Escaping the winter, Arizona

Hi,

So as it rains and it is cold in Seattle I went to Arizona with my host family to escape the winter.
It was super nice to get some D vitamins and a tan.

My birthday was celebrated here as well and I keep up the tradition. I had my 17th birthday in Scotland, my 19th birthday in England and my 21th birthday in Sweden (I meant to go to Ireland but my economy was low :O)

Now I had my birthday in the USA and not even the city I have spent so much time in.
The place we stayed at was a resort called Paradise Valley in the middle of Scottsdale and Phoenix. It was a cactus landscape in the middle of nowhere and it was nice.
I enjoyed the heat a lot.
We went on a guided tour at the architect campus in the mountains. It was made by Frank Lloyd Wright and it was a super cool place. The guide just told us to stay on the patch as there could be scorpions hiding behind the rocks, good to know ;)
I am actually sad I didn't find a rattle snake, that would had been cool.
But my stupid Scandinavian skin is not meant for that place, I was burning though I used an SPF 45.
And I was so surprised to hear a couple of guys speaking Danish at the airport. That is like the last place you expect to meet Danes.

My time glass is running out now and this journey can now end at any time. Yes, life is full of great surprises so always just smile.

Here are a few pictures, enjoy.

They know how to make cocktails!

Sun Valley, Idaho

Hi,

I have been super busy lately and I have not really had the time to blog.
I have been on vacation twice within the past month and now I have the time to share my experiences.

So I went to Sun Valley in Idaho. My host family went skiing while I took care of the baby. I went to this small tourist town called Ketchum, I bought some souvenirs for my family at home.
I took the baby to see horses at the Sun Valley stables and I was so lucky to see elks! They are not really in Europe and I love finding wild animals.

The place seems like a nice place to go skiing and we went there after the winter break had passed so there were almost no people.
The landscapes were really beautiful and it was super strange as there were no snow as we landed but as we drove up to the mountains more and more snow appeared. Actually, it was one of the most snowing winters they had experienced and I have to say, it was a lot of snow!
My new skiing clothes passed their exam as it kept me warm in this very cold weather.

I like Idaho as it looks like a real Cowboy landscape and it is famous for its potatoes. So famous it is on their license plates!!

I think if you are traveling in the USA and you want to go skiing I think this might be a cool place. Ketchum is also a nice little village to go shopping.

Here are some pictures, enjoy :)

Long time no see

Hi,

It has been some time since the last time I used this blog, but I have been a busy and very tired person lately. I feel like time is flying and this winter just passed in a blink of an eye. As I came home from Hawaii I sure had the stomach bug that everyone had suffered from through out Christmas. I only had one day off though and it took me about 3 weeks to recover, I just couldn't eat and my work out was sloppy too. I just tried to keep it up and I'm doing pretty well now with my exercises and I have an ok appetite now.
In the mean time I have signed up for ebay which was a mistake, how am I suppose to get all of this stuff back to Denmark? It will cost me a fortune... A fortune that I don't have.
Now my worries lies on the changing education system in Denmark and that I am not sure I can get to study what I want to study. Well, I still have time to figure it out.

It's already halfway through February and I cannot believe I only have a few months left in the USA. I also miss my Hawaii tan..
But I still have a lot to do here. This weekend we had an au pair meeting called potluck were we had to introduce some food from our home country. I brought a strawberry cake (thank you, Safeway) and it was kind of embarrassing as one of the other families said: our former au pair was Danish and she loved making strawberry cake.
It was just awkward as I cannot bake or cook... or anything else.

So I go to music class on Fridays now with the baby and I'm sleep training her (that's why I'm so exhausted every day) I have to keep her awake for longer when it's nap time and she's just super fuzzy. We spend time on the play ground when it is not raining and go for long walks. But I love that little thing so much, it will be so hard to say goodbye to her.

Today I gave her a bath and she just loved it. How can she be such an easy baby? I understand why she is fuzzy when I keep her awake for longer, but she could be a lot worse.

I am so lucky with her and the family I stay with.
Well, we are skiing in few weeks in Idaho, and even though I'm Scandinavian skiing is not really my thing. I hope to go sleigh riding with the baby, that will be fun :)

I ordered some new snow clothings so I can stay warm.

I will try to keep the writing up more often so I don't fall this much behind again.
Anyways, I hope you all stay positive even in this cold weather and you look forward to the summer :)

Have a great day!

Emma.

Goodbye 2016

Hi,

As I have looked through my social media I have seen nothing but people saying 2016 was the worst year of their lives. It has been horrible in a few ways; Trump is now President, a lot of cool celebrities died and my dog passed away this summer, but besides that then 2016 has been the year of my life. 

I went in mindfullness therapy and was taught how to control my anxiety and that made my life so much easier! I passed my exams with top grades and I got this amazing job. I take care of a lovely baby, I love Seattle and the family I work for is awesome and take me to awesome places in the US, places tourists would never go to so I wouldn't had seen it otherwise. It's already 2017 in Denmark and my family called me and said that 2017 so far is cold and dark, my dad is insane that way :)

I meet my big idol Maja Shining and I went to se Alice Cooper, Guns'n Roses and The Pretty Reckless live. I have had a great year! May 2017 be just as good <3 

Happy New Year to you all and remember to always see the good in everything, no matter if you or someone you love battles with cancer or you have lost someone you really loved or something else bad happened, look on the bright side. 

Stay save :) 

Merry Christmas from Hawaii :)

Hi, 

So what can I say? This is so awesome! I'm on Hawaii and it's nice and warm. I take it chill. I work a little but I have plenty of time to just relax and enjoy life. This is paradise for sure :) 

So I have been told that each American family has their own traditions and these traditions are far away from the Danish traditions and it has been amazing to experience this. We had sushi as a starter and then mixed salad, roast beef and potatoes for dinner. Nothing else really happened. In Denmark we dance around the tree after dinner, we eat risalamande were you have to find the almond and the person that does gets an extra present:) but I experienced waking up today to tequila sunrise at a morning drink (awesome!) and then we opened presents. My family in DK just put money in my bank account as that would be a lot easier, my host family gave me shoes to wear in the gym and my host mom's parents gave me Ed Hardy's autobiography personally signed to me! It was so awesome! :D 

Besides that I got a scarf, an uncle Sam nutcracker ornament and lots of candy :P 

All in all, it's strange to not be with your family at this time of year but I don't feel homesick at all and I love Hawaii <3 

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and you spread lots of love. 

Bye <3

Back in San Francisco

Hi,

Wow, the baby really caught a bug in NY and what a lot of work I have done. I am happy that I have my mindfulness coloring books and books in general to relax with in the evening.
Last weekend I was at a concert with The Pretty Reckless and visiting a little tourist town called Leavenworth (Holy cow it was cold!)
And now I am here in San Francisco again. I'm so happy that my host family actually brings me with them when they travel. I know that I have to work but I don't mind and can you blame me? I get to see a lot of the USA and that was what I came for.
I really hit the jackpot with this family.

Anyways, this time I can really look around and do my own thing because my stupid ankle actually works again.
I really like this city, it's not super warm at this time of year but it's not cold either. It's cloudy and it looks beautiful when you look over alcatraz and see the mountains. It looks like the mountains are producing the clouds.

I'm sorry that I cannot post pictures in this stupid blog I don't know what's wrong with it but I upload picks to instagram here https://www.instagram.com/emma_stage/ if you are interested, it's not private so you don't even need to follow me.
It snowed in Seattle when we left and it was actually a good amount when you think of the fact that it never snows in Seattle. That was just proved wrong.
I brought it with me, that also happened when I lived in Brighton. It's my viking roots, sorry everybody ;)
But me, I'm super chill at the time and I love to explore America and get as many impressions as possible and yeah I'm starting to really speak like them now. Instead of saying "have a good day" they just say "have a good one." And yeah a lot of new expressions are coming automatically to me now. And if I ever feel homesick (I don't) then I just watch South Park :)

Have a good one! <3

Thanksgiving week

Hi,

It has been exciting and a busy week for me. I have not worked much but I have been exploring the east coast :)

My host family have family in Philadelphia and New York. We stayed on hotel Conrad on Manhattan. I had a day to see Philadelphia though I did not get to see it all, but I saw Independence Hall, Liberty bell and some of the buildings that are not allowed to be put down and replaced.
It looked a lot like cities I have been to in the UK.

And NYC, what can I say? The city that never sleeps!
I saw METs and it was cool to spend some time on the Upper east side, only Gossip Girl watchers will understand ;)

For Thanksgiving we went to Long Island and I was not feeling that well. I guess I wasn't dressed up for the cold. Isn't it strange that you can forget how cold the wind can feel? I am Danish and I am more than used to a cold wind but it still surprised me. The wind in Seattle has never been that cold!
But Thanksgiving day is a day I understand, you relax and eat, that sounds like the way I want to live. I got to relax a bit, I have to say I normally don't stay in bed for a cold but I do when I have the opportunity.

I went shopping on black Friday and I bought about everything except for Christmas presents... That's how good I am.
BTW it was cool to experience a black Friday in the US, seriously it was crazy! Americans know how to shop for sure. It sucks in Denmark, no one understands the mind of Americans in that small country.

On Saturday we had brunch on the upper east side with some relatives. It was a nice apartment and I know that it's super expensive.
We flew home Saturday afternoon and I'm 100% sure that the airplane was haunted. I was watching The Conjuring 2 and all of a sudden I was not wearing my seatbelt and I know I didn't take it off, we had so much turbolence that we had to keep it on during the whole flight. Or maybe I just forgot to buckle up again after I had been at the restroom and I suffer from dimentia or something.
But anyways, I'm back in Seattle and back to a normal work week. Though once again it seems like time will pass me by fast and before I know it we will write 2017... AND I WILL TURN 23 :O

I'm old....

I'm obsessed with Halestorm's new song Mistress for Christmas. I need to relax now, I have a baby with an upset stomach and a bad diaper rash x_x

Bye!