Before Christmas

So this is everything worth mentioning from the last few days - no, actually it is just the pictures I have from the last few days.

Here is Kasper in the mall, begging for money for the car. Just craziness.

Stefán loves the bears in Kringlan and every year we have to hang out with them for a bit.

Kasper coming from the library.

Rósa and her sister Saga. Best Friends Forever.

But this can change if some good food is involved.

Not exactly sure what Kasper is doing here, but I would guess he is yawning.

The boy and his dog, like it or not.

This is a typical holiday sight, what is Christmas without drinking and Chess.
Nothing I tell you.

Scusting! - with a big S

This is probably the grossest thing I have ever found on a shelf - so much so I was almost tempted to buy it, just to have as a conversation piece. But I am too poor.
The best part it that you can by it at Húsasmíðan, in the paint aisle.

Evidence

This was Davíð trying to fix the gas pump after driving away with it still in the car and breaking it.
Good times, probably the best way to start any good road trip.
He blames the entire thing on me because I bought him a hot dog and it was distracting.

Hanging out in Husasmiðan at Christmas

Because we are renovating, as usual, we are spending a lot of time in Húsasmíðan these days. A fabulous place for any holiday.
The equivalent to a Home Depo in Canada.
Here you see me trying to get a picture of Davíð and I.
Then you see me rather angry.
I thought the camera was not working, but I guess the flash was not on so it did take a lot of pictures with an array of emotions because I thought it was broken.

Home Again

One reason we had to come back to Reykjavík was to fix up the apartment and find new tenants, ours moved back to Poland like so many others.
Somethings never change, but it is amazing how fast you forget.
I did actually forget what a horrible neighborhood I lived in.
The first thing I see when we get to the place is the fresh graffiti on the garbage cans.
Here is Davíð pretending to do it himself.

A trip and the beginning of a much needed holiday.

So lets start from the beginning, because I have much to tell.

Before we even left Þórshöfn the road trip of the season started with promise.

We stopped at the gas station to fill up the car and grab some Coke, then off we drove. While heading down the road people were pointing at the car.

The Davíð realized he forgot to take the gas pump nozzle out of our car.

We drove back feeling a little sheepish.

Then in front of half the town, including coworkers and Kasper's teacher, Davíð had to put the gas nozzle back on the hose.

A lot of laughter could be heard.

Lucky for us this happens to other people, somewhere, because there is a safety and gas did not leak everywhere.

Davíð looks forward to going back and hearing jokes about this for the next few months, or until something better happens.

The rest of the drive, taking about 12 hours with a supper stop, was relatively uneventful.

We arrived in mósó in good shape.

After a good sleep we prepared for a busy day in Reykjavík. So many things to do once you actually get to the city.

I realized I managed to lose my phone and am really hoping it turns up because I am lost with out it and do not have any phone numbers on my own. I also managed to miss a lunch date with the girls because I could not remember where it was, I was downtown, and had no phone numbers.

Another great event was the bank adventure, taking up more then a little time.

I have a new account in Þórshöfn with Spronisoðir (this might be spelled wrong). I thought this was the same as Spron in Reykjavík. They have the same symbol, same website - same bank? No.

I have a savings account with no debit card and a visa in plus for spending money. So I wanted to put money onto my visa for Christmas shopping and they could not help me? They said I do no I do not have an account with them. I have to talk to the people in Þórshöfn, because that is my bank.

Stupid stupid banking system.

I called my bank and they did everything over the phone.

I love my town.

I am also proud to be a part of the only bank in Iceland that has money - that's right! The Spron of North East Iceland is not bankrupt. Now why would you put your money anywhere else?

So that was my first day in Reykjavík - mostly spent panicking.

Inga and Rob watched the boys so Davíð and I went out to visit his friends. The look on the faces was worthy of a picture because the last time they saw Davíð he was with Monika so they were very shocked to see me and the girlfriends did not talk to me at all, although they did stare a lot.

There is a poker game Monday night I might go too - although I am also might drink some beer and for the courage to tell someone off if they give me funny looks.

Then again, I am not nearly confrontational enough for that.

Today we went to the mall - the crazy weekend before Christmas mall. Everything has gone up in price. It was too much. We went to Nexas and the kids each get one toy for Christmas.

Stupid worthless Krónur.

At 11-11 we saw a guy getting arrested for stealing a leg of lamb. He looked young so it was a strange site. I always thought that the kind of person who steal would steal a more instant food while the kind of person who would cook a leg of lamb is the kind of person who would pay for it. But I guess this shows how wrong generalizations can be.

Tonight Stefán is sleeping over at his cousins and most likely having the time of his life - Stefán is very impressed by his cousin and spends days planning the time they will have together.

Now I am just watching The Cat in the Hat, in Icelandic, with Inga, Rob, Kasper and Davíð - so I should get back to that.

I love being on holidays.

Fall with grace

Now picture this:

There I am running along on the treadmill - feeling rather proud of myself as the gym teacher has taken to waving through the window and remarking on my diligence at the gym.

Then my phone rings, tis Kasper. I answer while running. Coordination at its best, he calls a lot.

The he says he broke the laptop.

I tripped and fell off the treadmill.

Wrist hurts now.

Sure glad I was alone at that exact moment.

The computer was fun, turned out to be some pop up he did not know how to get rid of.

And now we scowl

Upping the security to three guards - now you have done it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7784354.stm
On the bright side, even if the country I live in is in 'economic free fall', the Santa's have still been making the rounds.

The New Fridge, Marry Christmas to me!

I am so excited to not have to go out in the snow to get milk for the breakfast, or be able to buy more then 1 liter at a time.
Good times, good times.
The only problem is that it does not fit in the fridge spot so some fixing will need to be done after Christmas.
Until then I will just admire it.
Best part is it was free!

Arts and Crafts

The soccer club in our town had a Christmas Craft and Pepper Cookie day today.
These are the results.
No Stefán cause he caught the flu.

Here Kasper is loading up his cookie with chocolate and icing, because he does not like the taste of the cookies.

More chocolate please.

You can now see why he was a little sugared up for the rest of the day and is still jumping on the couch.

The women who sat next to me is much better at crafts then me. I was jealous, she even sewed things. Everything I made had a lot of glue.

The finished product, this took us all afternoon.

Kasper giving his helpful advice.

A Day Without Gays

So, thanks to a friend, I learned about something new.
About a protest, and the organization is so impressive, as is the cause.

so this is just a copy and paste of the email I was sent explaining it.

good stuff, wish I would have known earlier to be more supportive but late is better then never.

Here's the scoop on what happened, if you are interested:

The following is a recap of what was achieved on A DAY WITHOUT GAYS.

Our goal was to raise awareness that Gays and Lesbians are being denied full equality in this country, including the right to get married. On that note...

On our Facebook site, we received 1 million impressions, signed up 250,000 participants and posted 20,000 comments.
We were featured and/or interviewed by most of the national and local media, including ABC News, KABC, KNBC, KTTV, and many others.
We were interviewed by most of the major radio networks, from CNN radio, NPR News, Air America, Pacifica and Sirius.
We were mentioned throughout national and local press, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and the San Diego Chronicle.
We had commentaries on CNN.com, PSAs appeared on Logoonline and we were featured in countless blogs across the web.

This was always intended as a symbolic protest, our proverbial Boston Tea Party. We never expected to make a huge impact on businesses or the economy.
That said, major restaurant chains informed their employees about the event, countless business shut down, tens of thousands of employees and students did not show up for work or school, and hundreds of teachers across the nation did not teach.
In addition, countless individuals informed us that they called in sick, took vacation, closed their businesses, boycotted restaurants and cafes, and stepped off the grid. This includes a straight single mother of two in Gulf Breeze Florida who closed her faming store for the day, the mother of a gay son who stood up for his rights in the belief that one day he will be treated equally, a young woman who came out to her employers and risked losing her job, and thousands upon thousands more.

We were just ONE of the events posted on Facebook. We were joined by many other individual organizers, including Sean Hetherington, Ryan Bauer-Walsh, Brock Ogletree, Jamie McGonnigal, and more. We were co-sponsored by other grassroots organizations, including Join the Impact, the Courage Campaign and BAMN.
We are indebted to all of you, from the press to our co-organizers, co-sponsors, and anyone we failed to mention by name here.

This was a grassroots effort from beginning to end. There was no paid marketing, no national lgbt organization, and no paid professionals.
We were just a few individuals who believe in the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal.
We were trying to make a difference. We believe we achieved that yesterday.

But tomorrow, the work begins anew.
We will not quit until the honeymoon.
We will not stop fighting until we have achieved full equality.
“We will be citizens. The time has come.” (Tony Kushner)

David Craig and Steve Holzer
Co-organizers of A DAY WITHOUT GAYS

Film Funding

Anti-oilsands doc forces Alberta to reconsider film funding rules

If you only fund projects that project the ideas that you want them too - then you might only be funding propaganda.

Albertans, like everyone else, deserve to see all sides to the story. Not just the one that makes the government look good.

The Boots Are Out

And Christmas has officially started.

The first of the 13 Santa's is on his way tonight!

Worst Tooth Fairy Ever!

I felt like a little bad today when Kasper found his tooth container, a small tooth shaped tin from his Amma, and the tooth was still in it.
A tooth he lost months ago and was hidden for the tooth fairy.
But this tooth fairy forgot.

To be fair, there is not a lot of tooth fairy action in Iceland so I could use the excuse that she was still on her way, it was a long way to travel from Canada.

He is still a little angry but I will make sure he gets a little extra cash for this one, with interest.

Facebook for real

While looking around on Facebook I saw this on a friends page - and I liked it.
So now you have to like it too.