Weekend in Prague

Last weekend Matt and I went to Prague for our anniversary. We had a great time and I recommend for everyone to go there. Beautiful town, good food, good beer and nice people. The first day we took a walking tour and got to see the castle and the old town area. Very beautiful but a really cold day. I also got to hear how the swede never made it into the city during the 30 year old war... the guide was extra happy to have a Sweden on the tour so that she could point that out to me. That night we took a 'bar crawl' tour where we were suppose to learn about Prague culture and beer. Well we did not learn much.. the guide just hung out with us and took us to any bars that we wanted to go to and then he hit on the single girl in the group.. the good thing was that we met some fun people to hang out with so we had a blast anyway. Sunday we had time to walk around and shop.

I know where Santa lives

So today we did not do much, slept in and had a big breakfast with Mari and Janne before they took off to go back home to Gothemburg. We did also take a walk on the town to see the Christmas decorations. However, before we headed out we were very very lucky. We figured out where Santa lives.. he lives across the street from our apartment. Yep, from our livingroom window we got to see a glimpse of Santa when he got some help from some body double Santas that were helping him pushing his sleigh out...

Germany for a day

The really good thing with living here is that you can go to two other countries in less than 3 hours. My sister Mari and her boyfriend came to visit and we drove down to Germany for the day. You might wonder why a lot of people do this but the only reason is..cheap booze.. so we loaded up the car and spent a few hours in Germany shopping for candy, clothes, and beer. It is crazy but a case of beer is cheaper (by almost half) compared to a case of Coca Cola.. Matt is really starting to think that Sweden is weird.

New hairdo

I had not really cut my hair since I moved to Sweden, especially since I don't have a hairdresser here. I was thinking of going back to Chicago for a haircut but maybe that was just a little too expensive. I finally searched around on the web and decided to go to a place that had gotten good reviews down the street.. well, big mistake. I just wanted to trim a little.. well, the haircut ended up with a trimmer being used.. not really what I had intended. My hair is the shortest I have ever had it. I look like a little boy and hate it. Even Matt confessed that it doesn't really look good. I have been avoiding mirrors ever since and swore to never ever cut my hair again. However, on the bright side my haircut is perfect for a 1920s style party.. and yes, I went to a 'roaring 20s' christmas party.

Thanksgiving in Tungelsta

We celebrated Thanksgiving in full US style over at my parents place. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce etc. It was a really nice dinner with my parents and I hope that Matt was not too home sick. The next day Oliver got to meet my aunt's dog and that was pretty much the first play date that Oliver has ever had. We also went out for Linda's birthday that night. Lots of dancing and fun times.

November

So I did not blog at all in all of November. The only excuse I have is that I was lazy. The new puppy has really made me a home body so you would think that I would have been able to blog. November started out awesome, not need to mention the US election but I do wish I would have been back in Chicago for it. Matt and I actually housed a little election party. Pretty much all of his classmates came over and we ate and drank and tried to stay awake for the results.. not many of us managed to do that.

New Puppy

So on friday 31 Oct 2008, that is on Halloween we finally did it. We got a dog. Matt have been begging and begging to have one as long as I have known him and my mom told me: 'you have to be nice to him now since he moved to Sweden'. What could be nicer then give the guy a puppy! Yes, I am now officially best wife ever, since if people know me, I am allergic. He is called Oliver and one of the most adorable dogs I have seen. Sure he isn't potty trained but it is hard to be mad at him.

Chicago & San Francisco

I managed to have a 2 day 'layover' in Chicago on my way to a conference in San Francisco. It was so great to be able to see friends and my brother. Friday night we went to wrigleyville area and had a champange and beer (yep!) and my Saturday was packed with lots of fun stuff. I played floorball with the Swedish girls, had lunch at the Globe while watching the Swedish World Cup qualifying game with my brother and some other Swedes. The weather was just amazing (sunny and warm early fall weather) and we sat outside on a patio most of the day. Sunday I had to go to San Francisco and had a full day of meetings. The next two days were pretty much exactly the same, long meetings and then a couple of minutes left over before dinner to go shopping. For some reason since I have been away from the US for about 2 months, I feel that I have to shop like a crazy person when I am there since the dollar is so cheap. It was great to see my colleges but I was so exhausted and jetlagged when I was heading home.

Mari & Janne fyller år!

Vi åkte upp till Goteborg en snabbis for att fira Mari och Janne. Grattis Grattis till er båda! Det var en supertrevlig kvall och våra vanner Elin och Nish som också precis flyttat till Sverige från Chicago kom också dit. Det var kul att få hora om deras erfarenhet med att flytta till Sverige och hur det går med att forsoka kanna sig hemma igen efter att ha varit bortrest så lange.

Hawaii is paradise

We went to Hawaii for a conference in end of September. The flight was crazy long and it is pretty much as far as you can go on this planet from Sweden with a 12 hour time difference, but it was so worth it. I have heard it is a nice place but this is paradise. Perfect weather and the nature is just unbelivable. We spent a day in Oahu and toured around Pearl Harbor, Waikiki beack and Diamond head and then we headed to Mauii to an over-the-top spa and hotel. I was pampered and loved it! I had to unfortunatly spend too much time doing actual work but my husband just seem to get more tan and relaxed each day. We had to unfortunatly go home at the end of the week but I really was not done with Hawaii. I feel after a week, I have not seen enough, there are more islands that I want to visit. I really hope that we can go back soon.

Amsterdam weekend in end of September

I forgot to mention that we went to Amsterdam to meet up with our friend Phil and his buddies on their euro-trip. We got there on Friday and spent the weekend at a not to shabby hostel, I did not like the whole 'musical beds' that was going on in our room but other than that I don't have to much to complain about when it comes to the hostel. I had never been there before and it was quite the experience. Kind of like a more shocking version of New Orleans, actually I probably shouldn't even compare them since people will disagree with me. I loved the canals and we did lots of touristy stuff; went to the Van Gogh museum and stared at paintings, Ann Franke's house and got really moved and sad, and took a canal boat. I am probably the only person remembering the canal boat tour since most of my friends snoozed through it.. and 8 euro nap.

What happened?

So what happened since the last blogg, have I just been home painting more furnitures or why have I not blogged for close to a month now! I am sorry! Things have been hectic and I blame work and trips, and the combo of both.. work trips. Yes, my work forced me to go work at places like Hawaii and San Francisco. Life is tough sometimes. I will have to post a separate blog for each one of those trips.

Kitchen furnitures

I got some kitchen furnitures from my parents, which Matt and I painted and repolstered. I feel really proud about my home decorating skills and how awesome it turned out so I am bragging about it here and posting a photo of them for all to admire.. kind of.

Parents at the new pad

My parents came over to visit this weekend and it was fun showing off the new apartment. However, we really have not had much time to work on it and we will be getting new laminate floor (yuck), but it is at least new and for free and walls are getting painted. This is one of the great things about renting. You don't have to worry about things like this just have someone else come and fix it (no charge to you). As many of you might know, we are loosers when it comes to realestate since we still couldn't sell our condo in Chicago. That is, we have decided to stay away from buying any apartment or house until the market recovers in US and we can sell our condo. I might be renting an apartment in a retiree community by then, who know? The weird thing with apartments in Sweden is that they come without lamps (yep, no ceiling lamps and not even cords to hook them up) and wihtout appliances. I did take full advantage of my dad and his truck this weeekend so we went to pick up a dishwasher and lots of lamps and other electricity things needed. I rather buy a dishwasher than do the dishes. My dad said that he probably won't come over to our apartment again since we have him work so hard. A joke, I think. Well, it wasn't all hard work. We did go have a great lunch in Nyhavn and also walked around in the harbor of skanor. Very nice day trip. We were also showing of our support for the
cyclones in honor or the rivalry football game. Wish we could have been there and tailgated with our friends, I really miss this part of the culture. There is no tailgating in Sweden. However, we did have a drunken (not really on our part) phone call with them.

Boat parents

I have been so busy with work that I am not spending the proper amount of time on my blog anymore. I did however loose my concentration at my desk today and decided that I deserved to blog and decided to go through some of my old photos. I found a photo that I love of my parents when we were out with the boat on Saturday August 30th.

Bank problem

Så jag kunde inte bestamma mig om jag skulle blogga on det har eller inte. Men nu blir det sa ivilketfall. Sorry for writing in Swedish but since this pertains to Swedes I thought I better... Det ar minsan inte latt att flytta tillbaka till Sverige efter att varit utflyttad i flera ar. Det tar tid att fa iordning allt och vi hade verkligen forvantat oss det men anda sa blir man lite lack (sager man fortfarande lack..) pa bankerna. Va fasen har de sa mycket makt for? Jag och maken oppnade bankkonto och han gick ditt flera ganger och fragade efter bankkort och svenskt ID kort, som sagt fick hora olika ursakter varje gang: maste vanta tills pengar ar pa kontot, amerikanskt pass galls inte som identifikation du maste ha nagon svensk med dig, du maste varit kund i banken i 3 manader.. etc... bull shit med andra ord. Sa till slut sa gick jag dit och fragade och da blev jag nekad bankkort tills jag varit en 'god kund' i 3 - 6 man. Va fasen jag har ju varit kund i banken sen jag var 15 ar och mamma jobbat dar. Jag blev sa klart irriterad och skallde pa tanten och ville ta ut alla pengar och oppna konta nagon annanstans. Da bad hon mig ga till kassakon plus jag hade for mycket (!) pengar pa kontot sa jag kunde inte ta ut allt! Ahhh... va arg jag var, jag gick direkt over vagen till en annan bank dar jag kunde oppna konto men bankkort och alls. Nemas problemas alls dar. Vad trodde de, att det meningen att man ska ga omkring med massa kontanter i 3 - 6 manader. Jag klagade till mamsingen som var sa snall och ringde och klagade. Tydligen hade hon sadan makt att jag fick ett personligt telefonsamtal fran kontorschefen med en ursakt och lovade att fixa 'allt som du behover' om vi bara ville stanna kvar som kund. Ska det vara pa det har viset? Att folk kan bli diskrimenerade enligt vad bankerna kanner for. Ok, sa jag gick tillbaka till banken och har nu bankkort som en annan normal manniska for jag orkade inte strula med att skaffa en ny bank, men jag kunde atmindstonde skriva av mig har. hoppas ni far en bra bank dag.

Fun weekend

The last weekend of August we were invited to Leila's 30ths birthday party. I stole the photo from Paula since I forgot a camera myself. Thank you! It was a great time to meet up and see all the old friends. We got to see Leila's new house. Good times, the party even had musical chairs contest after a couple of drinks. I wasn't very good at it. Matt and I headed home early, the lamoes we are, well actually it was because we had not slept the last 2 nights more than 5 hrs because we had been moving into our own new apartment. Yes, we have a new great apartment with a spare bedroom so I am expecting some visitors!
On Sunday 31 August I ran i 'Tjejmilen'. It is a 10 km race through downtown Stockholm. It is such a great race because there are so many runners and spectators, plus you get a medal at the end. yep, you don't even have to win to get one. I finished but I am really having a hard time getting back into running after my surgeries last year. I just don't seem to find the motivation or the joy I use to find in running. My excuse right now is that I still have not settled into living in Sweden... excuses excuses

Weekend in the Archipelago on the west coast

We spent a wonderful weekend visiting my sister Mari and Janne. We went out boating on the west coast and the weather was so wonderful! We really had an amazing weekend. We went to Marstrand and visited the Carlsten's fortress which was really cool otherwise the rest of the weekend was amazing. The nature here in Sweden is so amazing and it is so relaxing to be out with the boat. No TV or errands just relaxing.

Family reunion

The first weekend of August we went to Hultsfred and had a cousin's reunion. It was all the cousins on my mother's side that got together. We were a group about 30-40 people with kids that met up for games, dinner, singing and lots of laughs. It was really great to get to see that side of my family since it has probably been like 15 years since I last saw some of them. Here are some photos from the weekend.

Sweden bound

So I relocated from Chicago back to Sweden and I have been here about a month now and not been able to update the blogg at all. My main excuse is that I have been lazy and things have been busy with work and trying to get accustome to the new culture. Even if I am Swedish I have had a little bit of culture shock myself:

1. The coffee drinking is insane here. It is mandatory after every lunch. Blank with no suger and milk, pretty much taste like crap. I miss the sweet sensations of starbucks

2. Everyone is so tan here eventhough it rains pretty much every day. It even rains when it is a clear sky and sunny, not really sure how that can happen but it happens here. I am guessing everyone is fake tanning

3. Stores, banks etc close very early. Not sure when a person gets to shop if they carry a 9 - 5 job.

4. People walk or bike everywhere. There are lots of cars around of course but they are all extremely small.

5. Swedes are designey.. It seems like all swedes spend most of their time at ikea or other decorating stores because their homes are so stylish. I need to get with the program and get rid of the old couch.

6. Drinking age is 18. Which makes me feel so old when I go to the bar because some of the people at the bars over here doesn't even look like they have entered puberty.

Those are a couple of things that I can think of right now. I really have been loving it here and everything here is so beautiful, the archipelago, the city and the nature. I really feel blessed to be here and really only have one thing to complain about and that is the rain.

Torsdagkvall med svenskorna

Igar sa hade vi en liten picknick i parken nere i stan med svenskatjejerna. Det var jattekul att se alla och det borjar kannas lite vemodigt eftersom jag inte kommer att se vissa utav dem innan jag flyttar till sverige. Vi satt och snackade och sedan sa spelade vi kubb.. syd mot nord precis som i Robinson! Jag var pa syd laget for allt soder om stockholm var syd. Vi vann forresten, kandes valdigt bra!

Filming in Utah

So I went to Utah from Monday to Wednesday this week for work. We stayed up in a beautiful resort in Deer valley, but I still like mountains better with snow on it. I like to ski not hike. We were there to film a presentation for one of the trauma registrar trainings. I do not like public speaking and do really not like being filmed while doing a presentation. I am not a film star that is for sure. I did pull it off without to much fidgeting and now I will be on the internet as a lecturer.. maybe I will get a fan club? On Tuesday night my friend Stephanie came and we had dinner, catch up and hung out for awhile. It was great seeing her before we leave. I am thinking we will have to continue our annual ski-trips but maybe I can convince her to come to Europe for one?

Weekend of Angola

Last weekend we went out to celebrate my husband since he put his 2 weeks notice in. Yes, it is really worth celebrating since he has pretty much dreamt about that day and been looking forward to it for a very long time. Unfortunatly his boss was sick that day which stole some of the thunder. We also celebrated that he had gotten accepted into graduate school in Sweden which will be awesome because I was a bit worried about what he was going to do once we got over there. No more worries for us. We had beers in a beer garden by the river and I realized how beautiful chicago is during the summer. On saturday we drove to my brother's in Indiana. We hung out at their house, bbq and played lots of lawn games. It was such a nice day to just hang out. On Sunday we were back in Chicago and had open house, cleaned, started packing and ran errands. I get exhausting just thinking about it, because that was in fact a really really exhausting day.

The 4th

We went to minneapolis for the 4th of July to visit our friends Tracy and Greg. The weekend was filled with hanging in the sun, beer drinking and bowling at Brit's, playing kubb in the park, a twins game and lots of Wii playing. It was really a great weekend and fun to get some quality time hanging out with friends.