Discovered!

Nina, you really made my day! I am incredibly honoured by receiving the Excellent Blogger Award. It feels great that someone's actually reading my daily ramblings (apart from Prince Charming - I've made my blog his starting page and I'm not sure if he knows how to change it). The moment I realized I knew that the award must go on to the blogs I visit on a daily basis. And it's extra fun to have an award like this come from someone who's blog I read every day. So I hereby award the following blogs the Excellent Blogger Award (in addition to Nina, of course :) :

UnderbaraClara (in Swedish)

StyleBytes (in English)

The Glamorous Librarian (in Norwegian)

Haustljos (in Norwegian)

Ylvan (in Swedish)

The top four already have tons of readers - they are really good blogs. Y I write about all the time here. She's the girl I'm going to Nepal with and she's much better than me to write about our preparations.

Have a great day - I will!

Queens Of The Stone Age in Oslo

Yesterday Prince Charming and I saw Queens Of The Stone Age in Oslo Spektrum. It was fun but I got the feeling it was just another job for them. They did what they were supposed to do, and that was it. The whole concert had a feeling of being very professional. The songs were the ones I expected (hadn't heard all of them before, though - I'm not a blood fan). The extra number was of course their biggest radio hit. It was all just what we expected. And nothing else. So I think the concert was a four out of six. A good concert, but nothing mindblowing. You can see OsloPuls' critique here (in Norwegian).

The weight freak takes over!

Today I purchased these Bivouac Boots (Camp boots) from 40 Below. I expected them to be 285 grams but when I got home and weighed them they were only 246 grams! I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them, though, as I heard it's very easy to walk around on the blue fabric instead of the sole since they are so soft around the ankle. I don't know what to do.

A typical walk

I had decided on going for a little stroll in the city to try to soften up those sore muscles in my legs mentioned earlier. Of course I ended up in the shopping centre that is open until 22:00.

But when can you find a Triumph bra for kr 49,- (US$ 8.50)? In the correct size? I got a black t-shirt bra too, for the same price. I feel that the bargain here justifies the shopping. Actually, I don't. But I'm telling myself this.

Forward! To the pole!

Today I got a hold of two pairs of these babies, Leki Carbonlite, for Y and myself. I weighed them as soon as I got home (I'm turning into a freak! Help!) . 368 grams. Now I'm very pleased with myself, especially since I got them cheap.


My legs ache from using unusual muscles crosscountry skiing yesterday, so tonight I'm just going for a walk to try and soften things up. Or maybe it's the cookie monster in my head finally getting an excuse for not going spinning this evening. Well, I don't care. Or rather, I'll try not to worry about it.

The weight of things

Photo by Y

Y came over to my place on Saturday and we had our first go at packing our backpacks. I've never been a weight freak but now I dragged out the kitchen scale and weighed every little thing. Y has also a post on this session here (in Swedish).

I knew the Sloggi Hot Hips underwear I purchased earlier was light, but at 14 grams I'm very impressed. The wool Icebreaker ones I received from a contact in the outdoor business weighed in at 28 grams. Still acceptable.

I haven't completely resolved the sweater / jacket issue, though. The softshell jacket mentioned earlier is definetly staying at home, with it's more than 500 grams. The Icebreaker sweater I can't make up my mind on. It's 366 grams, which would mean I could take 26 underpants instead (I won't), or bivouac boots (they'll come anyway). Some things were however determined by the kitchen scale. My Gore Tex Pro Shell Jacket is not coming. When that weighs over 500 grams, and a Paclite weighs 300 there's not a doubt in my mind I have to invest in that.

Healthy Norwegian Youth (Sunn Norsk Ungdom)

Today Y and I went skiing in the woods around Oslo. You can take the subway for 40 minutes and you're in the woods. Oslo is a small city. Neither of us are any good at crosscountry skiing but we had a nice couple of hours skiing. It's really fun to watch all the other people out skiing so close to the city on a Sunday afternoon. The man pictured above is very classic and with that certain old style. You meet lots of old people out skiing on such a day. It's great that they keep in shape and spend time outdoors!

To come of age

Yesterday was Prince Charming's birthday and we had a nice little birthday party for him. The apartment was packed with people but it's not very roomy here so we weren't that big a crowd. We were however able to seat everyone and birthday cake and coffee was served. I just love those occasions where you end up still sitting at the table, drinking beer, at 2.30 am. Not that we had anywhere else to sit... And then we went out to the neighbourhood pub with the few remaining guests. A great way to celebrate ones birthday!

Decisions...

I can't figure out what sweater / jacket combination to bring. This comes in addition to a Gore-Tex jacket. I've decided to bring two woolen sweaters; one crew neck (probably Smartwool Midweight (1.)) and one zip (probably Devold Expedition (2.)). That way I can wear one on top of the other. So far so good. The problem is what to bring in addition:

a) only a microfiber wind jacket - Norrøna Off Track (4.)

b) a thicker woolen sweater - Icebreaker 320g (3.) AND the wind jacket (4.)

c) a softshell jacket like the Arc'Teryx Gamma MX (5.)

Ylva and I are doing our first attempt at packing on Saturday. We don't have everything yet but it will be interesting to see what we have weighs and what room it takes...

Another question I've been pondering lately is how much toilet paper to bring. The luxury oriented part of me despairs over trying to make three rolls last three weeks...

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/object/4639111_no_toilet_paper.php?id=4639111

Mannen som elsket Yngve

"The man who loved Yngve" premiered last week. This is a film I recommend especially if you were 14 to 19 in 1989 when this film was set. I was only 9 myself so I didn't recognise that much of the time vibe but I hear it's excellent. The film is a good film but I felt it was a definite advantage knowing the story and why things go as they go. The story is a strong one and I guess you have to make things go faster and without that full understanding of the reasons why when adapting a book to the screen. "Mannen som elsket Yngve" (The man who loved Yngve) is all in all a good story that I recommend. So read the book and see it afterwards. Or maybe the other way around. And you get to laugh from the outfits when seeing the film.

This is the life

Hege Dons Samset's exhibition at the GAD Gallery is called "This is the life" and illustrates the feelings of hopelessness our daily lives sometimes leaves us with. The photos have humour and are very esthetic. It looks like she has captured these persons in that exact moment where they realize that their assignment is impossible and hopeless. I like the absurdity of the situations and the expression of the persons in the photographs. The exhibition lasts until May 8th.

Little Old Lady / kjerring

Another post in Norwegian, determining whether I am a Little Old Lady. I'm not sure if our Saturday brekfast pictured above is urban or oldie...

Her er iallfall Kjerring-testen. Eg går laus på den med bange aningar. Eg fann den hjå Haustljos som er ei oppegåande dame med bein i nasen som skriv på nynorsk. Reglane er iallfall slik at dersom ein får meir enn fem ja-svar er ein i faresona for å vera kjerring. Ti ja-svar syner at ein er ei skikkeleg kjerring og tjue tyder på at ein burde vera på gamleheimen. Spanande! Så no får me sjå:

Du bruker meir penger i veka enn i helgene:
Som du sikkert har sett her er eg ikkje så flink til lata vera å handla ting. Og det er fleire dagar i veka enn i helga. Ergo: JA

Du har duk og blomsterpotte på TV-en:
Nei, me har flatskjerm. Den er forresten lånt.

Du rydder jamnleg i djupfrysaren:
Nei, me eg veit sånn nogonlunde kva eg har der. Har berre sånn frysar under kjøleskåpet så den er jo ikkje så stor.

Du synes det kunne vært gøy å prøve “ein sånn hurtigvin”:
He he. Nei. Verkeleg ikkje. Drikk ikkje opp vinen eg kjøper på polet ein gong.

Du veit kva du skal ha til middag på søndag allereie på onsdag:
Aldri. Dersom eg har bestemt det og handla det eg treng på laurdag synes eg at eg har vore flink.

Du syns fersk gjær er betre enn tørr gjær:
JA. Eller. Eg har høyrt at det er det.

Du synes middag kl 19.00 er seint:
Nei. Eg synes middag klokka 19:00 er tidleg.

Du har fem kasser med julepynt:
Nei. Eg har ein.

Du kjøper julepynt på salg i januar:
Nei. Eg kjøper alt mogleg anna på sal i januar.

Du snakker helst med kvinner på fest:
Nei. Eg skjønar meg ikkje heilt på kvinner. Alle venninnene mine har flest gute-vener. Slik som eg. Eg har med andre ord ikkje veldig mange venninner. Men dei eg har er gode!

Du blir lykkelig over ein ny kjele:
JA. Eg ynskjer meg ny kjele. Men eg treng det ikkje. Eg blir lukkeleg av alt nytt, forbrukar-monster som eg er.

Du lager pudding eller grateng av alle middagsrester:
Nei.

Du spiser Kongen av Danmark eller Honningkamfer:
Nei.

Du et alltid rekecocktail til forrett:
Kva er det?

Du begynner å bruke de broderte dukane som du har fått av svigermor:
JA. Eller - arva dukar frå eks-sviger-mormor. Sjå bilete øverst.

Du har ferdiglaga middager med på påskeferie:
Gjeld Real Turmat? Reknar eigentleg ikkje med det.

Du synes dronning Sonja har mange artige hatter:
Nei. Men ho har mange hattar, har eg inntrykk av.

Du går med lysebrune nylonstrømper til skjørt:
Nei. Eg har mørkebrun strømpebukse og DET er vel skikkeleg kjerringete? Så JA. Eller forresten; nei.

Du har tellekant på trusene:
HA Ha Ha!

Du har bretta plastposar i veska i tilfelle du skal handle noko:
Eg har BAGGU! Ulempen er at det blir voldsomt få søpleposar i huset etter kvart. Så JA.




Du sjekker kølappen på polet kvar gong det plinger:
Nesten. Men ikkje heilt.

Du tar bilde av din praktfulle balkongkasse og viser det fram på jobben:
Eg har ikkje balkongkasse. Blomstene mine dør som oftast.

Du synes det er for seint å gå på nier’n på kino:
JA. Men eg gjer det nokon gonger likevel.

Du får såpe i julegave:
Nei. Eg fekk skihjelm.

Du plukkar bort støv og hår frå andre sine klede utan baktanker:
JA. Eg plukkar på folk og. Stakkars Draumeprinsen. Han påstår at han er vant til det.

Du bruker samme tepose to gonger:
Nei.

Du har med pute når du skal kjøre langt i bil:
Eg hadde det ved ein anledning. Men kollegaen min beholdt den fordi han har vond rygg. Gjer det HAN til ei kjerring?

Du melder deg inn i bokklubben berre for å få kaffeserviset:
Nei. Eg meldte meg inn i sminkeklubb då eg var 12 for å få eit slikt skrin. Eg trur det ligg heime hjå foreldra mine fortsatt.

Du har våtservietter i bilen:
Nei.

Du soler deg i vanlig BH:
Sjeldan eg solar meg. Alt for sjeldan. Men det har hendt at eg har klatra i vanleg BH. Så JA, vil eg anta.

Du danser swing til all slags musikk:
He he. Eg kunne gjort det sidan eg kan å danse swing. Litt. Men eg gjer det ikkje.

Du svømmer som en hund for ikke å bli våt i håret:
HE he. Nei.

Du kjøper “gode” sko:
Eg tenkjer at eg burde gjera det. Men eg gjer det ikkje. Eg berre seier til meg sjølv at skoa eg har lyst på er fornuftige.

Du har paraply i håndvesken:
Nei.

Du tar sjølv initiativ til slektsstevne:
Nei.

Du tar vare på tomme rømmebokser og syltetøyglass:
Nei. Eg tek vare på syltetøyglas men det er for å levere dei til attvinning. Dei har ein tendens til å bli mange før den tid.

Du bruker sukkerbit til kaffen :
Nei.

Du serverer fyrstekake, rullekake, smurt lefse eller smultringer når du inviterer til kaffeselskap: Nei. Eg bakar kake dersom me har invitert til bursdagsselskap. Men ein må jo ha kake på bursdagen!

Åtte ja! Med andre ord i faresona. Det blir nok verre med åra. Eg føler at eg er kjerring med twist!

Draumeprinsen fekk fem. Han synes kino klokka ni er seint, at Dronning Sonja har mange artige hattar og at fersk gjær er best. Han snakkar helst med kvinner på fest og brukar meir pengar i veka enn i helgane.

Oh my. Here we go again.

As I was shopping for something for my Do-It-Yourself project yesterday (you'll see it when it's done!) I came across these. On sale for NOK 49,- (US $ 8). They weren't expensive to start with but I've been wanting shoes like this since last summer so now that they were 75% off I couldn't help myself. I don't care if some people think they're "last summer". I like the edge it gives to an outfit, especially a dress. Here are some examples:

From left to right: UnderbaraClara, Anna Thomas, OsloStil, The Sartorialist. The Anna Thomas photo is from the Spring / Summer 2007 collection and the two pictures to the right are also from last summer. I don't care. Hah!

For no reason at all

When I got home today Prince Charming (he really is Prince Charming!) had this surprise for me. And they're even Fair Trade roses! Ah!

Alexander Wang Fall 2008

Just a little bit more fashion, as I'm in that mood these days. I guess Fashion Weeks everywhere can have something to do with it... Anyway, although I think it's fun to see what comes down the catwalk I very seldom feel it has anything to do with me and the way I dress in daily life. I find inspiration, but I would never dream of walking around in what you often see in the designer brand shows. So Alexander Wang was a nice surprise. I can actually wear this! Or I actually want to wear this. If I could afford it. But I will definetly try and copy some of these looks. Above are my three favourite looks, with the sweater on the far right something I have to try and make myself. If I could only find a (cheap) grey crew sweathshirt!

The wrong time for a summer dress?

I guess it really is the wrong time of year for a summer dress, with patches of snow still outside. Especially since I'm hoping for it to snow more. But I know one garment I'll be wanting for this summer and that's a long, flowery dress. The first and third ones above are from eBay. The second is a Jovovich-Hawk for £653.60 at Net-a-Porter. I'm not getting that one, even though it is 50% off! To the right is Brigitte Bardot. How much hotter can one look in a summer dress? I'm telling myself not to get anything now. It's just stupid. I'm saving money to go to Nepal in May and besides, it's the totally wrong time of year. The shops will be filled with dresses when I get back in June. I can't help myself. I'm still looking for the perfect (cheap) one.

Back in Business

http://www.karabiner.org/gallery/

I went bouldering once before this week but today was my first day climbing with a rope for a month. I managed better than I had feared, so now I just have to hang in there and keep it up. I'm trying to start a training regime with cardio three times a week and climbing at least twice. The important thing now is cardio because that's the best training for my trip (apart from actual hiking). But I don't want to give up climbing either. So I'll try to fit both activities in, trying to prioritize the cardio.

Prince Charming is cooking me a nice steak this Sunday afternoon and I must say I'm enjoying being cooked for! Earlier today we went through some of the pictures from the trip to Indian Creek we had in September. Photo by JPB.

To have gear or not to have gear

http://trangia.no/

Now I'm on my way out to hunt for this pot from Trangia. I'm pondering if it's too heavy (530 g) or if it's going to be so useful for boiling drinking water that it's worth it. I think I might get it anyway if I find it since it can be good for boiling pasta and the like on later camping trips. It's quite big, 4,5 liters.

I've been a good girl today, already finished with a spinning session. That feels good. After searching for the kettle I'm meeting up with Y for tea and some more planning.

Supergirl - or Just Do It!

http://www.eightieschild.com/category/80s-films/

Today I had a "I wish I was perfect"-tantrum. I wish I could work fulltime, train cardio three times a week, strength twice a week, yoga twice a week, climb at least three times a week and go away skiing or hiking or climbing every weekend. But I can't. Or rather - I won't. I don't want to give up having a life, evenings with Prince Charming, planning the Nepal trip, (window-)shopping and the old lounging on the couch from time to time. I'm not content with giving up all that and settle for 4 hours of sleep a night. But I wish I was. Aargh! It's so annoying I can't (or won't) Just Do It - or be happy with my life as it is. I wish I was perfect.

Oh, summertime...

These lovely dresses are from the Australian label Anna Thomas. The white dress especially got my creative side going. I really love the fit. I wish I could make something like that in grey, I think. If you go to the site, check out the combination of black dresses with white socks and shoes!

I haven't checked out the New York Fashion Week shows, I've only seen what some of the blogs I read have featured. Style... a Work in Progress wrote about this photo from the Alexander Wang show:

Packing list

www.jamd.com

Y and I met over a couple of cups of tea yesterday to go through the packing list. This is going to be heavy! We'll just have to pack and then weigh repeatedly. Here are some of the things to ponder: How many saucepans to bring and of what size? A thick woolen sweater or a more lightweight fleece that can easily be washed or a softshell jacket? What trekking poles to buy? Should we take more than 5 pairs of socks? Or are 5 pairs too many? We'll figure it out in due time, I'm sure.

Sjølvmelding

This post will be in Norwegian. Sorry!

Glamourbibliotekaren utfordrar på generell basis til ei lita sjølvmelding, så eg slengjer meg på:

*Dagens leppestift/lipgloss: Lancome Juicy Tube, fargekoden er slitt vekk men den er rosa.
*Dagens duft (parfyme/lotion/shampoo/hva enn du dufter av): DKNY Be Delicious
*Dagens sko: Utslitte Vans
*Dagens smykker: Sjølvmekka med dette kirsebær-anhenget på eit langt kjede:

*Dagens bok (altså den du leser nå): Trekking i Nepal
*Siste cd du hørte på: Charlie Parker på MP3-spelaren
*Siste film du så: La Vita E Bella / Livet er herlig:

*Siste reise du var på (innenlands/utenlands): Sudndalen (Hallingskarvet) / München
*Siste nettsted du var innom før Glamourbibliotekaren: Stylebytes
*Siste te/kaffe du drakk: Yogi Tea; Women's Balance
*Siste setning du sa: "Ring meg dagleg!" (til kollega som reiser på innsalg)
*List opp tre ting fra veska di: fleecehanskar, lommebok og kalendar

What to do with the feet?

One of the most important things when hiking is the shoes. So I want to wear my La Sportiva Trango S Evo that I purchased last summer. They are ok broken in and are comfortable to wear. But we've been told we need to fit two pairs of socks like for instance the Bridgedale Thermo Liner and the Smartwool X Heavy Mountaineering socks pictured above. A lot of socks! I think I'll pull my old Extremities Gaiters off my previous boots and bring them with me. They add quite a bit of warmth. I'm so worried I'm not going to fit enough socks in my current boots as buying new ones now and having to break them in in time seems such a hazzle.

Ok, let's see (I'm trying them on now...)

HAHAH! I think I'll manage! It's a bit tight over the instep with both socks on but lengthwize I think it's ok. With only the thickest pair on they're definetly ok. Hurray!

The best day of skiing ever!

http://boc123.com/snow/heli_ski_sun_valley/heli_ski_sun_valley.cfm

The weekend started out with snow in Oslo on Friday and a very promising weather forecast. But as we drove up the valley toward the resort we discovered it hadn't snowed at all! Prince Charming and I had a good day of skiing anyway since the woods still had soft snow that wasn't all used up. Prince Charming's colleagues came up and joined us Saturday evening. And then it started snowing! It snowed all night and all day Sunday and we had about 30-40 cm of very light powder. Skiing through dumps I could feel powder to my mid thigh! I've never had such a day skiing, it was like a dream! The skis were just right and it was perfect. The picture above I've found on the web since noone took a single photo all day. It was just snowing too much to take any good photos. I was able to take Monday off so we spent today skiing as well. The conditions were great by normal standards, but we were a bit spoiled and very tired. The best weekend in a long time!

It's snowing!

Sepp Kober

This weekend we're going skiing! Actually, it's raining here right now, but it snowed earlier today. And right now I don't care whether it's snowing in the city, as long as it's snowing in the mountains! Hurray! Below you can see the weather forecast for the resort we're going to. And it has already snowed for a day. We're staying at a cabin that Prince Charming's work place owns.

Utsikter for Hallingskarvet Høyfjellshotell neste 48 timer:
Dagtemperatur fra -11 til -1, med nattetemperatur ned i -9 grader. Sterkeste middelvindstyrke kan bli frisk bris (10,6 meter per sekund) fra vest-sørvest (vinden kan bli langt sterkere i kastene). Vi venter totalt 24 mm nedbør.

I know the weather forecast is in Norwegian, but basically it's saying it'll be minus degrees the next 48 hours, but not too cold, a bit windy and a probably 20 - 30 cm of fresh snow! Tomorrow it'll snow a bit from the morning but calm down in the day, maybe with glimpses of sun. (It didn't actually say that above but Yr.no forecasts that too.) Sounds like a perfect weekend skiing to me!

My Baggu Bags have arrived!

I picked up my Baggu Bags at the Post Office yesterday. I've already used two of them once. I was so proud at the Grocery Shop packing toilet paper and tea into my turquise über cool Baggu Bag. I bought three bags in different colours:

Peacock, Safron, (the turquise and the yellow one pictured above) and Red as in the picture at the very top of this post. I am not letting the fact that these bags are made in China, shipped to the US and then shipped to me getting in the way of my green feeling! You can find them at www.Baggubag.com.