The ultimate love story

About 8 months ago my five year old daughter were sitting on the top of the slide in the park. A true love story began.

We had just moved in to a new complex. A boy from the class above her also lived there and they had been playing together a little after school lately.

This day in the park was special. There she was on the slide with sparkling eyes together with this charming boy. He held his arm around her and said “Amelia, you are my girlfriend and I’m your boyfriend”. She giggled and answered “yes”.

Since that moment the two of them have been like glued together! As long as they have each other, they don’t need anybody else. After school they never ask if they are gonna play with each other. The question is “are we going to your house or mine”.

They are always looking out for each other, helping each other and sticks together in every situation. How beautiful is that? There is one year between them and they fulfill each other like a couple that has been married for 50 years!

Today has been a weird day. Tomorrow her beloved boyfriend is moving to another country. They have agreed to skype each other, visit and she doesn’t want a new boyfriend. They have spent the whole day together and tomorrow he will walk her to school, just so they can have the last moments together.

In a way I feel so sorry for them. They both lose their best friend, the one they have had every single day. I can’t imagine how that must feel, because I truly believe my daughter found her very first love. At the same time I’m so happy for them! For all they have given each other. The safety, the comfort, the joy and fun, how much they have taught each other, how they have enjoyed every moment together, the experiences they have shared, the frustration they have overcomed together.

I envy them. Not once have they had an argument, not once have they turned their back on each other, not once have they fought and not once have they hurt each other. They just completely enjoy each other’s company. And I don’t think many people in this world can do that.

My friendship with his parents grew with our young love birds and I have to say that they have been a big part of our lives. They are amazing people that I’m very sad to see leave.

Thank you! For every single moment. I wish you all the best for the future and good luck with your next chapter. We are all gonna miss you so much and I’m probably gonna cry like a baby when we say goodbye tomorrow. So goodbye, for now!

 

3% Español

I said a little while ago that it was time for the new. I’m working hard on that and gaining a lot.

My knowledge within makeup and skincare are growing faster than I could imagine. I’m learning fast and it turns out I’m good at it too. Probably because I already have a genuine interest for all of it.

As you also know, I’m trying to learn Spanish as well. I have set a goal for myself. From now until September I’m really gonna work hard to learn Spanish. Not only learn it, but use it! Not being able to even have a short conversation is quite embarrassing. So by the end of the summer my goal is to be able to communicate in Spanish.

I find it difficult to learn new languages. Maybe because of the lack of genuine interest. Now I’m working every night with the Duolingo app and every day I’m trying to answer everyone with the few words I have. I guess I’m lucky to have a lot of Spanish speakers around me.

Today my app told me that “You’re now 3% fluent in Spanish”. I bursted out laughing. For several reasons. First the word “fluent”. There’s nothing fluent about my Spanish whatsoever! And then “3%”. I mean, what is that? If I can say 3% of a sentence, where is thay gonna get me? It was also funny that I was so happy about myself for 3% only. And quite funny that I’m sitting here alone talking to my phone. To top it I can’t help laugh at myself for laughing so uncontrollably at the whole thing. Well, nobody can say I can’t entertain myself!

Ok, done laughing. I need to speed up! With this speed my app is gonna tell me I’m close to 100% in time, but that’s just speaking to my phone. I’m welcoming any advice to take my Spanish further.

I’m still laughing! I think it’s bedtime.

 

Calima

Several days a year we experience the phenomenon called “calima” here in the Canary islands.

This is essentially a suspension of dust which remains in the air because it is so fine. It initially blows over from the Sahara desert, raises temperatures considerably, and usually dissipates within a day or two. During a calima, there is a localised temperature inversion, meaning the higher you go up, the hotter it gets.

When calima is at its worst visibility drops dramatically and the landscape is shrouded by an orange dust cloud. It can have a bad effect on people with breathing issues and sometimes it gets so bad here that we get adviced to stay indoors. Luckily that is very rare.

My daughter has asthma and for her the calima is the worst days of the year. It’s not many of those days, but it increases the chances of her getting an infection.

We have the experience now, we know the procedure, we know the medication and we know Emine. We are prepared and usually it passes without any fuss.

The calima we have now has been a bit difficult. It’s been here pretty much all week, but building up in the distance. When it’s so long lasting it gets harder for my little one.

She needs to wear a dust mask outside, take medicine and we keep the curtains closed in the open windows. We want to do everything to avoid an infection. She had a rough night last night with more medicine than usual, so we went to the hospital in the early morning hours.

We came in time! No fever, no infection, lungs are well. All we needed was a little stronger inhalators for the next few days. The forecast says the calima should pass after the weekend, so fingers crossed!

Some of you might think it’s bad to live in a country with calima whilst having asthma. During thise days, yes. But the rest of the year the warm fresh island air is perfect! She used to be a lot worse in Norway and needed medication on a daily basis.

My advice? Just listen to your body and take the precautions and you will be fine even during the worst calimas!

Magic is in the air

Tonight it is the midsummer San Juan Bautista festival in Tenerife.

This night is the shortest night of the year and in many cultures it’s believed to be a magical night. Mythology states that anything can happen on this night and some believe certain Gods make themselves visible.

It’s a common tradition to give thanks and prepare for harder seasons to come. But San Juan is also about changes. It is about day and night, fire and water. Fire purifies and water recuperates, refreshes and rejuvenates.

Bonfires are the symbol of the celebration and people around the world come together to build and light up the fires. Here in Tenerife you can find bonfires on most beaches with fireworks and big parties.

Unfortunately we can’t attend the actual celebration this year, so we decided to do our own.

Big screen TV and YouTube saved us. We put a bonfire all over the wall, played music for the whole neighborhood, made some nice food and drinks and had friends over.

It wasn’t really the same, but a lot of fun! Why not make the beat of it, right?

I know some people believe that if they jump over the bonfire three times, they will be cleansed and purified and all their problems burnt away. If you are gonna give it a try, be careful!

Enjoy this magical night to the fullest, I’m gonna enjoy the fireworks from my balcony.

 

From the bottom to the top

I have been blogging now for less than three months. We all know it’s hard to be creative enough to keep the blog up to date and engage the audience. Until now I’ve been lucky enough to not get a writers block.

Within my first month as a blogger I reached more than 10 000 views! I couldn’t believe it and was so proud of myself. I started getting an endless amount of friend requests on my social media profiles. At that point I decided to create a Facebook page for my blog and open my Instagram for public views.

The number one reason is that my Facebook profile is private. I want to have my friends there, nobody else. Don’t get me wrong, I like the attention, but if you don’t know me the official page is more than enough.

The second reason is that it’s an easy way to share publicly what I do want to share. And at the same time I don’t have to share it all with those of my friends who are not interested.

The third reason is publicity. I can promote my blog through my page and reach a wider audience. People can like my page and keep being updatet on my content.

Both my blog and Facebook are blooming and I’m so happy that so many find my life interesting! I would obviously be very happy if you like and share.

Lately I’ve been doing a couple of interviews (links coming). I’ve been put on the Norwegian list of recommended blogs, I’ve been asked to guest blog and to share my posts in newspapers. It’s amazing! Unfortunately I don’t have time for it all. I wish I could say yes to everything, but as you all know I have a busy life and need to put my little ones before anything else.

Today I have said yes to work with fancydistrict.com. I’m excited to share some positivity there and I hope you will take a look!

When I started this I had doubts. I knew it would take a lot of my time, not only on the actual blog, but also to keep my social media updatet. It takes time, more than I expected. But it also gives me a lot! I love writing and I love that people like it. I get so much positive feedback and I guess that’s what every author wants.

This is not one of my normal posts about my life. I guess I just want to show those of you who wants to give this a shot that it really is possible! Just go for it, you have nothing to lose. After all, if you find that it’s not for you just stop.

But I know now that this really is for me. Thank you to all of you for reading my blog and engaging on my social media! If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be where I am today.

 

Valle de San Lorenzo

Tenerife has so much to offer and we never run out of places to explore.

While yesterday was a chill day by the pool, today has been full of activities!

We met the lovely Cox family at Kids land. Lots of fun and activity for the kids, nice and chill for the parents.

It’s been a hot summer day. If you have driven a car on a holiday destination you know that a day like that means no parking anywhere close to any kind of water. So with the heat our lunch plans by the beach flushed away quickly.

There is one place you won’t find the sun seeking holiday makers. On the warm days the mountains are the place to be! It’s a short drive, but you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, barely in the same island.

In the beautiful village Valle de San Lorenzo we found a nice little place called Dolcetto. Full of locals, empty of tourists, great staff and the most amazing view.

 

When you have kids you always look for a child friendly place. A little play area or something to keep them busy. This place was perfect! A huge play area outside where the kids could slide, swing and play around while we could enjoy a drink watching them from the shades.

I can’t remember my kids ever being as dirty as when this play day was over.

 

I love these kind of days. Happy kids with all their energy gone, good company and a chill day outside. We are so lucky to be here with beautiful weather every day and so many possibilities that it’s difficult to decide where to start.

We are ready for a new week to come!

Love conquers all?

I have an amazing boyfriend. His name is Semir and he blew my mind almost two years ago and has kept on doing that ever since. We have had a great year together in sunny Tenerife with so much fun, experiences, laughter, joy and pure simple love.

Then everything changed. He was sent to mainland to work for the summer while me and the kids stayed here. Since January we have only had a few days together here and there. Precious days.

 

I have days where I think I have gotten used to this. Used to being apart, and without doubts. Days when I believe in the bottom of my heart that our love can conquer absolutely anything.

And I have days with the complete opposite when I wonder how we’re gonna get through this, if I really can trust him, if he truly loves me like I love him. Days when I’m angry with him for absolutely no reason other than that he’s not here. Angry because I agreed to this, angry at his job, angry at everyone and everything. On those days I turn into one of those women that Kevin Hart talks about. The kind that makes up stories in her head, answering her own questions with craziness. Those are hard days, but luckily rare. I know I drive him a bit crazy on those days, but it passes quickly.

Today is sort of in the middle. I’m not angry, just a bit sad. I miss my boyfriend, it’s that simple. I just have all kind of crazy reactions of it.

But there is one thing I never doubt or question. My love for him. Pure, simple, unconditional love. All the hard days are worth it in the end, because I still have that to hold on to.

It’s been nearly two months apart now. Long, but fast at the same time. The next visit is not determined yet, but it’s gonna be soon!

And to you my love: I’m sorry for the bad days. I don’t doubt you, I just miss you. You are my rock, my king, my everything. I love you endlessly.

Our love will conquer all.

School ended – On to the new

I love to learn new things, no matter what it is. This school year I have to say has been one of the most interesting ones. I have learned so much and I hope I one day get to use all that knowledge. I’m also hoping to continue after the summer.

As most of you know, nothing happening is not my style! I need action, I need to be busy. I said to my boyfriend yesterday “how am I ever gonna handle life when everything is completely settled”? I’m used to nothing ever being settled.

So while waiting for summer to finish (yes, I said it! I’m waiting for it to be over), I’m jumping into some new knowledge.

It’s embarrassing, I know, but I still don’t speak any Spanish whatsoever after almost two years in Spain. This summer I’m gonna work real hard to change that and started this week with a little bit of studying every day.

I’m not stopping there. I have a passion for beauty, skin, makeup, how to make the best of myself and others. So now I’m learning all about it! Different skin types, skin colors, skin problems. Treatments for eyes, for skin, for all body issues. About makeup and everything that comes with it. I learn about all kind of products you could possibly need and how to see the individual needs.

I learn about the Dead Sea, about nature, minerals, vitamins and everything your body contains and needs. To top it all, I also learn to perform all kind of treatments. All by Premier!

So feel free to ask for any advise, after this summer I will have an answer for anything. And if you want any kind of treatment, come find me in Tenerife cause I need people to practice on for free!

The Dance Academy

Here in Tenerife we are lucky to have Miss Elisabeth Nicoll to run Tenerife Dance Academy. My little girls started almost a year ago, first with ballet, later with cheer.

In December they arranged a great Christmas show. My youngest was still too small, but after memorising the rutine, she was allowed to join.

These last few days the dance academy have arranged exams for all the different dance classes; acro, cheer, ballet, tap etc. I saw the opportunity to play with my camera.

I have been asking my girls for days if they are nervous, if they remember everything, if they want to practise. They look at me as if I´m stupid. I have been way more stressed out about this than them. Will they remember? How serious is this? Are the shoes clean and shiny? Is the hair bun perfect? Did I forget anything? I guess you could say I´m a bit of a perfectionist.

All the girls did amazing! They looked so beautiful in their outfits and their buns. Everyone was super excited, although I think us parents was the most. I even got a bit emotional and could feel the mama proudness flowing wildly.

I want to thank Miss Elisa not only for the great job she is doing in the community with her dance school, but also for everything she has given both mine and other kids. You are an amazing person which we truly appreciate. You are bringing so much joy, happiness, knowledge, fun, exercise and experience into our every day life. You make my girls feel special and confident, and that means more than you know. So thank you!

 

Monkey business

This weekend started off great! I was off yesterday and decided to let my girls stay home from school to go with me to the veterinarian. Afterwords we went to the beach with some friends and have our snack there.

I simply love how easy life is here. Everything is always chill and there’s always something to do. We never have to worry about the weather.

Today my friend Nozomi and me decided to surprise our kids with a trip to the Monkey Park. They had no idea and were actually getting a bit upset and disappointed before they saw the signs. We have been there so many times, but we never get tired of it. It’s the perfect size, a cheap price and so much fun.

We went early in the morning to make sure the monkeys were still hungry. In some of the cages you can go in and pet and feed them. They eat from your hand and follow you around. Some cages have fences around and some are completely covered with glass walls because the monkeys are too dangerous. Imagine the excitement for the kids?

There is also alligators, turtles, birds, gunny pigs, snakes and lizards in all kind of shapes and sizes. We had a lovely time!

After playing around with the monkeys and seeing most of the park twice, it was lunch time. We decided to go for Burger King and some play time in Siam Mall.

Our kids are best friends. They play together every single day! It’s almost easier to have all three of them than having them separate. If they could choose, they would never be apart. So small people with such big love!