Mary and her little lamb

Holiday season is seriously upon us, and yesterday we were passing time in xmas preparation with the fun and games of Halloween -- well, it was more like Hallowday, as it all started with Mary taking her Lamb to school (although he ran amok and had scampered off for this particular picture...)

Even with a full sugar load from her Halloween party at school, Cecilie went down for her nap motivated by the prospect of Trick or Treating alone...

As if by some miracle (after all it is the season) Lars decided to play the "please the parents" game too, and had a nice long (late) nap before waking up in a stellar mood to go racing on Cecilie's push bike before hitting the neighborhood streets with our wagon & goody bags.

The parents let the assumption that she was Bo Peep pass most of the time, and after a while we gave up correcting that Lars was NOT a bunny (or we laughed off that we were breeding a new type of sheep -- for its acute hearing abilities!) Cecilie was less polite about it: When our good neighbor Darnell complemented: "Oh, what a pretty Little Bo Peep!"
Cecilie corrected: "Actually, Darnell, this is a Mary costume, and here is my lamb..."

When candy was given for Lars she would be very polite though, and say: "Thanks for the candy for my lamb. He can't eat this, but he can suck!"

A lot of fun was had by all, but that Halloween is clearly not the pinnacle of the season should be clear from this exchange at our other good neighbor Al's house:
Al: Do you like Halloween?
C: Actually, my best holiday is Thanksgiving...
Al: What do you like about thanksgiving?
C: Um, the peas...

So there you have it: Happy Halloween and Peas on Earth!

Politics...

...but this is so much more fun than it sounds: here is a tool to help you put words to "where you stand", its kind of like a political GPS.

It's been around for some time, but I like it a lot as it brings another dimension to political definition (you might call it "depth" (at least figuratively speaking:)).

Me, I am about as far left as Pope Benedict XVI (which actually puts him further left than I thought he would be) and about as anarchistic as the Dali Lama...

Free Tibet (with the help of that crazy German dude)!

Church mayhem: Rogue choir, earlobe twisting

OK, while on the subject of Adventism, here is a spicy story from MSNBC. Not quite the way I remember the church, but interesting to note that a church of 25 members has a choir of 16...

Luxuries

Cecilie listening to daddy reading at bedtime with a tissue in her hand: Ah, the boogers are all gone.
Grandma, the provider of tissue: Now, that was efficinent wasn't it?
Cecilie: MmmHmm, because I ate them all up!
[please note that blog is not edited for gross-out factor]

Cecilie refusing a hug from daddy (note to daddy: shave more often): I don't need a hug!
Daddy: Well, that's good 'cause I don't need to give you one, but would you take one out of pure luxury?
Cecilie: I don't need luxury!
(There is a chance we'll be using this against you in the fututre, diva Cecilie)

Numbers

I am a pacifist personally, but I understand the need for government to provide security and have no problem (in theory) with war fought by volunteers. However, 2000 is a big number and not a particularly happy one at that. Now, depending on your perspective it could be argued that 30,000 - 100,000 (that would be the estimate of Iraqi deaths during the conflict - let's hope most of whom being of the nasty kind) is a bigger number, but it is still quite some way from 500,000.

500,000 is the number of estimated deaths of children (by 1996, just five years after Desert Storm) as a direct result of the UN sanctions imposed on Saddam's regime - to which Madeline Albright (a friggin' liberal, it's said) had the following profound comment on 60 Minutes: "I think that this is a very hard choice, but the price - we think the price is worth it."

Not too long ago, in "A World Transformed" (1998) another Bush said the following: "To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant into a latter-day hero ... assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what would be an un-winnable urban guerilla war. It could only plunge that part of the world into even greater instability." - Maybe one Bush was right...

I never really felt personally threatened by Saddam (my understanding at the time of invasion was that even if he had WMDs, his rockets could not carry them much further than Israel), but I have no doubt that the world is a much better place with Saddam neutralized.

It doesn't make me a Dubya (I like to pronounce it DU-BAYA) or war supporter, but I should hope that "major combat" and whatever what followed is called have left a few more children surviving - or certainly given us hope that one day they will...

The number in this conflict that means the most to me is 1. One brother in-law, husband of Kiersten and father of Jack and that's good enough for me to say: "Support the troops, bring them home safe!"

The truth

I didn't make this up, someone else did. It's just a rumor, not a fact:

Since Bush Sr. was the head of CIA, the Bush clan has tried to build the American empire to replace the British Commonwealths, through CIA. Lady Di's assassination was done by the CIA. That was the first step for them to execute their real plan. The disbandment of the royal family was their intention. And their next targets are members of all the royal families like the tragedy in Nepal. It's similar to the Russian Winter Revolution, which executed the entire Romanov family.

It's well known that Bush is a cousin of the English Queen.

Bush is closely related to every European monarch on and off the throne, including the King of Albania, and has kinship with every member of Britain's royal family, the House of Windsor. He is a 13th cousin of Britain's Queen Mother, and of her daughter Queen Elizabeth and is a 13th cousin once removed of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles. Bush's family tree can be documented as far back as the early 15th century. He has a direct descent from Henry III and from Henry VIII's sister Mary Tudor, who was also the wife of Louis XI of France. He is also descended from Charles II of England.

So, if the CIA assasinates all the royal cousins of Bush, Dubya can be the new king of England. He'll reign not only Great Britain and the United States but also all the British Commonwealths as George VII. Thus this leads to the demise of the American federal republic and the birth of the American Empire. Dubya wants to be a Caeser. So, he can be president and the King of Canada at the same time. Then, there'll be the anschluss of Canada by America.

However, CIA conspires to elimiate all the British royal family members except for William and Harry. Now why is that? Why does CIA want to let both princes survive? Currently, Dubya's daughters are Barbara and Jenna. CIA is working behind the scenes to arrange their marriage with Prince William and Prince Harry. Barbara with William and Jenna with Harry. Then, Dubya's grandsons or granddaugters will be the heirs to the throne. So he can claim the throne legitimately. Just like the Norman Conquest, but they call it "Operation American Conquest".

Thus, this is the scenario that the CIA is working towards: the Bush dynasty will replace the Windsor dynasty to be the master of the world...

Its fun, isn't it, the internet...

Busy Sundays

You know you're a crazy parent when you plan three separate activities for your children on a Sunday.

Anyways, after what felt like a week of rain, Sunday came with just gorgeous fall weather, and we had church, the pumpkin patch and Pete, Will and Grace lined up...

Well, daddy snuck off and made it to the yellow house and not church - dry-wall guys are done and now it is all up to us to get it finished: the project plan says three more weeks before move-in starts (nicely timed with a visit from Jon Endre and Marte, my "big" brother happened to be around (and of use) at all our other moves: fate!!! (somewhat Presbyterian, I would think)

So, the family met up to meet up with Lauren and Aiden (w. their parents) at the pumpkin farm, which also does duty as a U-Pick berry farm at times. A ton of fun was had by all, even with the aeon long lines for the most rudimentary of activities.

With the gang back in the car, we went to hook up with Gramma and Grampa for supper with the Slears down the road. Great friends, and patients of Grampa, and possibly a highlight of the day, as Cecilie got to drive Pete's new electric fire truck (man, am I scared for her in 13 years time) and Lars got a ride with Will...

Yeah, Peter we had no time to hit the sack, but Lars had a roll in the hay...

Cecilieisms galore (and Lars starts to add his 2 cents)

This morning Cecilie was enquiring about the state of Lars's health (both kids have a nasty cold, Lars more than her). When told that he'd had a tough night, she shook her head sadly and soberly told me "these things happen, Mommy"

Visiting my Grandma Joan at the Friends House, Cecilie was busy filling up plastic cups of water from the water fountain. When told that she really did have enough now, she insisted she was "preparing for her wedding guests" and that she needed to have enough!

In the midst of these preparations, one glass of water spilled all over the floor. Looking around in semi-dismay, Cecilie exclaimed "Oh dear, lucky the neighbors weren't here!"

At the grocery store, a keen-eyed Cecilie spotted us purchasing some Oreos. The prospect of these treats came up in conversation regularly through the rest of the afternoon. Finally when we got home and were having a quiet moment before getting dinner ready, Cecilie leapt up from the playroom floor and exclaimed with great enthusiasm "Hey! I want a cookie. Let's have some junk food!!!" [Who taught her about junk food? Who taught her it was a great thing? ] So I thought at least I'd seize the opportunity to explain why it is called 'junk', as opposed to good for us, and as I continued to explain, she nodded wisely and said "yeah Mom, I know."

And finally, just to be a bragadocious mother, my sweet girl can now spell her name: "C-E. C-I. L-I-E!!!!!!" [to be imagined in a very loud spelling-bee sort of voice]

Lars may never have to talk, with a big sister like this. Although I suspect I hear the beginnings of "mumumumumumum" when I've been ignoring his complaints too long.

The Seven Rules of Natural Health

I am terrible about remembering lines from films, which is a particular pain when being surrounded by people who seems to have note books on their laps when they watch movies, just to be able to fling out the best one liners when put on the spot...

Praise the lord for IMDB, in Reality Bites there is a great exchange between Winona Ryder's and Ben Stiller's characters -

Lelaina Pierce: Are you religious?
Michael Grates: Um, uh, I guess uh, I guess I'm, uh a non-practicing Jew.
Lelaina Pierce: Hey, I'm a non-practicing virgin.

Anyways, I am coming up to 13 years as a non-practicing Adventist, and it is funny, because I have come to accept that there is such a thing (and by a weak logical extension non-practicing virgins exists too...).

I don't have much of a personal belief system (although it has been suggested I am a neo-pagan reform Jew), but I strongly believe that people should be encouraged to believe exactly what they believe, and respected for it too...

I know a good many, what I would consider, intelligent Adventists that I admire on a personal level and respect a lot. I don't necessarily understand (nor do I really think it is any of my business) how they arrived at remaining in their faith, as my personal position on most of Adventist articles of faith is that of dumbfoundedness. However, whether I like it or not (I happen to not really be too bothered...) there is Adventism in my bones and my family history, that's just the way it is.

I happened to come across the following, very clever "Seven Rules of Natural Health" on one of my random dippings in the world wide web. This stuff is so sensible it hurts. It has been toned down for marketing purposes since I came a cross it last which is probably a very good thing (now, add more than a very generous measure of open mindedness and tolerance and you might have yourself a very good belief system indeed).

If the rest of the collateral is somewhere in the region of reliable, male Adventists have an 8.9-year longer average life expectancy than does the general population, while female members have a 7.5-year longer average life expectancy. Adventists have a lower incidence of breast, prostate, pancreatic, bladder, and ovarian cancer than does the general population.

Rule 1. Pure air.
Get outside every day, rain or shine, for fresh air. Learn to breathe deeply to take oxygen way into your body. Incorporate this step into your daily life: walk instead of driving to the store or go for a walk with a friend instead of meeting for coffee. Keep your bedroom windows open.

Rule 2. Sunlight.
Exposing your face to sunlight for just 15 minutes will give you more than your daily requirement of 400 units of Vitamin D. Vitamin D ensures straight and strong bones with the proper proportions of calcium and phosphorus.

Rule 3. Temperance. Don't indulge in any one thing. Temperance, or balance, is a main theme of simplicity: eat in moderation, exercise in moderation, and rest in moderation. Remember the rule: moderation in what is good for you and abstinence from the things that are not good.

Rule 4. Rest.
Your body and mind need rest in order to function. Get plenty of rest each night and take at least one day a week to devote to restful pursuits. If you don't have rest built into your life with religion, do it without religion. Everybody needs a break from all kinds of work, paid and unpaid. This is the day for families to go hiking or to relax around the house.
Your digestive system also needs to rest. Your system needs about five hours to digest food completely. In between meals you can drink all the water and herbal tea you want.

Rule 5. Exercise.
Exercising in fresh air takes poisons and wastes out of the body. Fresh air from exercising fills cells with oxygen. Stretch outside every morning and find an enjoyable form of exercise that fits naturally in your day, such as bicycling or walking to work, meeting a friend for a regular walk or run, and so on.

Rule 6. Water.
Water is free or inexpensive, so use it liberally. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water between meals to help purge your system. Drink the water 30 minutes to 1 hour before or 1 hour after meals to prevent dilution of stomach acids, which help proper digestion.
Use water not only to keep your body clean, but as a tonic as well. Do this by taking a regular, warm shower and then, at the end, turning up the cold water. This wakes up your cells and keeps them functioning.

Rule 7. Nutrition.
We are only as healthy as what we put into our bodies. According to current medical information, most of the degenerative diseases that plague modern America: heart problems, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and stroke are primarily the result of improper diet. All cells and tissues in our bodies are formed by the food we eat. The best way to take care of our bodies is also the simplest and most inexpensive: Eat food the way it comes out of the ground, with nothing added and nothing removed. These foods are grains, fruits, seeds, legumes, nuts, and vegetables. Eat a variety of these food groups every week. Eat two servings of raw vegetable salad and two more servings of raw or cooked green or yellow vegetables daily. Eat cooked beans or peas three times a week, sweet potatoes or squash twice weekly, and a member of the cabbage family (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale) three times a week. Try to make breakfast your heaviest meal, your midday meal the second heaviest, and supper the lightest.

While on the subject of constitutions...

As it happens, the kingdom of Bhutan has been working on their constitution too lately (work in progress since 1972 to be exact...)

I am not too familiar with the whole story (wasn't even born back then), but it seems like the King voluntarily decided to start the transition from monarchy to "Democratic Constitutional Monarchy" that year, and what I find very fascinating is that they have managed to keep the document relatively short with a preamble which pledges sovereignty, liberty, justice, tranquility and happiness and well being of the people.

Granted, there is very little oil in Bhutan, and the country is largely homogeneous (thanks to a policy of busing a large parts of the Nepalese minority out of the country over the years), but not everything is rosy according to Mr Revkin's article (which you can find on a number of non-subscription pages, by copying the first sentence in NY Times and google it); political parties has yet to be formed for one... However, the document goes a long way in redefining the American constitutional concept of "pursuit of happiness".

There is a separate article on the environment, which states it is a fundamental duty of every citizen to contribute to the protection of natural environment and prevention of ecological degradation. There is also a separate article on "fundamental duties" that demands of the citizens to foster tolerance, mutual respect transcending religious, linguistic, regional or sectional diversities.

What has gotten everybody most excited is the provision
that the State should strive to promote pursuit of "Gross National Happiness" as opposed to Gross Domestic Product, and a policy of effort of the State to minimize inequalities of income, and concentration of wealth among citizens.

Leave it to the Buddhists...

And remember: "Medieval peasants worked less than you do"!

Jeremy Satterlund

If you happen to be in Richmond VA in the month of November you should feel obliged to stop by the Main Public Library on 101 East Franklin St, and see my friend Jeremy's "Exhibition of new paintings".

I haven't seen Jeremy since college, but I have been an admirer of his works through my curator, Brad, in the years since, and I really want to go down for opening night November 4. I used to consider myself an aspiring patron of the arts, but that was before moving to America and starting our own business - I still aspire, but the goal seems a little beyond the edge of obtainable right now.

I googled him and found this picture from 04, in St Paul at the Tilsner. I am pretty sure it is him and his canvas, even though he's dropped the German military jacket, the beard, the long hair, and a guitar with a prominent "JUST SAY NO" sticker (him and Nancy Reagan were real tight you see...).

Open day at firehouse

There is archieveal film footage of Kirsten being a little girl prancing around the local fire station at their open day: fast forward a couple dozen years and there we are: grampa, daddy and the kids at the same fire station on a gorgeous fall day in Colesville.

My film talents are hidden (as in: I don't know how to transfer all the hours of DV tape to a readable format for everyone) but one day technical problems might be overcome (that would be the day we're all on Macs I suppose) and Cecilie's children might do a high school project about cross generational fire station open days, who knows?

You want crazy?

There are many reasons I love blogs and blogging: it is an easy way to stay in touch and keep people up to date, including the people who surely can benefit from seeing what the Nilsens are up to, but that we never really kept up with (shame on us). I firmly believe this is a good thing when far away family, old friends, acquaintances, and friends of friends are dropping by, JUST DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT. I am also starting to come to terms with (maybe even enjoying a little bit) the fact that total strangers can drop by, have a look and leave comments.

This voyeuristic / exhibisonist aspect of it all can be a little bit unsettling, in a creepy "plot for a bad made for TV movie" kind of way, but I honestly think that our lives are simply too mundane to really trigger too much excitement with the seedier elements of society (knock on wood).

So anyways, taking the voyeur's chair for a moment there are some very interesting, and some crazy blogs out there so if you want weird and wonderful, just put something that interests you (or something you think wouldn't) in the "Search Blogs" window, above.

I am, by the way a half-assed (well 20% assed) but accepted American according to this quiz:

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 8 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

And while you are checking the site out take the world's shortest personality test:

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Well, you know, it said short - NOT ACCURATE

One reason not to want to live in Norway... Big numbers!

Thomas just told me today that he got a speeding fine going 85 kmh (52 mph) in a 60 kmh (37 mph) zone and he got a NOK 6,500 (that's $1,000) fine (according to the police he was 1 km/t away from losing his license).

Meanwhile, last month I was stopped doing 75 mph (120 kmh) in a 45 mph (72 kmh) zone --I thought I was going to go to jail for life, but got a $60 fine (less than NOK 400)...

I am not advocating speeding, but something is not right with this picture!


Given some time I should be able to come up with a dozen other reasons not to want to live in Norway, wouldn't mind getting some help...

As for reasons to want to live in Norway they are plenty, could need some help again...

To start us off, it being the third largest oil exporter in the world (after Saudi Arabia and Russia) is a substantial reason. The country now has a government controlled investment fund from oil revenue (not to be confused with oil reserve) of NOK 1,184,000,000,000 ($182,391,000,000) - that's about NOK 260,000 ($40,000) per Norwegian. In comparison, the US Federal debt is currently $6,000,000,000,000, so we are of course talking small change here.)

I suppose you don't strictly speaking need to live in Norway, just be Norwegian and live somewhere else to benefit from the investment fund in the long term. However, it sure would be nice to have my share, and Cecilie's and Lars' too, to fix up that house (we could have easily been in by now...). Damn socialists (and conservatives before them) for saving it for the future!

The way things are

Yesterday Cecilie was running around trying to avoid nap time. Upon being summoned by her very strict mother she exclaims: "I'm scampering away!" (I had to look that one up...)

Cecilie is saying she'll have a yellow wedding: yellow flowers, yellow shoes, yellow panties, pink dress...

By the looks of things Cecilie is now doing crosswords, we're not allowed in the bathroom when she's working on them, but she was so engulfed I snuck a shot...

Lars is standing up in his crib (for the first time yesterday!), but hasn't quite figured out how to sit down, so there is a lot of giggling before the lumber is felled.

Chances are he'll skip crawling and head straight for the Homo erectus thing. He does this thing where he is sitting on his knees, plants his hands on the floor, gets up on his feet and catapults himself forward landing on his nose most of the time - you could say he goes both ways (as he lands on the back of his head when he stands up in his crib).

Tonight, while singing grace, in the middle of the meal (Cecilie reminded us... -that's how it goes when you have pagans and Quakers for parents), Lars was just staring blankly at Cecilie. I said, "you don't know what this is all about, do you Lars...?", upon which Cecilie explains: "it's just about Gawd, Lars..." This makes him break out in huge giggles, and she finishes: "You knew that,didn't you Lars?"

The house (oh yes, its still there) is being plastered - the dry-wall guys are in for the final furlong (oh yes, we've heard THAT one before...); well, once they're done there is painting and floor finishing and kitchen installation and a few bits and bobs to go, but who's really keeping track?!? I am not entirely disillusioned, but my hope for a Halloween at the house is kind of slipping by, as always Kirsten is right!

Farmor is leaving, thanks for all your help.

Hey ho, Kirsten's a Christian

Well no major surprises there, although I had hoped to be more of a Quaker I will admit. My downfall was believing in a good fight every once in a while....

1.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (100%)
2.	Orthodox Quaker (96%)
3.	Liberal Quakers (90%)
4.	Unitarian Universalism (82%)
5.	Reform Judaism (80%)
6.	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (70%)
7.	Neo-Pagan (70%)
8.	Bah�'� Faith (68%)
9.	Eastern Orthodox (67%)
10.	Roman Catholic (67%)

More Cecilie classics

We were leaving school this afternoon, and I had a very tired (and heavy!) 3 yr old in my arms. Sleepily she said to me "Before I came to school here, you checked this place out, didn't you?"

At bathtime, Lars was happily playing in the tub with his little boats and sucking on the washcloth [flannel] when Cecilie came in full-bore and leapt into the water. She scooched right down under the water, looked happily up at me and said "Its nice to pee..." When I protested and pointed out the grossness of such, she looked at me like I was stupid and said "But Mommy - I only peed on the bottom!" [And yes dear reader, I did drain the tub.]

And as we sang our way into dreamland, we came upon the classic, 'I Will Make You Fishers of Men', in which there is a verse that goes 'hear Christ calling, come unto me, I will give you rest'. Well I just about lost it when I realised that Cecilie, Diva Cecilie, was singing 'hear Christ calling Come-On to Me....'

I will leave it at that, and we can all shake our heads and wonder what kind of teenager she will be. Eileen has already pointed out that I need to start preparing mentally for this.

Nå er det jul igjen

You know, after all it is October...



As expected, Costco has had xmas going for a couple of months already, even Giant (our local grocery store - yes, we have a Giant on our side...) has had a great big snowball on display for three weeks now, and every time we go by, Cecilie jumps up and down and shouts "I LOVE xmas, so much!". 


I don't think it was the "rubbing of the lamb" (sounds either perverse, or sacrilegious, I can't decide which, so it is staying), but it could be that my sister confirmed that she was definitely coming, combined with the fact that we have a proper front porch now (-think tasteful display) and that Kirsten came down with a cup of coffee this morning and said, "it's almost time to add ginger bread syrup". Yeah right, ALMOST-- levys broke and the flood gates opened... I now have ginger bread syrup in my coffee and xmas in my heart!


Growing up with xmas beginning on December 23rd (little christmas eve) and lasting to the 13th day, I might have been a little bit reluctant (well, maybe for one year I was reluctant...) to adopt what can only be described as "bringing it on, early and long" strategy to the whole thing. However, I am now a full convert (who cares about "Advent" anyways - pink and purple doesn't work with red AT ALL, and all that other stuff that supposedly comes before just doesn't fly).


You will find Norwegians not having a single "red day" between 17th of May and Christmas. Americans have what's called "holiday season", which is shorthand for "summer is over and to not get too depressed we need something to take our attention away from the change in weather and the shorter days". It empirically works wonders, and I can only feebly guess what it would do to the English and their national psyche if they successfully managed to adopt a similar tool; they might even win the World Cup!?! (Clearly, just having "Premier League season" hasn't really cut it, and Guy Fawkes, who the hell is he, anyways?).


Let's be truthful (secularly speaking): Ramadan, Leif Ericson Day, Sports Day, Columbus Day,Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Lailat Ul Qadr, Eid, Halloween, Culture day, Armistice, Thanksgiving and the Immaculate Conception, even Zwarte Pieten, are all nice to have, they are like sub-plots in a novel - let's all get out of the closet and start celebrating Baby Jesus, born to rock, and ginger bread syrup in our coffee!


If you are in dire need a holiday, you could always check out this site. There is plenty to go around: tomorrow is national cinnamon bun day in Sweden!!! Appears to me an excellent way to fight seasonal depression.

Jon in Iraq

Just to keep everyone updated, my younger brother Jon deployed last week for his 3rd deployment in Iraq. I think this is the toughest deployment so far, because he has had to say goodbye not only to his gorgeous wife, but also his equally gorgeous boy who worships him.
So we'd be grateful if any and all readers of Nilsen Life would keep Jon, Kierstin & Jack in their thoughts & prayers. If anyone wants an email address or a postal address, we're happy to supply it, but it might not be prudent to publish these details on a blog.

So shout out to Jawn, and hope he knows how much we love him & pray for his safe return.