best husband ever, part #2.

My Birthday!

Thank you, Sean! You managed to surprise me again. I thought my birthday gift was our trip to Gran Canaria, but you still wanted me to feel special on my actual day and I sure did. Thanks for a great weekend. Now I know why you were asking me to clean up the apartment, but I didn't, and you had no choice but to get things tidied up before my surprise dinner guests arrived.

When I walked in the door I almost fell over as I never expect Sean to take away the mess, also called cleaning up, but he almost always adds to it. There were balloons everywhere (thanks to Darius and Ilza) and I wasn't quiet sure what was going on. However, once I noticed a pair of woman's shoes and a purse that's when I knew I was on to something. Someone must be here? For a moment, my heart speed up thinking that someone, a friend or a family member, had flown over to Denmark for my birthday. Almost as exciting, our friends Ilza and Darius came over to celebrate. They even got me a beautiful present, a salad bowl and Danish design.

Sean went all out and cooked a 5 course meal of all of my favourite things:
1. Titled: Steven's Salad - with pomegranate and walnuts
2. Spinach Gommai
3. Mashed Yams
4. Sushi
5. Peanut Sauce smothered over Kartoffler

Dessert was simple - dates and Rittersport chocolate. If you have never tried this chocolate - I suggest the Butter Biscuit.

I love getting older with you babe!

I like quotes and inspiring words - I share this with you

“Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for your convenience, not the callers. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river. Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. Don’t major in minor things. Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Learn to say no politely and quickly. Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Don’t waste time grieving over past mistakes Learn from them and move on. Every person needs to have their moment in the sun, when they raise their arms in victory, knowing that on this day, at his hour, they were at their very best. Get your priorities straight. No one ever said on his death bed, ‘Gee, if I’d only spent more time at the office’. Give people a second chance, but not a third. Judge your success by the degree that you’re enjoying peace, health and love. Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly. Leave everything a little better than you found it. Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life and death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems. Never cut what can be untied. Never overestimate your power to change others. Never underestimate your power to change yourself. Remember that overnight success usually takes about fifteen years. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do. Seek opportunity, not security. A boat in harbor is safe, but in time its bottom will rot out. Spend less time worrying who’s right, more time deciding what’s right. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life. Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. The importance of winning is not what we get from it, but what we become because of it. When facing a difficult task, act as though it’s impossible to fail.”

— Jackson Brown Jr.

best husband ever

I have the best husband in the entire universe.

For our three year, we´ve been together, anniversary he surprised me with a trip to the city of Göteborg (Gotenburg) in Sweden. I had no idea - this man has been so super busy with work these past few week I figured we were going to go out in Aarhus and try the raw food restaurant, Raabar, down by the canal but we'll save that for another day as Sweden topped that idea.

The trip began with a hangover, three and a half hours of sleep, Michael on our couch (a work colleague), and nine hours of travel by train and then the Stena Line ferry - we were glad we didn't waste a day sleeping off a Julfrokost (Christmas lunch that lasts through dinner and nearly sunrise). It was Sean's work Juleforkost and there was plenty of Gløgg, schnapps, and a keg of beer to be drunk before bed.

The hotel Sean booked required you call a head to reconfirm your stay at which point they text you the door code and room number. It was then that I found out that my Danish phone number does not receive texts while in Sweden. We were very lucky to meet a fellow hotel stayer at the door of the hotel who knew the code and thankfully the information had also been sent to Sean's email so we didn't have to sleep on the streets like that time in Heidelberg, Germany. 

The first surprise consisted of a visit to the Julemarked (Christmas Market) that was inside of the Liseberg Amusement Park. It was full of fake snow, a mini petting zoo, an ice rink, and plenty of shops to see and sweets to be sampled. It really gave us the feeling of Christmas. On our way home we stumbled upon a vegetarian fast food joint and crammed our hungry bellies, the hangover left us empty, with fake meat, chips, and a variety of dips.

The second surprise consisted of a trip to the annual outdoor Christmas hockey match. Sean had another surprise up his sleeve, he had booked the Julmatchen 2013 annual outdoor Christmas hockey match. It was quiet a site to see rain on the ice which postponed the match by thirty minutes but the rain stopped and the game went on. Unfortunately, the home team lost but I cheered for every goal made.

On the final day we enjoyed a vegetarian brunch buffet and being together in a new city exploring, we checked out the various neighbourhoods around the city, wandered into Danish shops, drank cappuccinos, and tried to keep our feet dry without success.

Not even a week went by before Sean surprised me again with my Christmas present - a trip for two to the Canary Islands. 

Like I said in the beginning, best husband ever (at least in 2013). 

Sisters

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As

 they talked about life, about marriage, about the

 responsibilities of  life and the obligations of

 adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her

 glass thoughtfully...



'

Don't forget your  sisters,' she advised, swirling 

the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll 

be more important as you get older. No matter how

 much you love your husband, no matter how much you

 love the children you may have, you are still going 

to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now 

and then; do things with them.'





'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women....

your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other

women relatives too. You'll need other women. Women 

always do.'





What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman 

thought. ‘Haven't I just gotten married? 

Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a

married woman, for goodness sake! A grown up! Surely

 my husband and the family we may start will be all I

 need to make my life worthwhile!'





But she listened to her mother. She kept contact

 with her sisters and made more women friends each

year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,

 she gradually came to understand that her mother really

 knew what she was talking about.  As time and nature

 work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,

 sisters are the main stays of her life.




Time passes.


Life happens.


Distance separates.


Children grow up.


Jobs come and go.


Love waxes and wanes.


Hearts break.


Parents die.


Colleagues forget favours.


Careers end.


BUT.........




Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how 

many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away

 than needing her can reach.




When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you 

have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life

 will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, 

praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on

your behalf, and waiting with open  arms at the

valley's end.




Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, 

daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, 

Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended

 family: all bless our life!




Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on

to all the women who help make your life meaningful. 



I just did.

P.S. Thank you to Bree for sending this to me in an email - it was exactly what I needed.