November 21, 2019
We came back last night. We’ve had such an amazing and relaxing trip, Aruba treated us well🌴
I tried to update the blog while we were there but the internet wasn’t great and I didn’t get it to work enough to post here and I didn’t bring my computer this time. I guess the island wanted us to stay off our phones:) More from our trip will come.
October 21, 2019
My husbands surprise was to explore the world in a HOT AIR BALLOON! We had such a wonderful Saturday morning, the best surprise! Perfect day for this kind of adventure, he could not have picked a better day, we were so lucky with the weather (it rained yesterday).
I woke up from a dream around 3 am and could not fall back to sleep, so I was pretty tired, but my excitement over my surprise helped me stay awake:) The alarm went off at 4:30, I jumped into the shower, got ready, Jim took Thor out and then showered. We were out the door at 5:15. It took us about 1 hour 15 minutes to drive to location (somewhere near the Hudson Valley, New York). It was so dark outside, we realized that we are not used to drive in the dark like that. We got to this big field. Some young guy had parked there and he came up to our car asking if we were excited…well…I still didn’t know what we were going to do. More cars pulled up, we stayed warm inside the car. I kept looking out my window at the big field an the sunrise. And then after awhile I looked out J’s side and wow, there was a huge balloon being blown up next to us, hahaha. I kinda figured it was that but since J had told me to not bring a camera I wasn’t sure.
Three older couples were the first group to go up while we had to stay on ground. This balloon company goes up twice a day on weekends when weather allows. The young guy (the assistant) said that it’s better to be the second group to go up and I agree. Not only had the sun come up then and you can see all the colorful trees, but we got to see the balloon go up, chase it around, help the first group to get out and jump in, and then see them pack it all up in the end. The full experience:)
The first group was up for about an hour and we were in the young guys car driving to areas that we saw the balloon. The balloon pilot sent a location pin and we drove there. They had landed in some industrial area (the pilot has no control over where the balloon will take you, just up or down, so they end up in peoples backyards all the time). We had to help the balloon stay down in order for the first group to climb out, and then we started to climb in while the other group tried to hold us down, but the balloon kinda started to take off a bit too early and we ended up flying right into the barn we were next to (J said that a shingle of the house had come off..oops). And then quite quickly we were up in the air pretty high. 1200 feet start off with.
Wow! This was amazing! Going up and down over the fields and over big houses and barns. At one point we went up to 1500 feet and we could actually see top of the buildings on Manhattan. So peaceful. Quiet. I filmed and took pictures of course, but I also made sure to just enjoy the view and feel the fresh air.
In the end the basket was touching trees and then whoops, we went right through a tree hahaha. And then came the landing. We all bent our knees and held on. We hit the ground, up again, bounce. The second bounce I hit my knee in the basket so hard I thought I broke my leg but once we were out standing on ground it wasn’t that bad. Getting out was an adventure itself haha. The men in our group got out and tried to first move the balloon to a better place and then hold it in order for us to get out, but we ended up tipping over. I was in the tipping top (J and I was in the “back”) and I had to just hold on hahah, pretty funny view I’m told but J wasn’t fast enough to take a picture.
They fold everything up, put it on the wagon behind the car and we drove off. We drove by the farmer who owned the land and he did not look happy that we had been trespassing. The pilot and the assistant had a few stories of when they have been landing on questionable places, for example where they have had a shotgun in their face and been told to get out of their land. But, that’s America for ya 😛
We were about 20 minutes away from where our cars were parked. We said goodbye and then J and I drove to a diner for breakfast. It was about 10am at this point so we were really hungry. Then 1.5 hour drive back home. The lobby people had been watching Thor so we went to pick him up and then all three of us snuggled ourselves under blankets in bed and took a two hour nap. We were so tired!
What beautiful day! And what an experience! I really have the best husband♥
September 30, 2019
We had the most awesome weekend! I feel recharged and motivated!
We arrived in Sleepy Hollow around 11:30 am yesterday. We had decided to go explore the Rockwood Hall State Park becuase it’s right by the Hudson River. So nice to go for a walk and enjoy a park where there isn’t a billion people. So beautiful out there. There is another bigger park somewhat nearby but this park was right by the water and gave us a nice view.
Yield to the Headless Horse
I would have liked to stop and visit the cemetery from the story but since we had a nervous little guy in the car we didn’t want to stop too many times and be tourists. We drove by though, so I did see it. So after the Rockwood Hall we parked in the city of Sleepy Hollow, 
walked through and to a bar but it didn’t seem too dog friendly, so we walked back to the car to drive to a place in Tarrytown that J had looked up before, Horsefeathers, where we could sit with Thor outside. We both ordered burgers cause the waitress said that’s what they are known for. It was really good! T behaved better than normal, only a few barks once the food came.
After lunch we drove down to walk on the Scenic Hudson River Walk. It was very windy there and lots of people. Nice to be by the water but I prefer the Rockwood park.
We decided to drive into town and go to a coffee shop, Coffee Labs Roasters Inc, that I knew would accept Thor inside(it’s very rare that places accept dogs, at least here in America). This place was not only dog friendly, they also seem to take coffee really seriously. I ordered a latte with extra espresso and I got a teddy bear:) I enjoy latte art, I never really had time to practice that when I worked as a barista (I have worked at two very busy cafes) so I always created hearts for my customers or tried to make leaves that always ended up looking more like blobs haha.
Back home, T fell asleep on the couch in two seconds and J was watching the Bears game next to him. I was playing computer games for awhile. In the evening I rolled out my yoga mat in the bedroom. A little bit of gentle yoga and meditation felt nice after a long and active day. I looked at my phone this morning, it says we walked 7 miles yesterday, I am really impressed by our little 8 lbs fluff, I wonder if his legs are sore today.
Thor was being silly while we waited for our coffees at the cafe 😀
September 29, 2019
Good Morning and Happy weekend! How’s the weather where you live? We are having a really beautiful weekend so far! Yesterday we had 27 degrees and blue sky, I LOVE IT! We started the day by driving down to Harbor Point. We bought coffee at a little cafe, continued driving down, parked and walked to sit right by the water. What a beautiful morning! Thor was like a little toddler with ants in his pants, he didn’t really feel like sitting down too much, haha, but we still got a very relaxed time in the sun drinking coffee.
We only stayed for about an hour and then we had to head over to a new vet for Thor’s appointment to get him microchipped. T didn’t make a peep when the vet lady put the giant needle in his neck I am so proud of him! I was the one holding him so he wouldn’t move and I stared right at it to make sure it was done correctly, but Jim was standing a bit away looking the other direction. So now if T ever gets lost (oh I hope not!) and a rescue team finds him or if someone brings him in to a vet, they can reunite us. T can now also travel internationally. We aren’t really planning on bringing him anywhere (cause he doesn’t do well on planes) but in case we would like to he can now avoid quarantine.
Since we didn’t know if he was going to have any side effects (it’s rare that dogs get any but you’ll never know) we stayed with him most of the day. We went to the gym just for a little bit, then took T with us to a mexican place. After some chips and guac we continued to sit outside at Tigin. Such a hot day, it was nice to be outside. Back in the apartment we knew T was ok so we went to sit at the rooftop without him. So nice to just sit and do nothing. In the evening, J grilled us steaks, I then watched the Pearl Harbor movie and we went to bed somewhat early cause we have a full day planned today:)
Today is International Coffee Day, so this morning we went for a walk with Mr Fluff to get coffee. Jim is at the gym right now and once he is done we will bring some pellets, water and a travel dog bowl and drive to New York. We are going to explore Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown. We have talked about this since we moved here so I’m excited to go today.
September 27, 2019
10 years ago, Sept 26 if I remember correctly, I arrived late at night at the airport in Lisbon after a 9 hour delay in Germany due to some strike. After getting my bag, a red headed Czech girl with a huge smile on her face came to meet me holding a sign with my name on it. Her flight had also been delayed. After having to sleep in the same bed (hahah so weird) at a hotel our very first night because our apartment wasn’t ready, we instantly became friends. Around lunchtime that first day, two Finish girls arrived and they too became our friends. School started and we met more awesome people we came to call friends. And through some new friends, I met other friends.
This was one of the best times of my life. Living abroad as an exchange student in Lisboa was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
If you get the chance to study abroad, take it!
And…8 years ago today Sept 27, I arrived in New York City after spending a summer in Sweden moving out and separating from a 10 year long relationship. My guts was telling me this was the right decision. With really high fever I asked the flight attendants as I was getting off the plane if I could have a painkiller so that I could get through security. Luckily I did even if I looked like shit. A couple of hours later I arrived in Brooklyn and was greeted by a person that I had met several times before but barely knew. This was the first day of our friendship. I love you Emma, thank you for letting me be your roommate (even if I was barely there) 🙂
The next day, I decided to put money on my $10 dollar crappy American phone and text a person I had met before I left nyc that summer. After a few texts we decided to meet that evening. With my high fever and all, I took the subway to Midtown to meet him for a late cup of coffee. That was the beginning of what’s now a happy marriage. Jimmy, thank you for being the person I want to spend the rest of my life with♥
