tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66130614663678030462024-03-18T04:49:52.276-07:00Yammering MuseAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.comBlogger779125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-76272976344315664792017-06-18T16:34:00.000-07:002017-06-18T16:34:34.823-07:00Norway Pt.3: Glaciers and Book Fairs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Can we pause for a moment to reflect on how good I look in Norway. I mean, There are no bad pictures of me while I was in Norway. None. Also, oh look, a glacier.</div>
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My first weekend in Norway was pretty spectacular. One of the cast members of this farm, and the lady who ran their WWOOF program, Debbie, also worked in a museum dedicated to glaciers in the next village over. She took us there and we got to mill around the exhibits, which were actually really cool hands on science experiments that explained how glaciers worked. There was also a stuffed baby Polar Bear, and I realized my life long dream of having a pet baby polar bear wasn't going to work because they are huge. In the theatre in the museum there was a panoramic movie of the whole glacier (the parts you'll see are bits of a very large one), with excellent 90's Zen Music and it was both super cool and super made me want to take a nap. Not out of boredom, but the whole snowy scenes, calm music thing was pretty comfortable. Had I a wool blanket and mug of coffee, I would have taken a nap.</div>
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It's like 6+ feet tall.</div>
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On the drive out to the museum and glaciers</div>
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Supphellebreen.</div>
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That's Jana climbing into a hole under the glacier. This is not a smart idea. It's so unsafe. It's also mother flipping cold and totally cool (pun!)</div>
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It's a big hole! Fun Fact, I'm currently wearing this same outfit...</div>
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After the museum we went to the first Glacier on our list, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supphellebreen" target="_blank">Supphellebreen</a>. That sentence feels redundant, because "breen" means "glacier" in Norwegian. That aside, the glacier was breathtaking! And freezing! When we got there the first thing we did was fill our water bottles with water from the river, and I assure you, I have never had more magnificent water. That sounds so weird, but until you've had water from an ancient glacier, you will just have to believe the hype. The drive out there was beautiful and utterly majestic. I actually got a little homesick because there were parts of our drive where the scenery looked very familiar. Those craggy tall mountains, tall trees, and patches of green reminded me a lot of parts of the Sierra Nevadas or Yosemite. Though that is entirely where the comparison ends. Also, and this is totally a stupid point, but we'd been told that you needed good hiking shoes and sensible clothing in order to do this glacier and since I owned neither I hiked the damn thing in a dress and ballet flats because that's how an Ashley do, and also I don't understand the warning we were given...</div>
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A You-Had-To-Be-There Side Note: Before leaving Gunvor, our host, gave us a huge bag of lefse and pannekaker (or pancakes, these are not american pancakes, and they are an excellent snack) that had been frozen. (Gunvor cooked in giant batches and then froze everything so we were constantly handed bags of frozen food items to take out to the fields, which makes sense when you're outside in the heat) She then insisted that we all bundle up because we wouldn't be able to take the cold of the glacier. She was freaking out that Jana and I were wearing dresses, and Chiron had jeans on. At one point when she was insisting we bring extra clothes with us, Chiron and I started laughing to ourselves, looked at each other and now in hysterics asked each other how our pancakes would defrost if it was so cold. (additional side note, we didn't think we'd need the food because we ate five times a day at the farm and had just finished lunch, so the fact that she insisted on us bringing it was funny in the first place.) But this was the first day we discovered that "Gunvor is always right," because we did end up eating the whole huge bag of pancakes and we drank both the thermoses of tea and coffee. And it did get super ridiculously cold, though not quite as frigid as we were led to believe!</div>
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Fun Fact: I didn't realize this until going through photos, but I have a serious love of yellow houses. I took a lot of photos of yellow houses.</div>
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Norway is magic you guys. I cannot say that enough.<br />
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The imaginative child in me decided those spires of ice were an ice castle and I made up a whole story about it</div>
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Our second glacier was <a href="http://www.fjordnorway.com/things-to-do/flatbreen-supphellebreen-p1312283" target="_blank">Flatbreen</a>, which is actually on the other side of the mountain from Supphellebreen. There's a little gift/snack shop at this one, and you can hike up the glacier to a cabin with a view of the whole valley. We didn't do that, but I definitely would love to someday. </div>
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The yellow Hotel of my dreams (fun fact: later on there is another yellow hotel of my dreams...)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cInPdAoY6_hD04GOmSktKn78JV_Cn7fHRYO_8XB4MI6sPyNZkm6A8nJbxK2mGvjePgdnEMqwb_ERVtCgCr8iOKzuouYXOoACUoU9kxaQU2jd50p3dTUcT_UGrqyESvzuRubrKn2oa5XS/s1600/2014-06-21+06.45.45+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cInPdAoY6_hD04GOmSktKn78JV_Cn7fHRYO_8XB4MI6sPyNZkm6A8nJbxK2mGvjePgdnEMqwb_ERVtCgCr8iOKzuouYXOoACUoU9kxaQU2jd50p3dTUcT_UGrqyESvzuRubrKn2oa5XS/s640/2014-06-21+06.45.45+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N5s6GaDhsYGSKgdcC_2ZSBoOmCAGpKzpxyvPBNHJ3XhOk1Vb6L6wwUW_JxAOW3-e7DFMyPnkrVaEBtCm4ewwRFYCd7sVlkHDS6vr0bCCTaZrJyq9LXPG7NaF5uLCrh8iGzj2_VHKge34/s1600/2014-06-21+06.55.10+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N5s6GaDhsYGSKgdcC_2ZSBoOmCAGpKzpxyvPBNHJ3XhOk1Vb6L6wwUW_JxAOW3-e7DFMyPnkrVaEBtCm4ewwRFYCd7sVlkHDS6vr0bCCTaZrJyq9LXPG7NaF5uLCrh8iGzj2_VHKge34/s640/2014-06-21+06.55.10+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bYGrZA2DZJNoC4I-PGZVztN8Vo4eP9PfaXCM1Si82zm_6MY90kW2SPuz9QUp27T9KVzChfoVg06yeAKyYwKPXT7O5Ok4Iq-W6P9q9iSiVNG3GzLol9gqMJR82xh1jI7rAqD8PyAHCQI5/s1600/2014-06-21+06.59.44+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bYGrZA2DZJNoC4I-PGZVztN8Vo4eP9PfaXCM1Si82zm_6MY90kW2SPuz9QUp27T9KVzChfoVg06yeAKyYwKPXT7O5Ok4Iq-W6P9q9iSiVNG3GzLol9gqMJR82xh1jI7rAqD8PyAHCQI5/s640/2014-06-21+06.59.44+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiab2a2zYolwB703wuCiMWi4cjmMw93ubgDk4lsNCi3LwJU0PCfgo9vgzGARd9RvQworCpczheeDVpqtdqQdQBiiC2205DzmeeK_W3YsOKe6tyDZAtloMB8g10FVzTdVZniRumiH7fJIyOR/s1600/2014-06-21+07.25.07+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiab2a2zYolwB703wuCiMWi4cjmMw93ubgDk4lsNCi3LwJU0PCfgo9vgzGARd9RvQworCpczheeDVpqtdqQdQBiiC2205DzmeeK_W3YsOKe6tyDZAtloMB8g10FVzTdVZniRumiH7fJIyOR/s640/2014-06-21+07.25.07+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Illegally double fisting wine in public like a naughty rebellious American.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6On6DbmOocCbbkxSuSGqDaQNaXoECpz2-HjSi_x56Hu2ube2MDDojc_S7CD835QxFdHlYkck-hpfVNwBFiRkCaJbHQE3kv6Mjwrc2zNnjoTjeEo8hUyx68H91U8O9LM09ed7D298DTxuV/s1600/2014-06-21+07.50.59+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6On6DbmOocCbbkxSuSGqDaQNaXoECpz2-HjSi_x56Hu2ube2MDDojc_S7CD835QxFdHlYkck-hpfVNwBFiRkCaJbHQE3kv6Mjwrc2zNnjoTjeEo8hUyx68H91U8O9LM09ed7D298DTxuV/s640/2014-06-21+07.50.59+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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An entire store full of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Heyerdahl" target="_blank">Thor Heyerdahl </a>books that would have made my father weep.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGf3OrJ0E8ZK3phNLPEx0St3xuobylV9w6a9lo7VRGTaRQnmzllZE2wk1awDk9Y7U0UkufW0vGqeItd3sHVp3PNyGM9LtOyV3k9q2RFU-ywVL6ZyBBJVqZlbbqmK0HhLzPjwlbDE0yo2Q/s1600/IMG_20140622_012238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGf3OrJ0E8ZK3phNLPEx0St3xuobylV9w6a9lo7VRGTaRQnmzllZE2wk1awDk9Y7U0UkufW0vGqeItd3sHVp3PNyGM9LtOyV3k9q2RFU-ywVL6ZyBBJVqZlbbqmK0HhLzPjwlbDE0yo2Q/s640/IMG_20140622_012238.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's a hat with trolls knitted into it. <i>trolls. TROLLS!</i> The best $30 I have ever spent.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenHdB65hygbc5r40nEHwYDnQDfSasGMoz-aQPDgWCdzR_B8VHq4VuJTLiPsmz83v5RzGrdXd1uNc51FfeQuiUcJVRuMndFRPwwpBh6_LBvQ5MglSFGSd6x6lMkf2Od3yWYMhAD0eFMNNl/s1600/IMG_20140622_012357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenHdB65hygbc5r40nEHwYDnQDfSasGMoz-aQPDgWCdzR_B8VHq4VuJTLiPsmz83v5RzGrdXd1uNc51FfeQuiUcJVRuMndFRPwwpBh6_LBvQ5MglSFGSd6x6lMkf2Od3yWYMhAD0eFMNNl/s640/IMG_20140622_012357.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Y'all Norway dropped Norwegian Nancy Drew in my lap. for 10NOK each! That's about $6 in total. Also I am quite taken with the moniker <i>Froken Detektiv.</i> </div>
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One of the villages near Flatbreen was known for it's summertime bookfairs. The whole town is basically made up of little (and not so little) book stores, and it was absolutely perfect. There were musicians playing and people milling about with bags and bags of books, stores filled with the smell of cinnamon, hot coffee, and the sweet vanilla of old books. It was really, really magical.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-7630813092210034512016-08-14T21:01:00.000-07:002016-08-14T21:01:43.080-07:00Not Good At This Anymore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxk6AE5TMYKvO7AKFjf2EYKieIHYrlSG2ABvoUqgobpPctmftXWBV6pM9cRM03Jn0CO43h_SD2-rtlJzP2S4SySWkAJjds5mhIo9_RUkvA6oaW90LtG3hJtmJ-jbdgp2Xm6OO2-9eFBbf/s1600/2016-08-14+04.43.53+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxk6AE5TMYKvO7AKFjf2EYKieIHYrlSG2ABvoUqgobpPctmftXWBV6pM9cRM03Jn0CO43h_SD2-rtlJzP2S4SySWkAJjds5mhIo9_RUkvA6oaW90LtG3hJtmJ-jbdgp2Xm6OO2-9eFBbf/s640/2016-08-14+04.43.53+1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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It's looking a little dusty around here...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iFNI28Pu-WX2sz0X9snL3qzZnV9xqB4qrZVLvxjDbow2_ibdbD9jHH4rjtzQ10SyHNNbkNdV7rCo35OzC7Rso0wfhm_3uQSKfy1ZRRIQHjwZKs8btsyMCRqvSUex_NzQCbT4_EWhV32N/s1600/2016-08-14+04.43.57+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iFNI28Pu-WX2sz0X9snL3qzZnV9xqB4qrZVLvxjDbow2_ibdbD9jHH4rjtzQ10SyHNNbkNdV7rCo35OzC7Rso0wfhm_3uQSKfy1ZRRIQHjwZKs8btsyMCRqvSUex_NzQCbT4_EWhV32N/s640/2016-08-14+04.43.57+1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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And my posing is a little rusty too...</div>
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Fun Fact: My DSLR bit the dust, so these are sad phone photos.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotlUY01G1vNIz1MhiW_YpsCsvTI-4YBjKZduaYHDrN5c13cjJdrhlXmNbFXDa0unOARt0AKD5tujHvwSrqNO9r_WpxrRP-jZFrc13ckY4CVRoTYEUxr8zMX92riq1W7glshN8rGsmIcSa/s1600/2016-08-14+04.44.03+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotlUY01G1vNIz1MhiW_YpsCsvTI-4YBjKZduaYHDrN5c13cjJdrhlXmNbFXDa0unOARt0AKD5tujHvwSrqNO9r_WpxrRP-jZFrc13ckY4CVRoTYEUxr8zMX92riq1W7glshN8rGsmIcSa/s640/2016-08-14+04.44.03+1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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What did I even do with my hands before? </div>
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Not the point.</div>
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Hey.</div>
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How are you?</div>
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I'm...</div>
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good.</div>
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Life man. It has been a crazy, wild adventure. I won't go into it all, but good lordy, I feel like I haven't really had a breather since February. It's been a pretty stressful year. But in all honesty, it has been such a fantastic year of growth and learning. I wouldn't trade any of the lessons learned or the utter heartbreak for the world. I'm a better me for it all.</div>
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I've been looking at these last 6 months as a rough draft to an incredible manuscript that will come soon.</div>
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I hope at least.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjBkMkDBlziUuL35BLjndctE8jE81O5QF8PUDYuT0XiEirHoo7U2Pgani5Lt4jcgd2Pya_8MVry2WY3PHi8T7lz3_ULXEy1yGrTUfPIqEgtjx_pImcRzaga-P7Z7SfgrszG3rtL3Q5CER/s1600/2016-08-14+04.44.13+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjBkMkDBlziUuL35BLjndctE8jE81O5QF8PUDYuT0XiEirHoo7U2Pgani5Lt4jcgd2Pya_8MVry2WY3PHi8T7lz3_ULXEy1yGrTUfPIqEgtjx_pImcRzaga-P7Z7SfgrszG3rtL3Q5CER/s640/2016-08-14+04.44.13+1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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[Thrifted Dress| World Market Hat| Thrifted Shoes| Thrifted Necklace| Thrifted Belt]</div>
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But enough of that. How great is this dress? I found it at Goodwill a couple weeks ago and today was the first time I wore it. I walked into Church this morning and person after person complimented me on how lovely it was. It's not fancy at all, a basic knit 70's/80's dress in an odd shade of red, but the cut is so pretty and it's comfortable AF! I actually intended to buy it and rip it apart and make it into something else, but after I tried it on, I really, really liked it. It had an elastic waist but the elastic was shot so I tore it out (literally), threw on a belt et voila! I have a feeling this is going to be a staple of mine this Autumn.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJE414oJY822OW-yHCpDCsnPFeFWn_ueltZA4bHWXPtk6hAmzv7rwT-XNg_t-w-C642WUALumgClaBDAX7Ij74VqmHhIRUkHZi6uIDH-T7FofPyoKp1HY3hi1b3CEy_HlEEPGUap_XwDSm/s1600/2016-08-14+04.44.21+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJE414oJY822OW-yHCpDCsnPFeFWn_ueltZA4bHWXPtk6hAmzv7rwT-XNg_t-w-C642WUALumgClaBDAX7Ij74VqmHhIRUkHZi6uIDH-T7FofPyoKp1HY3hi1b3CEy_HlEEPGUap_XwDSm/s640/2016-08-14+04.44.21+1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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And what's a good half circle skirt without a good twirl?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4kZ1rpWmTFV29e1CKPZabHOIyL3Zb-bvCO1PVMHSElLbpyi5MQd9UapqnqKWS2VDGU5L3r0Np4ESjEowiavR3aNfkakWNQFWBZbY5Q325e_kgU2l7W9SDhQGkfaN1IRmr1fRUUZyQJtL/s1600/2016-08-14+04.44.30+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4kZ1rpWmTFV29e1CKPZabHOIyL3Zb-bvCO1PVMHSElLbpyi5MQd9UapqnqKWS2VDGU5L3r0Np4ESjEowiavR3aNfkakWNQFWBZbY5Q325e_kgU2l7W9SDhQGkfaN1IRmr1fRUUZyQJtL/s640/2016-08-14+04.44.30+1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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And no, I did not develop any grace in my absence. </div>
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Somethings never change.</div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-18518078106082889922016-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:002016-02-02T09:00:24.658-08:00Norway Pt 2: Ølnes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2h-_nqpy6Vm2C_jX0LzUiEhKgKdS5Qr5tDMwbJef1MNYIvhZ8dK93He8G6I9dyi2jqZZ8L2THllwySidCbjtKKOhKFQLV893qhOGF4HEolYliYQfvfH7BhI8jXSq6FaLsuDsq1JLsBJE/s1600/2014-07-19+10.34.22+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2h-_nqpy6Vm2C_jX0LzUiEhKgKdS5Qr5tDMwbJef1MNYIvhZ8dK93He8G6I9dyi2jqZZ8L2THllwySidCbjtKKOhKFQLV893qhOGF4HEolYliYQfvfH7BhI8jXSq6FaLsuDsq1JLsBJE/s640/2014-07-19+10.34.22+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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For part one of Norway <a href="http://yammeringmuse.blogspot.com/2015/08/norway-pt-1-ferry-of-unfortunate-events.html" target="_blank">click here</a>.</div>
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At 9pm, under never ending daylight I docked in Sogndal. I'll go into Sogndal in a separate post, but let me tell you, it was such a cute and charmingly weird town! At the dock was a little cafe that sold ice cream and coffees and rented kayaks and paddle boards to Summertime touritsts, with a patio made out of pallet wood. Instantly I loved it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ji_OKykwcDB0hM7ji8cw-Z3UrErGheJbAeJqLXfJPh837-FUCBI1JB96UqB4w__R4tCI6yWThTVyWfzzgd2vxYdcof4rszNYwUTPRsJS3-WZ8gvL9Lg8bFsC7v4WImrYH_6lSVG_Il1b/s1600/2014-06-18+02.12.14+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ji_OKykwcDB0hM7ji8cw-Z3UrErGheJbAeJqLXfJPh837-FUCBI1JB96UqB4w__R4tCI6yWThTVyWfzzgd2vxYdcof4rszNYwUTPRsJS3-WZ8gvL9Lg8bFsC7v4WImrYH_6lSVG_Il1b/s640/2014-06-18+02.12.14+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The edge of the Fjord. This was a field we spent a whole helluvalot of time raking. You could almost ignore the aching muscles surrounded by this. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDOkFY4nlg5hRAXbfGI82XlJZTQT5Duoj_RSpzRdPSP1ZvkMq0EZplT3poOtUGOnliE9xQJHK3aCcKwOYN0MM0tQ8uaol2PKkDrF_PfjiipAmTJqakh8Y_79N2bAk_pmQmvzSNWfOMLcB/s1600/2014-06-23+02.30.59+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDOkFY4nlg5hRAXbfGI82XlJZTQT5Duoj_RSpzRdPSP1ZvkMq0EZplT3poOtUGOnliE9xQJHK3aCcKwOYN0MM0tQ8uaol2PKkDrF_PfjiipAmTJqakh8Y_79N2bAk_pmQmvzSNWfOMLcB/s640/2014-06-23+02.30.59+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Chiron and his scyth. There was a really hilarious inside joke that prompted this picture and involved ancient tool jokes, and finding the original scyth, so just trust me when I say it was hilarious. #justfarmjokes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLeLhppczRDLiDPgPLSd_okCvAEzf_1zqCfLS-FVoy_Q0VX0ryE5M0iGLIZsECSPRrb1RoL1uD_D8WZUAygiYTjv7L1lIQZKqJWY4ChSQZt6jp-4LUvCSrn8KIhOXHB_IQZgmTua90xz6/s1600/2014-06-26+06.10.44+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxLeLhppczRDLiDPgPLSd_okCvAEzf_1zqCfLS-FVoy_Q0VX0ryE5M0iGLIZsECSPRrb1RoL1uD_D8WZUAygiYTjv7L1lIQZKqJWY4ChSQZt6jp-4LUvCSrn8KIhOXHB_IQZgmTua90xz6/s640/2014-06-26+06.10.44+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Jana and one of the chickens.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yw5axSt5KB8yypI-xNUYfSj9VzH7DvGQssyRYUI5fK7eMZ7arh90UGXHNjqs_dPQ_81f6uFkeD0poBGZ2LSG0IqY14NXn0SCWxjGOilsNUF4CNG89r41uDMjQOrFfvVNH5fswSpPE47e/s1600/DSC_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yw5axSt5KB8yypI-xNUYfSj9VzH7DvGQssyRYUI5fK7eMZ7arh90UGXHNjqs_dPQ_81f6uFkeD0poBGZ2LSG0IqY14NXn0SCWxjGOilsNUF4CNG89r41uDMjQOrFfvVNH5fswSpPE47e/s640/DSC_0440.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In a boat on the fjord in a hat I literally found on the side of the road while hiking.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsCTFc2I-esSf2JMHsAplPqO5uiq9tLzYpC0bvzR0Qra8vf_ObO0C5FVNi1QWd3W4DJtXUBp7m40IrC9MS1BchLC5TUaCNmobkYrzwxt0ZrtFN-tY3wdfrlExp4IpryGzuR9cH3AgQDgi/s1600/2014-06-28+04.27.35+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsCTFc2I-esSf2JMHsAplPqO5uiq9tLzYpC0bvzR0Qra8vf_ObO0C5FVNi1QWd3W4DJtXUBp7m40IrC9MS1BchLC5TUaCNmobkYrzwxt0ZrtFN-tY3wdfrlExp4IpryGzuR9cH3AgQDgi/s640/2014-06-28+04.27.35+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Gunvor, (not my grandma) and Sigurd. These people were so wonderful. They bought me peanut butter and coffee. (They apparently had to buy a stockpile of peanut butter when Americans came to stay, and I don't want to admit how many jars I went through.)</div>
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I had been told that my Host Mom would meet me at the docks, but I didn't really know what she looked like. I'd seen one picture of her on the farm's profile, but she was laughing and her head was thrown back, so I wasn't sure I'd recognize her. But as I made my way off the ferry I saw a woman who was a very scarily near twin of my Norwegian grandmother and just knew that had to be her. And it was! Gunvor, greeted me and introduced me to her companion Jana, a fellow WWOOFER and American. Jana and I spent the beautiful drive back to the Farm getting to know each other and told me there was one other WWOOFER, a guy named Chiron, who was from England, but had lived in Texas for the past five years. It took me all of 30 seconds to know this was going to be an amazing five weeks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDzEtp8nfPQe3PyNiIR-z3GwRBsMmhv1ffkOBcqdv5cfvERd9jlH1FZV_iUTeRCAOLnhTqH9kkBL_Og_HgyF7tZ6y3Y75CCk4DrRKwZ66sQVuyuX83QkiHU5Y6CsOectMUnOP8sdAXxFQ/s1600/2014-06-18+08.18.20+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDzEtp8nfPQe3PyNiIR-z3GwRBsMmhv1ffkOBcqdv5cfvERd9jlH1FZV_iUTeRCAOLnhTqH9kkBL_Og_HgyF7tZ6y3Y75CCk4DrRKwZ66sQVuyuX83QkiHU5Y6CsOectMUnOP8sdAXxFQ/s640/2014-06-18+08.18.20+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I mean, it was okay.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCDf22QVPN2iEv85PnDl-Fy9R266qhMLNBb_tY87pM51pqcsd4gGpV2_-ZyVKt_QN85iJUOGYz6YLPyzl1ousfMqIjJdJXrbuKC4hRQ2e-Yqy7WQLnb9TEl88K-GJwdJBwsjeH0T3jc77/s1600/2014-06-19+02.12.40+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCDf22QVPN2iEv85PnDl-Fy9R266qhMLNBb_tY87pM51pqcsd4gGpV2_-ZyVKt_QN85iJUOGYz6YLPyzl1ousfMqIjJdJXrbuKC4hRQ2e-Yqy7WQLnb9TEl88K-GJwdJBwsjeH0T3jc77/s640/2014-06-19+02.12.40+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This was without a doubt my favourite spot in the whole area. A bridge over a rushing river leading to a waterfall. I walked here most days and it was just breathtaking and so damn peaceful.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbQ4-prKDoRejK03TebpGrASscg009MGoTrG2te9WAdGah_LoFS7HAiJrYh4aUyDALplQ5EFbmpQWtRQT1h5HoqOPETpK8JZh0IIdOfDkNaO6NYbzy7-NCyGQrtG4hmqh8ZjNLco91xSn/s1600/2014-06-20+09.16.29+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbQ4-prKDoRejK03TebpGrASscg009MGoTrG2te9WAdGah_LoFS7HAiJrYh4aUyDALplQ5EFbmpQWtRQT1h5HoqOPETpK8JZh0IIdOfDkNaO6NYbzy7-NCyGQrtG4hmqh8ZjNLco91xSn/s640/2014-06-20+09.16.29+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The potatoe garden! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSSHqH2elIErXInPbC78eWzccJ8J2CYf3Kkx7dep5VXPQXlLgNBAuLUSdx7On3WYFxMuxK-Vdoj-u0avFikLdYZxGEF2V7Yu7Qax9wtAmFqMptHAxzIkEzLTbaYffzbm3F4CtYqmU8Mqb/s1600/2014-06-30+01.53.30+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSSHqH2elIErXInPbC78eWzccJ8J2CYf3Kkx7dep5VXPQXlLgNBAuLUSdx7On3WYFxMuxK-Vdoj-u0avFikLdYZxGEF2V7Yu7Qax9wtAmFqMptHAxzIkEzLTbaYffzbm3F4CtYqmU8Mqb/s640/2014-06-30+01.53.30+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The lambs Jana named Bradly and Bridget.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFbw2bwbqEzxEksZs1aLtLQXrj1F8zAjkEGcFmr34vC6WvPVYQMfSaWQejHlpbB66YArHnwM5f3kzXQwMJbYHCFKDugbt2R63AoI93x83rEhVynY4BYi4bF8973N-ZOfwUGzjSxO6j86X/s1600/DSC_0430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFbw2bwbqEzxEksZs1aLtLQXrj1F8zAjkEGcFmr34vC6WvPVYQMfSaWQejHlpbB66YArHnwM5f3kzXQwMJbYHCFKDugbt2R63AoI93x83rEhVynY4BYi4bF8973N-ZOfwUGzjSxO6j86X/s640/DSC_0430.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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I would have been happy to build a hut and live here forever.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZxVMJYaEY8wdOljgV3tQZw25I9ekMFQDpd3o1z6CrGz3dZfM6wd162pV-wHSgNTd55PI1SYicyOe-w2N0AgS6J6D0r_3mSUtQQK7EBtLWj0Uv_YwCkord3JHxg8_sX_PlYfD__n_iWyR/s1600/DSC_0431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZxVMJYaEY8wdOljgV3tQZw25I9ekMFQDpd3o1z6CrGz3dZfM6wd162pV-wHSgNTd55PI1SYicyOe-w2N0AgS6J6D0r_3mSUtQQK7EBtLWj0Uv_YwCkord3JHxg8_sX_PlYfD__n_iWyR/s640/DSC_0431.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This was taken on July 4th. A little different from other July 4ths I've celebrated.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JMf0nPhLZ5_wALE3-JxC_S0nDihjHwEyClaPtc-0qatsMGXMScH5wxboqc-DlvBdd5s6rsm7JqCI4jjujkuIbxhv0pu8nuV8GwTOfoH8OVb5MMvWB5nm9NmXPLv_BGgVi3dbXV4bypYP/s1600/DSC_0432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JMf0nPhLZ5_wALE3-JxC_S0nDihjHwEyClaPtc-0qatsMGXMScH5wxboqc-DlvBdd5s6rsm7JqCI4jjujkuIbxhv0pu8nuV8GwTOfoH8OVb5MMvWB5nm9NmXPLv_BGgVi3dbXV4bypYP/s640/DSC_0432.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Walking through the wild woods of Norway really makes you understand the idea of trolls, dwarfs, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulder" target="_blank">Huldra</a>. There's a peacefulness that at first is wonderful, but after a few hours on your own, it becomes almost too peaceful. Beautiful, but also kinda creepy...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ17BucwNFI8ArkFgvxLjqmvRNqwecPeh3ZqiiHzQ3OBIoqyiQpWBxyqqqSVvMZHB2fO4jWbgWWQvrhnuDeMTuZFeQ8kYsFkEHrKWjgFeLJcpBbCj6442LcHqRUn6ChHUmMCPfo-hwAQC/s1600/DSC_0433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ17BucwNFI8ArkFgvxLjqmvRNqwecPeh3ZqiiHzQ3OBIoqyiQpWBxyqqqSVvMZHB2fO4jWbgWWQvrhnuDeMTuZFeQ8kYsFkEHrKWjgFeLJcpBbCj6442LcHqRUn6ChHUmMCPfo-hwAQC/s640/DSC_0433.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_ZBMIPaCyDQg4CT67myPV07Ik24sl_4G9y9cGvjwsfJ-m6_NzRXEBpyL0_xLnst7TY6OwFb8uER1bLl4Cb5RmYPPvfTehpQiTVDMsIff-Gym59mVFQcn0lPXwAloULLMy_lkhJqBg2eZ/s1600/2014-06-18+07.05.47+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_ZBMIPaCyDQg4CT67myPV07Ik24sl_4G9y9cGvjwsfJ-m6_NzRXEBpyL0_xLnst7TY6OwFb8uER1bLl4Cb5RmYPPvfTehpQiTVDMsIff-Gym59mVFQcn0lPXwAloULLMy_lkhJqBg2eZ/s640/2014-06-18+07.05.47+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Flowers everywhere.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYm4tVYnS6oHTadySxm5UXImI6A6ahe3ZI7YwwkhEal_MBSwlaAd7fVdiNTsI4XDJChmmUagscW9EMtK_V9-IPsdeWEw4i1u4pFg8D975GhyphenhyphenQsvPW9e8DUyYmGMRNK-3SYdYLmcwiCSyxN/s1600/2014-06-20+09.22.56+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYm4tVYnS6oHTadySxm5UXImI6A6ahe3ZI7YwwkhEal_MBSwlaAd7fVdiNTsI4XDJChmmUagscW9EMtK_V9-IPsdeWEw4i1u4pFg8D975GhyphenhyphenQsvPW9e8DUyYmGMRNK-3SYdYLmcwiCSyxN/s640/2014-06-20+09.22.56+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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baby apples</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggTUWhA_Fg7J47Agh0IuKwlEulnbIHNAKKN4JKxTPb-fZmw8rZiIibksNKAvvGtSoJAcJ8nVsVJqNrwISPVBEJUX4FDRHc1ldJvTFCcQl0K4VNow7RISQtaxmKcUc5NLXi0b9wYg6iT10/s1600/2014-06-20+09.25.18+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggTUWhA_Fg7J47Agh0IuKwlEulnbIHNAKKN4JKxTPb-fZmw8rZiIibksNKAvvGtSoJAcJ8nVsVJqNrwISPVBEJUX4FDRHc1ldJvTFCcQl0K4VNow7RISQtaxmKcUc5NLXi0b9wYg6iT10/s640/2014-06-20+09.25.18+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNLisiYqMf3g2y2UpbftwnDSGTXLLbz7SrTs6brA1xVc9HcHLYQp5fCo3PXmz8U35BYGOJup3spXc6-yZ1WIosrnVqOdhHjtU4HTrLo8XOGvetZ61_gidEQ1UvxCoxybtbHfFXAl-OvFd/s1600/2014-06-21+10.21.58+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNLisiYqMf3g2y2UpbftwnDSGTXLLbz7SrTs6brA1xVc9HcHLYQp5fCo3PXmz8U35BYGOJup3spXc6-yZ1WIosrnVqOdhHjtU4HTrLo8XOGvetZ61_gidEQ1UvxCoxybtbHfFXAl-OvFd/s640/2014-06-21+10.21.58+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This was taken at almost 2am.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRC_f9gCY9YhDo0JxpuAEv-yq3moO6cZTeeu42Z5HsA_pOQe5kmcrBDP5RVR_CqLHSSnahvkj54M4ZYHuijqxakLgDgJX139t1hJNbpyEoq0m0FwjeiCrUvdP126lr2mmzktAfz27olc62/s1600/2014-06-25+02.13.13+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRC_f9gCY9YhDo0JxpuAEv-yq3moO6cZTeeu42Z5HsA_pOQe5kmcrBDP5RVR_CqLHSSnahvkj54M4ZYHuijqxakLgDgJX139t1hJNbpyEoq0m0FwjeiCrUvdP126lr2mmzktAfz27olc62/s640/2014-06-25+02.13.13+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r7cO2kpJZLYEJdbF6x79yk1lyIR1bV8E-OP9mgfXoDicvsmxRfZipsN7Lu_pUupIna0Iq14UuekKmJCF4SqQ7RoadH-FqG9_s8LBTihOwyb_TPzyUB2vI_oWCRsszruvd7BBlMHzPuUP/s1600/2014-06-25+02.21.23+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r7cO2kpJZLYEJdbF6x79yk1lyIR1bV8E-OP9mgfXoDicvsmxRfZipsN7Lu_pUupIna0Iq14UuekKmJCF4SqQ7RoadH-FqG9_s8LBTihOwyb_TPzyUB2vI_oWCRsszruvd7BBlMHzPuUP/s640/2014-06-25+02.21.23+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kgow-S69iU000lgtagruEQp2naxkqSAahsz1MNUzXYAChXkbsqumXDYGBe7gSrDmN7FkbU5efHkNqT9fQ8NtLZ5CIBnmBo3jliG_6aLJenhfkWXQRBwnm1P1XfWvXBt-g3lz0_F8ici3/s1600/2014-06-25+03.58.46+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kgow-S69iU000lgtagruEQp2naxkqSAahsz1MNUzXYAChXkbsqumXDYGBe7gSrDmN7FkbU5efHkNqT9fQ8NtLZ5CIBnmBo3jliG_6aLJenhfkWXQRBwnm1P1XfWvXBt-g3lz0_F8ici3/s640/2014-06-25+03.58.46+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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My legs just do not take on any colour whatsoever.</div>
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We bought these flowers from the local nursery to plant at the headstones of my hosts family. This is apparently a big deal, at least in Sogndal. The cemetary was always full of people cleaning, planting, and tending to the headstones of their loved ones,even really old ones. It was kind of sweet. </div>
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Ølnes is the name of the farm and my host's last name. They'd been there for I believe five generations and the only people in the world with that last name lived on either that hill (and had moved to Oslo), or lived in Minnesota. Talk about some stereotyping. The drive back along the Sognefjord was breathtaking and so calming. We passed little Cabins along the edge of the water, docks with small day use boats, and rolling hills of farmland. It was absolutely wonderful.</div>
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This hill a a lot steeper than it looks, and I hiked it every single bleeding day.</div>
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A Middag ice cream break.</div>
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Never ending piles of hay. Never. Ending.</div>
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And this is where I had my coffee every morning for two weeks. Not bad.</div>
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Our Chalet. Literally on the edge of the fjord.</div>
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Sleeping trolls under blankets of ferns.</div>
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This seemed like a good idea at the time, but oh my god so much dust. So much damn hay and dust.</div>
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A rare fancy day.</div>
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Waterfalls are my love language.</div>
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For some reason this is one of my favourite photos I took in Norway. That perfect glacial water.</div>
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The farm was made up of basically a mountain with a spattering of houses and cabins. My hosts farmed the land and lived there year round, while most of the other homes were their family's Summer houses, or rented out to people. So this meant that there was a very wide, varied cast of characters around all the time. There was an American man who'd relocated, a German couple and their daughters who'd relocated, a woman from Wales who'd relocated... Basically once you ended up there, you relocated.<br />
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This isn't a view you easily tire of.</div>
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Wild strawberries aka a treat to keep you going while endlessly raking. Fun Fact: I hate strawberries, but adored these little wild ones. So much sweetness in such a tiny bite. </div>
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Just walking down the road and finding waterfalls. Funner Fact: This is what a Summer Drought looks like in Norway.</div>
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Hiding from trolls in weird lighting and realizing that 24 hours of sunlight does weird things to your hair.</div>
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Driving back from fields one afternoon and accidentally taking the most perfect picture ever.</div>
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This is a very steep hill. I raked it by myself. </div>
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The main niches of this farm were the orchard (Apple, Cherry, Plum, and Pear), and the Sheep. They also had dairy cows. They also rented out the little 1-2 bedroom "chalet's" to tourists and hikers. I spent my time here raking hay in fields and cleaning chalets, baking cakes and picking berries and apples, playing with lambs and swimming in fjords. You guys, it was just so magical. Jana and I shared the basement of one of the other houses for a while, but moved into a Chalet once a family friend came to stay (another wonderful character from Germany), and got to spend a week and a half living literally on the edge of the Fjord. I had my morning coffee and toast covered in peanut butter and mashed up fresh raspberries (like, ones I picked that morning) on a bench outside watching the water mirror the mountains and sky around. It. was. magical.<br />
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At the top of the mountains. Halfso lake below and the little cabin with no modern amenities.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwQ9C6Hmed7F0EwTTm91-9m362HJmJ1kk9Y9Hkv9t5p360xQfyZZxeApcVqZVz7Y0jZGrRxV5wlGNCnqp57Wn5SW5ohWXuuyYwM6i8tjo9g5My4f_UaXglpycnDX4-NSmsed8KQV6c3g3/s1600/IMG_20140623_133134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwQ9C6Hmed7F0EwTTm91-9m362HJmJ1kk9Y9Hkv9t5p360xQfyZZxeApcVqZVz7Y0jZGrRxV5wlGNCnqp57Wn5SW5ohWXuuyYwM6i8tjo9g5My4f_UaXglpycnDX4-NSmsed8KQV6c3g3/s640/IMG_20140623_133134.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I do not lie when I say I ate like a king. Fresh fish, potaotes, veggies, sauteed leeks... I could do a whole post on the foods I fell deeply in love with.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVbSlbycfJX6dYFWzgkYgnisX4y3yEyDy0ovErDvR7fP9too2ttJxPqeX2bqHbl-75Tow8oKdFVoaW1e3PxEs61QqaxsHj6lA0Y8EDfRJ35zim9_xp7zBoDsBAhajKpjOW90w34REoUz5/s1600/2014-07-01+07.04.11+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVbSlbycfJX6dYFWzgkYgnisX4y3yEyDy0ovErDvR7fP9too2ttJxPqeX2bqHbl-75Tow8oKdFVoaW1e3PxEs61QqaxsHj6lA0Y8EDfRJ35zim9_xp7zBoDsBAhajKpjOW90w34REoUz5/s640/2014-07-01+07.04.11+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Eggs, lox, shrimps, fruit, cucumbers, and lemon raspberry cake. I actually lost about 30lbs here so...</div>
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How much brunost does one fridge need? There is never enough brunost. (and I bye it at IKEA here.)</div>
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Mayo comes in these squeezable packets and it's not weird...</div>
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Raspberries the size of my thumb and sweeter than you can imagine.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5hg5u_Y91ceubn6UY8BMzdewVSFO22TkiXdD8lw5aMpK3Doo1XWFuNHxBQH5Z8UlwpIK8e8jeKZf23xHAov8LWZbOcUivv0xOfDr7HdHOlRQEWHR1pAc-n03oVzdfub4dHkGbr3B44ew/s1600/2014-07-09+03.13.36+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5hg5u_Y91ceubn6UY8BMzdewVSFO22TkiXdD8lw5aMpK3Doo1XWFuNHxBQH5Z8UlwpIK8e8jeKZf23xHAov8LWZbOcUivv0xOfDr7HdHOlRQEWHR1pAc-n03oVzdfub4dHkGbr3B44ew/s640/2014-07-09+03.13.36+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Seriously, these were just perfection. Part of my job was to pick raspberries and make freezer jam. NBD.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTXHD5EqkgnY6gnkbbrdQE3L7LodelCLO7TkhUxzrVv_tLknT0egx0S_PiCZJpwbkyF5HfHDMpK36KY0xa6GILEPJe4qDFlBHheL2JEA-wiy2GwtXMwu_LbLE96n6EgAIyODsHmute0AI/s1600/2014-07-09+05.03.49+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTXHD5EqkgnY6gnkbbrdQE3L7LodelCLO7TkhUxzrVv_tLknT0egx0S_PiCZJpwbkyF5HfHDMpK36KY0xa6GILEPJe4qDFlBHheL2JEA-wiy2GwtXMwu_LbLE96n6EgAIyODsHmute0AI/s640/2014-07-09+05.03.49+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Also, Vanilla Sauce, Cornflakes, mashed up raspberries = a magical delight</div>
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This was a care package from my Ma after my backpack broke. And also she sent me life essentials ie tortillas.</div>
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Back to those Raspberry patches.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNvnrP48IbeZ9DOjOA2UIoO4z5o5f7aPwQ_96NzBjzk8KFtCm1aTsVLZcI1NXCEmrIrdxrxqAkcbsMWWUE9bJkfNPB-C2_2l61g-iNAKpL_UkNsR5yD6LMB4J2-g7J_SwUxeKZ46y1p7m/s1600/2014-07-13+02.22.26+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNvnrP48IbeZ9DOjOA2UIoO4z5o5f7aPwQ_96NzBjzk8KFtCm1aTsVLZcI1NXCEmrIrdxrxqAkcbsMWWUE9bJkfNPB-C2_2l61g-iNAKpL_UkNsR5yD6LMB4J2-g7J_SwUxeKZ46y1p7m/s640/2014-07-13+02.22.26+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This was the first time I'd seen the moon in two months. It did get a little bit darker than this.</div>
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Village below and Halfso Lake.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgekk7LjiA33ucQUNDliQpZJd4Wz6tValbyS2RLAdDco9DbKkSJv-M0wiJRtTPlV0IpXRCfmib5cx_ALElQRdfWThBt2q0xALX6FwotlTX9Jeg1t5DUDy0kcOXrv9uvAczsbzLTUiMf5Jn/s1600/2014-06-23+07.27.35+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgekk7LjiA33ucQUNDliQpZJd4Wz6tValbyS2RLAdDco9DbKkSJv-M0wiJRtTPlV0IpXRCfmib5cx_ALElQRdfWThBt2q0xALX6FwotlTX9Jeg1t5DUDy0kcOXrv9uvAczsbzLTUiMf5Jn/s640/2014-06-23+07.27.35+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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A late night cup of coffee. No, really. This was at like, 9:30pm or something.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleVOfABsVvWAsQXCt0SpbyiX0CDPsU8rMfuOieFdkNGGeA-lI_e_iOxw0mhQsFJS81skiZDf8-iKl4ZKfN_kO1hjC6R_quj2aqZT4GkzgcQsKCc1VqguEaZMd5o9sFJ6PKn5qZcZf08aO/s1600/2014-06-26+06.14.21+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleVOfABsVvWAsQXCt0SpbyiX0CDPsU8rMfuOieFdkNGGeA-lI_e_iOxw0mhQsFJS81skiZDf8-iKl4ZKfN_kO1hjC6R_quj2aqZT4GkzgcQsKCc1VqguEaZMd5o9sFJ6PKn5qZcZf08aO/s640/2014-06-26+06.14.21+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I PAINTED THAT FENCE! And got massively sunburned in the process. But this magnificent meal after made it well worth it!</div>
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Apples in the rain</div>
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More gargantuan raspberries on what is actually the best carrot cake of my life. there were flakes of dark chocolate in it. I'm kind of a aficionado, and let me tell you, this ruined me for all other carrot cakes.</div>
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I made tacos (because duh) as a farewell to everyone and in case you were wondering cilantro is not called cilantro in Norway, it is coriander and took me three grocery stores to figure that out. Also, this incredibly tame Mexican food was too much for my Northern European companions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc3cLJNy30H4R7n0dS0TP4NDpsGcGi-A9_UQEWdGWpvqHX6OaKKv7LJ8UyxwpAW7qrujBwk0AcrRVdzBT2jjtIzV-n_UY5wvl3JdGxDwbYXfg1QixKwimNHpBKpHujJTHs42DGCLPyUQM/s1600/IMG_20140624_132522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc3cLJNy30H4R7n0dS0TP4NDpsGcGi-A9_UQEWdGWpvqHX6OaKKv7LJ8UyxwpAW7qrujBwk0AcrRVdzBT2jjtIzV-n_UY5wvl3JdGxDwbYXfg1QixKwimNHpBKpHujJTHs42DGCLPyUQM/s640/IMG_20140624_132522.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Fyrstekake "Prince Cake." It's made with almond flour and filled with reduced prunes (I literally love prunes you guys). Jana and I made this and then I destroyed a part of it. But guys, it was so damn good. I dream about this stupid cake.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrg1vEt51QmKLorH9XRnaJsQ_HtANu3-F0MygvSidgOggWkAuNphs8MapUICX2-hXUvDSKKlxxEiTTaa0TiBvtaaZ6Gjn0ZK0bFw_Etq0GLbqntWgUs9iSoOzcJNIw12es95Y7Vqqm83d/s1600/IMG_20140627_142520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrg1vEt51QmKLorH9XRnaJsQ_HtANu3-F0MygvSidgOggWkAuNphs8MapUICX2-hXUvDSKKlxxEiTTaa0TiBvtaaZ6Gjn0ZK0bFw_Etq0GLbqntWgUs9iSoOzcJNIw12es95Y7Vqqm83d/s640/IMG_20140627_142520.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, Before I go on with this, I was at the home of a couple mega environmentalists and they fed this to me, and it's a different culture and surrounded by sea. With that said, here's a whale steak. It tastes like beef with a lot of salt. It's delicious. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwNTPS2ObIj8mHh_-fEXv7CMW4S2n4YwjJMMz4ongc2GQM3cP4hesahQE6r7PqTuvdMOlfjF00vawSaywjcAa6-egr7BwKzC2Eo1nXUAFtBcHtSB0_KzsLLAy8tPo0wgMxau77r_TDe0L/s1600/2014-07-18+01.06.43+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwNTPS2ObIj8mHh_-fEXv7CMW4S2n4YwjJMMz4ongc2GQM3cP4hesahQE6r7PqTuvdMOlfjF00vawSaywjcAa6-egr7BwKzC2Eo1nXUAFtBcHtSB0_KzsLLAy8tPo0wgMxau77r_TDe0L/s640/2014-07-18+01.06.43+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm still pale after multiple sunburns and 24 hours of sunshine. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3hvLObZdmhvalIrIh9yNsRZty-hxwEtjXDG1r_jwE-yDOquPqj7gIYFSNMxc4o1TLmMmHO4LC0cQ0j-rPBprfh3AmG01xySG2OwtnsSxyRg78ZMgEyD-cXSmYBZ7gFRymXRmJZVxi0n9/s1600/2014-07-18+01.09.00+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3hvLObZdmhvalIrIh9yNsRZty-hxwEtjXDG1r_jwE-yDOquPqj7gIYFSNMxc4o1TLmMmHO4LC0cQ0j-rPBprfh3AmG01xySG2OwtnsSxyRg78ZMgEyD-cXSmYBZ7gFRymXRmJZVxi0n9/s640/2014-07-18+01.09.00+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Boating.</div>
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Just a hop and skip from the farm were all kinds of hiking trails, including one that was from the Viking Age that local farmers made to escape Viking raids (this was before the Vikings discovered how much better it was to raid England). At the top of the Ølnes property was a Chalet with no running water, electricity or bathroom. There was an outhouse. surrounded by wild rhubarb... I did not trust that rhubarb. We (my host family, all the families that rented from them, some family members, and my fellow WWOOFers got to spend Midsommer up there grilling sausages and pork steaks (like omg, they were my favourite!), eating lefsa, and drinking Norwegian beer. The mountain overlooked Halfso Lake and we watched the bonfires around the lake's edge blaze into the never ending sunshine. Heaven.<br />
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Just wild giant raspberries and waterfalls</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2m5gBWFoZkltVXrdEudVC0jpg2YvsoklKAzPaeXtWtAIbZw9-q0CcSuHZAbcC5m2XRic12Q_v1aDrE7I260_wXMNjai5NHkM6sLapc0LOkxMIKYkRxDRDzg-HlIYuNDyac5igJFweMnkb/s1600/IMG_20140621_141757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2m5gBWFoZkltVXrdEudVC0jpg2YvsoklKAzPaeXtWtAIbZw9-q0CcSuHZAbcC5m2XRic12Q_v1aDrE7I260_wXMNjai5NHkM6sLapc0LOkxMIKYkRxDRDzg-HlIYuNDyac5igJFweMnkb/s640/IMG_20140621_141757.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo206mc3VNH-BLYHKzYUbzTJcIsJT2Cl5hABBcwpvC-y6ByOU9ruhtp6zjTWBNLhfGYQsfkGKrn_rhRotp4Yq88jJ7Nq_9Bti9JO352-XLrDKhi_Fm-4QbHB-UOmdVswYQD5wDKL8vfZK8/s1600/DSC_0448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo206mc3VNH-BLYHKzYUbzTJcIsJT2Cl5hABBcwpvC-y6ByOU9ruhtp6zjTWBNLhfGYQsfkGKrn_rhRotp4Yq88jJ7Nq_9Bti9JO352-XLrDKhi_Fm-4QbHB-UOmdVswYQD5wDKL8vfZK8/s640/DSC_0448.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Songefjord boat rides.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSOc_Qk8qORKDgWrtChwuMf19IpYS30LggCuX3LNrpVvuXhwgsfgcG4-php4xZmNje4gOjphitRk3nAJRE92BE5meLdWBMyk3t3GUaBtucxFldlxphIY1x_dALxGyVXhHA9RDCu1wyzPj/s1600/20140719_114903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSOc_Qk8qORKDgWrtChwuMf19IpYS30LggCuX3LNrpVvuXhwgsfgcG4-php4xZmNje4gOjphitRk3nAJRE92BE5meLdWBMyk3t3GUaBtucxFldlxphIY1x_dALxGyVXhHA9RDCu1wyzPj/s640/20140719_114903.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Just little viking symbols</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4FylzaExrlX9ktnDki8S-jtijbU2ki7bw91EdnlG-L5L_d0AWfstLy4Sem7w-oX2uBHXCJI0dZHtvQXX_lSqH0wWhAkfF_FTXw8YuXYhKQMdQGzBR_V_22MzU8ZYoHNI1xS7vJdRmiUx/s1600/20140719_114914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4FylzaExrlX9ktnDki8S-jtijbU2ki7bw91EdnlG-L5L_d0AWfstLy4Sem7w-oX2uBHXCJI0dZHtvQXX_lSqH0wWhAkfF_FTXw8YuXYhKQMdQGzBR_V_22MzU8ZYoHNI1xS7vJdRmiUx/s640/20140719_114914.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk2xBlXIenkMg-SBmH6MmUtRexMc3g1xw1_gAdaV-vKlYV_-2-3SdUkurS89seSbt5I2poCo3FS0TV9LKqeBhMzW69AgXjW8pNG5Zvd_ct3gVyt0XN4mvhC8fYYDiDhrWfElfZhtHjIi6/s1600/DSC_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtk2xBlXIenkMg-SBmH6MmUtRexMc3g1xw1_gAdaV-vKlYV_-2-3SdUkurS89seSbt5I2poCo3FS0TV9LKqeBhMzW69AgXjW8pNG5Zvd_ct3gVyt0XN4mvhC8fYYDiDhrWfElfZhtHjIi6/s640/DSC_0316.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Farm Traffic Jam</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dVg8iy7uXk7xZS3LlK2WUGhX-XclIRDHXWlco2EtvBX9HhZH9TsqomnPSo5pFWE6Qt0vqq7vZ7KXC-BtoFDpECnYjYClx0VRgM2wiUv8Vej-_5Tdk4CKO8NTIaxkH69DfbGcjV4kIRhT/s1600/2014-07-15+07.10.23+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dVg8iy7uXk7xZS3LlK2WUGhX-XclIRDHXWlco2EtvBX9HhZH9TsqomnPSo5pFWE6Qt0vqq7vZ7KXC-BtoFDpECnYjYClx0VRgM2wiUv8Vej-_5Tdk4CKO8NTIaxkH69DfbGcjV4kIRhT/s640/2014-07-15+07.10.23+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Lichen on my favourite bridge</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHYlsSlLSXrFQk63FraI9mXBvu8uQ38mLRQvq_us1Y6RU7DzYP3Vk5GOSEK89U2KnAbqKpM1uiEruScaEfB9jdfjuz2oM-bouwM_4LWSfwMzIGY2Dw8zvFLnv-PZRYw5D9KgqFzBPFtrd/s1600/2014-07-15+07.10.38+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHYlsSlLSXrFQk63FraI9mXBvu8uQ38mLRQvq_us1Y6RU7DzYP3Vk5GOSEK89U2KnAbqKpM1uiEruScaEfB9jdfjuz2oM-bouwM_4LWSfwMzIGY2Dw8zvFLnv-PZRYw5D9KgqFzBPFtrd/s640/2014-07-15+07.10.38+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Remember this is a summer drought...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7DwLXtS7dO5k4WUCjyjCD3AlYSp4x76V892b5SUsWSGSxxzgZ0Qlgj7yHz4Aj_K-sOWqRDBlxBKQhQGV3XA03aMHcduGtWJ-Q6HNOm7NavY7xRycsjnFTFRyMW3nLxOdEQg9D2ojzJY4Y/s1600/2014-07-15+07.13.26+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7DwLXtS7dO5k4WUCjyjCD3AlYSp4x76V892b5SUsWSGSxxzgZ0Qlgj7yHz4Aj_K-sOWqRDBlxBKQhQGV3XA03aMHcduGtWJ-Q6HNOm7NavY7xRycsjnFTFRyMW3nLxOdEQg9D2ojzJY4Y/s640/2014-07-15+07.13.26+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I genuinely have never been in a more beautiful place. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQLPlvYehoC2AVMoYlUXgHN0PHUTtOQ4nebGBF25Uolk44oLnYm6C2XDBRJ7Jb2B_KT1BSMc7yeL-D2KJsRaA5MBWex0cvQkhLNqNY9gbkJaQFmv7I2bTwX1-zCamdPhRf_i7iRQRQDC6/s1600/2014-07-15+07.24.04+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQLPlvYehoC2AVMoYlUXgHN0PHUTtOQ4nebGBF25Uolk44oLnYm6C2XDBRJ7Jb2B_KT1BSMc7yeL-D2KJsRaA5MBWex0cvQkhLNqNY9gbkJaQFmv7I2bTwX1-zCamdPhRf_i7iRQRQDC6/s640/2014-07-15+07.24.04+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Summer Tart Cherries.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmp2Lk4ljm0d7t4xpTNmSmkbZc44PEztbYEGwRwn8kGN48-rg8N0QocXBrpLhElqEjwHRHc9fZkmwDEt4LZaIhxWTifWLmnEKVzTJZn5QumYkaAfN4GDGquHcYpoxX05rpB5EDQoeHk2c/s1600/DSC_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmp2Lk4ljm0d7t4xpTNmSmkbZc44PEztbYEGwRwn8kGN48-rg8N0QocXBrpLhElqEjwHRHc9fZkmwDEt4LZaIhxWTifWLmnEKVzTJZn5QumYkaAfN4GDGquHcYpoxX05rpB5EDQoeHk2c/s640/DSC_0341.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is Ølnes. My wonderful home for five weeks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4yzP0GfRL-9D9dq2LhRbP2QvrxIbT-RRN1nSydCneV2hHC1Smv5oSkJ_9xx4A2TaCESe-giO3qmsPmoESfusFCnc1ydPP3xdTW9EGpZHg44BCi4f7oPlULfEsVuXBbz3xGG6-zvKjbCM/s1600/DSC_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4yzP0GfRL-9D9dq2LhRbP2QvrxIbT-RRN1nSydCneV2hHC1Smv5oSkJ_9xx4A2TaCESe-giO3qmsPmoESfusFCnc1ydPP3xdTW9EGpZHg44BCi4f7oPlULfEsVuXBbz3xGG6-zvKjbCM/s640/DSC_0342.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Fjord swimming after a day of hard work is actually pretty perfect.</div>
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This is the only surviving photo of this cool bed sheet swimsuit I made. </div>
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Midsommer Bon Fires</div>
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This is an exorbitant amount of photos, but you guys, I constantly wish I'd taken more. So much of this trip is still so fresh and alive in my mind, even going on two years. Ølnes was truly a place of magic. And not all the days were good. I ended up in tears several times, ached, burnt, was so exhausted, but I also looked forward to each new day. I don't think I will ever have adequate words to express how much I loved this little slice of perfection.</div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-69756444899314359512016-01-11T12:06:00.000-08:002016-01-11T12:06:08.835-08:00Whole 30 Week 1 Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivf_uS6oOlaL9jK-57JaJJFm-66bTEsEazP_wyIaHyuHLWRRIEmVT8Cmt6Wn3zIeoGUadWbOizxq_ChqhnPCZgkJ3R3srWG2hZAngg8HC0x38xL4a_r54d-AzhYzqFnUm29bI_gGi9NTsj/s1600/2016-01-11+08.01.22+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivf_uS6oOlaL9jK-57JaJJFm-66bTEsEazP_wyIaHyuHLWRRIEmVT8Cmt6Wn3zIeoGUadWbOizxq_ChqhnPCZgkJ3R3srWG2hZAngg8HC0x38xL4a_r54d-AzhYzqFnUm29bI_gGi9NTsj/s640/2016-01-11+08.01.22+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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So my sister Bri and I decided to jump start our new year we would do a round of Whole30 in an effort to change our eating habits. We ended up beginning on January 4th, so I spent last Sunday meal prepping and getting ready for the week ahead.<br />
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I decided to make up two different meals to switch between dinners and lunches for the week. I got weirdly overwhelmed about the thought of cooking just for me each night, and figured this was the easiest way to solve that problem. And it really was! However, I wasn't crazy about <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/205406432983121302/" target="_blank">one of the dishes</a> (by no fault of the recipe, I went off script and it just wasn't as good as it could have been, so next time I'll know better!), and ended up tossing it (ie feeding it to the dog) mid week. But the <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/205406432983121303/" target="_blank">other dish was fantastic</a>! I ate both of these on a bed of spinach and also on some Cauliflower rice. I ended up roasting some chicken and brussels sprouts mid week, and that was when I realized how much I had been over thinking this whole meal prep thing. It's crazy easy! This week I'm thinking about it less, and experimenting more.<br />
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One thing I did realize is that I need to be eating a big breakfast and lunch, and a much smaller dinner. I teach dance and music all day to 3-11 year olds and after the first day I was starving by the time I got home. I've now upped my meal to something like this for lunch: Chicken and veggies on spinach, a handful of berries, and an apple with almond butter and coconut (seriously amazing y'all). This is a perfect lunch to keep me going until about 6 or 7 when I have dinner. Breakfasts are a little more tricky though. Mostly because I am incredibly lazy in the mornings. I've never been a huge breakfast maker (Don't get me wrong, breakfast food is like my favourite food in the world, but I also like to sleep in...), so week one I made these mini quiches. They are super delish, and I made enough for two each morning. These are great because I can literally heat them for 30 seconds and fly out the door, but I think next time I'm going to make them in muffin pans so it's a little bit more of a substantial breakfast. I'm also going to up the amount of meat I put in them. This week I'm doing omlettes, which so far seem to be a bit more filling.<br />
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One thing I really learned is that I'm totally good at keeping this up all week long, but once my weekend hits, ooo, it's bad. This weekend there were pies and ice cream and bagels (ugg, I love bread) and I cheated quite a lot. However right away I noticed a difference in how I felt. I ate a bagel and holy cow you guys, I felt like there was a thick sludge in my stomach. It was awful. What's interesting is that my brain keeps thinking it wants the hot cocoa, but as soon as I have some, I'm like, oh no, I don't want this. Small victories! So I need to be hyper vigilant about making sure I have meals prepped for the weekends (part of the problem is I had planned on making Friday my meal prep day because I'm off work, but I ended up spending all day re arranging my room). Another issue is going out. Saturday my sisters and I took a spontaneous trip up to go play in the snow. We brought some approved snack foods with up, and even stopped at a local farm's market on the way up, but after five hours of snow play Bri and I were in desperate need of something other than fruit and veggies! We did find an okay as far as ingredients goes sausage in a candy shop, and we ate the whole thing, but it wasn't that good. We just need to have some actual meal items prepped for days when we head out on adventures.<br />
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A friend of mine was curious about the sugar withdrawals, and man, they were pretty brutal for me. I'm sure after my slip ups this weekend I'm in for it again, but last week was pretty bad. By Wednesday I was ready to quite everything in life. Seriously! I noticed the headaches didn't really start until mid afternoon for me, which is also when I teach my most difficult group of students. I was seriously near tears after my class Wednesday. Partially due to the kids, partially due to my brain thinking it desperately needed a peppermint mocha (which up until last week I always stop and get one before this class as a reward for showing up and preparing for battle (I'm not kidding about this class being incredibly difficult. My class with special needs students is easier!)). I think my biggest bit of advice as far as the sugar withdrawals goes is make sure you are drinking a TON of water. I flavour mine with citrus and berries and even coconut for a natural sweetness. Also make sure you're getting enough sleep. I honestly did so much better on the days when I was in bed no later than 10:30pm. My goal for this week is to be in bed by 9:30 every night.<br />
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But on the plus side, despite mini failures, and slight set backs I've already lost weight! I bought a pair of jeans the week before I started and they're hard to keep up now! That's encouraging! A skirt I have that's been just a bit tight is comfortable again, and that's a super nice benefit. I think so often on diets I've tried I've been frustrated by the lack of immediate changes, yet with a simple diet change I'm seeing them less than a week in! Cool! I'm also way more alert, less sleepy, and don't have that nasty brain fog. I was also having some weird minor back pains the last few weeks and that's suddenly gone completely. So despite the headache, I'm definitely seeing huge benefits. Onward!<br />
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My goals for this week are to prepare a little better, and do a little better. Simple, but that's okay. Baby steps right?<br />
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These are the offending jeans by the way. They're skinny jeans and I was wearing leggings under them. Also I wanted a before photo, but forgot to get one last Monday, so this one from Saturday will have to do! </div>
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And totally unrelated, SNOW! We have so much, and we're getting more, and yay yay yay! </div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-45986794248909713122016-01-04T12:09:00.001-08:002016-01-04T12:09:03.870-08:00Hello,<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LHqdhWlyTRtgUxlyjMvMkpyG6uPr8TEss1DduWYJ10RicTqazwuxlw8ssonLQIRy0CrGnOHMhd5qb_EiQqvIIgj40e2GQdjBilzkhCxebEmt-3rZDg98zEbv7wjEwNrjkzFbbm0Ew-6r/s1600/1168619_1655167328071160_1180664754_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LHqdhWlyTRtgUxlyjMvMkpyG6uPr8TEss1DduWYJ10RicTqazwuxlw8ssonLQIRy0CrGnOHMhd5qb_EiQqvIIgj40e2GQdjBilzkhCxebEmt-3rZDg98zEbv7wjEwNrjkzFbbm0Ew-6r/s640/1168619_1655167328071160_1180664754_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's me. I was wondering if after all this time...<br />
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Sorry, I won't finish that.<br />
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But, hey! Anyone still out there? If not that's okay. Blogging has taken a back seat in my life, and I definitely needed the kind of clean break. I thought a lot about posting a farewell post, but could never quite bring myself to hit publish. So I just let things sit for a while, and it was good.<br />
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My life got real crazy for a while, I started going to a new church that has totally become a lifeline, through that I met a friend who hired me to teach for a local theatre company. I spent my summer making musicals with 5-7 year olds, and it was pretty cool. I worked at a hardware store for three months and loved it, but had to quit because I am not cut out for working two jobs at once. And now I'm teaching for the same theatre company going into schools and teaching music, dance, acting, and how not to spit at people to 3-11 year olds. It's exhausting, and I love it. I've decided to go back to school to get my credential and I'm really excited. I'm working on get some adult-ish things dealt with, I started a mini vegetable garden that I'm hoping to expand this spring, I did a lot of things, met a lot of new people, and can honestly say I have never been happier in my life. 2015 was good to me in a kinda funny way, and I'm super grateful for it all.<br />
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So here I am, and what does that mean? Well, I don't even know right now. 2016 is shaping up to hold some really cool adventures. Not the kind that cost a lot of money and take you far far away, but the kind that propel you forward in life. I'm excited. I don't know what this all means for blogging though. I really miss taking photos (my DSLR is broken right now), I miss writing, I miss a lot about blogging, but I also don't miss a lot. I don't have the time or patience to post a lot or edit photos. And I'm not that crazy about fashion or vintage these days. Not that I don't love them both, but I've changed, my lifestyle has changed, my style has changed, my tastes have changed, guys, a lot has changed. I still like taking pictures of what I'm wearing, I still love to sew, but I think my dissatisfaction with blogging and lack of desire to blog all came from not really being able to blog about the things I wanted to talk about. So basically I'm trying to change that. Things will be different, and somewhat similar.<br />
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My aim is to blog twice a week for the foreseeable future, and to blog about whatever fits my fancy. I hope y'all join along. I'm really super duper excited for what this year holds!</div>
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Also, El Niño finally arrived and I'm into it.</div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-68912088743842222522015-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:002015-08-10T09:00:01.473-07:00Planted<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApnv3AzgMZJb0Ims0xqXFTABGoAM4xotNzwYJE7OiG_jg2aMqlCPhnN39KRdRe1MiFecmU7T98O1Pi5u1KyAEf0QfywsN0iJ2XCya4_CpX0h74TdASmBWNfxQv2h_G62pNwzC6WVlbVDF/s1600/2015-08-02+03.47.17+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApnv3AzgMZJb0Ims0xqXFTABGoAM4xotNzwYJE7OiG_jg2aMqlCPhnN39KRdRe1MiFecmU7T98O1Pi5u1KyAEf0QfywsN0iJ2XCya4_CpX0h74TdASmBWNfxQv2h_G62pNwzC6WVlbVDF/s640/2015-08-02+03.47.17+1.jpg" width="638" /></a></div>
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Green things and ridiculous, but oh so very cool and lightweight 90's dresses make me happy. </div>
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|Dress- Thrifted|Sandals-Saltwaters|Bag-Vintage Dooney & Bourke</div>
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-1845323703081840882015-08-08T09:00:00.000-07:002015-08-08T20:43:37.385-07:00Norway Pt 1: A Ferry of Unfortunate Events<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Norway was just... magic.</div>
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You guys, the most accurate description of my first seconds in Norway is love at first sight. Time stopped, the stars aligned, and my breath was taken away. I flew into Bergen (or Arendale if you prefer... ;-) )on June 16th and as my plane began to land I took a deep breath and it was like I was breathing for the first time. The last few days in Iceland had been rainy, and gloomy, and humid, but Norway was brilliantly bright, and vibrant, and so friggin green! There were trees everywhere. The area I live in here in California is fairly open and wide, but surrounded all around by hills and mountains. Iceland was waaaaay more open than I've ever been and I didn't really love it. There were beautiful hills and mountains in Iceland but my first three weeks were in never ending fields of grass. So flying into Norway was absolutely a culture shock. There were mountains and hills and trees as far as the eye could see and as thick as molasses. There was something about it that instantly felt like home, like this was the thing I'd always been missing. It was love at first sight.</div>
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I stayed in a really weird hostel a few blocks from the harbour and my first order of business was to walk through the vendors selling various seafood and odd little trinkets. There were bars and restaurants who's patrons were basking in the evening sun and it was glorious! And then I met a fellow American lady who was also staying in my hostel, and we decided to pal around that evening, and this was a terrible decision. She spent the whole two hours we were together telling me about her illicit affair with a married man and I couldn't even pretend to be okay with that, which made the weird Chinese dinner, which she insisted on us getting (I mean I wanted to go to the Norwegian Fish Market because Norway...), a pretty awkward one. Consequently she was from Florida, so it really makes sense, but still...</div>
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While my heart was instantly won over by Norway, there were a series of now comedic failures that began right away. The first being the unfortunate pal I found, quickly followed by <i>no one </i> in Norway accepting the pre-paid credit card I brought. Which I had done as a protection thing, but I got a crappy one and well, it made life hellish for my entire trip. Not only did no one accept it, there were also only two banks in the whole country I could use to make cash withdrawals. And because I am a bone head I didn't bother to check for the nearest one of those banks where I could make a withdrawal before getting to the ferry station with all my luggage.</div>
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Let me back up a bit here and state three facts up front: 1. I brought way. too. much. crap. with me. 2. I am a terrible solo traveller (for reals, because there are even better/worse stories coming). 3. Norway is friggin expensive. Everyone warned me of this, but I did not take that to heart. So when I left Iceland I exchanged my remaining Icelandic Krona to NOK which totaled about $100. I'm not amazing at math or money management in American money, so I spent the entire trip being super duper cautious about my spending. So upon arrival in Norway and being shocked to find a tall Starbucks (at one of the two Starbucks in all of Norway) frappuccino was the equivalent of <i style="font-weight: bold;">$15!!!!!</i> (which I forwent for obvious reasons) I went to dinner with my weird pal where I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu at $25. Then, with much concern over my remaining cash I made sure the ferry station took my card (I cannot emphasis enough that you should not bring American Express to Europe!), which they did, so I shrugged it off, pocketed the remainder of my Krone, and went to bed. The next morning I got up early to go buy my ferry ticket and who should also being going to do so, but my weird pal! So we walked together and we bought our tickets. Except they didn't take my card. I mean they claimed they did, but it would not accept my card. So I was short. My weird pal spotted me the money and I asked the ferry ticket man if he knew where any of the two banks I could use were, but he did not. This is where I made the idiotic mistake of not googling it once I got back to my hostel, but I assumed that if the banks were near, he'd have known. Turns out I later found that both banks were a mere ten minute walk away...</div>
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I killed time before heading back to my hostel to shower and pack, by walking around Bergen and falling head over heels in love with the small portion I got to explore of that city. I had enough money left to buy myself a coffee from McDonalds ($7!!!), but that was it. So I packed my bags and went to the ferry terminal to deposit my bags in a locker and roam the city for the next five hours. Except lockers cost money. Money I didn't have. And there was no wifi for me to connect to to try and search out an ATM. And America was asleep so I couldn't call and have my mom google it (though let me assure you, this did happen eventually). So there I sat with all my crap, stuck in the ferry terminal. Fun Fact: Bathrooms cost money in Norway. And I had only had a cup of coffee. I pondered my options, but they were to either to grab my belongings and hope I was walking in the right direction of an ATM I could use, or sit and wait. I waited for most the time, but eventually tried my other option to no avail. And I needed to pee something fierce. And the <i style="text-align: justify;">Game of Thrones</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> books don't distract you from nature's call. Finally it was ferry boarding time and I made sure I was one of the first people on board. And guess what? The snack bar didn't take my card!</span>
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The Ferry ride from Bergen to Sogndal was five hours long. I'd already been waiting for five hours. I was hungry and tired and pretty sure my kidneys would never forgive me, but let me tell you, the moment I got on that boat, I totally forgot my growling stomach (and also I found leftover airport snacks at the bottom of my backpack -_-) . I love boats in general (the best sleeps I've ever had were on boats), but holy cow guys, this trip was... well, magic. It was foggy and grey the further out to sea we got. The wind blew my hair and skirt, and I was misted by salt water and all it's healing qualities. The thing about Norway is this: no matter how bad things got, Norway did it's best to make everything better.</div>
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This will sound super duper weird and mystical, but it's the best I've got. My dad's side of the family is Norwegian and we've always been very proud of that heritage. My mom's side of the family is a mix of European and Slavic peasantry, and I love it, but all of us have always had a stronger tie to our Norwegian ancestry. I never in a million years thought I would actually get to go to Norway, and had no idea what to expect. So when I got there I was kind of shocked by the atmosphere. I have never felt more welcomed or at home in a place in all my life. It literally was almost like a duh factor. Of course I belong here, these are my people. They were nice and friendly, but understood personal space. They laughed, and sang, and made art from wool. They liked their traditional folk costume, and didn't mind being suffocated by trees. They really, <i>really. love. </i>Christmas. The ocean was important, but so was the land. A storm blew in that day and suddenly the blinding sunshine was traded for a beautiful gloomy horizon. I got romantical and stood on the ferry deck imagining my ancient ancestors looking out over the same ocean, going off to conquer new lands, and taking in their own land. The high rising mountains of the fjords, the water springing from every rock it could, the lush rolling hills, and steep craggy rocks covered in trees. I closed my eyes and breathed in every smell trying to imprint them forever in my memory. I wanted my family to be there with me, getting to understand this odd sensation of belonging.</div>
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I passed waterfalls and never ending forests, fields of hay and fields of flowers, making my way to my home for the next month and falling more and more in love the further we went. Maybe this was all because I was delusionally hungry. Maybe I needed more sleep. But in the first 24 hours of being in Norway I could already feel new blossoms growing in the rich soil Iceland had left behind. For the first time in years I knew who I was and I loved that person. I'm getting misty thinking about those first few hours. It was like Norway was my wise and ancient grandmother, offering the warmest, most loving hug, while bestowing knowledge about my past so I could run fervently into my future.<br />
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-27271213482845001462015-07-13T12:26:00.000-07:002015-07-13T12:26:39.338-07:00Wallflower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's a well known fact that I am the world's biggest wimp in the heat. I mean if it gets above 65F I'm already done. I just don't do hot. So life gets pretty miserable fast in So Cal. Honestly this Summer hasn't be <i>so</i> bad so far, but we did have a spell of nasty horrid heat the first week of the month. I made this button front crop top (that needs work, but is fine for now) out of a cotton bedsheet, and oh man does it make hot and sweaty me feel so much more put together! This skirt is an antique one I altered and again is 100% cotton, so it's been my go to outfit for the particularly hot days.</div>
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Hat-Thrifted, Shoes-Thrifted, Top- Me Made, Skirt- Thrifted, altered </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi7caJa2L-FL6qrjHY9HFieOPE0hE9UnlOCPWBRHDrByUopjrEEFpV5s9acTzU3fjwksvD0s2RCzzEYx-KfvqLx3SzDkoWTPDIrt8OA5RMFDIoicc0Z1MH1iuyYBxPb1P35ov7Wj6coFV/s1600/2015-07-04+04.24.02+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi7caJa2L-FL6qrjHY9HFieOPE0hE9UnlOCPWBRHDrByUopjrEEFpV5s9acTzU3fjwksvD0s2RCzzEYx-KfvqLx3SzDkoWTPDIrt8OA5RMFDIoicc0Z1MH1iuyYBxPb1P35ov7Wj6coFV/s640/2015-07-04+04.24.02+1.jpg" width="638" /></a></div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-27553274519263915622015-07-05T09:00:00.000-07:002015-07-05T09:00:09.938-07:00Oh Say Can You See?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2oCq2Q_oGMNT-P-e8LRrxxj6yhGTT3NXVodqXhAtDkkj4yYjqU_TPfToQmCy9rWfJz_XCf9Drx7jOzLj4c2d1XFpacf-d1lQQwoQ2gfJlmMgTox_IOREEQNt5kyJfuuNKNCm15V3ZK34h/s1600/2015-07-04+04.14.51+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2oCq2Q_oGMNT-P-e8LRrxxj6yhGTT3NXVodqXhAtDkkj4yYjqU_TPfToQmCy9rWfJz_XCf9Drx7jOzLj4c2d1XFpacf-d1lQQwoQ2gfJlmMgTox_IOREEQNt5kyJfuuNKNCm15V3ZK34h/s640/2015-07-04+04.14.51+2.jpg" width="638" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Last July 4th I was in<a href="http://yammeringmuse.blogspot.com/2014/07/drizzle.html" target="_blank"> Norway hiking in a fjord</a>. </span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMDd2rnHnPvwlT3pSCmqX9AyA4L2dMoQcuo4z0QcyIa0tV_xgLJYWZt6v3Q8l43KjJPh2wobZOMqxXdgm3-nqfVwggzxU6zLQBU2HcocfsOM_gtklB9WiO2FARQIMFYSR0iX2JeiaKUgt/s1600/2015-07-04+04.14.57+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMDd2rnHnPvwlT3pSCmqX9AyA4L2dMoQcuo4z0QcyIa0tV_xgLJYWZt6v3Q8l43KjJPh2wobZOMqxXdgm3-nqfVwggzxU6zLQBU2HcocfsOM_gtklB9WiO2FARQIMFYSR0iX2JeiaKUgt/s640/2015-07-04+04.14.57+1.jpg" width="638" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">This 4th I was at home eating grilled burgers and swimming in the pool. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuhdDwmViCiXWuG1ECgQQT7zAzBHezBcCqvD5gvk38YJ-C6vUdoyrDWbq5WHFG6te3MZIjDvHiLGehvMZvQh0o41q0Besi2NowK7Tkn3Wpu5iWmHQcFi2M-y9e3wr8U-vubcy60JiEq7_/s1600/2015-07-04+04.15.02+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuhdDwmViCiXWuG1ECgQQT7zAzBHezBcCqvD5gvk38YJ-C6vUdoyrDWbq5WHFG6te3MZIjDvHiLGehvMZvQh0o41q0Besi2NowK7Tkn3Wpu5iWmHQcFi2M-y9e3wr8U-vubcy60JiEq7_/s640/2015-07-04+04.15.02+1.jpg" width="638" /></a></div>
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They're both pretty amazing.</div>
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Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day!</div>
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Blouse- Thrifted, Skirt- Antique, altered by me, Shoes- Swedish Hasbeens</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-85937390907896764012015-06-16T09:00:00.000-07:002015-06-16T09:00:15.678-07:00Iceland Pt. 2 <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzqqmfAFRie6wi50pgAZqN3P7TL4H5uf7IbQTXfVjeVbffYV4gzWvkqBG6jWE6jHjJeyXDuxMhmQXocYdpYQJukJBbisDUv6piHeW3SsKE__rSrjlln3fiLl2y3SjGv-q89-_cNMO-FrK/s1600/2014-06-07+07.37.39+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzqqmfAFRie6wi50pgAZqN3P7TL4H5uf7IbQTXfVjeVbffYV4gzWvkqBG6jWE6jHjJeyXDuxMhmQXocYdpYQJukJBbisDUv6piHeW3SsKE__rSrjlln3fiLl2y3SjGv-q89-_cNMO-FrK/s640/2014-06-07+07.37.39+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">66* North. My house in CA is at 33*.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wRRTDc_j-yhwHZnPYktCbBlbeoXiolz1t_x-2mmtCj4o33PlUnUKbh7-OLX8TKntGRqcLZbczLonddIpdW0S9i5Urvbycjnm3hn8i1uO2dxWFP9h7FD3y6or5e0lxDRlm9HHbN2BjWFw/s1600/2014-06-07+10.43.01+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wRRTDc_j-yhwHZnPYktCbBlbeoXiolz1t_x-2mmtCj4o33PlUnUKbh7-OLX8TKntGRqcLZbczLonddIpdW0S9i5Urvbycjnm3hn8i1uO2dxWFP9h7FD3y6or5e0lxDRlm9HHbN2BjWFw/s640/2014-06-07+10.43.01+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the Coffee Shop</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9atqA8kDfhOPQrJexegGJUPnmUmGSpoJmfR4MltBRlv5-KvH-T178yYBwQ4Er2Apa-w4RxJrwS4njQtVxiEuoVRU4rwDiCaWaTmwxRGn6pInkLYl1Q1W6B5Thn5e8ww59MWxVO1hbITQ/s1600/2014-06-08+01.45.25+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9atqA8kDfhOPQrJexegGJUPnmUmGSpoJmfR4MltBRlv5-KvH-T178yYBwQ4Er2Apa-w4RxJrwS4njQtVxiEuoVRU4rwDiCaWaTmwxRGn6pInkLYl1Q1W6B5Thn5e8ww59MWxVO1hbITQ/s640/2014-06-08+01.45.25+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frida's artistic rendering of everyone</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdslpzE3TOcPY9Rv1YpQ5PW0PhAFkl0cYQjJUc8EmG0bl3vM2-vwm80DQ51u9_xBOrdxAE3zF-yhWGxmzACl148IvZjNKOgelUhr6jJFFF4RkqcSF8tQBw98Uwf3Q1lhJWGvcn180Qozlv/s1600/2014-06-08+04.53.17+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdslpzE3TOcPY9Rv1YpQ5PW0PhAFkl0cYQjJUc8EmG0bl3vM2-vwm80DQ51u9_xBOrdxAE3zF-yhWGxmzACl148IvZjNKOgelUhr6jJFFF4RkqcSF8tQBw98Uwf3Q1lhJWGvcn180Qozlv/s640/2014-06-08+04.53.17+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That green building is the coffee shop</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusbYkTlYmxjp0rpBk8RQkvrUrcLVHhMmDT5bAKbP9c_7Y3NfHPdQHlAF7dKvUmvpBp326zVCPsgi9WcRAt2KNdxuKsP1LnXOxQpyq42wU14I9JGJCtjmYtg1p-gwygAOsdlVH11txQ_6N/s1600/2014-06-08+05.28.31+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusbYkTlYmxjp0rpBk8RQkvrUrcLVHhMmDT5bAKbP9c_7Y3NfHPdQHlAF7dKvUmvpBp326zVCPsgi9WcRAt2KNdxuKsP1LnXOxQpyq42wU14I9JGJCtjmYtg1p-gwygAOsdlVH11txQ_6N/s640/2014-06-08+05.28.31+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frida (r) and her friend going to play hopscotch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMI6BTp4ALmkahEr-uOUoHzaqt1bKS8qwFuZDdZCDiYWtDQoZ1onyqL1htYkqDE8YZ1i4zKh5pWTvkpXhyphenhyphenJRX69DvZfdRepRHxVhyonlh2dt0g71UFPOyfGbIeuTouYe8zL6k95AywW-H/s1600/2014-06-08+08.19.00+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMI6BTp4ALmkahEr-uOUoHzaqt1bKS8qwFuZDdZCDiYWtDQoZ1onyqL1htYkqDE8YZ1i4zKh5pWTvkpXhyphenhyphenJRX69DvZfdRepRHxVhyonlh2dt0g71UFPOyfGbIeuTouYe8zL6k95AywW-H/s640/2014-06-08+08.19.00+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just loved this place so much. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeUvgHI-Udp4RGte37cSu2NWDY3eWLbQIDbvwhiZWTijcEyVB9pdqdNn9DiWPrz5ibI2riSvPMoYpROHDBrQBnggJdlQzX0eVvikVfYjhrJhmsvDWEQ9eZn-e3qh1xNen_J7qgkG2LTZv/s1600/2014-06-09+12.41.03+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeUvgHI-Udp4RGte37cSu2NWDY3eWLbQIDbvwhiZWTijcEyVB9pdqdNn9DiWPrz5ibI2riSvPMoYpROHDBrQBnggJdlQzX0eVvikVfYjhrJhmsvDWEQ9eZn-e3qh1xNen_J7qgkG2LTZv/s640/2014-06-09+12.41.03+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frosti was only 3 months old and a huge baby! He was also one of the sweetest babes I've ever had the pleasure of watching.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCrNIqSemSyWp2VgEb9hVwNMrQU0Yfgc8ye8GUaowHF-etthz2qejsuH_ZrGil0Y79SOOP2Ys8DAQqShOretXp5cUdl4FSLCMfAZt5t2Ril6xsoMjCV6CRvH3GorLzkCbVu32_INRajeYu/s1600/2014-06-10+02.52.34+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCrNIqSemSyWp2VgEb9hVwNMrQU0Yfgc8ye8GUaowHF-etthz2qejsuH_ZrGil0Y79SOOP2Ys8DAQqShOretXp5cUdl4FSLCMfAZt5t2Ril6xsoMjCV6CRvH3GorLzkCbVu32_INRajeYu/s640/2014-06-10+02.52.34+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr49_4kf5Auh2tLOyVADJEm4X7PWjjl-7lv_6mE09Sp7eZq8DBIJAFNFuaDVpISM-oRMoifjJGZLoi4bYhangr5Dkf_uLDTJPt2pG7MrL-aJzyhFDo4p0CTfM8IxXVhu7nIlq_k1C4yXmL/s1600/2014-06-10+02.55.23+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr49_4kf5Auh2tLOyVADJEm4X7PWjjl-7lv_6mE09Sp7eZq8DBIJAFNFuaDVpISM-oRMoifjJGZLoi4bYhangr5Dkf_uLDTJPt2pG7MrL-aJzyhFDo4p0CTfM8IxXVhu7nIlq_k1C4yXmL/s640/2014-06-10+02.55.23+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vitamin D</td></tr>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thingeyri" target="_blank">Þingeyri </a>completely changed my entire perspective on Iceland. The moment I left the farm there was an instant sense of relief. I slept a little on the bus ride, and for the first time felt at ease. At the Bus Station in Reykjavik I went to buy a day pass and started talking to the nice old man selling hot dogs, candies, and bus passes. He asked me about my adventures so far and I gave him a little tiny synopsis of my experience and he apologized and asked me where I was headed and I told him Thingeyri. He smiled and just lit up about how beautiful it was and how nice the people there were. I bummed around Reykjavik for a few hours and then boarded a plane headed North. The flight was so incredibly short (maybe 30 minutes), and I had been told finding a group of people to hitch a ride from would be simple. Except I was the only one on my plane ride and arrived at an empty airport. I'd already burst into tears at the Reykjavik airport, and on the verge of another wave I called a Taxi and waited freaking out that I didn't have enough cash to pay for the hour long ride from the Ísafjörður Airport to Thingeyri. A middle aged woman picked me up eventually and I showed her the cash I had dreading hearing her tell me it wasn't enough. She smiled a nearly toothless smile and told me not to worry. As we made our way through ancient fjords still covered in snow in June she asked me all about my life and travels and guys, I just lost it. I started sobbing and crying and telling her all the horrors of my former hosts and how I hadn't been able to do almost any of the sight seeing I wanted to do, and that my grandma had died barely a month ago, and on and on and on I went about how terrible the last three-five weeks of my life were. And she just listened and rubbed my arm and squeezed my hand and was just wonderful. I don't even know her name, but she was absolutely the one person I needed at that moment. I kept apologizing for the tears and she just smiled and said not to apologize, obviously I needed this.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyrljn5NkBzu9ANZu8xcKzZHcZKKT2RvGyGwmhdT7G33rJ-iEiRdTOHa9qk_OipRWx7sqvWxq5JE6Gbab5WK-tepOjzJsA1lLayjQDJmUCspFVYPKxaYfsHvTqUxfe5ov1Fo9ytxvuYoV/s1600/2014-06-10+02.59.13+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyrljn5NkBzu9ANZu8xcKzZHcZKKT2RvGyGwmhdT7G33rJ-iEiRdTOHa9qk_OipRWx7sqvWxq5JE6Gbab5WK-tepOjzJsA1lLayjQDJmUCspFVYPKxaYfsHvTqUxfe5ov1Fo9ytxvuYoV/s640/2014-06-10+02.59.13+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The workshop view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiBybl-ORMe844D7vkbLD1xUaC0IqerKYaoF9vhHN_wMmkn8PVtMdUm2KeVkd9HyMroPz5022x7Wok9PquSLCLvlWVeamTxZHOdBlWxt6aP4G9EvVRVbTGcopGNTWbp1lf6r6dcf838tz/s1600/2014-06-10+03.30.59+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiBybl-ORMe844D7vkbLD1xUaC0IqerKYaoF9vhHN_wMmkn8PVtMdUm2KeVkd9HyMroPz5022x7Wok9PquSLCLvlWVeamTxZHOdBlWxt6aP4G9EvVRVbTGcopGNTWbp1lf6r6dcf838tz/s640/2014-06-10+03.30.59+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious soup and carrot bread and orange corn syrup free soda</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NkMHdRwsQ8xsPO7p652A8bAfdS80ERzRrQq_Clejy0IC8KK1GvLeEsNihtenR5WLPXlmuuT342BtdVbrNBHNFfYO27LcY7zDTI43G6p3XGMw29C0N6A8w-ogfjfihswqshObEYZOXQNA/s1600/2014-06-10+06.07.41+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NkMHdRwsQ8xsPO7p652A8bAfdS80ERzRrQq_Clejy0IC8KK1GvLeEsNihtenR5WLPXlmuuT342BtdVbrNBHNFfYO27LcY7zDTI43G6p3XGMw29C0N6A8w-ogfjfihswqshObEYZOXQNA/s640/2014-06-10+06.07.41+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every couple of days this boat would be out in the harbour with a group of dudes in full Viking regalia. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qjxgxo9SV6BJUVQG3K04B-idewm294PMB29xNpvicyC-youCpQdHJgw1p9ywLcnlFBj29YNkooB0EnCak2rfjTtMgVDdGqWPnFIy6fI6FK1lDnGWDJXQ3-M8uur9O8-LCvF57o64G8L6/s1600/2014-06-10+08.00.29+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Qjxgxo9SV6BJUVQG3K04B-idewm294PMB29xNpvicyC-youCpQdHJgw1p9ywLcnlFBj29YNkooB0EnCak2rfjTtMgVDdGqWPnFIy6fI6FK1lDnGWDJXQ3-M8uur9O8-LCvF57o64G8L6/s640/2014-06-10+08.00.29+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Licorice milkshake, yes indeed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWXkGRSz-g1cLdlh5B6ijsR7VBqPHRPQisRnXmckVHEv96L6yfcnQFVTOaLwf3CWvxEbmotIVTFng5PKcC2MBTEtRIiYg_e7_75o2biuCP9a3vCoPXAFKqTlvUp6mpwUHb9Prbh_5qP6x/s1600/2014-06-10+11.44.53+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWXkGRSz-g1cLdlh5B6ijsR7VBqPHRPQisRnXmckVHEv96L6yfcnQFVTOaLwf3CWvxEbmotIVTFng5PKcC2MBTEtRIiYg_e7_75o2biuCP9a3vCoPXAFKqTlvUp6mpwUHb9Prbh_5qP6x/s640/2014-06-10+11.44.53+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfm2x0GkZiCokqLyQwcAvllSJE3m3lhh3ZsXe6WFOBmzTYbYzUbM0jq2vzlc4RCQ36ocXAuA939E9JpNSV4gG6GmO66LhhQuU4xOrdryKKOcN5jFNJpnjGAQCSFM_TZM07yRapB1wcCGUs/s1600/2014-06-11+02.07.11+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfm2x0GkZiCokqLyQwcAvllSJE3m3lhh3ZsXe6WFOBmzTYbYzUbM0jq2vzlc4RCQ36ocXAuA939E9JpNSV4gG6GmO66LhhQuU4xOrdryKKOcN5jFNJpnjGAQCSFM_TZM07yRapB1wcCGUs/s640/2014-06-11+02.07.11+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:06 am</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEO3kg6Xyier-aXhheUFoCBYQ9Weezie85wvbIr2_csdzCVtBGRcZS9VMVBtIOWi6JmXQCI_hBZTIOET99InlYgarVcpWCyOgDjOxnmm8qPHVuHM4ZE4vzdoPi1RBLt-UcL72H419I_ZV/s1600/2014-06-12+05.34.46+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEO3kg6Xyier-aXhheUFoCBYQ9Weezie85wvbIr2_csdzCVtBGRcZS9VMVBtIOWi6JmXQCI_hBZTIOET99InlYgarVcpWCyOgDjOxnmm8qPHVuHM4ZE4vzdoPi1RBLt-UcL72H419I_ZV/s640/2014-06-12+05.34.46+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the first time I'd ever ridden a horse.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiPBHA_6ALQmTmU-ZwkWqjI5e-JL7ldXtibXtQ7gsr6xr_XzcFWlfbLK115zVkgWNKW03Y9b_O5Ag2IuwySL6TfzeS7TymKsN5KVJR7hq3LPC4V2y7LOXEKRER9ZV-fm8LJP3Kh9e8D0t/s1600/2014-06-12+05.09.21+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiPBHA_6ALQmTmU-ZwkWqjI5e-JL7ldXtibXtQ7gsr6xr_XzcFWlfbLK115zVkgWNKW03Y9b_O5Ag2IuwySL6TfzeS7TymKsN5KVJR7hq3LPC4V2y7LOXEKRER9ZV-fm8LJP3Kh9e8D0t/s640/2014-06-12+05.09.21+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-1SBiu1smtSXqZxuCQfuauH4-kFoF5VhbSMluYFP76zaqkuRmgwN75ycjFbr22mfkbPdYsuiM_O9mAS6BCO3w9wWLjAQOoEwz24R4Vs5eePjKAYYveGifqge47YtwXi7CGA4MazaYaR8/s1600/2014-06-13+01.40.53+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-1SBiu1smtSXqZxuCQfuauH4-kFoF5VhbSMluYFP76zaqkuRmgwN75ycjFbr22mfkbPdYsuiM_O9mAS6BCO3w9wWLjAQOoEwz24R4Vs5eePjKAYYveGifqge47YtwXi7CGA4MazaYaR8/s640/2014-06-13+01.40.53+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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And then she started asking about me, Like she genuinely wanted to know all these details of my life. My family, my age, my birthday, what California was like, where had I gone to school. Normally I probably would have been super suspicious and assumed she was going to rob and murder me, but I answered all her questions and pretty soon I was laughing and telling her stories. She turned the cab meter off and took me to this absolutely beautiful Garden and told me the history of the place and made me drink the glacier water that streamed in amid the plants. It was a beautiful slice of heaven on earth and I completely forgot all the woes of the past week. We left and she asked me how old I was and I told her almost 27. She got all excited and started telling me how 27 was an absolutely magical year of life and I was obviously in for an even better one. We talked without ever stopping and I will never be able to send out enough thanks to that woman. She completely set the tone for the following week and God Bless her forever. She only charged me for half the ride and beyond that I will never be able to repay her kindness. Dear Icelandic Taxi Driver Lady With No Teeth, you are loved, missed, and forever in my heart!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9bBadQN4pGdNBoI3XJjtc1EA124LEaSZmj6CLHWYc7xXSoYudt_3Nb3ux_6cAvkwdTPp5wa19xFwVGaUFXvize9QOY4-abzdqjMQEoswrz4E63hmkpyAwO3dNvcg8RtfYEgbJCJ5CW7G/s1600/2014-06-13+04.06.03+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9bBadQN4pGdNBoI3XJjtc1EA124LEaSZmj6CLHWYc7xXSoYudt_3Nb3ux_6cAvkwdTPp5wa19xFwVGaUFXvize9QOY4-abzdqjMQEoswrz4E63hmkpyAwO3dNvcg8RtfYEgbJCJ5CW7G/s640/2014-06-13+04.06.03+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely Ladies I got to work with.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F68tBFh578-Ipngp-rRId9DDoOByvmJudOU9L6iIzx9r8j4fsDFs0brMMp8vylcM2vZREZaz2ObqZtbULZ4_fASFyWyFUDeNIMegG3cRTBv5pW-3fByh2xqvT1jyFhyphenhyphenRMkA9EpsVJ7bX/s1600/DSC_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F68tBFh578-Ipngp-rRId9DDoOByvmJudOU9L6iIzx9r8j4fsDFs0brMMp8vylcM2vZREZaz2ObqZtbULZ4_fASFyWyFUDeNIMegG3cRTBv5pW-3fByh2xqvT1jyFhyphenhyphenRMkA9EpsVJ7bX/s640/DSC_0278.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvKRJEJJq3U84pNEfgVLqRudJQHmircAJG4KaBXUjqb7mIbLwpSTtueontLGzi4Pp_g8qV78aOhYJrI9UiI19GPEYE5zBAlIGHFn8mVmDsMSZ1onP2j92V2FK4ajM4cYn66tNaJHeutbF/s1600/DSC_0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvKRJEJJq3U84pNEfgVLqRudJQHmircAJG4KaBXUjqb7mIbLwpSTtueontLGzi4Pp_g8qV78aOhYJrI9UiI19GPEYE5zBAlIGHFn8mVmDsMSZ1onP2j92V2FK4ajM4cYn66tNaJHeutbF/s640/DSC_0282.JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Succulents in Iceland...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiFxnBsQp21PDn092in9FHok4XejiqDor3-wodqiab00RG29R5tFavY7o0Wlwr4uwSPZ8HHNg7NGIuBiTwJoSDDn15HXKPJkFNO4Lrt5laFNjvVmIrkWzYCocCDdTJcpmXgBUaPKL-WiG/s1600/DSC_0287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiFxnBsQp21PDn092in9FHok4XejiqDor3-wodqiab00RG29R5tFavY7o0Wlwr4uwSPZ8HHNg7NGIuBiTwJoSDDn15HXKPJkFNO4Lrt5laFNjvVmIrkWzYCocCDdTJcpmXgBUaPKL-WiG/s640/DSC_0287.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The house in the little garden reminded me of the old Spanish Style buildings in CA.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkjhelSanGv6SYSsRRlLpTL1aCeBkBsJ1RQfgOJTbdCz0tBgdJC5Er48-OJ0GYDjPI-mKGIDfB6JN-e_sQLklvSwtq8Zy2JkB7099N13noiKagKczoCIXLzO6GP19Ym7We7cdvZJlMn0L/s1600/DSC_0285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVkjhelSanGv6SYSsRRlLpTL1aCeBkBsJ1RQfgOJTbdCz0tBgdJC5Er48-OJ0GYDjPI-mKGIDfB6JN-e_sQLklvSwtq8Zy2JkB7099N13noiKagKczoCIXLzO6GP19Ym7We7cdvZJlMn0L/s640/DSC_0285.JPG" width="546" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a Whale Jaw. Yeah.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEEzjMZqtqVzvSEaeFrVRa5Fu7aWW7FB4kpHAu5PRSpXTZ4ZxSa_3Rlmcxy-VSFSlOh_El7FhmdZbrNh5SRvusQ_kMPygqx4jsC0OaQzb5sDX_CSaPAFmxwxKKCKcAkR-MjXbzwX3AvGv/s1600/DSC_0301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEEzjMZqtqVzvSEaeFrVRa5Fu7aWW7FB4kpHAu5PRSpXTZ4ZxSa_3Rlmcxy-VSFSlOh_El7FhmdZbrNh5SRvusQ_kMPygqx4jsC0OaQzb5sDX_CSaPAFmxwxKKCKcAkR-MjXbzwX3AvGv/s640/DSC_0301.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcbHTBrvDzeGoKyBZ2bQlzFjFRx6vGMf9huyWSeor0sSF3Y40wm_UqadRxqTIdwkUb64ArllGWVRljAlNcFst_DOErLLpx9Vk54_dn2P-SjEXCaIMzrtcjYWGdpEeSYmDkolVGI0CF8aA/s1600/DSC_0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcbHTBrvDzeGoKyBZ2bQlzFjFRx6vGMf9huyWSeor0sSF3Y40wm_UqadRxqTIdwkUb64ArllGWVRljAlNcFst_DOErLLpx9Vk54_dn2P-SjEXCaIMzrtcjYWGdpEeSYmDkolVGI0CF8aA/s640/DSC_0303.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lupine and Fjords</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOnK3Ps8HJrXllA1dm-UW5egCyiCaDBwkkg8bT3MYfdql-ro9qqq1Hjkof6d-McDaQFyignj2ZlR392KhyphenhyphenTGtjRaUM_WYlo7rqlql0n9XbzwnoYs07lOQayCik9pFoj0KcaJAd8N7OXHl/s1600/DSC_0306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOnK3Ps8HJrXllA1dm-UW5egCyiCaDBwkkg8bT3MYfdql-ro9qqq1Hjkof6d-McDaQFyignj2ZlR392KhyphenhyphenTGtjRaUM_WYlo7rqlql0n9XbzwnoYs07lOQayCik9pFoj0KcaJAd8N7OXHl/s640/DSC_0306.JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thingeyri Chapel</td></tr>
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The place I stayed at for the next 7 days was a coffee shop in a teeny tiny fishing village. The village still dried fish on ancient open air fish dryers, there were replica viking ships in the harbour, and I lived next door to the fish packing place. You guys, it was heaven on earth. I keep saying that about this place, but honestly it was absolutely remarkable. The building the coffee shop was in (and was also my host's house) was beautiful and perfectly Nordic. My time that week was divided between babysitting two little kids named Frida and Frosti (no joke you guys!), making waffles, serving coffee and soup, cleaning out a woodshed, riding Icelandic Horses, taking long walks along the harbour, making some really wonderful friends, meeting a fellow OSU Beaver (what?!), telling stories, cooking, eating amazing food, and finally feeling like I was on the adventure I'd hoped for. It was just so wonderful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28REqAAin36RTEJEh_7zcEtZlyh2s6gmtr3h8wZAVA9pUqUr5xfbhx4UvSZ3V6dZeT6LTMwKohajENJ6G73IjTNhzoaWTregzgeBt77j3226K0C0nd2LDnrQDtJv43JnJfrlbMgfv6mVY/s1600/20140614_113704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28REqAAin36RTEJEh_7zcEtZlyh2s6gmtr3h8wZAVA9pUqUr5xfbhx4UvSZ3V6dZeT6LTMwKohajENJ6G73IjTNhzoaWTregzgeBt77j3226K0C0nd2LDnrQDtJv43JnJfrlbMgfv6mVY/s640/20140614_113704.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5nvG72URwnv25-j7VuwDAua3WSjuqBlwFonH2sC7CNIXVQ8z9sEplOUpGHyuzW7yGvKx5JPve-EQVOkHW-JkG2Xzk3RkDa1Ic1oDlIln9R4fQDvpfK2IBZDeWzhje-ggnC8LARL3RUfe/s1600/2014-06-07+03.58.11+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5nvG72URwnv25-j7VuwDAua3WSjuqBlwFonH2sC7CNIXVQ8z9sEplOUpGHyuzW7yGvKx5JPve-EQVOkHW-JkG2Xzk3RkDa1Ic1oDlIln9R4fQDvpfK2IBZDeWzhje-ggnC8LARL3RUfe/s640/2014-06-07+03.58.11+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A junkyard playground that was absolutely so cool!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Br-6P6RsXbH9vkAd6ffYF92UR2WRDGiw2zekeOaXhyphenhyphenYpwybhBK8hZ4-UEKAGD_IA053nWk1GISipuKDfMlDQA3pJ1oNGfs6nY9GpmnNRfx7nCgYuya_x-c_TrodOA8DoHf7eMkhE9J6P/s1600/2014-06-07+04.31.50+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Br-6P6RsXbH9vkAd6ffYF92UR2WRDGiw2zekeOaXhyphenhyphenYpwybhBK8hZ4-UEKAGD_IA053nWk1GISipuKDfMlDQA3pJ1oNGfs6nY9GpmnNRfx7nCgYuya_x-c_TrodOA8DoHf7eMkhE9J6P/s640/2014-06-07+04.31.50+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWuuTQxn82XGe3mQPIWLFZHnwLAAtK4oeIK_CEvGXJyE5rbClPIoIssIvvblRhyphenhyphenMX4GC7vJIpXss9h-x_3IVRZ4BBmnz-l26_Bc3GkDqU5v10iubeMmVHcGPfU7Ycv9fMa35N7CGWPX2P/s1600/2014-05-24+03.00.36+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYWuuTQxn82XGe3mQPIWLFZHnwLAAtK4oeIK_CEvGXJyE5rbClPIoIssIvvblRhyphenhyphenMX4GC7vJIpXss9h-x_3IVRZ4BBmnz-l26_Bc3GkDqU5v10iubeMmVHcGPfU7Ycv9fMa35N7CGWPX2P/s640/2014-05-24+03.00.36+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZgimyWWgYMO8v-BrPps6bM-FNPtkx44T1qq7Njhrzm_uouDp0aa6HFdOAfZy5XrttiMtoXtpYcN4vsTWqFS3EnUxsSuk6aHpVTu6cxVHnrfe1U773LhrGcXhlEvbs5XHCstxbCG-3Fuh/s1600/2014-05-26+02.14.42+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZgimyWWgYMO8v-BrPps6bM-FNPtkx44T1qq7Njhrzm_uouDp0aa6HFdOAfZy5XrttiMtoXtpYcN4vsTWqFS3EnUxsSuk6aHpVTu6cxVHnrfe1U773LhrGcXhlEvbs5XHCstxbCG-3Fuh/s640/2014-05-26+02.14.42+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of these names is not like the others...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnXleYVtd7s8CDXZVQkMnRD0sJWSTX4RblvI-2h2sjS4_N1pikIendCk22Vwfq3_ag6puO54ZCUN4r8_oGDgDhgzdHCjBUHCwlE7NVcYVRI-iA6IeMLCLUMKpDwiqzQ8OuWg8Pr8XGsbg/s1600/2014-06-07+01.33.34+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnXleYVtd7s8CDXZVQkMnRD0sJWSTX4RblvI-2h2sjS4_N1pikIendCk22Vwfq3_ag6puO54ZCUN4r8_oGDgDhgzdHCjBUHCwlE7NVcYVRI-iA6IeMLCLUMKpDwiqzQ8OuWg8Pr8XGsbg/s640/2014-06-07+01.33.34+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nojoke,this wax figure looks exactly like my Norwegian grandmother and is also probably a picture of my future.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimeZGhzw-HsSsLapIhXyL474OCQYRoPxIBGNCrr2gWbFKbfBUDgTIwV9CTg6dADRE6-KHLpmf4xpewO-S8yx76DP7EJaliObUpaAQ3C3mBDcwrQUF-XC1KGPQhLb6ygv34AyVOC4D-5GLd/s1600/2014-06-14+01.38.30+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimeZGhzw-HsSsLapIhXyL474OCQYRoPxIBGNCrr2gWbFKbfBUDgTIwV9CTg6dADRE6-KHLpmf4xpewO-S8yx76DP7EJaliObUpaAQ3C3mBDcwrQUF-XC1KGPQhLb6ygv34AyVOC4D-5GLd/s640/2014-06-14+01.38.30+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I actually ate whale and it is amazing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxTsCTCf21WtgyWFEojD9RQCAZu9J9eugCpkR5DjeIIb37Uk2YtnogDZU8WbTl6UGo-2ekHwOGl_-hOcZgi-AW3DUeq3jBfyU-8TxnbrjzyOJbMOH4N0pJv9j-HP4cc-6spOeETOo0gQl/s1600/2014-06-14+01.38.40+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxTsCTCf21WtgyWFEojD9RQCAZu9J9eugCpkR5DjeIIb37Uk2YtnogDZU8WbTl6UGo-2ekHwOGl_-hOcZgi-AW3DUeq3jBfyU-8TxnbrjzyOJbMOH4N0pJv9j-HP4cc-6spOeETOo0gQl/s640/2014-06-14+01.38.40+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Murica</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQck0RB3LoNHYzaR6QeEx3hL9sxWj41q2FPdCC-GPuxe2GSLBnDMcv_sBvb_BZQj7S-8N1wc0OOxXdsbONCxS8sqBH3bkFZ6MxppmRpF9VtuOoyWkoOJXuTuKH0y82rfDFVQBjZb9sFeK/s1600/2014-06-14+05.50.31+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQck0RB3LoNHYzaR6QeEx3hL9sxWj41q2FPdCC-GPuxe2GSLBnDMcv_sBvb_BZQj7S-8N1wc0OOxXdsbONCxS8sqBH3bkFZ6MxppmRpF9VtuOoyWkoOJXuTuKH0y82rfDFVQBjZb9sFeK/s640/2014-06-14+05.50.31+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perhaps my favourite thing I saw in all of Iceland.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxRPM9a0wNbq30rYQiyrtT0-OQCV5hR7GXxZJ905BlWvPlcU-kXDrqPJvGPN0iPHHu3Cs8NNEbJkG4RhUJJ2J7VWSwn1loquY0xKZoPzl0A0Q9wH6x-YhXMZfhooxOLxiU1LalQ3qh1Z_s/s1600/2014-06-14+05.51.18+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxRPM9a0wNbq30rYQiyrtT0-OQCV5hR7GXxZJ905BlWvPlcU-kXDrqPJvGPN0iPHHu3Cs8NNEbJkG4RhUJJ2J7VWSwn1loquY0xKZoPzl0A0Q9wH6x-YhXMZfhooxOLxiU1LalQ3qh1Z_s/s640/2014-06-14+05.51.18+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Californiu"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZRnL8U67VhxOdtTFnIkOg7dxYAKHTr4F7-A8Ubygd7Zg7lmCK-JlPi849K6SeiDC3o0Q_AimTmRRElwRGOzI59YIKXPpDU194q-x_CkKctECWZ5Jd4GnpSLqWxUIR91uGknYXAerE2xt/s1600/2014-06-14+05.51.39+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZRnL8U67VhxOdtTFnIkOg7dxYAKHTr4F7-A8Ubygd7Zg7lmCK-JlPi849K6SeiDC3o0Q_AimTmRRElwRGOzI59YIKXPpDU194q-x_CkKctECWZ5Jd4GnpSLqWxUIR91uGknYXAerE2xt/s640/2014-06-14+05.51.39+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It means "cold." In Norwegian "fart" means "speed." </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIh8nemDrLkpi5XeA1BB5l2kBy5n87G6cgXZqbqhDrTpZ8PT08KfTIgHRnnzNinEyiyaPpKW3PQT0asACfCvZ0-nl3ffws5EMsx3hrpz-gu49UOe8AxAsqT8P4F13jHdBrYVBMSwVtEbd/s1600/2014-06-14+08.26.30+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIh8nemDrLkpi5XeA1BB5l2kBy5n87G6cgXZqbqhDrTpZ8PT08KfTIgHRnnzNinEyiyaPpKW3PQT0asACfCvZ0-nl3ffws5EMsx3hrpz-gu49UOe8AxAsqT8P4F13jHdBrYVBMSwVtEbd/s640/2014-06-14+08.26.30+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pizza and beer.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1q6TOzNfeVXz5Y1DixVWV6sSunajB3scYgPAJh3jI-H9aB5p83Y8iWifv8Cy13qnuJDk4uXH4zh_H32nfXZ3yLzCIhJq6eh2mFM4fIFYNOMiuwKAuKreCog3NUtS5OoK2RF4tvZnm2rO/s1600/2014-06-15+01.48.26+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1q6TOzNfeVXz5Y1DixVWV6sSunajB3scYgPAJh3jI-H9aB5p83Y8iWifv8Cy13qnuJDk4uXH4zh_H32nfXZ3yLzCIhJq6eh2mFM4fIFYNOMiuwKAuKreCog3NUtS5OoK2RF4tvZnm2rO/s640/2014-06-15+01.48.26+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I almost gave up coffee for this stuff. So. Damn. Good!</td></tr>
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I flew back to Reykjavik after a week and spent three days exploring and eating a lot of Pizza (?). The World Cup had begun, the sun never set and Reykjavik was just so cool. I didn't have time to do everything I wanted and I am determined to go back someday soon. The hostel I stayed at was super nice and I shared a room with three other American's and it was actually kind of nice to have a little time with "my own people" before heading on into the world. The best part was that one of my room mates told me she too was WWOOFing in Iceland. There are only two WWOOF hosts in Iceland, one on the west coast and one on the east coast. So I asked her which one, and it was the same one I had just escaped from! She told me all the things they had told her she would do, and it was the same lies I'd been given. Except she was supposed to be there for two months. I told her my experiences and she decided real quick like that she wasn't going to suffer through it all. Luckily when she arrived in Iceland her luggage had been lost and she had to stay at a B&B near the airport and befriended the son of the owners. He told her that if things didn't work out on the farm she was supposed to be at to call him because his grandparents lived further south and hired travelers to work their farm and restaurant during the summer. Seriously talk about luck!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoSB77ir1hyphenhyphenSdcsnogkK-Eym8wqEiVy3ZhvYcphs2f-jPrXbUvC865Y_sL36l75QI1C7DexNho2nOwKB9KVTNmy7Du1tvvhPhxWE6-PqGF_DxE9hlQ6szHguvRyMjlv_O0G5Rlro9HLKn/s1600/2014-05-24+03.00.30+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoSB77ir1hyphenhyphenSdcsnogkK-Eym8wqEiVy3ZhvYcphs2f-jPrXbUvC865Y_sL36l75QI1C7DexNho2nOwKB9KVTNmy7Du1tvvhPhxWE6-PqGF_DxE9hlQ6szHguvRyMjlv_O0G5Rlro9HLKn/s640/2014-05-24+03.00.30+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pancakes! Bacon! Grassfed Butter!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxx6v06b9G1X1FtvbtOH8HkDwdLUkTynPxNBhW0wuXmDiyoymuBAjdyIFrZQMF8rZRAZL1OPwfokHK9_YjMRxbjNursGkqOezxybY09HWq4Cy8Pdd6ZQeHG8g-Aa1Y9XNhFrl6OyC6VM-/s1600/2014-06-15+05.51.12+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxx6v06b9G1X1FtvbtOH8HkDwdLUkTynPxNBhW0wuXmDiyoymuBAjdyIFrZQMF8rZRAZL1OPwfokHK9_YjMRxbjNursGkqOezxybY09HWq4Cy8Pdd6ZQeHG8g-Aa1Y9XNhFrl6OyC6VM-/s640/2014-06-15+05.51.12+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen Hot Chocolate. Also, all the dishes were from IKEA.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoB9-lBZHNdBQEaVBpI9I-XTSeAO5_ZeTfqLrGAkCVKZRLkVgbdCsO4DFVuEM72yL3SCrW5Ohf97vQ5gsD_uAzUV6K7ySfh-aivOcdB08d1-nQ_B461Znsb_V2-iZxCIJ02pTWhyocqxI/s1600/2014-06-15+05.19.10+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoB9-lBZHNdBQEaVBpI9I-XTSeAO5_ZeTfqLrGAkCVKZRLkVgbdCsO4DFVuEM72yL3SCrW5Ohf97vQ5gsD_uAzUV6K7ySfh-aivOcdB08d1-nQ_B461Znsb_V2-iZxCIJ02pTWhyocqxI/s640/2014-06-15+05.19.10+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I highly recommend this restaurant! Amazing pancakes, coffee, and burgers, and the prices aren't half bad!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8sw99QfXEH5H8qQi7JG0z-xWBgXyPvQjxmM0kNoLJ_F4oxVm4JXnIX9QkYviLPBqHpvZG5CMykgo919U_3fGTEumtj_PH_N1Jv-M9fiKspH5ZHRAG1PxnNAWu84YvsPeZaTRO6W5MN8w/s1600/2014-05-24+03.00.58+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8sw99QfXEH5H8qQi7JG0z-xWBgXyPvQjxmM0kNoLJ_F4oxVm4JXnIX9QkYviLPBqHpvZG5CMykgo919U_3fGTEumtj_PH_N1Jv-M9fiKspH5ZHRAG1PxnNAWu84YvsPeZaTRO6W5MN8w/s640/2014-05-24+03.00.58+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rKZ0wiaapNN5jSIg8YwPP0-OWEgpoBeZAutK2sPEa6P4O7MC6kOVe6xiLKB1koAP2oN7vp4SMrkM-YlDH-kvB_8dtuKazziWiX48V0teh9tU7H9Nh0wqHlVdrnzUQtquy1jc2f_KGFiv/s1600/2014-05-24+03.01.00+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rKZ0wiaapNN5jSIg8YwPP0-OWEgpoBeZAutK2sPEa6P4O7MC6kOVe6xiLKB1koAP2oN7vp4SMrkM-YlDH-kvB_8dtuKazziWiX48V0teh9tU7H9Nh0wqHlVdrnzUQtquy1jc2f_KGFiv/s640/2014-05-24+03.01.00+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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"Hi guys, just got back from my perm. Are my cheeks rosey enough? Alright, let's do some Miracles." </td></tr>
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While I had been at the farm I did manage to get into Reykjavik one day and I spent the very few hours I had there going to the Icelandic Penis Museum. Yes, it was giggle inducing, but also pretty interesting! Hands down my favourite sight was Hallsgrimkirkja, complete with Swedish Jesus. It was absolutely beautiful!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On my way to Norway! Also it pays to wear Makeup on your plane ride if the guy checking you in is mega hot so he'll knock off a whole $20 from your overweight baggage charge.</td></tr>
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So There you have it. Iceland. Oy. Ups and downs, learning, growing, it was a journey. One year ago today I woke early, drank my last Icelandic chocolate milk (srsly guys, so friggin good), and boarded a plane for Norway. I'll start covering Norway later this month. It will need far more than 2 posts!</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-13226276221107756182015-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:002015-06-12T09:00:09.217-07:00Outfit: Floral Blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't know how many people outside of California have had to listen to people going nuts over #thedrought, but I think I can safely speak for all Californians when I say we're done with it. Sure it's bad, but we've had a fairly good rain season and are in the beginning of an El Nino, so a wet, and slightly cooler Summer, Autumn, and Winter on are their way. This past week the June Gloom has kept mornings cool and even the hot days haven't been so miserable. Last year was apparently miserable (and I coincidentally missed it!), so I for one am thankful that I still need a sweater in the evenings.<br />
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Even so, I am such a wimp about the heat that I'm desperately working to accumulate a nice array of light weight clothes to wear this summer. I found this rayon dress at a thrift store a while ago and finally got around to shortening it last week. I separated the bodice from the skirt and took off some length from the waist (so I didn't have to re-hem it), and re-attached them. I had to add a few pleats to get the skirt to fit the bodice, but that was easy peasy. It's a perfect dress for gardening as well as wearing out and about, so I am pretty pleased!</div>
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Dress- Thrifted, altered by me</div>
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Cardigan- Thrifted</div>
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Shoes- Minnetonka Moccasins, Ebay</div>
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Earrings-World Market (I think)</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-30136285603190358702015-06-10T09:00:00.000-07:002015-06-10T09:00:07.979-07:00Sequoia 6/10<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the top of Moro Rock 10,000 ft above sea level.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So because of #thedrought a lot of wildlife has had to come into more populated areas at lower elevations. Which is cool, but also terrifying when there is a bear in your picnic area:</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I GOT SO CLOSE TO THIS LITTLE YEARLING AND WE NAMED HIM FRED AND HE WAS MY FRIEND AND I WAS SO HAPPY!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of my favourite photos of Grace!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUCf7Doo4d9bnvShWZ-EUY8X2oNbNUaki68slmKjI-CBepy525d5YTzeZ6mYHc2ixSM6IRW4LrYmz5Gtp3tu50UOzsUDuoCn-ZOcZwObx1mA329j8kqTgbwagvsw9bKqCeESq5pTaH1Qb/s1600/IMG_1733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUCf7Doo4d9bnvShWZ-EUY8X2oNbNUaki68slmKjI-CBepy525d5YTzeZ6mYHc2ixSM6IRW4LrYmz5Gtp3tu50UOzsUDuoCn-ZOcZwObx1mA329j8kqTgbwagvsw9bKqCeESq5pTaH1Qb/s640/IMG_1733.JPG" width="410" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to a backpack, a water bottle, and my sunglasses we got a family photo with the General Grant Tree. Someday I'll remember a tripod.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granite Falls.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiapNQnKcqTewIb8C9zYiHGfJs803sy-oNzxtt6MGdNe98EBAy8UGLcRyug6eHqzl7YlzXHlQ4FhDpzfOGkFeHcDuNGhvSbul0D-hVAwUALpopOKF_tl9l6UwP0K_SHpEl-L5jkwEdzg9_/s1600/IMG_1854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiapNQnKcqTewIb8C9zYiHGfJs803sy-oNzxtt6MGdNe98EBAy8UGLcRyug6eHqzl7YlzXHlQ4FhDpzfOGkFeHcDuNGhvSbul0D-hVAwUALpopOKF_tl9l6UwP0K_SHpEl-L5jkwEdzg9_/s640/IMG_1854.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot pot?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8gSHTxWXtkl7WFrzuRh4EEZIFASyXGOWvNG3ytDJr_D_6RA7fn1vy2ZNAtIwO-YJxuE__jJKyjvlAsuQaqQUUNcPO39ugf-8lS9tO0LEJZgBXgC4QrrO6mN-SGvfUlA56iKuWDcwV9GT/s1600/IMG_1871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8gSHTxWXtkl7WFrzuRh4EEZIFASyXGOWvNG3ytDJr_D_6RA7fn1vy2ZNAtIwO-YJxuE__jJKyjvlAsuQaqQUUNcPO39ugf-8lS9tO0LEJZgBXgC4QrrO6mN-SGvfUlA56iKuWDcwV9GT/s640/IMG_1871.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One kind of cool benefit of #thedrought is that you get to see things that would otherwise be underwater.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lady of Shalot. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henny was not happy after we made her get in the water at the lake. She actually pouted like a princess for a solid hour.</td></tr>
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Last week we spent three days exploring Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We went when I was a kid, but it had been 17 years and most of my siblings didn't remember it (and two weren't even born!). It was an absolutely wonderful trip! Perfectly relaxing, but still filled with lots of fun things to see. We're hoping to take two more camping trips this year and honestly I can't wait. If there is one place I feel most at home, it's in among the trees.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gen. Sherman Tree, largest living thing on earth.</td></tr>
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-39287588123045902622015-06-05T09:30:00.000-07:002015-06-05T16:49:15.273-07:00Iceland Pt. 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Now that a year has passed I think it's time to start recapping my crazy wild adventure in a bit more detail. I'm super punctual.<br />
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I have honestly been reflecting on the four weeks I spent in Iceland since I left. For a long time I was pretty angry and bitter about it, but then suddenly I wasn't. I was more annoyed, but also amused. Then suddenly I was amused and appreciative. And now I find myself thankful. I've spent a year trying to make sense of everything that happened, and suddenly a very few weeks ago, it all did. I was sitting in church on a Sunday when it hit me: I was grieving.<br />
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Last May was rough. May 5th my <a href="http://yammeringmuse.blogspot.com/2014/05/ina-mae.html" target="_blank">Great Grandma,</a> an amazing woman who forever inspires me, passed away. I got to be with her that day and while she was in her nineties and we'd known this was coming for a long time, it didn't make her death any easier. I still get teary eyed thinking of her and I will continue to miss her for the rest of my life. On May 11th we spent Mother's Day celebrating Grandma in a very appropriate way,by visiting an Arboretum. May 12th was her funeral, and I left May 15th. It was rough.<br />
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Aside from that, there were other relationships in my life that were ending. Specifically one that was, again, a long time coming, and ended on a rather passive aggressive note. It's something I still mourn, and try and think of ways to fix, and maybe someday it will be fixed, but it hurt just below the hurt from my grandma's death.<br />
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At the same time I'd spent almost two years back in California with no clear idea of how to do what I wanted to do. I kept telling myself it was temporary so I didn't get involved in anything. I went to work and stayed at home and I grew really bitter about a lot of things. I felt like I'd used all my chances and was destined to always be someone who could never quite be successful in anything I did. I lost a lot of my passion for life, lacked any kind of direction, and just kind of gave up in a lot of ways. As I told my mom last year, I had checked out of life.<br />
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So some of this might sound like rationalizing, and it is, but it's also accurate. I think a lot of people who know me in real life would roll their eyes at me talking about how badly I was hurting because I probably acted fairly normal, but the fact is that I've never been one who easily tells other's their pain. In fact, I really pride myself on being the person that other's can come to, but I am not good about letting other people in on my own hurting. I always have to be strong, I can cry, but I've got to get over it quickly. Maybe it's because I'm the eldest, but it's who I am. And frankly I actually like that about myself most the time. But in this instance I'd let too much accumulate and refused to deal with any of it.<br />
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A side, really actually TMI story here,that is actually kind of funny is that I was supposed to have started my period around the time my grandma died but because of the stress and craziness I ended up starting two days before I left. I have NEVER had a worse period! To my mother I referred to it as The Great Bleed (I know, GROSS!!), because I actually ruined several pieces of clothing that week. Cramps, cravings, instant mood swings, I am not joking when I say it was the actual worst period in the history of womankind. You guys, I brought those pads you lay under children who pee the bed because things were SO BAD!<br />
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So there I was throwing up in a bathroom, dealing with the worst visit from mother nature ever, scared out of my mind, and trying to be brave and tell myself I was super duper A-OK.<br />
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Then I got to Iceland.<br />
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I'd read all these other people talk about their trips to Iceland. Full of sweeping landscapes, soothing mineral pools, and spiritual awakenings. In my mind I kept thinking of how awesome it was going to be for me, how my breathe would be taken away, and I'd like, reach some level of higher consciousness. I really looked forward to telling people about how Iceland had a magic in the air that seemed to enlighten a person, about how it changed me. As I look back now at the things I posted on Social Media about this trip the first few days are so hopeful and seem happy, but I remember that with everything I posted I was desperately trying to make everyone think I was already experiencing this magical transformation, and most of all I was trying to convince myself.<br />
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The reality is that an hour and a half after I arrived in Iceland I was sitting on a bench in a shopping mall, that was in itself a super amazing Nordic adventure, bawling my eyes out. Things immediately started to go wrong. I couldn't use the SIM card I'd just spent 3000 krona on (about $24 at the time), and I had planned on doing that rather than getting an absurdly expensive international plan. I was carrying too much stuff. One strap of the vintage military backpack I bought specifically for this trip broke, and just as I finally got to meet my host, the other one broke. And then there was the farm...<br />
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Oh man, oh man. Where do I even begin? My hosts seemed nice at first, and then suddenly told me I wasn't going to be able to leave the farm for for the first three weeks. They'd lied in their emails about my specific jobs, one of them turned out to be an alcoholic, their children were actual monsters and I love kids, the kids cut the laces off my shoes, the cracker box I lived in with 3-4 other people was freezing cold and had one eastern facing window with a blackout curtain (which is a big deal when the sun doesn't set), the farm itself was filled with junk and dead animals laying around (I just remembered that one), the dairy was literally falling apart, the cows were the mangiest looking cows I've ever seen, the manure you had to walk through to just get in the dairy was 2 feet deep and was mostly firm on a good day, the milking station was in shambles, the three calves lived in the tiniest pen known to man, the food was awful, and not just like, oh this is culturally different, I'm talking had gone bad, rancid, this tastes bad so let's throw an apple in there to try and make it decent (?), I didn't have a single day off for three weeks, and there was just so much more that went wrong. The other people who were staying there got to do these interesting jobs and I had to chase down cows. The other people there all spoke the same language and refused to speak English unless directly talking to me. I felt totally alone, defeated, and cranky that my Magical Nordic Spiritual Awakening<br />
had turned into Cow Shit Weird Apple Food Nightmare.<br />
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I'd like to think that if all that happened to me again today, after a long time of learning and reshaping, that I'd deal with it with far more humour and charm, because let's face it: with my luck, of course all these things were bound to happen! I think that today I'd call my parents and complain in a way that makes them laugh, go for a walk, have a beer and chocolate, watch a funny TV show, go to bed and be over it. I'd begrudgingly get up each morning cranky has heck, but I'd try to find some sort of humor in the day. But this wasn't how I functioned last year. Last year, I threw a temper tantrum. I was so mad, bitter, belligerent, just <i>so very angry</i>. I was actually just hurting so badly. I'd had these huge losses I'd never dealt with or had the chance to mourn, and instead of being able to see that and act accordingly, I turned that into hate. I mean it. I hated everything. I couldn't appreciate the opportunity sitting in my lap. I couldn't see how fortunate I was to be where I was, doing what I was doing. And so I acted like a bratty three year old.<br />
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I actually deleted a few of my more amazingly disgusting facebook posts and I am eternally grateful to my past self that I will not have to relive those dark, spoiled moments. There was one day I was on skype with my mom crying and begging her to let me come home and she just let me have it. 26 years old and my mother had to tell me to stop acting like a spoiled brat. I don't even remember her exact words, but they hurt me so badly. I texted my incredibly honest, holds nothing back, gives it to me straight, dear, darling friend Spencer and asked him if he thought I was acting like a spoiled brat. For the first time in our friendship he avoided giving me a straight answer and that was when I knew I was being... There isn't a strong enough word for how I was behaving. Spoiled, bratty, selfish, childish, ridiculous, disgusting. None of those quite say it all.<br />
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I'm honestly not trying to make excuses for my behaviour then, just putting it into perspective. And like I said, it wasn't even until this past week that I fully began to realize the reasons behind how I acted. I was experiencing a lot of emotions I didn't know how to deal with and so I expressed them in the simplest form I knew how to. Which brings me to the next portion. Growing pains. Physically I was doing things I'd never done before and working super hard each day and was incredibly overweight. those things brought with them their own challenges. While they were changing me physically, all this other stuff was changing me emotionally. One particularly terrible day I had to chase down the cows, too many came into the dairy, a few got loose in the shed and I had to chase them down again. I finally got them all in the milking stalls and attached the milking machine and went to go feed the bulls. I was carrying a pitchfork and the farm dogs, who I also fed and were apparently starving, kept crowding me. I triped over one of them and went flying in the air. the pitchfork twisted in my hand and I knew I was going to land on it, so I flung myself (while mid air) to the side and landed with my butt in a fresh pile of manure. I sat there and cried for what felt like a solid ten minutes before I finally got up to finish my chores. The name of this chapter of my life would probably be <i>Shit and Tears.</i><br />
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I spent a vast majority of the first three weeks I was in Iceland crying. I don't even think I knew what I was crying over. I just cried and was angry and didn't know how to shake off those feelings. And one day I went for a walk. I walked the "town" and tried to find things to cheer me up. I bought a cup of really good, really strong coffee. I hiked a smaller hill and once at the top I took in the panorama of my surroundings and just sobbed. I sat there sobbing for probably an hour. sobbed, ad sobbed, and sobbed some more. It was so beautiful and yet I felt so terrible. I fell asleep on a patch of grass and moss on the top of a random hill surrounded by open fields to the west and a friggin volcano to the east. And when I woke up something had changed. I felt a lot more at peace. My situation hadn't changed, but somehow between the tears, the nap, the caffeine,and the cold mist as I napped in the grass, my perspective changed. I left the hill and continued to explore the town. I found a coffee shop with delicious pastries. I found a pizza shop and hair salon. In the same place. I found trees! and hugged them. I found an inexplicable chicken coop in the middle of a tiny forest. I found an old church and explored the cemetery. I found an older couple walking down a pretty tree lined path, laughing and smiling, hand-in-hand. I found a pile of empty beer bottles and cans in a little clearing in the trees where they had obviously been an raging party. I found a badass playground with a <i>zipline</i>. My eyes started seeing things a little differently and some of the weight in my chest seemed to lift.<br />
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That was really a turning point in that trip. A few days later I got to see Skogafoss which was one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen. And at some point I started taking walks everyday. I'd walk to get ice cream, or a cup of coffee. I'd walk to the grocery store to buy Scandinavian versions of Oreos (which were far superior!) or browse the wool selection. I tried fish jerky (nope.) and scary looking Chocolate milk that ended up being so. damn. good. I walk through fields, I walked through ravines. I talked to horses and I picked flowers. I found cute cottages and wild rhubarb. I found random hunky Icelanders in kilts having a Highland Games day. I got excited about this trip again and slowly but surely things got better. I was less angry, or rather I started to realize what I had been angry about, and started to actually begin to deal with all those things. And it wasn't so much that things got better, but that my attitude did. Life wasn't any easier, but it also wasn't so very terrible anymore.<br />
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I spent many many moths since then feeling guilty and bad for acting so poorly, but putting everything into perspective, I've managed to forgive myself for that behaviour and also realize that every single thing I went through needed to happen. Iceland tore down some pretty strong walls I built up that desperately needed to be torn down. Those first three weeks were like clearing a field full of brambles, and stones, and trees for planting. It was horrible, back breaking, and utterly miserable. But in the end I had this rich soil in which to plant new things and grow new life. So I did have my own unique spiritual experience in Iceland, it just wasn't what I thought it would be. But just as the good Lord knew, it was exactly what I needed.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-83276672264408278862015-05-15T10:00:00.000-07:002015-05-15T10:00:04.127-07:001 Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One year ago today I threw up at home and then got into the car. My mom drove me at 4:30 in the morning and we battled LA traffic and arrived at LAX as the sun was rising. I checked in and went to the bathroom to throw up again. I cried and hugged my mom and Grace, and walked off into a dark shadowy future of adventure and uncertainty.<br />
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Oh man this trip threw me for a biiiig loop. <br />
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Saga Museum hanging with a Viking Dude.</div>
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Riding a horse for the first time</div>
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Westfjords majesty.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skogafoss</td></tr>
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But it was also one of the most amazing, wonderful, terrible, fantastic, crazy, miserable, blissful, absolutely perfect experiences in my life. I could say so much about what I learned, the person I was before, the person I am now, but instead I'll just say that I am so thankful for EVERYTHING that happened on that trip.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glacier hiking</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">double fisting wine at a book festival</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gigantic Norwegian Raspberries</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overlooking a Fjord Village and breaking my heart with beauty.</td></tr>
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Iceland was hard, rugged, rough, and painfully beautiful. Norway was just absolutely joyful, breathtaking, and filled me with song. Scotland was not what I expected and that saddened me a lot, but it was also magical, wild. I got to go places and see things I've dreamed of my whole life. And here I am a year on wanting to go back to all those places, to bring loved ones and show them all the cool things I got to see. And I'm plotting new adventures. A summer traipsing through Italy and Greece. An Autumn exploring France. A crazy jaunt to Antarctica. Road trips through the US. Exploring South America... I could go on. I love my home and my people, and I will always long for them when I am away. But oh! how I want to go out and see more and more now.<br />
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Callanish Standing Stones and me attempting to go back in time to meet Jamie Fraser.</div>
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Photo credit to the kindly bolder that held my camera.</div>
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William Wallace's mother effing sword and me bawling and giving some poor Australian tourists an empowered speech on freedom.</div>
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Autumn on Stirling Bridge</div>
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St Andrews Castle and little doorways</div>
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Here's to the next round of adventures. Here's to going out and doing something crazy. Here's to the Ad in Adventure. Here's to never losing my sense of wonder and exploration. Here's to this crazy thing called life.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-26880897913853974162015-03-18T09:00:00.000-07:002015-03-18T09:00:09.049-07:00Dotty-Spotty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(excuse the wrinkles! This was day three of wearing it because I lurve it so very much!)</div>
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I made a dress! A day dress! A day dress than can transition into a slightly fancier or-at-least-as-fancy-as-quilting-cotton-can-get dress! And I like it.</div>
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So some of you may remember that back in the early days of this blog I had the above dress that I wore a lot. Like. A. Lot. It was one of the first "vintage"-y items I ever found that fit me, and it was cute and had probably been a maternity dress at some point. I actually always told myself I would keep it until I had kids, but that didn't happen, because I literally wore the thing to shreds. I was a pretty and somewhat rare shade of blue and had a gradient of sizes of white polka dots on it. I <i>loved</i> that dress. It was one of those items of clothing that you put on and just feel happier in. It was a very happy dress, and in it I felt like I could take on any problem the world threw at me. So a recentish trip to Joann found me in the quilting cotton section and I spied a fabric in the same shade of blue with a nice sized white polka dot and I immediately knew I should re-create my long lost favourite dress. I even found a sort of similar bodice pattern that I planned to alter to make like my dear departed beloved dress ( I cannot drive home enough how much I loved that dress).<br />
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I ended up using a different pattern than I had originally planned and I'm really glad because I absolutely adore the way this came out! The bodice is a modified Simplicity <a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-8463-misses-1940s-vintage-tops.aspx" target="_blank">1692</a>. I used view C, but gave he back a super deep scoop and made the front scoop a bit wider(when I first tried it on after I finished it, my youngest sister asked me if it was on backwards and I said no and she said "well if you turned it around then maybe you could get a husband." I don't know where she gets this from. And then when I scoffed at her statement she said "I'm kidding. Women don't need husbands, just dignity." 9 going on Sassy. We've decided that Grace was a British Drag Queen in a past life.). The skirt is Simplicity <a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-1976-misses-plus-size-1940s-vintage-sportswear.aspx" target="_blank">3688</a> minus the waistband, and with funky cool patch pockets I added. There's a side zip hiding in there and well I basically think this is the Greatest Dress Ever (and totally not maternity friendly, so this one will probably last me all eternity). I'm actually really tempted to go and buy a ton more of this fabric to save in case of the inevitable unfortunate coffee incident that will stain this dress at some point.</div>
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In other news, I got glasses! They're actually only for driving and TV watching, but sometimes I forget they're on. These aren't anything fancy, just some basic frames from the optometrist, but I quite like them. Plus they're grey so the go with everything!</div>
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I'm sure by now you've heard that my corner of the planet is going through a ridiculous heat wave right now and apparently I left all my sundresses in Europe. I'll say this, I really don't mind the fact that all the flowers are blooming and everywhere you go the air in my city is perfumed by the magnolias and orange blossoms, but I could do without the 95+ degree weather. So I expect that I'll be making many more of these little dresses as the summer lingers on. I'm actually really, really not looking forward to the real heat setting in. In February we had days that were hotter than any I had last July or August. Now I'm remembering why I always leave here...</div>
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-25227981543891923772015-01-13T13:29:00.000-08:002015-01-13T13:29:37.508-08:00End of December<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On the last Sunday of 2014 my family- including my visiting grandparents- headed down to one of my favourite places in all the world: La Jolla Cove. La Jolla is one of the most spectacularly beautiful pieces of coast on the planet. It's a funny little town where stores encourage parents to either keep their eyes on their children or leave them with the chauffeur. Multi-Million Dollar apartments in a spectacularly 80's shade of salmon pink line the shore. Palm Trees sway down traffic packed single lane roads that twist and curve to the shape of the coastline. It's the place postcards dream of. When I was a kid part of the beach was reserved for Children (Appropriately called the Children's Beach), but was taken over by Seals and Sea Lions. They cover the whole beach and now it's blocked off as a reserve. They also take refuge on the rocks along the cliff line and while you aren't supposed to go near them, unfortunately most touristy types still try and get up close and personal. </div>
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We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing and enjoying the sunshine and cool breezes.</div>
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As much as I love the cold, this little slice of heaven I live near will always be dear to my heart.</div>
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-83644441348980867282015-01-09T09:00:00.000-08:002015-01-09T09:00:02.474-08:008 Feet Of Heaven On The Ground<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsCHMe1fmzDkO-o4noVpfcCZlMdtdzHsjll1bXKHasTvUrKgbaJFFKYIBU9vxkpp0wQl9UPlZ6s57rJezj1fVq54neDTWPUFo-NdwY2_vYAgv1sJFfjjOhh3dr-51xKb98nlnfBmhd2IH/s1600/IMG_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsCHMe1fmzDkO-o4noVpfcCZlMdtdzHsjll1bXKHasTvUrKgbaJFFKYIBU9vxkpp0wQl9UPlZ6s57rJezj1fVq54neDTWPUFo-NdwY2_vYAgv1sJFfjjOhh3dr-51xKb98nlnfBmhd2IH/s1600/IMG_0173.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="40" id="gsSong2302658337" name="gsSong2302658337" width="250"><param name="movie" value="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=23026583&style=metal&p=0" /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf" width="250" height="40"><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="hostname=grooveshark.com&songID=23026583&style=metal&p=0" /><span><a href="http://grooveshark.com/search/song?q=Jenny%20Dalton%20Snow%20Mazes%20of%20Norway" title="Snow Mazes of Norway by Jenny Dalton on Grooveshark">Snow Mazes of Norway by Jenny Dalton on Grooveshark</a></span></object></object><br />
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Maybe because I didn't grow up with it, but Snow has always filled me with this absolute wonder and magic. The first time I ever saw it snow was when I was six and we were up at my Great-Grandparent's old Cabin for Thanksgiving. I was wearing a brown jumper dress and a white turtleneck shirt and my sister and I stared out over the ground below us, noses to the window glass, so excited for the promise of snowmen, angels, and ball fight (and my uncle's ill attempt at an igloo...) in the following day.<br />
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The new year brought with it a storm of epic proportions for this part of the country and thank God because we need all the storms we can get to make up for last year's horrific drought. It got so cold it even snowed around these parts and the hills a few minutes drive from me had a few inches of snow on them for over 24 hours. We, along with everyone else we know, made pilgrimages to the local snow spots for a little Winter glory.<br />
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We ended up going after dark so no one else was around which was pretty swell to have our own private little snowy oasis. We left rosy cheeked, with smiles on our faces, and ready for piping hot cups of coffee and cocoa. We headed home for a soup dinner by the fireplace and reveled in the small sampling of Winter we were blessed with.<br />
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My family has been seriously considering a big life change that might bring us to a part of the world where getting snow isn't a once in a decade experience. It's mostly talk at this point, but serious talk. Who knows if anything will come of it, but we're all quite taken with the idea of getting to live in a wonderland of snow. None of us like the heat and unending sunshine of our current home, and we'd all like to utilize the wool in our wardrobes a little more frequently. We'll see. Until then I'll take whatever bit of Snow I can get.<br />
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-35817401693287531672015-01-06T13:59:00.001-08:002015-01-06T13:59:48.461-08:00Plaided Again*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
*I am so sorry for that terrible pun.</div>
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While I was in Scotland I stayed with a host for 12 days and they were IN. SANE. Like, I can't even begin to describe how crazy they were. I was miserable. It was abnormally cold and windy and I spent a lot of time outside digging up stubborn weeds and one day while I was pretty stinkin' cranky about it all, I put some yard clippings in the compost and snagged my favourite work shirt on a nail. It tore and I was really annoyed. At exactly that moment I got an email from eShakti offering to send me a customized garment of my choice. Uh, hello! Considering I lost a little over 80 lbs while I was gone I don't have a whole lot of clothing options right now. The week after I got home I did hit up a few thrift stores and Old Navy to try and find <i>something</i> to wear and weirdly now I am stuck with a lot of pants, but very few tops... My skirts all need resizing, my dresses have to be cut down, and I am currently moving from one room to another and all my sewing supplies are inaccessible so I'm a little sartorially stuck. So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to getting this new item of clothing!<br />
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I went through the website debating what to get, (skirt, top, dress?) and spent far too much time hemming and hawing over my decision. At one point I had 15 tabs open and I just couldn't decide. I finally narrowed it down to four and then consulted my mom who let me talk it out until I finally decided on the one I had continually returned to over and over again. eShakti has a huge range of styles and items and I absolutely love that. I've been a longtime lurker of the site and have almost made purchases on many occasions, so here was an opportunity to finally get to try out one of their garments.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl35GEh7_t9HI8GlpMycy_Wd6H5vxR58GyX4DMSFiL72smMETXNJ2TFkn6OevsyFVsO-fW_HNP5psKQo2RIS9AqFeeyIYepNNLpepdRerSIJbeVdtRLd4D5HljGvJckQiT5X5JMf2f-jTh/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl35GEh7_t9HI8GlpMycy_Wd6H5vxR58GyX4DMSFiL72smMETXNJ2TFkn6OevsyFVsO-fW_HNP5psKQo2RIS9AqFeeyIYepNNLpepdRerSIJbeVdtRLd4D5HljGvJckQiT5X5JMf2f-jTh/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" height="612" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you are unfamiliar with eShakti, they are a fantastic online clothing site offering clothing in sizes 0-36! And beyond that you can customize each garment to fit your style and size needs. and if that weren't wonderful enough they actually carry cute clothes! There are basics and party dresses, fun prints and quality fabric. The dress I chose is unfortunately no longer available, but if it is any thing like the rest of the selection, you really can't go wrong! I adore this dress and have worn it several times since receiving it (which was right before Thanksgiving so this post is so incredibly late!!). I opted for the custom fit, and next to the dresses I've made myself this is the best fitting dress I own. Plus look at that plaid matching. *swoon* The fact that it is a beautiful cotton sateen is great for the California heat but also works well in the cooler months here. It's easy to dress up or down, super comfortable, and incredibly versatile. I am in love!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWuWMKsjPYHU7f47Ab1LSJb6StSjMjE7JLFKNlB6gUfJmuEv28Jps0u2JPYZWCkp5ZAo76EFCWRIu7w0Mq2mA9KE3MiPZ0xo7bHMPWXyOx8-PB8RTfFJMYQZOobxMdxPZYyy10xNC4UD-N/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWuWMKsjPYHU7f47Ab1LSJb6StSjMjE7JLFKNlB6gUfJmuEv28Jps0u2JPYZWCkp5ZAo76EFCWRIu7w0Mq2mA9KE3MiPZ0xo7bHMPWXyOx8-PB8RTfFJMYQZOobxMdxPZYyy10xNC4UD-N/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" height="640" width="630" /></a></div>
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So is there anything I don't like? Not really, but there are some things I'd do differently when ordering next time. For instance this dress is long sleeved, and I just never wear long sleeves. I get too hot in them so it was kind of silly for me to not just get the dress cut in the 3/4/elbow length I prefer (and which is offered in the customizing section). I'm also not crazy about the fact that the lining is polyester, but in a store bought dress that's a given, and honestly it doesn't really bother me. The only thing I can say I don't like about the dress was the matching belt. The best itself is cute, but it's a slide closure belt and tends to slip so I am constantly having to pull it tight again. A snap stitched in will solve this, but I personally prefer leather belts to break up a bold print like this. This has literally nothing to do with the quality of the garment, just my personal preference. <br />
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In short I am super satisfied with my pretty new dress and am super excited to order again from eShakti!<br />
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You can check them out on their <a href="http://www.eshakti.com/" target="_blank">website</a>, aswell as follow along on <a href="http://instagram.com/eshakti" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/eshakti/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/eshakti" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. Best of all eShakti is offering a 10% discount to readers on all purchases until February 2nd using the discount code "yammeringmuse."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNPxCkwbM0yU-kTeNjdREawaJ2lQTuXoe6UtVSOjCRCmotDNTuRzjr2rUKB6k4fD7lVBFAOH5jjUGV0uts2a1DytbBOLtS2mxbv9-XyMUTI7WB-WmEA1i44C4c7ae-OgCh2TEvJSDMp5A/s1600/IMG_0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNPxCkwbM0yU-kTeNjdREawaJ2lQTuXoe6UtVSOjCRCmotDNTuRzjr2rUKB6k4fD7lVBFAOH5jjUGV0uts2a1DytbBOLtS2mxbv9-XyMUTI7WB-WmEA1i44C4c7ae-OgCh2TEvJSDMp5A/s1600/IMG_0227.JPG" height="640" width="636" /></a></div>
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This is a sponsored post. I received goods in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed herein are my own. </div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-39107727201071881412014-12-01T16:40:00.001-08:002014-12-01T16:40:40.527-08:00Blurred Plaids<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hello! Greetings from sunny So. Cal! It has been great to be home and play catch-up with life and people and all that. There's a whole lot I could talk about about being back home, but for now let's talk clothes.</div>
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I've been in a sartorial funk for a few months now and on top of that I lost nearly 80lbs while travelling. There's a lot of odd psychological things that happen when you lose that much weight unintentionally in such a small time. Maybe one of these days I'll go into it, but right now the point is this: I have very little that fits me. Almost nothing from my pre trip closet fit, and while some of those old items can be altered that takes time and it's been frustrating. I did manage to go out and do a bit of shopping after I got home but other than a few pairs of pants and I think three tops, two dresses, and a skirt, my wardrobe does not exist. I desperately need tops right now, but to begin with I made myself a dress that isn't even remotely a day dress. Hey, I've been travelling from farm to farm falling in various animal feces for 6 months, I DESERVE A PRETTY DRESS!</div>
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Cardigan- Thrifted, Dress- Me Made, Petticoat- Vintage (and on it's last life), Ferragamos- Thrifted.</div>
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The total cost of this dress comes out to about $2 or $3. The bodice pattern is <a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-11788-misses-vintage-halter-tops.aspx">Simplicity 137</a>5 that my mom picked up for me over the summer for a dollar, and the fabric I bought at a festival a few weekends ago. I bought a large roll of this fabric for $3 and after making this dress that involves a full circle skirt, I still have about five yards left so like, I will have all the clothes from this fabric.</div>
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There isn't a whole lot more to say about this dress other than it was super simple to put together. It has pockets and is insanely comfortable and as soon as this little cold snap we've got going on is over it will be perfect for Californian "Winter." I'm pretty sure the fabric is a poly/cotton blend, but it's a nice fabric so the poly part doesn't bother me too much. This is the first time I've ever worked with plaid and took the time to match up the print and for a first time effort I am satisfied. There are a few minor mis-matches, but they aren't terrifically noticeable. The only thing about this dress I'm not 100% satisfied with is the bodice fit. I'm having to relearn how to fit my body and there is some weird new proportions on my body. I mean, it's so weird. But I'm making due!</div>
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I'll definitely be making another of these dresses and I'm thinking next time I might add in a built in petticoat since this vintage one I have is falling to shreds. Sad petticoat. </div>
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My camera started having some weird focus issues towards the end of my trip making it super hard to get a decent photo so I apologize for any weird blurring. Someday I'll fix that until then, unintentionally blurred images for all!</div>
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Of course the best part of this dress is the perfect twirl ability of the skirt.</div>
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-3016881625729823462014-11-02T09:00:00.000-08:002014-11-02T09:00:07.118-08:00California Coming Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This has been the song of my life for the last five and a half months.<br />
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By the time you read this I will be sitting on a plane during an 11 and a half hour trip home.<br />
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I never thought this day would come. I have loved this trip, learned so much, and seen so many wonderful things. I feel like myself again, and have such aclearer idea of what to do in the coming days, weeks, months, years. I regret absolutely nothing about this trip, and am so thankful for all the many many many growing pains I had to go through. I'm so thankful for all the moments of utter joy and for getting my spark back. I can't even wrap my head around the wonders of the past months and they have forever changed me.<br />
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But hot damn, I am so ready for home. I'm ready to hug my peeps and never let them go. I'm ready to hug my car and sewing machine, to pursue all my dreams, to life the life I want and to never quit again. To walk on the hot sand and breathe in that Pacific Ocean air. I'm going to devour as much In N Out as I can, surf, go to Disneyland, and even soak in the sun. I've learned that while I hate the heat, I love California. No more saying I don't. It is the best. It is home. It's full of hopes and dreams and excellent tacos. And guys, I friggin love it.<br />
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The last few days of waiting have been torture. For the last two weeks I've been counting down the days until I'm back in my favourite place with my favourite people. Scratch that, I've been counting down the days since I left. I am so, so, so excited! This plane cannot fly fast enough. I may even actually take something to make me sleep for as many of the hours as possible because oh good lord I cannot, CANNOT wait to be back home.<br />
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I'll be taking a hiatus (because I'm so reliable at posting...) for the rest of the month and probably for most of December as well. I do have a few posts up my sleeve before 2015 hits (what!?), but for now I'm taking some time to sleep, catch up, hug people, eat tacos, get life organized, sleep... I'm going to sleep a lot. So see you soon. See you from home!<br />
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I love that word. Home.<br />
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California I am coming for you. You'd better have Chipotle waiting for me. I can't wait to see you.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-36976424074497186002014-09-26T16:41:00.001-07:002014-09-26T16:41:33.628-07:00Souvenir <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I won't call it buyer's remorse, but sometimes I get so excited I buy ridiculous souvenirs.</div>
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Back when I first visited the UK 10 years ago I brought back a couple of tshirts as souvenirs and wore them to threads. I'm not kidding. I'd bought a particular pack of three t's with a union jack waving on the front that said "London." I don't remember when I finally tossed the last of those out, but I had literally worn holes through the whole thing. It was stained and frankly disgusting but I loved that stupid shirt. There was a tee in Iceland that said "Kick Ash" and I wish I had remembered to go back and buy it. I have this penchant for buying ridiculous tshirts or sweatshirts while on vacation and then go home and realize I don't even wear tshirts very often. I bought these two while at the Wallace Monument and after getting back home I realized that aside from working out or sleeping I will probably never wear these out and about. But here I am still buying tshirts as souvenirs. Oh well, they're cheesy and I don't even actually care. I love them.</div>
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William Wallace is my hero and I've been dreaming of visiting the Wallace Monument for years. This was me getting to finally see Wallace's sword (which is actually as tall as I am(I'm 5'6"!)) and I spent the whole time I was there crying and gave the poor Australian tourists who took this picture for me a very impassioned speech about freedom and the free market and natural law.</div>
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Some people get excited over sports.</div>
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I get excited over economics and 700 year old swords.</div>
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Tomayto-Tomahto. </div>
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I decided today that I'm going to remain single until I find a man with the politics of William Wallace, the voice of Josh Groban, and the everything else of Chris Helmsworth. </div>
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I'm all about the realistic goals.</div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-14952059383378471432014-09-21T14:37:00.001-07:002014-09-21T14:37:11.044-07:00North SeaOh hello.<br />
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I'm not sure if anyone out there is even still reading this here page, but remember me? It's okay if you don't, I barely remembered this page until just a few days ago. Life has been busy. Sad-ish, joyful, breathtaking, interesting, infuriating, annoying, invigorating, magical, political, unpredictable. Busy. I have so many pictures I wanted to share and I just don't even think it's possible for me to even begin to cover all my adventures. At some point I'll catch up. We'll see.<br />
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Fisherman's Sweater- Charity Shop in St Andrews, Jeans-Charity shop in Edinburgh, Shoes- H&M in Norway, Earrings- my Great Grandma's, Pin-Gift from my parents, Tote- Viking Ship Museum<br />
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Chelsea moved to Texas in June. I don't know if I mentioned that. It's been rough,both of us being away. We hate it, we love it, we Skype every Monday to discuss life. One day we decided to define our styles. She was Preppy Beach Bum. It's true. I was Preppy Hobo. I think Preppy Hobo Hipster Granny is probably a bit more accurate, but it's cool. I like it. Being away has given me such "clarity" about the kinds of clothes I want to wear. Not just about my clothes, but how I wear my hair and makeup, the baubles I wear, and life too, but really about how I want to present myself to the world. I don't really recognize the girl who left California. I don't feel like her, and in many a way, I don't even look like her. I don't think like she did, I don't see things the way she saw them. She was so sad, so very, very lost. Oh I am by no means perfect these days. But that shell I had built up, that other girl, the one who left California, that got broken down. It got shattered, smashed, blow-torched, and stomped into oblivion, and that left me feeling even more confused. Slowly, slowly, slowly I've let parts of me I'd long abandoned begin to reemerge, and suddenly I feel like myself, like the woman I was meant to be, the one I want to be. Some of my days have been long and filled with frustrations and broken down buses after incredibly late buses, but every night and every morning I am glad to be alive, to be where I am, to make plans for the future. That big scary black curtain labeled "Future" doesn't really scare me anymore. I'm brave and bold and wild and brilliant and loud and obnoxious and kind and friendly and helpful and loving and hard working and curious and anti-establishment. Anything I could possibly want is out there and I will reach for all of it. Well that was a rabbit trail.<br />
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I found this sweater totally by accident and it has quickly become a favourite in my minuscule travel wardrobe. I've managed to collect a ton of hats and tote bags as I travel, but my clothing options are getting pretty slim! I have about 7 articles of clothing that I brought with me, and maybe an additional five or six that I have collected. There's about three outfits in that and oh man am I looking forward to a closet again. I'm looking forward to a lot of things, my closet being one of the lesser ones. My plan is to hug my family, hug my car, and then hug my clothes. I miss them all so much.<br />
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I had a dream about going back home the other night and in it I had somehow been forced into dating this other volunteer at the last farm I was at who I did not get on with (and not in a potentially cute way) and we were at Disneyland right after I had landed back home and then he was trying to buy me a Disneyland Pass and I kept refusing but was $9 short for the one I wanted (??) and so he bought it and then I found my parents sitting eating ice cream and laughing while I cried about this horrible situation and struggled with the moral dilemma of wanting the Pass but also wanting to be rid of this horrible human. I feel like this was a metaphor for where I am emotionally when it comes to being on the road. I leave my current location (not a farm, an Estate and basically I am maiding all day and it's not as cool as it might sound.) the First and head to two more places for two weeks each. Then I am home. So much and so little time.<br />
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I'll be back soon. Promise.<br />
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In case you're wondering I am currently in St Andrews and this location is a 10 minutewalk from my bedroom. I'm not mad.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-5111493497876026042014-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:002014-08-24T09:00:05.245-07:00Twenty-Seven<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a few hours of freezing in the rain while weeding one of the vegetable beds, then nearly dying of heat stroke while in the polytunnel. Also the most recent selfie I have. </td></tr>
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When I was in Iceland I ended up flying to the Northern Fjords to stay a week with the friends of the WWOOF site organizer for the farm I was at in Norway. The town I was staying in was about an hour's drive from the airport and my hosts said, oh just hitch hike, everyone does and someone will take you. When I got there I was the only person at the terminal and ended up having to call a taxi. I only had so much cash and the taxi driver ended up stopping the meter halfway to the town so I could pay her. She took me to this little garden, free of charge, and we talked and during our conversation I told her my whole sad story from the farm in Iceland and burst into tears. I was stressed, tired, hungry, and in dire need of a hug. The poor driver just listened to me and apologized for the behaviour of her countrymen, and was just the kindest person ever. She asked me how old I was and I said "I'll be 27 in August." Her whole face lit up and she just looked at me with this wide, massive smile. "27 is the BEST year. I am not joking," she said, "I can tell you are in for an amazing 27!" I fully admit she might have been bullshitting me to ease my tearful nerves, but her words have rung in my ears ever since. And others have all told me the same thing. 27 is a good year to make big decisions, figure yourself out, and to just start really living I've been told.<br />
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I've always had a weird relationship with my birthday, frankly it has always depressed me. Another year and look where I am, nowhere. But this year, this year is different. I've been looking forward to my birthday for months now. I had all these plans, made mostly because I know that despite how much I dislike my birthday, I would really hate it this year not being with my favourites. But more than that I feel like this new year for me is going to be full of really amazing opportunities <i>as long as I take them and make them</i>.<br />
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One of the biggest lessons I've been learning while gone is how life doesn't just happen to you, you really have to go and make it. So many people in our world seem to think it will just happen, but you really have to grab it. I want to grab at it, chase it, tackle it, and just devour every opportunity. I am so excited about 27. I really enjoyed 7 and 17 and I have decided that no matter what, I will enjoy this year of my life, I will enjoy all the years of my life from this point on. No more Sad Ashley every August 24. No more Sad Ashley in general. Of course I wish I could be camping with my family, but I'm also learning that you have to invest yourself wherever you are. I am in Scotland, a place I've been dreaming of seeing for 13 years. Take all the opportunities I can while I am here, make this day the best that I can. And follow suit with everyday.<br />
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I know that there's going to be a part of me that is sad today purely because I am not with my peeps, but I'm honestly so excited for the coming year. There's a lot of things I've got planned that really scare me, but in a really good way. 27, let's do this. Let's take the world by the horns. Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-61761464486441106722014-07-27T12:22:00.000-07:002014-07-27T12:22:15.742-07:00"Three More Months"The first two destinations on this journey were fraught with problems. Don't get me wrong, they have all be huge learning experiences, and I really honestly wouldn't change any of the things that have happened since I left in May. But problems are problems, stress is stress, and bad days are still bad days even when on a wild and crazy wonderful adventure.<br />
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I've been in Scotland for a very short time and oh my stars I am so in love! There is so much that has happened, so many times I have pinched myself wondering if this is all a dream. It's been amazing and has just filled me with joy.<br />
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But I miss home. I miss my bed. I miss having a closet. I miss my people.<br />
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My days don't generally start terribly early while I am here in Edinburgh. I'm usually out the door by 10 or 11 am. I walk everywhere though and I try and cram as much into one day as possible. By about 3-4pm I am so tired and my feet are killing me, so I usually head back to my hostel to use the (completely terrible, abominable excuse for) wifi and plan the rest of my day and take a bit of a break. While I have some great stories about pubs in the evening, I'm not a big drinker, nor am I always into going out at night after being out all day. So there I am catching up on the goings on of my friends and family back home and suddenly I realize how very alone I am. Hostel living is weirdly lonely. You are surrounded by people 24/7, yet you are entirely alone.<br />
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I've come to realize just how much I don't like being alone. Not like the solitude you seek when you've just had too much of people, that everyone needs. But I don't like not being surrounded by people I love, or at the very least being a short drive away from being with those people. It's not because I don't like my own company, I really do! But sometimes on this trip my own company has felt endless. It get's really old.<br />
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I've been gone for about 11 weeks, and still have 14 to go. I have definitely reached the point where I am just soooo tired of living out of a suitcase, where I'm really ready to be home. To have a real place to call home. The weeks and months after I get home are going to be full of changes and me making an effort to not go back to old bad habits, and I'm honestly pretty frightened by the enormity of that. But knowing that I can do all that and still hug my family, still hang out with friends, makes it a little less scary.<br />
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And I am so incredibly lucky to be here! So beyond belief blessed that I've got to go out and see such amazing things. It's like when you have been on an amazing vacation and you know in your head that as soon as you get home you will wish you were still on holiday, but you are just so ready to be back in the comfort of your own home.<br />
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I leave for my next destination on Thursday morning and I am really looking forward to it. It will be my home for a month and will feel just a little bit like a home. And then my next location will be the same. And my final location is only two weeks and then...<br />
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Then I'll be home. My home. Home. I like that word.<br />
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Three more months.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6613061466367803046.post-33479649777665972362014-07-25T09:15:00.001-07:002014-07-25T09:15:13.408-07:00Off!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today I am flying to Edinburgh! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am I HAVE SO MANY PLANS!! I am so so so so so so! Very! Excited!</div>
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This first week I will be in Edinburgh, then will spend a month in and around Falkirk and Stirling. If anyone has an recommendations, send them my way! Edinburgh is a place I have been dreaming of visiting for so long I've been panicking about getting everything in to this one week. I will be flying out of Edinburgh though, and it looks like I'll probably have a little bit of time at the end of this trip to squeeze in anything I've missed. But for now I have a plan for sight seeing and I'm really excited about it! My first day there I'll be doing a bit of charity shop digging in an attempt to fill my suitcase back up and I've been making mental notes of the kinds of clothes I'd like to find so I played around on Polyvore to make up some outfits for the things I'll be doing this week.</div>
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Today I decided to keep things super casual and comfy. My flight leaves Norway in the evening and I'll get into Scotland around 10pm (which will be my 11pm), so clothes that are basically pajamas are great. When Erica visited me on Spring Break we painted some <a href="http://web.stagram.com/p/686260161618478172_30944448">grey sweatshirts</a>, and mine, while hilariously huge now, has been a super comforting and comfy reminder of home. It's definitely waaaaay too hot here in Norway for the sweatshirt now, but when I get into cold and rainy Scotland, I will definitely be glad for it! An oversized chambray button up is also comfy and much cooler for the Norwegian heat wave! And since I am always hot, it's a nice light layer to wear under my sweatshirt.</div>
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I know so many people have a problem with leggings-as-pants, but I'm going to be hanging at the airport all day, sitting on a plane, and then crashing into bed as soon as I am checked into my hostel. I'm wearing leggings as pants.</div>
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Does anyone else ever have a problem with their feet swelling on planes? It doesn't happen to me every time I fly, but often enough that wearing constricting footwear is super uncomfortable. But my big old rain boots take up a lot of valuable room in my suitcase. My solution is to wear my boots to and from the airport and keep some flip flops in my backpack for in the airport and on the plane. Complicated, maybe, but comfortable!</div>
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The backpack I originally brought with me broke upon arrival in Iceland, so I've been making due with tote bags, which is not an ideal option. But luckily my wonderful mama sent me the <a href="http://web.stagram.com/p/544989302673999135_30944448">backpack I used in High School</a> (which is pretty damn embarrassing but also a magical time capsule of budding political views, music taste, and female empowerment world views of myself and my bests). I'm doing my best to finally become one of those people who travel light and well and I think this outfit is a perfect for that.</div>
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/edinburgh_day/set?.embedder=271235&.svc=copypaste&id=127327131" target="_blank"><img alt="Edinburgh Day I" border="0" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/BJL9a6qEeBQiI3JgfIYOoQ/cid/127327131/id/WAsQoD0F5BGuzN2U2__Y_w/size/c600x399.jpg" height="399" title="Edinburgh Day I" width="600" /></a></div>
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My first day in Edinburgh I'm planning a fairly light schedule that will include thrifting, and exploring the castle. The whole week I am there will be rainy and chilly and I think a cozy cream sweater, comfy trousers,and my military jacket will do just the trick of being warm and stylish. Flats are good for walking and being cute and a few simple accessories bring it all together.</div>
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/edinburgh_day_ii/set?.embedder=271235&.svc=copypaste&id=127537965" target="_blank"><img alt="Edinburgh Day II" border="0" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/n51aEy3k1lMo9KGAqe1g/cid/127537965/id/Yq5Mfz0F5BG1p7WU2__Y_w/size/c600x521.jpg" height="521" title="Edinburgh Day II" width="600" /></a></div>
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Day two will be a little more full. I'm planning on walking the rest of the Royal Mile ending at Holyroodhouse and then seeing the monuments and view from Calton Hill. My mustard zinnia skirt is really too big at this point, but that skirt has proven to be such a great piece to have while travelling. The one "fancy" purse I brought is a vintage Dooney & Bourke bag, which I highly recommend if you are travelling to a rainy location. Again, some good walking shoes and simple accessories complete a cute look.</div>
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/edinburgh_day_iii/set?.embedder=271235&.svc=copypaste&id=127553706" target="_blank"><img alt="Edinburgh Day III" border="0" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/A7N8TXCxxho0ijwHDgx7sg/cid/127553706/id/yofpmXsP5BGTn_xaDXURzQ/size/c600x398.jpg" height="398" title="Edinburgh Day III" width="600" /></a></div>
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For my third day in town I'm planning on hiking up to Arthur's Seat, the highest point in Edinburgh, and having a picnic and exploring. That night I'll be giddily going on a Ghost Tour! I have a silly love for haunted anything, and have gone on a ghost tour in San Francisco before and they are so much fun! This one takes you down into the vaults and underground of Edinburgh and I seriously cannot wait. A good hiking outfit for me always involves shorts or a skirt because I always get too hot, and you have to indulge in a little tartan when you go to Scotland.</div>
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/edinburgh_day_iv/set?.embedder=271235&.svc=copypaste&id=127555641" target="_blank"><img alt="Edinburgh Day IV" border="0" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/aK1n7w8LPlDyB8isMaylg/cid/127555641/id/RLXa7pcK5BGdaAhg2__Y_w/size/c600x432.jpg" height="432" title="Edinburgh Day IV" width="600" /></a></div>
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Day three will be for museums! Oh there are just so many I want to go see! I seriously wish I had this exact outfit in my suitcase, and I will definitely be looking for some of these items as I attempt to replenish my sadly lacking wardrobe. </div>
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/edinburgh_day/set?.embedder=271235&.svc=copypaste&id=129723725" target="_blank"><img alt="Edinburgh Day V" border="0" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/0bxupsQPRycOvqqNDz4IWw/cid/129723725/id/6L0v-xIU5BGoNO6kmu7EJQ/size/c600x390.jpg" height="390" title="Edinburgh Day V" width="600" /></a></div>
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Day five I have left somewhat open. A day for maybe seeing the rest of the museums I want to check out. Or a little more thrifting, or perhaps I will check out a few historical sights. We'll see! I tried on this dress at H&M here in Norway and loved it, but decided to skip it because of the high Norwegian Kroner price. But I really, really loved it, so I may go back once I am in (much cheaper) Scotland and pick it up. It's definitely a dress I'd wear once I get home too, so fingers crossed I can find it! Otherwise I may have my mom see if she can find it for me back in The States.</div>
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<a href="http://www.polyvore.com/edinburgh_day_vi/set?.embedder=271235&.svc=copypaste&id=129725365" target="_blank"><img alt="Edinburgh Day VI" border="0" src="http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/9DqeMZIto2SAQbZJEeX9sA/cid/129725365/id/fN_6dRUU5BGOLS6nmu7EJQ/size/c600x573.jpg" height="573" title="Edinburgh Day VI" width="600" /></a><br />
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Day 6 I have to leave fairly early to catch the train to my next location. Another comfy but still cute travel outfit as I head to Falkirk where I will spend the next month. I actually bought a t shirt very similar to this one in Norway and it has become one of my favourite tops.<br />
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I always like seeing inspiration posts like these, so hopefully y'all do too!<br />
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I am seriously so excited for the next league of my trip! I have a few more Norway posts, so hopefully those will be up sometime in the next week or so. </div>
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042180500149633135noreply@blogger.com1