Setting Rules...

Watching your daughter being collected by her date feels like handing over a million dollar Stradivarius to a gorilla....

I came across this on Facebook and it made me remember the days when we were living at home and just starting out to date.  The guys never stood a chance.  Five girls, no boys...just my dad.  For me it was much simpler to skip the entire dating process, concentrate on school and college.  So much easier and at that time I really did not want to date.

I remember once going to the movies with my "date"  That went fine.  It's everything else that got complicated.  My dad was there to meet him before and after the movies.  My dad had to meet every and anyone we went out with.  Luckily there were not many.  

After lots of threats and swinging of the machete, hints of bodily injury, and once we were back home I believe my dad knew more about my dates life, background, education and future plans and goals in life.  Of course we also had a German Shepherd dog who was by my dad's side at all times snarling at my date.  

...and yes, never saw the date again, which was OK.

For a while I decided to put a hold on my dating life...never looked back and never had any regrets.  My dad is one of a kind and I love the fact that he never gave in just because it was the easiest thing to do...we are all better persons because of that.

Thanks daddy for being my dad and for setting rules! 

The greatest gift I ever had Come from God, and I call him Dad!  

It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I was uncommonly beautiful and that I was the most precious thing in his life....

~Nadiya~

Friday...

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless....

Start of the weekend and you know what that means...yes lots to do and many ways to do it.  Even though the weather is still on the rainy side I have lots of plans and back up plans just in case....

One way or the other we will be doing something fun; of course the day starts with work.  With a house there is always work and work.  Good because it will be keeping us busy for a few hours.

There is always the mall if all fails:)

but for now no better way to start the morning than with a cup of your favorite beverage.  Today Cappuccino.  It's Friday after all, and as Arvid is fond of saying "he will soon be thirsty"

Have a great weekend everyone!

Make each day of the week like Friday and your life will take a new enthusiasm...

~Nadiya~

Comments/Issues On Blog..

Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues...

I have received some feedback from many readers saying that they cannot leave comments on my blog.  I am told that whenever they try the comment is just not getting posted.  Unfortunately, I have no idea what is going on.  

My mom has also mentioned this to me quite a few times and a few of my Facebook friends have also inboxed me regarding this.  I have looked into it.  I don't understand what the problem is and as of right now, I really don't have any answers.

I know many have no problems leaving comments.   If you have a google or yahoo account (most of us do).  You can go to the comment page.  Write your comment then choose Open ID.  I believe then you have to click on the drop down arrow and choose one of the categories available.  Or you can type in on the space provided either:   yahoo.com or google.com

I know there are other ways to comment, for instance if you have your own website (URL) or you can always do Anonymous, but it would be nice if you left your name as well.

I do appreciate all of my readers and I am really very sorry you are having troubles commenting.  Either way, please continue to read and enjoy my blog.  It makes me happy when I write.

Have a great day...

A person must have a certain amount of intelligent ignorance to get anywhere...

~Nadiya~

6 Years Old Today...

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this...  Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later...

The day Brutus came into our lives was just magical.  Here was this cute little kitty looking all scared with his eyes barely open not sure what was happening, but trusting us all the same to take care of him and to protect.

We adopted him from the shelter. We had 5 kitties to choose from and as soon as Brutus entered the room he choose us to be his new mom and dad.  Arvid was immediately fascinated by this little creature who was all over him.  Brutus circled  around him, and at that moment both Arvid and I said, "he's the one."

I choose him or rather he choose us.  On that day we did the "adoption" paperwork, but we were not allowed to bring him home.  We had to wait until the next day to go and get him.  Bummer, but in the meantime we went on a shopping spree.

We bought everything we could think Brutus would need.  I had more experience, since I have had kitties before this was all new territory for Arvid.  He was happy because I was happy.  I always wanted another kitty and the day Arvid said yes was one of the happiest moments in my life.

All Arvid was concerned about was that Brutus had to be "contained" in one section of the apartment.  At the time we were living at The Grand and we had a very big laundry room.  This was to be Brutus' room.  I agreed, because all I wanted was a kitty, even though I knew that Arvid's rules would never last once Brutus came to live with us.  

relaxed

I knew I was about to override each and every rule little by little with the help of Brutus and we did by day two and it has not stopped although Arvid thinks that he still has the upper hand.

Brutus' "training" as Arvid called it began on his first night with us.  He stayed in his room.  We stayed with him.  He cried so much it broke our hearts.  The neighbours from that day on called him the baby and to this day refer to him as the baby. 

Like clock work, Arvid went to Brutus' by 11pm.  There he would use a treat to get Brutus to jump on his bed and then he would sing for him for about 15 minutes.  This routine has not changed since then, no matter where we are.  The both love it.

Day two I told Arvid that we should let Brutus in the other parts of the apartment "with our supervision" of course.  He agreed and from then on Brutus roamed all over the apartment.  Now Brutus is boss and does whatever he pleases.  At nights he always slept in his own room, but now he sleeps with us on our bed or on his bed which is also in our bedroom.

6 years today

We both look back and we always agree that the best thing we did was to bring Brutus into our lives.  He has changed us.  Because of Brutus we are both better people.  More patient, more tolerant and Arvid has learnt to slow down and to enjoy the little tings in life.  Some of his best times are those spent with Brutus.  Just watching them together I see love.It is not often I hear Arvid say, "I love you" to anyone other than me.  Now I hear him saying, "I love you" quite often to Brutus.  If you know Arvid that is a very HUGE change.

We cannot imagine a life without Brutus.  he is our baby and we are truly happy he choose us to be his mom and dad.  Today he is six years old and we look forward to many, many years with him.We love you Brutus.  I wish to always have Brutus in our lives, he makes everything better. With those big eyes and we are sold:)

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose..
A meow massages the heart...
There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat..
  A cat is a puzzle for which there is no solution...

~Nadiya~

Happy Birthday Brutus...

Happy birthday Brutus, this day will always be a special one to remember...

Brutus Moments

Forever Cherished:

You are the best kitty we could ever have and we love you!

Brutus is more than just our pet.  He is our baby, our friend and that special furry little thing that has stolen our hearts forever.  In our lives he has a forever special place and we are very fortunate to have him

We love you!

May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be ours your Dada and mama.....

~Nadiya~

Rainy Days....

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather...

The skies are black, there is thunder and lightning, and this is predicted to last for several days.  Not the prettiest of days if you are going to be outdoors running around doing chores.  Brutus is scared so he is hiding under the sheet covers and finally feels safe.  Arvid has of course told him there is nothing to be scared of, and that everything is going to be OK.

 For me it's the perfect day to catch up on all the paperwork I have, since the last two days I have not done much of anything related to work, but I did have some great times doing stuff for me and going out with my girlfriend.  Back to the real world now, and it is also good.   Always good to have something to do.  With our kind of work, it does not matter when you do it as long as it gets done.

Arvid on the other hand is already running around doing what he likes best....staying busy.  As he left he had this huge smile on his face and I know that rain or no rain as long as he's running around he is happy.  Just this morning he said to me, "my dear, you have changed me.  I am now a city person."  He's cute.

Rain or shine whatever you do make it count.

Have a great day and stay dry or if you are like me just have a great walk in the rain.  Either way.  Have fun!

Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella...

~Nadiya~

IPhones and Such...

Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized at times...

I like my new telephone, my computer works just fine, my calculator is perfect, but Lord, I miss my mind....

I love my IPhone and everything it does and I bet so do most of you.  I love how easy it is to take pictures and just send it in a flash.  Yesterday as I was having lunch with my girlfriend, I was showing her how to use some of the many features of the IPhone.  She has had the IPhone ever since the first one came out, yet she knows hardly anything at all about the awesome features.  Every time we meet I try to show her how to do more stuff.

Really all she does is make calls!  I mean who makes just make calls when you have at your disposal so many amazing features all in one tiny little phone.  Seriously though she is a pretty fast learner and before you know it she is sending me pictures all day long of any and everything.  Sometimes I want to tell her that I don't really care for all the stuff she's sending, but then I feel bad and just delete it and never say much.  Much is garbage really.  For instance who wants to see what food all the other animals are eating?  I have probably five pictures of different boxes with different brands of food.  Brutus eats his own particular food so none of it is relevant.  On the other hand, I think that part of the fun of having one of these phones, be it an IPhone or any other Smart phone is to just experiment with all the new features.

I can tell when someone just acquired one of these phones.   You see on Facebook all the Mobile Uploads, hey when I first had mine I was no exception.  I loved to upload pictures just to see how it worked.  Have gotten a bit better in not uploading that much anymore.  At least I hope so.  For instance the other day, I was texting with my sisters, before you knew it we were just sending pictures of nothing really, but the pictures kept coming.  After the first couple of times it just gets to be a little too much for anyone I guess.

Arvid says it's very annoying and he does not understand how "girls" spend so much time just playing on our phones and wasting time just with nonsense.  As you can imagine Arvid refuses to have an IPhone, no matter how much promote the advantages.  He says that all he wants from a phone is to make calls.  His phone is from the stone age and he claims he will never change it unless it dies on him!  He refuses to do text.  Should he by chance get one, it gets deleted right away.  In the beginning I had to delete them, at least now he knows to do it. If Arvid could be without a cell phone he would be happy. 

If by chance he needs something texted, then I do it for him from my phone.  I often ask him if he would like me to email him a picture from my phone and he says, "nope, don't have time for this."   If I did send it he will delete it and then claim he never got it.  The man is too much!!  Even though Arvid is always telling me he is going to throw my phone away I know he does not mean it.  Hope he doesn't.

I love my games especially.  They have kept me busy many a times when otherwise I would have been bored to death.  So you see you don't only have to talk, but it does help for the phone to be able to make a call every now and a gain.

Cell phones have come a long way and I know from seeing Arvid's phone.  His Norwegian cell phone is probably an antique by now:).  Enjoy your phones all, but don't abuse the way you use them and remember NO TEXTING WHILE DRIVING!

Have a good day all!

The iPhone is the most sophisticated, outlook-challenging piece of electronics to come along in years. It does so many things so well, and so pleasurably, that you tend to forgive its foibles

God himself could not design a device that could live up to all the hype that the iPhone has gotten...

~Nadiya~

Need To Know...

Information is the seed for an idea, and only grows when it's watered....

Today I decided to read the Norwegian Newspaper called Dagbladet.  Arvid's brother gave us a few tips to follow up regarding customers so I read, them I inform to Arvid.

As I was reading of course I don't just stop at what I need.  I continue reading some more and came across some pretty interesting information.  Most I will inform to Arvid who honestly does not really care.  Many a times he gets a link to certain information or new and he just deletes it.  He says he's not really interested in "those" things.

I of course read and inform.  Most times he will listen other times he will look at me and just say, "I could care less."

According to one article,

 A new survey conducted by the largest travel agency, Via Travel, shows that Norwegians on business, believes the property's location is of primary importance when it comes to stay. Norwegian hotel guests want anything to be centrally located on a trip.Thus, separates the Norwegians themselves from travelers in the rest of Europe.

More on this article by clicking the link

One of the Articles I read:)

I have to agree because when we travel we also like to be  in the center of everything.  Makes any vacation so much more pleasant with so much around you.  It took me a while to read the newspaper with the help of google translate and I have to say I had a good time.  So maybe from now I will continue to read and inform Arvid what's happening in his side of the world...

Have a nice day all...

Information's pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience...

 ~Nadiya~

Grocery Shopping...

I can write for any magazine now, in any voice. I can do it in two hours, I could do it in my sleep, it's like writing a grocery list.

One of the things I really enjoy is going to the grocery store and yes I do prefer to go there without Arvid.  Only because with him it's always "OK, let's see what we have on the list"  That means we go to the store get what we want and get out of there as fast as possible.

In many ways this may be a good thing, it may even be cheaper, but for me it's no fun whatsoever.  Going to the grocery store I like to take my time.  I like to browse the aisles even though I may not need all the items I always end up buying.  Of course we will use them, but they were not on my list as Arvid is fond of saying, and did I mention I always forget this list I make?  I take my time writing down what we need and never fails, every time I'm in the store the list is at home.  This is probably why I always end up with more than we need.

Today at the grocery store I was there on my own, only this time it was not as enjoyable as usual.  I was already in an irritable mood for starters (not sure why).  Anyway to make matters even worse, most of the shoppers there were men on their own.  I honestly could not believe what I saw and heard.  At least four of them were on their phones with let's say their wives.  One even took a picture of some vegetable and sent it to his wife.  They were all asking do we need this, shall I get this, are you sure...bla, bla, bla.  One man even said, "but these do not say Idaho potatoes.  What shall I do?  Do I still get them or not?'  I mean come on if you take the time to go grocery shopping at least you must be capable of making a decision  as to what potatoes to buy without having to have a 10 minute conversation with your wife.  

If men liked shopping, they'd call it research.  

Another was asking, "are you sure we need cookies?  i am not going to eat them.  Are you sure you will eat them?"  Another one who needs to buck up and just either buy the darn cookies or not.  What's the big deal it's only cookies and by the conversation I had no doubt the cookies will be done in one sitting.

may as well enjoy what I bought

Why this annoyed me, not sure.  Could have been because I was already annoyed, but people going grocery shopping does not require you to have an the IQ of a genius.  Anyone can do it.  You don't have to be a genius.  I mean even Arvid can d it without having to call me and ask me tons of questions about a potato.


When I got home and told him, his answer to me was "I will have no problems buying potatoes, how difficult can that be"?  My question exactly, how difficult can it be to go shopping and make a decision without having a consultation about each item to be purchased?

I love grocery shopping when I'm home. That's what makes me feel totally normal. I love both the idea of home as in being with my family and friends, and also the idea of exploration. I think those two are probably my great interests....

~Nadiya~

Awesome Monday....

Sometimes you pick your friends, sometimes they pick you...
Rules should always be bent, if not broken. It's the only way to have any fun...

Normally Mondays are just regular.  Nothing overly dramatic or very different than most Mondays, but today was different.  It has been a awesome Monday.  The day started with Brutus and Arvid having their usual standoff at exactly 6:24 am.  Brutus decides its time for us to wake up and get out of bed and take care of his needs.  As he does everyday, Brutus makes as much noise as he can and as usual Arvid sits up in the bed all groggy from sleep saying, "for god sakes it's not even 7 as yet." Get out and come back around 7:30."  This is everyday without fail.  Normally Brutus "listens" today he did not feel like it.  What does Arvid do?  He sits up in the bed and there is a stare contest between him and Brutus.  This for a good 10 minutes.  I then decide to get up and go outside with Brutus just to keep him quiet.  This is everyday.

By eight I have a little workout.  Just 45 minutes of cardio and trust me I'm beat, but afterwards I always feel good and I do enjoy the feeling of doing something for me.  Since Arvid was going to be gone most of the day, I decided to invite my friend Liliana over for lunch.  

Liliana arrives with a bottle of wine and makes herself comfy.  She finds the wine glass, opens the wine, finds the ice and before I know it she's sipping on white wine and me on orange juice.  I don't like wine.  For lunch I make tons of food.  I love cooking and Liliana is a pleasure to cook for.  She will eat everything and whatever is leftover I always give to her.  Today she has food for a week as she puts it.  Makes me happy.  I even had a five minute conversation with Arvid's brother giving us some business tips.

After lunch we decided to go and check out a Latin grocery store we heard so much about.  The weather was not being cooperative, but rain or no rain we were having a great time.  We got to the store and right away we were a bit concerned for our safety.  Being brave, we went in anyway.   Not sure what the hype was about the store because as both Liliana and I said, "our first and last time here."  We still had fun.

We made a stop to Walmart for a few things we did not need, but what the heck, Walmart was on our way and you find everything there.  After buying stuff we did not need we decided to go to the mall and try our luck there as well.

Macy's was the first stop.  Shoes always shoes.  From there it was straight to The Coach Store.  Handbags were next on my list and yes, a pretty handbag found itself in my possession.  Thank you Arvid even though you don't know as yet.  I love it!

After a few more purchases we were tired and started heading out.  Well not so fast.  Our attention was caught by Teavana.  Yes we were in tea heaven.  Well this being Liliana and I and we both enjoy tea and everyone knows that Teavana has some very delicious blends of tea.  After lots of sampling and exclamations at the prices we both settled on one we liked.  Today I decided to try the Strawberry Lemonade with Blueberry Bliss.  Just the most awesome flavor.  

perfect day:)

So after paying quite a bit for a very small amount of tea leaves we were happy.  Felt like we had just accomplished something.  Now I just hope that I will make my tea and hopefully it will taste as good as when sampled.  I even bought some specialty sugar  for the tea just to get the exact flavor.   


Any day with Liliana always turns out to be exciting because one never knows what she will say.  She is truly a wonderful person.  My parents and my sisters have all met her and even some of our friend from Norway and she never ceases to make everyone laugh...


Now time to relax, read a little and watch some TV.
Have a good day all!

Fun. Its this crazy thing where people smile and laugh and are generally pleased. I could have sworn I saw you smile at least once.....
~Nadiya~

Happy Mother's Day...

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness....

Just want to dedicate today's blog post to all the wonderful mothers out there.  If your mom is anything like mine, then all I can say is that we are truly blessed.  We may sometimes forget to let them know how much they mean to us, but a mothers heart is always open and always willing to forgive....just remember thought that all mothers love to hear those three little words "I love you."

A mother's love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking

mom like you..no one

my mom and her mom, my grandma.  love you both

A mom's hug lasts long after she lets go...

~Nadiya~