When did I become THAT girl?

I got a 4-piece set of luggage the other day. It was a necessity, so I was thankful for a whopping 50% off the original price. Although, I'll be honest, I didn't pay for it. I didn't steal it either, in case that crossed your mind. My mom paid for it, but it wasn't a gift, and I also don't have to pay her back (as far as I know). In sum, the origins of this new, beautiful, wonderful, amazing luggage is unknown at the moment, and probably won't be decided until later. Really though, I don't mind. All the pieces of my champagne colored Samsonite spinners are in the back bedroom, perfectly accessible for oogling and admiring at my heart's desire.

And apparently, my heart desires a look here and there pretty often. I can't help it! It's just so....beautiful...

I never pegged myself for a girl that would fawn over luggage, of all things. I also never pegged myself for a girl that would fall in love with a boy from another country, or a girl that would MOVE to another country for a boy. In addition, I never thought I'd cry when I saw myself in a wedding dress (that simply shocked me!). But here I am....that girl I never pegged myself for.

Interesting where life takes us, isn't it? If you told me, my freshman year of college at San Diego State, that I'd meet an absolutely wonderful guy from Norway and be moving out of the country for him, I'd say "Get outta town!!" And never think twice about it. But that's what I'm doing and it's actually the most perfect thing I could do. Yes, there are details that are most definitely not perfect, and while I dwell on those not-so-perfect things sometimes, now is not one of those times.

Now is the time to say "kudos!" to myself. Now is the time to celebrate the love that has come into my life. The love that makes me better, helps me up when I'm down, makes me smile, laugh, see new things, try new things, appreciate more in life, and love others more wholly.

...Wait. How did I even get to talking about that?!? Didn't I start this post with luggage? And now I end it with love?
In any case:
- hooray for luggage!
- hooray for being me!
- hooray for love in my life and good things to come!

My First Trip to Norway (Part 1)

I can't believe how fast time is going by. It's been 2 years since my very first trip to Norway. Not knowing what to expect, two of my best friends came with me and somehow managed to support me AND give me space to spend time with Stian in a foreign place during our 10 day stay.

First impressions? It was very gray, although we actually had some very nice weather while we were there. I loved the cobblestones in Bergen (although my disdain for them grew after a night out in heels...), as well as the charm that came with the city. The picture above is one like every other tourist that has been to Bergen has taken before me, and will continue to take after me. See the charm of the old and crooked Bryggen? Not only do I have pictures of it, I also bought magnets of the little structures. They live on my fridge and are currently my pleasant reminder that I'm moving to this place in just a few short months.

More first impressions. I appreciated the differences - the old combined with the modern. I liked that there was a castle (or a fort? I might need to start looking up some details...at times like this I wish I had my mother's travel memory -she can remember every DETAIL about every place she's ever been..), just a short walk from the Bryggen, which was just another short walk to trendy shops. One of my favorite pictures is on the grounds of that castle/fort:

Ahh, I love that picture. The cannons in a row, the leafless tree, the Norwegian flag. I remember walking through there thinking "oh my, this is beautiful." Little did I know, the beauty I would behold later in the trip would constantly take my breath away.

When our stay in Bergen was over, we hopped in the car and drove for quite some time. We had to get on a few ferries to get across the fjords. If you don't know what a 'fjord' is, that's okay. I didn't know either until I met some Norwegians (who were also appalled that I had never heard the term). The picture at the top of my blog is a fjord. Breathtaking, huh? I took that in the summer in Stavanger, after a long hike up The Pulpit Rock. In another post, I'll show you more pictures of it, but for now I just want you to catch a glimpse of a fjord so you know what my blog is referring to. The fjords, by the way, are all over Norway, requiring ferry rides to get to many places.

At the end of winter/beginning of spring, it was cold and windy, but what a fun experience! Not sure I need to go out on the ferry deck in March ever again, but I'm glad I did it then.

Next stop? You'll have to wait until Part 2 of this post! :)

Three Grand? No Big Deal...

The prospect of buying a one-way ticket to anywhere is slightly frightening. What's even scarier is how much they cost these days! For some reason, a one way ticket to Norway is double the price of a round trip ticket. It makes absolutely no sense. Stian can fly from Norway and back again for $1800 (umm..yikes?), but booking the same flight for me one way to Norway costs $3450. All I have to say is "WHAT THE #*^@!!!!" How does that even make sense? And why must this be one more annoyance on our overly long list of hoops to jump through in order to convince the universe that we should be together?? All we want to do is fly to our new home together after the wedding without draining our bank accounts entirely. Is that so much to ask?

I'm prioritizing and creating a plan to convince airlines that this is unacceptable. Plan #1: Threaten to go to the papers about how a certain airline, which will certainly be named, is tragically keeping two newlywed lovebirds (who are also quite poor at the moment) apart despite all their best efforts to be together after 2 years and 5,200 miles of time and distance between them. Note: I will be as dramatic as possible, and I think this is a good start.

I'm also open to suggestions.