It has arrived:)

My LouenHide bag that is:) Technically it arrived on Monday while I was at work, and I had to order a new delivery... but remember my post about "The Danish Way"? I talked about how we pay high taxes, and if that wasn't enough they will add taxes to the goods you buy... well also to the good you import or win, and even if this is a prize they told me to pay VAT for receiving it. 

But it was very much worth it, I love the bag. So far I only got some pictures of the bag, well because I look very much like I should just spent the day relaxing at home with Jonas (I was told the delivery would be some time between 8 am and 5 pm, it was here at 9.45 am, so I'm not stranded at the house for the rest of the day). I love the bag all ready, and I can't wait to show it off:)

The sweet people from LouenHide also added a beach bag for me, how sweet is that. 

I'm super happy that I entered Vanisha's giveaway and won. Thank you Vanisha and LouenHide!

Cooking with Connie

It's time for another "Cooking with Connie" post, and again it's not really a cooking post, but a baking post. On Friday I asked a colleague what I should make for dessert Friday night when a friend of ours were visiting.

She gave me a fast and easy recipe for something that I never got the name for, but I guess I can call it a "Strawberry and Raspberry crumble".

It was super easy to make, and tasted really great. I'm sorry for the poor quality of pictures, but I only got pictures with my phone.

As I said it's super easy and here you have the recipe:

60 grams of oatmeal

100 grams of sugar

140 grams of butter

a handful almonds

90 grams of flour

All of the above is mixed into a dough.

Frozen fruit (I used a small bag of strawberries and a small bag of raspberries)

Put the frozen fruit in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle the fruit with some extra sugar, or put the crumble dough on top. Bake for 25 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

Serve with ice cream.

Enjoy:)

I've got mail!

Remember I told you I won Luckie's Thank You Giveaway?

Well just before the weekend started I got my prize in the mail. Luckie made this cute wallet, credit card holder and ear bud case for me.

I love the colours, and especially the ear bud case will come in handy when travelling:) Thank you Luckie!

Lucky me:)

This morning when the alarm rang we decided to sleep just half an hour longer... Frank were able to drop off Jonas this morning so I actually got to work earlier than usual. When we got up it was a still dark and rainy, and the day continued to be gray and rainy.

 

But while I was making Jonas his oatmeal I was checking my mail on my phone, and my day just got a bit better... there was a mail from Vanisha, which always makes me happy, but the message in this mail made me do a little happy dance.

 

I WON VANISHA'S LOUENHIDE GIVEAWAY!

 

I can't believe how lucky I was. This all made my day, and when things a work were a little hectic today (we had a power blackout) I just had to remind myself that it was still a good day.

 

Well that was is for now, I just had to brag about. In the future the great colour of my LouenHide bag will put a smile on my face and a rainy day. Have a great weekend everyone!

The Danish way...

Well it seems like when I mention my 5 weeks vacation or 1 year of maternity leave I get comments about how lucky we are in Denmark. And yes we are lucky, but we also pay high taxes, almost 50% of our income is paid in taxes.

I don't think I would have it any other way though, because the high taxes gives us a lot of things too, like the ability to stay on maternity leave for a year, free schools (that is if you choose the public schools, which are great schools), free education (the university is free, though you have to pay for your own books), student grants (you get paid to study, not a huge amount, but mine covered rent and food, and then I had a job on the side for all the fun things), free dental until you are 18 (imagine the cost if you would have to get braces), free doctors and hospitals (it didn't cost us anything to have me in the hospital for a few days after I gave birth, or having Jonas x-rayed when he broke his collarbone).  There is probably a lot more we get for our taxes, but that is just what I came up with at the top of my head.

But then they want more than the 50%, but they aren't going to take it from you salary, they will hide it on the goods you buy. Recently the made a fat tax, where sugar and fat products should be taxed harder... though it seems like even the fat free products have got more expensive...

Or try buying a car! I remember when we were in the USA all those big fancy cars that were driving around, actually you don't have to go further than Germany so see big fancy cars that will be a lot cheaper than in Denmark. Just to give you a quick example, I went to Fords American web page and a Ford Focus the prizes starts at $16.200 the same car at Fords Danish website starts at $36.500... that's the tax system for you, no wonder there is a lot of crappy cars in Denmark! And on top of the high prices you have to pay taxes for owning the car! And then there is the gas prices, it's around $1,92, not too bad you think, well that is pr. liter, so if you want the price for a gallon it will be $7,26! I know we don't drive that long distances here to get to a from work, but let's face it you would have to get a really good salary to afford the long distances!

Still I wouldn't want it any other way, because I love my vacations, the free hospitals etc. The cars might be expensive, the food prices might have gone up, but I wouldn't have miss out on my 1 year of maternity leave for lower taxes and then paying everything myself.  So after all I'm pretty content living the Danish way!

Vanisha's giveaway and puddle jumping...

You should go check out Vanisha's blog, because she is hosting a LouenHide giveaway. Yeah I get an extra entry for blogging about it (which mean a better chance of winning), but to be honest I'm not sure that is a good idea... now maybe more will enter, and therefore my chances are falling again. But I have come to the conclusion that I don't have that many readers, so I will risk it.

 

 

Otherwise I have been busy enjoying my vacation. Jonas and I have enjoyed the week so far, we have been painting (I tell I got my own little Picasso here), been to the mini zoo, gone to the dentist, gone puddle jumping and most of all been playing with his trains.

 

 

Ohh, and I just won a giveaway over at Cranberry Portage, but hey that doesn't mean I don't need to win Vanisha's giveaway, so honestly I'm not sure any of you readers can pull off that bag, so there is no reason for you to enter the giveaway:)

 

Have a great day everyone:)

 

Sunday on the farm:)

Yesterday Jonas and I drove to my cousins farm, where they had an open farm arrangement. Everyone could come an visit. They have a chicken farm, so you could pet 2 day old chickens... well at least the 6 that had been taken out of the barn. 

Looking at 2-day old chicks with my dad  
 

Go out to field an look at the big chickens, play on the hay playground etc. Though the hay playground was for bigger kids, so Jonas didn't go on that. You could also get a ride on the trailer of a tractor, where you got to see the fields with vegetable.

In the field with the hens and my mum
 

You could even get a pony ride, though we just talked to them, Jonas wasn't too font of them. At the farm they also have a little farm store where they sell vegetables, chickens etc. They recently added a kitchen to the store and started a catering business.So you were able to try a lot of the different foods.

Petting the horse, not his favorite!

Afterwards we visited my parents and spent the night. Today Jonas helped my dad collecting apples in the backyard.

You get hungry from all that work, good thing he was paid in apples:)

 

Have a great week everyone!

Vacation time again:)

This is where I love the Danish system, 5 weeks paid vacation every year... and most people also have 5 extra days, so actually I can have 6 weeks paid vacation every year, though the 5 days extra I use one every now and then. 

So this coming week I'm using my 4 week of vacation (a vacation year goes from May 1st til April 30th). I have used 3 weeks during the summer, and then usually it's nice to have one in the fall, since springtime doesn't seem so hard to go through because of the lighter weather and the national holidays. 

It's only me and Jonas having a week off though, because Franks work is quite busy at the moment, and he will be able to get the day between Christmas and New Year off, which is when the daycare is closed. 

So this weeks, we don't have any big plans. Tomorrow we have just decided to go to an open farm arrangement at my cousin and her husbands farm. My parents are there to help out, and I figured Jonas would like to see the chickens, drive the tractor and play in the hay. Afterwards we are going to stay at my parents till Monday.

Otherwise we don't have any plans, but it the weather will continue raining I know we will be using our rain suit and rubber boots. Though Tuesday Jonas has an appointment at the dentist, I'm not quite sure how he will like that... but again the Danish system is to thank for free dentist till you turn 18, so we might as well use it. 

Have a great weekend everyone:)