Empty.

My brain feels empty. I don't feel like I have anything important to blog about, but whatevs. Joel told me to start with one sentence, and that usually works to get it goin. We will see :)

Joel and I have almost been married 5 months! Well... 4 months and a halfish. And my best bud has been married almost a year!!!!! I remember crying so much because I didn't want to lose my best friend. Then I realized that was a dumb thought and that I would never lose her as a best friend. And now I am the one who has moved away and made it harder to keep in contact. We still skype once a week, so it is all good :)

I have had a hard time adjusting to things being more expensive here. Ok, not really.. but kinda. I am almost out of shampoo, conditioner, and hairspray. A shopping trip was a must. Joel told me something wise (i think) today, "Go for it! Treat yourself ;) No but the way I reason is that I I need something, then let it cost what it costs and why complain?" I really didn't want to buy shampoo and stuff, because of how much it was. I was expecting him to say, "Eh, maybe that is a little expensive so try to find something else if you can." But then I realized what he said to me was absolutely perfect. I don't know why I have been thinking about that so much today, and why it meant so much to me. You see in the States you can find pretty much anything for a cheaper price I feel like. You can always resort to WalMart. I am still getting adjusted to Sweden and everything is so dern expensive. But Joel's point made me realize that I have to deal with it, and it is ok. Hehe maybe I should go buy a bunch of expensive stuff (somethings I realllly want. like a black blazer. but then again i can live without that..)... because it is "ok" ;)

Here is a picture of Sven-Erik, Marie, and Joel. Marie has MS (i think) and she lives life to the fullest. Last summer my friends Alyssa and Kelsey stayed at her daughters house for the summer while we were all in Sweden. I met her a few times last summer and was impressed by her optimism. While I was in a painting class last fall (of 2011, right after Sweden) we were instructed to paint someone/thing that has inspired us. So, I chose to paint her. For about 50-60 hours I thought all about her optimism, charm, and lovely attitude. And this is what I ended up painting:

Unfortunately this is the unfinished picture, I have added more since. She now has her painting up in Stockholm, Sweden! I gave it to her an hour before I got married in the Denmark temple. Kind of an interesting place to give it to her ;) I figured that since she was coming to the temple sealing, I could give it to her then :) Lets just say I was quite surprised by her reaction. Little did I know... the picture I ended up painting had a story behind it. And since then, Heavenly Father has touched my heart in ways I didn't know painting could do. I believe Marie and I were meant to meet, and somehow become friends for a reason. Whether it was to help each other through this life.. I will never know :)