Jag talar engelska. Jag talar inte svenska.

hovfjallet and a view from my snowboard.

so....i am giving you a pretty view to grab your attention. i don't think this blog is super exciting but i do have several photos for you all!

...it has been several days since i have updated this blog, for that i am sorry. i have been trying to keep myself busy here in karlstad. especially on the four days a week that petrus is at work, today being one of those days. sometimes, i go on walks, i have been keeping the house clean and doing laundry, and petrus even bought me some knitting needles and yarn to learn to knit (he surprised me with this one evening, so thoughtful of him). i also, told petrus we should get a little beta fish (i need a little pet until i can have my penny lane again) and more plants to make it feel even homier in the apartment. most importantly, i have been cooking (this one i am really proud of)! i have never really had anyone else to cook for but myself and often, i have felt like it is too much hassle to cook for myself. i am excited to have someone to cook for AND he actually enjoys my cooking! at least he says he does... i have been getting a better and better about making just enough serving for the two of us and maybe a little leftover but still i feel like i have been overindulging in the food a little too much. i need to remind myself that i need to fit in a pretty, white dress in less than four months. at least the cooking gives me something to do. and i am in love with my crock pot. i use it two-three times a week. i set a new record for myself last week; i cooked dinner 5 nights in a row. i am not sure it will ever get any better than that. i am actually totally fine with that though because petrus is a fantastic cook (better than me, i think).

here is pulled pork and roasted veggies i made thursday night. success!

when i am not eating or cooking, i have been doing rosetta stone (the computer language course)(once again, thank you ben bittfield) in swedish four days a week. i am now on week four and almost done with level one. there is only three levels...crap! that means i am going to have to start using the words that i have learned and continue to learn everyday. this thought scares me a little bit. i mean, i definitely feel like i am reading swedish better and even starting to hear words i recognize on an occasional basis, but speaking?!? that is a whole new level that i am just not confident in yet. here i am, stepping out of my comfort zone again... being a big girl in this big, giant world. i am hoping by next week i can enroll in the SFI language classes that sweden offers (and that it won't be too late for this semester). i think that would really help me get out there and push myself a little more. i don't like other people to push me when i don't feel ready but if i push myself, that is a whole different thing. i need to push my limits a little bit.

we have green apples. duh!

getting "into the system" here in sweden has taken a little longer than petrus and i both expected, i think. once we got to karlstad, we picked a day to travel to orebro, sweden to the migration services building, waited in line for 2 hours and then spent the 10 minutes filling out information for my residence card. 4 business days later it was in our mailbox. easy! we then walked the 4 miles, in the snow, to the tax building to register for my personal number (i have to have this number to register for everything; SFI, insurance, etc.). that took 5 minutes. we have an up to 10 business day wait for the number...it's been 6 business days. i still can't do anything and i am still without insurance..for now. i took another big step that day. i dropped petrus off at work and walked all by MYSELF (3.5 miles) back to our home. it was very nice to walk at my own pace and just enjoy the scene. it was snowing but it wasn't windy so it was very peaceful.

on the train from orebro to karlstad (i was a little tired)

it started snowing again. orebro is a pretty city and this picture doesn't do it justice.

petrus in his office at work.

sjukhus. directly translated as sick house. this my former coworkers, is the hospital in karlstad.

a lovely little walking path that reminds me of robert frost poems.

walking back home. a path used often, as you can see. i was the only using it at that moment.

the lake.

a bridge. petrus was afraid i was going to fall between the railings and into the lake. i didn't.

hammaro kommun. almost home!

home sweet home. and the bike ulla (petrus' mother) is lending me.

walking from a bus stop to a friends home for dinner. so pretty and well lit :)

here is a random picture from a walk taken at 3pm. the moon was out at 3pm.

it hasn't been all waiting though! we have had some fun weekends. we have gone to the movie theatre a few times (which, FYI, is not as cheap here as in the US, something around $25 a ticket here for a movie) and had dinner with new friends, birthday partys, and one of my favorite days: snowboarding! it has been a few years since i went skiing in colorado and when we were asked by two of petrus' friends, we jumped at the opportunity. i have been wanting to try snowboarding for several years and this was the perfect opportunity as Per used to be a snowboard instructor. it doesn't hurt that the ski resort wasn't very big or too busy. petrus decided to try it with me. let's just say, he didn't like it. as soon as we got to the bottom of the mountain, he decided he was going to go back to the rental store and try telemark skis instead (which is what Lotta was using). i, however, really enjoyed snowboarding and picked it up much better than i thought. i hit a wall shortly before the slopes closed. my muscles were so tired. mostly from getting up from falling. it is not easy learning how to stand up on a snowboard. petrus and i got much needed exercise that day and it felt really good. once, we got back to per and lotta's apartment, we ordered a giant pizza, drank wine and watched a marky mark movie. the perfect ending to the day. i really enjoyed getting out of the house with a group of really fun people and i already look forward to hanging out with them again.

9am, on our way to the ski resort.

the don't clean the roads up much in sweden. this road was windy and scary. per was our confident driver

finally at hovfjallet!

petrus before he quit the snowboard

after picture. so very tired.

we ended the night with Per and Petrus spending 10 minutes talking like batman.

i will end on this tonight. i hope you are all well and keep staying in contact with me! you are all keeping my hopes and spirits up!
kramar (hugs)