...sometimes a girl just needs to get out of her head- to allow herself to be distracted...most commonly, the solution is- as cliche as it is- 'shopping'...in my case, this isnt the case, as the hubby is actually more into shopping than I am (I can tell it's developed into a self-esteem booster activity for him throughout his years of being alone abroad for his career...hey, I'm lucky, he could have developed more dangerous habits)..although I do find myself much more into shopping than I've ever been....Anyway, for me Traveling has always been the more appropriate solution...Even if its hopping on a train to head to a town near enough to return home without trouble yet far enough to elicit enough time to read a book/listen to music and get further distracted 'out of your own head'... I've always tried to do this- most proudly, I booked a trip to London-where my late estranged father had lived which no doubt added to my curiosity for the city- by myself 2 years ago and took the EuroRail on a daily trip to and from Paris while there....So I'm glad to now share my life with someone who , for this year anyway, has the time (AND purpose/professional funding) for us to travel to both nearby towns and nearby European cities to bring forth more such opportunities....)
Aside from listening to music and looking at a beautiful view, on the road, I can literally feel my creative juices flowing and it's beautiful...So after years of writing poetry, lyrics, and various academic essays (two published), I've finally begun to write in the Novel format...I truly hope to be able to finish it and publish it...After all, as I was thinking the other day upon conversation with local friends, don't a lot of people- especially women-become depressed upon not feeling like they have someTHING to live for? For men, that 'purpose' can easily be to 'just keep working and earning enough to be able to provide and lead a normal life'...but more and more I've been hearing from women that they actually a)create some sort of excitement much more than their boyfriends/husbands and b) a lot of have found this 'purpose' in motherhood, before which they felt very 'depressed' even living in a beautiful home in a beautiful city...
Of course a lot of women are lucky to have valuable work which they love and which helps them feel important and useful...But even a working friend- in a very high position at an international organization- recently admitted to having felt depressed returning home to an empty house when she was away from her husband...She felt, 'why am I working this hard? For what? What's my reward?'...
I would love to hear other opinions on this matter, on my theory that people feel 'depressed' when they've either lost an important purpose in their lives OR just feel utterly BORED...
As for me, this 'purpose' has become my novel...As those close to me know, in my less than three decades of life, I've come face to face with such crazy, 'no-way' events that the impressions and memories they've left NEED to get out of me somehow, in some way....Here's hoping it gets accomplished... .:::cheers::::
...went on a mini roadtrip to discover this nearby town, calling itself 'Norway's Cannes' for housing an annual film festival that draws a lot of attention to the region...small town of not more 37,000 without much to see but definitely has a cute vibe to spend a couple of hours, a long street of shops (closed way too early on Saturdays and ofcourse on Sundays like everywhere else in the country) with a lot of immigrant shops, and several cute cafes...but its biggest treasure was definitely this Marilyn statue- completed on the 30th anniversary of her death since her father is reported to have migrated to the US from this town...I believe it was her who said, "I have had too many fantasies to just be a housewife..." Touche :)
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.We've had several evening tea/small-scale dinner parties with the hubby already so when its something like that, luckily he manages to help out and we get through it, but yesterday was my first day inviting just the ladies for coffee and of course 'coffee' doesnt just mean 'coffee' in our culture- you're unspokenly expected to provide baked goodies on the side and I did just that...Mind you I'd never even baked cookies or cupcakes before, something my roommates in college even did...So I got the shortcut recipe for Fondant Au Chocolate (thanks Cecilia!) and voila...It ended up a successful, not too sweet, brownie-looking cake with a cookie-like texture on the top...I'd also bought a strawberry slicer the day before (coincidentally, before I knew Id be baking this thing)- so useful and so fun!...Along with some chopped almonds...that's it....A total of 20 minutes...A definite recommendation....
PS: And oh yea....about the shape, didnt exactly buy cookie cutters or anything pro like that, no no...just placed glass cups onto the original form of the cake pictured at the top and scooped out the newly-shaped forms...
...yesterday was one of those days where i was made to truly feel the term 'reluctant housewife' deep in my very core...all couples fight from time to time, sure...but a lot of times one has to figure out the core underlying issue...for us its cultural differences in the way we were brought up...the hubby is more traditional and domesticated, and i-an only child- was brought up a bit spoiled to fit the needs of my free-spirited personality- completing tasks when i wanted to or felt it was necessary, not simply because i was told to...the hubby is from the military so that also adds to the discipline factor, which i dont quite take well...hopefully storms can pass and signal calm weather with rainbows- similar to the ones frequent here in beautiful Norway....
Its been hours since the hubby left for work and I still haven't had my morning coffee...which means a)I went straight to my laptop to try to get a start on this thing b)I can barely function without caffeine-and coffee in particular- so my first post will be somewhat feeble,l'm aware...but I promise to start writing in full swing soon...For now Ill mention that the wife of my husband's colleague has convinced me and I have joined a Women's Club here with many international members- and they've given me a Board position so it should keep me busy...twice per month anyway...the other days? Y'all will see...But Im sure it'll include more 'firsts' for this city girl, like my recent first time riding a horse, or, :::gasp::: fishing! (I had the fish thrown back into water after catching them!)...
