my weekend. or something like that.

after my last little post of frustration, things settled down (= i gave up on trying to retype or salvage my original post) & it turned out to be quite a great weekend. and it’s been an unusually good mix of super busy-ness mixed with some much needed peace & quiet. i must confess, though, that all i can seem to think about is having a break during christmas… a few days in a row completely off. and then, in the middle of january, a 2 week trip to the states to visit family & friends!! YES! anyway, back to my weekend…

the weekend for me is not exactly the same day or days as it is for most of you. i work every friday & this weekend i worked all day saturday too. so, my weekend began yesterday evening & it comes to a close tomorrow morning… i always squeeze in every second of the weekend as i can, down to the last minute before i have to take on responsibility again.

i began this “weekend” (friday night) by working at my internship. we were out in the city… working with teenagers who are taking a 6 month leadership course. it was a really good night, actually. it’s always good to see teenagers who want to connect with people, give back to their community, or work on making themselves better people. i was able to really chat with a few of them; and it so amazing to hear their stories in life, talk about their dreams & hopes, & just laugh with them. the city was quiet. at least what we saw. but, then again, it’s december. super dark. and pretty cold. so, why wouldn’t you be at home watching a movie?

then after getting home late & waking way too early for a saturday (6:30. kill me.)… it was off to the church for some work. the youth group was in charge of a saturday cafe offered to the community in the church’s fellowship hall/cafe. i was hoping that about 3 or 4 youth would show up to help, that we would have enough food, & that i wouldn’t look like an idiot trying to make my way around & kitchen blurting out whatever swedish words came to mind in any given situation. turns out 8 youth came, we had mountains of sandwiches (that i made!), and tons of delicious goodies to serve to the (mostly elderly) crowd that came between 10 & 1. i actually did not look like an idiot, but i had a rather good time getting to know a few more of the adults from the church, practicing my swedish by having a spontaneous public speech for the crowd gathered (thanks to one man asking me to all of the sudden share something with the group. yes. my heart stopped for a second.), and learning more about important swedish customs & culture. what i mean by that is that the longer that i live here, the more i realize i have GOT to learn to cook & bake. it is expected. hence, the fear of looking like an idiot while working in the kitchen at the church yesterday. BUT, i made a chocolate cake, crap loads of typical swedish sandwiches, and got compliments on both. woo hoo!

my lonely, early saturday morning walk to the church. i love this building & all the lights/candles in the windows. so typical.

 i made these!! bread. butter. some caviar spread concoction. boiled eggs. tomato. lemon. dill. swedes love this. i say, “yuck”. and i can say it… i tasted it.

 people enjoying the cafe. it was quite cozy & cute. 2 elderly ladies sang & entertained the crowd with traditional swedish christmas songs. i am constantly amazed by swedes & their resiliency/energy/motivation. it was freaking cold out, & rainy, & messy. yet, all these elderly people were out, enjoying some good food, laughing, singing, living life. inspiring, i know. i would’ve been lazy & had more coffee at home.

 my typical swedish chocolate cake. it was the first time i made it… and it was a hit!

 walking home i had to pass through walls of busy christmas shoppers. feelin’ the holiday spirit? why, yes i am!

after cleaning the church, i met up with my love & we headed to her parents’ house for a quiet (hehe), cozy evening with 2 nieces, lina’s brother & his girlfriend, & her parents. we just sat & enjoyed each others company & ate craploads of food = saturday night traditions in sweden (called lördagsmys. translation: cozy saturday). we came home, discussing for like the 1 millionth time how happy we are that we live in the middle of the downtown area, & went to bed early… we were soooo tired (lina worked all day too. for once, our schedules matched up!).

a warm fire in the fireplace at lina’s parents’.

 riding the tram home.

 home sweet home. the four windows in a row (from the right) on the 4th floor are ours.

i rolled over & woke up after 9 this morning. thank you, sleep gods. stumbled out of bed, drug my feet into the kitchen, sleepily made a pot of coffee, & slithered back into bed under the covers to wait for it to brew. then, i spent the next 2ish hours right there in the same spot. oh yeah, a little bit of heaven. that’s right.  i love spending time in my bed when i have nothing else planned. but, eventually our feet hit the floor & we had some breakfast, cleaned the apartment, & did some grocery shopping for those must have items… milk, bread, chips, yogurt, cheese. wow. that was quiet a list of dairy products. oh, and stamps for christmas cards! (yes. we buy our stamps at the grocery store, as there are no post offices in sweden. really. no post offices. i’m serious. weird, huh?) no wine or beer, needed. it was already chilling in the fridge. and we have plenty of toilet paper right now… we’re trying to be more responsible & prepared. hehe. well, we made dinner & finally settled in for an unbelievable cozy evening on the sofa. just the 3 of us…

 good sunday morning, world.

 christmas cards written, sealed, stamped,  ready to send!

 sweden’s coziest living room. ♥

so, how was your weekend? hope you’ve had a good balance of fun &  rest. can you believe how quickly time is going?! it’s already the second sunday in advent.  3 weeks till christmas!

wishing you all love & peace.