you had my heart inside your hand & you played it to the beat

I am obsessed with Adele. I really want to see her live and she's coming to Amsterdam in April but of course, tickets are already sold out. I will give the Dutch credit: they are really good at booking things in advance. The Rotterdam film festival was last month and I swear, tickets for everything were already sold out in November. I really think people book things a year in advance.

Sweden was tremendous amounts of fun. We stayed in a really beautiful hotel directly beside Stockholm Central Station. We arrived Friday and spent a relaxing evening at a steak house before going to the Absolut Ice Bar, which as expected was FREEZING. Well, it wasn't so bad for the first half hour or so but even with the extra jacket and gloves, I found myself shivering. I blame this on the fact that I was dressed inappropriately in heels and a spicy top. Obviously I didn't get the memo and underestimated the situation. We called it a night relatively early so we could be on top of our sightseeing game the next day. We walked all over the place and took a beautifully romantic 3 hour boat tour of the archipelagos. We dined on board and not only was the food delicious but I had the best company. We then hit up a trendy bar for some fish and chips and drinks and finished our night there.

I always hear how beautiful Swedish women are but it certainly wasn't the impression I got. I found them to be average at best and no one stood out to me. Mic says that Sweden has the highest rate of suicide in the world and there is an air of sadness and rigidity and the gothic/emo look was HUGE. It was also very expensive and we couldn't help but notice that most of their stores were high end. In fact, I only saw one tiny H&M, which is strange since there's one on every corner of the shopping streets there. But Stockholm did have an Urban Outfitters which we enjoyed and the food everywhere was phenomenal.. even the meal we ate at the airport. Thankfully, it wasn't as cold as I was expecting but I'd still love to go again in the summer, when I'm sure it's a different scene. Nonetheless, it was still a good time and given the cheapness of the flights, I'm sure we'll go again once we get to the point where we're repeating trips. When I find the time, I'll post pictures. I am absolutely horrible at posting pictures on time. I still have pictures to put up from when I went home and some of the nights we spent out in January. Maybe I'll get to it next month.

Things are going pretty well for me here, although I do have my moments. I have a huge love/hate relationship with the Netherlands. While I'm happy to be here and really enjoy it for the most part, I hate that I'm away from my family and friends and all that I'm accustomed to. I've been here for 2 1/2 years (on and off) and sometimes, I'm really just over it. I hate the rules, I hate the procedures, I hate the bureaucracy, I hate the weather, I hate biking to go out on the weekends, and sometimes I really just hate everything. But then I remind myself of all the things I do like and am grateful for: a great man in my life, wonderful friends that I consider family, being foreign and getting away with breaking all the rules, traveling conveniently, making memories I never would have been able to make at home, and living a life that I can only do at this stage in my life before I'm bogged down with heavy responsibilities and little wheezy babies. I think I can enjoy this lifestyle for a few more years but I definitely feel like I need a change of pace.

I need to find things other than my life to talk about so let's do the thing where I ask you to pick a topic again, but this time, give me serious suggestions.. I don't want to turn this into a gossip blog because I really don't care about other people that much!

happy birthday to me!

I can't believe I'm 25 today! It feels like I was just 18 and looking forward to my freshman year at UCONN. It feels like it was last week that I was 19  and sneaking into bars with my sister's ID. It feels like just yesterday I was 21! But, simultaneously, I am also fully aware the years have gone by. As hard as it's gotten at times, I wouldn't change anything because it led me to where I am. Actually, that's a lie; I would have done lots of things differently but at the end of the day, most of the difficulties I've faced either don't matter already or will soon be a distant memory. I still want for things but I am so grateful for all I have in my life and know that with hard work and the right attitude, I'll accomplish all my goals.

I'm finally feeling better after a day of feeling rather shitty. I managed to make it to the gym and ended up being trapped there for 3 hours, even though I only worked out for about 45 minutes. I felt dizzy and light headed after doing some cardio but I thought it was because I pushed myself too hard after having not gone for so long. I thought relaxing for a bit in the sauna would help and while it did feel good, I felt a lot worse after it. I couldn't even make it up the stairs without stopping every few steps. When I finally made it into the changing room, my vision was almost completely impaired and I was tripping over my feet trying to stay standing. It was pretty scary and embarrassing that people were asking me if I was alright. I laid down for a while before taking a shower and I couldn't even do that properly since my head was spinning so badly. I had to keep laying down because I felt so sickly and like I was going to vomit. Eventually I made it home and spent most of the day in bed. It really ruined my plans, as I intended to do some shopping in the center for..... STOCKHOLM TOMORROW!

I printed out a map and marked several locations for us to visit. I'm ecstatic to try the Absolut Ice Bar where everything is obviously made of ice. Even though we'll probably already be freezing our buns of steel off, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

I'm also going to Florence for a month in March, woo hoo! Very excited about that since I've never been to that part of Italy. It coincides with the weeks that Mic will spend with a best friend in Cuba (jealous!) so I'll be happy not to spend the time on my own. Plus, I'm expecting visits!

Anyway, I'll keep it short because I haven't packed anything yet and the house is a mess. I hate coming home to a messy home and I guess I gotta clean even though it's my birthday *hint hint Mic* ;-p

Thanks for all the well wishes on Facebook, via email and text. Love you guys!! <3