Oh yea

Also, I'm gonna make sure to answer questions. Since I have like...4 loyal readers, I better treat them good!

So starting with the last post, mom asked me when it will stop snowing here. Everybody keeps telling me..May. I don't know if they are just scaring me, or if they are serious. I have also heard that is when the snow will for sure be melted away. Ugh.

Sofia, we don't have a date here. Nor do we have plans. It's merely for legal purposes! :) Sorry!

This is ketchup! :) Felix is the most common brand, but I don't particularily like it. It's kind of thick and weird tasting. I usually buy Heinz for myself! :)
The Swedish word of the day is "flaska" which means "bottle".

Plans

Wow, planning planning is my life now. Since (even though its 5 months away) we are moving back to Kansas, we have to start the complicated process of moving ourselves over there! Firstly, we are getting married here in Sweden. Then determining if we should apply for Fredrik to be a permanate resident of the US here or in the US, then getting to the US, then planning an actual wedding! Whew! Busy. Then we have to think about setting up a new life in the US. House, car, phones, bills, jobs...2010 is the most adult year of my life! :)

Things here in Sweden are cold and snowy. I know it's been horribly cold in the US, but it has been here as well. It also snowed here many days in a row and hasn't disappeared. I'm so impressed with my snow/ice driving abilities, especially with a manual transmission. It certainly widens the car search up quite a bit, if I don't need to rely on 4 wheel drive and an automatic transmission. What a strong woman I am, eh? :)

Here's your normal thing of the day.

This is...duh...milk. It's pretty similar to the US, color distinction between the different percentages of milk. Here in Sweden though, they are incredibly lactose free friendly, which for me, is awesome. They have everything from milk to sour cream, whipping cream to cream cheese. I love it! The other thing with this milk is the date it expires, along with other products such as cheese and bread. Here, they use fresh products and A LOT less preservatives, which is so healthy, but things go back really fast! So the day this expires, throw it out! Once I bought Fredriks favorite bread and we didn't finish it all and I didn't think twice about just leaving it in the cupboard. But when we returned after the weekend, the 2 pieces left were COMPLETELY green. Fredrik was absolutely horrified I let that happen! It is pretty disgusting, but how many of us Americans leave a loaf of bread in the pantry for weeks and can still eat a slice?

The Swedish word of the day is "mjölk" which is "milk" and is pronounced "myuhlk".

With the New Year

...comes new things. To go along with my Swedish word of the day I thought some of you might like to see some normal everyday things, only Swedish style. I know a friend asked me to take some pictures of the grocery store for her and her husband, which I have not done...sorry! But this might be an ok substitute untill I get the courage to walk around a grocery store taking pictures, like a real tourist. So...enjoy.

Start simple, this is butter. There, as in the US, are many different brands. You might be wondering what the blue thing is that it sticking out on the side there. It's a Swedish butter knife. And well...since Swedes eat butter on just about everything at every single meal, they just want to have theirbutter knife handy, so they just keep it in the butter! Clever.The Swedish word of the day is "smör" which is "butter" and is pronounced "smuhr". Kind of an ugly word, if you ask me! ;)

A New Year Story

More food, good friends, some games, a lot of fireworks, lots of booze and a great New Year's kiss! Here's to 2010!

A Christmas Story

A story in pictures. The food they made, the food I made, gifts, Christmas trees, my new family, lights, laughs, snow, ice and my fiance! :)

This bridge

Last night Fredrik and I headed out for an hour and a half long walk to this bridge. Fredrik lives on a big hill in Sweden that looks over all of Gothenburg, so last night our short walk ended up being a walk to this bridge. We walked half way across so we could see the amazing view. It was really exciting to walk across such a huge bridge! I'd never done that before. I think we are going to make it our goal to walk to as many such places as we can. Good exercise and new experiences! That's what the New Year is about, right? :) Wonder where we will go today?

The Swedish word of the day is "bro" which is "bridge". No, it's not short for brother. :) This bridge is called the Älvsborgsbron.

Gott Nytt år!

Last night we celebrated New Years 7 hours ahead of all my friends and family! We spent it amongst really wonderful friends! Sofia and Anton hosted a dinner and party. New Years in Sweden is something I will never forget. It's Swedens version of the 4th of July! Fire works galore! It was really spectacular. At 11:45 we all wrapped up and got our warm clothes on and trecked outside. People started fire works and we counted down and opened champagne! It was truly magical. Kissing your honey, in a foreign country, under hundreds of fire works, in the cold, with snow and ice all around...doesn't get any more romantic! :)

The bus ride was also something I'll never forget. We met a lot of fun, crazy, drunk Swedes on our 1 hour bus ride home. Fredrik talked to some folks, some people figured out I was American, and that was pretty exciting. We talked to 4 gay guys about being engaged. It was actually really fun! And go Sweden, for having such great public transportation. It was comforting to know none of those people were attempting to get home by car.

I promise I will post pictures from my whole festive holiday! We have 1 weekend left, and by god, I'm going to enjoy it!

Welcome to 2010! :)

The Swedish word of the day is "romantisk" which is....yes..."romantic".