Monday, January 31, 2011

Decent weekend.

So, my Sunday was awesome, another good day with the host fam. I got home Saturday night (morning) at 4:30 after a super long, but fun evening. We went to the Happy Pig, a local bar that had a dance floor upstairs. We were obnoxious Americans singing American pop songs at the top of our lungs but it was really a good time. We had early morning hot dogs as we left the bar and boy will that hotdog stand make a killing. It was my first super long night out, though on the train home a Danish guy was making fun of me for heading home at 4 am; he didn't see why I couldn't last longer. I'm not going to lie, partying in the states and getting home at 2 is rather enjoyable, actually sleeping is nice. Anyway, due to the late evening I got up around noon, ate a little bread and butter breakfast, and headed out with Karina and Peter to Rasmus's handball game. The game was okay, Rasmus's team won by only a couple points after being in the lead during the first half. After the game, Karina, Peter and I headed 50 km up the coast to this little cafe for lunch. Oh boy was it cute; a little place over looking the Oresund and Sweden, the view was gorgeous. After a beach club salad on toast, we headed to the Irma grocery store across the street to get some inspiration for dinner. We ended up having burgers with mango, mayo dressing, cucumber and onion salsa, and pepper salsa on top. THEY WERE DELICIOUS, holy cow; it's true, I'll probably bring the recipe back with me. However, before dinner we watched the nail biting finals of the handbold world championship. 60 minutes plus a 10 minute overtime, because of a last second tie by the Danes, sadly led to the Danes defeat. However, the game was soo close, the Danes only let the French have a 2 point lead, practically the whole game. And after the game, I headed out for a short jog on the coast again. The coast at nighttime is maybe even prettier than the coast during the day with the sun out; I'll have to go on a few more and get back to you. And then of course, I tried to buckle down and get work done but I wasn't 100% successful, oops. I might as well live it up while I'm here. And I'm sorry there are no pictures today, the camera is dead. But I'll leave you with a fun thought, dog poop left on the sidewalk, that's big here :) Have a happy Monday!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Not your typical Saturday.

So, living in Denmark definitely throws off my normal weekend patterns. I wouldn't go out sightseeing and traveling on a Saturday, usually; however, now that I'm in Denmark why not go out and be a tourist, I'm freaking in Europe. Today, I got up a little later than normal, but I definitely needed it, ate breakfast with Rasmus, and then went on the most fabulous run on the Danish coast! It is soo pretty, a little too cold for my taste, but it was the most gorgeous run I think I've ever been on. I might do the same tomorrow, or go through the hunting gardens. Then, I decided to go into the city; I met Katie and Taylor and some other girls for shopping. But first, I tried to find the Mermaid, a notorious Copenhagen landmark, but considering the city is small, I walked right by it. I thought I'd be all cool and find it on my own and I would have if the map didn't make the landmarks look so far apart. Anyway, after seeing the mermaid, I met up with the girls to shoe shop. I got myself some booties to where out, heels are just too difficult to maneuver in. Now, I'm having some downtime and munchies before heading gout for the evening. We're going to a cool club, or so I've heard, and since Karina and Peter are out, I won't be missing anything at home. Hopefully, it'll be a good time. I don't have anything planned for tomorrow, I might just hang out at the house and actually tackle some work :)



This is the King's Royal Garden, I walked through it on my way from the S-train station to the Mermaid.

There is a star-shaped area near the Mermaid and it includes this church and former barracks and a frozen moat.



Friday, January 28, 2011

Denmark's in the Finals!

So, if I haven't mentioned already, I'm currently living with some big handbold fans (that's handball for you Americans.) And tonight, Denmark played Spain and WON! And well, Denmark's handbold team hasn't been to a finals in 44 years, and they're playing arguably the best team in the world, France. Definitely stay tuned for the winner; the final game is on Sunday, so we'll probably gather around the TV again then and cheer for 60 minutes together. Handbold is crazy fun, especially if it's a close game, even though I know next to nothing about the game. On a similar note, I went to my first handbold match today; Rasmus's team was playing and they won! So, it's been a good night for handbold, at least in this house.

And for Thursday, I had classes as usual, hung out with some DIS kids, found the local Kommune, and then went out to this crazy bar at night. The Kulor bar was pretty nice, except for the girl that took off her pants while dancing, but Karina and I have decided she's Swedish because no Dane would go that far. Anyway, the night was great fun, I meet a huge group of DIS students and had an equally as fabulous hangover for my class at 8:30 this morning. (But, no one worry it has been 100% responsible fun.) So, though I have really not been out as often as the other DIS students, the couple of experiences I've had of the Danish nightlife thus far have been really great. And on a totally different note, I've gotten assigned to a student at the Copenhagen International School. As I mentioned earlier, I'll be volunteering over there doing some tutoring and I've been paired with Natalya, a 12 year-old American girl. I'll be volunteering twice a week for an hour each and I think it'll be a really fulfilling experience. Also, I hope, even though she's American, that she can teach me a word or two in Danish. I've already been picking up little bits here and there but for the most I'm totally in the dark.

Note to the HMP: I've officially shown Rasmus both Wazzup/the Annoying Orange and Hide yo Kids, Hide yo Wife.


Rasmus is number 11, right in the middle there. He is a pivot or streg.

They just scored a goal; they won 31 to 24.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The hump day. Sort of.

I know, I know, I haven't posted in a couple of days, but there isn't that much to say when I'm in class, nothing crazy really happens. Anyway, today was my first Wednesday of the semester, that is I don't have class on Wednesdays, our classes plan field trips for out Wednesdays and I didn't have any today. So instead, I hung out with Taylor in the city. We went to the Magasin du Nord, its famous in Denmark but I don't remember why something about how large it is or how old. Anyway, we got fabulous coffee at a bakery next door and then shopped all afternoon, of course we only bought To-go mugs considering we don't want to go broke only after the first week. (However, they were a STEAL, 20 bucks for two travel mugs, freaking awesome minus the Danish store clerk that followed us around.) After shopping away, we went to the bottom floor and took a gander at the cafe/grocery store (yes, in the basement floor of the store) and then decided on a cafe down the street. After that I joined Katie and Taylor for some Danish grocery shopping. Quite the adventure, shopping for groceries when you can't tell what the food actually is. It was a successful endeavor and we've bought the proper beverages to make going out a little cheaper :). I had planned to go to a DIS social and then Rasmus's handball game; however, the game was canceled and making lasagna with some Danish guys seemed appealing. Arni, our Danish cooking partner, made a vegetable and meat lasagna; he said he added the vegetables because girls were eating with him, which I thought was hysterical. Then I made it back to the flat and some TV time with Karina and Peter. After vetoing drug and violent and only in Danish shows, we settled on ice skating. And well instead of caring about the ice skating, we critiqued the girls who were too skinny or didn't have enough boobs. It was definitely more fun than the super short routines. Now, I sit munching on Haribo gummy bears, while katy Perry rocks on the TV, not to mention my homework isn't done. A pretty successful day I would say, oh and Rasmus thinks country music is rubbish, have I mentioned the kid is freaking cool.

And just to recap the past two days:
Monday, my first day of real, you actually had to read for class, school days. Well, they went pretty well; I hate that in my 8:30 class my prof decides to start early. I hardly enjoy making it on time, let alone preparing for class to start early. And then I moved on to my Gender class, which will the most unique class I've ever taken. I have a feeling I may be a black sheep on certain topics (considering I'm not as liberal as you may think, dad.) Commercials with men in naked women suits are not my thing that's all, just too awkward. Anyway, after classes I hung out with the Studenterhuest with Taylor and got cheap food while we studied. Of course, this group of Americans behind us we drinking beers in the middle of the afternoon, just for the sake of drinking beer at 3 in the afternoon. I also got my VPN all figured out so I can watch Grey's Anatomy, well when they air a new episode, that is. Then family dinner, along with Rasmus's friend Viktor, an AWESOME steak and potatoes dish (the irony, I go to Denmark to eat steak and potatoes) but peter sure knows his way with food.

Tuesday, class was good, my early Corporate Social Responsibility class will be awesome, I think. There was a ton of discussion even though everyone was super tired so that'll make for a good class. Then after classes, I was supposed to meet with a woman at the Copenhagen International School in order to become a learning assistant, basically I want to tutor kids. But it was canceled so we're playing internet tag instead, and I'll send in my information instead of a formal interview. I think it'll be fun, working with a student and hopefully he'll/she'll teach me a few words in Danish. Then after getting out of the city to find my interview canceled, I decided to watch the Bachelor (it was a terrible idea the show is awful, but I'm up-to-date regardless.) Then dinner, just Peter and I, I forgot what he called it but it's basically raiding the fridge and making smorrebord.

Emily Coppage: I have heard the Bruno Mars song TWICE today. GAHH, I miss you too.

And as I promised, I found some pictures of this weekend, well I more stole them from Katie, but they may have gotten blurry between her blog and mine. Oops, anyway, I would have my own for you but going out and sleeping over at Katie's=I didn't have my camera.


Pictures of us at Kronborg castle. Note my flats, not my first choice of shoes; however, there wasn't enough time in the morning to fetch warm ones for my impromptu adventure. 

And don't we look darling, we wanted to look classy for our first night out.




OH and from today, i forgot to mention our run in with the random dance party in the city. Apparently, it's normal to gather a group of your friends and crank the volume, in weird costumes on a Wednesday afternoon. Did I mention that I love this place?

Sunday, January 23, 2011

My first Danish weekend.

Quite a lot has ensued since my last post, a Danish disco, a peanut butter run, and a lot of sightseeing. So, naturally Ill start with Friday's adventures and work my way to today.

Friday:
Day two of classes complete and I have an amazing Environmental History professor. He, like all my other professors, insist on being addressed by his first name. Denmark is a huge supporter of equality, in the work place and definitely in the classroom. Danish professors are always addressed by their first names and like to have a level playing field with their students; it's important to feel like an equal to others in your field and this is one way they show it. Also, he likes to take a break in the middle of class to walk around the block to recap his points in lecture, this is rather convenient, considering the class runs until 1 and I eat dinner at 7 in the morning. So I enjoyed a clementine and made it to the end of the period without issues. After class, it was time to explore the shops in the city, considering we're surrounded by them and I've hardly had a chance to check them out. I got a necklace to wear out; I needed some bling, apparently the Danish girls dress to impress when they go out. Then, Katie and Taylor had class so I grabbed a bit of nosh and headed back to my flat in Hellerup. Let me just tell you, I needed a break, so I organized myself and got around international tv rights in order to watch good ole American shows. (The Danes watch many American TV shows and movies; however, they don't have the current episodes and I was not about to miss the next installments) And after a quality hour or two, I showered and munched and meet Katie and Taylor at their kollegium to get ready. The DIS program organized a Welcome Party at a local club and they hosted a disco for us. There was an open bar and three floors with a DJ and smoke machines. Like American clubs times ten, plus it stayed open until 10am. Ridiculous! So, we got all pretty and headed out, had a great time, and pooped out at 2 in the morning. The sad thing is that some Danes don't even start going out until 2, apparently Americans are far behind in the night scene. Anyway, it was an awesome party to end the week and don't freak out, we were responsible and got home safely.

Saturday:
Considering I crashed at Katie and Taylor's on Friday night, I returned to the flat in the morning. Karina and the family planned to clean out some of her father's apartment, and I decided to tag along. After going up and down four flights or stairs several times, we got everything packed up and met the moving truck at the storage unit. Then we went to lunch and got delicious bagel sandwiches and I got myself an elderberry soda. I wasn't a huge fan but hey, I wasn't about to buy a coke. Silly, I can get those in VA. Anyway, Karina and I than made our way to Super Best, a grocery store, because I was dying for some peanut butter. The DAnes don't eat peanut butter so I know that's totally lame, but living on weird pork, cold cuts gets to be too much and sometimes pb is a better alternative. Then, we went to the dump and I got crap ALL over my nice coat that can only be dry cleaned, so it was an adventure but not the one I intended. Dumping bags at the dump with no coat on is miserable, considering it's freezing outside. After the dump fiasco, Karina decided to show me around the place. My first Sunday here we had planned to go out sightseeing, but it just didn't work out. So, we drove up the coast and I got to see the US Ambassadors house, several harbors, a famous author's house, and  hunting ground, that deer were imported to to provide leisurely hunting adventures. After about an hour, I was done. Not sleeping plus a full day of activities meant I was ready for a nap. False, Katie, Taylor, Emma and I went out to the bars, after family dinner of course. And it was a bit of a bust. Considering we hadn't gone out during the week, we were the DIS beginners. Many of the other students had been going out during the week and knew the good places to go, but we hadn't. So we wandered around checking out Irish pubs and various cover charges. it was quite the night life learning experience. We called it quits after a couple of hours and hung out the rest of the night at Katie and Taylor's.

Sunday:
The Castle. We went as quite a large group to Elsinore and Kronborg. The famous setting of Hamlet's castle. It was quite the educational, castle experience. We got lunch in Elsinore and then took tours of the castle. We had the funniest tour guide and learned a lot more than ever necessary about the place. After several hours we returned to the buses and trekked back to Copenhagen. I returned to Hellerup and had dinner with the host family's family. A couple of Peter/Karina's family were over and we had delicious cake. Currently I am preparing to hit the books for tomorrow's classes, considering none of the other weekend activities involved school. My first week has been a crazy, crazy busy time so hopefully I can get through my readings to get a full 8 hours of sleep.

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the weekend; however, some may surface and I'll share them with you if I can :)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

While you were asleep...

...I had my first day of class. Today, I had to wake up at 7, which is the first of many because the four days of week I have class I start with 8:30 am-ers. Gross, right? Not to mention I had trouble getting to bed, considering I've been here for 4 days and suffer from jet lag. So, it wasn't so pleasant starting school, especially when I haven't acclimated to the time zone. But complaints aside, school was good; my Sustainable Development class began with a lecture and some discussion. (She skipped reading over the syllabus, etc. which I look forward to in the states, not technically having class on the first day is nice.) SD was followed by Gender and Sexuality in Scandinavia, which I think will turn out to be a pretty crazy class. We'll cover everything from transgenderism to mail order brides to human trafficking. We basically get to cover very edgy topics that most don't dare talk about. (Plus we have some crazy field trips and out of class assignments American professors probably wouldn't assign.) My third class that I'll take Mondays and Thursdays won't start until this Monday, but it's a Renewable Energy Systems class. It should be interesting, though at the moment I've forgotten the course description, something about renewables :) After class, I hung out with a girl who is in four of my classes and we got super cheap, but delicious pizza at Cafe Istanbul. The pieces aren't nearly as large as Cosmos's slices, but they were good and they serve them to you folded like a sandwich. We decided to stroll the city to look for shops that carried school supplies; she needed some notebooks and I was in desperate need of some folders. I hate just throwing papers around in my bag and was not about to start the semester off without them. It was a good day in the city, I got some readings assigned and the SUN was OUT. So, I headed home, I've got things to sort out and postcards to write, plus I needed a bit of a break. My time here has been a whirlwind thus far and filling my calender in seems like a good breather. Plus, Karina is taking me to IKEA when she gets home from work. A real Scandinavian IKEA, suck it American IKEAs, this is the real deal. I could use to spice up my room, three picture frames, a shot glass for London, and an old fashion looking, metal alarm clock are not very homey. I was thinking a cactus, some candles and a piece of wall art would do the trick. I'll be here for 4+ months I might as well make it comfortable. When we get home, we'll welcome peter in from Greenland. He lives the majority of the month in Greenland but 10 days or so here to be with Karina and Rasmus. It should be nice having another person around, besides Karina and Rasmus are probably tired of my babbling by now.
And to recap a bit from yesterday...I had an orientation session with the group of students that live with host families or Danish roommates. It wasn't anything spectacular but it was nice to be with others in a similar position. It's harder to meet people our own age living outside the city with the Danes, so they set up a little network for other host kids to meet the other students living in their areas. After that I got all my books and lugged them around the city with Katie. We got lunch and explored the little shops around Copenhagen. We got crepes that were to die for, warm and gooey and we ate them in Europe! I returned home to find that Karina bought me pie crusts and pumpkin to bake with along with stuff for Taco Salad, the first sort of American dinner I'll prepare. As much as I have enjoyed Karina's cooking and the Thai take-out she picks up, it will be nice to share a dinner that I'd make for myself in the states for them. Though they have some Mexican restaurants here, its not a regular cuisine style so it'll be nice to mix it up. Now that I've chattered your ears off, I'll leave you with a couple photos of the day,
A little roasted nut street vendor.

Did I mention that the sun was out from behind the clouds today?

And for those of you who can't find Denmark on a map, that is Sweden. Taken about 300 meters away from my flat. 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Busy, busy, busy.

I have to say for my first three days in Denmark, they sure have been busy. Sunday, not so much considering I was sleepwalking pretty much all day, but yesterday and today have been quite killers. Like yesterday, I spent most of my day exploring Copenhagen; however, this time we focused on historical and cultural aspects of the city and less on practical information. First, we were broken into groups and given landmarks to hit around the city. We went to the Parliament building where we got free coffee and historical information about it. The building has burnt down several times which is why the Royal family no longer lives there. The second stop on our tour was a small square, it used to house a monastery but was given to a high royal officer. Then, the officer was found guilty of embezzlement and the land was given away. Then, it was bombed in 1807 by the British and was rebuilt again. Quite a story for a little cobblestone courtyard, don't you think? Anyway, after the square we went to the new Royal Palace, which houses the Queen, the Crown Prince, his wife, and the new baby twins, (we also got some more free coffee, I like that the Danes love coffee.) The final stop on our journey was to the new theater and opera house; the Danish government paid for the two new landmarks with subsidy money because they thought the Danes would benefit from cultural establishments. Apparently, most like both and the theater is also used for business meetings and conferences. It may be really expensive but I may go to a show, but I'll have to pick something I'm familiar with because they're all in Danish and the opera only has Danish subtitles. After that, we bought things to make smorrebord and ate it as a group. It was nice to finally rest our feet and be inside again. And of course, I can't forget the academics; I had my first session for my Sustainability in Europe class and will begin taking classes on Thursday; I don't get much adjustment time between now and then, yikes. To round out the day, I picked up an adapter at the Apple store, I was having issues with mine so I figured 99DKK was worth sorting it out, along with a clock and batteries at Tiger, so I don't have to rely on my interesting rental phone to tell the time. Tomorrow will be a much shorter, slower day, at least the plans DIS has for me. However, I may stay in the city after our session and explore (but I couldn't get my books today so that means I'll end up carrying them around on tomorrow's excursions.) Or perhaps I'll run home to put them away first, the trip home isn't too long but it will take about an hour round trip.
The Parliament in Christiansborg.

Inside the Parliament building. 


The Royal Palace.

The inner harbor.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Did I mention that I lucked out!!

Rasmus and Karina don't like Herring or fish in general! So, I was worried for nothing though I am eating a bunch of weird new things, like smorrebrod and weird deli meats.

The official first day.

I would have to say that today was the first day of my time here. I feel like yesterday doesn't really count because I was so tired I don't remember half of it. But today, I was on my own in the city, sort of fully rested. The DIS program had an opening ceremony for the start of the semester, there were speakers and a strings band that played for us. It was a nice welcome to our time here. Then shortly after the ceremony, we were broken into little groups to travel the city. It was a scavenger hunt of sorts, meant to help us familiarize ourselves with the city. I think it went quite well, I won't remember a lot of it tomorrow but at least I'm comfortable asking Danes where to go if I'm totally lost. ALSO, Denmark has a ton of cute juice bars, shops, and cafes. Instead of having big general stores, like Target, there a bunch of distinctive little shops and it is so much fun to just window shop and browse. It's fun to see all the Danish alternatives to stuff we have at home. And then we ended the day with an activities fair, groups I can join while I'm here. So, of course I signed up for Climate talks, the hiking/biking club, and volunteering at the local international school. I may switch things around and do other crazy activities instead, but this is the plan for now. And now I'll leave you with a couple of new pictures of my Copenhagen life :)


This is my new room away from home. Nicely furnished by Ikea, I love that place!




And these are from the hunt around Copenhagen, pretty cool, right? However, the lighting is not so good especially for crystal clear pictures, but I'll have to wait a couple months before we get more sunlight.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

In our little flat.

It has been one of the longest days of my life, but I am currently on the other side of the Atlantic after a relatively sleepless flight. However, my 20 minutes of sleep got me two movies, the Wall Street one and Going the Distance. I sat next to a really nice girl on the flight out, she goes to Bucknell usually and studies business. The plane was packed with DIS students from all over so the beginning of the flight was very chatty. The plane food was blah, packaged rolls with gravy covered chicken, not the most gourmet concoction. Upon arrival, the DIS students were ushered to our housing, and because I'm in a host family we had a little registration session before Karina arrived at the airport. Rasmus had a handball game, which he scored 10 goals in, so he couldn't make it to the airport. I got myself some Danish kroner during the whole ordeal which is kind of exciting.
Karina drove me to the flat and we stopped by the Danish Royal palace on the way home. I also had my first trip to a Danish bakery and it was delicious. I'm preparing myself for a lot of Rye bread but day 1 has been pretty successful. After a successful breakfast, I got partially unpacked; I couldn't make it through all my stuff so a nap was in order. And of course after a good nap, it was time for sports watching. Rasmus and I have been watching everything from handball to weirdo indoor, ice hockey thats like roller hockey on ice, weird stuff apparently only the Swedes play it. Now, we're to sit down to dinner, my first Danish meal! I can't wait for tomorrow :)

Saturday, January 15, 2011

It's finally here.

I am finally leaving, 5:15 today I will be up in the air. I am almost in shock, I have packed and reorganized so many times, forgetting new things every time. I am soo excited to share all of my fun adventures and trips with you. I can't wait to be back telling stories of my escapades, but I should probably get there first :) See you in Europe.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

It's so close I can nearly taste it.

My TO DO list has two missing check marks and that's it! I will officially trash it after a trip to Rite Aid and Borders and then I'll have to seriously hunker down with my suitcases. I have piles of clothing around my room; they'd be on my bed except I had to sleep on it because well I haven't wanted to actually pack. I suppose I can put it off more by creating a list of things to pack :). I have enough toothpaste to last me five months. I bought my family a little hostess gift, VA peanuts and a Beadforlife soap. I officially reserved my seat on my flight, an aisle seat, not my favorite at least I don't have to bug anyone if I have to use the restroom over the course of 8+ hours. OH! I made delicious chocolate chip cookies, this year's really good recipe; I don't know if I'll actually share any with my host family, but I'll definitely bring them.
I can't go the first month without comfort foods. SO..I got Swedish Fish and Reeses today while grocery shopping. I figured I'd make my own care package before I leave, at least it saves on postage. AND I miss everyone, well that's it for now.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Sean Murphy.

This blog is officially for Sean Murphy. You wanted a blog post so here goes:

I've been organizing all day long for the big trip. I have so many piles and well they're now all over my floor. However, my mom got me a portable scale for suitcases so I no longer need Sean or Alex to guesstimate how heavy they are. Good, right? It'll definitely come in handy with all the traveling in Europe along with school travel. The big trip is only 5 days away, I figured I wouldn't wait any longer to get myself together. (Have I ever mentioned that I hate packing? So tedious.)

Today would be my first day of classes at CU, if I were out there right now. It's kind of a bummer that I can't be there right now and I currently have a bunch of down time at home which isn't all that distracting. So basically, I miss everyone and hope that their first days went well. However, I'll be back before I know it and will be bumming around in Boulder with you guys real soon.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

A Week.

It's officially a week until I leave, holy poop. I am so not ready, sad, but so excited. I cannot wait for all the adventures, though I'm not prepared for how quickly it'll fly. One last shopping trip for the necessities and then I have to officially pack and print my ticket and it's off to Denmark in a week!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

My Days are Numbered.

SOOO, I've received my first email from my host family!!!! They look all Scandinavian and cute, I'm so excited. I'll be living with a lovely woman named Anna and her son, Rasmus (what a fun, European name). Her husband lives in Greenland most of the time and her daughter is at university in Berlin. How freaking splendid is that? She and her husband are both lawyers, her son is still in high school, and the daughter is studying political science. Oh did I mention they live in a flat near the sea!!! Who in America can say that? No one. I am stoked to go to Rasmus's handball games, I've never actually been to one, how fun would that be? I don't think it hit me that I was leaving until today; I mean I've picked up extra socks at Target and my whole holiday loot was traveling stuff, but its pretty real. Getting my rental phone in the mail wasn't enough, but seeing the family's faces in my inbox did the trick for sure.

Oh I also didn't mention that I've made the world's cutest scrapbook; Alex and I road-tripped to Boulder this summer and well I had to do something with the pictures. Now, they sit in a turquoise album, that will collect dust when I'm gone, but is quite charming. It includes all the weird state faces I documented as we crossed state borders, along with these darling stickers from Martha Stewart's collection. I should have taken a picture of it but instead, I'll leave you with this: