Thursday, May 31, 2012

TGIT = Thank God It's Thursday

The last 4 days have been really exhausting! We've had extra stuff going on at work, meetings and whatnot, and I've also worked en extra shift. I went running Monday evening and have managed to keep up with Jilian Michaels 30-day shred (!!!) My body feels tired and really spent, and right now I'm completely zombified! However, the good news is that I have the next 3 days off, and I intent to enjoy them :) For me, the weekend starts now.
I've tried to get in touch with Aislynn's (hopefully!) new school all week, but haven't managed to get a hold of anyone until today. Preliminarily, it looks good, they should have the space to accommodate her, and she should be able to get in there without any problem. We also got a letter in the mail from the landlord, they'll be coming to inspect the apartment before we move, just to make sure there isn't too much wear and tear or damage.

Det har varit en hård arbetsvecka, mycket extra som hände, möten och annat. Har dessutom jobbet en extra pass oxå. Kroppen känns helt sliten och trött, jag har även lyckats träna ett par gånger, så idag känner jag mig som en zombie - orkar inte röra på mig. Men nu är den långhelgen för mig, fre-sön ledig. Härligt! 
Idag har jag äntligen lyckats få tag på de på Aislynn's nya skola (hoppas!) Det lät lovande, hon sa att förmodligen så skulle hon få plats där, och att det verkade nästan som att vi skulle få ett positiv besked. Jätteroligt och jag är lättad! Hyresvärden har även skickat brev och ska komma och besikta lägenhet i samband med utflytt, men eftersom vi vet att de kommer helrenovera lägenheten, så jag tror inte det kommer bli nåt problem.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Eventful weekend!

It was a great weekend, lots going on, and felt like I got a lot done but at the same time was able to relax and enjoy the lovely weather, which by the way, is gone today! :(

Saturday I went for a run 6km in 33 min, which is an improvement for me, so I'm happy and it feels more likely that I'll make good time running 10km on the 7th of June. It's really helped to have something to train towards, an incentive to work towards, and a goal that makes the training feel like it serves some purpose (other than making one strong and healthy of course). In the evening I'd promised Ais we'd watch the Eurovision finals, so we got snacks and got set up on the couch. SOO great that Sweden won!

Ella and Ais, being her usual camera-shy self
Sunday Ais and I spent a couple hours at the pool, which was really nice. I miss swimming! Tomas & Malin plus kiddos came over and spent the day here, sort of a late celebration of Tomas' birthday. The weather was super nice so we spent the better part of the day outside, had a picnic, lied around in the sun and then had a BBQ for dinner.

 Har hunnit med en hel del i helgen, men ändå var det rätt avslappnat. I lördags sprang jag en runda på 6km på 33 min, vilket är än förbättring sen tidigare och glädjer mig, då jag ska springa en mil den 7.e juni. Skönt med ett mål, något att kämpa för, det gör att man är mer motiverad i sin träning. 
Eurovision finalen kollade Ais och jag på i lördagskväll. Vilket seger! Vad kul att Sverige vann! 
I söndags hann jag och Ais till simhallen ett par timmar och jag fick simma lite motionssim, vilket var skönt! Jag skulle vilja simma oftare. Sen kom Tomas och Malin och kidsen över. Vi åt lunch ute i solen, lekte ute och sen på kvällen blev det grillning. Super fint väder var det hela dagen och vi njöt av solen - en toppen, härlig helg. :)

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Friday, May 25, 2012

Happy weekend!

Relaxing, getting a tan, reading a book and waiting for M and Ais to get home...;-)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

"Go find elephants and kiss them"

I want to copy this, but make my own canvas/design with the same poem and then hang it in the kitchen :)

Planning day

Today I attended a planning day at work, which surprisingly enough was not as bad as I thought it was going to be.  We were at Farsta gård, which was a bit of a walk and took me longer than I'd like to find. The morning began with a lecture on ethics in the work place, then we had lunch, then discussion groups and workshops in the afternoon. All in all, a pretty good day, and again much more productive and rewarding than I thought it was going to be.

Idag har jag varit på planneringsdag med jobbet. Vi var ute vid Farsta gård, som log längre bort än vad jag trodde och tog mig lite tid att hitta. Tyckte från början att det skulle vara jobbigt att sitta hela dagen, men det var faktist mer givande än jag trodde det skulle vara. Hade en förelasning om etik på fm och diskussionsgrupper samt frågesport på em. Tiden gick ganska fort och dagen överträffade mina förväntningar.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Work thoughts

It's Sunday evening and I can sit here with the satisfaction of knowing that my work weekend is complete. I worked 8 hours yesterday, 12 hours today, came home, worked out and am now sitting here, newly showered and feeling tired, but relaxed at the same time. I'm lucky to have some really fantastic work colleagues. We support each other, have fun working together and are sometimes forced to be quite innovative and flexible, but we also cut each other a lot of slack and  make allowances for each other which makes the job a little bit easier. They are the ones I'm gonna miss when I start studying in the fall.

Sitter här, nyduschad efter en kort träningspass och skriver, nöjd och glad att jobbhelgen är avklarad. Jag är tacksam att jag har så fina arbetskollegor. Idag har vi suttit ute i parken i ca 2 timmar med våra vårdtagare, och så blev jag ivägsläppt tidigare på kvällen, efter en 12-timmars arbetsdag. Bara en sån liten gest gör att jobbet känns lättare. Dagar som idag gör att jag uppskattar mina fina medarbetare så.  Kommer saknar de mycket när jag börjar plugga till hösten

Friday, May 18, 2012

Bike ride and pan-fried french fries

Yesterday was a holiday, so M is taking a 4-day weekend, and I have both Thursday and Friday free. The weather was beautiful yesterday, perfect for a bike ride. I have dreamed about biking with Ais,  going down to the water and just being out in nature, and doing something together that we all enjoy, so yesterday was really perfect in every way. There are lots of nice trails and paths for biking where we live, and lots of them close to water with really beautiful views. We were out for about 2 hours and Ais was such a trooper and only complained a little bit ;) She also tackled going down quite a steep hill, and scared the crap out of me while she was going down, but she made it.





We had my friends Lanna and Michael over for dinner yesterday evening and of course, just because we were having guests over, the main electricity fuse blew and the oven stopped working, a couple of outlets were without electricity as well (specifically the ones the electric grill was plugged into!) and the lights in the living room were out! Yay! So we made pan-fried french fries :), plugged the fridges and grill into extension cords and had rhubarb pie and vanilla ice cream by candle light. It turned out to be lovely and cozy and yummy anyway. Early this morning the electrician came by and replaced the fuse, so it's all back to the way it should be.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

"Resan till Frankrike" (Journey to France)

The theme of the show was tribute to August Strindberg, this year marking 100 years since he died. Aislynn is the one in the red sweater :)


Monday, May 14, 2012

Packed weekend schedule

Me on the right, with the glasses
No matter how much you think the weekend is going to be relaxing and calm, there's always something you have to do, and being a parent, the job doesn't end just because you get home. Ais had her first ballet recital on Friday evening (I'll post the video once I figure out how!). The kids were all really cute, they did a good job, and it was nice to see her performing and dancing-- kind of reminded me of myself and all the performing I did at her age. Afterwards we went out for celebratory pizza. The local pizzeria makes really good pizza, something I'm going to miss once we move!

Saturday I picked up T, my bonus kid at 12.30 and made it home in time to help Ais get ready for her 2nd performance at 14.00. M went to visit his brother in the afternoon, and the girls and I watched "Puss in Boots" and had a cozy evening.

Sunday: Drop off T at 14.00, then head over to M's nephew's 1st birthday party. I'm happy I get to tag along and be invited to family events and things like that, it's a sensation of belonging and being included that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I never had a big extended family, but always wanted to and often tried to insert myself into one of my friends families. I always wanted siblings and relatives and having been, at times, completely alone, I realize also how much kids benefit from having a "village" so to speak. It was nice to see everyone, all the relatives and kiddies, and I even mustered up the guts to drive home in the evening :P After all, I do want to leave my comfort zone and not be held back by fear of the unknown.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone




The Big News

On Wednesday evening we went to the realtors office to meet with the owners of the house we're buying and sign the contract!! The whole day I was nervous, lots of mixed feelings, lots of excitement and dreamy ideas, but also the knowledge and awareness of the reality of the situation - we're buying a HOUSE!

It was quite the process getting to this stage- we've been through 2 seperate rounds of bidding, and both times we were outbid, but at the last minute the other people backed out for different reasons. So the third time around (third time's the charm?) was when it became clear that we might actually have a real shot at closing the deal. There are still a few more steps and stages to go through and we won't be moving for another 3 months, but it feels surreal, and it's the culmination of lots of hours spent looking, analyzing, discussing, dreaming and weighing pros and cons.
We didn't manage to save any pictures before the house was taken offline (which we specifically requested), but I'm sure I'll be posting lots once we get there :)

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Homesick

Today I kept thinking of Indonesia, remembering taking public transport with my mom all over the city, of the skyscrapers and the malls, the grandiose hotels, of Jalan Durian and all the time spent there. I remembered travelling all around the country with mom, taking planes, trains, buses, boats, and all the experiences. I remember the food, our favorite restaurant Bakmi Gajah Mada, and the street vendors.
Jakarta will probably always feel like home to me, at least in my mind, although I haven't been back in over 10 years and lived in Sweden over 7 years(!!!!!) now and definitely grown some roots here too. But  I miss traveling, I miss the excitement, the sun, I miss the milling about of people, especially in the evenings, and the bustle of the sidewalks. I miss being warm and sweaty and I miss the salty breeze from the ocean. I'm feeling a little too grown-up right now, a little too mature and a lot homesick.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Fingers crossed!

There are some very big exciting things in the works, but I don't want to say anything so I won't jinx it! But I promise as soon as it's decided one way or another, then I'll write all about it in detail. Fingers crossed and if it's meant to be, then it'll be.

Yesterday I had a much deserved day off , I caught up on some of my tv-series, went for a run and then sat on the balcony and tanned my legs :) Today I'm off to the gym, I'll do Jillan Michaels before I go ( Day 11 today! - SO proud of me!) and then work this evening.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sunday baking

Never mind that I got up at 06.00 this morning and went to work, Ais wanted to bake cinnamon buns this afternoon, and so we did :-)

Friday, May 4, 2012

<3


Bf surprised me with flowers, for no particular occasion, just because. :-)

No pain, no gain

I am SOOOO sore today! My whole body is tired and my muscles are screaming. It's day 7 for me today,of Jillian Michaels 30-day shred. I swear I am being made aware of muscles I didn't even know I had! I was also very disciplined and went to the gym yesterday, on my day off, so today I am feeling the effects of having worked out twice yesterday. But I know this also means that my body is getting stronger, fitter and less flabby - yay! That's always a good thing, especially with summer and vacations fast approaching.

Fridays are just the best, I love Fridays. The whole morning I was busy thinking about what to make for dinner that would be simple, quick and delicious. I'm so looking forward to having a glass of wine with dinner, and knowing I have the whole evening ahead of me to relax and do nothing. Tomorrow I'm working 07-20 and Sunday 07-15, so this afternoon and evening is about all the weekend I'm going to get and I intend to enjoy every minute of it! Happy Friday peeps!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Today would be a good day for good news...




No money? No worries!

Frustrated and angry at the moment. My second job hasn't paid me since February and I can't get a hold of  my supposed new boss to find out what's going on. There's been no information, no explanation, and I'm wondering if I'm the only one who's having this issue. It feels incredibly unprofessional that they haven't even bothered to let us know if there's a problem or delay with payment.  Plus it would be nice to have a little bit of money to work with since I'm busy making summer plans and booking trips etc.

Now I finally got a hold of her and she seemed genuinely helpful and willing to look into what the problem might be. Fingers crossed and I hope I don't have to wait till the end of the month for the payment!