Todays weather was mostly great. Temperatures at +25C and some clouds. Nothing to complain over :D It was gorgeous sunny.

I woke up and I made me and Alex breakfast. We watched the football game in the morning and at 11:00 am Alexandra drove me to Disneyland and it is really close to where she lives.

She dropped me off and I went on for my own adventures.
I got the entrance to the Disneyland park with the possibility for upgrading to the 1-day parkhopper pass to enter California Adventureland if I finished off Disneyland in reasonable time. I even got my 1st visit button!! :D Today I feel just like a kid !

Now, click this link to see a map of Disneyland in pdf format. If you dont have adobe pdf viewer, click here

Disneyland
I walked up and down the mainstreet for a while, taking pictures, finding something to eat and just enjoying that its my first time to Disneyland.
After the main streets I entered Fantasyland where I had a ride in the Snow whites scary adventures carousel for the youngest :D (Oh yes. Im totally reliving my childhood years), then I took a ride with the Storybook land canal boats and ended it with the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire theathre before I took the monorail to the New Orleans square to visit the Pirates of the Caribbean section.
It was all decorataed with pearls and gold hanging down the buildings to make it attractive for the pirates :D Right next to it is Adventureland where I had to ride the Indiana Jones Adventure and the Jungle Cruise before I took the walkthrough Tarzans treehouse.
Indiana Jones is one of the best rides I took today ! It was sooo much fun and thanks to the single rider pass I got I was able to sneak through most of the queue. :D

Then I was off to Frontierland where I had to wait 50 minutes (Gosh that was boring) to take the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Thankfully I met some nice people in the line that I could speak with :D I also had dinner in Frontier land... Time flies when you are enjoying your day before I headed off to Tomorrowland and the Innoventions. At this time I started becoming really tired from walking in the sun all day among the huge amount of people that Im not normally surrounded by so I sought out of the crowd not to crash into people when walking to avoid them and guess what, I crashed my leg into a fence I couldnt see, so now I have a huge black mark on my leg. Well. whaddayaknow..I decided to sit down, get some water and relax after that. I was mainly done with Disneyland anyways and entered the Main street to get back to the entrance. It was already 6pm and I was done with most of my Disneyland experience and I was ready to cross over to California adventureland :D

Now, click this link to see a map of California Adventureland in pdf format. If you dont have adobe pdf viewer, click here
California Adventurland is a better park if you like more action. I was done being really childish and ready for grown up fun from now on.

California Adventureland
The first ride I went to was at the Golden State part of the park in the Condor Flats - Soaring over California. Mainly this is a 4D flight simulator that takes you over the mountains, the ocean and the lands of California and that sprays you with seabreeze when over the sea, orange blossoms when over the orange fields and a feel of cold when flying over the snow :D
It was really cool. A little girl rigth next to me was soo thrilled that it was just really fun because of her openly amused attitude.
After the Condor Flat flight I went to the Girzzly River Run. That was sooo amazing.. Leave it to the Norwegian to find water and get all wet all over where she goes. This was mainly a river run in small round boats. Each boat holds 8 passengers and the boats would spin so one would never know whom of the passengers would become wet as we drifted up and down the river. It was really good although, like I said, I did become all wet and it was already getting closer to nighttime so after the first time I decided not to get any further wet and just change into a t-shirt i had bougth earlier the same day :D

I also visited the Mission Tortilla factory, and the bakery tour + walked through the whole paradise pier (although i did not dare do the California screaming rollercoaster).
I was pretty exhausted at this point but I had to get at least the Hollywood Pictures backlot on my record before I went home.

When all done, Alex and Sarunas came to pick me up and that was really nice :D I was so exhausted by then. We went home and relaxed.
Early sleep and sweet dreams

For Pictures see here:

Temperatures were around +25C all day and it was cloudy all morning, but it cleared up around 2pm, and stayed nice after that.

I woke up around midday. I dont know why, but I've been really tired lately. I dont even stay up that late. So, I slept in. Gosh was it great :D
Alex and grandpa had started watching the Ghana - Uruguay game and even though Im not all that into football (or as USAmericans like to call it - Soccer), I really enjoyed this game. It was a good game with lots of action. I was really happy for Uruguay to win the game, although I was really sad for Ghana as they were the last African team still in the championship.
It would have been soo good if Ghana would have reached further. Imagine the party if they would have won!

After the game Alex and I took grandpa to his doctors appointment and I went shopping at Anaheim Plaza while Alex waited for grandpa. I needed to get a new luggage for my stuff as I am bringing home some more than I came with... Lets just leave it at that :D tihi
I also got a new purse and a few more shorts - always in handy :D
When I was done shopping I met Alex and grandpa at Wendys where we had lunch and then Alex and I went to the Baldwins for a swim and enjoying the nice, warm weather :D
We also had dinner at the Baldwins and for dessert we went to pick up Sarunas. Tori came with us and we all got ice cream before we went home to watch TV and endulge in the lush of our ice cream. It was already late so when Alex drove Sarunas and Tori home i started packing to be ready for tomorrow.

Weather today was a bit better. The layer of clouds disappeared early and it was sun from clear sky most of the day. Temperatures reached a high +26C.

Alex left early for work and I got up to say good bye to her however went back to bed again. When I got up for the day I accompanied Grandma to a car dealer so that we could look for a car for Alex so Grandma could have her car back as thats the car Alex is currently using.

We went to a car dealer that was really nice and helpful (arent most sellers anyways?) and we testdrove two different Kia models. They were both great and grandma chose a red one for Alex. I liked it and I hope Alex will like it too. Starting the paperwork and the clarification for the credit check left us with time to go to the post office. Once done with that we checked in if the paperwork was done yet and when we realized it would still take time, we had to leave cause I was about to leave for San Diego.
We rushed home to get my luggage and I realized quickly I forgot to check the bathroom for stuff that I had forgotten but so be it. Alex and I will meet up later or something to get it back :D

We reached the train in time and I got a nice seat with oceanview. I got a return ticket right away. Its really not that expensive to travel San Diego Fullerton return. Just 68 USD. Quite reasonable if you ask me :D
The train ride took almost 2,5 hours and I enjoyed some quiet time with an ocean view and a moving landscape so that was great :D
Arriving San Diego I didnt realize that the train station was called the Santa Fe Depot - immediately I thought of re-boarding the train again? It would be stupid to hop of in the wrong city when I was going to be picked up in another one. Reason fought stupid and I asked someone else that hopped of the train and realized I was in the right city :D
Lisa, my friend Carissas friend, picked me up at the station in her white Mexican bug and we drove home to her place where Melissa and Brian was waiting. Immediately they all struck me as really nice people. We didnt stay long though before Lisa, Melissa and I took off to the airport to be welcome crew for Carissa. At the airport we met up with Carissas parents and greeted the lost child that returned home :D

We had dinner at Saritas tacos which were LOVELY (Yummy) and after that we went home to the Pecks family home, my home too for the next week where we chilled and hung out until bed time.

San Diego is in a cold wave due to a storm outside Mexico that causes really bad weather. However there are rumors of a heatwave on the eastcost that Im really wishing I was in... Oh well. Back to reporting on the San Diego weather todays report can tell we had temps not higher than +22C and in the morning we were covered in clouds. However the clouds cleared out around 2 pm and it was lovely sunny weather the rest of the day.

I slept in this morning and enjoyed just relaxing this morning. It was great to relax. At 10am Carissa and I went to meet up with her parents for Vietnamese PHO soup. Which was great !!
The Pho soup is made with over 32 ingredients just for the broth alone.. Then comes of course the different ingredients for the different soups on top of that.

After breakfast Carissa took me shopping at a nearby mall and then we went to meet Lisa and Mel to do groceries for the Pool party later in the day. We got lots of goodies for the party and then returned to the Pecks house to start preparing for the party.

We had a nice BBQ party with hot dogs and cupcakes and pai and lots of other goodies. We ended the night with a pool party and games and some headbanging and some good laughing too.

To see pictures from the party:

Weather seems to have no intention of getting better any time soon and I find San Diego very cold compared to the other places I have visited during my trip here in the US. It was only +19C today and as the past week cloudy all morning and clearing up after 2pm. However it gets warm enough to be outside in the afternoon and thats nice :D

I started my first day working after the holidays today. However it was quite fascinating.
I spent most of the time in my room where I had a network cable and a good line to the modem - hence also a very good VPN connection to my work session which is always good. Working without interruptions is nice. During the day I felt 2 tiny tiny shakings that I wondered if may have been earthquakes.
There was nothing scary about them and they caused nothing but a feeling that the earth was shaking.

A good thing is that I have worked one day each week of my vacation - hence I dont have as many unattended emails. :D Thats always nice.

Carissa was working too so we didnt see each other until 4 pm when she got home, reading the news she confirmed we had had 2 minor earthquakes today. However. They are not really earthquakes, but after shocks from the big earthquake in Mexicali easter day. The biggest one today was 4,2 on richters at the episenter which probably didnt leave us with more than 2 or something.

For dinner Cindy (Carissas mom) made us all a delicious dinner that we had outside in the garden :D That was lovely. We relaxed with some TV and I went early to bed.

The San Diego sky was covered in clouds until midday and it was quite cold outside until 2pm. Our maximum temperatures reached +22C. The afternoon was nice and cloudfree.

I spent the day working and in the afternoon I cooked dinner and dessert. I made a very traditional dish; Lamb and cabbage stew a la Norwegiana (the so called Får-i-kål in Norwegian) and for dessert I had planned caramel pudding. However I had not planned how long a caramel pudding needs to be made in advance to be able to eat it as I have never made it from scratch before. Now I know though. Always make at least 1 day prior to use.

The preparations of the caramel pudding was easy enough and went fast enough, however what took time was the actual cooking of the pudding. It took so long. 3 hours? and then it needed cooling for several hours. However to my pleasure the Pecks liked my dish and after dinner we all relaxed watching TV together.

Here are some pictuers of Carissas house:

At Carissas House temperatures were around +22C tops but it was sunny and nice after midday. However The Pecks live inland and for the afternoon we participated a beach party at the La Jolla shores where it was a whole lot colder. Not only was it completely clouded but also a lot more humid and windy. The temperatures did not reach over +16C so we were all well dressed and trying to keep warm.

I spent the day working from my room again and I got to be efficient and got lots done. Thankfully. My workday ended quickly as time flew and i managed to keep myself busy without een noticing time. Suddenly it was 4 pm and Zach and Carissa came home from work and we all prepared to go to the beach for a family BBQ / gathering.
So the deal is taht Zach has 6 sisters and they all meet at the beach each wednesday in the summer with families and friends. They do picknicks and BBQs and enjoying being together with the family. I wish my family were all living closer so that we could do the same!
I was told that I didnt have to learn any names because it ould be far to confusing to remember all the names when there would be so many new people.
However I did an honest try to get to know them and to learn names. Im quite proud cause I still remember quite a few of them. On the pictures you will see that I have had some help and they all have names :D
As we were sitting down on the grass having our sandwiches we suddenly felt the earth shake. And yes it was an earthquake - or so-called after shock after the Mexicali earthquake on easter day. At the episenter this one was 5.7 and when it reached us it was very obvious that we had an earthquake. The shaking was like nothing I had experienced before, although it was neither strong nor scary at any point, however it was easy to know it was an earthquake. There was rumbling in the earth and all the people sitting on the grass noticed. It was over real quick and the people standing or walking didnt notice at all.
I also got time to take a walk on the beach and take pictures of the surfers and of the BBQ party participants.
However it was cold there and we left reasonably early because we were all cold. Me having showered before we left and been at the beach with somewhat wet hair wasnt smart and as we got home I got the first symtoms of sore throath and ears. Carissa had the same.
I got to bed early and during the night I got a fever and had problems sleeping because of my sore throath. I couldnt swallow and ears hurting I could only realize I got a quick backstabbing cold... Darn!

Temperatures were around +19C all day and it was cloudy and chilly all day.

What can be said about today? Not much. I tried working in the morning, my head was spinning, I had a fever and sore throat / ears and spent the rest of the day sleeping being medicated on TheraFlu to help relieve flu symptoms. So nothing much to report about.

Temperatures today were nicer, we were up to +22C and the heavy cloud layer from yesterday disappeared after midday.

I set my alarm to 00:45 AM and went upstairs to work. We were having a meeting towards Norway that I had to participate to. Actually not only one but two meetings. Yesterday when I was sick I messed up the LAN port on my computer so it didnt work properly and the skype line wasnt all that good for the meetings, but it was better than not participating. When the meetings ended I was releived to be able to go to sleep !!! This was a tiny test that prooves that its going to be very difficult for me to fall into Norwegian time zone immediately.

I drank another theraflu tea before I went to bed and slept in. It was great. When I woke up I continued working to complete my work day and for lunch Carissas mom, Cindy, and I went to get Manicures and Pedicures :D That was sooo nice. 40usd for full pedicure, manicure and spa treatment !! Beat that. Hehehe. It felt so relaxing I almost fell asleep. So nice ! I loved it.
Then back to continue working before I had a nap to treat my flu again :D

For dinner Carissas sister Vanessa and bf Donnie came over and we had delicious home made Enchiladas :D YUMMY. That was really nice.

Tonights entertainment was the Movies Drive-In. A first for all and this was my first time to the drive-in. We went with Lisa, Melissa and Jamie and Rachel and Chubbs, all parked next to eachother.
First movie we saw was Twilight Eclipse that Carissa still hadnt seen.

Then we watched Letters to Juliet that was a lovely love story :D

Today has actually been on of the nicest days in San Diego yet. The sky cleared around 10am and the temperatures reach a high +25C even downtown and by the harbour. It was a lovely day.

Finally I felt better and although we rested in the morning Carissa and I left at 1 pm to get some photo-copies for her classes and then we went over to Lisa and Mels house to pick them up. The plan for the day was to go downtown to look around :D We went to the San Diego Seaport Village.
It was really beautiful and we had cookies and ice-cream and walked around in the shops at the harbour. We even found a scandinavian shop - so much for brining all the souvenirs as gifts to my friends - they can just go buy it themselves in the store ... oh well :) Hehehe.

We also took lots of pictures and it was really nice to see some of downtown :D

After the visit to Seaport Village we went back to Lisa and Mels place and picked up Zachs truck before we went home. Mel came with us and we had a pool party at Carissas house with Slurpees and Margaritas :D YAY.

I spent some time packing my suitcases as this is my last day in San Diego - time passes so fast its not even funny! before I went outside to join the girls again for some more of the party and then I went to sleep

See pictures from our trip to Seaport Village

It was a cloudy morning by San Diegos coastal line this morning however as we got closer to Fullerton and inland the sky cleared up and it was all sunny by the time I got to Fullerton. It was a great day and the temperatures were in the +30C.

I woke up, packed and Carissa took me to the train station. I was just 5 minutes late for the train and had to wait for 1,5 hours for the next train. However that was ok, I had a nice magazine that I was reading in and i had my iPod for musical additions :D

The train ride went without any special incidents:

Photos from travel:

However when I got to Fullerton I had to wait for almost 3 hours due to a misunderstanding about the time I was supposed to get picked up at. That was no problems though! I spent that time in the sun tanning while I was waiting. I found a nice little bench in the sun where I could enjoy my time.
Dionne came to pick me up and we went back to the house where I got to play with the kids and it was so nice to catch up with Di and Goo too :D
We prepared a gorgeous steak dinner and I got to take some great photo shoots of the sunset from the house. I am really pleased with my camera! I am very happy about that investment.

Photos from Dionne and Gregg

After dinner we smelt the unmistakeable smell of fire and Gregg and I went out to assure the fire was nowhere near us. Apparently several people had smelt it cause some neighbours had called the fire department. However the fire was not on our side of town. It was on the other cide of the city. We were just fooled because of the direction of the wind.
No further exiting news today.

So, Finally the good weather reports are back ! Or - I moved myself so I got better weather :D Here in Norco we had temperatures up to +30C today. We started out with a little bit or mist in the morning, but that disappeared relatively fast. The rest of the day it was sunny from clear blue sky all day. We do have some wind between midday and 4pm but apart from that... gorgeous.

So, Monday morning and back to work. I spent the day working from my new nice outdoors office :D I complained to my colleague in India that while opening some of the heavier application for work I kept loosing my VPN connection - where he says *Women* sitting at a bar near the pool and still complaning...
But, honestly i wasnt complaining because I was sitting outside by the pool near the bar, but because I had to work.. That being said.. I love my work ! I just really wish I could spend more time vacationing here and not just working :(

Anyways - I got through the workday and after work I went for a hike in the nearby areas. It was really hot but so nice to be outside !!

Pictures from my hike:

When I got back I got to play with the kids and help Dionne and Gregg making dinner. Gregg made us some delicious steak for dinner and that was great. I took nice sunset pictures as well :D

So, Finally the good weather reports are back ! Or - I moved myself so I got better weather :D Here in Norco we had temperatures up to +35C today. We started out with a little bit or mist in the morning, but that disappeared relatively fast. The rest of the day it was sunny from clear blue sky all day. We do have some wind between midday and 4pm but apart from that... gorgeous.

I spent the day working again. Not so much fun to report from during these hours, however for lunch we went to the local market to the pet store. That was nice. The kids are so lovely and they were so fascinated in the petstore. They loved it ! After work Dionne and I went to do groceries at CVS then we went home to feed the kids and prepare dinner for the night.
We had a lovely maple syrup glaced chicken and salads with Ice Cream for dinner.
Yummy.
The sunsets from Dionne and Greggs house are soo beautiful !

Pictures

Its getting hotter by the day and we had temperatures up to +37C today. Sun from clear blue sky and lovely wind to cool down some in the afternoon.

First part of the day was of course used to put in my hours for work, then once I was done with todays efforts - I spent the rest of the afternoon in the sun working on my tan. I am getting there - slowly as I cant put in all the hours I want to, but Im getting there. Better slow than getting a sunburn anyways ! For dinner we went to the nearby park where there are playstations for kids and we could enjoy being outside at the same time.
It was a great day in company with Gregg, Dionne and Family !

We had another gorgeous day with no clouds visible on the sky all day. It was really hot - over +44C and either swimming in the cold water or being inside in the aircondition were the options.

Another workday with not much to report from, however during my lunch I had, like every other good pirate, to walk the plank and cool down. It was soooo hot that it was really not an option not to go swim. Good thing we have a swimming pool in the garden!

After work Vanessa and I went to get our nails done at the local nail salon. Vane got the spa treatment and pedicure where I only got the regular paint and decoration of the nails. However I could quickly tell that this girl was talented in the nail art area. She had a quick and skilled way of painting the most precious flowers on my nails. I must admit I think I have never had cuter nails than today !! Hope the nail polish wont wear out within the first few days at least.
The funny thing is that it probably didnt even cost a tiny part of what it would have costed in Norway. Thats scary.

After dinner I played a pirates captive again and had to walk the plank into the swimming pool :D I had so much fun enjoying these days by the pool :D

Some pictures.

We had another gorgeous day with no clouds visible on the sky all day. It was really hot - over +44C and either swimming in the cold water or being inside in the aircondition were the options.

TGIF is my start for today! I spent the day working again. Not so much interesting to report during a work week, except for me playing pirate again in the pool for lunch and for dinner Vanessa and I went to a Burritos place called Cancun Burritos close to Edwards Cinemas at the Crossings Mall. After dinner at 6:40 we went to see Leonardo diCaprios latest movie
INCEPTION

Yet another of Leos movies that really hits home with me. I love his style with these darker movies like Shutter Island and Inception. I really love them.

Inception is about a breaking in the mind of the subject. Its about stealing secrets and planting ideas in someones head. Quite amazing. Its a difficult movie though as it has 4 levels of a story inside one.
It is rare that I dont throw stupid comments while watching a movie, but this one however, is so great that I was speechless. When we came out of the theatre - the only thing I wanted was to go in again and see it one more time.

Are you certain you are not dreaming?
Are you certain you are awake?
Are you certain you know what you are doing right now?
Are you certain Im not just a projection of your fantasy?

After the movie Vane and I went to get some drinks for refreshment and we had a crema quemada (creme brulee) for dessert !
We also stopped by Barnes and Nobles before she took me home. It was a fantastic evening. Perfect movie evening !

We had another gorgeous day with no clouds visible on the sky all day. It was really hot - over +44C and either swimming in the cold water or being inside in the aircondition were the options.

Ok, so its not really my birthday yet, but Dionne, Gregg and I have not been able to celebrate my birthday (or any other of our birthdays since we were 17 and 18 years old... (That is about... 17-18 years ago.. God, thats just scary to think about ....) so we had a summary birthday celebration tonight :D

The day started out with Dionne taking me to the hairdresser to get a haircut. When I got my haircut she got a pedicure at the nailsalon next door (the same one I went to the other day when I got my nails painted... beautiful artwork). I dont normally go to the hairdresser a lot and its only my second visit this year, so it was awesome to get get it cut and styled.
However after half an hour of blow drying my hair I was seriously starting to wonder how long it can take to blow dry a hair when its 39C outside.. I felt like melting and thats not a very nice feeling. When she finally finished the blow drying.... I felt the urge to escape so I asked her not to continue.. However the haircut turned out really nice :D Im very happy with it. After the haircut I went over to the CVS store to get ceral (Margaret - this one is for you) and then went to the nail salon to see if Dionne was done. Perfect timing is what we call that !

When we got home I was sooo tired, Im not certain from what though but I went to my room and fell asleep for 2 hours. When I woke up we had visitors. A friend of Dionne and Gregg that has 3 kids Maya and Zaras age so that they could all play together in the pool. That was nice.
At 3pm tia Vanessa came over to look after the kids and Gregg, Dionne and me went to have a nice evening out.

First stop was La Brea shopping centre where we did some shopping. It was a great mall. Pretty design, good collection of stores etc. However I didnt buy much. I have a limit and I soon dont have more room in my suitcases !!! Aich :D Hehehe

We then went to have dinner at the Cheesecake factory. It was a gorgeous dinner. I had caramel chicken. A spicy dish of chicken glaced in Caramel and for dessert I had White chocolate rasberry cheesecake. Sooooo good.
We had a great deal of fun and suddenly it was time to leave for the show.

We drove off to Fullerton and the Maverick Theatre where we had plans to see the play The Producers

Here are some reviews from the papers about the play:
OC Weekly
The Orange County Register

It was a great show and we had some nice eyecandy in the play too :D Greggs colleague Rick played one of the leads and the eyecandy was the other lead. Mr Leo Bloom played by Shaun-Michael McNamara... Good looking guy and talented too. However.. I must say I think they were all very talented and I enjoyed the show very much !

Thank you Gregg and Dionne !!
That was an amazing birthday present and a great night out with you !

Pictures:

We had another gorgeous day with no clouds visible on the sky all day. Thankfully the temperatures have dropped a bit so its not so hysterically hot any more.. Im not saying its not hot but at least temps are not +44C any more. Its more like +37C which is totally livable.

I slept in this morning and spent some quality time relaxing.
Gregg and I took Zara to the hairdresser and then we went for grocery shopping. We went to Albertson with Zara which gave Dionne some time to pack for her upcoming work trip to San Francisco.
When we got back home we had lunch and then we went outside to play in the pool ! Boy was it a great day. The kids were having so much fun in the pool.

Dionne had to leave at 3:30pm and while the kids had their nap I updated pictures and edited them so I could upload them to the blog.

When Gregg got home we started cooking so they had some dinner for the next few days and then we took the kids outside to play.

Maya and Zara are adorable and they got to be upstairs so that they could have their baths and go to bed. I cleaned the kitchen while Gregg put the kids to bed and when he was done with that task we exchanged music and pictures from my stay so that they could also have a copy of the pics I have taken.

Pictures from todays playtime by the pool