In-Between: Friendship, Healing, and Norway

The long awaited Norway episode is here! Elizabeth's best friend, Ashleighanna joins The In-Between to talk about their adventure in Scandinavia. This episode highlights the beauty of friendship and the healing that comes from the special people in your life, traveling, and new experiences. We're also getting into the hijinks and hilarity that comes with these two abroad, from scandalous encounters, "'everything that could go wrong kept going wrong," and constant giggling - what more could you ask for? Sit back and enjoy getting to hear how we took on Norway, one slip slap slop at a time. *No reindeer were harmed in the recording of this episode.* 

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Transcript

Elizabeth 0:06

Hello. Hello. Welcome back to The In-Between. I'm your host, Elizabeth Cheney. I'm really excited for this episode. This is the long awaited episode about Norway with Ashleighanna. I just wanted to have a quick intro before I get the episode going, just because one, it's been almost a year since we recorded this episode. Everything is still very relevant. There's nothing that's like, oh, well that actually didn't work out. Or actually that, yeah, I'm different now. Uh, but just to give a little context, this was recorded shortly after our Norway trip. Which I feel like I've mentioned several times on past episodes about this episode's gonna come out, it's gonna be great, whatever, whatever. But I hope you enjoy this episode. It is filled with giggles. You get it. Insight into Ashleighanna i's friendship, how it originated and just the hilarity, hijinks and healing that came from our trip to Norway. There's a little scandal, as Ashleighanna would say. There is beauty, there is friendship, there is adventure. Everything that you would want in an epic trip across. Cross the seas. Cross the ocean. But thank you for listening. I hope you enjoy and cheers to friendship and healing. All right. Welcome back to the In-Between podcast and I have a special guest, one of my best friends, uh, Ashleighanna Lockett. Yes. Ashleighanna One word, not Ashley, not middle name. Anna Ashleighanna Lockett. I've been trying to get you on the podcast, I feel like forever,

Ashleighanna 1:51

literally, years.

Elizabeth 1:52

And now we have a reason to recap Norway, but more importantly, recap girl friendship and why that's so important, especially in the healing process. But, uh, I would like everyone to know where we met, which was back in the good old middle school high school. Oh my goodness.

Ashleighanna 2:09

Yes. So my first memory of you, if I'll go to that, is, seventh grade, I think Miss Drury's class, right? Yeah. And chorus. Mm-hmm. And we had that, like middle period in the midst of the day and we had our small little all girls chorus class. At least these are all of my memories with it. Yes. And there were so many of us in there that we started our little choral friendship at that

Elizabeth 2:31

time. Yep.

Ashleighanna 2:31

Yep. I remember you. Then I remember us singing. Oh my goodness, what was it? We did some sort of Disney. Something. Do you remember doing the uh, you heard it through the grapevine?

Elizabeth 2:43

Yes. And we're like, you heard it through the grapevine.

Ashleighanna 2:46

like she thought that that was the dance. She was like, this is what you do guys. This is what you do. They did this in the video anyway. Sorry, we go

Elizabeth 2:55

It was like the California raisins commercial. I remember that for some reason.

Ashleighanna 2:58

and I remember being like, that might have been cool in the seventies, but ma'am, this is the two thousands.

Elizabeth 3:03

and there I was in the back like loving

Ashleighanna 3:04

you. We

Elizabeth 3:05

So there we go. Of course

Ashleighanna 3:06

course. You're like, I'm so in it. Am I hitting the moves? Right. Anyway, we digress. That was my first memory of you and us becoming friendly and I think we were in a few classes after that, maybe on the same team or something in eighth grade. And then once we got into ninth grade chorus, that's when I felt like that same group, we all started vibing a little bit more. So

Elizabeth 3:29

I would agree.

Ashleighanna 3:30

How deep do I go into this?

Elizabeth 3:31

I don't know. So I was born, no, I'm just kidding.

Ashleighanna 3:34

And my world changed forever.

Elizabeth 3:37

but long story short, I feel like we were always like good friends without like, being super close. It was like a, it was almost like our energy. I kinda know, you're gonna probably laugh at how cheesy this sounds, but it's like our energy knew each other. Yeah. And it just recognized

Ashleighanna 3:50

something similar. Exactly.

Elizabeth 3:51

And I, I know we were super chorus nerds. We were in chorus, like all through high school. Um, not to brag, but the top choirs too.

Ashleighanna 4:00

we had a cd.

Elizabeth 4:01

Oh, we did. And we got, we did have, we got asked to go to conferences because we were so good. Did

Ashleighanna 4:06

sang in churches

Elizabeth 4:07

was like the choreographer for our big spectacular Yeah. So she was also, she's like a professional cheerleader legitimately so, uh.

Ashleighanna 4:20

okay.

Elizabeth 4:22

Alright.

Ashleighanna 4:22

I'm in the mode. Pro

Elizabeth 4:29

here

Ashleighanna 4:30

on the resume. Wait, but really it is,

Elizabeth 4:34

but wait for sure. She cheered for UGA. Like that's huge. I

Ashleighanna 4:37

College, let's, let's clarify. Just college cheerleader,

Elizabeth 4:41

but still for like a legit huge team that I'm sure is, they don't just d bloody, I'm sure you gotta be good, but very, very cool. Um, obviously she's a cool girl. Uh, and we just kept up through college. It was like one of those things, like even if we hadn't seen each other in 10 years, we felt like I, we, it was just yesterday and that's, I think it was during Covid,'cause you'd moved to Atlanta and I was like, well let's hang out. Like I would love to see you. And then that was like the beginning of

Ashleighanna 5:06

our like

Elizabeth 5:07

resurgence a re renaissance of our friendship, if that even makes sense.

Ashleighanna 5:11

Yeah. Like meeting people nowadays who. Get to meet us together and ask about our friendship. And it's like, oh, so were you guys best friends back in the day? Or like best friends in high school. And we were like, we weren't necessarily best friends, but we were good friends. Yeah. Like going back to what you were saying before, like we always just reciprocated each other's energy. Yeah. Always in support of one another, loved one another. We weren't like Yes, exactly. Yeah. I always like loved and supported you and your energy. Like I just enjoyed you in high school. And I remember it was like junior year when we started doing

Elizabeth 5:42

getting close.'cause that was when we were in the, the

Ashleighanna 5:44

back. Yes. And you started like you weren't in

Elizabeth 5:46

the boy caught chorus. 10th grade to prove a point. And my point was proven. Anyways, it was,

Ashleighanna 5:50

We heard her loud and clear. She came back stronger and I remember her just like having some sharp opinions. Yep. And just being sassy and

Elizabeth 5:58

Yep. And then I got the lead solo or the opening solo and the spectacular.

Ashleighanna 6:01

did. She got a beautiful

Elizabeth 6:03

side note. You know you're worth fight for it.

Ashleighanna 6:05

Yes, she definitely did. And that was my first understanding of, of Elizabeth as like a friend of somebody who I respected and wanted to be. Friends with,

Elizabeth 6:15

Mm.

Ashleighanna 6:15

and that's where we started getting closer. And we also had calculus together.

Elizabeth 6:19

Yes we did. Because we're smart in

Ashleighanna 6:21

and another math class, like we were in math together for a few different years. Mm-hmm. Um, we were the smart girl.

Elizabeth 6:26

I had the, I just, um, had this memory of senior year chorus. We had like fake superlatives in chorus. And I remember like you and

Ashleighanna 6:33

else. Oh my God,

Elizabeth 6:34

Were responsible for giving everyone the superlatives.

Ashleighanna 6:37

I didn't, I wasn't. No, but Katie Mack was Okay.

Elizabeth 6:39

I

Ashleighanna 6:39

got the most embarrassing superlative. Which one was yours? Mind you, mine was okay. Do you remember Shelby with the blonde? Yes. That care, she got the superlative that she would have hair so big that you would lose a baby in it. I got the superlative of the baby that would be lost in Shelby's hair

Elizabeth 7:02

because

Ashleighanna 7:04

like

Elizabeth 7:05

I,

Ashleighanna 7:06

I have forgotten about that. I literally have not thought about that since. I can't tell you how long The fact that you just brought that up, that was in ninth

Elizabeth 7:16

Nobody put, no, that was senior year was the superlatives. But yes, these

Ashleighanna 7:21

were ninth grade and I remember us saying true colors

Elizabeth 7:24

shining through. Well, I was gonna say senior year we did fake ones too.'cause I remember you gave me most likely to be like, Angelina, Jolie, and adopt, three African children.

Ashleighanna 7:33

I,

Elizabeth 7:35

'cause I was such a hippie. Remember that? And like fighting for every cause under the sun I could learn about. So I do know that.

Ashleighanna 7:41

that. Yeah. Now that you say that, we haven't talked about that yet.

Elizabeth 7:43

No, but so funny.

Ashleighanna 7:44

that what I put?

Elizabeth 7:45

Yes, you did.

Ashleighanna 7:46

hyping you

Elizabeth 7:47

You were like, you're such a good person Maybe it'll just, my light will come shining through. Shine through

Ashleighanna 7:53

light your true colors, right. Shine through.

Elizabeth 7:56

So all that said and done It's like we were always besties without being besties, and then our adulthood brought us full circle into it. And now I couldn't imagine life without you.

Ashleighanna 8:04

some, I know. Likewise. Yeah. And some, some dark moments. That was always, I think part of it where you've kind of shared with some of your journey. Yeah. I've shared with some of mine where we've connected on like Instagram or something like that, like supporting one another of like, you know how it is, like you,

Elizabeth 8:18

never afraid to be vulnerable. And I think I gravitate towards those kind of people because I think I'm, I like to think I'm a very authentic person. You are too. And I feel like that's one thing that like. We shared in common in our friendship because especially like in your twenties, that's not as common in people, you know? Yeah. And I think that's why we maintain such a close bond, even from like through Instagram.

Ashleighanna 8:36

Absolutely. Especially the rise of social media. Yeah. So much more. Right. And our generation has been the ones that have kind of struggled with and spearheading, navigating that social media journey and identity and all of that stuff and what feels fake or whatever. And we've seen people go all sorts of ways. So being able to kind of still stay true to ourselves, I feel like has been important to me. It's been something very important to you and why we've been able to kind of keep in touch through the years. I literally feel like I'm making out with this

Elizabeth 9:02

It's okay. I don't know.

Ashleighanna 9:04

my only love, God, I'm so single.

Elizabeth 9:06

So speaking of single girls, I remember when I busted into your house several months ago, several, several months ago, and I was like, yo, I'm leaving

Ashleighanna 9:16

on a jet plane

Elizabeth 9:17

Yeah. And you were like, I mean I literally kicked the door down and you were like, okay, okay. Okay. Are you sure you did all the proper friend things, like go through the checks and balances. Where did, how do we get here? I

Ashleighanna 9:27

in my door. Like I need to like kind of set the scene a little bit. She is like, Hey, I need to come over. My work life is a little bit insane and it's hard for me pivoting out of it from time to time. It's one thing really nice about hanging out with you over the past, especially year, us being able to try to pivot outside of that.'cause I know you're also very similar with

Elizabeth 9:43

Yeah.

Ashleighanna 9:43

Yeah. so I'm thinking Elizabeth's coming over. She's like, I have some news for you. And I'm like, all right, I need to pivot out of this mindset. I'm still like, not there yet. Homegirl comes up when I say busting my door, I mean literally like I open the door and she pushes open the door. In my mind she kicks down the door and is like, i'm leaving him said name. I don't know why I feel weird saying

Elizabeth 10:04

It's okay.

Ashleighanna 10:04

I'm like, what the fuck is happening right now? I was like, is this for real? I've got to shift mode into what is going on here. I am diving headfirst into figuring out how I can support this girl.'cause this is a fucking journey. We're about to go through it. And then from that night on, we've kind of been inseparable. Yeah. And just going through,

Elizabeth 10:22

You're my safe space. I don't know how many times throughout the months, I would just come here and escape. And you were just such a. Such a source of light and peace and just like, just a home away from home. But I was just like, yo girl, I got some big news and like, no, I'm not pregnant. It's absolutely the complete opposite of that. So yeah. And here we are. And then I remember I, well, as you all know, I've been wanting to go to Norway for a while to see the Northern Lights. She'd been talking about it and I, it was like in November and I was like, you know, I'm gonna go Norway. I would love for you to come, but I don't wanna like impose my trip on you.

Ashleighanna 10:54

She imposed her trip on me. Let's just say that.

Elizabeth 10:56

mean, I was doing some hexing like, please come on this trip with me. Please come on this trip with me, Uh, that's true. And, but

Ashleighanna 11:01

I mean, it's Norway. I mean, it did sound amazing. Northern

Elizabeth 11:03

Lights bucket list. Sign me up. And like, also, I think we've realized at this point we are those friends that will influence each other. Like, do you wanna go here? Well, I don't have the money, but you know what, sure. Let's go. Okay. You know, what, should we go? Should we go do

Ashleighanna 11:14

We can make it work. Yeah, that's exactly what I said. I was like, I'm not in the position right now that I necessarily wanna be doing this, but we can make it work. I mean, it could be worse things. And it just felt like, to your point, the the journey of where you're at, journey, where I'm at personally, all these things started adding up and getting in that mindset. And I know you're kind of in the same way, but like the mindset of trying to say yes to things. Yes. And be a little bit more receptive towards like positive energy coming in your life like even when your mind is burdened down with all of the day-to-day stuff or work or whatever that is, but being able to like take a moment, sit back for a minute, see like what you have in a friendship and where that's at, and be able to say yes to certain things, even if it's not like a perfect case scenario. Exactly. And I felt like that was very much so, yeah, that scenario. So I wanted to jump on it. I might've had a couple little micro breakdowns or frustrations leading up to it. Wasn't quite as excited as I know this girly was, but it was truly, and we'll get into all of this, but truly like such a wonderful trip.

Elizabeth 12:16

oh yeah, I came back a different person, 1000%. I mean the, the giggling alone, the laughter, like it was just a giggle fest the entire time. My, like the joy you brought, the joy we had together, it was just so much fun. And like traveling in general, especially abroad, it just, I think it changes you like it really does 100%. Especially if you're like an open kind of person. I mean, you can definitely go be close-minded as shit and just like, Hey, that's great. I can see trees where I live. You know what I mean? But

Ashleighanna 12:40

yeah. No, it's so true. I mean, I know like one thing for myself, and we've kind of talked about this, but like I always wanted to travel, like what I saw. Of what success looks like was being able to get into a career where I could travel and see things outside of just the Atlanta area. Yes. And wanted to broaden my mind a little bit more So, and experience things outside of just kind of the world that I know. And that's just always something that aligned in my head along with respect and intelligence I guess. Yeah, absolutely. I know we've had such similar conversations where you felt that same way. Yeah. But then that making that jump outside of just the country mm-hmm. And being able to go internationally and like it's different. Rely on yourself a little bit more

Elizabeth 13:19

And Google Maps

Ashleighanna 13:21

and fucking Google Maps,

Elizabeth 13:22

Google Maps. Constantly, constantly.

Ashleighanna 13:25

little saved travel list was great.

Elizabeth 13:27

Yep.

Ashleighanna 13:28

full itinerary. So helpful.

Elizabeth 13:30

and you want friends like us when it comes to travel.'cause she whipped out a little spreadsheet. I was, I would think I was holding my weight in like, at least research, even if you were organizing it all together. I mean, whips out her mouth. I got all these safe spots and I'm like, wow, this is my, I, this is my idea. I feel like I need to get my shit together. Okay.

Ashleighanna 13:45

welcome to my

Elizabeth 13:46

I love it. We're already planning the next one. Sorry. We digress. Two a DHD girl is, this is what happens when you record. But anyways, all of this is about friendship, how traveling heals. So as you all know, it took a minute for, for you know, who to get out of the house even like

Ashleighanna 14:03

or you.

Elizabeth 14:04

No. Who's, you know, who

Ashleighanna 14:05

oh, oh, oh, oh out of your house. Right. Got it. Sorry, I'm tracking with you. Yes. But I want to comment on that because I want to take a moment to give you your accolades that you deserve.'cause I know you get on here and you speak about yourself and your journey and share all of that stuff, but you don't always get to have perspectives of your friends. So I do wanna kind of speak to that.

Elizabeth 14:25

Can I already feel the blush coming?

Ashleighanna 14:26

Will say, and you guys will get the impression that all of this stuff was so lingering. And I definitely wanna give credence to that because you did have to endure that every single day. And it was months of having to do that. It truly was.

Elizabeth 14:39

Yes.

Ashleighanna 14:40

I, and I, I know that experience from firsthand in, in a way, but not truly to the degree that she had to deal with. And I was just constantly in awe of her trying to go through that. And if the, you know. Most I could be, was just a place of refuge for her to be able to get outta the house. That's what I kept kind of mentioning to her. Like, come over, feel free to get outta the house at any point. If you need to stay away for multiple days. Please do that. You're welcome to stay here. What can I do to offer her support because I know she's freaking going through it and you're already such an emotionally deep person, you know? Yeah. Right. That I know that that was even more taxing on you but your ability to try to compartmentalize to the best of your ability and. Get this shit done and be able, she like made the decision wholeheartedly. We went through all of the emotions, every angle that you could look at, we looked at, and I feel like that would be most healthy human beings, what they would achieve in like five years. You and we, I say we because of like my own

Elizabeth 15:40

It was a joint, it was

Ashleighanna 15:41

We're able to achieve that within like months and then while she simultaneously still was able to move forward with this process, healing journey plus all of this stuff while still maintaining a job and still trying to do the pod and everything like that. Yeah. And I'm just very, very proud of her for that. And

Elizabeth 16:00

Thank you.

Ashleighanna 16:01

Not without emotions along the way, and I know there were days that it was super hard and breakdowns and everything

Elizabeth 16:06

probably saw me break

Ashleighanna 16:06

but persevering through it regardless and knowing that that was. The only option was just so evident and I'm just, I'm so proud of her.

Elizabeth 16:16

I love you. You're so sweet. Love you. So

Ashleighanna 16:18

So that kind of sets the tone for everything and like where we're at today. Yeah. The trip and all, everything leading up to the trip. The relief

Elizabeth 16:25

It was,'cause it was a

Ashleighanna 16:26

felt and seen there. It

Elizabeth 16:27

was a lot. We booked the trip like in end of November. No, but I just wanna say it was a lot and. I kept, I remember when we booked the trip, I was like, oh, it's gonna be the first week of March. I was hoping it'd be February, but you know what? Okay.

Ashleighanna 16:37

Yeah. Bitch thought it was gonna be like March in Georgia.

Elizabeth 16:41

No,

Ashleighanna 16:41

like, I feel like you keep getting confused at March and thinking that it's gonna be spring. We're

Elizabeth 16:46

going, I forget that we're going the Arctic circle. Okay. Like, my bad

Ashleighanna 16:49

honey, we're gonna be up there near the North Pole. We're, it'll still be cold. We'll be okay.

Elizabeth 16:54

my toes at one point. No, I'm just kidding. I mean, I was slip, slop, slopping all over the freaking place. But I remember thinking, and not that I was bummed or anything, but I was like, you know what, March is still good. It just felt so far away and I was ready to like, go explore what, ready, just to get out of my situation. Well, given the fact that he did not move out until like a week prior to us leaving. Yeah. The trip could not have come at a more perfect time. Like everything about the lining up of this, it really is like not I'm gonna be myself, like magic of the universe. Like it just, it couldn't have been more perfect, like the way it worked out. And then I remember I was like, I really wanna make out with someone. Like, you

Ashleighanna 17:31

was it. That was

Elizabeth 17:31

that was it. That was, that was like my intention.

Ashleighanna 17:32

I just wanna make out with someone. And

Elizabeth 17:34

And you were like, okay girl, I got you. So like after

Ashleighanna 17:37

can accomplish

Elizabeth 17:37

that, after he moves out, you come over, she's like, put on Bumble travel mode. And I'm like, oh, okay. Of course me, I'm overwhelmed. I'm like wiping the wrong way. Like literally

Ashleighanna 17:46

I have video clips of this stuff. Of her learning how to swipe on the apps. I was. So proud. I was like, oh, young Grasshopper.

Elizabeth 17:53

grasshopper. Yeah. And I was like, and then

Ashleighanna 17:55

you my ways. But not that I want to have these ways,

Elizabeth 17:58

but once I find the swag, I find my swag. I was like, Hey girl, I got this guy I'm talking to. I got this guy. Not like I was talking to that many, but I was basically more comfortable with just con conversating with all these Norwegian men. Convers. I don't

Ashleighanna 18:11

Not word. You sound like biggie Smalls. Conversing. Conversing.

Elizabeth 18:18

Conversing, okay. Saying

Ashleighanna 18:22

should be a word though. I do agree with that.

Elizabeth 18:25

that sounds so rich. Like are you kidding me?

Ashleighanna 18:28

Right. And Biggie

Elizabeth 18:29

small. They will conversating. Okay. Anyways conversing. But that is, wow. All right. So on that note, and we're keeping this in hilarious. So I was conversing with, you know, a couple different dudes and like nothing really serious. And there was one though that I was really vibing with and like I could tell the conversation was going a little bit deeper and let's call him Herbert and Herbert.

Ashleighanna 18:50

Let's call him. Let's call him Harold. Wait. Oh my God. Don't get that in there. Of me saying Harold, like, let's call him Harold Herbert. Or Herbert?

Elizabeth 19:05

Why did I say Herbert?

Ashleighanna 19:06

dunno. That's what you went to Gumby.

Elizabeth 19:10

Oh my. Oh my gosh.

Ashleighanna 19:12

Fred Spaghetti and Gumby.

Elizabeth 19:14

we're gonna call him Harold. That's I guess, yeah. Harold. Oh my God. Herbert. Anyways,

Ashleighanna 19:21

Herbert

Elizabeth 19:21

me and Harold Herbert the third, uh, whatever. Um, me and Harold really hitting it off and I remember texting you being like, he asked if we could go for dinner. Is this normal? Like, this seems quick. I don't know. And you're like, that's kind of the point of how this all works. I'm like, okay, you're right. Big girl pants. I got this. Well, long story short, we are gonna arrive Monday and I have a date scheduled. Well, little did we know. Getting to Norway was going to prove to be quite the feat. Not only did our flights get canceled, and I discovered that like 11:00 PM the night before. So then she's like you're hanging out, and I'm like, Hey, I hate to bother you, but like, I think our flights have gotten canceled. Gimme your information so I can go and try and like rebook our flights, all this, all that. So I'm able to do it. We're only gonna get there like two or so hours after our original land time. So then we get to the airport and Misty here forgets her passport. And then, oh, trying to find a airline agent for a Scandinavia Airlines was impossible'cause no one was there. Was there, um,

Ashleighanna 20:16

And then everybody,

Elizabeth 20:17

I think I just lucked out. I think I

Ashleighanna 20:18

out.

Elizabeth 20:19

lucked out. Yeah.

Ashleighanna 20:20

you cannot check in with us. And I was like, but my friend said that it was Air France and I can't get the app to work and there's nobody here. And I was like running back and forth.

Elizabeth 20:28

I found out the flights were canceled is'cause I was like, where's the check-in email? I haven't gotten a check-in email. We check in in less than 24 hours.

Ashleighanna 20:34

God you did

Elizabeth 20:35

Thank God you did that. Thank God. Oh my God.

Ashleighanna 20:37

We would've showed up two hours

Elizabeth 20:38

of panic. But you know what? I'm a resourceful bitch. So there we go.

Ashleighanna 20:41

she was living her best life in the airport. Meanwhile, I am.

Elizabeth 20:44

yeah, I was getting lit.

Ashleighanna 20:45

She's like, okay, I met my friend. We're taking shots. We're having a good time. Like living, which deservingly. So I was kind of the mess. Never have I ever forgotten my passport, even to like us travels. I usually take it with me and everything else I got right? I packed all the things that like I didn't even need. But my passport to be able to get out of this country and go on the trip. But mind you, I get there. I tried downloading the app, getting all of that to where I can check in. They won't check me in at the gate. This whole ordeal. I have to go and get my passport obviously,'cause I can't leave the country without it. I get in the Uber, I'm like, listen, this is the scenario. I need you to book it. I will hella tip you if you can just speed and forget about the laws for a minute. And she's like, I got you girl. And get there runs in the door. She turns around the car. I run out, grab it, get there. I get there like 57 minutes before takeoff and I'm worried the whole time. I'm like texting you like please make sure that I can get on this flight at the

Elizabeth 21:42

They said she could. So the gate agent was telling me one thing, but the people at the front, were like, no. Yeah, honey, you're, you're SOL.

Ashleighanna 21:48

Yes. And I couldn't get on. It was like my luggage was gonna be fine, but they're like, but you're not checking. I'm like, that's what I've been saying all along. I haven't been able to check in.

Elizabeth 21:56

a disaster.'cause it, we couldn't get our Scandinavian airlines, we couldn't get Yeah, it was, it was on

Ashleighanna 21:59

was on the phone with them for now or anyway, welcome to the stress of our life

Elizabeth 22:03

All this to say, you know, I've traveled a lot in the past couple years, I didn't really travel a lot growing up. Understand, I would've figured it out, but in my slightly, not quite drunk, but very tipsy mindset. All I could think is, where am I gonna stay when I get there? Yeah. Because of course I knew she was gonna make the flight or make the trip, but I was like, where am I

Ashleighanna 22:22

She might have had slight, she might have had slight anxiety in my

Elizabeth 22:26

Me

Ashleighanna 22:26

knowing, knowing

Elizabeth 22:28

Elizabeth. Oh no.

Ashleighanna 22:29

my mind, I'm like, she's trying to be supportive right now because I'm piss and going through it. But I know her and I know she's thinking, I'm gonna go on this trip by myself. I'm going to Norway by myself,

Elizabeth 22:39

I'm like, trying come with lay scenarios in my head and, and she's like, you know, I could have just put your name on the reservation. I'm like, wow.

Ashleighanna 22:44

in the world. I'm like, this is is the minor. She's like, um, where am I gonna stay when I get there? I'm like, you're fine. Like, I just booked the hotel. So

Elizabeth 22:51

so

Ashleighanna 22:52

is not of concern right now.

Elizabeth 22:54

no, seriously. So we realized we're gonna sync up in France, also f the France airport, at least for connections. Took me an hour and a half from landing to get to my gate because it is absolute chaos. Took you just as long.

Ashleighanna 23:08

Took me two hours.

Elizabeth 23:08

we finally connect and we like, at least you know you're alive. You're alive.

Ashleighanna 23:12

It was so good to finally see you. I was

Elizabeth 23:14

it was. It was a relief. Yeah, it was

Ashleighanna 23:16

I was like posting it on social media. And I am, that is not my forte, that I never, ever, ever, don't connect

Elizabeth 23:22

through Paris.

Ashleighanna 23:23

throw anything out there Paris. When I'm pissed off, I usually keep it to myself. I like to keep things light and funny on social media, but I was wanting to be heard. It was that bad. So I put it on social media with my frustrations and opinions and yes, the Paris Airport is the worst.

Elizabeth 23:42

The worst, the worst.

Ashleighanna 23:46

Oh, of course. I knew you would receive that. Duh.

Elizabeth 23:49

So we separate, I go to Norway, she goes to Denmark and we're gonna meet up in Bergen, which we were calling Burgeon'cause we're ignorant and then we were corrected.

Ashleighanna 23:59

that was the, I was pushing for it too.

Elizabeth 24:02

The flight attendant goes, by the way, it's Bergen. I was like, oh, thank you for telling me. So I'm not a complete dingus show up, whatever. I start to get a little nervous.'cause I realize my connecting flight is less than like 45 minutes. So I'm like, oh my God. I hope Oslo's airport's not too big. Long story short. I land in Bergen. She's supposed to be there a couple hours after me and I'm going on this date. Well, I now realize, oh, I didn't bring my makeup, which not a big deal. No big deal. I'm like, I, at least I like my face. It's all good. So I send her a picture of my outfit and the response I get is they lost my luggage. And I'm

Ashleighanna 24:35

she's like, mirror pick, ready for

Elizabeth 24:37

day. And I'm like walking outta the hotel hype of shit. And I'm like, see you in a couple hours. I'm on my way on my date And you're like, they lost my luggage. And I'm like, after the day she's had, at this 0.2 days because we, it's like in the future now at this point. And I'm like, I'm sorry but I gotta go.

Ashleighanna 24:56

All right. Go on. Stay. Good luck. No, she didn't leave me hanging like that. She was very supportive. But you could tell I was just like at my wits end, I had like no

Elizabeth 25:05

I could sense the energy. I would my, I would've felt the exact same way.

Ashleighanna 25:08

I wanna kill somebody.

Elizabeth 25:10

You were going through it and then you're like, guess where it's fucking lost at Paris.

Ashleighanna 25:17

Fuck Paris Airport. Fuck that airport. I'm sorry, but God, of course it was lost in the Paris Airport and I'm like, this is me. This is karma. Because I finally went on social media and bitched about it, and this is the world's just, just. Putting salt in the wound just to make it so much worse. And I was like, cool. What the fuck do I do now? I'm asking the police officers or whatever they are, security people at the Bergen Airport at nine o'clock at night when nobody else is there. I can't find it. And they're like, go over here. I'm like talking to the Scandinavian, the airlines guy. Thank God I was able to get somebody there. He was like trying to keep me positive. He was like, remember you can't do anything about it. And I was like, ha,

Elizabeth 26:00

Ha, you don't know what my day's

Ashleighanna 26:02

been like awful. Excuse me. Awful.

Elizabeth 26:04

So yeah, it was

Ashleighanna 26:04

like, it'll be there within two days, like hopefully tomorrow night. And I was like, okay.

Elizabeth 26:09

Of course I overpacked so she had clothes, we were gonna be fine. But still, after

Ashleighanna 26:12

everything, we made it work. Thank God we can wear the same clothes. And she was so sweet and open with me being able to wear and use her stuff. So between

Elizabeth 26:19

hair like

Ashleighanna 26:19

her suitcase of clothes and then my makeup bag between the two of us, we were, we were

Elizabeth 26:26

a one. We were one woman. So she finally gets in town. I'm obviously on this date being charmed, completely charmed off my feet and my phone kept acting up. So she's like, are you okay? I can't check your location. Where are you? What's going on? And if I were in her shoes, I would've been freaking the heck out too.'cause like we're doing the safe thing. Like we wanna check in and make sure we're not getting kidnapped kind of thing.

Ashleighanna 26:46

I'm not a bad friend that

Elizabeth 26:47

just of

Ashleighanna 26:48

her off to Norway by herself

Elizabeth 26:49

together

Ashleighanna 26:49

some random guy. I want to clarify. It was, and we always share each other's location, location, location. And then with that, I just wanted to know like where she was going. And that was the plan all along. Well, she's like not getting back to me, so I'm like, okay.

Elizabeth 27:03

Didn't realize that I hadn't turned on my data for international because I was like, I signed up for the international plan. Well, yeah, I turned something on. Apparently. Yeah. Either way. Oopsie daisy. So I tell, I tell, are we calling him Harold? I'm like, Harold, we got so many names at this point. We tell

Ashleighanna 27:16

I'm like, can you please just tell me where you are at? Like, I'm like, why is she not telling me her location? It's starting to get to that point

Elizabeth 27:22

And, and I wasn't intentional. It's just my phone was not messing up my, my phone was not, my phone kept messing up. So me and Harold, I was like, Hey, we gotta go meet up my friend, she's here A, I wanna make sure she's okay. BI she needs to make sure you're not gonna hurt me. Yeah. LOL.'cause I'll joke about that shit. I would be the person that gets kidnapped who's like, he, I think it's funny. And then like, I actually get, it happens

Ashleighanna 27:41

to me. This guy seems nice. Any

Elizabeth 27:43

Anyw, who he is. So kind gentlemen. He's like, absolutely. So we beebo over to where you are. Um,

Ashleighanna 27:49

And I

Elizabeth 27:50

I felt like we were Bebopping.

Ashleighanna 27:51

Yeah. Y'all were, yeah. Just a giddy. I could see them like crossing the street together and I was like, okay, do we know this person already? Like,

Elizabeth 27:59

well, it's me. So, you know, I was asking the deep questions right out from the gate and then I realized, man, it takes a certain kind of person who can handle my energy. I feel like right at, right at the forefront. But the three of us went to a bar afterward, we vibed and had the best time. And did I get to make out? Absolutely. Do. We talk about this, wait, hold on.

Ashleighanna 28:18

Do we go into this?

Elizabeth 28:19

I'll just say this. We definitely made out,

Ashleighanna 28:26

I'll just say this,

Elizabeth 28:30

We

Ashleighanna 28:31

definitely made out, if you know what I mean,

Elizabeth 28:34

Get a friend. Who pushes you outta your comfort zone to meet up with an international man when you travel abroad because the healing that will come from that is more than you can ask for. So let's just say Harold and I really click and really hit it off and basically he becomes our tour guide for like that whole first leg of the trip. We went on a Fjord tour and this is at this point like no more crazy, like, oh my god, stuff happened. But it was more hijinks, like single girls best friends, traveling through Europe, hijinks being silly. I kept tripping over everything. It rained nonstop.

Ashleighanna 29:11

Obviously we've set the tone with what the travels were getting in. Yes. So it was like a,

Elizabeth 29:15

was not gonna be a smooth

Ashleighanna 29:16

what am I doing? Like it was miserable leading up to, I worked 65 hours that week leading up to it. I had a nose bleed on Saturday before I, we left because I was so stressed out. And I had like two nosebleeds because I was under slept and stressed out. And then moving straight from that into the shitty travel experience was just like too much. What the, it was just like, I'm just being jerked around and like, I'm along for the ride at this point. Like the world is just taking me on a ride. Now I finally have a partner in,

Elizabeth 29:45

control, let go. Yes,

Ashleighanna 29:47

I'm just gonna relinquish and just enjoy this and just like laugh about it because what else is gonna happen next? That's exactly what our trip was like on it was just like, Welp, what the fuck else is

Elizabeth 29:57

that happened.

Ashleighanna 29:58

pouring down

Elizabeth 29:58

that happened.

Ashleighanna 29:59

Oh, everybody thinks it's weird that we're here and that we're vacationing here. When we clarify that, why, why are we here?

Elizabeth 30:08

We're gonna go skiing. Oh, there's an avalanche and a rock slide. The whole, the whole park

Ashleighanna 30:13

one night Harold

Elizabeth 30:14

goes, this never happens. We're like, of course it never happens because it's gotta happen while we're here.

Ashleighanna 30:19

Of course.

Elizabeth 30:20

Of course. So Anyw who he gives us a tour, like our tour guide for the second day. We all go to dinner and we do our thing that evening. And since our skiing has now been canceled, me and Ashleighanna decide to sleep in. So I'll just say this. I was, I was at Harold's apartment, she is at the hotel, obviously I was safe. Like in terms of like, he wasn't sketchy, like, he was a cool guy. He was a really kind person. I, yeah, and he was like, I'll work remote in the morning so you can sleep in.'cause like, we were exhausted.'cause I didn't sleep on the plane. I was too nervous.'cause she was, I was

Ashleighanna 30:51

I didn't either.

Elizabeth 30:51

she gonna get here? And then, I was like, okay, if you don't mind, that'd be great. So I get woken up and he's like, can I make you breakfast? And I remember I woke up and I walk out and he cooked this entire breakfast spread homecooked breakfast spread, had coffee, omelet, all of this delicious fresh food. And I was like. It was, I don't know. It was

Ashleighanna 31:13

the way it should be like. Exactly. We'll, you'll hear us say this a couple times, but like a movie. Oh

Elizabeth 31:17

Oh God, it felt like a movie. 1000%.

Ashleighanna 31:19

like aligning that with like, oh wow. This is incredible for me. Aside from this scandalous thing that I've done and I'm in this other country, but like I'm with a wonderful human being. Yeah. And adult.

Elizabeth 31:29

Very much. Yeah.

Ashleighanna 31:30

Yeah. And

Elizabeth 31:31

how, how has his

Ashleighanna 31:32

care of me, rightfully so. Taking care of me and not just having this scandalous experience, but really just like a true like adult human experience. Yeah. Like very beautiful human

Elizabeth 31:42

told her, I was like, I would meet this kind of person in Norway. Like of course I would anyways. Can't just be like a little make out, just gotta freaking fall in

Ashleighanna 31:50

love. Fall in love, whatever. Wait, let's go back to that first night. Really quick, quick little plug. First night that they come skipping, skip a do.

Elizabeth 31:59

We were like

Ashleighanna 31:59

across the street, like hand in hand, mind you. And I'm sitting there like still like. Mm. Disheveled. Is that the word? I

Elizabeth 32:06

No. Yeah, no, for sure.

Ashleighanna 32:08

And drinking my wine, I'm like, whatever, screw it. I don't even drink wine'cause I can't,'cause I'm allergic to it. And I was like, screw it. We're jumping. Like I just want a glass of wine with my Italian pasta and just fill myself up with joy in this way. And here they come and it's like kind of drizzling and cold and that. Anyway, they're coming across and they're like cutesy. Like I'm literally, my thought was like, wait, do we know him? Like do we know him already? This is their first day in another country. Like he's foreign, like et cetera, et cetera. He comes in and like immediately, like we click back up, thank God we're excited. But like we start vibing on our normal plane and talking about like everything that's been going on and he immediately is just like there. Receptive. Yeah. Participating. And like we can tell that he's from a different country and speaks different language

Elizabeth 32:52

and

Ashleighanna 32:53

from another country before Norway and all of this stuff, I start realizing like, oh, this is like a really good person. It's a really good dude. He's like incredibly intelligent. And he was already like very into her. And like just the body language was very, I know, rightfully so. Body language was already there and it just immediately felt trusting. It's just like when you know what, you know, and I don't mean saying it in that context, but like when you know good people, truly, and I think you, you don't know that skill really until you get older. Right. And that was really what it was, where like it both just sat with us of like, oh, this is a really good dude. Yeah. Like he's just a good person. You can tell kind and intelligence. Is able to understand like certain words and stuff that we would do or like phrases or whatever. Like nuance. Yeah, nuance. Yeah, nuance. Yeah. Yeah. There.

Elizabeth 33:37

was not a languish

Ashleighanna 33:37

cute and impressive. Yeah. And he would like pay attention and asking us questions remembering things that we had just brought up. Like everything, a lot just happened in that first night just as properly set the stage for the scandalous adventure. It was all green flags. Yeah. Not an overtly like way. It was just a very natural like discovery of it all. So it, that's why these series of events happened so quickly. And for you and with your experience, just to give you credibility even more so of not just like, I'll be open, I made out with this guy this a few hours after I met him. Like that's not the reality of it. And I'm sure it might sound like that in a way. We, we realize that when we're telling people some of this story how like crazy it sounds.

Elizabeth 34:16

it does. It sounds like a freaking movie. It's definitely the holiday. It was. It's giving holiday vibes 1000%.

Ashleighanna 34:21

much. Especially with our luggage that we fucking had to carry. Oh God. Jesus.

Elizabeth 34:25

So to kind of wrap up the Bergen trip,'cause it goes out with a bank. Oh God. Okay. So at this point I feel a little selfish. Like I'm getting all this like international love and I'm like pushing her like, well you need

Ashleighanna 34:42

get,

Elizabeth 34:43

on Bumble. You need to like, yeah

Ashleighanna 34:44

yeah, me. That's what you're talking about with it. Forgot about that part. I forgot about my whole little scandalous little, well,

Elizabeth 34:54

real quick. So we basically go out exploring the third night, uh, the third day.'cause our ski trip got canceled like late in the afternoon because of an avalanche, which never happens apparently there. And we are, you know, gonna get coffee, whatever. Harold's like, I'll meet up with you later. I am, she's finally talking to a few different people, not a few, like you're talking, you and Marsden we're, uh, we'll call him

Ashleighanna 35:13

Marsden you

Elizabeth 35:14

were talking a little bit. And he's gonna meet up with us that last night. So finally we get it all synced out. We're gonna meet at dinner. I do the thing where I'm like, I gotta meet this guy. You know, whatever. Yeah. And

Ashleighanna 35:26

I've gotta be the good friends

Elizabeth 35:27

We're finally gonna eat this dish called fish soup, which sounded disgusting, but it's like something they're like really famous for, which ended up being absolutely

Ashleighanna 35:34

delicious. So good. A lot of cream.

Elizabeth 35:36

This guy shows up and I just want you to know, like my first impression was that is the biggest man I've

Ashleighanna 35:42

seen in my

Elizabeth 35:43

life. He had to have been six eight. I mean, I know he wasn't six eight, but he was like, like a Viking height. His thigh muscles. All I could think about was they could crush a watermelon. Yeah. Like you know, a hippo is like, like he could probably do it with both his thighs and she's five foot nothing and like literally five. And I'm like, he's 12 feet. So this should be interesting. We

Ashleighanna 36:05

see each other, we're at the top of this restaurant. It's like this old restaurant that we've been wanting to go to. Yeah, that was like over a hundred years old. It was really, really cool. Big deal there in Bergen and like the brig, Bri Brien, yeah. Area, the historic area. And so we finally got to go there and make sure we got our fish soup. He's gonna meet us there. So it's literally, it was supposed to be you and her, her and Harold. Harold, we thought was gonna join us. So we were gonna be able to have like a double date type of situation. And this guy meets up, he's like, yeah, I would love to meet you. I'll come meet you later. Like, whatever you're doing, so he comes and meets us at dinner. So it's literally just Elizabeth, myself and Marsden, that's his name., But when he like comes up the stairs, we're upstairs and I like come back from the bathroom or I don't even know, but I'm like in my very short girl attire, like very casual, got like my snow boots on. And so I'm like my normal short mode and always on short mode, but like extra short mode. And then this guy is like six three I think in like tight pants. Like, not like too tight, but like he's got some big ass legs we both see each other. And I'm like, oh, okay. Hey

Elizabeth 37:11

I got, I blushed. I was like, oh, the chemistry was there.

Ashleighanna 37:14

She blushed and then she couldn't play it. Cool. And we were like vibing, like immediately, like staring

Elizabeth 37:21

like, you wanna know my cards? I don't do mystery. Here's all the

Ashleighanna 37:24

she was showing the card. She was like, great, you're beautiful. Y'all would look great together. What do you do to work out? You do CrossFit. My friend does CrossFit. You like to run? She does two. Look how much you guys have in co like not playing it cool at all. I'm like looking at her, which mind you, me with dating anyway. I'm not very G like I am just, I'm more reserved than I think I am with my friends. Especially on the front end. I know because part of it's like,'cause I know I have a big personality and it's a lot coming in on a first date, so I usually try to like. Sit back and observe just a little bit more. So, and I'm a little bit more shy, so I'm in that mode kind of, and this is her first time seeing that at all. And she's like, oh, so I got you. Let me hype this up and coordinate this whole date in love affair.

Elizabeth 38:10

I didn't read the room as well as I

Ashleighanna 38:11

didn't need the room to show moving forward. I panic.'cause I panic anytime I'm gonna, you're in headlights. Like, yes. Anytime that I'm going to like, try to do anything with a guy, like I'm very, I'm a lot more hesitant and reserved with that type of stuff. And she's like making these life plans for us already. And I kid you not, she thought this was like later in the night, I'm like, girl, this happened before we ordered our fish soup. She like

Elizabeth 38:34

sat down and it was just like I grilled him.

Ashleighanna 38:37

Yes. And like, not like, what's going on? It was more like, do you wanna be a part of her life? Because, because visually I approve. That's what it gave. And I'm like looking at her like, please stop. Slash what is coming outta your mouth? And I can't get her to stop, but she's like, what? Like hush. I got this kind of vibes. And I'm like,

Elizabeth 39:01

like,

Ashleighanna 39:03

and this guy keeps, mind you looking, every time she says this, he looks at me for reassurance. Oh. Like, she's like, you should come to Atlanta. You should stay with her. Her. And I'm like, what's happening? I like, look at her. And then I look back at him and he's just like staring at me like, like, okay, are you into this? And I'm like, sure. I'm like, we'll see. We'll see. I don't know how to respond.

Elizabeth 39:32

So Anyw, who we, uh, we,

Ashleighanna 39:37

said the of

Elizabeth 39:38

of us go to.

Ashleighanna 39:38

to a bar, said the three of us go to a bar. Yeah. We clearly, we had been, we had like on the path to marriage

Elizabeth 39:47

and then I just start what I thought was very like inconspicuous taking pictures and like, I guess it was so obvious

Ashleighanna 39:55

Oh yeah.

Elizabeth 39:55

pictures of the two of you. So

Ashleighanna 39:57

then I was like googly eyed. Let's be honest. Looking at the pictures it's on, it's kind of embarrassing.

Elizabeth 40:02

No, but he was looking at you the same way though.

Ashleighanna 40:04

We'll say that. That's sweet.

Elizabeth 40:05

He was,

Ashleighanna 40:06

know. Looking at their lives, looking at some of'em. It was cute.

Elizabeth 40:09

It was really

Ashleighanna 40:10

moment. We had a good, uh, very good time. Very good discussion for sure. Very good Throuple discussion.

Elizabeth 40:14

We did. And so Harold was feeling too tired'cause poor thing had to work while I was off giv. He still, he got no sleep and still had to work, so he was like, I really don't wanna come out, but I'll come pick you up. So I make sure Marsden's not gonna, you know, take her. I go meet up with Harold. Yeah.

Ashleighanna 40:30

So that's what she keeps saying too. Yeah. Well, I need to make sure that you're not a serial killer before I leave your insinuating that we're gonna be together for the rest of the night. So she's like, I've, she's been a good girlfriend from me and this guy, and yada, yada, yada. And I'm like, all right, great. So this guy just knows that I'm gonna.

Elizabeth 40:45

make out

Ashleighanna 40:46

my friend wants us to be together for the rest of the night. So now we both have to comply with her plan that she has constructed.'cause in her mind it makes sense. It's in that box. That's what's gonna be happening tonight because she's gonna go do the same without realizing the rest of the fact that I just met this man, but she wanted it to happen. So it was gonna happen and I wasn't complaining about it. Let's be honest.

Elizabeth 41:09

Thank you. Okay. I was waiting for that. Jesus.

Ashleighanna 41:13

I wasn't complaining about it too much.

Elizabeth 41:14

So we each have our romantic rendezvous the last night we're there and then Harold's like, I'll drive you guys to the airport. And I was like, oh, what a

Ashleighanna 41:22

A

Elizabeth 41:22

Thank you. And our flight was like six 30 in the freaking morning. Um, so yeah. Don't get much sleep that night.

Ashleighanna 41:29

both of us slept. I slept for an hour and a half.

Elizabeth 41:31

I don't even know. I think maybe an hour

Ashleighanna 41:34

Still drunk. Yeah. Miserable. Marsden's with us. Helping us with the suitcase be able to get downstairs and then our other Harold Knight and Shining Armor Harold. And then they get to meet it. We have this cute little moment and

Elizabeth 41:47

Me and Ashleighanna are

Ashleighanna 41:48

our

Elizabeth 41:48

blink, blink, blink, blink. Yes.

Ashleighanna 41:50

Like kissing our men. Goodbye. We'll see you soon. I'll see you in Atlanta. So that developed into our legitimate plan. So many plans that we talked about that night. Seriously. But I'll see you in Atlanta in a couple weeks

Elizabeth 42:01

So of course we have these kind of connections'cause we're these kind of people I feel like. So

Ashleighanna 42:07

obviously more this person because you were there pushing for it for sure. She was. Good at being on top of me, making sure that I was checking my phone and trying to have a fun moment for myself. Yeah. Which we love girly friends that do that and instigate those type of things.'cause honestly, on my own, clearly I'm bad about doing that myself. I'm very like, just in the moment and like with my friend and I'm like, you know what? You're right. I will not feel guilty of getting on the apps and being able to talk to a cute man and see what happens with it.

Elizabeth 42:33

And then here we are. So Harold takes us to the airport. I say goodbye. We promise you keep in touch

Ashleighanna 42:39

shout out Harold. Good looking out. We love you, man. That was clutch with being able to take us to the airport that morning

Elizabeth 42:46

anyways, um, I wonder if I listen to this. But anyways, we, uh, we go on the way to Tromso. We arrive in a winter,

Ashleighanna 42:53

finally on a flight together.

Elizabeth 42:54

finally on a flight together. Winter paradise. And I, heaven, heaven, it's freezing. I'm slipping, sliding everywhere. Um, but it wasn't freezing for me because I was so exhausted, my body was hot.'cause it couldn't get my body temperature to regulate quite well. So I was sweating in the like arctic circle, I feel like. But yeah,

Ashleighanna 43:12

that's the whole

Elizabeth 43:13

whole, the whole time I was like sweating.

Ashleighanna 43:15

The plane ride, we are an hour and a half of sleep. Each of us, we have just had the most scandalous nights and times of our lives.

Elizabeth 43:21

actually romantic.

Ashleighanna 43:22

Hers was romantic as hell. Mine was just different context.

Elizabeth 43:27

no, yours was cutesy too.

Ashleighanna 43:29

Mine was cutesy, but also like, could have not happened and that would've probably been fine too. But it, I mean, for the plot. For the plot,

Elizabeth 43:36

for the plot, mine was super, super deep and introspective like of course it was.

Ashleighanna 43:40

We were those girlies on the plane finally together. We were excited about that. An hour and a half asleep. We got through the whole thing and she's like, I'm gonna get a glass of champagne at like seven 30 in the morning. And I'm like,

Elizabeth 43:51

because I was on cloud nine.

Ashleighanna 43:52

Fuck. Yeah. You know what? Win in room. We're finally on a plane together. We finally made our plane or our flight and all of the things, the stars are lining. We just had, both of us just had an amazing night, truly amazing night and we're together. And I just like, can't believe our lives are right now. So we're get a little bit of champagne. We get a little bit settled. We're like looking literally over the Arctic Circle, and we're like

Elizabeth 44:13

is so beautiful. Let's

Ashleighanna 44:14

drink some bubbly. And we talk the entire flight about our, every

Elizabeth 44:19

Every single detail.

Ashleighanna 44:22

Every detail. And so everybody around us heard it too. It was great. You're welcome for the entertainment. Uh, after a few sips of the bubbly, I don't think I cared that much. Um.

Elizabeth 44:33

'cause we were delusional.

Ashleighanna 44:34

But it was great. It was a great way to start that transition, like transition into that.'cause it was like kind of sad losing that and

Elizabeth 44:41

Yeah. It was deep

Ashleighanna 44:42

and all this stuff and then we were like going to see the Northern Lights that same night.

Elizabeth 44:46

Yeah. Which is crazy. It

Ashleighanna 44:47

such a crazy pivot. It was wonderful to be able to like be together, we got into Tromso and it was just like

Elizabeth 44:53

gorgeous snow everywhere. Beautiful hues of blue. Like the sky was so gorgeous. Way different than the weather in Bergen. Uh, I was slips, slap slopping everywhere. And that's when we had our true holiday moment trying to hike our fricking luggage up the icy, snowy hill. And not only do we go up the hill like the wrong hill the first time, which was a whole feat in itself.

Ashleighanna 45:14

bad.

Elizabeth 45:15

Thank you. I'll say, I don't think this is legitimately someone's yard. We're trespassing through,

Ashleighanna 45:20

literally we got in their yard and we're like, oh, sorry. They're like looking at us and we're like, oh my god,

Elizabeth 45:25

it isn't like an easy like hustle out, like gotta go down the whole path and then go down their long ass driveway. So then we're like, okay, so we had to go back up another hill. I am exhausted. I'm dying. I'm also sweating because I'm so hot. So we slip, slap, slap into. I know why I keep saying

Ashleighanna 45:39

Like she slip, slap, slap. I guess I am too. Yes, it is freaking hard. But there's some, we have, we both have Rell boots on for this whole trip. Were not ice. And for some reason hers were not like ice proof. Mine was. And I'm, I don't know if it's because of my, like I don't, I don't know. And I'm like, yours don't seem that different from mine. But she's like, shoo shoot the whole time. And I'm just like, dun da. Like stomp through the so like normal person, like what's

Elizabeth 46:04

ah, I, I'm wiping out everywhere. Everywhere.

Ashleighanna 46:06

Limbs everywhere.

Elizabeth 46:08

We get into the most beautiful Airbnb. It's shout out to Ana. You want her on your travel committee?'cause she finds the most beautiful places.

Ashleighanna 46:14

I love it. Aesthetic

Elizabeth 46:15

And we get adjusted. We are exhausted. We're like, how are we gonna be in a van for like six hours tonight? Because this tour goes like three hours north. And so then three hours back on top of the actual stopping to see the lights and all of this

Ashleighanna 46:30

I didn't wanna do shit. I will say, I think we both took quick power naps. We did, I laid on the couch in the living room with like all the natural light outside. It was so beautiful. But I fall asleep on the couch right there because I'm so tired. Like I don't even think in a normal position with like a blanket or anything. And she I'm pretty sure was face first on the bed. Mm-hmm. We get us a power nap in and

Elizabeth 46:46

Yeah. I shower, then I'm out,

Ashleighanna 46:48

outs, wakes up and is like, all right, we gotta do this. And I'm, there's not a cell in my body that wants to do it at all. At all. But then I'm like wrapping my head around the fact that I'm like, I'm about to go see the Northern Lights. Yeah. I need to pivot my mindset to that because this is gonna be incredible and I know that this is like the true rationale behind you wanting to do this trip.

Elizabeth 47:08

Yeah, I was gonna say, the lights have always driven the, the reason to go to Norway and after all this stuff happened with all of my life imploding, it felt even more spiritual and like a guiding, I don't know, tug that I to see these lights. So I knew that for, I, I didn't know what, but I knew there was gonna be some kind of spiritual or like just personal release in some way and seeing these. So she's starting to get sick and she's definitely going like feeling one kind of way and I'm feeling like, oh my God, like a kid in a candy store. Um, and she's trying to rally'cause I know she does not feel good and she does not wanna like damper my mood. And you did not, just so you know, you did not.

Ashleighanna 47:47

thank God.

Elizabeth 47:48

And so, we did like this really special private tour that we also get professional photos in. The way the van is situated. It's like two seats on the one side and one seat on the one. So I gotta sit solo, which actually

Ashleighanna 47:58

the last ones on the bus. Of course.

Elizabeth 48:00

course.'cause we were running a little

Ashleighanna 48:01

US two.

Elizabeth 48:02

Um, we're like so

Ashleighanna 48:03

we were right on

Elizabeth 48:04

at that sign. Yeah. No, seriously you

Ashleighanna 48:06

that I looked. I was like, what?

Elizabeth 48:10

But we, uh, we, um, it actually was good that I kind of got the solo seat because I, we will get there in a second. So anyways, here we go. We'd start the

Ashleighanna 48:18

I'm wedged in between a bunch of random foreign people, like literally one person, then me and then two other people. And then I'm like in the very back row and I'm like, just awkwardly s sarine and like, well, I'll ride this for three and a half, almost four hours. Definitely

Elizabeth 48:35

a trek. So, so we, I didn't think

Ashleighanna 48:37

was gonna be that long. I thought it was like an hour and a half there. Do the thing, an hour and a half back. It was great.

Elizabeth 48:42

Uh, so we stop. He is like, oh, there's some lights. And that was cool. It was exciting. It was just called like validating that we least saw something, right? So then we drive like maybe not even an hour further, and like the guy, like the tour guide stop the van kind of urgently. We gotta pull over and we get out. And when I tell you it was the craziest display of lights, it was almost like the sun was shining. It was so bright. There was an explosion of green, purple, pink over the sky. They were dancing like it was absolutely insane. Beautiful. It was insane. I started like jumping up and down. The tour guide was so hype because he's like, it never does this. Like the fact that you are seeing this. And then it hit me. I was like, oh my gosh, this is my sign. Like this is my sign that everything's gonna be okay. This is my sign that I'm on the right path. This is my validation that I did what I had to do. And I got in that freaking van and I

Ashleighanna 49:35

boohoo.

Elizabeth 49:36

boohooed. I kept thinking Ashleighanna would be making for of me right now. I'm so glad. Sit by myself.

Ashleighanna 49:42

Because

Elizabeth 49:43

it was so

Ashleighanna 49:44

makes me sad. No, I'm kidding. But I do love that so much where it truly was you saw her like I saw it and we'll just say that. I wasn't in a great mindset at the moment. I exhausted amongst other things, trying to like fake energy and I just like had no personality and I was infuriated that I then had no personality at all to give. So I'm seeing this, I'm like, oh, this is really cool. This is beautiful. Like looking at the through my phone and I'm like, in my peripherals, this girly is bouncing up and down, like elated.

Elizabeth 50:14

Literally I was like jumping up and down and

Ashleighanna 50:15

I'm like, oh my God. Like I think she hit me a couple times. I was like trying to take pictures. So I'm like, girl chill. I'm trying to capture the essence of what this is so I can wrap my head around these emotions

Elizabeth 50:24

and if

Ashleighanna 50:25

feel anything at all, it is just as great as what I think it is. It was really, really cool. But I'm glad that I got prepped before I went that it wasn't you. It's different to the naked eye. Yeah. And so I'm glad that I had that understanding and were able to appreciate it appropriately, but not to the. Not to the feels that she was feeling. Right. And I love that so, so much for her. But yes, at the moment I was, we were on two different planes, like truly two different planes there. She was elated and I was like, me, please don't talk to me. Feelings are nothing. I am numb.

Elizabeth 51:00

Well, so we

Ashleighanna 51:01

sat apart and she said, rightfully so, even though I left her alone in her emotions there. But also good for you of being able to reflect on that on your own.

Elizabeth 51:08

was beautiful.

Ashleighanna 51:09

While I was like, do I have a heart? Do I feel anything? Anyway,

Elizabeth 51:14

so then we go to some frozen lake in Northern Finland and eat. Vegan stew and like hanging out with all these people around the, from different countries around the, the fire. And it was wonderful. Yeah. Then we had our, our drive home and then it's like 2:00 AM and they don't take us to our Airbnb, they take us like drop us off like a mile away and it's all uphill. We're like, okay, cool. 2:00 AM just two. Two girlies.

Ashleighanna 51:36

like literally 2:00 AM

Elizabeth 51:37

like you just go up

Ashleighanna 51:38

street and drop us off on the side of the road.

Elizabeth 51:41

minute walk. Okay,

Ashleighanna 51:41

That's over a mile from our house. It literally was like a mile and a half or so from our house, and so we had to like run up the hill in the middle of the night and you're just like, what the hell is happening?

Elizabeth 51:52

I, I guess we can tell you Norway's very safe.

Ashleighanna 51:53

Very safe. Yeah. We'll definitely say that like nobody has any concerns of any of that stuff at all. Very safe. It's funny, but

Elizabeth 51:59

then the rest of Tromso was just, we went to a reindeer farm and Oh my god. Reindeer are so cute. So

Ashleighanna 52:06

cute. That picture, insert picture of the woohoo.

Elizabeth 52:10

Woohoo. Yes. Seriously. They're like puppy cows, and there was so many of them, and so many, we learned about the indigenous people, the Sami culture, and basically their reindeer farmers. And this wasn't just like a gimmicky like, you know, zoo on the side of the road. Like this is literally where they live, like what they do. Um,

Ashleighanna 52:27

on the side of this beautiful hill overlooking

Elizabeth 52:30

in a lake.

Ashleighanna 52:30

The, well is it the, the lake?

Elizabeth 52:32

lake over there? No, no water. Yeah. Okay. But it's like a, I don't know, bay. A bay. Like

Ashleighanna 52:36

Bay area I guess going through and like tromso iss divided into two sides and you can just see you're like up on this hill. So beautiful, beautiful sky is beau like blue, clear as day, able to just take it all in and it's just like rain. Exactly. Of what you would envision in heaven and in what Norway is. And then of course just trickling in these beautiful, super cute reindeer. Yeah, it was just such a setting. I was miserable. I was sick at the time. Yeah. My girl had me covered here trying to help figure out some solutions, but I was another level of like where I thought I was gonna have to go to the hospital and I was really heartbroken that I was like ruining the trip. Like not only for myself, but also for my friend. So that was like a part of the experience. Fortunately we were able to figure it out and make it work like there at the reindeer farm, like at an hour into it started feeling better. Mm-hmm. And that way we could finally enjoy it a little bit ourselves. Got some super cute footage.

Elizabeth 53:23

And I just wanna say like, you want people, like, you want us to go on trips with you?'cause I feel like we're very, we're the same person. We're very resourceful. We'll figure things out when one is out for the count, the other one's gonna swoop in and make sure we figure it out. Like, I don't

Ashleighanna 53:35

figure out the, what's the energy, what's the vibe? What do we, what do we need to fix here? And how can I support

Elizabeth 53:41

Like it's just That's what you Yeah. And this is why we're gonna travel everywhere now because I think we're good travel buddies. I agree. So many experiences. But yeah. So Tromso, the rest of Tromso was just exploring the cute town. We got our matching Norwegian sweaters. Oh yeah. Look out That's day right for your holiday card this year. It's

Ashleighanna 53:56

Oh yeah. It's gonna

Elizabeth 53:57

It's gonna be me and her. You definitely want us on your fridge.

Ashleighanna 54:00

Oh my God, y'all.

Elizabeth 54:01

yeah, we got our Norwegian sweaters, so we're like legit locals. Uh, because

Ashleighanna 54:06

that's all I wanted. Yeah. I wanted one of those sweaters. What are they called again? The Mario. Mario something. I don't know. It's some like artist,

Elizabeth 54:14

I don't remember, but yes.

Ashleighanna 54:15

I'll be more intelligent with this

Elizabeth 54:16

like that. Maybe. We'll, maybe we'll insert that at some point. But it was a lot of

Ashleighanna 54:19

going because I want that a fact to be on here.

Elizabeth 54:22

that She's looking it up. So while she's looking that up, we go to the ice bar, which, uh, they have a few locations in Norway. That was very cold. but it was all right. It was chill, but again, very freaking

Ashleighanna 54:32

cold. It was so cold. So cold. Mario. Marius. Marius. It's a Marius. Marius.

Elizabeth 54:41

There you go. There's your fun fact. A Marius sweater design.

Ashleighanna 54:44

Mary is something, I don't know, I might be,

Elizabeth 54:46

We might be wrong.

Ashleighanna 54:47

Anyway, it's like the, it's the

Elizabeth 54:49

og

Ashleighanna 54:49

og like Norwegian like sweater that you see, like Santa Claus wearing that all started in that Norway. Scandinavian area.

Elizabeth 54:57

We're gonna have a JC Penney photo shoot

Ashleighanna 54:59

and they're freaking expensive, y'all. They're like 150 to$350 a sweater. So we were like, all right, we've got to, I went on this tangent about the

Elizabeth 55:08

store that was very popular there and they had so many and we ended up getting like matching ones, which was very convenient because

Ashleighanna 55:14

50 bucks. Again,

Elizabeth 55:15

we're like attached to the hip at this point. So

Ashleighanna 55:17

we had to, they had to be matching.

Elizabeth 55:19

we got our

Ashleighanna 55:19

okay. They didn't have to be, in my world, I did not want them to be matching,

Elizabeth 55:22

In my world. They did.

Ashleighanna 55:24

but in her world, I knew that it just like scratched that. She was like, we could match. And I'm like, okay.

Elizabeth 55:30

don't even lie. You loved it.

Ashleighanna 55:31

I did love it. Once we got it on, I did love it. I was just like, I always know that I'm gonna be the mini me version if we match. I'm always the kid

Elizabeth 55:39

Nothing

Ashleighanna 55:41

in this

Elizabeth 55:41

Nothing wrong with that. So the last day in Tromso, we just explored Mount Ian. We had a whole photo shoot up there. Um, if you not,

Ashleighanna 55:50

not Mount Follian. Foy was, oh,

Elizabeth 55:50

that, oh no, that was Bergen. Um, what was the other one called? I don't

Ashleighanna 55:54

even know what it was called.

Elizabeth 55:55

It was a FJ something Gel. Fled. Yeah,

Ashleighanna 55:59

was something like that.

Elizabeth 55:59

But we can't, yeah, God Morgan. I can say that in Norwegian. Uh, but we went to the top of that. I faced my fear of heights and opened my eyes on the rail car up there Ashleighanna. I got a witness first hand, just how scared I am of heights.

Ashleighanna 56:14

I was like, oh, is this a thing? Oh, this is a thing. This is an actual thing. Like she is homegirl is terrified. She won't even take any pictures with me. Like near like a fully a ledge.

Elizabeth 56:25

clear ledge. there's, I was inch in there though. I was,

Ashleighanna 56:28

and everything. And she still was like, no.

Elizabeth 56:30

to Bergen, I think I did really good on that mountain. Yeah, you did. So,

Ashleighanna 56:33

and that was even higher.

Elizabeth 56:34

It was

Ashleighanna 56:35

uh, that literally looked overlooked. Um,

Elizabeth 56:38

It was so beautiful. And the water and the mountains and you could like see the airplanes coming in for the airport. It was so cool. We went to

Ashleighanna 56:44

beautiful.

Elizabeth 56:45

the, the place that we frequented the most was like the one chain restaurant in Norway.

Ashleighanna 56:50

Egon.

Elizabeth 56:50

Shout out to Egons Delicious food. But it was the only place that was open for food late, like most places closed at like eight. It was crazy. And us being on our own, our own timelines. Yeah.

Ashleighanna 57:00

Truly

Elizabeth 57:01

could not eat at a normal hour. And so yeah, we ate Egons lots of times. Agon like three times.

Ashleighanna 57:07

LOL at least. At least. It was good

Elizabeth 57:09

It was

Ashleighanna 57:10

out fish

Elizabeth 57:10

Europe is different than here. Fish and chips, that one breakfast was delicious. Fish and chip. Yeah. Okay. It was dead. It was good. It was delicious. And then, yeah, I guess. What else? Like, I think that was kind of it. Like we just, Beebo had a blast. Giggled, we shopped,

Ashleighanna 57:26

gifts for family members. Got a commemorate shop. Chocolate. Reindeer, by the way. Like we had fish soup again and reindeer is so good. Like I thought it was gonna be, I think we both thought it was gonna be like venison. Yeah, it's

Elizabeth 57:40

wasn't. It was like spongy.

Ashleighanna 57:41

Yeah. Like spongy A little bit more like beef. Yeah, it was

Elizabeth 57:45

tasty. Yeah. It was like beef. It was delicious. Look at us being so cultured in our different foods.

Ashleighanna 57:49

and it's as much as it sounds like, sorry I didn't interrupt, but as much as it sounds like bad that we're eating the reindeer and you're like, you went to a reindeer farm

Elizabeth 57:58

They served us reindeer stew.

Ashleighanna 58:00

Yes. They're, it's like very celebratory in nature. It's, it's very much so culture

Elizabeth 58:04

like, I don't wanna say worships the reindeer, but it's like they really respect the animal. Yes.

Ashleighanna 58:08

All the way through.

Elizabeth 58:09

their culture.

Ashleighanna 58:10

Exactly. It's very super similar, the same aspect and mindset of like Native Americans. It's the Sami culture is the, the same thing there. And just very beautiful, very like true to the land and like spiritual and all of that stuff. And they like put reindeer obviously because they're native like in high regard and use them for their clothing and tools and all sorts of stuff is obviously as well as their, um, their food. And so being able to have that there and it still be like a very, uh, like celebrated, braided and like healthy practice with it all. And honoring, there we go.

Elizabeth 58:41

there we go. That's, yeah. That's better.

Ashleighanna 58:42

the reindeer. It was really cool. It was a really cool experience being able to be a part of that and it'd be like really tasty and enjoyable. That, and the fish soup were

Elizabeth 58:49

so good. And then we did make our flight back. And we did not have the hijinks on the way home, as we did on the way there.

Ashleighanna 58:57

Thank God, thank God,

Elizabeth 58:59

Thank God. Because we were exhausted at that point and

Ashleighanna 59:02

was, so

Elizabeth 59:03

then we just got a relish in. Did we just really have that trip? Like the trip? Like I almost

Ashleighanna 59:07

like we're like messaging with our new friends, Marsden

Elizabeth 59:10

Mars and Harold, and on the plane and just

Ashleighanna 59:14

planning next steps in our lives I guess, and reflecting on it. We get the whole middle seat and I had two guys beside me and they left. So Elizabeth and I

Elizabeth 59:23

four seats to

Ashleighanna 59:23

four seats to ourselves, had four seats.

Elizabeth 59:24

It was beautiful.

Ashleighanna 59:25

deserved it so much. It was so great. It was phenomenal. I was so pumped. So I literally laid out, I feel bad'cause she only kept one seat to herself, and I laid out across the three seats like a child and slept for a while. But it was phenomenal. It was, we needed it. And of course then everyone around us heard us talking about our movie like story in Norway over the past week, including,

Elizabeth 59:48

it really was a movie

Ashleighanna 59:49

including some missionaries that we learned that sat in front

Elizabeth 59:52

me. Oh my God, I forgot about that. Yes.

Ashleighanna 59:54

they heard

Elizabeth 59:55

for work? And they're like, oh, we're in, we work, we do mission work. And I was like, of course you do. Of course you do. You guys did look like good, holy people. 1000%.

Ashleighanna 1:00:07

Sorry for the stories. Sorry

Elizabeth 1:00:09

for these whores. Um, I'm just kidding, child.

Ashleighanna 1:00:13

No, we weren't. We weren't ours. I know. I keep trying to think through how much are we gonna share on this thing

Elizabeth 1:00:21

in reality, no. We're just thinking, okay, wow. We might have sin father like that's for sure. But you know. Of course, of course there are missionaries in front of us because that would not be this trip without it. Right, right. And

Ashleighanna 1:00:33

And we're not like chill. Like it's not like we whisper. Like I can kind of get to that point where I'm like being self-aware,

Elizabeth 1:00:39

like, oh yeah, that one moment was cold. We're like, oh my God. This exact detailed, very descriptive. Like you get a full show we're, we want you to be there with us. That's how we communicate. Yeah. So yeah. And then

Ashleighanna 1:00:50

we left no stones on unturned with it all joyfully and giggly. Reflecting on it all.

Elizabeth 1:00:57

I feel like I came back a different person in the best way. I felt so much lighter. I felt healed. I felt it was such a healing trip. And I said this to you already, but as, as wonderful and romantic as everything was and adventure, you made the trip going with you.

Ashleighanna 1:01:12

I know.

Elizabeth 1:01:13

Like that made it like the giggling. I think that was the biggest healing being with you, exploring. Laughing through the pain, so to speak, and just every single thing that could happen would happen in the best way, worst way, but also the best way. And I don't know, it just, it was the best. And I couldn't have pictured anyone else being with me. And I don't know. It was so much fun.

Ashleighanna 1:01:34

Oh, I love you.

Elizabeth 1:01:35

I love you. So I can't wait for our next trip.

Ashleighanna 1:01:36

know.

Elizabeth 1:01:37

Because we're already planning

Ashleighanna 1:01:38

It was really fun. Very, very fun. We didn't stop the whole time, the whole aspect of like being Americans in this foreign country and we were very much so those like stereo stereotypical American girls, just like loving life, giggling the whole time. And clearly that singing. Yeah, singing, sang everywhere. Performing. Harmonizing

Elizabeth 1:01:53

top of the world looking down on creation.

Ashleighanna 1:01:59

I can still remember a little bit.

Elizabeth 1:02:00

So on that note, Go to Europe with your best friend.

Ashleighanna 1:02:03

Go to Europe with your best friends.

Elizabeth 1:02:05

need to heal.

Ashleighanna 1:02:06

Yes, highly recommend Norway. We'll give you a new itinerary.

Elizabeth 1:02:09

that Bumble on travel mode. Okay, bye bye.