Red, White, & Blue

Happy Easter everyone! I am officially back in the United States and right back into action. Luckily, adjusting to life in Michigan again has been easier than I had imagine. Although I still struggle with the time difference and find myself siting up around 3:30am wide awake, I can't express how nice it has been to be back in my own home and with friends and family. The only thing that will make it better will be having my husband return, which is only ten days away!

Stepping outside your comfort zone by choice helps you grow as an individual, makes you more independent, and allows you to be ready to handle whatever life throws at you. Sweden was that for me, and I will never forget what I learned and the people I met because of it. They will be friends for a lifetime. During this experience, I also was able to find my voice in writing, and have been working on my first novel. (Mostly just for fun, but watch out for updates!)

That being said, there is definitely something to say about the comfort of being surrounded by the things you are familiar with. I think it might be part of my type A personality, but routine makes me feel at ease. New things and the unexpected are exciting, but it is best to be able to share these moments with friends and family.

My beautiful office

Getting back into working at the office has been more fun than one would think! I know that it sounds like a cliche or a gimmick, but I am someone who loves my job. Although with modern technology the business world is truly flat, I much prefer working in my own office than over a computer and through Skype.

Now that I'm back in town, I can't wait to catch up with my friends, spend time with family, eat my favorite foods, and, I can't forget to mention, shop for sales!

Thanks for everyone's love, support, and prays through this journey. Rob's team continues their post season play with a big win today! Now it is on to the Final Four next weekend! Go Nassjo!

I have many exciting events and opportunities to share throughout the summer and hope to continue to use this blog to keep everyone updated, so keep looking for more upcoming posts!

Keeping everyone up to date on what's going on, on my mind, or in my sights, no matter where I am!

Next Stop...Rome!

This is definitely an exciting post for me...I am happy to share with friends, family, and whoever else might be reading this blog, that Rob and I are heading to Rome this week!

Rob and I have planned a trip to visit Rome from Thursday through Sunday since he doesn't have a game this weekend.

From Sweden the plane ride is only about two hours and costs are considerably less than planning a trip from the States to Rome. I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to visit this magical city for the second time in my life. Thank you Trevi Fountain for helping my coin toss come true!

Trevi Fountain - First time in Rome

Although this is the second visit for me to Rome, this is Rob's first time there, which makes the trip even more exciting for me. It might sound like gushing, but I truly love visiting new places with my husband because he is such a happy person. He loves to see new sights and take in new experiences. Traveling with him is never stressful and always very memorable.

We are going to be staying in a bed and breakfast just outside Vatican City. At this point, we have broken our travels into two main days; one in Vatican City and one for the Colosseum and Ancient Rome surrounding areas. It is hard to say what I am looking forward to the most, but the Colosseum is one of my most anticipated locations. I know that Rob is going to love seeing this and I can't wait to see his face as we walk in!

We have had to save our money, count our pennies, and cut back on groceries, but it is all worth it with this incredible trip planned. I have been counting down the days, and in typical Type A/girly fashion, my outfits have already been planned!

Please let me know if you have any travel tips or recommendations! The city is so majestic that there are always new things to discover!

Can't wait to share with everyone after our trip!

Return to Sweden & Blogging!

I must apologize to my readers, my friends and family, for the long interval that I have not been blogging! As my last post reported, Rob and I took a wonderful trip to Stockholm before heading home for the holidays. Since then we have returned to Sweden, have been adjusting to the time changes, and Rob has been working hard on the basketball court.

I'll first share a bit more detail on the trip that Rob and I took to Stockholm because it was fantastic! Stockholm is a vibrant city that I am glad that we got the chance to explore. The first night, we arrived late after Rob's basketball game, which the team had won! We decided to walk a little bit around the city and had dinner at a fun Italian restaurant called Vapiano. At the restaurant you would approach a bar where they would make your food in front of you. Different from anything I have experienced, they gave each of us a card to have the bar swipe all of our purchases on. When we were done for the evening, we took the cards to the cashier area in the front and they tallied the costs.

The next day Rob and I walked the popular streets for shopping. We purchased a few items and continued to Old Town. The area was very cute, with old buildings and tourist shops. There is a small town square in the area and we were lucky to visit during a Christmas market. It was fun to be a part of! We also came back to Old Town for a romantic dinner, and from here we hopped back on a train to Nassjo and then to Copenhagen to catch our flight back to the States.

It was wonderful to be back home in the States. Although we were home for two weeks the time flew by way too fast! With Christmas and New Years, our time was full with celebration. Luckily, we were able to spend a lot of time with our families and visit some friends. Before we knew it, we were heading back to Sweden!

Since we have been here, Rob and I at first struggled to get adjusted to the time. Still we find ourselves staying up very late, but I have been able to wake up early still to work in the mornings. Not usually a night owl, it makes me want to take nap before dinner time! Problem with this is that if I do take a nap, I will never be able to fall asleep at night! I found it much easier to adjust to US time during our visit than coming back to Sweden.

It feels nice to be back in Nassjo. Although it is still hard to be away from family and friends, Rob and I have discussed how the town feels like another home. We feel at ease being here and getting back into our routine in Nassjo is a thing of comfort. Rob has played very well in his last two games and will be posting highlights on his blog. Be sure to check it out!

Now that we are feeling more settled, expect more blogs during the week! I just want to thank everyone who is supporting us and making this experience possible. We continue to ask for prayers of health, safety, and adventure!

Stockholm & The States

Over the course of the next few days, Rob and I are going to rack up on travel hours with a weekend getaway to Stockholm and a train ride and flight back to the States.

I am so excited about this upcoming weekend for many reasons. After Rob's teams game on Saturday, we are going to travel to Stockholm for the rest of the weekend. We will then arrive back in Nassjo around midnight Sunday and then leave for our flight back to the States for the holidays around 7:00am Monday morning.

I haven't been to Stockholm yet and am looking forward to a weekend of shopping, sights, dining, and more shopping. Rob has picked out a beautiful and affordable hotel, Rex Petite. We are strongly hoping that the room pictures on the website look like our actually room, it seems a bit romantic!

Rob is looking forward to taking me to "Old Town". The streets are lined with very scenic, old, brightly colored buildings and high quality restaurants and shops. It will so much fun to spend the weekend exploring a new city with my husband!

This weekend getaway will also make the days go by quickly, and in no time we will be back in the States for the holidays. I hate that the total travel time is over 13 hours, but I am thrilled to be spending this time with family and friends. Rob and I have our bags packed and the Hunger Games audio book has been downloaded on our iPhones specifically for this occasion.

Once I have internet access again, I will give an update on our weekend and the trip back to the States. Pray for safe travels!

Learning the Language

I'm approaching on living in Sweden for two months, and I have to admit that I have picked up very little of the language. Most people here speak English very well and are eager to practice. Without the pressure to learn, it hasn't become a priority despite the fact I wish I could! Luckily not all the signage requires words to figure it out.

The younger guys speak English the easiest and have little trouble understanding what Rob and I are saying to them. Girls seem to be more timid and speak carefully, trying not to say the wrong thing.

I am just so grateful that they are willing to talk to me in English! I'd be lost without that. Since we didn't have much notice about coming here, we didn't get a chance to try to learn anything before we came.

Rob has picked up on more than me so far. He had a small head start since he spent time here last year, but I have noticed that it also flows a bit easier for him, and he is more brave in trying new words. Just like the Swedish girls, I get shy and nervous when I try to say something. It feels so strange!I've noticed that the Swedish language has a lot more levels than English which I find a lot more one dimensional. Sometimes I feel my head moving up a down as I try to pronounce certain words!

The other night two of my girlfriends here,  Paulina and Carolin, spent part of the evening trying to help me pick up some important and basic phrases. Type A personality girl here, made up a list including the English version, the Swedish version, and then wrote it out phonetically.

Try out a few of the most basic phrases below: 

• How are you? = Hur mår du? (Her more do) 
• I am good = Jag mär bra (J-o-g more bra) 
• Please = Snälla (S-nell-a)
• Thank you = Tack (Tock)
• Bye = Hej dä (Hey dough)

So for now.... Hej dä!

Turkey Time

I don't want to toot my own horn but beep beep! :) Thanksgiving in Sweden was a total success. I think the idea of cooking a Thanksgiving meal can be intimidating, and therefore scares a lot of people off from even attempting. As you could tell in my last post I was extremely nervous, but surprising it really wasn't that difficult!

During the process of making the turkey, which was named Frank, I referred often to the videos I had found and the notes I had made to make sure that I was doing things right. Rob and I would confer at almost every step; Are we doing this right? In the end, I realized that it wasn't that tough.

For those of you interested here is a simplified version of the steps I took in making the turkey:

1. Take everything out of turkey
2. Clean the turkey  inside and out!
3. Season inside 
4. Stuff the turkey (Cook the stuffing before. Extras? Add to the oven about 20 minutes before the turkey is done)
5. Spread a butter and seasoning combination under and over the skin
6. Season outside
7. Cook at 325 F (Foil on top the first half) while basting every 30 minutes.
8. Serve!

Less than 10 steps. Easy and delicious! In my opinion when making the side dishes, having more people in the kitchen chipping in on the meal makes things more fun. My friend Paulina and I listened to Christmas music while the turkey cooked to get us in the holiday mood. And when the turkey was about an hour away from finishing, she made some scrumptious mash potatoes, David cooked carrots and corn, I made the sweet potatoes, and Rob and David made the gravy. 

Everyone did such an amazing job and when everything was finished, the table was full of delicious food! I couldn't be more proud! We had a few more friends join us for the eating portion of the night and before we dug in we all went around the table and shared the things we were thankful for.

There are so many things that we all have been blessed with and great friends and love ones was at the top of everyone's list! And then finally, we all ate so much that we never were able to move on to dessert!

Sweden Thanksgiving will be a night I never forget. It was great to be able to share one of our favorite traditions with our new friends.

The night made me also appreciate all the times our families have prepared this meal for us. There can be a lot of pressure on making this meal and hoping that it turns out well for everyone to enjoy. I just encourage everyone to make sure that you compliment the cooks and are truly thankful for the love that goes into the meal!

Thank you parents for so many perfect Thanksgiving meals. 

I can't wait to be home with you for the next!

Bossy Around the World

In light of being half way around the world (Moving from small town Michigan to Sweden as a "basketball wife"), I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and create a blog to keep everyone up to date on what's going on, on my mind, or in my sight.

As this is my first holiday away from home, I have been determined to not let my favorite traditions of Thanksgiving be left in the States. Although I don't think of myself as a great chef, I have hope that I can follow directions well enough to cook a turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, gravy, and candied sweet potatoes. A simple turkey day...Well plus inviting our Swedish friends! Can't say that I am not nervous about cooking my favorite holiday meal for about seven people. What I have on my side is that they don't know what a great Thanksgiving meal tastes like!

In all my type A personality glory, I have definitely done my research in the process of getting ready to prepare this meal. I have read a million turkey recipes and finally settled on a few easy videos to follow: How to Cook Turkey & All About the Gravy. Family has also been a big help, giving the "tricks of the trade" on the how to's and how not to. Thank you moms and aunts...I will soon find out if I can give advice to others too!

In corny Thanksgiving fashion, I am so thankful for many things this year. My husband who stands by me in everything, family who sends love and support daily, friends from home, and the new friends in Sweden who have welcomed us, helped us with the language barrier, and have taken us shopping! :)

Moving across the world has not been easy, but it is an adventure that I will always remember.  I have already had many days that I have felt homesick for family & American food (Thank you family for the care packages with all my favorite snacks!), but there have also been many days that I have been so happy that I took a leap of faith.

I am proud to know that my husband and I can live in another country and thrive. I've learned so much and continue to do so.

I am excited to keep embracing what a new culture has to teach me, exploring, and sharing with you all! I'll try to update often!