the height of disgusting-ness

this is my brother-in-law's knee. a brown recluse spider bit him. when i saw it, i had flashbacks of a leprosy colony in india.

a shout out

a shout out to my friend, sara fisel. if you need a good laugh, read her blog. if only i could be more like you, sara.

so, i came back to the states expecting hot, humid weather and lots of time out in the sun. let's see. i believe it has rained 11 of the 13 days i've been here, so sun has been limited. in the past day we've had 12 inches of rain (30cm) and there are flood warnings in the surrounding areas. i went to see "evan almighty" today and since it was a saturday, people should have been out shopping. but it was as if we had walked into a ghost town. as i walked around downtown, i didn't see one person. all roads leading out and in (except for our road) to the town were closed. hmm, maybe impending doom is upon us?...

(there's a bridge under there)

my mum and me

summer at home. a lot of... not much. i get up (usually pretty early), decide whether i should watch "dawson's" or "what not to wear," read a bit, walk down the driveway to the post, watch a bit more t.v., talk with my mom, maybe go to a dr. appt, and that's about it. sigh. some of you are probably cursing my name as you read this, thinking that i should be enjoying this. and i do, it's just that i'm used to being needed, having people around to talk to. it could be a long vacation if i don't do something productive... quickly.

i was "this" close going out with a guy i haven't seen for years, but then i googled him and let's just say i am pretty sure we won't be going out. and perhaps this is the place where the fine line of blogging openness ends.
i went to a wedding this weekend. nothing says "happy marriage" like a cooler of the finest miller lite.

kansas.

i'm in the states! after a long journey, a cancelled flight - i'm back. i stayed up quite late talking with the parents and got up early to go to the dentist (cavity free!), the doctor, the library, and wal-mart. i was proud for managing that much the first day back.

so, now i'm sitting here listening to The Very Best of Dolly Parton (you gotta love "jolene" and "to know him is to love him"), waiting to eat a lovely dinner of grilled fish, vegetables, and ice tea on the porch.

the small differences between norway and the states are amazing. people have already commented on my clothing style and my norwegian accent. my dentist even asked if norway was a country of flossers (what the h***?). one thing i noticed the moment i stepped into the o'hare airport - america smells like fast food. absolutely. everywhere i went in the airport were fat people and fast food (hmm, is there a connection?). norway smells like milk, so i've heard; india smells like spices. i guess every country has their own food smell. for america, it's summed up in mcdonald's french fries.

anyway, it's nice to be back. enjoy the summer!

feelings from the last week

the cutest 2-yr. old i know

last weekend i traveled around, recruiting and was able to enjoy the outdoors. nice.

so tired. dts is officially over and i don't know how i feel exactly. the past year is a bit hazy now, knowing the first part was a bit difficult, but after mini-outreach it improved. india was great and God spoke clearly through it all. i won't be dts staff next year and my new position is a bit difficult to define. i know i'll miss this position though. i'll be involved by teaching some and perhaps doing some administrative work for the dts, but it won't be the same.

i head back to the states in a couple weeks, but until then we will have evaluation and much practical work because we were able to buy the base the day of graduation!
it's wonderful being back in norway after outreach. i've been to cafes, enjoyed the long days, caught up with students, and travelled a bit. and... ruth silje (one of my roommates) is engaged! lots of changes are coming.

today was one of the first days of sun since coming back and i enjoyed it by sitting outside reading "I Was Just Wondering" by Philip Yancey. i don't know if it is still in print, but if you can find a copy, i highly recommend it. i also caught up on playtime with salome. cheers to summer.