two months - are you ready for this?

Cause I have LOTS to write about today. I should probably break this all down into three separate posts, but I think I'm going to try and break out the "outline" format. I haven't done an outline since college...we'll see how it goes. Before I do so, let me keep you posted on the daily happenings of my life - this past weekend was pretty good. Laid back, mainly. I had dinner with the family on Friday night for Joakim's birthday, and that was fun - me and Annelie decorated for Halloween, and they ordered in deer meat (I asked if it was venison, and she said, "Nooo...it's baby deer." So, like...Bambi? I think it was venison, they just don't have a name for that) and these really good mashed potatoes and mushroom soup, and we had the Swedish version of cheesecake for dessert. Saturday I lazed around until the evening when I met up with Philly, my au pair friend from New York, and we met up with a Dutch girl from her church and went to an international film festival...that was Finnish. We thought it was Swedish, and it's not like it'd make a big difference to us, language-wise, but we were still surprised when we found out at the end of the night it was brought in from Finland. It was interesting. We saw a Finnish band play. Then we went to a bar in Stockholm that's out on the water front. Also interesting, had an eclectic group of people. I didn't stay so long...this Sunday morning was church, and then lunch with Philly. Tonight I'm going out for pizza with Anna, the au pair across the street. It's our Sunday-evening ritual.
So - now that that's out of the way...on to the outline.

PART ONE - my current faves

Since I've been in Sweden, I've been discovering products that I didn't know about in the US, and I LOVE them! So I'm going to share them with you.

A.) Dr. Stuart's Tea - Skin Purify



I purchased this tea at Le Grande Epicerie in Paris, and it's just amazing. See, I'm not really a tea drinker; I would much rather drink 4 cups of coffee rather than one cup of tea. But lately I've discovered honey and I can't get enough of either thing - tea OR honey. So I bought this tea cause I thought the packaging was pretty, and I'm a sucker for anything that promises to purify my skin. It needs it, I think. Most teas I've drank have had a bitter taste to them that even the milk and honey can't neutralize, but this tea is incredibly good with just a little bit of honey. And on top of it tasting good, I think it actually works, cause my skin has been pretty glowing and soft lately. But I could also attribute that to my next favorite thing...

B.) LUSH Angels On Bare Skin facial cleanser

No, this is not some kind of weird sushi...this is my new favorite cleanser. I discovered the store this past week, and let me say, it's the perfect place for me to blow my my measly salary. The store sells bath and beauty products that are all-natural, and their stuff seems to live up to their name. They have a huge selection of soaps that smell so sweet - I bought Honey I Shrunk the Kids, a honey and coconut scented soap - and facial products, and hair products, and bath bombs, massage bars...the list is endless. Anyway, I've been looking for a new facial wash, but wasn't sure what to buy, so stumbling onto this product was perfect. The cleanser is for normal skin, and it has rose essence, ground almonds and lavender oil in it. Here's the thing about it that I love - it's a cleanser and an exfoliator, which usually leaves your skin feeling dry and sensitive after using it a couple of times. But this stuff has a thick, almost oily, texture to it that rinses really clean and, after using it for a week, my skin definitely, definitely looks brighter and feels a lot smoother.

C.) Swedish honey, AKA honung


I LOVE THIS STUFF. I never used to like honey in the US, for some reason, but the honey here is so good, I could eat it right out of the jar...just like Winnie the Pooh? I put it in my tea and on my toast, and I think it's responsible for converting me from having my morning coffee to having my morning tea. I asked someone why it's in a jar, and has a different texture than the honey in the US, and they said it's cause it's so fresh. This stuff you literally spoon out of the jar, and it's thick and tastes just like it came off the honeycomb.

So, there you have it...my current 3 Favorite Things. I think you can purchase the tea at GNC in the States, and there are Lush's in the US, but probably only in the big cities. The honey...can't help you with that one.

PART TWO - Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

I spent this past Friday with the kids, since they had just returned from the States and didn't have school this past week. I got a few pictures of our day - not many, just a couple of Sixten and Kasper rough-housing, which is a universal display of love between brothers, I think. We also got a couple shots out on the lake that I took using the timer...some turned out, some didn't.

Kasper's got him in a headlock...

Sixten's going for the stomach...

This kid has COOL written all over him. I mean, what 3-year-old wears jeans that have guitars on them?

Klara and I out on the dock, trying for the 13th time to take a picture.

Our one (and only) attempt at a timed group shot...Klara is obviously sick of them at this point

I also realized I hadn't posted any pictures of my cottage...at least, I don't think I have. I've done some decorating of my own since moving in. It's a small, little place, but it's really cozy and warm, especially when I light the candles and dim the lights...so nice and romantic for me, myself and I.

This is the view from the window in my kitchen, taken just the other day around 2:3o. The sun has been setting here around 4pm, and will just get earlier and earlier...

This is my kitchen...

This is my little bedroom, which is parallel to the kitchen, just up a step.

Last room of the house, the bathroom. Those glass doors resting on each other? That's my shower...they open up to form a box.

So, that's where I've been living for the last two months. Which leads me to...

PART THREE - THE TWO MONTH MARK

I've been here 61 days now...hard to believe, although it doesn't necessarily feel like it's gone by quickly. In many ways it feels like I just arrived, and yet it seems as though a lot has happened since I've been here. I've celebrated my 26th birthday, been to northern Sweden and France, ate moose meat and caviar for the first time, celebrated 3 birthdays with the family already, went to a Finnish film festival, drank Swedish beer and British cider, and so much more...made more friends than I can count on two hands (pretty good for only two months in a completely foreign country), found a great church to attend where I'm already part of a Bible study and helping out at events, regularly going to Swedish spinning classes at my gym(I'm the dork in the class straining "up the hill" with my head up cause I don't want to miss the next instructions). The best part about all of this is that I love working for this family - the kids move into my heart a little more every day, and the parents are so thoughtful, kind and generous that I can't help but be overwhelmed at how BLESSED I am. Some would say lucky...I say blessed. Only God could give me such good things.
There's so much that I've been learning about myself since I've been here. The things that I used to pride myself on are being brought down...I am constantly being humbled by the Lord. And it's so good for me. I'm developing this new excitement for my future; a new excitement to the idea that life is WIDE OPEN to me, and that my dreams don't require the prerequisites I once thought I needed to see them fulfilled, like a certain education, or a husband, or being in the ideal location. There's a lot of things that still scare me, and lots of rough spots that I know God is preparing me to make smooth, which is often a hard process. But I'm ready for it, I think.
I will say, every young person should try their hardest to live abroad...it is a life changing experience.

I'm a sleepy head tonight, so I think I'm going to get my pajamas on and hit the sack...read for a while, maybe? I recently discovered the library and there's TWO whole shelves of English books. I was so happy when I left there with my pile of books...that I'm sure I'll return late and have a fee to pay along with my parking ticket :)
Have a great week!