Flowers

I don't know much about flowers, only that they are pretty and make me and most people happy. But nowadays I have a flower pro in the family, just check it out:
















Yeah, you see what I am talking about! So if you wants something pretty I can hook you up:)

A cake

So I made another cake, soon I might get to do wedding cakes:)

New hobby

I have come to realize that I like to bake. In particular sweet things that I can make pretty. Here are some samples:








Princess cake and cupcakes with marsipan buttons.









Carrot cupcakes.









Marsipan cake with mango mousse and custard.









Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and banana.










Lemon cupcakes with sprinkles.

More tourism and such

The last couple of days have been filled with little rays of tourism. Thursday was spent in Göteborg, seeing the city and sitting in a boat. I did also get my butt kicked in two games of pool.

Most of friday was spent preparing for our yearly craw-fish, surströmming feast. I have come to realize that I like to throw parties. There is something exhilirating about being a hostess. The swedish delights were recieved quite well, except for the surströmming (fermented herring). The general reaponse when that can is opened is this:



Things we did over the weekend included and are not limited to going to the market, city park,a fireside at a ranch, christmas caroling, and chalking.

Now we are on our way to stockholm and the adventures will continue!


Hailey and Kelli with two of my nephews at the city park.

Castles and ruins

The adventure continues, we headed north monday only to go south again tuesday, only this time towards the east. The day started with a trip to Kosta. This is one of the capitals of swedish crystal. We visited the factory and let's just say that it wasn't only the americans that were impressed. If anyone has the chance to go there I truly encourage a trip!

We countinued further south-east to Kalmar. We visited Kalmar castle which started to be constructed in the 12th century and finnished in the 13th century. I love to walk on historic ground and think about what people have walked there before me. I also like to be in castles, I actually wouldn't mind my own castle one day:)




Wednesday was spent in Gränna and Visingsö. In gränna we saw the making of the candy-cane and strolled around.

We took the ferry to visingsö, which is a little island in the deepest lake in Sweden-Vättern. The story is that mr and mra giant Vist were going to a party on the west side of vättern but during the party it rained so much that mrs giant vist couldn't jump over the big puddle that was vättern so mr Vist took a piece of lnd and put it in the puddle for her to step on, and that was how Visingsö was created.

On the island there is the first royal castle in sweden, well, just ruins now... And ruins of a newer castle... New as in perhaps the 14th century. We rented bikes and saw them both and it was magnificent to see the scenery and experience the history!

The day ended with the best kebab in the world and a chriatmas movie... Yes you heard me...or read right... A christmas movie!!

I have friends visiting from the US. I picked them up in copenhagen saturday morning and we went to see the city, after roaming around, seeing several different churches we found the copenhagen cathedral (vor frue kirke) and saw the actual kristus statue with the original twelve apostles.

We stayed at my sisters house in helsingborg so on the sunday we went back to denmark to helsingør and saw kronoborg slott, that is the castle Shakespear had in mind when writing Hamlet. So, sunday afternoon picknick at the ancient castle grounds was pretty spectacular!

Chambers: A tribute.

I realize I am not a big blogger, I don't have the gift of words, But I will try to put in words what I feel and have been feeling for a while concerning my internship.

The first couple of days in February, were stressful. I had no legal background and it was like learning a new language trying to understand all the legal terms. Also being put in a situation where I don't really know anyone or anything was stressful to me but gradually the stress went away and I felt like I had been there all my life and that thanks to the wonderful people I worked with.

Greg, one of the most humble men I have ever met. He was on the first case I listened in to, a trial, and it felt like he was taking me under his wing and explained things to me. His patience with me as well as his curiosity in Sweden made me feel a little bit more like I fit in. As time went on he became a true friend helping me in different matters of life. In particular with my dating. He is a genuine and true friend. Honest, humble and pure. But most importantly, he is one snazzy dresser!!

Chayce. At first I was a little bit intimidated by Chayce. He is tall and musced and sounded like he was pretty tough but I soon found out that he is just like a big teddy bear. He still is tall, musceled and tough but he is also very, very nice and considerate. He kind of is the tease in chambers and I knew when he started teasing me that I was ok, I was then a part of the group.

Britton. I always thought that Greg reminded me of one of my brothers, in his body language and that Britton reminded me of my other brother, but who he really reminded me of was Jesus. I know that is a very big compliment but Im serious! He is so NICE! To everyone. No, he is not perfect like Jesus but just his way reminded me of how Jesus is. He also has the most adorable kids. Sorry Greg and Chayce, your kids are adorable too but Jack just stole my heart!

Alison. One Impressive Woman!
The kind of working mother every child should have. I could see early how much she loves her family and that love wasn't restricted to them. She took me under her wing and somehow I felt like part of that family. She is so pure and loving. I wish I could be like her.

Ron, so hard working, and so much fun. He took care of me and found things for me to do in the beginning which helped me feel a little bit needed considering my lack of a law degree. I love his example of showing that family comes first but also his strong dedication to his work. seems he got the balance pretty much figured out.

Ed. I really don't know much about Ed but what I do know is that he is so kind and considerate. He cared about me and my life and would always listen.

And finally Dee. He is one impressive man. Perhaps one of the smartest I've met, but he is not full of himself. He is a people person for sure. I met a woman in a shop and somehow I told her about my internship and she had no connection to the Courthouse or legal stuff but she said: "Oh judge Benson, I know he is very well liked and appriciated." Thats true, I haven't met anyone who doesn't like him, I have seen attorneys annoyed with him and his ruling but there is always respect. He really took a chance on letting me come do an internship with him. For all he knew I could have been a socially retarded mythomaniac, bullying my way in to anything. I am glad I am not and I am glad Dee took that chance. It has been one of the best times in my life. I have been given opportunities and experiences that will affect the rest of my life.

So this is my tribute to chambers: I can't imagine a better place to do an internship or better people to work with, I might even write a country song about it.

Boise

So Boise Idaho. I like it. It was a cool experience. We drove up in Dee's truck, I sat in the front between Dee and Chayce and Briton sat in the back seat. We drove on the road with nothing but mountains and fields and listened to old school rock and country music, I have never felt so American in my life, maybe because I am not American.

In Boise it seemed like one of the quests was to find the best restaurant, the distillery won I think because we went there twice. We had some great food that week, I tell you!
When it came to working I did a lot of it. I was in charge of the sentencings we had scheduled so I read all the presentence reports and told Dee about it and sat in with the probation officer while he briefed Dee. It was very interesting and it felt like I maybe contributed a little at least. During the week we sentenced 9 out of 14 people in a big drug case including the two top guys so it was very interesting.

The night we were there we saw The Conspirator by Robert Redford, it was bad. and then we took a walk over to the stadium where a Boise football team plays. Apparently the turf there is blue so we had to go see it, the only problem is that this was around midnight and the stadium was locked and it was dark, so we just climbed the fence. No, we didn't trespass we just climbed up and looked in to see the grass, besides when a federal judge tells you to do something, you do it:) So when that adventure was over we started our walk back to the hotel and on the way Dee went an bought a lottery ticket to everyone. It was one of those where you scrape off 3x3 numbers and the total on each should be 7, 11 or 21, so I scraped of my two first lines... nothing then the last line and got 5, 1 and a....1...I think...so I scrape off how much money I would get and it says $3000, everyone cheers and says I won three thousand dollars...I kind of don't believe it, so Dee looks at the ticket and says: wait a minute...then it turns out that I had not scraped off the whole number and the last number at it was 13 not 1. so no win...but it was a little bit funny.

So now Im back in Slc and life is good, Ive been on a couple of dates if anyone is wondering but no, I am yet not engaged.

Ok so I guess it is time for me to update this thing again, seriously I don't even know what to write. My parents and sister have been here these last couple of weeks, since I came back from DC and it has been busy. I have still tried to go in to work as much as possible... It was great to have them here. We did all the touristy things one does here in SLC as well as meeting relatives and friends.

Now life is kind of back to normal again... Lately I have been thinking alot about what I want to do now that I am coming to an end of my studies, I will now announce any plans until I know what will happen but if things go as I feel at the moment then my life in this year will be very very exciting (and no, I am not getting married).

But speaking of getting married, my last companion is getting married and she has asked me to be her bridesmaid. I am so excited because I have never been a bridesmaid... I am seeing her tomorrow to plan the wedding which is in one month!! it will be fun!

The long wait is over and I am sincerely sorry you all have had to wait this long for me to update the blog. So, I was in Washington DC. I will just tell you all I did. I was given a private tour of The Capitol, went to the Botanic gardens, Native american museum, Mount Vernon (where George Washington lived), the natural history museum, American history museum, the holocaust museum, the white house, arlington cemetery, national art gallery, The temple, shopping, Library of Congress, Supreme court, Pentagon. On the thursday I met up with Dee and he showed me the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court. THAT WAS COOL! Not that the building was extraordinary or anything like that but just the fact that I got to see things that not a lot of people get to see. I got there and Dee had to have his fingerprints read and I had to lock in my phones. Dee had turned all the papers on his desk so I couldn't see what he was reading. The court room was locked and had several doors with bolts and locks and totally sound proof. He also showed other parts of the courthouse. In the cafeteria we met some important people and it was really cool to be there. Then we went over to the Capitol and he showed me the Senator part of it. We went to Senator Hatch's office. He wasn't there but I sat in his office and chilled.. haha.

Monuments I saw were Lincoln, Grant, Jefferson, Washington, Iwo Jima, Vietnam and thats all I can remember. I also met a lot of young single adults from church. I saw BYU games and spent time with people. I visited DC metro church and the Catholic church. I also went to a huge singles ward and met lots of great people.

I really enjoyed DC, I am contemplating going back to get a masters degree. I stayed with Megan from my mission. we had not met in 4 years and it felt like not time had passed! It was so great to spend time with her and her roommates were great too! I was a bit sad to leave, and I landed in SLC tuesday night and wednesday afternoon my parents and Bella came.

Now we have seen all the sights of SLC and been to conference and done stuff. They came to the courthouse and Dee showed them around and they said that that was the best part of the day. It is good to have them here. its intense because we do things all the time and going to work is kind of my relax time. Tonight I am going to another Jazz game and that will be fun. I will let you know how it is and now you know what I have been up to lately.

I am sitting at the kitchen Island and everyone else sits here too and I will tell you... it has taken a looooooong time to write all this because there have been many distractions. But it is fun. Life is pretty good.

unexpected...

So the other day I went to a law firm close to the courthouse just to hand one of the attorneys something Dee wanted him to have. As I walked back, minding my own business I came to a crosswalk. As I stood there waiting for the green to appear and the bird to whistle I saw two guys standing on the other side. They had already seen me and were looking at me. One of them waived and I confusingly waived back. As the light changed and we walked passed each other one of them exclaimed: YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!

I just laughed and said thank you and walked on. It kind of made my day though.

Jazz-game

Yesterday was a nice day. I cleaned my room, did my laundry and tried to get ahead of things I have not had time to d this week. The evening was different though. Rick took me to a Jazz-game. Apparently the Jazz are not doing so well at the moment. Their coach and assistant coach resigned a couple of weeks ago and then shortly after they traded their best player. I think they have lost like 7 games in a row.

This game was against Sacramento, Kings. They are, what I hear, not a very good team so it really should have been a piece of cake but it wasn't. The first two quarters were very slow and very flat. But the second two were a little bit better. The last one was the best because it was so close and it even went to overtime and the Jazz won.

It was fun to see a basketball game, I don't know all the rules and Rick had to explain a few things but what I thought was the most interesting was the culture around the game.

First of all they have a bear running around telling everyone to yell, stomp their feet, or clap their hands. He also threw out treats and you should have seen the people when there was something thrown out, some people got crazy!

Second, they have cheerleaders. I don't know, I've never really appreciated cheerleading. I think it is kind of demeaning for the girls to dans down their and toss their hair back and forth. They were good at what they did though no question about it.

Third. They filmed the public during the time-outs and people started dancing like crazy, I kind of hope they were drunk because I don't ever think anyone would dance like that sober... I think....

But...It was a pleasant experience. I mean, I study International Relations and a key to build those relations is to know the different cultures and traditions each state has...sort of... So I learned a few tricks at the game in how to make the American people do what I want. All I need is a bear or similar, a few girls tossing their hair and a film-camera.

Dear readers, I am sorry I have not updated this week. It has been an intense week.

As I have told you we had the DeChristopher case this week, the environmentalist who disrupted an auction. Well Monday was interesting. I got to the courthouse rather early so when I got there there were no demonstrations or anything. A couple of hours later there was a bunch of people in front of the courthouse singing, dancing, hoolahooping and generally just being there. The Jury selection process started in the afternoon and the courtroom was packed. Judge Benson said it was the first time onlookers came for the jury- selection because it is a very long and boring process... and eventually the environmentalist realized that and one by one they left.

One funny part of this is that Daryl Hannah (you know the actor) came all the way from wherever she lives just to be there for the jury-selection and then she wasn't there the rest of the week. I wonder what that flight cost the environment? I am not going to go in to detail about the case of who said what and who did what but it was interesting to see the turn-out and read the articles about it because I was in the middle of it all. Monday was probably the worst, when some people came down to the first floor of the courthouse they were met by a huge team of swat police with the helmets on and guns up. The rest of the week was more quiet.

I met both the prosecution and the defense attorneys and as it happens one of the defense attorneys (Ron Yengish) gave me a book, which I thought was very nice of him.

thursday was the last day of the trial, first was the jury instructions read and then the prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments. The Jyry sat and deliberated for about 5 hours and then the verdict came. He was charged with two counts and was found guilty on both. According to the statutes he could get not more than 5 years on each count which means 10 years prison. However, it is not very likely that he will get that much since he has no criminal record.

On friday I sat and talked with Michelle who is the PR attorney of the courthouse. We were discussing mediation and it really had me intrigued and interested in looking in to maybe doing something with that. While we sat there and had a nice time her phone rang and it was this man who had a suggestion on what Judge Benson should sentence DeChristopher to. Apparently people do not understand that sentencing is not like an auction where you can bid up the time for the defendant. It is funny to see that I, a non-american, student and not even in law, understand more of the legal system in America than some Americans...

The friday afternoon was spent by "the crew" went to the movies and saw Adjustment Bureau and had Belgian waffles in the sunshine. I think after a long and intense week of a high profile case such as this week one is deserving of some relax time.

ps if anyone wants to read about the case from the journalists view, just google Tim DeChristopher :)

Oh, I almost forgot! I bought tickets to Washington DC this week. I am leaving on March 17 and come back on March 29. You can not imagine how excited I am!!

what a week!

where do I even begin it has been such an intense week. Wednesday was one of the harder days because I felt that I knew nothing and that I couldn't contribute anything because of my lack f knowledge in law so I will just skip wednesday and go right to thursday.

I decided to get there early because it would probably be the last day of the trial and I wanted to make sure I understood all the procedures. So I sat in on the trial all morning and part of the afternoon. The attorneys gave their closing arguments and Judge Benson gave the Jury the necessary instructions. When the jury was excused there was just time of waiting. During that time the attorneys of this coming weeks trial came to the office and I got to sit in on the discussions with them. It is a big case of this guy posing as a legitimate buyer at a government auction for land to drill for oil or natural gas. This 27 year old guy raised all the bids but when it came down to pay he wouldn't. He said he did it all to stop global warming and for the environment. So this case is next week and there were discussion on the protestors and demonstrators and how everything will go on practically.

when that was done we played darts waiting for the verdict. The verdict came around 17:50 and we had a bet going on where we bet a dollar on what time the jury would reach a verdict, what the verdict would be and who would be the front person. I was right on the verdict but nothing else. The verdict was guilty on both counts. So when that was done Judge Benson went in to the jury room and thanked them and answered their questions. All the law clerks came along so I just followed them. When that was all over we had pizza and sat and talked for an hour or so. It was such a good day. Friday I came in later because I know there was not a lot going on. So when I came there I helped out with next weeks jury preparation. I sat with this man who was not too good at reading and helped him answer a jury-questionnaire and then I copied all of the answers for the defense attorney and the prosecution.

I had lunch with Erica and Bryce at the California Pizza Kitchen and then went back Ron (Dee's Secretary) took me up to Michelle who is responsible for the public relations of the courthouse and we talked for a while and I will be helping her next week with he media control and make sure everything will roll smoothly in the courtroom and for all the new agencies. the last hour I was back in Dee's office and we played darts again. When it was 17:00 Erica came to pick me up but before I left Judge Benson said to me in Swedish that they were really happy to have me there and not just in his office but the people in the courthouse had commented to him of how helpful and nice I was so that felt really good. Maybe I can bring something to the courthouse despite my lack of legal training.

FIrst day...

Yesterday was my first day on the internship. I will be honest and tell you I was quite nervous the night before and morning of but I had no reason to be so. I felt a bit lost when I first came but there was a trial to start at 8.30 so I got to sit in while the prosecutor and the defense attorney's discussed certain aspects with Judge Benson. When the trial began it started with the process of selecting a jury. It was a long and thorough process but I thought it was very interesting and got to sit in on all the interviews.

The case we are doing is a drug trafficking case where the defendant is accused of both drug trafficking and conspiracy to drug trafficking. As the jury was selected it was important to make sure that they could be totally fair and not involve personal opinions in the evaluation and therefore there was the need for personal interviews in certain cases. Judge Benson also emphasized the importance to consider the defendant innocent until proven otherwise, He said that at this moment he should be considered just as innocent as you and me.

That trial went on until a little after 2pm and I had lunch then read a little in the law books. After that was a hearing on a tax fraud. That hearing was perhaps not as interesting as the Drug trial but still it was interesting to observe the judge and the attorneys.

I realize that it is a new language to learn and I think it will take me some time but Judge Benson told me that it is just like a missionary learning religions words I will learn legal words so that I can speak like a native:)

the office is so laid back and nice. They have a foosball table, ping-pong rackets (we play on the dining table) a miniature putting green, darts...you see what Im saying. At the end of the day we sat in the Cougar-den and started throwing a ball. Apparently they have this game where they throw the ball really hard at each other and the one who drops it three times is out. I can tell you I was not the first one to be out:)

I think this will be some very good months!

Beautiful Sunday!

On sundays I go to church and this sunday was the first one in a new ward. Erica had arranged for her Brooke to pick me up and that was really nice so that I did not have to come to church the first time alone. The ward is a singles ward and had the sacrament meeting first. It is wonderful to have the church and it is the same all over the world and I felt very much a home.

My favorite part of church yesterday was relief society. It was such a good spirit and I felt that even though I might be older than many of the girls there I still would fit in.

During the meetings they announced that there was going to be two firesides that evening but didnt really say what they were and on relief society they announced that one of them was with Sister Heidi Swinton! that is my mission mom! I dont know why I thought it but I though: Oh I wont go, she wont have time to talk to me anyways and Ive heard here speak so many times...(I am ashamed to say that I thought it) However when I came home and have dinner with the most awesome Austin's in the world they thought that I should go so I called Brooke again and asked if I could go with her. She and her sister Amber came to pick me up 10 minutes later.

I am so happy I went, the things sister Swinton said and the feelings and impressions I had were wonderful! When it was over I went up to the stand, Sister Swinton was speaking to someone but President Swinton (her husband, my mission president) was not talking to anyone so I tugged a little on his sleeve and he turned around and it took a few seconds before he realized it was me and then I got a big hug! we spoke about my internship and about upcoming mission events, then I introduced Brooke and Amber as my friends and he spoke very nice things about me, then sister Swinton was available and I got the biggest hug from her, we spoke about her talk, about my internship and just anything and she gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me to call her so we could have lunch. President and Sister Swinton are two of the most amazing people I know. I love them with all my heart and I am so grateful that I got to serve in their mission.

It doesn't end there, after I had talked to them I went over to talk to Sheri Dew, I was companions with her niece Megan and I needed her phone-number. So the fact that I went to the fireside made it possible to meet some people who have inspired me so much and made it possible to reconnect with friends that can make this american stay even better than it already is.

Now I have to run off..I am going to the movies with Kathy. Tomorrow the internship starts for real...I will let you know how it goes!

My Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday I want to tell you how it was.

I still have this jet lag so I woke up really early but that was fine because I got to take a really long shower and get ready. We were going to the Ogden Temple in the morning so we went there and tried to find parking and when I got in I met girl who served a mission in Sweden, (Shurtleff) quite random that you go to a place where you think you don't know anyone but turns out you do. It was nice to be in the temple, a perfect birthday activity. Afterwards Kathy and her friend took me to lunch up in the mountains and I got complimentary chocolate cake because it was my birthday, I made sure they wouldn't sing to me.

afterwards we walked around in this huge gift shop which was very nice, I think my mom would like it, we will go there when she comes to visit. On the way home we decided for me to take a nap so I would fight of the jet lag, when I woke up we went to SLC and Kathy took me shopping at Forever 21, she got me really cute clothes that I can wear at the court and we also went to Journeys and I got two new pair of Converse... White and red:) its ridiculously cheap here!!

we met up with rick and went to eat mexican, very nice!! I am very proud to announce that I was awake until 11.30pm and slept all the way until 7.30 am this morning... I am getting there. On todays agenda is having pancakes for breakfast, take a walk, visit my aunt and uncle and go to provo for a Carl Bloch exhibit! I think it will be a good day!

I crossed the pond

So, I am now in the United States of America. I got here yesterday after a long plane ride. I flew from Landvetter Gothenburg at 7 am and landed 16 hours later in Salt Lake City Utah with a quick stop in Utah. As I was going through customs and passport control here in SLC I had to stand in line for almost 2 hours and when it was finally my turn they said something was wrong with my fingerprints so I had to come and sit in a room and wait for my entrance in the US to be ok:ed. By this time I was so tired I could cry but I didnt but held my head high and ut seemed like there really wasnt a problem at all..I guess someone else just needed to look at my papers...it was very weird I must say.

But now I am here, I went to bed early and woke up at 2 am and was wide awake, Ive never had a jet lag coming this way before but now I know what it feels like. Eventually I fell asleep again and woke up with a beautiful view of the snow-covered mountains and the sun shining through my windows- A great feeling.

On my first day in the US I went to the courthouse and met with the judge and his law clerks. I think this internship will be very rewarding and I am certain I will learn alot. The people I will work with seem really nice!!

After that meeting I went to lunch with my adopted family, the Austen's, at Cheescake factory. I was so full afterwards I vowed never to eat that much again because if I do my clothes wont fit me for very long.

After lunch we went to get some things that I stood in need of such as a new wallet that fits american dollars and a Calvin Klein bag... I also got a phone that I will try to activate when Im done here.. So that has been my first day, it is 6.30 pm here and I am about ready to go to bed.. but I will not..

I just want to say that life never really turns out the way we plan it but if we live in a way that allows us to be in tune with Gods will things will, most certain, turn out for the best. I think this will be a good spring.

Back on track

Dear faithful readers of my blog (all three),
Now it is about time to get serious with this thing. Its been a while, there has not been a lot to write about since I last updated here. the whole fall and winter so far was spent writing my bachelor thesis. I will not speak of it here because honestly, I am pretty sick of it. So, what now? Well, the plan is to do my internship at the District courthouse in SLC. I am waiting for an interview at the American embassy and when that is done I will be on my way, return to beautiful Sweden in June.

To be honest, I am freaking out a little. In a couple of months I have an education and should be all wise and adult but I don't really see myself in that role yet. Perhaps in a couple of months...I don't know...

So now you must wonder what do I do during the days when I don't have any school work?? well, I will enlighten you. I go out for a walk. I watch a lot of movies, I knitted a scarf, all on my own, I'm shopping, to be honest- the days seem to blend together, its pretty sad really and rather boring actually but at the same time it is very nice not to have school work to worry about.

I have big plans for this year. I will be in the states during the spring and beginning of the summer, then I will go to Russia in the fall and hopefully get to go to Israel not to far ahead in the future. In my absolute near future I will figure out what I can write in this blog to entertain you.
k.bye