The first of my many ramblings...

This is the car in which I try not to kill innocent people in on the way to the grocery store.

Here in Denmark, there are lots of challenges..some big and others not so big. One of my challenges is that I don't understand things people are saying... I am getting better at hearing the words separately instead of one big jumbled conglomeration of strange vowel-consonant combination craziness. I am learning that I can understand more when I am listening to the family talking because I am familiar with the rise and fall of their particular voices. I learn new words every day and I feel much like a child, so at times I feel full of joy for learning something as simple as the word for "weird." But I also find it quite frustrating and I want to kick something because my brain is so old and full of dust bunnies.
I read an entire children's book in Danish to the children today. I think I got most of the words right and because I had read that one with Kasper already, I could translate it and understand most of it on my own with little help. It's so funny, but I was really proud of myself. I, of 32 years, am proud of myself for reading a children's book. :) ha!
Another challenge is the grocery store. Yes, seriously. It starts when you back out of the drive way... take care to not hit the insane cyclists on your way out. Down the road you drive, over various speed bumps that are bigger than your actual vehicle. One of such speed bumps takes you into one lane and you must take turns with the drivers coming the other direction. Pay close attention to elderly drivers as they attempt suicide in such situations. Once you have arrived at the grocery store, make sure you bring in your 10 kroner coin because the carts cost money! But don't fret too much, you'll get your coin back when you return your cart. Now you enter the world of crazy Danish grocery shoppers. If you come at a busy time of day, you are in for a real treat. There is no talking, no greeting of fellow shoppers, no excuse me or pardon me... they keep their eyes on the prize. If you go to one of the more expensive stores, you'll find things are in a fairly decent order, but don't expect to find things you are used to in the states. You won't find fat free raspberry vinagrette or Little Debbies. You won't even find those delicious coffee creamers that I am still having withdrawls from even though they are called International Delights (as pointed out by Jenny today). If you are a bargain shopper, like you know I am, those stores are only vaguely maneuverable. It takes a special person to say they love Netto. :) I'll get there one day. Once you make your way through your grocery list, giving up on half (or more) of the items, you proceed to the check out counter. They look the same as in SC, but they're not! They scan your groceries like usual, you put your card in a funny way, and then... I hope you brought your own bags or have really big pockets because (plastic bags are for sale), guess what? It's time to bag your groceries (you better do it quickly too!). So, now that you have an entire cart full of groceries, with your own bags stuffed full because you only brought 3, you start to walk out of the store. Wait! You can't take the cart out! So, then you must pick up those over laden bags, run to the car with your arms aching (cursing yourself for having bought so much and thanking yourself at the same time for giving up on the other half of your list), and pray to God that your bags don't break. Then you are in your car again, breathing a sigh of relief, but make sure you don't let your guard down too much because you still have to drive home again with elderly people and cyclists all about just waiting to scare you!
But in all seriousness, the food here is wonderful. It is really nice to know that you can go to the grocery store knowing that all food is organic and you can feed your children with confidence. I don't think they realize what a treasure it is to have that as a standard. So, I am grateful on many accounts for the crazy grocery stores. There are many more adventures in the grocery stores, I am sure of that.
I meant to tell you about other things as well, but it seems I've taken to rambling, which I am well known for, but hopefully you were at least mildly amused. It's good for me to get these things off my chest. :)

Herlev... that's pronounced Hair-Lou...

It's a sunny day in Denmark today and I must admit, nothing beats the Danish summer... when it's sunny. :) It is breathtaking! You can sit on your terrace in the sunshine feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin. And just right as you feel you might be getting a little too warm, a sweet breeze blows over and you can smell everything fresh, green and alive. Yes, nothing beats the Danish summer... when it's sunny. Nevermind the 6 days in a row that it's cold and rainy. The sun on these days has made up for all of that and then some. Unfortunately, I think we will have cold and rainy again on Saturday. So it is, and I will count down the days until our next Danish summer day. :)

Things here are going well. We are continuing to settle into our home and have just completed our 3rd trip to IKEA. I think I might hate the place now. ;) The kids now have all of the furniture they need and it's all put together too! This afternoon we will be putting up their lamps in their rooms and then placing different lighting around the house. The kids rooms are great with different colors and cute decor, the rest of the house is still black and white and tan. It will take some time to add some life as I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for. The dishes are white, the glasses are clear, the place mats are black... even my coffee mugs are white! Does that sound like the Allison you know? ha ha! We'll get there, it just takes time.

Our shipment has not arrived yet as it was stopped in Germany for inspection. So, we are hoping against all hope that it arrives on Friday so that it will give us the weekend to unpack it and have it done before I leave to get the children. If we don't get it Friday, it will be Monday! I am so ticked off about that. I knew we should have sent it earlier... Ugh. But as Kasper always says, "it could have been worse," and they could have lost our boxes altogether.

I haven't been running here yet, but I've done a lot of walking with Scout. Our town is beautiful, charming, and full of summer flowers. I haven't run yet because I have had one of those all-too-common Allison stupidity injuries. I fell on my butt... I mean really hard. Don't ask... just know it was dumb and I have been paying for it since last Friday!

Scout is doing really well. She was nervous at first about all of the changes when she all of a sudden was living with us again, but I think she has settled in to her new home now. She even understands Danish now... probably better than I do!

My Danish... well... my broken, South Carolinian drawled Danish... it's interesting. I am understanding more everyday, but I have not been reading like I should be. I am checking out some children's books as I leave the library today and I will be reading them to Kasper before bed. What a lucky little fellow he is! ;) It's funny that sometimes, like today, I will leave the house and when I get somewhere, I get surprised by the Danish! Because at home, we have no tv, no radio, no internet, and at home we speak English. I know that will be changing very soon. Kasper is just trying to take it easy on me because of all of the changes going on.

Speaking of Kasper, I saw him play in a soccer game last night. It was so fun! He played with his company's soccer team and they won 5-4. The weather was perfect for it and it looked like so much fun. I know the kids are going to love watching him play as much as I did. He did such a good job. I was really impressed! :)

There are silly things I miss like my Splenda and yummy coffee creamers and things like a bathtub edge I can shave my legs on. I miss the grocery bagger at the grocery store or even just bags (you have to buy them here if you don't bring them), practical things like internet service (now the date is June 29th!), my own cell phone, my own car , but mostly... I just miss the children. I cannot wait to get my arms around them and kiss them all over their sweet faces! Okay, I can't write about that anymore because I'm in the library and I'm crying! Less than a week until I see them again... Well, I need to get outside before the weather turns on me! I love you all and miss you much! I will try to keep you all posted on Danish life as I know it. :)