Bring the Light!

I love light. I NEED light. Light makes me a happy person. That's one thing I absolutely love about  my house. I have lots and lots of windows and the house is facing in a direction (don't ask me if it's north or south or whatever because I'm clueless) that allows me to have sun on the front of my house all day long.

In the winter when the days are dark and short, the first thing I do when I come downstairs is turn on all the lights. And they pretty much stay on all day, even after the sun comes up. Okay, I'm probably using a little extra electricity. Not the most environmentally friendly I suppose. But then again, I'd rather pay for a little extra electricity than pay for anti-depressants, which I'm pretty sure I'd need if I didn't have the lights on. And technically, I'm saving energy cause if it's a sunny day in the winter, I have enough windows to warm the house up, that I can let the fire go out until the evening. So there.

And I'm bringing my love for light into my "decorating/interior design". I say that very loosely cause I'm not good at decorating. I'm not one of those people who can do magic with some curtains, a few throw pillows and some pinecones. But I have a need to have things fairly organized and uncluttered around me. I am not, BY FAR, the perfect housekeeper, but I just can't have a bunch of clutter and stuff  laying around for any length time. I was like that when I went to school....couldn't do my homework until my room was clean.

So I've lightened up my upstairs hallway, which you all may recall was a dark dungeon before. Well, my next project is to "bring the light" to the foyer/entrance! This will involve putting white wood panel on the walls and painting the staircase white. I am soooooo anxious to start. But I need some help from dear hubby first. We have an open staircase (there is an opening above each step) which drives me around the bend!! It gets sooo dirty under the stairs where I have a couple of dressers for hats, mittens, sweaters etc... All this dirt piles up on top of the dressers and the floor underneath. So I need Sindre to put on his carpenters hat and figure out how to close the steps in. THEN I can get started with the sanding and painting and making it all pretty. Sindre is swamped at work right now so we won't be able to start for a little while yet. Poor guy. If he only knew....(that I'm also planning to rip out the closet and buy new floor tiles, ssshhhh!)

Here's what it looks like now:

This picture is to show you the missing floor trims after living 7 years in this house. And the patch we didn't paint on the chimney?!? Why didn't we paint it? And the vase is not doing a very good job of hiding it either. Lol!

And this is my inspiration!!

On second thought, I don't think I can wait....maybe open stairs aren't that bad. Onwards Project Bring The Light!!!!

Why Run?

I posted on Facebook the other day about having gone for a run. And someone asked, why run? Why not walk?

I am NOT an athletic person in any way, shape, or form. At all. And if someone told me a few years ago, I would be a runner, I would have laughed in their face. Really. But 2 years ago, I decided I needed to do something for my health. Or more precisely, to keep my health. We ALL know that a good diet and exercise is the way to go. So with no other goal in mind than to "kinda get in shape", I started the C25K program. C25K stands for "Couch to 5 Km". Sounded just about perfect for me. Especially the couch part cause that described my starting point perfectly. So on FB, I updated my status as "C25K???" And my very bestest friend from high school suggested that we do it and we do it together. Even though we live on different continents.

And you know what? We did it! And I have to give a lot of credit to my friend who kept me going. It was great motivation checking in with her after each run and keeping each other updated and inspired. Not that we/I just breezed through it. It was HARD at times. But it was sooo motivating, as I moved through the program, to see and feel how I was getting a little better each week. And as I realized, that maybe, just maybe, I can do this, I started feeling such a sense of accomplishment.

So there's my answer. Why do I run? Because it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. It's something I never, ever thought I could do. Yet I can. It still surprises me.

This is the website I used. It's brilliant and I highly recommend it. It's intervals of walking and jogging. The first week the jogging intervals are 60 seconds. So it started out at my level. ;) You increase the jogging and decrease the walking each week and by week 9, you're at 30 minutes of jogging. You have to work though, it doesn't just come on it's own. The first weeks I was purple and dying, staring at my stopwatch and praying to God for the 90 seconds of jogging to be over. But you get better.

Here are some other benefits of jogging (besides the sense of accomplishment thing). It's free!!! Definitely a bonus. I can't afford/don't want to/ refuse to pay gym membership fees. And the nearest gym is a 20 min drive. So I'm looking at 40 min just in driving. Or I could just go out my door and be done in 40 minutes. Another benefit is fresh air!! Totally love running outside. I bought an ellipse machine when the weather got really cold and icy and snowy, thinking that would keep me going. I hate it. Staring at the 4 walls of my bedroom during my work out was soooo boooring. I was ready to stab myself in the neck with a sharp object just to put myself out of my misery. Outside is where it's at. And last, but definitely not the least, I'm kind of in shape. I'm no athlete. And I'm pretty sure I look like the girl in the yellow jacket when I'm running. But I can feel the benefits and that's pretty darn cool.

Running isn't the only thing that gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me feel good about myself. Eating leftovers makes me sooo happy. I joke not. I've fed my family, it didn't cost me anything (extra), and I don't feel guilty for throwing perfectly good food away while people in the world starve to death. I heart leftovers!! Hmmm.....I feel another blog post coming on. What makes you feel good?

Passions

I have a passion for music. Well, I have a passion for a lot of things. My first passion in life was reading, and a passion I carry still. And as previously mentioned, I have a passion for yarn, and buttons, knitting and crochet, scrapbooking, anything creative really. And WOOL! I have a passion for wool. I have a dream about having a couple of my own sheep and some alpacas. So that I can harvest their wool and make yarn the old fashioned way and dye them with natural dyes from nature.... But I'm getting off topic.

Music. I love it. I always have but it really blossomed when I got my first flute in my hands at the age of 12. There was no looking back then. I liked it enough to get a music degree and now teach flute to some very lovely students (to whom I get very attached).

I love all types of music and feel I can appreciate all genres for the passion and skill it takes to master them. Even the dreaded opera which non-music people seem to shy away from.  But my taste in music is definitely not high-brow by any means. I love film music. Yepp. Actually, when watching a new movie or television series I can often guess the composer. Like the great John Williams. The man composed the music to Star Wars, ET, Superman, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, etc.... so how can you not love him? I recently watched "War Horse" and was absolutely enchanted by the music. John Williams, of course. There are tons of other film composers that I enjoy too but I'll save you the long list. A favourite though is Howard Shore's music for Lord of the Rings.

I also LOVE impressionist music. So I'm a huge fan of Debussy. But I like me some Bach too. Bach is great for relaxation and I often turn to Bach when I'm stressed. I'm a big fan of Aaron Copland, THE American composer. LOVE Copland. "Fanfare for the Common Man". I get goosebumps e.v.e.r.y.t.i.m.e. I listen to it, without fail. Every time.

But I'm going to leave you today with Copland's "The Promise of Living". The build up to the 5:01 minute mark is just incredible. Even the title, "The Promise of Living" puts a lump in my throat. I would be very surprised if this music doesn't touch you in some way. It makes me thankful.

So here's to a thankful day, my friends.

Cute as a Button.

The pretty pink sweater is done!! Not a surprise actually since once I get started on something it's pretty hard to put it down. But we've had a really busy and very enjoyable Easter which didn't leave a lot of time for knitting. Still managed to sneak in a few hours here and there. And when it was all done, I needed 5 buttons. I love buttons!! Really, I do! They're just so....cute! And I found the perfect buttons for Rebecca's sweater today in Lyngdal. Finding the perfect buttons is just about as satisfying as finding the perfect pattern.

And she likes it too.

 

Personally, I think she's cute as a button!! 

Also noteworthy today is Rebecca's eye patch. She's far sighted and her right eye turns in sometimes to help her focus on something close to her face. It's improved since getting her glasses but it's still turning in a bit. So eye dr said today she'd like to try patching the good eye for 3 hours a day for 6 weeks. Groan. Rebecca hates it. So do I. But we're going to do our best. 

I asked Rebecca if I could take a picture of her with the patch. She said yes but that she was not going to smile. I totally get it. So here's Rebecca with eye patch not smiling. 

 

Still cute as a button though. 

 

Pretty in Pink

I'm addicted to yarn. Truly. I could spend hours in a craft shop just looking at all the different colours, and fibers and various grades of softness and thickness. The only thing better than a store that sells yarn is a bookstore. I could pack a lunch and camp out.

However addicted I am to yarn, I am VERY good at only buying for specific projects. And I'm pretty good at not starting a new project without completing the current piece. So I had just finished a crochet vest for Rebecca to try to use up some alapaca yarn (I heart alapaca!) I had left over from a sweater I knit Rebecca this winter. And my fingers were itching. It's Easter vacation and one must make a little time for the finer things in life, like sipping on a good cup of coffee while sitting in my comfy corner of the couch and knitting the evening away. So I had bought 3 skeins of Sandnes Duo yarn in a gorgeous powdery pink. Without having a project in mind!! Unheard of. So I could not rest until I found the perfect little piece to make. So I turned to my favourite website, Drops. This place is brilliant. All kinds of free patterns in both knit and crochet and really great tutorial videos. If you're a knitter, or even a wannabe knitter, you should definitely check this place out. I've spent many an hour browsing. And they have the patterns in all kinds of languages which is great for me since I prefer to "knit in Norwegian".  Anyway, I found the perfect little project for my pretty pink Duo yarn.

I think it's sooo cute and perfect for spring. Ahhhhh! It's a satisfactory feeling to match a yarn to the perfect pattern. So, fingers itching as they were, I've already begun. 

 

Rebecca's says, "That's the best colour!"  You can never go wrong with pink. At least not in this house of 3 princesses. 

Including, but not limited to...

It's Sunday again! Time goes by so fast it's downright frightening. I have to say, I was really excited by all the response I got from my last post. So THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by to have a peek.

It's been a busy week, as usual. Which included, but is not limited to, a trip to the indoor waterpark/pool in Lyngdal, a looong trip to Evje to change the tires on the car, a carsick 3 year old who threw up all over herself and her carseat, family movie and a big bowl of candy, Emilie spending the weekend in Denmark with her best friend, and Rebecca "spending the night" with Madelen in her room (a VERY exciting event, in case you all didn't catch the level of anticipation behind that statement).

And we're just about done the hallway. We didn't manage to get everything we needed this weekend but we're 99% done (except for the new light fixture) so I've decided to share the finished product . Drum roll please....

 

I love it! :D

And also worthy of mention this week is Easter vacation!!! Rebecca and I have 2 weeks off, the 2 older girls get 10 days and Sindre gets a 4 day weekend. Yipeeeee!! And with Easter comes Easter decorations! The girls LOVE to decorate for holidays. I'm kinda picky at Christmas about what goes where but at Easter, I just let them do it all themselves. And it's just stuff they've made at school and daycare but they think it's just soooo fun to be able to decorate and decide themselves where to put things. I think they did a pretty good job.

 

What do you think?