2013 in Instagram photos - norsk & english!

2013 var definitivt et år jeg vil huske. Så mye skjedde dette året, og det aller meste av det var positivt. Det liker vi! Så for å minnes 2013 - året jeg fylte 27! - vil jeg lage en aldri så liten bloggpost. Med bilder, måned for måned. La oss sette igang!

2013 was definitely a year worth remembering. So much happened this year, and most of it was positive. We like positive! So to remember 2013 - the year I turned 27! - I want to write this blog post with pictures, month by month. Let's get started!

Januar // January

1. januar postet jeg disse bildene på Instagram. January 1st, I posted these pics on Instagram.

  

Jeg feiret altså nyttår med pus og broderi.

I obviously celebrated the new year with my cat and cross-stitching.

5. januar fikk jeg disse i posten. Jeg har fortsatt bare lest den første. Jeg bestilte dem på engelsk for å lese dem på originalspråket, siden jeg ikke takler den norske oversettelsen av navnene. Bonus at de kom i en søt boks! 

January 5th, I got these in the mail. I've still only read the first one. I ordered them in English to read them in their original language, because I can't handle the Norwegian translation (especially the names, ugh). The cute box was a bonus! 

Den 9. januar var jeg tydeligvis tilbake på skolen igjen. Hallo, Herr Hansen!
Jeg kommer aldri til å bli vant til det der, for å si det sånn.

January 9th, and I was obviously back at school. Hello, Mr. Smith!
I'll never get used to that, that's for sure.

12. januar lagde vi pizza her i huset. Ja, den er enorm. Nei, det er ikke bare ost.
Det er også blomkål, kålrot, et tonn kjøttdeig, noe løk og sopp, paprika.. Man blir mett av ett stykke.

On January 12th, we made pizza. Yes, it's enormous. No, it's not all cheese.
There's also cauliflower, kohlrabi, a ton of ground beef, some onion and mushrooms, bell peppers.. You're full after one slice.

30. januar kjøpte jeg meg en fasjonabel koffert, min aller første koffert som er bare min! Jeg hadde sikla på den en stund, og bestemte meg til slutt for å ta meg råd. Den er jo ganske lett å kjenne igjen, pluss at den har hjul under. ENDELIG.

January 30th, I bought a fancy suitcase. It's my first very own suitcase! I'd been drooling over it for a while, and finally decided to go for it. After all, it is pretty easily recognizable, and it's got wheels. FINALLY.







Februar // February

9. februar fant Evian, min yngste nevø, ut hvordan han skal ta over verden. Litt over ett år gammel, og allerede det søteste onde geniet som noensinne har eksistert.

February 9th, my youngest nephew, Evian, figured out how to achieve world domination. A little more than a year old, and already the cutest evil genius ever to exist.











Jeg har ikke noe bilde fra 10. februar, men DETTE SKJEDDE. Red Thread Games sin Kickstarter-kampanje for Dreamfall Chapters startet, og jeg var superglad for at jeg akkurat hadde fått penger fra Lånekassen. Jeg var også på en ferge, og prøvde febrilsk å finne ut av om jeg kunne kaste penger på RTG med mobilen min eller ikke. Det gikk.

I don't have a picture from February 10th, but THIS HAPPENED. The Kickstarter for Red Thread Games' Dreamfall Chapters went live, and I was super happy that I'd just gotten my student loan moneyz. I was also on a ferry, and frantically tried to figure out whether or not I could throw money at RTG from my phone. It worked. 

Den 11. februar var jeg i Frederikshavn sammen med Irene. Ja, det er faktisk et hus under der. Vi brukte dagen på å bruke endel penger, kikke i butikker og kose oss på restauranten Empire. Første gangen jeg prøvde en Dyson Airblade! xD

February 11th I was in Frederikshavn, Denmark, with Irene. Yes, there's actually a house under there. We spent the day looking in stores, spending some money and having a good time in the restaurant Empire. It was the first time I tried a Dyson Airblade! xD

Den 18. februar, på mammas bursdag, bestilte vi Barcelona-turen vår, for å feire min bursdag. Fire måneders intens venting begynte. 

February 18th, on Mom's birthday, we booked our trip to Barcelona to celebrate my birthday. Four months of intense waiting began.










Mars // March

Den 3. mars flyttet jeg til Kristiansand sammen med Stine og Martine fra klassen. Vel, for to måneder. Vi skulle ut i praksis på Kristiansand Sykehus, og det var dritskummelt. Vi pakket bilen til mamma full av ting, og mamma og brodern kjørte oss ned. 

March 3rd, I moved to Kristiansand with Stine and Martine from my class. Well, for two months, anyway. We were going to have our clinical practice period in Kristiansand Hospital, and it was friggin' scary. We packed Mom's car full of our stuff, and Mom and my brother drove us down there.

10. mars lagde jeg cookies fordi jeg skulle på Red Thread Games sin countdown-brunsj. En måned hadde gått siden Kickstarter-kampanjen startet, et utvalgt antall fans (som var kjappe nok på Twitter) fikk besøke kontorene, og dagen var fantastisk. Jeg var mer nervøs for det enn jeg var for å være ute i praksis, faktisk. xD

March 10th, I made cookies because I was going to the Red Thread Games countdown brunch. A month had passed since the Kickstarter went live, and a few selected fans (that were quick enough to answer a Tweet) got to come visit their offices - the day was fantastic. I was actually more nervous about this than I was about my clinical practice period xD

11. mars var jeg tilbake på "jobb" i Kristiansand, og her er noen av tingene man må ha som student ute i praksis: Dosimeter (som måler stråledosen man utsettes for på jobb), navnskilt og adgangskort.


March 11th I was back at "work" in Kristiansand, and here are some of the things a student need when in clinical practice: Dosimeter (which measures the radiation levels you're exposed to at work), name tag and access card.

23. mars var jeg hjemme i Åmot, og vi disket opp med spekemat-middag ute: Kokte poteter, eggerøre, spekeskinke og salat. Deilig vårdag i sola!


March 23rd I was back in Åmot, and we had dinner outside in the sun. Boiled potatoes, scrambled eggs, cured ham and salad. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day!










April

April 14th, I was drunk and asked this: "If you have a hoodie on your head, can it be considered a.. HEADIE?"

20. april var Stine, Martine og jeg på vei hjem fra butikken (det var et godt stykke å gå, for å si det sånn), og jeg hadde tunge poser, så vi måtte stoppe. Det medførte at jeg endelig husket å ta bilde av dette.

April 20th, Stine, Martine and I were on our way back from grocery shopping (it was quite a walk back), and I had heavy bags, so we had to stop every now and then. That meant I finally remembered to take a picture of this.







30. april flyttet vi hjem fra Kristiansand igjen. Vi tok toget. Det var rett og slett ganske fantastisk å endelig være hjemme igjen!

April 30th, we moved back from Kristiansand. We took the train, and it was pretty fantastic to finally be back home again!

Mai // May

3. mai hadde jeg Irene på besøk, og vi lagde oss taco. Tacofredag! Det var en bra helg :D

May 3rd, I had Irene over for a weekend visit, and we started by making tacos. For some reason, Friday is a taco day in Norway - a lot of families have taco every Friday (including my brother and his family). I usually don't, but sometimes you have to have tacos. And sometimes it's on a Friday. xD Irene and I had a great weekend :D

 

8. mai var jeg på La Vida Tapas i Drammen med Fanny og Kristine og spiste nydelig tapas, pluss sjokoladefondant med vaniljeis til dessert. SÅ GODT.


May 8th I was at La Vida Tapas in Drammen with Fanny and Kristine and ate beautiful tapas - and chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream for dessert. SO GOOD.

  

14. og 15. mai hadde jeg henholdsvis nye sko og ny hårfarge. Hurra for begge! :D


May 14th and 15th, I had, respectively, new shoes and new hair color. Yay for both! :D

19. mai var sommeren offisielt kommet til Åmot, og jeg koste meg ute med shorts, sol, grønn plen, en sløv pus og en god bok.


May 19th, summer had officially hit Åmot. I enjoyed being outside wearing shorts, seeing the sun, green grass, my languid cat and reading a good book.

24. mai var mamma, Aurora (niesen min) og jeg på det lokale gartneriet og handlet blomster til hagen. Jeg var glad jeg hadde tatt med mobilen, fordi det var så mange fine blomster og så mange fine farger å ta bilde av!

May 24th, Mom, Aurora (my niece) and I were at the local nursery and bought flowery plants for Mom's garden. I was so happy I had brought my phone, because there were so many beautiful flowers and colors to take pictures of!

25. mai var jeg i Oslo og så min aller første roller derby-bout! Oslo vant storslagent, og vi heia masse. Det var kjempegøy, og jeg skulle gjerne bodd nærmere Oslo så det ikke var så dyrt å være med.


May 25th, I was in Oslo to watch a roller derby bout for the first time! Oslo won by a mile, and we cheered a lot. It was so much fun, and I wish I lived closer to Oslo so I could watch more (it's kinda expensive to travel to Oslo).







Juni // June

1. juni ryddet jeg i noen esker, og fant disse gamle diskettene. Snakk om nostalgi!

June 1st, I was clearing out some boxes when I found these old diskettes. Talk about nostalgia!









  

4. juni var Kristine, Martine M., Fanny (på bordet) og jeg på røntgenrommet på skolen for å øve til den praktiske testen vår, som fungerte som eksamen i praksisfaget. Spoiler: Alle stod.
Senere på dagen dro jeg til Oslo med Cathrine, der vi møtte Linda og dro til Botanisk Hage for å spise lunsj. Det var kjempekoselig, selv om vi ble jaget bort av noen vektere fordi vi satt på feil plen og det var litt kjølig i lufta.

June 4th, Kristine, Martine M., Fanny (on the table) and I were at the x-ray room at school to practice for our practical test, which would function as the final for our clinical practice period. Spoiler: We all passed.Later that day I went to Oslo with Cathrine, where we met Linda and went to the Botanical Gardens to eat lunch. I had a really good time, even though we were chased away by some guards because we sat on the wrong lawn and the air was a bit cold.


7. juni hadde vi et community meetup med Red Thread Games, men jeg Instagrammet ingen bilder fra den dagen. Uansett hadde jeg en kjempefin dag, med bra mennesker, god mat, øl og mye latter. Nachspielet inkluderte gitar og sang, pluss en nabo som skreik sangønsker gjennom den åpne verandadøra. :D

June 7th, we had a community meetup with Red Thread Games, but I didn't Instagram any pictures from that day. Anyway, I had an awesome day with great people, good food, beer and much laughter. The after party included guitar and singing, plus a neighbor who yelled song requests through the open balcony door. :D

14. juni var jeg på Blaafarveværket med Irene, Fanny og Kristine. Vi ruslet rundt, kikket, og koste oss med mat og vaffel. Mmm, Blaafarveværkets vaffel og hjemmerørte jordbær..

June 14th, I was at Blaafarveværket with Irene, Fanny and Kristine. We wandered around, looked at all the things, ate good food and this awesome waffle. Mmm, that waffle and that homemade strawberry jam..









16. juni dro mamma og jeg endelig til Barcelona! :D Jeg kommer ikke til å poste noe særlig Barcelonabilder her nå, jeg kan heller lage en egen post med alt av Instagrambilder fra den turen seinere. Denne bloggposten blir lang nok fra før!


June 16th, Mom and I finally went to Barcelona! :D I won't post many pics from that trip now, I'll rather make a whole other post with Barcelona pics later. This blog post will be plenty long enough already!

23. juni fylte jeg 27 år! Hurra for det magiske tallet! Vi feiret med bursdagsmiddag på Hard Rock Café i Barcelona.


June 23rd, I turned 27 years old! Yay for the magical number! We celebrated with a birthday dinner at Hard Rock Café in Barcelona.

Natt til 25. juni var vi hjemme fra Barcelona. Obligatorisk vingebilde på hjemveien, fordi de fargene.. Å se solnedgangen fra flyet kan virkelig anbefales!


Early in the morning on the 25th of June, we got back home from Barcelona. Obligatory wing picture on our way home, because those colors.. I can really recommend watching the sun set from a plane!








Juli // July

1. juli fant jeg ut at putekasser kan romme ganske mye forskjellig. For eksempel barn. To barn pluss stolputer, det er ikke verst valuta for pengene, det!
*Barn ikke inkludert i kjøpet


On July 1st, I found out that these boxes for storing cushions actually holds a lot. Kids, for example. Two children plus cushions for outdoor furniture, that's value for your money!
*Children not included with purchase





  
10. juli var jeg på Tusenfryd med Aimèe. Vi hadde det kjempegøy! :D Det var knallvær hele dagen, vi tok mange karuseller, og på vei hjem stoppet vi innom Drammen for å kjøpe sushi. Den endte vi opp med å spise på Elvebredden. Det var en fin dag.

July 10th I was at Tusenfryd (an amusement park) with Aimèe. We had a great time! :D The weather was awesome all day, we went on many rides, and on our way home we stopped by Drammen to buy sushi. We ended up eating our maki rolls by the river. It was a great day.

12. juli var jeg hos Irene, og vi dro til Drammen for å pierce oss. Det var også en særdeles bra dag, og vi følte oss som om vi var 18 igjen, bare med kulere hår.


July 12th, I was at Irene's place, and we went to Drammen to get piercings. It was a pretty awesome day, and we felt like we were 18 again - just with better hair.



  
21. juli var jeg hos Irene igjen, og vi koste oss ute i sola mesteparten av dagen. Is og isvann måtte til, fordi det var sykt varmt! Merkelig at vi ikke ble solbrente. Middagen grillet vi selv, og vi storkoste oss med resultatet. Alt i alt en fantastisk dag! :D

July 21st I was at Irene's place again, and we were out in the sun the better part of that day. Both a popsicle and ice water was needed, because it was insanely hot! It's strange we didn't get burnt by the sun. We barbequed our own dinner, and really enjoyed the results. All in all it was a fantastic day! :D

August

14. august var jeg på tur opp Kjøsterudjuvet i Drammen sammen med Kristine. Det var litt av en klatretur opp, og jeg ble klissvåt av bekken. Vel oppe på toppen spiste vi lunsj og plukket masse blåbær før vi ruslet den enkle veien nedover igjen.

August 14th I went on a hike up the Kjøsterud gorge in Drammen with Kristine. It was a real climb up, and I was soaked through because of the creek. At the top we ate lunch and picked loads of blueberries before wandering back down the easy way.

19. august lagde jeg frossen blåbæryoghurt med bærene jeg plukket på turen. Det ble en suksess! Jeg elsker iskremmaskinen min.


August 19th I made blueberry frozen yoghurt with the berries I picked on the hike. It was a great success! I love my ice cream maker.











September

5. september kom jeg på skolen med sjøgrønt hår, siden rosafargen ble vasket ut ganske fort og hadde falmet endel over sommeren. Pluss at det var på tide med en forandring!


September 5th I came to school with sea green hair, because the pink color from that spring washed out pretty quickly and had faded a lot during summer. Plus, it was about time to make a change!








6. september hadde vi nok en meetup i Oslo, med mat og øl på Bar Babylon. Mye bra folk samlet seg atter en gang, og utifra det jeg kan huske hadde vi en knallbra kveld! :D

September 6th we had another meetup in Oslo, with food and beer at Bar Babylon. A lot of great people gathered yet again, and from what I can remember we had a really great evening! :D

20. september fikset jeg min gode, gamle NES. Den trengte en ny pin connector, fordi fram til da hadde den bare villet spille Mario. Man går litt lei av Mario etter en viss stund.

September 20th, I fixed my good, old NES. It needed a new pin connector, because until then it had only wanted to play Mario. You grow a bit tired of Mario after a while.









Oktober // October

3. oktober hadde høsten tatt med seg fargene sine og kommet til Drammen. Det måtte selvfølgelig avbildes.


By October 3rd, fall had brought its colors along and arrived in Drammen. I had to take a picture, of course.

12. oktober var mamma og jeg ute og gikk tur, og høstværet var nydelig. Litt kjølig, men med sol og litt tåke.


October 12th, Mom and I were out on a walk, and the fall weather was beautiful. A bit chilly, but sunny and a little bit of fog.

Og 21. oktober kom den første snøen. Den var ikke så veldig heftig, noe som førte til dette artige bildet med en anelse kontraster i.


And on October 21st, the first snow fell. It wasn't very much, which led to this funny picture with a little bit of contrasts.








November

2. november fikk Irene denne tegningen til bursdagen (30. oktober, men hun feiret litt senere). Hun ønsket seg en zombie-enhjørning, så da fikk hun det.

November 2nd, Irene got this drawing for her birthday (October 30th, but she celebrated it a few days later). She wanted a zombie unicorn, so that's what she got.

7. november tok jeg dette bildet av skolen min på vei til en studentquiz. Laget mitt vant.


November 7th, I snapped this shot of my college on my way to a student quiz. My team won.

23. november var det endelig tid for høsthalvårets mest forventede happening: Journeycon! Jeg kom til Oslo dagen før for å være med på en meetup den kvelden, og så var det en dag fylt av Red Thread Games, fans og galskap den lørdagen. En fantastisk dag, med andre ord!

November 23rd, and it was finally time for the most anticipated happening of the second half of the year: Journeycon! I arrived in Oslo the day before to attend a meetup that evening, and then we had a day filled with Red Thread Games, fans and madness that Saturday. In other words, a fabulous day!

30. november lagde jeg marshmallows for første gang. Det var en klissete affære, men så verdt arbeidet! De smakte herlig.


On November 30th, I made marshmallows for the very first time. It was sticky business, but so worth the hard work! They tasted delicious.









Desember // December

3. desember var det på tide å innkassere bursdagsgaven min fra Irene: En konsertbillett! Vi dro til Oslo der vi møtte Nadia, parkerte tingene våre hjemme hos henne, spiste på Café Sara og dro for å se Placebo på Sentrum Scene. En herlig konsert, som både holdt oss i nåtiden og kastet oss 7-8 år tilbake i tid. Morgenen etter rakk vi en god frokost før vi måtte dra hjem igjen.

December 3rd, and it was time to cash in my birthday present from Irene: A concert ticket! We went to Oslo where we met Nadia, put our stuff at her place, ate at Café Sara and went to see Placebo at Sentrum Scene. A wonderful show that both kept us in the present while throwing us 7-8 years back in time. The following morning we had time for a great breakfast before we had to go back home.

8. desember kom snøen for fullt.

Noen dager senere begynte den å smelte, og innen julaften var det plussgrader og tomt for snø. For første gang i mitt liv (så lang jeg kan huske) har jeg feiret jul og nyttår uten snø!

December 8th, winter came and brought snow with it.A few days later it started melting, and by Christmas Eve the temperature was well above freezing and there was no more snow. For the first time in my life (as far as I can remember) I've celebrated Christmas and New Year's without any snow!

19. desember sto jeg og lagde julegodteri til Irene og Marne, siden vi har en årlig gaveutveksling i Oslo rett før jul. Jeg kjøpte meg nye briller i desember! For første gang føler jeg at jeg kler briller.

December 19th, I was making candy for Irene and Marne, as we have an annual present swap in Oslo right before Christmas. I bought new glasses in december! For the first time ever, I feel like glasses look good on me.

Og her er det ferdige resultatet: Nutella-marengs, søtt-salt farget popcorn, brente mandler og honeycomb.


And here's the finished result: Nutella swirl meringue, sweet 'n' salty colored popcorn, praline almonds and honeycomb.

21. desember: Oslo med Irene og Marne. Her sitter Irene og jeg og venter på Marne mens vi sluker en gingerbread latte og en karamell-frappuccino. Jeg fikk smilefjes på begeret mitt fordi jeg er så sykt kul.


December 21st: Oslo with Irene and Marne. Here Irene and I are waiting for Marne while inhaling a gingerbread latte and a caramel frappuccino. I got a smiley face on my cup because I'm so friggin' cool.








Så, ja. Det var mitt år i Instagrambilder. Jeg har sikkert glemt massevis av hendelser, siden jeg er glemsk som bare det og ikke Instagrammer alt som skjer. Men alt i alt har det vært et ganske bra år! Jeg fylte 27, jeg fikk vise mamma Barcelona, jeg ble kjent med masse nye folk fra hele verden takket være Kickstarter-kampanjen, jeg fikk nye venner takket være meetups og en IRC-kanal, jeg gjorde en innsats, og ikke minst fikk jeg være med på Journeycon! Rett og slett sier jeg meg ganske fornøyd med 2013, men jeg gleder meg minst like mye til 2014!I 2014 skal jeg på ikke bare ett, men TO cruise til Frederikshavn. Jeg skal til Barcelona med Irene, der vi skal feire 10 år som bestevenner og bursdagen min i femten dager i strekk. Høsten bringer med seg litt av hvert, men spesielt Journeycon II og DREAMFALL CHAPTERS! Det blir et sykt bra år, det veit jeg allerede, og jeg håper det bringer med seg mange gode overraskelser og nye bekjente!
Så godt nyttår til alle jeg kjenner; takk for deg, 2013, og velkommen skal du være, 2014.


So that was my year in Instagram photos. I've probably forgotten to mention a shitload of happenings, seeing as I'm very forgetful and don't Instagram everything that happens. But all in all it's been a good year! I turned 27, I got to show my Mom Barcelona, I got to know loads of new people from around the world thanks to the Kickstarter, I got new friends thanks to meetups and an IRC channel, I made an effort, and last but not least - I got to attend Journeycon! I am really pleased with 2013, but I'm looking even more forward to 2014!In 2014 I'm going on not just one, but TWO cruises to Frederikshavn. I'm going to Barcelona with Irene, where we're gonna celebrate 10 years as best friends (and my 28th birthday) for fifteen whole days. The fall brings along quite a few things, but most notably Journeycon II and DREAMFALL CHAPTERS! It'll be an insanely good year, I know that already, and I hope it brings along many god surprises and new acquaintances!
So a Happy New Year to everyone I know; thank you, 2013, and welcome, 2014.

Christmas time..

..is coming ever closer, and if there's one thing Christmas calls for, it's presents.

I don't have the money to buy lots of great gifts for everyone - as an unemployed student it's all about making the best out of what you've got.
Before I started studying last year I had a job, and at least had enough money to give my closest friends good gifts and make a good selection of hard candies, homemade extracts and some baked goods to my extended family. This year, I'm fearing that everyone's getting the same stuff - and the selection won't be as good. Instead, I'll have to bulk up the portions of each recipe (because there's nothing worse than getting a little candy!), so now it's time to find those recipes that are cheap to make and yields a lot.

Last week, I tested out a recipe for marshmallows, and found out that one batch makes many marshmallows, and they're not expensive to make (the one expensive ingredient is corn syrup, and one bottle is enough for 3.5 batches). Bonus: They can be flavored with Lorann Oils! Colorful foamy pillows with different flavors? Marshmallows will definitely be a part of this year's Christmas presents.

Another cheap recipe that yields a lot is a very popular one in Norway: Almond praline (though we make it with whole almonds, not sliced). I love them, and so do several people in my family. This year, I want to try something new, and I'm considering throwing some cinnamon in there.. mostly because I love cinnamon. I'll probably make a test batch, in case I'm the only one who loves cinnamon on everything.

So now I only have to find one last recipe to make, because three things are a lot better than two.
The criteria are, as I've already mentioned, that it has to be cheap to make, yield a lot and be popular enough that it can't go wrong.

Now, be nice little minions and find me some recipes!

Juletider..

..er gavetider.

For min del har jeg ikke økonomien til å kjøpe masse flotte gaver til alle og enhver - som student uten jobb handler det om å gjøre det beste ut av det man har.
Før jeg begynte å studere hadde jeg råd til å i det minste gi flotte gaver til de aller nærmeste venninnene mine og så lage endel konfekt, ekstrakter og lignende til familien. I år blir det mindre utvalg, så for å kunne gi større porsjoner likevel (det finnes jo ikke noe tristere enn å få litt julegodt!) gjelder det å finne oppskrifter som koster forholdsvis lite, og som gir mye.

Jeg testet som kjent ut en marshmallows-oppskrift i forrige uke, og kom frem til at man får mange marshmallows ut av én batch, og i tillegg er det ikke veldig dyrt å lage (den dyreste ingrediensen er corn syrup, og én flaske vil holde til 3 1/2 batches). Bonus: De kan smaksettes med Lorann Oils! Marshmallows er helt klart med i årets julegaver! Fargerike skumputer med forskjellige smaker? Jeppjeppjepp.

Noe annet som er billig, populært og gir mye godteri er brente mandler. Jeg elsker brente mandler, og det gjør mange i familien også. I år har jeg litt lyst til å prøve noe nytt, og vurderer å ha i en liten dæsj kanel i oppskriften.. mest fordi jeg elsker kanel. Det kan jo være lurt å lage en prøvebatch med kanel, sånn i tilfelle det bare er jeg som er så glad i kanel..

Da gjelder det bare å finne en siste ting, fordi tre er bedre enn to. Noen forslag?
Kriteriene er som nevnt at det er billig å lage, at man får mye ut av oppskriften og at det er populært nok til at det nesten ikke kan slå feil. Fyr løs!

Marshmallows!

Okay, så det hender jeg lager ting. I går lagde jeg marshmallows.

Det stemmer. Jeg lagde marshmallows. Det er faktisk mulig. Det er en ting du kan gjøre.

Vel, hvis du har en kjøkkenmaskin med en metallvisp kan du gjøre det. Det lærte jeg i går.
Jeg har ikke en kjøkkenmaskin med metallvisp. Jeg har vanlige håndholdte elektriske miksere.
Det fungerer ikke veldig bra. Et tips fra meg til deg; hvis du skal lage marshmallows, pass på at du har riktig utstyr. En mixmaster blir veldig, veldig lei seg hvis du bruker den til denne oppskriften. Veldig lei seg.

Denne posten blir ikke akkurat full av bilder (jeg har nøyaktig to av dem), fordi.. vel, prøv selv å ta bilder når hendene dine er fulle av klissete greier og kjøkkenet ditt er fullt av klissete greier og du føler du er med i en slapstick-film der alt du tar på sitter fast på deg. Jeg kommer aldri til å le av sånne scener igjen, fordi jeg veit hvordan det føles nå. Det suger.

Så, nå som dere er advart, la oss begynne!


Om-nom Vanilla Marshmallows
Lettere tilpasset fra Shauna Sever, som tilpasset den fra Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

Først og fremst, denne oppskriften er for en form på 20x20 cm. Hvis du vil ha mer marshmallows kan du doble oppskriften og bruke en form på 23x33 cm (eller det nærmeste du har) istedet. Da får du masse marshmallows. Ikke nok til å fylle opp et badekar, men nok til å fylle opp minst fem venner, alt etter hvor glade de er i marshmallows. Ikke spis alle selv. Jula er rett rundt hjørnet, del heller med venner og familie!

Du trenger:
6 plater gelatin
200 g sukker (1 cup)
125 ml light corn syrup*, delt (1/2 cup)
60 ml vann (1/4 cup)
1 stk vaniljestang
2 ts vaniljeekstrakt
En klype salt
Konditorfarge, om du vil
Melis

Sukkertermometer (jeg vet Panduro har)

*Light corn syrup er ikke akkurat vanlig i Norge, men du kan få det i utvalgte butikker. Gå til din nærmeste Meny/Centra/Ultra (eller andre kjeder som har Oluf Lorentzen som en engrospartner) og be dem ta inn Karo Light Corn Syrup, EPD-nr. er 1343201 (det gjør det lettere for dem). Det koster ca. 80,- for en flaske på 470 ml. Dyrt, men verdt det!

Smør forma med smør, margarin eller smaksnøytral olje (oppskrifta sier Delfiafett e.l., men jeg brukte meierismør, og det funka helt fint), og pass på at du dekker kanter og hjørner også. Ha i litt melis og vri rundt på forma til melisen har dekket alt fettet. Sett formen til side.

Ha gelatinplatene i en medium stor bolle, og fyll opp med masse iskaldt vann. Hvis du vil, kan du ha i noen isbiter også - jeg gjorde ikke det, fordi da måtte jeg ha gått ned for å hente noen, og jeg var altfor opptatt med å lage marshmallows. La gelatinen mykne i omtrent 10 minutter mens du gjør andre ting.

Finn en medium stor kjele og kast oppi sukkeret, vannet og 60 ml (eller 62,5 ml for å være helt eksakt - 1/4 cup) av sirupen. Rør forsiktig så sukkeret blir vått, og sett kjelen på plata på medium-høy varme. Sett oppi sukkertermometeret ditt (mitt kan ikke klipses fast på kjelekanten, så jeg må bare stå der og holde det), og hold et øye med det. Du vil at sukkerherligheten skal nå en temperatur på 112-115°C, men du har akkurat nok tid til å gjøre neste steg av oppskriften først.

Kjøkkenmaskinen din bør allerede være klar på benken, ellers har du feilet som baker og må løpe strafferunder.
Neida. Joda. Neida. Men du vil ikke ha tid til å gjøre noe, så pass på at utstyret alltid er klart til dyst!
Nå, innimellom alt her nå må du alltid ha et øye på sukkertermometeret. Du vil absolutt ikke at sukkeret skal brenne, for da må du starte på nytt igjen med det, for ikke å snakke om at det er å kaste hellig (og dyr) corn syrup rett ut vinduet (eller i vasken). Om du ser at sukkeret nærmer seg temperaturen mens du fortsatt er opptatt med andre ting, skru ned varmen et hakk og håp på det beste. Og kjapp deg.
Ha de resterende 60 ml (eller 62,5 ml, eller 1/4 cup) av corn syrup-en i bollen til kjøkkenmaskinen. Det skal ha gått omtrentlig 10 minutter nå, så hell av vannet fra gelatinplatene (som bør være myke). Vri ut litt mer vann av dem som om de er en vaskeklut, men forsiktig. Du er en vennlig kjempe. Kjærtegn dem til de slipper litt av vannet sitt. Legg dem så over i en bolle som tåler en tur i mikroen, og kjør dem på max i ca. 30 sekunder, til gelatinen har smeltet helt.
Skru på kjøkkenmaskinen på lav hastighet, og hell i gelatinen (i mitt tilfelle var det halvt helling og halvt skraping). La maskinen gå mens du sjekker herligheten i kjelen.

Så fort den har nådd ønsket temperatur, dra kjelen av plata. Skru opp kjøkkenmaskinen til medium hastighet.
Nå, i Shaunas oppskrift vil hun at du skal helle sukkerblandingen forsiktig over i et litersmål eller lignende som tåler varme og som det er lett å helle fra. Jeg vil at du skal droppe dette. Vær en rebell!
Hovedgrunnen til at jeg vil at du skal være en rebell i dag er fordi jeg gjorde som Shauna sa, og min sukkerherlighet tyknet og stivnet nesten før jeg rakk å få det over i bollen. Jeg prøvde å skrape det ut med en slikkepott, og det fungerte ikke kjempebra. Den andre grunnen er at sukkerblandingen er brennvarm. Om du får det på huden, går det fra å være sukkerherlighet til å bli sukkergrusomhet, og huden din blir veldig, veldig lei seg, og du får ikke marshmallows fordi du sitter på legevakta resten av kvelden.
Så vær en rebell, og hell den sirupen rett fra kjelen over i bollen sakte og forsiktig. Det kan hende blandingen tykner uansett; i så fall, bruk en slikkepott som tåler varme og skrap så godt du kan.
Hvis du tror at dette kan bli vanskelig på grunn av designet på mikseren din, om du ikke får kjelen godt nok bort til kanten av bollen, så ikke vær en rebell. Vi vil jo ikke kaste bort noe corn syrup, vil vi vel?

Uansett, la oss fortsette! Du heller sukkerherligheten over i bollen slik du vil mens maskinen går på medium hastighet. Når kjelen (eller hva slags beholder du har bestemt deg for å bruke) er tom, skru opp maskinen til medium-høy hastighet og la den piske sukkeret i form i ca. 6-7 minutter. I mellomtiden kan du finne frem vaniljestanga di. Du vil ha de fantastiske frøene oppi bollen, men først må du få dem ut av stanga. Jeg pleier å skjære av tuppene (de er ofte krøllete) og dele stanga på langs så jeg får to halvdeler. Så bruker jeg en liten kniv til å skrape ut frøene. Ikke kast stanga! Putt den i et glass med sukker, så får du ekte vaniljesukker, ikke det tullet de selger på butikken. Eller, hvis du er som meg og lager din egen vaniljeekstrakt, putt stanga oppi glasset med ekstrakt.

Når du er klar og 6-7 minutter har gått, skal marshmallowrøra (jeg liker det ordet, altså) være hvit og luftig (og ikke klatre opp vispen, slik den gjør om du bruker en håndholdt mikser med to visper, bare sier fra).
Ha i vaniljefrøene, vaniljeekstrakten, saltet og eventuell konditorfarge, hvis du vil ha en fancy farge (eller en ikke fullt så fancy farge, du velger), skru opp maskinen til høyeste hastighet og la den gå i 1 minutt.

Nå må du være kjapp. Vær så snill, vær kjapp her. Hell marshmallowrøren over i forma med en gang. Hvis ikke ender du opp med dette:

Klart, det ser digg ut, men tenk litt på det at den er like klissete som smeltet mozzarella og superlim kombinert, at den er like seig som Spiderman sitt vev, og at den klatret opp de vispene og inn i mikseren min, så skjønner du kanskje min frustrasjon i går, og hvorfor røren nesten gikk rett i vasken istedet.

Så. Ja. Hell den røra rett i forma og håp på at marshmallow-gudene er fornøyde i dag. Smør en slikkepott med smør/margarin/smaksnøytral olje, og bruk den til å høflig dytte marshmallowrøra ut i hjørnene og til å glatte ut toppen. Finn frem en liten sikt, ha i litt melis, og dryss et jevnt og generøst lag utover den gigantiske marshmallowen du nå har i en form. Tenk litt på det. Du har en giga-marshmallow.

Dessverre må du være tålmodig i dag, fordi den enorme marshmallow-en må slappe av i 6 timer før du kan få lov til å spise den. Det er grusomt, jeg vet. Se 6 episoder av Orange is the New Black, tre filmer á to timer, to filmer á tre timer, eller gjør noe fornuftig mens du venter. La forma stå tørt, og helst ikke over vanlig romtemperatur (jeg dekket den til med et kjøkkenhåndkle også, for å unngå at noe falt oppi, som kattehår eller ansiktet mitt).
Bruk så en kniv for å løsne marshmallow-en fra forma (en god, gammel norsk ostehøvel fungerte perfekt!), langs kantene. Hvis du har vært flink og smurt forma riktig, slipper den taket selv. Snu forma oppned på et bakepapir-ark eller annen overflate, og se på mens du løfter opp forma igjen. Det er vakkert.

Nå kan du enten gjøre det du har fantasert om i seks timer og bare ete hele marshmallow-en på egen hånd, eller du kan finne frem et pizzahjul (ja, et pizzahjul) og kjøre den ned i den sukkerplata du har liggende. Skjær den opp i biter - du bestemmer selv hvor store de skal være fordi det er du som har skapt dette vidunderet. Hvis du vil kan du finne frem mer melis og dyppe de klissete kantene i den. Klapp av den overflødige melisen, fordi la oss være ærlige: Du trenger ikke mer sukker nå. Det er nok herlig sukker allerede. Hørte du? Sett bort melisen. Takk. Du vet det er for ditt eget beste.

Oppbevar i en lufttett beholder i opptil 1 uke. Med andre ord, hvis du vil lage dette som julegave til andre godtemumser må du gjøre det seint - jeg blir antagelig stående to dager i forveien. Jeg tviler uansett på at noen klarer å ha igjen marshmallows etter en hel uke, fordi jeg lagde mine i går, og det er snart tomt allerede, fordi de er så gode.

Ja, jeg lagde mine rosa. Rosa puter!

Marshmallows! In English!

Okay, so I make stuff every now and then. Yesterday, I made marshmallows.

Yes. I made marshmallows. That is actually possible. It's a thing you can do.

Well, if you have a proper kitchen machine with a metal whisk attachment. I learned that yesterday.
I don't have a proper kitchen machine with a metal whisk attachment. I do have regular hand-held mixers.
That doesn't work very well. My advice from me to you; if you're gonna make marshmallows, make sure you have the right equipment. A hand-held mixer will become very, very sad if you use it for this recipe.

This post won't be very image heavy (I have exactly two pictures), because.. well, you try taking pictures when your hands are full of sticky mess and your kitchen is full of sticky mess and you feel like you're in a slapstick movie where everything you touch sticks to you. I'll never laugh at one of those scenes ever again, because I know how it is now. It sucks.

So, now that you're all warned, let's get started!


Om-nom Vanilla Marshmallows
Slightly adapted recipe from Shauna Sever, she adapted it from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

First of all, this recipe is for a 20x20 cm pan (8x8" for you silly people using the Imperial units). If you want MOAR, you can double it and use a 23x33 cm (or whatever you have that's close enough / 9x13") pan instead. You'll have a lot of marshmallows. You won't be able to fill up a bathtub, but you'll fill up at least five friends, depending on how much they like marshmallows. Don't eat them all yourself. Christmas is right around the corner, share with friends and family!

You'll need:
6 sheets gelatin
200 g sugar (1 cup)
125 ml light corn syrup*, divided (1/2 cup)
60 ml water (1/4 cup)
1 vanilla bean
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Food coloring, if you want
Powdered sugar

Candy thermometer (I know Panduro has them)

*Light corn syrup isn't really a cupboard staple in Norway, but you can get it in select stores. Go to your nearest Meny/Centra/Ultra (or any other chain that has Oluf Lorentzen as an engros partner) and ask them to order in some Karo Light Corn Syrup, the EPD number is 1343201 (makes it easier for them). It's about 80 NOK for a bottle of 470 ml. Expensive, I know, but so worth it!

Grease the pan with butter, margarine or shortening (the recipe says shortening, but I used regular butter, and that worked fine), and make sure you cover the edges and corners as well. Then drop in a little powdered sugar and shake it around until it covers every greased surface. Set the pan aside for later.

Put the gelatin sheets in a medium bowl, and fill it up with a lot of ice cold water. If you want to, you can put ice cubes in there - I didn't, because then I would've had to go downstairs to get them, and I was much too worked up about making marshmallows. Let the gelatin soak for about 10 minutes while you do other stuff.

Get a medium saucepan and throw in the sugar, water and 60 ml (or 62,5 ml, to be exact - 1/4 cup) of corn syrup. Stir it gently so the sugar gets wet, and then put the saucepan over medium-high heat. Put your candy thermometer in (mine doesn't clip into the saucepan, so I just have to awkwardly hold it there) and keep an eye on it. You want the sugary goodness to reach a temperature of 112-115°C (235-240°F), but you'll have just enough time to do the following step before it does.

Your kitchen machine should already be out, if not you've failed as a baker and have to do penalty laps.
No, I'm just kidding. But you'll have no time for anything, so make sure you always have your equipment ready to go!
Now, in between all these small steps, always keep an eye on the candy thermometer. You don't want the sugar to burn, you'll have to start that step all over again, and you'll have wasted precious corn syrup. If you see that the sugar is getting there while you're still busy doing other stuff, turn the heat down a notch and hope for the best.
Put the remaining 60 ml (or 62,5 ml, or 1/4 cup) of corn syrup in the bowl. Approximately 10 minutes should've gone by now, so drain the water off the gelatin sheets (which should now be soft). Wring a bit more water out of the sheets like they're a wash cloth, but gently. You're a gentle giant. Caress the water out of them. Then put them in a microwave-safe bowl and nuke them on high for about 30 seconds, until the gelatin has melted completely.
Turn on the kitchen machine on low, and pour in the gelatin (in my case, it was half pouring, half scraping). Let the mixer keep running while you check on the sugary goodness in your saucepan.

As soon as it reaches the desired temperature, pull the saucepan from the heat. Turn the mixer up to medium speed. Now, in Shauna's recipe she wants you to carefully transfer the sugary goodness to a heatproof measuring cup or something similar which is easy to pour from. I want you to drop that step. Be a rebel, fudge the system!
The main reason I want you to be a rebel today is because I did as Shauna said, and my sugary goodness started thickening and solidifying almost before I could get it over into the bowl. I had to try and scrape it out with a spatula, and it didn't really work all that well. The second reason is that sugary goodness is scaldingly hot. If you get it on your skin, it transforms into sugary awfulness and your skin gets really, really sad, and you won't have any marshmallows because you'll be in an emergency room all night.
Be a rebel, and pour that syrup straight from the saucepan into the bowl slowly and carefully. It may thicken up on you anyway; if so, use a spatula (just make sure it's heatproof).
Also, if you think doing it this way may be hard due to the design of your mixer, then don't be a rebel. We don't want to waste any corn syrup, remember?

Anyway, let's continue! You pour in the sugary goodness any way you like while the mixer is on medium speed. When your saucepan (or other vessel, if you're not a rebel today) is empty, turn the mixer up to medium-high and let it whip some shape into all that sugar for about 6-7 minutes. Meanwhile, get your vanilla bean. You want to add those delicious seeds into your mix, but first you'll have to get them out of that bean. I usually cut off the ends, then slice it down the middle so I end up with two halves. Use a small knife to scrape out the seeds - and don't throw away the bean! Put it in a jar with sugar, and you'll have real vanilla sugar. Or, if you're like me and make your own vanilla extract, put the bean into your jar of vanilla extract.

Now, when you're ready and 6-7 minutes have gone by, the marshmallow batter (I like that word, so I'm sticking with it, no pun intended) should be white and fluffy (and not climbing up your whisk, like it does if you use a hand-held mixer with two whisks, just sayin').
Add the vanilla seeds, the vanilla extract, the salt and food coloring, if you want a crazy color (or a not so crazy color), crank the mixer up to high and let it go for 1 minute.

Now, be quick. Please, be quick here. Pour the marshmallow batter into that prepared pan ASAP. If not, you'll end up with this:

Sure, it looks nice, but consider the fact that it's got the sticky factor of melted mozzarella cheese and super glue combined, that it's tough like Spiderman's web and that it crept up those whisks and into my mixer, and you'll understand my frustration yesterday.

So, yes. Pour that batter into that pan and hope that the marshmallows gods are pleased. Grease a spatula with some butter/margarine/shortening, and use it to politely nudge that batter into the corners of the pan and to smoothen out the top. Get a small sift and put in some of your powdered sugar, then sprinkle it generously over the giant marshmallow you now have sitting in a pan. Think about that. It's a giant marshmallow.

Unfortunately, you'll have to be patient today, because that giant marshmallow has to mellow out for 6 hours before you can feel free to eat it. Let it sit in a dry place, preferably not above regular room temperature (I covered my pan with a kitchen towel to be sure nothing landed on it, like cat hairs or my face).
Then use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the pan (or a good ol' Norwegian cheese slicer works fine, too) along the edges. Flip the pan onto a piece of baking paper (or any other surface you feel is good enough for your precious marshmallow) and watch as you lift away the pan. It's beautiful.

Now, you can indulge your fantasies and just eat that giant marshmallow like it is, or you can get a pizza cutter (yes, a pizza cutter, the wheel-like thing you use to cut your pizza) and go to town on that slab of sugar. Cut it into pieces, you decide how big, and if you want you can get out more powdered sugar and dip the sticky edges in it. Pat off the excess sugar, because let's be honest: You don't need more sugar. It's enough sugary goodness in this already. Did you hear me? Put away the powdered sugar. Thank you. You know it's for the best.

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week (in other words, if you want to make these for Christmas, you'll have to cut it close - I know I'll probably be making these two days prior). I doubt there will be anything left after a whole week has gone by, though. I made mine yesterday, and they're almost gone already, because they're that good.

Yes, I made mine pink. Deal with it.

Journeycon, day 2 and 3! :D

Saturday was The Big Day - the official start of Journeycon!
We got up somewhat early, took advantage of the hotel breakfast and then got ready to go.
After picking up Marte and Bård (a friend of Marielle's) at the train station and buying something to eat and drink, we walked over to the building that houses a lot of shit - including the bus terminal and the venue for the con.

Poster on the door, yay!

We walked to the other end of the building and saw a gathering crowd - and promptly jumped in there so we could get in early and get good seats. After taking pictures, of course. We also met another friend of Marte/Marielle/Bård/Rikke; the other Marte! I don't have any pictures of her, sorry. xD

Crowd!

After being greeted by Eivind at the door, we got in line and Rakel checked us off her list. Rikke greeted us at another door, giving us a copy of the program and our wristbands. Hi, Rikke! (Marte and I stalked Rikke while in line:)

We got good seats. Had we been there a bit earlier, we'd have gotten better seats, but they were good nonetheless. We had a great view of the screens.

It wasn't too crowded when we arrived, I took some pics of the auditorium pretty soon after we sat down;

Martin's friend, who took lots of pictures. I decided to take one of him as retribution.

So, people were slowly trickling in, and the convention started behind schedule. I think the opening words started somewhere around 12:30 instead, or maybe even later - I can't remember the exact time.
John Walker from Rock Paper Shotgun had gotten the job as master of ceremonies, so he kicked us off. Rakel had some practical information, and then;

And then; three Norwegian men rubbing their hands together.

An advanced introduction to Dreamfall Chapters. I will go through the schedule step by step in this blog post, but I won't be saying too much about what was said and shown, for obvious reasons.

They talked a bit about the game, we got to see the trailer again, and they showed us the gameplay they presented at Rezzed in June. Then Christer Sveen, the art director, got on "stage" and talked about Europolis and a little bit about his vision for it. He talked really quietly, so everybody was straining to hear him xD

After that, we had our first break, which meant people started streaming down towards Ragnar to get him to sign stuff:

Yes, this pic was taken in the second break. I was lazy.

Every break we had, people flocked around Ragnar, Dag and Martin, if not to get stuff signed, then to have a chat. People had brought their limited editions of Dreamfall, some went more old school:

I'm sorry I took your picture without asking, but that's the original and that's cool. I lost my original :(

After the first break, the schedule said "Friar's Keep: Developer Playthrough". That's the vertical slice, and I will say that it looked beautiful, the gameplay looks to be great, and we had a lot of fun watching it. I really can't wait for you all to see it as well!
Then followed another break, and we continued with The Musical Landscapes of Dreamfall Chapters. The composer for DFC was announced, we got to hear some music that will be in the game, and the composer also told us a bit about finding sounds where you wouldn't normally look for them (at least I wouldn't). Next up on the schedule:

An AA meeting.
From the left: Audun, Ragnar, Rakel, Martin, Dag, Christer, Simon and Rikke.

Of course, a Q&A will yield plenty of inside jokes. I'll let you into one of them (I tweeted about it).
One of the questions was from Mikhail/Koveras, and he started off with saying that when he'd finished playing TLJ, he was sad. When he finished Dreamfall, he was depressed. Cue laughter, of course. I can't remember what exactly his question was (sorry!), but it was something about whether the writers think about what they do with the players when they write the stories. This escalated, of course, into writers being surgeons of the soul, slashing away at their fans. Ragnar decided that he'll refer to himself as a Surgeon of the Soul from now on.
There were a lot of questions, and the answers were often quite long. Eventually, John Walker had to call it, or we'd end up sitting there the rest of the day, probably! The questions were really good, though, I sat there thinking "How the hell do people come up with this? I just .. I just play the games, and that's that, and here these people have these deep, deep thoughts and questions about the games, and they're right, these are things I should be asking, too." - so kudos to the people with questions, you're awesome!
Bonus pictures from the Q&A:

Santa's little helpers: Eivind, Morgan, Morten and.. picture-taking guy who's a friend of Martin.

John Walker!

Rakel was wearing a T-shirt that I think many of you will recognize.

Another break, and then it was time for the Norwegian Games Showcase. Unfortunately, Krillbite Studio couldn't make it to talk about Among the Sleep (something I think Ragnar was pretty sad about, he was very supportive of their Kickstarter). Blink Studios were there, as they have their offices right next to RTG, and Siggy talked about their game, SKAR: The Hammer Returns, which seems good. It's not really my type of game (a singleplayer fantasy RPG dungeon crawler, according to their website), but they're releasing it on several platforms, which is great.

Then Rock Pocket Games had a presentation, where Ivan came kinda unprepared because of a last-minute cancellation by some other employee (I think she'd gotten sick), but he still delivered. The audience ooh-ed at times, which is always a great thing! I took some pictures of the concept art he showed us, but until I know whether or not that was an exclusive thing, I'm not going to post them. Sorry! I can tell you that he talked a bit in general about Rock Pocket Games and their games, what they do and about them winning the Norwegian championships (or whatever I should call it) in Gameplay. He showed us some videos, and their games seem really, really great! The games he talked about/showed us were Oliver & Spike: Dimension Jumpers, Shiftlings, and last but not least: Gametracer, which Ragnar tweeted about during Spillexpo recently. His daughter apparently loved it, and judging by the amount of people who downloaded it (it's free!) in the next break, she's not alone! You should check it out - Gametracer is available on App Store and Google Play.

Ivan!

After the break, it was time for the live Let's Play! of The Longest Journey. It featured Ragnar having technical difficulties ("Martin, why does it do that? Help me, it's a PC, I don't do PCs!"), Martin being the best tech support there ever was (*opens task manager, closes the process, starts game anew*) and a revelation: Ragnar Tørnquist has never played TLJ from start to finish. Never. And he hadn't played it for a while, obviously, because the audience had to tell him what to do. xD
We didn't have time to play through very much of it, but he and John Walker talked a lot about the game and "way back when", and it was really interesting, and you have to wait until the video from the convention is public to know what was said. Sorry. To lighten things up, here's a slide Ragnar made. ("I made a slide.")

After that, it was time for the closing statements - except for the fact that Ragnar had another slide. The Longest Journey Home. Yeah, I know, we all clapped our hands off. But basically, he didn't really say anything that hasn't been said before - they really, really want to make it because April's story between TLJ and DF needs to be told, and they definitely will make it. 

Then, the closing statements and tons of applause and we went off to our hotel room with Marte and Tina to freshen up and then get something to eat before going to the afterparty at Betong. "Something to eat" ended up being subs from Subway that we just brought with us. We weren't really that hungry xD

We got there right after 7 PM, while Dag and Rakel were hanging up posters to show people where to go. Not too many others had shown up yet.

It filled up soon enough, though, and our table was the coolest in the history of cool tables.

We had John Walker at our table. Just sayin'.

We ended up just putting several small tables together, and in the end we were a ton of people. Three whole quiz teams, actually (6 people per team)! It was a lot of fun.

Dag was the Quiz Master (he deserves capitalized letters, he's the Boss after all), and it was hard. Really hard. Our team (Marte, Marte, Brita, Roy Martin, Tina and I) didn't really bring our A game, so we thought we'd just wing it and have fun instead of aiming high. Apparently, that's the way to go, because we ended up in 5th place! The winning team was also from our table, so y'know, coolest table ever. The winners got a printed piece of concept art by Christer each, a Journeycon poster, and a piece of original concept art by Rikke, which is really, really cool. I'm not sure what exactly the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place winners got, but at least everyone walked away with printed concept art by Christer, there were more posters handed out, and some (used) crew tees with "Journeycon 2013" and the poster art on them. We won just a printed piece of concept art by Christer, but seeing as we didn't really think we'd get anything, we were ecstatic! Roy Martin was really happy about getting a Zoë picture he'd been drooling over since forever, and I chose this:

Since Christer was at the afterparty, he suddenly had a big job of signing all the concept art prints, plus limited edition boxes and mostly everything people could get their hands on xD So I have a signed piece of concept art. I love it. It's also in my backer level, so.. I'll get another one later! Yay for that, dudes.

Here are some bonus pics of people and more people and stuff 'n' things.

From the left: khh, Swedish guy I didn't catch the name of, Morgan, Morten, Marielle and Bård.

khh, you're a ghost, according to my camera.

The Bitch Tits tee that Tina made herself, and that Christer wanted as well. xD

After the awards ceremony, some people left, many remained, and most of them got on the dance floor (mostly because Martin made them do it). Fun was had by all, and people mingled and chatted with each other as if they'd done it forever.

People dancing, someone had stolen Martin's beanie, and at our table; Olli and Roy Martin.

Also, you know what? I'm a sneaky fuck. I wanted original Rikke art as well. I mentioned to Tina that I planned on asking her, which Tina then did for me the next time she saw Rikke xD The result:

This was drawn in like 3-5 minutes, on the back of the schedule I'd brought with me for this exact purpose. I just told Rikke to draw whatever she felt like, and I got this, and I love it, and I thanked her probably ten times. Thanks, Rikke! :3

Somehow, the clock suddenly had sped up and turned 2:30 AM, and then all of a sudden the staff was booting us out and the party was over. Well, not for those who chose to go to the nachspiel with twins Eivind and Asbjørn, but Marielle and I were kinda tired and decided we'd just go back to the hotel. So we said our goodbyes, hugged Martin, Dag and Ragnar, hugged other people, patted Martin on the head just to be sure we'd said goodbye, and then started walking. And walking. And walking. And you know how it is when you've been drinking alcohol, you really need to pee. We were almost dying by the time we finally reached our hotel, somewhere around 4 AM. We were also seriously tired, and after me discovering a tiny amount of Pepsi Max I'd left in the room's minibar earlier that day (celebration!) we went to bed.

Day 3:

Today we got up kinda early but not really at 9:40 AM, freshened up a bit and went down to eat another delicious hotel breakfast (dat bacon!). I wanted to join the cannonstroking excursion at 11 AM, so we hurried up, packed our stuff and got ready. Marielle decided to just go home, and I walked off alone to get to Akershus fortress, where the cannonstroking was born. I had to call Tina to get some directions, and after a lot of confusion I finally found Tina xD

Confession: I didn't get any pics of me stroking a cannon. I'm sorry. But I did snap a picture of the cannons.

Stroke the cannon, stroke the cannon.

I don't know what happened to the one in the back, but just look at the one in the front, it's so shiny and nice. I bet it gets stroked on a regular basis.

We hung out for a little bit (Tina, Morgan, Guran and unnamed guy from New York - I'm sorry, I suck at names D:), then Guran left, and after a while so did the rest of us. We left the guy from NY at the train station, I joined Tina and Morgan at Burger King to watch them eat while I waited for my bus, and then I sadly had to go home, because all good things come to an end.

Oh, you know that poster in the first pic of this post? I stole adopted it on my way to the bus. Mine! :D

I'm super excited about this weekend, I've had tons of fun, and I seriously can't wait for the next meetup in Oslo - or next year's Journeycon! I'm pretty sure Journeycon 2014 will be legendary, and I'll see you all there.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, new friends, acquaintances, fellow fans and backers, and of course Red Thread Games for making this weekend happen. It was really great, and I'm going to live on these memories for a long time. Tomorrow I'm looking for frames for my new artwork.

Journeycon, day 1! :D

Okay! So, I said I would be blogging about Journeycon. To be honest, when we (Marielle/cowbell and I) got home from the meetup at Babylon last night, we were both pretty beat and ended up just watching TV for a little while before going to bed. So instead of blogging then, I'm doing it now!

I arrived in Oslo at 2 PM yesterday, checked into the hotel and sat down in my room to relax a bit after the bus trip and take a picture of the view from the room.

An hour later, I went to meet Tina at Peppes (chain of pizza restaurants). We ate awesome pizza, then Marielle and Nadia/nakri joined us. Nadia is too busy to attend Journeycon, so she just wanted to say hi. Hi!

After stopping by the hotel room with Marielle's stuff and taking another pic of the view (it was dark, I had to!), we wandered off to Bar Babylon and sat down. We were the first ones there, but our first attendee joined us just moments later, and after that people just started flowing in. I'm sorry I can't remember all the names, I'm terrible with names, you're officially warned! xD But the ones I do remember the names of will be mentioned! First a pic of the wall decor at Babylon, because it's pretty cool.

Okay, so people started showing up, and I definitely had no idea who most of them were, to be honest, haha. And yes, in the very beginning it was pretty awkward, but then people started talking and laughing and having a good time, and I think it's awesome that the thing that brought this crowd together is a series of video games. It's so cool!
Unfortunately, I'm crap at remembering to take pictures. Seriously. My camera was on the table most of the evening, but I forgot to take pics after a while (because hey, I was busy talking and listening to all the conversations!). So these following pictures are thanks to Marielle, who decided to borrow my camera to test it out with the "low light" setting. This was pretty early, so not many people had shown up yet:

 This is me, looking like a retard because I'm seriously NOT photogenic in any way.

 British people to the left (sorry, didn't catch your names!), and then a girl I think introduced herself as Ingrid.
The face to the right is Brita (I'm pretty sure, at least), and the arm.. I don't know xD

Brita in the back, then a Swedish guy I didn't catch the name of, and .. another guy I don't remember the name of. Sorry!

Tina with her (very soft sweater) back to the camera, Olli and a British guy from Moscow whose name I (surprise!) didn't catch.

This is just a few of the MANY people who decided to show up, I can get more pics later I guess. Anyway, after a while we had filled all the chairs around these three tables, and then Dag showed up with a couple of friends. They ended up sitting at another table though, but Dag came to say hi and took a picture of us, which he tweeted. Other RTG people who showed up: Rikke the Artist, Morgan the No-longer-an-Art-Intern, Morten the Intern, Eivind the Animator, Quintin the.. Programmer? Aw shucks, let's not pretend my memory works. Later on, Martin showed up as well. Yay to you all! :D

Sorry that I don't remember the names of the fans who joined us, I truly am bad with names (especially when a few beers are involved).. but you're welcome to leave your names here if you read this!
As the night went on, there were so many of us that some had to stand - no chairs left! I really had a good time, and I think that most of the people who showed up did. Thanks, guys! :D

Marielle and I decided to go home kinda early, I think it was around 10:30 PM, because we were kinda tired and wanted to get a good night's sleep so we could party all night long tonight instead. We wandered home, stopped by Burger King for cheap, dry burgers (don't know if they were worth the money, to be honest :s) and then we're back to the start of this blog post.

I've been writing this while Marielle's been getting ready, and now it's my turn. Breakfast time!

And in just two hours and fifteen minutes, the doors will open and THE CON WILL BE ON! :D