Zombie Mom

 Crawling through the streets of Denver with 10,000 other zombies and spectators was something that definitely would make your hair crawl as well. Last October while visiting my son in Denver I got the chance to play Zombie Mom. Mildly claustrophobic and not a fan of huge crowds, I was rather proud of myself for making this daring adventure into the world of the undead. As promised here are some pictures:

 Zombie Mom with Zombie Girlfriend

 Brave son with Zombie Mom and Zombie Girlfriend

If you are like me, you enjoy a good horror story. There are two of them running as a series on TV now. One of them is The Walking Dead and the other is American Horror Story. A miniseries based on Stephen Kings book, Bag of Bones has just been released and I am looking forward to seeing that. So what is it that makes us so susceptible to a good scare? While in Denver I also got to go on a ghost tour at The Stanley Hotel which is the most haunted hotel in America. This is the hotel that Stephen King based his book The Shining on. Did we see a ghost? To be honest, I am not really sure but we did witness many strange things. You can read about that here. Anyways, back to Zombies.

Being a Zombie Mom is easy. If you have ever felt like your children don’t listen to you, that they ignore what you say, avoid being seen with you, insult you, belittle you and treat you like the plague then you know what it is like to be a Zombie Mom. Believe me, it is much more fun to put on the makeup and join a crowd of other Zombies. Because when you are “undead” who really cares what others say or do. All a zombie real cares about is food and I got my share.

 

Zombie Mom takes a taste

Rocky Day

 

Rocky… I thought about it all day although no one I was with realized how suiting I thought that name was for my last day in Colorado. The Rocky Mountains National Park, beautiful and breathtaking, yes I was there and saw it. Unfortunately my heart was not there. My heart was turning into stone and breaking into a thousand pieces that slowly fell to the bottom of my stomach. Clunk, clunk, clunk, only I could hear it. Still I forced a smile now and then, got out of the car to walk through cold snow and wind, and got my picture taken together with my son and daughter.

I would have to say good-bye to them soon, so soon after just saying hello. If you have read my blog then you will know that I traveled to the states to meet them for the first time in many years. So I spent my last day with them in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I am home again in Norway now. I am home and looking at those pictures and I am thinking of the saying, “Home is where the heart is.” Mine still seems to be falling to the bottom of my stomach in a thousand pieces. Clunk, clunk, clunk, only I can hear it.

Boo Me...

 Ghosts appear in unusual places and seem to haunt some more than others. Have you ever seen one? Do you want to? I am fascinated with ghosts, and I do not mean my own personal ghosts from my past, those I could do without for a while. Nothing really scares me anymore. Sure there are things that I find creepy, like dolls and clowns, but the search for something supernatural and terrifying has eluded me. Not for the lack of trying because I have done my fair share of ghost tours and cemeteries at midnight. I have read all the horror books and seen the films and yet I remain disappointed. My search for something extraordinary, unbelievable and terrifying at the same time continues.

Stanley Hotel

Recently I traveled to The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado with my daughter, son and his girlfriend. You might recognize the place from the movie “The Shining” and you can read about the hotel here. The TV show “Ghost Adventures” was filming while we were  there so no one paid much attention as we roamed the forbidden halls with our video camera. We went on a ghost tour later but it was not anywhere near as fun as our own exploring. Our telephones kept turning off, pictures would not focus and the shutter on the video camera would not open. We saw and heard things that could not be explained and I felt physically ill on several of the floors. Expectation and imagination you say? Maybe that is so, and it is what I tell myself, but I will never really know. Creepy…? Yes, but I am I still looking to be scared, so if you have a good story, Boo me.

 My son and I exploring the halls

 My daughter and son outside the famous room 217

The three of us on our ghost hunt

Believe it or not...these pictures were very difficult to download! You have a ghost story? Please share!

Talking bout my Girl…My Girl!

 Leaving sunny Colorado I headed for the plains of Minnesota to spend some time with my daughter who I had not seen for over 20 odd years. I also got to meet my two grandsons for the first time. Do you think I was excited and nervous? You can guess the answer to that. 

My daughter and I

I made it in time for her 31^st birthday and let me tell you, that first hug was one of the best hugs of my life. The month of October was filled with fantastic hugs. First my son, then my daughter and my grandchildren, you cannot put words on this page that would let you know how I felt. My beautiful daughter and her children slipped into my arms as if they always belonged there. I still feel the warmth of them now and will continue to, until I see them again.

Garden of the Gods

 If someone were to ask me what my favorite day in Denver was it would have to be my day walking in the Garden of the Gods.  Giant red rocks shadowed the ground below them and reached high into a crystal blue sky. To be able to share such beauty in the footsteps of millions that have walked before me was an overwhelming experience that I was lucky enough to share with my son. It is not surprising that the gods decided to plant a garden in this beautiful country. There was more God here on this Sunday than in any church and clearly my prayers were just a whisper in the wind among so many others. Faced with such enormous beauty standing still in time, my only thought was how I could press this time and put it in a bottle so that I could keep it with me forever.

Have you been somewhere that was so powerful in its beauty that it will forever be a part of you?

Zombie Mom

 My memory box is full of wonderful memories from my trip to Denver and Minnesota. Sorry that I have not been sharing them more with you but my computer had a melt down and the charger for it got fried. Home again in Norway and new charger hooked up, it is time to share the rest of my trip with you. I left you all in suspense just before my adventure into Zombie world. 10,000 zombies in one place, and yes I was one of them.

 At the zombie crawl with my sons girlfriend

Zombie mom attacks son

The Denver Zombie Crawl is known in the Genus World Book of Records as the biggest zombie gathering in the world. Check it out here. Denver is a beautiful city and my first encounter with its streets littered with zombies was an amazing experience. I will tell you more about my trip in the following days. Until then, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Kissed by a Wolf

  It is early in the morning and I am awakened by a big wet nose in my face. My new best friend, or maybe I should call him my “Grand-dog/wolf” loves to wake up grandma with a big kiss. Part timber wolf, arctic wolf and malamute, Diablo is also very much human. His favorite thing in the world besides Daddy is water and whenever his water dish is near the sink he starts to hop up in the air like a giant rabbit. Unfortunately at the mature age of 11, his bladder does not hold the water very long so he needs to take a lot of trips outside. When his leash is presented he hops in the air, all excited to go out. Every morning the two of us go for a walk, which is a bit challenging because he REALLY PULLS, especially if we run into another dog, cat or squirrel. Diablo, also called affectionately “Ruppy” loves to talk and voices his opinions all the time. I never thought that I would fall in love with a wolf and look forward to his kisses.

Diablo may look scary but he is just a big baby

This week-end starts out with the movie Paranormal Activity 3 and tomorrow is the “I Heart Brains” Denver Zombie Crawl. Since I can’t get anyone else to dress up with me, it looks like I will just be a spectator this time.... maybe, still undecided. Well It should be a lot of fun anyways, and I promise to take a lot of pictures. So what are you doing this week-end? Hope you have fun doing whatever it is.

Sentimental Reunion

Life is full of surprises and I have certainly had my fair share.

It was a surprise to me that I found my sons father with little effort after 35 years on Facebook. It was a surprise to me that he wanted to get involved and to know his son. It was a surprise to me that we would become friends and one day stand together with our son, who we had given up for adoption so many years ago. Monday, we all got to spend the day together. He flew in from Texas for a meeting related to his job a day early in order to spend time with us. It was a very surreal experience that is hard to put into words. It was cold and raining that day, so we just went out for lunch and spent the day hanging out at our sons apartment. We looked at pictures, reminisced and talked about the future. In a strange sentimental sort of way the hours pasted quickly and then we drove him back to his hotel and said good-bye. I don’t know when I will see him again but I am glad that my son got the chance to spend a day with both his parents. It may have been surreal for all of us, but as I said, life is full of surprises.

Father, Son and Mom together for the first time

People say he looks like both of us. I think he looks more like me, but then again, I guess I am partial. What do you guys think?

Mother and Son

Father and Son

Our sons wolf is indifferent, here he is all upset because he can't play with the frog brothers

  Denvers Zombie Crawl is coming up and I am undecided, should I dress up as a zombie, or not? Have a great day and I will be back soon with more updates on my trip!

My Memory Box

Some of the greatest moments in life are free. I try to keep these in my memory box, stored away safely behind my mind’s eye where I can take them out whenever I need too.  Overwhelming beauty, extreme peace, the abundance of joy and the sensations of love, these are the memories in a moment that are meant to be treasured. Here are a few that I collected these past few days.

 My son and I looking over South Park Valley

Norway does have its mountains, but Colorado has mountains just as beautiful.

Fairplay, Co.

 Outside of Breckenridge, Co

Frisco, Co.

 Breckenridge, Co.

 My memory box will never be too full and this week I will continue filling it. Hope you are filling yours as well.

Pay it forward and the Danish Frog Brothers

In today’s post I have three blogs that I want to mention as part of Matthew MacNish at the blog, The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment and, Alex J. Cavanaugh blog fest, Pay it Forward. These are blogs that I really enjoy reading. Like favorite jewelry I take them out of my box and look at them whenever I can.

The crazy life of a writing mom

The hilarious “misadventures of a writing mom” is the place you need to go for a good laugh. She has made me laugh so hard that my neighbors have come knocking on my door.

In Time

“Creativity is a terrible thing to waste.” Michael Di Gesu has more than his fair share of creativity. Writing, art and design are his passions and he shares them with such beauty that he makes me want to crawl up inside his words.

Melissas Imaginarium  

If you want to know about the movies and you have a good sense of humor take a mind trip to this blog. Melissa has a point of view that is very entertaining.

CrazyWorld  
What can I say; I love crazy and look for it where ever I can. Funny and charming, this accident prone crazy lady shares her craziness in ways that will keep you laughing for days.

Frederik and Henrik reunited

 Frogging out on my Chili

Frederik and Henrik have been hoping around from blog to blog. My favorite brother frogs, who you can read about here, hope you get a chance to check out all of these blogs. I have not seen so much of my Danish Frog friends since Frederik and I arrived in Denver. They have been busy doing their own thing and staying out of trouble for the most part, however, yesterday they got into my pot of chili. Frogs and chili are not a good combination. Both of my friends are feeling a bit under the weather today so I don’t think they will be up for going to the movies. Tonight I am going to see “The Thing” with my son and his girlfriend. I loved John Carpenters original, so it should be interesting to see this prequel. Otherwise this week-end we are taking a trip to South park and I am meeting my sons father who I have not seen for 35 years. What are you doing this week-end? Whatever it is, I hope you have a great week-end!

Stuff Yourself Brazilian Style

If you have a big appetite you still need to wear loose clothes if you plan on eating at Texas de Brazil. By the time you cannot squeeze any more food into that storage place you call your stomach you will want to cry. 

Yesterday I went out for dinner with my son and his girlfriend to celebrate his birthday at this amazing place, and I experienced a meat orgy like none other. The Brazilian clad waiters kept coming with tasty spits of assorted grilled meats that they eloquently carved onto our plates throughout the entire dining experience. It is up to the diner to say stop and go with small table cards that are red on one side and green on the other. You can drive your plate on a meat highway all night long if you so choose. The salad bar was amazing, the atmosphere incredible and the service outstanding. A word of advice, do not eat much before going there.

 After dinner, stuffed but still smiling

We are a lot alike, my son and I. That is what his girlfriend says, but I really don't need her to tell me that. We share a love for good food, movies, books, music and we both have that goofy and some times very "Blond" sense of humor. We both love to cook, he made me an incredible Pot Roast the other day and today it is my turn in the kitchen. I am off to explore his cupboards and experiment with a foreign stove to see if I can whip up some home made "Texas" style chili. This should be interesting.

Have a great day everyone, and come back soon to see how the chili turned out.

Our First Birthday

It may have taken 35 years but I finally get to celebrate my son’s birthday with him. October is a big birthday month. My birthday was the 9^th, my son the “Musicians birthday” is today, and my daughter the “Artists” birthday is on the 27^th. Being able to finally be together with them on their birthdays is a wonderful and long awaited experience that I am looking forward to.

 Our first meeting at the airport

My son has worked hard to get to where he is today. Being left with no choice but to give him up for adoption, he was raised in Mpls. by two loving parents, both of which died while my son was still quite young. His grandparents also passed away, leaving him on his own. 

 Hanging out with his friends and music

After finishing high school and holding down several different kinds of jobs he eventually turned one of his hobbies into a career. My son is a geek and works as an onsite computer technician for Best Buys “Geek Squad.” Today he is living in Denver, sharing his apartment with a wolf and he has a wonderful girlfriend.

  

Dressed for work

 

Talented, determined, intelligent, funny, loyal, stubborn, proud, attractive and trustworthy. Those are some of his qualities. I am proud to be his mother and I love him more every day. We are going out for dinner with his girlfriend to celebrate his birthday and I will be posting pictures of that and our other adventures soon.

So---Happy Birthday Sweetheart, I am so happy to be spending it with you!

Across the Atlantic

As Frederick the frog and I flew across the Atlantic and past several time zones, we watched the sun and waited for darkness to fall. Who knew that a day could be so long and the Atlantic ocean so large? Norway turned into Amsterdam, then Atlanta and finally after 18 hours Denver. It was almost midnight and I felt like Cinderella going to the ball, almost afraid that at the stroke of 12 my fairytale would disappear. 

Jet-lag followed me off the plane and into the airport terminal where my son and his girlfriend were waiting for me. Finally I was going to meet my son, and when I put my arms around him I knew that a part of me that was lost had come home. After almost 35 years the image of a small baby boy behind a glass window was replaced with the warm smile of a man excited to meet his mother. There are no words that could possibly describe the emotions that filled that first embrace.

It has only been a few days since I arrived in Denver. I am still adjusting to the time difference and although I feel tired all the time, sleep does not come easy. Sleeping seems like such a waste of time. Denver is a beautiful place. The weather is fantastic, the mountains majestic but for the time being I cannot seem to concentrate on any of that. I am too busy with the most important thing Denver has to offer and that is getting to know my son. 

Meet Herr. Frederik the Frog of Denmark

Frk. Reisende Duck also better known as Anne will not be crossing the Atlantic with me this time. She has come down with a bad case of bird flu and is unable to travel. I was rather upset that Anne would not be joining me on this adventure but I happen to have convinced a good friend of mine to make this trip with me. He always wanted to come along but is terrified of flying. More of a water creature by nature let me introduce to you, Herr. Frederik the Frog of Denmark. 

Herr.Frederik the Frog of Denmark

A few years ago while I was working on the ferry boat to Denmark I met Frederik and his twin brother Henrik hiding in a storage closet on-board the boat. They were stowaway frogs, too poor to pay for passage to Norway. They told me about their hard life in Denmark and how they had lost their whole family to a group of ozone corrupted pollutant frogs. These frogs travel in large groups around Denmark devouring all healthy frogs that they come across. Hearing about the abundance of water and fresh air in Norway they decided to make a hop for it and smuggled themselves on-board the first vessel going there. I felt sorry for these sad little frogs and hid them in my cabin until we arrived in Norway. They came home with me and have been living happily together until last May.

When I found out that I had a son that was living in Colorado, Henrik got all excited and begged me to send him to America. So after a few sad good-byes, I sent him off in a large white envelope to stay with my son. Frederik who was too terrified of flying decided to stay behind. He has been missing his brother very much so it wasn’t too hard to convince him to travel with me in my hand luggage. Tomorrow the two of us are going on a great adventure to meet my son in Colorado and to reunite Frederik with his brother. We will also be taking a trip to Minnesota to visit my daughter and her family. Frederik is excited about seeing his brother again, meeting my son and daughter, going on his first Zombie crawl and Halloween party and so much more. He will be making appearances on my blog from time to time this month to tell you all about his adventures, so don’t forget to come back again soon.

Happy hopping everyone, and see you soon on the other side.

Meet Frk. Reisende Duck

Translate her name to English and you have Ms. Traveling Duck.

We who know her call her by her first name which is Anne. Anne lives in Oslo with my niece and her husband, but even though she lives there she never unpacks her suitcase for long. You see, Anne loves to travel so whenever she gets the chance to hitch a ride with her friends on vacation she gets all excited. When she heard I was going to the states in a few weeks she started to make plans to come along. No one can say no to Anne and who would want to. She is the perfect travel companion. She never complains, she sleeps anywhere, and she doesn’t eat much. Here are some pictures from her last trip to Paris, sadly I was not with on this trip.

Anne loves to fly!

A little freshening up and she is ready for Paris!

What a view...ahh, Paris....

Hanging out with the locals

Site seeing 

New friends

Time for cafe visit

Anne will be making appearances from time to time on my blog telling about her travels. We will be leaving together for the USA on October 8^th, destination Denver, Colorado and Mpls. Minnesota. There will be stops along the way and plenty of adventure. We might even meet another blogger friend, who knows? Want to see Anne dressed up as a zombie at Denver’s Zombie crawl, or how about what she is wearing for a big Halloween party in Minnesota?

Anne is a little nervous about meeting my son and living with a wolf, but she is excited at the same time. She also gets to meet my daughter and grandchildren and is a little nervous about their pets as well, although a small dog and kitten are not as threatening as a big wolf. I am looking forward to this trip and to having Anne along for the ride. I hope you all are looking forward to reading about it, and yes there will be lots of pictures!

"Good-day Mates"...Anne has been to Australia as well and is having a bit of trouble getting rid of that accent.

Have a wonderful week-end everyone.