FAR FAR AND AWAY!

Separated again

2011-02-11T14:46:00.008+01:00

Once again I am back in Denmark, leaving my husband behind to further my education in the hopes of creating a better future for us, (and to satisfy my own selfish need to be an independent educated woman who can contribute and potentially take care of her family on her own, if it came down to it). Yes, I could have taken some classes in the States, but for some reason it just worked out better to go Denmark for a semester. Now when I am here I do have a hard time getting my act together and focusing on school. I admit this week has been somewhat of a joke regarding my studies. Many hours have been spent chatting with friends and family, playing with nieces and nephews, looking for plane tickets for Kyle to come and see me or for me to go and see him, and postponing the inevitable trip I have to make by train, dragging my overweight suitcase and way to many handbags with me fromCopenhagen to Kolding, a city two and a half hours from here located on the peninsula where my parents live. I will do this tomorrow...Sigh!

It is nice to be back although it has been raining most days which I have been venting about on my own blog limolinolium.blogspot.com. Here's few pics from my first few days in Copenhagen.

Rain, rain and more rain

Nephew

Yes, this is lunch. Leverposteg (liverpate) and over-medium eggs on Rugbrød (Rye Bread).

Happy to be here.

Missing this.

Blizzard Weather

2011-02-01T23:39:00.016+01:00

Today, as the Blizzard is roaring outside my window, making the outside world seem as one big white mass where nothing really exists, I am thankful that I have the opportunity to simply sit on my sofa, browse the Internet and indulge in a few guilty pleasures, such as watching Gossip Girl or Grey's Anatomy, while sipping my third cup of coffee. Yes, I admit, I should fold my laundry and take this sudden opportunity to be house bound to do those domestic chores that too often are ignored during the week. But my theory is that since the snow is making the outside world slow down for a few moments, it should slow down indoor activities as well. How often do you get to just sit down and do nothing?

While dreaming of another snow day tomorrow, I imagine I will spend it outdoors, walking through drifts of snow, building a snowman or even sledding at the nearby neighbourhood hill. I will be outdoors until my cheeks are cold and gloves are wet, until my friends are tired and the laughter and play is coming to an end. Then I will go home, snuggle up under a blanket, read a book while drinking a hot cup of tea. I will be thankful for everything the day had to bring.

As you can tell, I plan on enjoying this winter weather. Hope you will have the opportunity to do the same! Happy snow day everyone. Be safe.

- Linn

Restless Me.

2010-05-11T01:41:00.009+02:00

A couple of weeks ago Azuree took some pictures of me for her photography class. One of the assignments was to model with your hands by your face, which truly at the moment made me feel really awkward... There's something so unnatural about looking into a camera and beautifully placing your hands on your face:) This weekend I randomly took some pictures with Kyle's iphone and found it funny that we were all sitting with our hands by our faces. It made me think of Azuree and her assignment.

Kyle

A very contemplative Hannah.

I am desperately longing for school to be out, so I can go home to Denmark. Part of me wishes I would dare to be careless and just take off leaving all my obligations behind. But I would never be able to pull it off. I really need to go home though. I miss my family and friends so much. Also, I think I just need to get away for a while. Have a break from reality and responsibilities. A break from my always contemplating self and instead surrender to laughter and pure fun with friends I've been missing. It will be great.

Kyle just took his final exams last week and the semester is truly over. It makes me happy to see him simply sit around dreaming about our summer vacation together and playing the guitar. I always know he is happy and relaxed when he plays music and talks about traveling.

Oh, come June, come! I can't wait any longer!

April

2010-04-25T23:51:00.038+02:00

It was in April that the sun decided to come out and drive away the dark and dreary days of the all too long winter season. We had been looking forward to this without daring to hope that it would happen so soon. As the sun made the days warmer, we went outside with the rest of the people breaking free of our hibernation. April was filled with wonderful bicycle rides with Hannah, lovely dinners with Kyle, one Air concert, one anniversary, one unexpected and indescribable funeral, one field trip to the Field Museum, many troubled conversations planning our summer vacation, and one final decision. The further April progressed, the more restless I became, and as I am writing I have so much hope for the summer that I can barely stand having to go through May to get to June. Even the kids in my first grade seem to be ready to move on and have a break. However as my mother wrote in a letter to Kyle and I: "Time moves so fast, but we must remember to enjoy the present." So I will try to enjoy the present, and keep my restlessness at arms length by trying not to always live in the dream of the future. If the weather keeps up, I see no reason to not enjoy May.

Here is a few pics from our April.

Walking to church on Wilson Avenue on the evening of Good Friday/Langfredag.

Watching dogs enjoy the sun at Montrose Beach

Missing Gunnar

Clean Beach

Kyle saw this poster at while working at Joe's and sent the picture to me. It made me laugh.

Kyle and The Wiitala Brothers after getting hair cuts at the American Crew convention.

Biology

80 Degrees Fahrenheit/ 26 grader Celsius and Sunny.

Vi savner Vesterbro!

Field Museum

This goat was being a little inappropriate.

Sue

Vi så dette billede på Field Museet og syntes, det var en sjov udtalelse. Udstillingen viste billeder og selvbeskrivelser af forskellige amerikanere, der har mere end en national oprindelse.

We saw this picture at the Field Museum and found it pretty funny. The exhibition was about people who have more than just one origin ( which I guess is most people in America).

Our future home?

Ari & Avner

Breakfast at Pancake House.

Min bryllupsdagsgave til Kyle. En hjemmelavet t-shirt af Larry David fra tv-serien Curb Your Enthusiasm (Den originale amerikanske version af, hvad der i Danmark blev til Klovn.) Teksten under billedet siger: "Pretty...pretty...pretty good!"

Det bedste var at Kyle elskede gaven.

My anniversary present to Kyle. A homemade t-shirt with a print of Larry David from the tv-show Curb Your Enthusiasm. The caption under the picture reads:

"Pretty...pretty...pretty good!"

The Best was that Kyle loved the present.

Søndag eftermiddagskaffe og liljer fra vores bryllupsdag.

Sunday afternoon coffee and lilies from our anniversary.

A pretty amazing month all in all. We wish everyone a happy springtime.

Vi sender især mange tanker til jer, vi elsker og savner derhjemme. Vi ses snart. Indtil da håber jeg, at i må få et dejligt forår.

Masser af Kærlighed,

Linn

A year has gone by.

2010-03-26T23:07:00.031+01:00

Incredible how time seems to pass one by so gently that one doesn't even notice how it slipped away so quickly. It's been over a year since our last post. Once again we have relocated from Copenhagen to Chicago. This time as a married couple who the last eight months have been trying to find their own standing place as a couple but also individual after yet another move, leaving the Danish friends and family behind - and reconnecting with the America friends and family. I have to say, for me - I would not have been able to get through the move this time, had it not been for the friends I already had in Chicago. Uprooting and creating something new is one of the hardest things to do, especially if you are content with the life you already have. It helps to have friends in the new place who understand you or at least are willing to listen to you when you are having a hard time.

But there are perks in being an intercultural couple. You get to see things and have extraordinary experiences you would never have had if you stayed put where you were. Here are some of the moments that might seem ordinary but that I have appreciated since our last post.

Getting married on the first sunny Saturday in Copenhagen last April.

Honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand.

Riding in Tuk Tuk's in Bangkok.

Rabbit's in a Thai Market.

Shopping in Chinatown - Bangkok.

View over Bangkok from our 58th floor hotel room's balcony.

Talking with my sister and her husband on Skype.

Birthday party at Benihana's in Wheeling, IL, of all places.

Friends

First Snow

Christmas Tree

Yes, this is me and Vince Vaughn Christmas shopping at Williams Sonoma together.

Passing time at a diner in Green Bay while visiting relatives.

Risengrød

Merry Christmas

Starbuck's moments.

Last Snow

Falling through the ice covering Montrose Beach.

Now I am desperately waiting for spring to come, and looking forward to what new adventures life has to bring this upcoming spring and summer. It's already beginning... To quote the rather cheesy line of Phil Collins: "I can feel it coming in the air tonight..."

, Linn

Back to the land of Danishes and Royalty.

2009-01-29T21:07:00.003+01:00

What a lovely late christmas with the family, seeing friends and the wonderful people of jpusa again. We love and miss you all already!!! Thanks for wonderful memories and great times! 6 months and counting...................

Here's a bit of randomness from our return flight. I'm trying to put a few more videos up, but the uploader seems to be acting rather strange...? We'll see...

new years in cph!

2009-01-01T22:15:00.000+01:00

Quite possibly the most amazing new years eve i've ever experienced...

our first tree.

2008-12-22T11:37:00.016+01:00

before and......

after!!!

Many more photos to come. Currently being a bit picky with my photos...stay tuned.

Danish Christmas Playlist.

2008-12-20T20:13:00.005+01:00

Been getting in the Christmas spirit and figured you may enjoy a bit of what the Danes consider Christmas tunes. Listen, close your eyes, and you'll think your right here next to us in the wonderful winter wonderland we call...Denmark.

Here's our picks:

1. Queen-Thank God It's Christmas.
2. Wham-Last Christmas.
3. Shakin' Stevens-Merry Christmas Everyone.
4. Darleens-It's Going Be A Cold Cold Christmas.
5. Elvis Presley-Blue Christmas.
6. Mariah Carey-All I Want For Christmas Is You.
7. Brenda Lee- Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree.
8. Darlene Love-All Alone On Christmas.
9. Diana Ross & The Supremes-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.
10. Doris Day-Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.

Earthquake...

2008-12-16T23:52:00.003+01:00

Before getting a haircut this morning, I found out from my hair dresser that I apparently slept through a mild earthquake last night...

Check it out...

I'm thankfull for...thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T23:02:00.000+01:00

Today we had an amazing American/Danish thanksgiving dinner courtesy of emilia's (linn's cousin) mother and father. From the cranberry sauce to the pumpkin pie...it was all there. I was highly dreading the grim thought of missing thanksgiving, but thanks to the fact that emilia's father is from Texas......we were able to eat until I could see the tip of the turkey leg in the back of my throat. Yes, I ate everything that was on my plate...

A day at the park...

2008-11-24T15:28:00.010+01:00

Before church we spent the morning enjoying the fresh snow and wonderful Frederiksberg Have.

First snow......first snowball fight.

2008-11-24T14:56:00.000+01:00

And the winner is......

Just can't stay awake...

2008-11-20T14:51:00.002+01:00

It was about 5:30 pm and emil still had about 2 hours still until bed. So I thought it would be best to attempt keeping him awake for fear that come 4:00 am he would be wide awake. Much help I was...

Fun Fridays in CPH

2008-11-15T10:29:00.003+01:00

Yesterday, Kyle and I went to a CSS concert at Lille Vega in Copenhagen. We had so much fun. For some reason I was expecting the singer to be this really cool looking french singer, (I really don't know what I was thinking, since they are a Brazilian band???) but she was this little dark haired tomboyish girl, that was just jumping around the stage dancing however she felt like it, while laughing in between singing. Everyone in the band was just wearing jeans and t-shirt and some of the girls had randomly painted themselves with gold dust on their faces. They were all just so laid back and so much fun. I guess it makes sense, since CSS is for Cansei de ser sexy - tired of being sexy. I just never put two and two together before. In concert the music had a real garage band feel to it, which is cool since all music seems to be so overproduced lately. I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!!! If anyone has the chance to go and see them: GO!!!

Speechless...

2008-11-05T13:57:00.000+01:00

happy birthday to me!

2008-11-02T12:12:00.006+01:00

It was a good birthday! I started the day with linn, taking part in two separate brunches......one with the family and the other with of few of our good friends. After stuffing our faces full of nice danish roles and pastry's, I opened some pretty cool gifts. This is what I received:

1. A pair of CSS tickets from linn.
2. A Bodom stove-top espresso maker from myself via my wonderful mother.
3. A stove-top milk frother from linn.
4. A children's book in Danish from linn's parents...with all sorts of great stuff to learn (I now know how to say airplane and dump truck!).
5. A HC Anderson short story book in Danish from linn's parents (I could be wrong, but I think they may been hinting at something...?).

Later that night after hanging out with friends and indulging in tasty, yet way-to-expensive cheese and bread at around 6'ish or 7'sh, me and linn then went out to the most wonderful and cozy French restaurant for dinner. We opted for a 3 course menu......having duck, salmon, scallops, and a chocolate cake with mango sorbet that nearly made me wet myself. In all, it was a wonderfully spontaneous birthday. Something I think I ought to do more often...?

le pavé restaurant

Matt sent this to me this morning...

2008-11-01T08:55:00.000+01:00

Perhaps it's not that bad after all...

2008-11-01T06:50:00.003+01:00

Nothing like waking up at 5:30 am on a Saturday morning! Can you sense the sarcasm? Well yeah, sure my ideal Saturday morning doesn't consist of a 5:30 am wake up call and three dirty diapers. But at the same time, the feeling of being with the little one, watching the sun rise, feeling the cold morning Copenhagen air, and having my morning latté......somehow felt, nostalgic. Though i'd rather not admit the defeat of my pride, I kind of enjoyed it...despite being quite negative about the thought of it the night before.

Anyways, here's a quick video I took off my phone, of which has been the source of all my photos and videos (in case you were wondering). Please forgive the excessive puffy eyes and bed head.

Not Really a Halloween Party...

2008-10-31T23:02:00.004+01:00

It's Halloween!!!!! Unfortunately for my young American husband to be, it's not a very celebrated holiday in Denmark. We don't like to be scared all that much... We like our mood to be on an even level at all times. I tried to surprise him with a little Halloween celebration, so I thought I would make crepes for him, carve a pumpkin and then we could watch a scary movie. However I didn't have time to go and rent a movie so we had to watch Corpse Bride. Which I personally find a little scary at times, but I don't think Kyle felt the same.

Then there was the pumpkin. All the pumpkins where green and way too expensive. A medium size greenish orange pumpkin which should have been sold two months ago, costs 15 dollars at my local corner store. Therefore I figured that I would save my money and just make my apartment look really dark. It didn't really have the same Halloween effect though. It just looked dreary.(Speaking of carved pumpkins; yesterday I saw a pumpkin carved as Barack Obama - pretty impressive I must say.)

Anyways, back to our night: So we had no pumpkin, no scary movie but at least we had crepes - kind of... Everyone knows that Kyle is the crepe master, so I had a lot of pressure on my shoulders trying to make him crepes. I really did my best but the crepes however ended up either not sticking together or burn, but only in the middle so they had big holes in them. They were a sorry looking little bunch. Here's my thought though: Maybe crepes aren't suppose to be perfect on Halloween. These crepes would have scared any other of the fancy looking crepes that Kyle usually produces. Hence I think they were actually perfect in the spirit of Halloween. In spite of this I must say that I would prefer the crepes Kyle makes any day.

The Church

2008-10-29T21:04:00.005+01:00

After writing a bunch of different churches and fearing that we would have to have our wedding in the 70's catacomb-like church building that we usually attend, a very nice young Priest said that we could borrow his church for the wedding. We thought that this church at least was a little bit better, so we accepted. Notice the sky-high arches. I love it!!! I think it'll do for a simple wedding ceremony.

http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehemskirken

There seems to be a common theme...?

2008-10-29T16:02:00.003+01:00

This was in the film section in the newspaper this morning on the S train. I thought it was quite funny. In case you can't seem to find the obvious, i'll give you a clue......6 of these films have one thing in common.

Hanging out at the apartment with the little one.

2008-10-28T16:22:00.003+01:00

just a latté.

2008-10-27T15:47:00.002+01:00

Me and linn's attempt at latté perfection.

Good times on the S train.

2008-10-22T21:15:00.006+02:00

Though he looks rather confused and scared, he was actually quite happy...or at least I think so...:-)

The support runs far and wide.

2008-10-22T21:11:00.002+02:00

This was on the train yesterday.

It's a beautiful thing!

2008-10-22T21:00:00.006+02:00

Sick child at 5:30 a.m. (WARNING)

2008-10-20T21:32:00.005+02:00

This morning I was woke up at 5:30 a.m. and was asked to take care of Emil, since he had been up all night, not giving his mom and dad much option for sleep. So of course without "much" hesitation I jumped out of bed as though I was a prisoner of war, and started my day of with a smash. As the first minutes went by, I could only imagine how nice it was to be sleeping and not, to be blunt, the current parent of an awfully sleep deprived and sick, though sweet little baby. So the hours went by, as I fought with him to get him to grab a little sleep before he was back in his parents care. Eventually though I gave up after he continued to prove that playing with my computer was indeed far more interesting than grabbing some zzz's. After putting him back down on the floor to let him roam around, minutes later I smelled what I had soon come to know as I my first poopy diaper. Hurray! So I took him to the changing table after debating on weather or not I should wait for his parents to wake up and act oblivious or just man up to it. So yes, I manned up to it and changed not only my first poopy diaper, but also my first "sick" poopy diaper, which to be perfectly honest in my opinion looks, and indeed smells a whole lot different from the regular business. My gag reflexes were on high alert...

Party time at the Petterson Household!

2008-10-19T20:50:00.000+02:00

Early Morning Christmas Mood

2008-10-15T08:18:00.002+02:00

Could it be that I am already exited about christmas. As I woke up this morning way too early for my taste, it was still dark outside. For some reason that brought me back to the early december mornings in the kitchen of my parents house, where we would sit with candles on the tables and try to forget that in just a few moments we would have to walk outside in the cold and participate in a new days obligations. I'm ready for candles, sweets, christmas music and cheasy christmas movies... Bring it on. I should have stayed in Chicago. Americans understand the early need for indulging in christmas. They'll probably start decorating soon. Here it might take a whole month still. I'll have to be patient.

lille Emil.

2008-10-13T23:08:00.002+02:00

Today was the first of many days to come with the young one. It was entertaining, interesting, fun, though quite challenging at times.

To My Surprise...

2008-10-13T22:15:00.000+02:00

Yes, surprise indeed. Here I was simply caught up in a world of dealing with sisters having babies, fathers running in and out of the hospital, my boyfriend being a million miles away while trying to plan a wedding with me, and on top of everything my bicycle got stolen - the one thing that made my everyday life a little easier, not to say less expensive with all the money I saved in bus fare. When I rode that bicycle along the lakes in Copenhagen while listening to music on my ipod I would always have one of those moments... you know... when the sun falls just right over the water and music, wind resistance and me and my bicycle all worked together in harmony. In those moments I would feel alive, satisfied, and for a moment not even think about the fact that I constantly was missing a certain boy. But then my bike got stolen and my trips along the lakes got replaced by the crowded and humid atmosphere on the bus. I felt like it couldn't get any worse. The world was trying to get me.

Kyle had for a couple of days said to me, that he wanted to send me something to cheer me up... something fresh. I know it would be obvious to associate the word "fresh" with flowers, but in my mind a small hope began to rise as I thought to myself that Kyle himself was pretty fresh, maybe he was in fact sending me himself and just trying to trick me by hinting to send me flowers. Wednesday morning I completely got my cousin turned on to the idea that he in fact was on a plane to come here, and that his late responses to text messages and late night phone calls actually was because he was on his way over the Atlantic ocean to come and swoop my feet away. Yes, we were pretty sure that was how it would be, both knowing that we were making it all up in our heads, and that these thoughts only were a product of weeks and weeks of longing and despair. So, I kept on waiting for the flowers. They never came. Then Kyle called, telling me that he was on his way to starbucks and that he was missing me, and my last piece of hope went away. I knew I wouldn't see him that day. I therefore went about my things, picked my niece up on her parents Christiania bicyckle at the daycare and was happily singing childrens songs while wearing a stupid bicykle-helmet (that is very safe, but not exactly pretty) just to be a good rolemodel, when I saw him sitting there, my beloved with flowers. Very fresh indeed i must say. And suddenly the world couldn't beat me down anyways... At least not for now.

Congratulations Liv, Heine, and Yoko!!!

2008-10-10T21:00:00.000+02:00

This morning at 8:30 am, little Theodor Frodoldt was born weighing 3060 grams and seemingly a million cm. tall.

Success...

2008-10-09T02:00:00.000+02:00

The surprise was a success! After meeting with my wonderful new German/Danish family (Thomas, Alexa, and Emil), jet-lagged and all I hopped on my first cph bus in over a year and headed towards the flower shop. Of course I had forgotten not only that I was quite tired once I had a chance to rest my legs for the first time on the bus, but also that not everyone in cph speaks English......and as you you know well my Danish doesn't really cut it. So...after ordering the wrong flowers from the lack of communication between the flower lady and I and realizing I was now running out of time because minutes from now linn would be off to see her sister at the hospital, I quickly jumped in the most expensive cab i've ever been in and headed off to her sister's house. So yes, to make a long story short she did eventually come home on her bike and as she passed the front door, after a few or so takes she saw me waiting there for her with the flowers in hand (though they were the wrong ones) and my jet-lagged and tired self. She was happy...as was I. THE END.

until later,
kyle

I Have Arrived!......SURPRISE!

2008-10-08T20:00:00.000+02:00

I've arrived! The flight wasn't anyting to remember. It seemed as though it was never going to end. Perhaps that's in part because of my single hour of sleep I had during the 12 hours I was in route. Fortunately it was SAS though and not United or Continental. It's been roughly about 2 months since I saw linn last. I couldn't be more excited...

until later,

kyle

Goodbye Chicago...for now. I'll miss you.

2008-10-08T12:00:00.001+02:00

Welcome!

2008-10-07T12:36:00.000+02:00

Welcome to our blog! We've been wanting to start a blog for some time merely because as of recent our lifes seem to be spent continously away and seemingly everywhere that's not home. We've felt lately that long info emails filled with "this is what is going on in our life" seem to become rather boring and honestly mundane after awhile, so istead of forcing you to read those emails you can now be let go from that pressure and read at your leasure. So yes...this is our life, our thoughts, and the randomness that follows in between...

until later,
linn and kyle