Budget Friendly winter Activity; Cross country skiing

There`s a saying in my country; “Norwegians are born with skis on their feet”, and although not everyone is a good skier, I think I can say that most of us own a pair of skis. From we`re small children we learn to ski, and most elementary schools organize yearly ski-days. It`s also a really popular family activity; especially going to cabins in the mountains from January-march, to go skiing. It`s something that everyone can learn quite quickly, and it`s both fun and easy!

If you`re looking for a budget friendly winter activity that you can enjoy alone, with friends or with family, cross country skiing is something I can really recommend. If you have a dog, I`ll bet it`ll happily join you in the ski-slopes! It does cost a little to get the equipment, but once you`ve got it; it can last for many, many years. You can get skis and poles cheaper by buying the equipment off-season, or buy it used.  And here`s the best part. When you`ve got it, it doesn’t cost you anything to use it. As long as you`ve got a suitable area for skiing you`re good to go. It`s also a very good way to exercise during winter!

Pack a backpack with a thermos full of hot chocolate and a camera, and go explore wonderful nature scenes.

What kind of winter activities do you do?

Have you tried cross country skiing?

My Christmas Goals

• Finish my take-home exam next week.

• Spend a lot of time on the beach

• Be happy

• Read a good book

• Have long breakfasts on the balcony while enjoying the view of palm trees

• Take long walks with our two dogs

• Visit the island`s capital, Las Palmas and take a walk in the old town.

• Make some more Christmas sweets

• Practice my Spanish

• Play and cuddle with the dogs; they`re just the cutest ever!

• Spend quality time with my family

• Go shopping for some much needed new clothes

• Plan a strictly food-blog project

• Drink a lot of ice-cold Diet Coke

• Have long talks with my mom

• Go to church on Christmas Eve

• Write more exciting posts on travelling

• Take a lot of pictures

•  Eat a lot of Chinese food

• Donate christmas gifts to charity

• Make the Christmas-dinner

• Plan my 2013 budget

• Try new recipes and share them with you

• Help my brother with finding an apartment

• Eat the best ice-cream in the world

• Order curricula for the spring semester

• Celebrate new year`s Eve with my best friends

 What are your goals for this Christmas?

Goodbye Norway

I’m currently at the airport, waiting at the gate. Still a bit weird to think that I’m leaving the cold North for a sunny Spain, or to be specific; the Canary Islands; situated 150k from the African west coast. I used a couple of dollars yesterday, to rent a DVD on iTunes. So this flight I’ll be watching Snow white and the Huntsman. It’ll probably be worth it. It’s nice to be able to block out the noise on the plane for a while!

wow! Coincidence! At this very moment I’m noticing a couple of Spanish guys that were in my English Lit. course this semester. Seems like they were all Canarians! Weird!

I have to admit. I had a weak money moment! Originally, my plan was not use any more money than necessary. However! I bought two books! Harriet Stowe ‘s “Uncle Tom’s cabin” and James Joyce’s “Dubliners”. What can I say. I’m a total English lit. geek! And to my defence, they cost me a total of 15$. Which I think is a very budget friendly price to pay for classics I’ve been wanting to read for ages!

Budget friendly treat; Chocolate covered Walnuts with sea salt

The other day I had some leftover melted chocolate from making Homemade Bounty bars; and thought it would be a shame to throw it out. I took a good look into my cupboards and that`s when I found a container with walnuts. Enter idea. Why not mix the walnut with the chocolate and then sprinkle some sea salt? It turned out amazing! the texture of the walnut combined with the sweet chocolate, and the addition of sea salt. Oh my, that`s good! It`s the easiest thing to do; it really is a frugal, budget-friendly treat. And to make things even better. I could use the tin container the walnut was originally in, to keep the treats. I`ll actually be taking these with me tomorrow, when I`m leaving the country. With the tin container having a plastic lid, it`ll be easy to handle and they won`t get damaged in my cabin luggage.

Ingredients:

• Chocolate

• Walnuts

• Coarse Sea salt

Instructions:

Melt chocolate/or use already melted, mix with walnuts, spread it out on a tray or a pan. sprinkle sea salt. put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Then break it up in suitable pieces. Voila! bon appetit!

and if you`re wondering, yes, “valnøtter” is Norwegian for walnuts!

Do`s and Don`ts when Traveling by Airplane

I`ve travelled a lot in my life and been on many international flights, so I thought I`d share a couple of do`s and don`ts  for when you`re in the air.

• Do dress comfortably. That long flight won’t feel very comfortable if you`re sitting there cramped in your seat on the airplane in supertight jeans and a tank top, with nothing on your feet but your fake louboutin 4 inch heels. The moment the aircondition is turned on you`ll be wanting that warm sweather and comfy shoes.
• Don`t dress inappropriately. Wearing a miniskirt and/or a top with a lot of cleavage is a big risk. You don`t know who you`ll be sitting next to! Do you really want to encourage that smelly, creepy guy sitting next to you, who won`t stop talking?

• Do bring a good book that you find interesting.
• Don`t try to appear highly educated by reading Tolstoy when you`d rather be reading chick-lit. Even college professors in English literature watch Project Runway and ANTM.

• Do bring your own snack, as long as it`s allowed to bring on the flight.
• Don`t waste money on buying overpriced items at the airport /or on the plane, when you could`ve bought it cheap at the grocery store last week. Do you really want to pay 8$ for tiny bag of Skittles when you could`ve paid 1$?

• Do tell the mom/dad of the kid behind you who is kicking your seat, or pulling your hair; “Stop that right NOW!” A please is optional.
• Don`t be sympathetic and think “they`re just children”. This is how they learn to behave on airplanes, when their mom and dad are unable to show them how.

• Do step aside when you`ve found your seat when entering the airplane.
• Don’t stop and make everyone wait because you can’t move your ass one step to the side. I promise you, they`ll mumble swear words.