Birthday Video

Here is a compilation of the videos taken on my birthday, enjoy!

Jeg er enogtyve!!

I am twenty-one!! Finally.


Well it is official ladies and gentleman I have finally reached that magical, mythical age of 21, and how does it feel you ask? Honestly not much different simply because I have been living in Europe for the past 7 months, buzz-kill right?! However when I go back to the states I have a feeling it is going to be weird the first time I get carded. So as promised in a previous post I will recount my danish "fødselsdag" festivities.


The morning started off early with a certain someone singing a very cute danish birthday song about chocolate milk and cake, it goes like this:

I dag er det Sams fødselssdag 

Hurra, hurra, hurra! 

Hun sikkert sig en gave får 

som hun har ønsket sig i år 

med dejlig chokolade og kager til

Translation:

Today is Sam's birthday 
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! 
She'll probably get a present 
For which she has been wishing 
All with tasty chocolate and cakes

While eating breakfast I made some birthday Skype calls to my mom and dad. It was really strange not seeing my parents on my birthday, the first time I believe. And after Martin left for work I cleaned myself up for class. No I am not lying, I did in fact go to class... well for the first hour at least! I simply had too many errands to run before my little party at 17:00.

With my wallet full of danish kroner from my Mom, Dad, and Grandmother I commenced my shopping adventure on Strøget. Before I set out on this mission I promised myself that I was only going to buy things that are unique to Copenhagen, so that meant no Urban Outfitters or H&M. My first stop was Georg Jensen, who was a Danish silversmith in the late 19th century, and today his collection is sold worldwide and is like a danish Tiffany's, in my opinion. After some researching online I had decided that I was definitely going to buy something from the 'Daisy' collection, designed for the reigning Queen Margrethe II. I could not decide between a pendant necklace or a ring; for Christmas Martin gave me a pair of earrings that I absolutely love. After trying both on, consulting the friendly girl helping me (who had the strongest Australian accent! Danes tend to be like chameleons when it comes to their English accents I find), and doing a fair amount of talking to myself (I tend to do that when making decisions) I purchased a sterling silver ring!

The next stop, which is conveniently just down the way, was Nørgaard på Strøget, a beautiful ivy covered store which sells clothing from the Danish designer Mads Nørgaard. I bought a really nice wool sweater that has colorful diagonal stripes, very danish looking. I had seen it on his website under the new spring collection and was happy to see that it was even cuter in person... and on me! *for a picture see the last picture and video in this post*

Although I had only spent about a quarter of min fødselsdag penge, or "birthday money," I decided to call it a day on the shopping and avoid hasty purchases that I would later regret. Plus I had received an SMS from Amager Blomster (a flower shop near where I live) saying that I had some flowers that needed to be picked up!But three days later I went to Field's (Scandinavia's largest shopping mall) and bought a Fjällräven backpack (in Ox Red) and a Bodum French Press, the coffee press is Danish but I strayed from the theme on the backpack but hey Sweden is close!

To my great surprise I had a beautiful basket of flowers from my parents waiting for me at Amager Blomster! The first of three flowers that I got on my birthday... I love how full of color they make my room, especially in this bleak Copenhagen winter. I returned home just a few minutes before Martin who had a dozen or so gorgeous red tulips with him. Pressed a bit for time, I quickly immersed them in some water and we rushed off hand-in-hand to Netto to acquire the ingredients necessary for a real Danish Fødselsdag. But not before he informed me of what my birthday gift was... a plane ticket to Paris in the spring! He has never been and we have often been day dreaming about drinking (bottles) of wine with cheese and baguette on the banks of the Seine - and soon those daydreams will be a wondrous reality. 


At Netto we bought Lagkage "layered cake", Fødselsdag Boller "birthday buns", and Varm Chokolade med fløde "hot chocolate w/ cream." Martin and I made all these delightful things before my guests started arriving, it was good fun except for the fact I could not seem to follow instructions haha!

Lagkage or "Layered Cake" with bananas & raspberries

Then around 17:00 people started arriving to my kitchen in Tietgen. My guests included Martin's Aunt Mette, his best friend Nikolaj and his girlfriend Erika, Vanessa, Katinka, Frederik, Sofie & Oliver. It was a nice little gathering and very very hyggeligt*see next post for video*


Once the candles were extinguished by yours truly, we indulged in the decadent birthday feast, which might I say had zero nutritional value... oh well, fødselsdag only comes once a year! While digesting the massive amounts of sugar we had just consumed, my friend Katinka suggested that I partake in another danish tradition. I stood on top of a chair and waited there while everyone else whispered "hoorah" 20 times and then on the loud 21st "hoorah" I jumped off the chair and into a new year in my life. See next post for the video, and feel free to marvel at my mad jumping skills. Also you can tell that I am nervous, as I play with the danish flag next to me haha!

After the dishes had been washed, the left over lagkage wrapped up, and final "tillykke med fødselsdagen" or "happy birthday" uttered, myself and Martin were starved for some real food, of which we had none that day. We had a very danish meal of leverpostej, mushrooms and pickled beets all on top of rugbrød or "rye bread." And in true 21st birthday fashion, in the states at least, we decided to brave the cold sub-zero winds and biked to my favorite café/bar Bang og Jensen. Although I was not carded it was still fun to take a picture with my first legal drink and say "Hey I am 21 and I can drink!" Being a Monday night the bar was deserted but it was really cozy with all the candles, the music and the snow fluttering outside the window. We almost closed the place down as Martin and I leisurely drank our beers and talked about everything and anything. 

It was a perfect birthday in Copenhagen and certainly one to remember. Not because of the drunken stupor, the fact that I got carded for the first time or the infamous 21 bar crawl; but because of the new traditions I got to experience and the new friends who celebrate min 21st fødselsdag with me. Vi ses!

Last day of being "illegal"

For some unknown and very unforeseen reason I have actually started enjoying this whole blogging business. There are about 10 more minutes on the enchiladas that we made, so plenty of time to make a quick update and comment on some interesting sightings I have been meaning to write about.

One night when going through the check-out with Martin in Netto (Danish grocery store chain, that is might I say "off tha' chain!") I glanced behind the checker at the products behind glass. As one might guess it was mostly items that you would expect to see back there, cameras, digital frames, fancy perfume etc. However I was a little taken back by five items located on the third shelf far right. It was none other than western Washington's pride and glory (NOT!) The Twilight Saga; yes apparently danish grocers feel that these books require protection behind padlocked plastic doors. But the funny thing was that they were not even that expensive haha! The fifth item that I found bizarre (because there are 4 Twilight books) was a sealed silver bag which contained  D&G men's underwear... strange.

Tomorrow is the fateful day of my 21st birthday, WOOOOOOOOOOO! Although it is rather anticlimactic and obsolete, my turning 21 in Denmark where I could have been legally drinking for the past five years, I am still very excited for a Danish Fødselsdag or "birthday" as you might have guessed. Danes love their birthdays, and I cannot wait to see what a proper fødselsdag looks like. I will definitely be posting a birthday post later this week all about it and hopefully with some great pictures.

Success

Well enchiladas are smelling good and done, so vi ses min kære venner!

A couple of great days

Friday 11.2.2011

I love seeing new parts of Copenhagen, I feel like I am slowly adding pieces of this wonderful city together like a puzzle... and hopefully when I leave I will have an accurate picture and idea of my Scandinavian home. So Friday night I got to experience another part of the city (well an outlying suburb) called Albertslund. This so called "ghetto" part of Copenhagen is where my boyfriend grew up and don't worry everyone, contrary to his sporadic flashing of the "A-town" hand sign he is not ghetto in the least haha! When I use this word "ghetto" it is of course in the Danish sense, compared to South-Central in Los Angeles it is quite tame. But nonetheless they probably have a higher occurrence of crime than other parts of the city, I was told by more than one Dane not to go there by myself at night.

Martin and myself went to Albertslund to have dinner with his dad and afterwards go to a concert. We ate in a little shopping complex at a Turkish (although I kept on wanting to call it Greek... oops!) restaurant called Marmais. The food and beer was delightful! For some reason I feel like Mediterranean food is best showcased in a buffet, so I found it to be more than ideal... and yummy! Not to mention it was very "hyggeligt" talking with Martin and his Dad over dinner and a couple of beers.

Niels Skousen & Band

Afterwards we walked over to Forbrændingen, the concert venue, to see Niels Skousen. Even though I was easily the youngest person in the crowd and most likely the only non-Dane, I had a lot of fun! Skousen's music was really enjoyable. He received a lot of his inspiration from Bob Dylan, and has really good guitar melodies with deep, sometimes satirical, lyrics (as I have been told, I must see them translated). I think my favorite songs were "Go' Aften Danmark," which was commenting on the danish talk shows like "The Today Show," and "Herfra hvor vi står." That last song is his most popular one and it was really cool when he played it because everyone, including the bartenders who mounted the bar table, linked arms and joined in singing. Here is a sample of his music, it is a song called 68.

Saturday 12.2.2011

Small Local Train near Brede

I got yet another piece of the Copenhagen puzzle the next day as Martin, his mom, sister and I took the train north to Brede. In the summer I went to the Frilandsmuseet, or the Open Air Museum near Brede, where they have centuries old houses from all over Jylland, Fyn and Sjælland. We went to Brede to visit Martin's "mormor" or grandmother. Side note: One of my many favorite things about Danish is that the names for grandmother and grandfather make so much sense, for instance your mom's mom is "mormor" and your father's mother is "farmor." So there is no need to ask that usual follow up question of "now, what side is that on, your mothers or fathers?"

I found it to be very fun and interesting to interact with a Danish person from an older generation. Martin's mormor lived in Denmark during WWII and the German occupation, her husband actually participated in the Danish Resistance movement. She was very sweet and I was shocked at how well she spoke English, apparently she speaks it about four times a year because she has friends from the Netherlands with whom she speaks in English with for birthdays, Christmas etc. Our "frokost" or lunch was delightful. The best part about it was all the pretty plates, I felt as if I was having a tea party but with delicious Danish food! My favorite part of the meal was the coffee and cake at the end. The cake had a fudge type top layer with vanilla cake underneath, but the best thing was the marzipan crust around the edges.... ohhh so good!

Here's Looking at You Kid

For the first time in 21 years I have not had the pressure of being in a relationship for Valentines Day shoved down my throat. I think it is that peer pressure and the reminder that you are single makes Valentines Day a most dreaded day for all those single ladies (though the song helps a bit, right?)


So as luck would have it, my first time spent away from all that madness is the first Valentines day I have actually had a valentine! Although it is a bit of a silly holiday, I must admit it is nice to do something special, exciting, and out of the ordinary with the person you love. Accordingly when I woke up that morning I made the chilly wind-blown walk to Superbrugsen, a local grocer, to shop for ingredients for Martin's Valentines Day surprise. I decided that I was going to make something sweet from my Lion House cookbook (a.k.a. Mormon Cookbook) that my Mom gave me for Christmas. Being my first time baking in Denmark I figured to go with something familiar, and what could be more familiar than snickerdoodle cookies?! This posed its challenges though. Sure butter, flour, sugar and vanilla are easy enough to find once you translate them; however, cream of tartar proved to be difficult to find. I researched online substitutions for this ingredient and found that if I left out both the cream of tartar and baking soda then I could just use baking powder instead... and fortunately I was able to find that! I also grabbed some corny looking pink and purple heart sprinkles, just for the hell of it.

Valentines Day Snickerdoodle Cookies

After my shopping adventure I was a good student and went to class, I found it hard to pay attention to European integration in the early 1950s when I was trying to calculate how much baking powder I should use. After class I began my first shot at baking in this foreign metric-using land. Sadly I did not have the convenience of my mom's Kitchen Aid mixer, so I used my muscles and whipped up these suckers by hand. Judging from the final product I think it turned out well, I would give myself a A- because it probably could have had a bit less baking powder.


Martin then came over after work with beautiful danish tulips in hand, then I led him blindly to a mountain of sugary Mormon goodness. After indulging in some of my baked goods he informed me that we should probably not eat too many because he had made dinner reservations. Around 1700 we made our way over to Christianshavn, a neighboring area just north of where I am living that I would love to explore more. We ate at a restaurant called Kanalen. I really fell in love with this little restaurant located right on a canal, in fact it was so small that the kitchen was actually located across the street! The interior was the epitome of danish design and simplicity. And the food? Oh lord. Words cannot describe the pleasure that my mouth experienced (hmm why does talking about food always sound sexual haha!). So instead of trying to gush about how good it was I will just tell you what it was and you can fantasize and drool on your own accord:

On the Table: 

(most likely) Danish butter with sea salt on top and

some freshly baked bread

Starter:

Slightly salted salmon from The Baltic Sea with salad of Jerusalem artichokes, apples, water cress and mild horseradish

Entreé:

Roasted veal fillet and braised veal brisket with baked celeriac, sauce with olives and Pommes Savoyard 

Dessert:

Baked red orange with carrot sorbet and crisp licorice

And of course we washed that all down with a bottle of red wine. It was truly a dining experience to remember, not only because of the food but also the company.

Danish Tulips

As we digested our world class cuisine and braved the below freezing gusting winds, Martin and I walked out and stood at the edge of the harbor. I love looking at Copenhagen from the water at night, being able to see both the historical and modern sights lit up and reflected in the water. To our right we saw the centuries old Børsen or Stock Exchange and the rooftops of Christiansborg or Parliament. And to our left we saw the modern Skuespilhuset or Royal Danish Playhouse, the Operaen or Opera House, and in the distance Holmen where you can experience Danish Naval history and see the Sælen!

Once we returned back to Tietgen, frozen from the wind, I decided that we should watch Casablanca because neither or us had ever seen it and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I enjoyed the film, it had some very clever writing and interesting cinematography.

So yeah I had a pretty amazing day, thanks to someone very special. I hope everyone else had an enjoyable 14th of February. Vi ses!

Is there anything more Danish than the Danes?

Stupid question one might think, but after reading an article for my Scandinavian Identities class I started to think it might not be. It featured a poem by Benny Andersen entitled Skabssvenskere or "Closet Swedes":

"I there anything so Danish as a potato? The potato comes from South America. Is there anything so Danish as the Dannebrog itself? It fell from heaven a long time ago in Estonia and brings to mind the flag of the Swiss. Does anything ring more truly Danish than the music of a German making diligent use of Swedish folk tunes? Pay attention now, for now it gets trickier: Is there anything more Danish than the Danes? The descendants of the Danes, a group of people in Sweden, invaded our country some time in the year 300-and-smoothing, while the original Danes, the Heruli, being inferior in number, were driven away by the cruel Swedish Danes and forced to roam the Europe of old, homeless, for hundreds of years, until a few thousand of these aboriginal Danes eventually succeeded in reaching Sweden, there to settle under the dubious name of Swedes. Here's the question once again; think carefully before you answer: Is there anything more Danish than the Danes? The correct answer is: Yes! The Swedes! They are the real, authentic Danes. Like the Jews in the desert, they are forever drawn toward the Promised Land that flows with beer and bacon, but which for seventeen hundred years has been occupied. By whom? By the Swedes! By us!"


I have really enjoyed the reading for this class so far, and who know I might even be inclined to actually do the reading every week! What a concept. It is easy as a North American to believe that no matter what you call them, the countries in Northern Europe are all the same - peaceable, small and cute. However, as I have learned already, their peoples, history, and culture could not be more different. Additionally, I have learned that terms like "Northern European," "Scandinavian," "Baltic," and "Nordic" all include different countries and have different meanings. Danes often think of themselves as being both Scandinavian and Nordic; however, they usually don't think of themselves as European let alone Northern European.

This is a very intriguing concept for a non-European because we tend to look at a map and automatically think "Well of course they are European, what else would they be?"

I do believe I am going to like this class! Vi ses.

Some Nordic Flags - Bergen, Norway

Are you ready for some (American) Football?!

During the godawful hours of the morning? I think not. However, at 3:25 am I found myself awake and unable to sleep so I pulled on a sweater and creeped into the common room to watch the final 10 minutes of the game. Although I have a certain amount of despise for both teams, Steelers because they stole Super Bowl XL from the Seahawks and the Packers well just because, I was happy to see Ben "Worthlessberger" leave the field empty handed... though I must say those Pittsburgh boys did give the Packs a run for their money near the end.

It was a pity though that the Swedish channel I was watching the game on did not show the commercials, so I will have to rely on youtube to catch me up on what I missed. Because as everyone knows the commercials are the best thing about the Super Bowl. When I told a roommate of mine about this phenomena she replied with an apt "Sam, you come from a strange culture" and I have found that is true in many ways.

But I think one of the most interesting things about watching those last minutes of the game was the fact there were a handful of Danes up too watching the game. One of my favorite things about my place is that from the comfort of our couch I can see into about 75% of the other kitchens and common rooms in Tietgen, it provides some very entertaining "people watching" opportunities. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that at least five other kitchens had the game on. And further more one of the cinemas in the city was showing the game as a double feature along The Fighter (good film by the way everyone should see!).

It is a weird feeling being an American, having your culture present all over the world - whether you like it or not.

Lazy Sunday

Well lazy in the sense that I have not taken a shower or actually left my place at all today, but on the other hand very productive because I made this beautiful new blog. I have decided that I need to start blogging more about my experience here, not only because I want to keep people back home informed about my life but also because I want to start writing more.

As some of you might have read in the last post (don't blame you if you didn't because it was super long) I have decided that after I graduate from UCLA I want to apply to either a journalism or editing/publishing program. So in order to prepare myself for that endeavor I think I need to starting writing more often... and not just essays about Irish terrorists and danish cinematic history (papers I wrote last semester). In addition to blogging more often I have also contacted the University Post - the English newspaper for Københavns Universitet, my current University - and inquired about the possibility of me contributing to their paper and perhaps even becoming a photographer.

So what is happening in my life right now? Well I just finished having a delightful lunch featuring torskerogn, which is like a cod paté, and when you put it on some good old danish rugbrød (rye bread) with some mayo and lemon juice it makes for a really good meal. Once my torsk digests more I plan on going to my gym just five minutes away from where I live. For some strange reason I really love running on the treadmill there, in LA or Silverdale would not catch me dead on one of those things... perhaps I find Danish treadmills more agreeable, strange.

This next week marks the second round of classes. I am taking two history courses, the History of the European Union & Scandinavian Identities. The introductory classes last week were promising and I really like to professors so far. I just wish that my books would arrive already so I could actually start studying... I get the urge to learn when I have been on break for too long!

I might also try and make it over to the Danish Immigration Service to check up on the status of my application to extend my visa. My guess is that they have bigger problems than an American exchange student to worry about, but nonetheless I would like to get it taken care of asap. Until next time, vi ses!

The year that was 2010...

Well here I am about to sitting in my lovely Tietgen home one week into the new semester at the University of Copenhagen… this was certainly unexpected.

My original plans were to just stay in Copenhagen for 6 months and return to Los Angeles in January for winter quarter; however, at the end of October I decided to extend my stay in Denmark to the entire year. I have not fully grasped the concept that I am going to be in Denmark for another six months probably because only about 4-5 months ago if you asked me if I was going to stay my standard answer was “No. It is too expensive and I don’t want to be away from UCLA and my friends for a whole year… I would miss out on too much!” Boy has that changed.

One of my favorite things about my life is how quickly long expected plans change. For instance I thought I was going to the University of Washington for the longest time then that fateful letter from UCLA came in the mail and changed my life. I love thinking how surprised my 1-year-ago self would be if she knew what I was doing now: living in Copenhagen for an entire year, traveling Europe like a madwoman, making friends from all over the world, and dating an amazing guy… she would certainly be blown off her seat.

2010 was undoubtedly a life-changing year, the best one so far. I thought this statement would best be explained by a few highlights (featuring both big and small feats), and so in no particular order…

Omicron Pledge Class

1. PLEDGING KAPPA ALPHA PI: At the close of 2009 I was not enjoying life at UCLA. Since I was no longing on the women’s rowing team I had a great deal more time on my hands. Instead of going out and seizing new opportunities I decided to devote myself to school work, although this pledge got me on the Dean’s List it certainly did not make me a very happy person. With a new year and a new beginning I decided to pledge KAPi, as a new effort to meet people and get myself back into the UCLA community. Well many a sleepless night, days spent in business wear, handshakes, and journal entries later I was blessed with a tight knit community of great friends that are a large part of the reason I decided that UCLA was a place I wanted to stay.

2. GETTING A TATTOO: For the longest time I could never imagine myself with a tattoo. It was not only my fear of needles, which had slightly improved after being a human pin cushion when I was diagnosed with my seizure disorder, but also the fact that I often change my mind and never seem to have the same taste for more than a couple of years. However, after my friend Joana did her senior project on “How to decide on a Tattoo” a small seed had been planted in my mind… after much thought and sharpie ink used to test different ideas, I finally took the plunge. I went to Freak Chic with my friend Hannah and got a lovely scallop shell on the top of my right foot. The experience was liberating and very empowering. And not to worry I am still very much in love with almost 7 months later… in fact I just stopped writing to glance at it admiringly.

Tietgenkollegiet

3. STUDYING ABROAD IN DENMARK: In the 20 years of my life so far I have made many important and scary decisions that have undoubtedly shaped my life and the path it is on. There are a few I am particularly proud of, for example my decision to attend UCLA even though I knew zero people and had never been to Los Angeles before. Now my decision to study abroad in Copenhagen ranks highest among these milestones. I often find myself forgetting that I am half a world away from the country and states that I have called home for all my life; this can only mean that I truly feel at home here. The Danish culture, food, architecture, language, people, and coffee are just of the few things that I have fallen in love with. My accommodations could not be more perfect, my room in Tietgenkollegiet is very cozy with photos, postcards, posters, flags and football scarves covering the walls. Also I have taken to the Danish love of candles and burn them every chance I get; three pillar and four tea light candles, ceiling to floor windows and some small string lights make me forget that the daylight is scarce.

4. BECOMING A TOUR GUIDE: First of all it was a really big honor to even be considered for this job and get an interview considering the sheer size of the applicant pool. The group interview was unlike anything I have ever experienced, questions completely out of left field (maybe more like from the edge of the parking lot outside the left field gates) for instance “Squirrels or Sombreros?” Well squirrels of course! I was completely speechless when I saw my name amongst the others who got hired; I had to run back in a double check and even forgot to read the note talking about the paperwork. I really enjoy the job, and like I always say “I love a job where you get a round of applause at the end of the day.”

Kayaking in the fjords of Norway

1. Mazatlan, Mexico
2. Reykjavik, Iceland
3. Copenhagen, Denmark (lived!)
4. Berlin, Germany
5. Paris, France (3^rd time)
6. Malmø, Sweden
7. Stockholm, Sweden
8. Bergen, Norway
9. St. Petersburg, Russia
10. Moscow, Russia
11. Prague, Czech Republic
12. Vienna, Austria
13. Bratislava, Slovakia
14. Budapest, Hungary
15. Zurich, Switzerland
16. Vaduz, Liechtenstein
17. Salzburg, Austria

I tried to only go places that I have never been before, and expect for Paris I succeeded. This semester I will probably not be doing as much traveling but I do plan on making a trip to Ireland, England, and Poland… and perhaps some other pleasant surprises!

Standing in front of Saint Basils in Red Square - Moscow, Russia

6. TRIP TO RUSSIA: Never did I think I would get the opportunity to see the Kremlin or St. Basil’s cathedral in Red Square. On this trip organized by the university for exchange students I made life long friends from around the world (courtesy in part to the soviet night train and 5 bottles of vodka),  got to see Lenin while still drunk from the previous nights frivolities, and experience a side of Russia that few people get the chance to see.

7. FIGURING OUT WHAT I WANT TO DO AFTER UCLA: I love taking long road trips with my Dad because I feel like I always learn something important. So it was no surprise that when we drove from Zurich to Salzburg in our Citroën in November, I decided what career path I wanted to pursue. Prior to coming to Denmark I was still toying with the idea of law school; however, after much reflection I decided that I am not passionate or convinced enough to spend the time and money on a law degree. Subsequently, I discovered that I really enjoy editing my writing. My favorite part about writing an essay is when I print out the paper and sit down with a red pen and fine-tune it to perfection. So lately I have been looking into programs in both journalism and editing/publishing, so far everything seems to point to the East Coast… so very exciting!

Martin & I at Tivoli

8. FALLING IN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME: Anyone who hung out with me in the 6 months before I left for Denmark probably heard me mention at least once heard me half-heartedly jokingly say that “I am going to find my Danish lover in Denmark and never come back!” Well you know what they say about those self-fulfilling prophecies haha. Never have I been happier in my life, I truly feel that I have stumbled into something pretty amazing. Without going into all the juicy details, most of which are none of y’alls business, I will just say that I am starting to realize what those four letters really mean… he treats me like royalty and has in the matter of just three months become my closest friend. I feel so blessed to have found him and cannot imagine my life without min dansk kæreste.

Although we are already a month a five days into the New Year, I still felt it was important that I pay homage to the amazingness that was 2010. I have vowed that I am going to do a better job blogging this time around; I truly enjoy reflecting on my time here and keeping you all at home up to date.