It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

With predicted snowfall for tomorrow, I'm hoping it really will look like Christmas by the end of the weekend!  For me, Thanksgiving is really just like a Christmas preview... and between the two days are really where the fun is at. Bring on the Christmas music, the twinkling lights, the snow gently falling, and Christmas cookies.  It's all fair game after Thanksgiving is over. And, because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want, Christmas music is fair game whenever I feel like it. And that happens to be now.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

Whistle While You Work

I have recently become obsessed with whistling songs.  Not only are they catchy and impossible to get out of your head, but their happiness is also contagious.  But you don't have to take my word for it... There are so many new whistling songs, and they're great! So listen to them. And be happy :)

I heart Foster the People.

Not a new song, but one of my new faves.

Peter Bjorn & John-Young Folks

...or P.B. & J

Thank you for making your non-retirement worthwhile, Britney.

Makes me wish I was going to the State Fair.

And then there are the classic whistlers.

The Stranger-Billy Joel

Always Look On The Bright Side of Life-Monty Python

Patience-Guns N' Roses

If you're not whistling along by now, there's no hope for you anyways.

and lastly, This song is so great, I had to learn it on guitar.  Pretend that I'm able to match pitches while whistling and it will sound much better :)

Hyviä Hetkiä Helsingissä

 The trip to Finland started with a minor case of motion sickness.  I was fine on the plane, but taking the bus from Vantaa to Helsinki was too much for my stomach.  A few stops too soon, I just had to drag Mom off the bus before I blew chow in some unsuspecting Finn's lap.  We walked across the road to sit down and orient ourselves and found our first market, Hakaniemi Market complete with a quartet playing jazz music in the middle.

Once we found ourselves on the map and walked along the Baltic Sea, we came across the Upenski Cathedral, an eastern orthodox church that was built under Russian rule in 1862.

Next we found our Hostel and dropped off our luggage. And yes, I said hostel!! It was a cozy little place in the design district downtown.  Although we were hardly there, getting up early and coming back late, we still met a nice couple from Barcelona and a strange, eccentric old couple from god-knows-where. I hope I'm still traveling when I'm in my eighties! 

This was a Lutheran cathedral in the middle of Senate Square.  It was the most unbelievable sight, standing at the base of the steps and looking upwards at the huge church, backed by a blue sky.  A bit of history on the church: when Finland was annexed by Russia, much of Helsinki was burned, so a German was commissioned to build the impressive senate square and it was dedicated to the tsar of Russia.

We stopped at a traditional Finnish cafe near senate square, and I ordered Karelian pies... Lets just say, the salad was delicious!   Since it was around 3 in the afternoon and we were the only people in the restaurant, the waitress, dressed in traditional garb, took the time to chat with us.   She was really excited when I told her I was studying Finnish, and I could actually understand her Finnish when I asked her to speak a little slower :)

Esplanad Park was a beautiful, tree lined park with flowers and statues galore.  At one end was market square, where we made many stops for souvenirs, cherries, pulla, and coffee.

Then there was the fanny pack incident...  Mom has a slight obsession with carrying a fanny pack while traveling.  Although I am wholeheartedly opposed to this, I've accepted that it's useless to resist.  Nonetheless, when the plastic snap on her fashionable little bag snapped while we were walking, I couldn't ignore the irony.  It was obviously a sign! A couple hours later, we walked by a secondhand store that had some bags and purses, so of course, Mom goes in to buy a replacement fanny pack. She came back out with the. most. hideous. fanny. pack. in. the. world. period.  Later that evening, when we sat down for dinner at an Italian restaurant, fate smiled on me once again when the plastic snap broke again.  I tried not to laugh, since mom was upset by the loss of two fanny packs in one day.  Of course, mom bought another when she found one at the market, but there was one glorious day on the trip that was fanny pack free :)

My favorite day of the whole trip started with pulla and coffee from the market, and a ferry ride to Suomelinna.  

Suomenlinna is an old island fortress that was built under Swedish rule in the 18th century, but then taken was over by Russia.  Now it has many museums (all of which we visited, of course!) but is also a trendy island to live on, with a population of about 800.

After almost a whole day on Suomenlinna, we took a bus to the open-air museum on Seurasaari.  This island was just as amazing, with it's old buildings and people dressed up in traditional clothes.

Walking off of the bridge from Seurasaari, we saw this footbridge.  It was a little sketch, but of course we walked across.

It led to an iron age market place.  On some weekends, they sell food typical of the time period (800 ad) . Since this wasn't one of those weekends, we just walked around the grounds and explored a little.

This temple was almost hidden underneath the rock, and you can just barely see it's bronze dome sticking out at the top of the hill.

We were walking along and came to this beautiful sight of shirts hanging out to dry above the intersection.  

We went to soooooo many museums. And every single one of them was amazing.  This exhibit of temporary homes was in the Helsinki Taidemuseo (art museum).  There was even a standard tent set up with the label, "North American camping tent." Hilarious.

Senate Square again.

In the secret dungeons of the Ehrensvard museum on Suomenlinna.

View of Suomenlinna from Helsinki.

It was the most amazing trip of my life, and I'd go back in a heartbeat! Oh and did I mention singing at a karaoke bar with Mom? Priceless.

After being back for so long, I'm sure I missed so many good details, but for now, that's all folks!

Oslo

Part 2 of my Scandinavian journey was a wonderful week in Oslo...

I'll try to remember all the details of my trip, but since I've been back for a week already, the events may have become a little out of order. Bear with me here.

The first day in Oslo, we went to the Folkemuseet which  was a huge open-air museum complete with old wooden buildings with grass on the roofs and traditional dances in the courtyard.  The Stave Church (above) was built in the 1100s and the dragons perched above the gables show how some aspects of paganism stuck even as Norwegian religion changed to Christianity.

After the open-air museum, we walked over to the Viking Ship Museum.  Even more amazing than I had expected.   These ships were built somewhere around 800 a.d! Un.believeable.  

And the museums kept coming.  We walked to the Kon-Tiki Museum where we saw the reed boats that Thor Heyerdahl made for his historic journeys, and Kon-Tiki, a balsa raft that he sailed from Peru all the way to Polynesia.  

The next day, we walked to the palace, and enjoyed the hot weather (minus the nasty Minneapolis humidity).

Next, the sculpture park, snapping a picture in front of a pouty baby, that's very famous, apparently. 

The hot, sunny day suddenly turned into a downpour.  We huddled under the trees for shelter, but then just decided to embrace the rain and view the rest of the park.

Day 3 in Olso (I think...) We drove to a beach on a beautiful fjord.  Crowded, but beautiful.   On the way back, I even managed to drive the wrong way on a one way exiting a roundabout.  I'm sure our parents in the car behind us nearly had a heart attack when I quickly put the car back into reverse and drove back into the roundabout.

Finally, the day came when we had to say goodbye to Kari and Katie. :(

Our wonderful host family was back to work on Monday, so we walked over to the Munch museum.  It was one of the most interesting art museums I have been to yet, started with a documentary of Edvard Munch's life and followed by a collection of very interesting paintings.  This was my favorite, surprisingly not his painting,The Scream.

Finally, we walked through the botanical gardens that were near the munch museum.

The next day, we headed out bright and early at 4:00 am to catch our flights, Dad going back to Minneapolis, and Mom and I to Finland.

Sunndalsøra

The trip to the cabin took over 20 hours, but the breathtaking view and the wonderful people
were so worth the trip.  

We made a point to swim in the fjord every day, rain or shine, midday or midnight.

There were blueberries everywhere, and Gerd taught us how to make blueberry kabobs.

We tried out water skiing on the fjord.  Dad was a pro, but all I managed to do was plow water.

After four days of relaxing, swimming, fishing, and eating Gerd's delicious meals, we started on the long trip back to Oslo.  I got to drive the 10 hour trip, and it was an unforgettable experience, seeing the mountains and fjords and driving on the narrow, winding roads.  

Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining

After my mini-blogging hiatus, here's my week in a nutshell:

We went back to good ole' Owen for the fourth of July weekend and had a great time.  The first night we were there, we attempted to fill the pool back up.  Unfortunately, the lining was being stubborn and kept slipping off the side walls.  Finally, after a lot of sweating, bug bites, and snarky comments, we got everything up and started filling it up.  Just in the nick of time, too.  As we were putting the last pieces on, the thunder and lightning started.  We were afraid the the wind from the storm would just come right in and undo all of our hard work.  It was a joyful sight when we woke up to find the pool still up and filling in the morning.  Then, once our haying was done with, I practically ran to the pool just to sit in the shin-deep water. Our hopes were dashed again when we saw the lining now had a big hole in it.  So, last weekend I also said goodbye to a big part of our family, and where I spent most of my summer days: our pool.

On Saturday we went down the Black River with a couple of friends, and it was the best. day. ever.  Kayaking is just my kind of relaxation.  You get to be stuck on a river, where you're not allowed to do anything besides paddle and think.  

Other than that, I haven't been up to much besides spending an entire day trying to shop for a backpack online for our trip to Norway and Finland.  I finally found one though!  After about six hours, I drew the line and just picked one.  Bleh. I need to pinch this post off and stop blabbing.  

White Blank Page

So it's Wednesday already, and I still haven't come up with a new artist to listen to for the week.  I have been playing guitar however, so you can't say I haven't been doing anything.  This is my new favorite song to play, and I'm sure my roommates are so sick of hearing it over and over again.

White Blank Page - Mumford and Sons

Artist of the Week: My Morning Jacket

This weekend, it really hit me. The real world crept up, tapped me on the shoulder, and told me that I'm not a little girl anymore.  I have a job. My friends have jobs.  Do you know how hard it is to hang out when everyone is working? DO YOU?!  But, during my short trip to Duluth, my friends and I still managed to go geocaching at Jay Cooke State Park, walk by the lake, drool over million dollar houses, and catch up after not seeing each other for over a month.  What does this have to do with the new artist for the week?? Just hold your pants on, I'm getting there...

So while Haley and Ellen were both at work, I was spending some quality time with Cath. Now, don't let her age fool you... she has great taste in music (and can rock a black eye like none other).  As I was happily burning myself a stack of cd's, she mentioned the band, My Morning Jacket.  "Never heard of 'em," I said, and had already sent them to the dusty recesses of my mind.  However, destiny wanted me to listen to this band.  When I went on my grooveshark account, My Morning Jacket popped up on the indie radio! It was fate. 

Sewing Project

Not so long ago, I made a summer to-do list. I was inspired by seeing the dresses that my roommate made, so number eleven on the list was to start sewing...
I brought one of my mom's sewing machines from home along with a big box of material (courtesy of Susie and grandma.)  I was full of good ideas for all of the cute dresses I was going to make and was exited to get started. Unfortunately, I remember why I hated sewing when I was younger.  I'm a stubborn girl who doesn't like to be told what to do, so would I want to follow a pattern? NO.  I'm determined but impatient, so would I precisely measure everything out, pin it neatly, or iron the seams for good measure? NO.  So the product of my ill-placed enthusiasm was two sad pieces of material that possibly could pass for a lumpy tank-top.  Not willing to give up so easily however, I moved on to a project a little more manageable for me... headbands!

Ok, they're not amazing, but I had fun making the little flowers.  I think Martha Stewart would be proud.

Artist of the week: Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea is a Canadian rock band whose songs draw from sea shanties, songs used to synchronize the movements of sailors as they went about their work. The best part about this group is the eclectic mix of instruments: fiddle, accordion, bagpipes, mandolin, concertina, tin whistle, etc. etc.

Bouzouki

bones (what?!)

This song is probably my favorite... I know it from somewhere, since I was singing along with. But I have no clue from where.   It really reminds me of Gordon Lightfoot. Which reminds me of listening to public radio on Sunday evenings in the kitchen with my parents.

Isn't it funny how the littlest thing can be so comforting?  After being away from home for a year, I love it when I wake up in my bed at home to the sound of Dad listening to Bob & Tom in the morning.  I don't even listen to what they say, it's just a conditioned response where I know it's going to be a relaxing morning of crossword puzzles and coffee with my Dad.  

Speaking of Dad... I bet not many Dads can say they get two Father's Days in a year. Mine can. Apparently Father's Day is next Sunday, not today.  Who knew?

A Musical Education

Right now, I'm reading a book called, "My Education," by William S. Burroughs.  I picked it up at the library the other day when I was wandering aimlessly around and recognized the name from "Naked Lunch." I brought the book along to Lake Calhoun today to read as I lay on the beach.  Unfortunately, it has been one of those books that you just can't get into.  I turn the page and realize I couldn't tell you anything that I just read, so I go back and reread it.  It's not like me to give up on something, so I just keep trudging through this story of Burroughs' strange dreams.






I decided to take a break from this book and embark on my own sort of education.  Not about dreams, but a musical one.  (However, I did have the weirdest dream the other night, complete with mini jumping alligators, the Titanic, and hundreds of rabbits bleeding out of their ears...) I love music, and like with anything else I really love, I feel like I should explore it more and learn everything there is to know.  But there is so much music out there, how can you even begin explore it all?  But as in all journeys, it starts with a single step, and step one for me is to pick an artist I'm not familiar with and listen to their music for a week.  I know I always have big ideas, and I don't always follow through, but hopefully I'll do this for the rest of the summer. And blog about it of course!

Artist #1: Motion City Soundtrack

• Indie rock/punk rock band from the one and only... Minneapolis!!
• According to wikipedia, they have been described as "too diverse to fit into just one particular genre."
• influenced by Ben Folds, one of my personal heroes :)

No Sweets Summer

It's June! Can you believe it folks?!!  And do you know what that means? Not only does it officially feel like summer, but it's also officially the start of my No Sweets Summer. (and yes, it's capitalized because that's what I officially named it!) My first test came today already.  As you may already know, I am a sucker for bargains and free things.  That's why when we had lunch break for our strengths seminar, I went to get free Jimmy John's from Northrop Plaza. Sadly, there was free ice cream there too! But since that would be the biggest fail in the history of dieting, I refused free food for probably the first time in my life.

In other news... I was at home for part of last week and had a great time seeing old friends and catching up.  I feel like I got a good dose of the outdoors before going back to summer in the cities.  My five days at home were complete with sand volleyball, rock picking, mud bogging, weeding, grad parties, bonfires, and best of all, slipping around in an almost empty, scummy pool.  No one drained our pool before winter came this year (typical parents, can't do anything without us kids) so we were working on draining it completely and then cleaning it out.   For some reason, Katie and I had the bright idea to go in there when it only had a couple inches of water left in it.  After slipping and sliding around in the nasty water, we both bring one foot back to kick water at each other. Suddenly, I was flat on my back, dazed and confused.  Lifting my head, I looked past my toes and saw Katie lying in the same exact position, looking just as surprised as me.  Funniest moment of my life.  

Indiana

What is it about music that makes me play guitar until the skin peels off my fingers? I don't know.  But since I couldn't think of anything to write for my blog, I'll just show you the evidence of 2 hours of guitar playing (and my endless love for Jon McLaughlin).

Spring 2011 Fashion Trend: Drenched Rat

My day started at 6:40 this morning.  No I did not have work. Or class.  Why, you ask, did I get up? ...That is a very good question.  I had decided to cheer my sister and her boyfriend on in the 5k they were running (loving sister that I am...) but when I woke up and saw it was raining, I almost crawled right back in bed. But I DIDN'T.   Biggest regret of the day.  The day continued as follows:

Late start getting out of the house
Detour on west 94, making us completely lost
Arrive at race at 8:05 for an 8:00 start
Cheer the runners on in the pouring rain next to a Chatty Kathy policeman
Kari and Ethan, running machines that they are, still beat a bunch of people :)
Hop in the driver's seat to drop Ethan off at work
And here comes the best part of my day... Driving Ethan's van into the bricks on the side of his driveway.

And just think, if it were any other weekend morning, I WOULD STILL BE SLEEPING!

But I do actually enjoy the drama of a good thunderstorm.  I just biked home from a friend's apartment, once again, in the pouring rain.  It's a satisfying feeling, once you reach the point where you don't even care that the water is dripping from your eyelashes and blurring your vision. Or that a car just whizzed by, splashing the biggest puddle of water onto you and your bike.  And then my favorite moment, when you reach your front door and decide you're having too much fun to quit now, and start dancing in the rain.  Then, after you have reluctantly entered the house, you introduce your drenched rat look to the roommates and begin the process of spreading your clothes all around the house to dry out.  Possibly followed by a nice cup of hot chocolate.  With mini-marshmallows.  Then, you go and blog about your wet, wet day and hope the drenched rat look becomes a fad so that you don't have to worry about the rain cramping your style ever again.

Summer To-Do List

This is my first summer in Minneapolis, and my first summer away from home. I promised myself that I would not go back to being a waitress in my home town and spend the summer counting down the days until college starts again.  As glad as I am to be in the middle of a lively city with an interesting job, I will definitely miss home. The hot and miserable days of baling hay or picking rock, followed by a refreshing swim in the pool.  The trips to rock dam with my classmates.  4-wheeling in the woods and making a stop at grandma's house to eat cookies.  Horseback riding.  Tanning naked on the deck and then running for the house like a crazy person when I hear a car driving up the driveway.  Eating carrots straight from the garden... I could go on and on.  But I won't.  The objective of this post is to make a summer bucket list to keep me busy (besides my full time job).

1. Make a trip up to Hermantown to visit friends and cheer Ethan on in Grandma's Marathon.
2. Concerts, concerts, and more concerts! ...hopefully some cheap indie bands that I have never heard of :) but also Backstreet Boys and Fleet Foxes. No big deal, but I am SO EXITED!!!!!!!

               
3. Bike trips around Minneapolis
4. Monthly visits to Godiva for my free truffle. By the end of the summer, I'll be able to give recommendations on the best flavors :)
5. Dance nights at First Ave
6. Get in shape to run some 5k's
7. Volunteer at We Can Ride, helping disabled kids ride horse
8. Trip to Norway?! Cross your fingers :/
9. Learn sign language from my sister
10. Practice my Finnish
11. Start sewing my own clothes
12. Plant some flowers
13. Write my blog! :)

You'd think I could come up with more than 13 things to do, but I'm drawing a blank.  Stay tuned for posts of me actually doing these things :)

Bunk-beds are the devil.

I have come to this conclusion after the long and arduous process of assembling my childhood bunk beds in my temporary room with my sister.  It sounded too easy to be true; just four boards to screw into the headboards, and voila!

First mistake: screwing in one end before checking if the other end fit.  Second mistake: assuming the board was backwards instead of the headboard.  After many trail and errors, we had every piece in the right place.  Let me just say right now that my sister isn't the most capable of carpenters.  Despite being very smart and athletic, she's rendered useless when ever a big project crops up.  Probably because I tend to get controlling and tell people, "just let me do it myself!"  (Even at a young age, I was telling the old ladies at church, "Myself!" when they'd try to zip my coat)  So... when I say "we" in this story, I actually mean "I."

After a lot of sweat, swearing, and creative thinking, the bed was put together with the bottom bed perpendicular to the top.  Smart, right? Well, I didn't feel so smart when I tried climbing up and the bed swayed back and forth. After only some slight screaming, I shimmied back down to the steady, solid floor.

So, if Kari and I are found dead in the morning in a pile of broken wood and headboards, my biggest regret will be that I only made it to my second blog post.

Number One

Reader beware: this blog is not for the intellectual, the well-traveled, and especially not the gifted musician.  This blog will have no unifying theme, no words of wisdom to pass on, no guides to better living... maybe someone will find some entertainment value in it, but mostly, this blog will be an attentive listener to my random thoughts, a polite audience as I learn to play guitar, and a diary of sorts, detailing the mundane aspects of my everyday life.  

You may read something like this....

Today I had my first Campbell's Soup at Hand.  It was weird.  Notice I did not say ate... that's because the container is glass-shaped, the noodles are iiiitty-bitty, and you simply sip sip sip.  My stomach couldn't decide whether it was a food or a drink.

or watch something like this....

::now I know you're at the edge of your seat wondering what exotic and crazy thing I will try tomorrow, but just try to be patient.

This girl needs her sleep now.