As the days get darker...

Here in Iceland, it is very similar to how it is in Alaska with the sun during different seasons. In the winter, the sun stays down except for a short period of time, rising late in the morning/afternoon and setting just a few hours after. In the summer, the sun doesn't completely go down. So as the snow season starts to arrive, the sun sleeps in longer, and it becomes much harder to tell what time of the day it is. It seems the most appropriate time for nesting and hibernating. Noah keeps me snug and warm, and I am cozy in my living room and bedroom.

Being an unemployed and pregnant woman, in the cold, I find myself trying to find reasons to stay inside. I prefer to not go out into the world of wind, rain, and who knows what else.

So I have begun preparing for the holidays early this year. This includes deciding that this year will be a hand made and heartfelt Christmas. I am trying to chipper up my holiday spirit, as over the last 6 or 7 years, the holidays have been rather sad and depressing. Making my lists and bringing together my supplies is fun and exciting, and is giving me a purpose to my days, making me feel rather productive. I have started to paint bottles that are normally used for wine for my mother's Kahlua recipe, and I am quite pleased with the results thus far. Here are a few bad quality photos of some bottles thus far:


After doing tons of Google searching, I have found a substantial amount of recipes, and ideas that I plan on incorporating into Christmas baskets for our loved ones. I cannot wait to complete them. I started working on learning some new things to crochet, and here is a slipper I made!


What are your plans for this Christmas? Or whatever holiday it is you prefer to celebrate?

Noah is such a trooper, kicks getting stronger and stronger. I am now able to feel him rolling around, some occasional hiccups, and general havoc he causes to my uterus. I should have some more ultrasound pictures scanned soon enough! Until then, check out my 22 week pregger belly!

As far as my cooking goes, I have been experimenting with some new things, and just throwing other things together. Last week I made grilled turkey quesadillas which turned out amazingly yummy, and the other day I just threw together a casserole that consisted of potatoes, Icelandic hot dogs, corn, fresh string beans, cream of chicken soup, and fried onions on top. It sounds like a strange mixture of stuff. But it came out delightful. Here are pictures of both dishes.