This is Bipper

In case you wonder what Bipper really is, here's a short video introduction put together by the Bipper Team one afternoon.

Hope you like it!

My pitch for the Bully Award 2010

I would have loved to attend the Pathway to Exit conference in Barcelona next week, but due to the launch of Bipper in Norway I can't.

Bipper is one of the nominees for the Bully Award - a very prestigious prize for the most successful and promising TMT companies - and in Barcelona all 60 finalists (selected from hundreds of nominated companies) are invited to pitch for the jury.

What to do when you really want to be there to pitch, but you can't? Olav and I spent one very late night at the office and made this video.

Peanut, banana, brownie cake- Yummi!

I’m not the best cook, but I love to bake. I think I have this after my grand-mother who made the most amazing and appetizing cookies. However, it’s been awhile since I made anything but “instant cookies” (life as an entrepreneur seems to take time away time from such activities…), but Richelle leaving us deserved something special.  I wanted to make something really good since she has meant so much for us.

I want to share a fantastic recipe with you. Chocolate, bananas, strawberries and peanut butter might seem strange, but this is something out of this world. I found the recipe in a paper when I was pregnant with Oda some 10 years ago and have made this on special occasions

What’s great 1- The cake feeds many

What’s great 2- it’s easy to make

What’s great 3- The base can be made by itself (great brownie) and be eaten with ice cream or fruit

Here is the recipe:

• Part 1, melt 150 gr butter and 150 gr dark chocolate in water bath and mix together
• Part 2 mix together 3 eggs and 115 gr brown sugar
• Mix part 1 and 2
• Mix in 100 gr flour + 1,5 teaspoon vanilla sugar, + 100 gr chopped walnuts

The mixture is poured in round form (ca. 24 cm) and put in the middle of the oven at 200 C for 20 minutes.

Let the cake cool down while you mix the filling:

• 250 gr cream cheese
• 50 gr sugar
• 50 gram peanut butter

I always experience that this is a little too much, so you can probably reduce the amount of everything somewhat. I always seem to forget….

Put the filling on the cake and decorate with sliced strawberries and bananas. Melt the rest of the chocolate (should be 50 gr left if you have a 200gr bar) in the microwave in a small microwave proof bag, cut a hole in the tip of the bag and create a net of chocolate over the fruit. This is very simple, but looks great.

Voila, the cake is ready to be served. And it is delicious!!!

Siv, Facebook and Racism

I came across Siv Jensen’s fan page on Facebook just by coincidence. I‘m a fan of a number of other politicians from various parties, and immediately became a fan of Siv as well. I think it's great that politicians get involved in the media channels where they find the “people” and not least, it gives me a great opportunity to keep myself informed about opinions and discussions. It's not often I have time to watch the news anymore, to say it this way ....Life as an Entrepreneur consumes you!

I also think that Siv is a cool lady

and a woman that I have respect for. Do I share all of her views? No. Am I a member of FrP? No. Do I agree with some of the issues she and her party stands for? Yes. Just the way I agree with some of the issues most of the parties stand for, which is why I find it so incredible difficult to decide which party to vote for….. As a politician, I think Siv is great! She is extremely good on stage, she speaks clearly and she does well in debates. She speaks to the people. They understand her and she capitalizes on that. I was at the Autumn Conference for the Economists Society a few years ago where high profile representatives from all the parties spoke. Siv represented FrP and was the only one there that actually spoke “to” the audience; the rest just read their scripts. You might not agree with her views, but it’s hard to argue that she is not good!

However, after spending some time reading her Facebook page, I got disappointed…. and quite shocked actually. Not with the way she expresses herself or her point of views, but the way that she has opened up her page. Her page is full of racist comments and hate messages made by members/fans since the page is completely uncensored.

• All members / fans can comment on Siv's posts
• All members / fans can be easily post their own post on the page

The first point works well in most cases, but for Siv and FrP, this means that the site attracts a lot of racists who post all kinds of racist comments. There are many - me included - who will not want to be associated with FrP, when such statements freely get published on one of FrP’s channels.

Young mother

I didn’t catch PULS, but I just read the article about the 23 year old medical student who is a mother of 2 and feel that people consider her a failure. I was/is also a young mother and had the same thoughts when I was younger.  Especially when I was strolling the baby around I did get a lot of disapproving looks from people considering me too young to be a mother.

It’s strange. My mother was considered old as a first time mother and needed extra follow- up when she had me. She was 25. When I got pregnant at 21 and my daughter was born on my 22^nd birthday (yes- I haven’t had a birthday in 10 years, but what a fantastic gift!) it was definitely not the norm. None of my friends had kids and it’s only in the last few years some of them (and I emphasize some) have started having kids.

Was our first planned? No, she was not, but the rest of them certainly was. When we first had one, we might as well continue. I had my second child at 25 and my third just before I turned 28. Three fantastic kids and a great partner. He was only 25 when our first was born and was considered an extremely young father (by today’s standards) There was no doubt that a lot of people doubted if we would make it, the odds were against us….

No way!

We had everything, except a degree, our own home and money. However, that’s what matters …strange!

I was studying when I got pregnant and continued during my pregnancy. Why stop? Besides my family life with an increasing number of kids, I had an active student life where I was involved with a lot of volunteer work, I finished my bachelor, a MBA and was into my second MBA when the entrepreneur spirit got the better of me.

I actually became a better student after I had kids. My grades improved and I was elected The Economics student of the year in Norway only a few months after I had my second as I was already way into my studies again. That’s great about being a student mom, but much harder as a working mom. Strange!

To be allowed to be a mom while studying is a fantastic gift. The days are flexible, and the child can grow up with “slow” mornings, long vacations and attentive parents. We didn’t have a strong economy, but do you really need much more than a small student apartment. I would definitely not been without our 5 years at Nattland Student Housing in Bergen. What a great place to live both for adults and children. Paradise!

My life situation was and still in many cases is very different from people my own age. Only half of my graduating class has a family of their own and they still live a “uncomplicated” life. The rest have typically only recently had their first child and are facing some busy years with raising, having and taking care of small kids while many are in the middle of a very important and hectic period in their careers.

It’s nice to think about that I recently could celebrate my first day in 10 years not having to change diapers anymore!!

Biiiiiig Blueberries

Have you seen blueberries this big before? They are gigantic and absolutely beautiful. And best of all- I get them from my own terrace. I have a blueberry bush with American blueberries that I bought at a garden center a few years ago.

A great buy resulting in happy kids and fascinated adults!

Live from a-ha

Blogging directly from a concert might be a little “too live”, but this one brings back sooo many memories. I fell in love with Morten when I was 9 years old. He made my heart skip. Take on me was constantly being played in my room…need I say more?

When I was 21, I met Morten in Oslo. We were both speakers at the celebration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and my knees were trembling when we were introduced. I barely managed to say a word. I’m capable of debating with people like Hillary Clinton and Dalai Lama, but meeting Morten…, damn that man….

At the moment he is on stage in front of me, as hot, cool and tough as his been over the last 25 years.  It’s strange that this is their farewell tour, to my kids they are brand new…time flies!