Vlogmas Day 3 🎄 Pajamas All Day

Vlogmas Day 2 🎄 Book Unboxing Haul

Links to all of the books mentioned (Bookdepository with free worldwide shipping):

Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher

The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig

Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream

A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth by Francesca Gibbons

💛If you buy via my affiliate links, I get a small commission 💛

Vlogmas Day 1 – October and November Wrap Up

Links to the books mentioned (Bookdepository with free worldwide shipping):

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Disloyal by Michael Cohen

A Forever Story by Cathleen Lynn Boyle

My Reedsy Review of A Forever Story

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

💛If you buy via my affiliate links, I get a small commission 💛

Fall 2020 📚 TBR

Links to the books (Bookdepository with free worldwide shipping):

Disloyal by Michael Cohen

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

The Binding by Bridget Collins

💛If you buy via my affiliate links, I get a small commission 💛

September 2020 📚 Wrap Up

Links to the books (Bookdepository with free worldwide shipping):

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub

Basketful of Heads by Joe Hill, Leomacs, and Dave Stewart

💛If you buy via my affiliate links, you support my channel with a small commission 💛

Vlogmas Day 6 🎄Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi – BOOK REVIEW

Where Are You at 3am?

Usually I’m far gone into the land of dreams at 3am, but tonight I’m spending my night at a place that feels somewhat familiar to me, although I’ve never spent the night here or anywhere like it before.

I’m spending my night at Oslo Airport Gardermoen.

It sounds all kinds of dramatic, but it isn’t. I have a super early flight, so early so that there weren’t any morning buses or trains that would get me here in time, and I didn’t want to spend a ridiculously amount of money to book myself into an airport hotel for a just a few hours.

That left me with the choice of taking the last train to the airport that would arrive at around 1am, and that would give me a good five hours at the airport before my plane will take me up, up, up and away!

I was curious to see how spending a night at a place like this would actually be like, and I found it to be way more comfortable and interesting than I expected.

I definitely wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to waste money on a hotel. There are quite a lot of people here. You can see them sleeping or reading, talking with friends, or doing some late night working. Maybe they are writing too!

While being surrounded by all of these travelers, I found myself lost in one of my favorite activities; people watching.

My eyes drifted from traveler to traveler, and I started thinking about where they were from, where they were going, and what kind of stories they would be able to tell.

The travelers come in all different shapes, ages, and colors, and I find myself very calm and relaxed even though I’m surrounded by bright lights and sounds of maintenance workers. It’s so different to be here in a place that I’m used to seeing crammed with people and loud with voice, suddenly being a place of rest and stillness.

I even managed to sleep for an hour on one of the benches.

Now I’m not saying that I would prefer to sleep at airports. I love the softness of a good bed way too much, but this was a way more pleasant experience than I expected it to be. I still have about 2,5 hours left before I’m starting a 16 hour long journey, but even though I’m tired, it’s off to a good start!

I’m guessing most of you are sleeping, or you are in time zones that takes you far away from 3am at this writing moment, but wherever you are, I hope you’re smiling!

And if you find yourself other places than home at 3am, I hope you make the most of it❤️

Get Lost!

One of my absolute favorite things to do when I travel is to listen to music, just start walking in some random direction (without the help of a map), and just see where that takes me. I love to get lost in new cities!

We live in an age where we usually have our phones ready to help us out if we struggle to find our ways back to wherever we need to be later on, so why not use that. Why not leave the maps and the apps, and just go on a new adventure, and then technology (or a good old map) can help us out when the exploring is done?

Some of the most interesting places I’ve found when traveling has been while I’m just allowing myself to walk around with no set destination. And those locations are usually the sources to some of my most interesting pictures as well.

Axel Towers, Copenhagen

Most places have so much more to offer than just the typical tourist attractions, and just stumbling upon them is like finding a hidden treasure that you didn’t even know you were looking for! And sometimes you even get to see the places that you know so well from a whole different angle, and that can be just as special!

Borough Market, London

I dare you to get lost more often! You don’t even have to travel to do so or to do it alone. Just start walking around where you live. Take a different path than you normally would. Jump on a random bus, and see where you end up!

London

It might be nowhere special, or it might end up being an amazing adventure❤️If you don’t try then you’ll never know!

The Little Things ❤️

I’m writing this from the “comfort” of my own bed, where I’ve spent most of the last two days.

Don’t get me wrong, the actual bed in itself is comfortable, but the coughing, headache and fever makes anywhere quite uncomfortable at the moment.

I woke up this afternoon after some hours of fever dreams, feeling a slight bit of hunger, but not really wanting my leftovers from yesterday.

Going to the store was out of the question considering the state I’m in where going to the bathroom takes all the energy I can muster. Hoping for a tiny miracle, I had a look in my freezer. Guess what?! I found an everyday miracle right there! A small box with the label: Pumpkin soup 2018 C.

I had completely forgotten that my dad had made a batch of vegan pumpkin soup for me to bring home with me a few months ago. I ate one of them and then decided to save the rest ones for a rainy day. The rainy day came, and there it was, my savior in a plastic box.

I almost started crying right then and there. Yes, I get slightly more emotional and vulnerable when I’m sick.

Just found myself so moved and grateful for the little things! The small acts of love that means so much more than we give them credit for.

I heated up the soup and for a tiny moment when eating it, I was in total bliss, fever and all❤️

It’s all the little things that makes up for the big thing that is our life. And sometimes a box of homemade soup can be the little thing that creates a moment of total happiness, love and gratitude. Don’t underestimate the strength and importance of small acts of care and love❤️

One Comment – Years of Insecurity

I started doing a bit of work in front of the camera right after I’d turned 18. It was exciting and different. It was a new way for me to be creative, but also a way to experience other people’s creativity.

Even though I did enjoy most of the modeling work that I did do back in the day, I do see a major difference on how I approached it back then and now.

I remember very well how it felt the first time a photographer told me that a certain company didn’t want to use me because I was too fair skinned. They wanted typical tanned Norwegian girls, and I did not fall into that category. It wasn’t a huge blow to my confidence, but I remember feeling it a little bit still.

There was another moment though, and that is one that I remember very clearly. I did an ad piece for a Norwegian shopping mall, and when the pictures were sent to me I was shocked to see that the face staring back at me was not one that I really recognized.

“I edited your face a little. Made your nose smaller and your eyes a little bigger.”

I had been struggling with insecurities about my nose for a long time, and I remember that as a point where it escalated, and every time I would look in a mirror all I would see was this big thing that was smack in the middle of my face.

It went as far as me booking a consultation with a plastic surgeon for a possible rhinoplasty, which by the way is a horrible name for that job! As if the people who reach out and consider doing something about their nose aren’t insecure enough about that part already!

I never went to the appointment, and slowly over time, I learned to love myself for who I am and what I got. Sometimes I still get really self-conscious about my nose, but it doesn’t overwhelm me like it used to.

Some people are so oblivious to the impact their words and their actions can have on other people’s lives. It’s frightening!

It took a lot of practice to learn self-love, and it’s something that I think is important to constantly work on. Our bodies change all the time, but it’s so important to be grateful. I have legs that walk, hands that can hold, arms that can hug, lips that can kiss and taste, a nose that can smell the things around me, eyes that see, no illnesses or allergies, and no pain in my everyday life. I’m so insanely lucky, and for many years I had a hard time focusing on that.

I was also incredibly lucky to get to work with some amazing photographers through the years that have helped me build my confidence and self-love instead of tearing it apart. People who make art because they love it, not because they want to make something that just fits into a certain box that is requested.

I am also very lucky to have grown up in families that are very body positive. Parents that have a very healthy relationship with their body and with nudity. Surrounded by people who were supportive and loving. If that hadn’t been a part of my upbringing, I’m not sure I would’ve coped as well with the comments and the insecurities that I’ve struggled with.

I also have amazing friends and we compliment each other all the time❤️ That’s something we always have and always will be doing!

I don’t work with photographers as often anymore, but it happens from time to time. I do however really enjoy taking my own pictures and doing my own editing in PhotoShop. But even though I love to play around with the editing, there is one thing that I’ve promised myself, and that is to never alter the look of my face or my body. I play around with colors and textures, and I might remove a pimple from time to time, but other than that I think it’s important to be true to oneself and to not let oneself be defined by fake reality.

My son will be a teenager in just a couple of years (I know!? Yikes!!) and I want him to grow up seeing real girls and real women being portrayed in movies, photos, and ads. I want him to appreciate real beauty and real human beings. And that does not apply to just women of course! I want him to grow up in a world where people are shown as the wonderful, fantastic, amazing and confusing creatures that we are.

I want him to have a healthy relationship with himself and his own body. To see the real beauty in the people around him, instead of searching for some unrealistic ideal of a human.

We all have the power to do something, and I think most of it starts with loving yourself. Find that self-love and that gratitude, and practice it as much as you can! Then go out into the world as a good example. Share the love and the gratitude!

And most importantly, don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough! I know it’s hard, and I struggle alongside you, but the truth is that they have no right to tell you so! They have no right to try to define you or to change you. Set boundaries and don’t be afraid to let them be heard!

You are amazing and beautiful, no matter if some idiot(s) have told you differently!

And if you ever need a reminder of how awesome you are, then I am here! I will try my very best to share my love and my gratitude with you ❤️

☼

 Photo is by the wonderful and talented Isidoro Peregrino💛