS Norwegian...... But alas we were not inducted into the Petersburg club on this particular trip.

We did however consume our fair share of fish and chips, pasta salad, crab cakes, meatballs, coleslaw, beets, lefse(flat bread), grog(beer), and finally at an all you can eat feed: SHRIMP!!!! (this trip I did not encounter lutefisk, but I assure you that adventure is on its way.....) A few of us experienced the fengsel (jail) and some broke out sooner than others (who happened to be waiting for her husband to finish his beer down the street and realize his damsel was definitely in distress ;)

All and all I have been giving some mixed reviews on how the festival went, on one hand there were some stubborn Vikings, but on the other with our own family dynamic, fun in the sun and many great activities happening all weekend on, it was a very fun trip! Don't forget to click on the photo link below- happy Syttende Mai!!!!

Photo album link: (click ON the vikings, I promise they wont hurt you!)

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Assassination attempt by sugar:

Yes, you read correctly, this weekend there was an attempt on my life via a flying flaming marshmallow. Strange, you think? Yes, but only if you have never been to an Alaskan bonfire where s'mores are part of our 7 course Alaskan style BBQ menu (eat your heart out stereotypical etiquette buffs) well, I was not eating the s'mores as they don't go so well with the whole- "I don't eat sugar thing....."

So there I sit soaking of up the rays of our proverbial sea of flame when another of the party goer decides he is going to reenact a play from, I dunno like somewhere in Babe Ruth's history, heck I don't know anything about baseball, what am I trying to get at is that he then decides he is going to pretend to hit a home run, only he happens to have a ember-like marshmallow on the end of his "bat" This hot marshmallow somehow grows some wings and hones in on me, about 10 feet away, and splats onto the side of my purple zip up. Where it then proceeds to combust into sugary luminosity. Yes, it then caught on fire. On me. I was not too happy a camper, especially as my purple zip up IS one of my absolute favorites!

It just so happens I recently purchased a Norse amulet on eBay. I'm not so sure this pendant is supposed to bring "luck," but, luckily someone else jumped up at the same time I did......and swatted it out.

This "amulet" is supposed to protect me from evil; but I suppose if my evil comes through the form of a flying sugary ball of fire, I can find a way to deal with it. I know there could be worse. Be safe and please think twice before throwing a flaming marshmallow at a diabetic ;)



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Problemer med passord

Does anyone else have an issue with their passwords for online sites?

It just irks me when I attempt to log into a site and it says the password does not match the login name....... Then you ask for password help, enter in your secret question and it will then "allow" you to create a "new" password. Only, the usual password you enter in is not allowed because it must be between 6 and 12 characters with at least 1 letter and 1 number. And they also tell you when it's not "strong" enough. UM, HELLO!? Why is it so difficult for a site to realize that because they have these rules in place is specifically why I cannot remember my last password???! Then they lock you out of your own account for too many attempts trying to access your username/password. Sigh.

Then I have numerous sites I log onto on a semi regular basis that all have separate rules for what is appropriate for each and every password. Can I not just pick one password and make it easy? Nope. Not a chance, and they want you to change said password every 6 months so there is less chance for hackers to access your stuff.

I think I will start to use Norwegian words as my passwords, then only Norwegian hackers can access my stuff. Language learning is going okay, need some conversation to practice what I'm learning and I've memorized a few sentences to which I have no clue to what they mean (hope they are not offensive) the really exciting thing I learned this week is how to say "jeg er diabetiker" which of course means I am diabetic in Norsk! (tho this is pronounced a bit differently than it is spelled....) so in my opinion I seem to be making some kind of progress!

Ha det bra!!
(goodbye or have a good time)

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Blog

BLOG!!!

This is a test for my blog; I am unsure how to get a keyboard on screen for creating a blog on the blogspot site so I am testing this out. I repeat, this is only a test!

haha I am using my 'notes' on my iPad and going to attempt to copy and paste. I already like this onsite dictionary as it tells me right away when my words are misspelled (while the blog chuckles under it's breathe and waits until after I post to tell me of my numerous errors) and lookey at that.... It even hyphenates my words for me, I never use apostrophes in my words!! I wouldn't want peeps to think I have good grammar or anything!

I do take pride in having a good sense of spelling though....and am kinda liking this...haha even when I mean to use words like kinda (it doesn't quite like that)

Am sitting in westmark restaurant with my dad listening to Bellymeat and enjoying a beer! Happy Friday!!!!!


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Location:Westmark ,Sitka,United States

Skip a shot, not so fun

Skip a shot, not so fun, and Im not talking about a shot at the bar.

I had a tough day on Friday. It actually turned tough the night before when I realized I had forgotten to take my dose of long acting insulin the morning before. My sugars were running a bit high, and some shots of short acting insulin just didn't seem to be working..... That was the moment I realized exactly what my body was missing. Sigh. It is never a good idea to skip a medication, but the medication that is used to lower your sugar level and keep your body running is forgotten; it can have some serious consequences.

so Friday morning I take some insulin and struggle to get to work on time. I go in, make myself a cup of coffee then go sit at my desk and stare at said cup of coffee.......

Every coworker that walks in the door that morning "whoa, you don't look so good." then I get nauseous and have to go sit in the bathroom for 20 minutes or so..... I come back, extremely light headed and say I need to go home, just for an hour, until my sugar level comes down. Then I get even more dizzy and go lay down in our CAD room (where we keep our charts and maps) for another 20 minutes. Double sigh, I can see this is going to be an extremely productive day at work.

Eventually I get back to the house I am house sitting at, close my eyes for a few minutes then get up and put the laundry in the dryer (cuz I ran outta time this morning) and get dizzy and sit down. Then I take some stuff down to my truck, get dizzy, sit down. Start taking some stuff out of the fridge, get dizzy, lay down. It's almost lunch time and I have not eaten anything yet today. So I make myself a bowl of cereal, sit down and look at it until it gets soggy to eat it.... I'm not feeling so well, check sugar level and take some more short acting insulin.

It's cold in the house so I'm not having much luck napping for more than 10 minutes at a time. I decide to finish loading my stuff into my truck and move shop to my house where I will be more comfortable. After many light headed spells and rests, finally I am ready. I call work to let them know I do not plan on coming back in this day. Which is frustrating, as my sugar level is better now and I still have no strength and feel like crap.

So this is what its like to take a sick day!! I much rather would be working, but sugar is having a party in my blood stream and just won't settle down!!!!!!!!

On another note I have been following a meal plan on realage.com and blood sugars have been fantastic!! Hence that's most likely why my body is being SO sensitive to these higher sugar levels!

A word of advice, never skip medication. The older you get the deeper the consequences and the tougher it is to get back on track.

Try to take care of yourself!!!! (I am doing the best I know how and it still gets away from me at times) Challenging for sure.

Norway currency

Have I mentioned just how expensive this country can be?

I am finding that the average hostel price (which runs about $20-$25 per night in the US) is anywhere between $30.00-$120.00. But the average I am finding, this is of course if we RSVP every night....is about $60 per night/per person!!! Is this NOT atrocious? And hotels are pretty much out of the question unless its an emergency as they are DOUBLE these figures!! I dont know how we are going to do this on a budget, but because we have to have a plan in case things dont turn out the way we hope sometimes..... I am expecting to pay about $1740.00 for 29 nights of (cheap)lodging on this trip.

Here are some other figures I found on couchsurfing.org about some costs (keep in mind that these are NOT actual costs, just averages and that they may flucuate depending on the time of year, area, and demand of the product)

Here is a couple of prices for you:

Cup of black coffee in cafè: 10-20kr = $1.80-$3.60
Caffélatte/Mocca/Cappuchino in cafè: 30-40kr= $5.40-$7.20
Hot chocolate in cafè: 20-30kr0, = $3.60-$5.40
5L bottle of mineral water in kiosk: 25kr0, =$4.50
5L bottle of mineral water in store: 15kr =$2.70
1L of milk in store: 15kr = $2.70

Plain bread in store: 10kr= $1.80
Premium bread in store: 20kr= $3.60
Premium bread in bakery: 35kr = $6.30
Regular small chocolate bar: 15kr= $2.70

Regular bag of potato chips: 30kr= $5.40

10 hot dogs in store: 60kr= $10.80 (wow they must be kosher?! LOL)
400g minced meat: 60kr= $10.80
300g chicken breast filet: 60kr= $10.80
500g dry pasta: 20kr= $3.60

Ready-made sandwich in kiosk: 30-60kr = $5.40-$10.80
Made-to-order sandwhich: 60-100kr= $10.80-$18.00
Dinner at low-end food place (kebab, burger): 60-100kr= $10.80-$18.00
Dinner at mid-end restaurant (Fridays, Hard Rock): 150-200kr= $27.00-$36.00

City transport - single trip pre-bought: 26kr =$4.68
City transport - single trip from driver: 40kr= $7.20
City transport - day pass: 70kr= $12.60
City transport - 8 trips flexi: 190kr= $34.20
City transport - week pass: 210kr= $37.80

Nightclub cover charge: 100-200kr= $18.00-$36.00


I like to use this site to get the most recent exchange rates (as currencies change on a daily basis): http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter/#from=NOK;to=USD;amt=20

Also I forgot some of the most important things:

Beer in a store: 15-25kr (per bottle depending on brand)= $2.70-$4.50
Beer in a pub: 40-70kr (per bottle)= $7.20-$12.60
Beer in a club: 70-100kr(per bottle)= $12.60-$18.00
Mixed drinks: 80-120kr= $14.40-$21.60

Over the past week I've been known to quote the cost of a single beer in Norway as it just astounds me. I dont mind paying for a beer but at double the cost of what Im used to....and the rumor is that Norwegians go over to Sweden to buy their beer for a cheaper rate! Whew guess its a good thing for my pocketbook I dont drink very much!!!

It is always better to be prepared for high prices and then be pleasantly suprised, rather than the other way around.

Sorry to throw all these figues at you but Im just doing my research!!! I still have tons of planning to do (and Norwegian to learn) do I have enough time to get everything accomplished?! How do I fit dating into all this? Aha, YES only date those who know Norwegian!! Oh, except there arent many around these parts. Sigh.

Brain reformating begins.....

How important exactly is it to know the language of a country you desire to visit?!

In my current quest of Norway I have been doing lotsa fun research. Research that is revealing that having a basic understanding of a language (especially in a Nordic country)will get you farther with the hard headed people of that region. (I am 1/4th Norwegian so I hope I do not offend any one nationality with the previous sentence....)

Sigh, the cities speak English but once you wander outside to the smaller towns and farm steads I think it will come in handy at least to know the basics!

Which is why I have also decided I am going to learn the Norwegian Language. Let me rephrase that....I am going to TRY to learn SOME Norwegian language. I have books, a dictionary, a great learning tool on the internet that teaches you 10 words a day. The only problem is, I have been thinking about learning Norwegian for about 3 months now.....and all I know how to say is uffda (which I picked up as a child anyhow) and himmel, which means sky.

NOTHING ELSE WILL STICK IN MY BRAIN!!!!

As of last week I am sure we are going (as me and my aunt purchaesed our tickets to OSLO!!!) So, no turning back now!!

Now I am more determined than ever to learn as much as I can in less than 5 months, gah when I actually type the length of time I have left it looks a bit....um, gulp.

So I bought some tapes and uploaded an application on my ipad (which has a flirting section in it as well *grin* what, everyone needs to know how to learn to flirt in Norwegian, right?!!)

And I ordered a subliminal CD which consists of 6 classical songs that apparantly have Norwegian learning basics laced through them. I patiently sit and listen to it on a nightly basis and shall get back to you with my final conclusion on "if" it works. God I hope Im not being brainwashed.

To be continued.......

I was born this way

Mae West said it best: "Im single because I was born that way."

I dont mind people asking if I have a boyfriend, I will even usually give them an honest answer.

I only slightly mind when people are trying to hook me up with "a really really really nice guy." Really? Why is he single- or better yet; why dont you date him then?!

What I DO mind, is when through the grapevine, someones friends, brothers, friends nephew; asks about me but will not talk to me in person. I find out this sort of entertaining information from an older gentleman that is also a friend of my fathers. Then I am told by the same man: "To stop being scary to the young men your age"

Really? Am I scary? Yes, I suppose so. I like knowing who these guys are in order to find out more about them, if I dont likey- yes its in my best interest to use scare tactics to get myself (as quickly and painlessly) away.

Darn grapevine anyway. Why is it not so normal NOT to be in a relationship? A big percentage of the relationships out there are unhealthy anyhow. I am learning that I am not so attracted to the guys who are interested and come after me, so I suppose I am also learning how to go after the guys I want to get to know. And thats a serious challenge for me. So Im waiting. Waiting for the right situation. Waiting for the right guy. Just waiting. But dont worry Im also learning how to jump!!!

Dont assume Im not enjoying the wait either!
Im learning to speak out, just like Mae! She had some
pretty good quotes, here are a few of my favorites:

"I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it."
— Mae West

"Don't keep a man guessing too long - he's sure to find the answer somewhere else"
— Mae West

"It is better to be looked over than overlooked."
— Mae West

"I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing."
— Mae West

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."
— Mae West

Lets go dancing Mae!! Wheeeeee!!!!
Its my birthday week! Happy birthday to meeeee!!!