Oh hum... I just finished off my rewatch of Game of Thrones. And my goodness, this show. I just can't even. It's so amazing. I've changed favorite characters more than once, even if one of them is quite constant. And I keep nagging on one, because FUCK HE IS SO DULL!!! Anyhow, I can't wait to see the beginning of season 7 tomorrow after work!

Yes, tomorrow I start work again. I've been on my summer vacation for four weeks now, and it's been great. It really has. On one hand it'll be good going back to work. On the other hand I wouldn't mind staying home more. Peting is staying home for three more weeks (envy!) so at least I don't have to concern myself with daycare and such things... Lazier mornings. Yes please!

I've packed everything tonight, so I should be good tomorrow. I also have the car, so that would make my morning even lazier. YAY!

Not much else to tell really. These last days before going back to work we took one day where we went to Borås Zoo for full day. And we ate out twice that day to, both lunch and dinner. Which was really great! Not sure what it is with that zoo though... but I think they're doing something right, because those animals spurt babies EVERYWHERE! X-D Even the orangutans that are supposedly really hard to breed have two babies, I think? Good match there, I'd say! *lol*

The other two days, Saturday and Sunday, we just stayed at home being lazy. Which was pretty much what I wanted. I took the time to clear out a bit of stuff to give to charity. And also I got a TON of stuff up on Tradera (swedish Ebay) so I hope I'll make some money on that. Mostly kid-clothes.

The stuff to charity is in the trunk in the car, so I'll be dropping that off tomorrow. And shop a bit for the post-apocalyptic LARP that is going to take place in two weeks. I need weird stuff that I can sell in the store my character will run. ;-)

The vampire-LARP however is on hiatus. Since there'll be a restart with it, and I wasn't to keen on joining in. Peting talked me into it though with a really cool character idea, so... we just might see what will happen there. :-)

So I'm moderately busy. It'll be worse soon, I'm sure. *LOL* At least there won't be any kids in the school for quite a couple of weeks yet. BLISS!!! ;-D

My mother is doing fairly well. She cries sometimes over Ozzy, of course. But she is doing quite well, and is doing her exercise for her arm. So I'm positive she'll recover on both accounts.

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Let's continue from where we left off, shall we?

After I'd dropped snowstormskies off at the airport, I went straight home. We had dinner, and... we packed.

Because the day after that, we went on a little trip with my brother. To Astrid Lindgrens World. It's a park built around the worlds and characters from the books written by Astrid Lindgren.

We were going together with my brother and his two kids, which had Alexandra totally excited! We'd rented a cabin and my brother brought his caravan. :-D We didn't get access to our spots in the camping ground until after we'd been at the park, but it didn't matter. It was the park we were aiming for, after all. :-D

First day we walked around the most. We aimed to see a few shows/plays they have around the park. It's split up in various areas, each for a book and their characters.

That first day we saw most of the park and the various themed areas. And of course caught a few shows as well.

Thing is, each area has seatings around the main building of the area. And there's shows and an actor playing the character is there during certain times. So we caught a couple of those shows/plays. About 20 mins long each.

We caught Brothers Lionheart, Pippi Longstocking and Karlsson-on-the-roof that first day. It was lovely! The actors were great, and clearly cared about their characters! Even the kid-actors!

But the best part about this park is, I have to say, how damn well made the place is! There was no plastic, no cheating, nothing like that. The whole place is built with pure craftsmanship, and a skilled one at that! If it was a wooden house, it WAS a wooden house built from the ground up, even the miniature once! A stone wall, WAS a damn stone wall even if it might not be a big one, but it was built as if it could have been! There was no cheating going on.

Even in the restaurants and FIKA places, you had real plates, real glasses, real mugs. No paper or plastic. The food, sweets and FIKA-snacks? All produced, baked etc locally. Everything tasted damn homemade, and was DELICIOUS!!!

Price? Not to bad. The entrance fee was the highest, but once you were in there everything but food and souvenirs was for free. And not even the souvenirs were hugely expensive! But those for later. :-)

Anyway, we enjoyed ourselfs. The kids ran around and played and explored everywhere. At Ronia the Robbers area, Matt's Fort, Alexandra fell and scratched the palm of her hand and was very upset. It was just a small scratch, but she did walk around begging for bandaids all day. She get it, and then after a while she pulled it off and wanted a new one... Thank heavens the staff at Astrid Lindgren's World was both kind and patient! :-D

Less than an hour before the park closed, we left and went to get my brothers caravan set up and get to our cabin. Which we did. And the cabin was GREAT! Very beautiful and comfy. And my brother could set his cabel up, so he got electricty in his caravan. :-D All good! And he also invited us over for a mini-barbecue, since he had his mini-grill with him. So we had hotdogs as a late dinner before we all collapsed in our respective beds. :-)

Photos from Day One at Astrid Lindgren's World (multiple on each!): One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

The next day it was RAINING!!! Pouring down when we all woke up. But at the point where we'd emptied our cabin and all kids had eaten, been to the bathroom and you know... all that. It had stopped raining, but the sky was still grey, so we made sure to have the proper equipment with umbrellas for us adults and for the big kids, and Alexandra had rubberboots and half her rainsuit, just the rainpants since she wanted her normal jacket and an umbrella like everyone else. Deal!

Said and done and we went to the park with the goal to see as many shows/plays as we could possibly figure out! The park had an app and, of course, a brochure where all the shows during the day is listed.

We aimed for Matt's Fort, area with Ronia the Robbers Daughter, and to let the kids have fun on the way. But, on the way we stumbled upon Madicken's area as well! So we stopped to check their show before we moved on... And suddenly someone started talking and singing close to us again when we continued! We'd stumbled upon Rasmus and the Tramp as well! *LOL* Amazing! So we watched them as well. :-D

Then, finally, we arrived at Matt's Fort to watch Ronia, her robber father and all his robbers! IT WAS SO GOOD! For those not knowing, Ronia the Robbers daughter is my favorite book! I ADORE IT!!! So to see it on a tiny stage, part of the story, that was AMAZING! So good! Also, they sang the songs from the movie, which I loved, and it was just all around great! The kids loved it to, since the robbers sang good and were some funny characters to. :-D ALL GOOD!

After that we focused on the kids favorites... First off Emil of Lönneberga! So we continued on to that area to watch a show play there. It was great! So funny! And the songs written for that story and movie are so so so good! Probably some of the best written for Astrid Lindgren's stories, to be honest. So that was great! And the kids loved it!

We'd forgotten to eat, so we took a break for food, then we went to watch Pippi Longstocking again, because she's Alexandra's favorite and she's the youngest. ;-) The other two kids loves her to, so that was an easy decision! So went there, the kids played around with a ton of other kids in Pippi's house and then we watched Pippi. Just as good and funny as the day before. Best part was to see how Alexandra got all into it as we watched Pippi. *grin*

Then we had some FIKA, because dads need coffee... *lol* Then we went back to Emil of Lönneberga and watched another play there... Again, very funny and the songs are WONDERFUL!!! Emil is not my favorite of Astrid Lindgren's character, but the songs are some of my favorites. :-D

And then... it was time to leave. In between the shows, the kids walked around and explored. Checked out things. Tried things. And we bought homemade candy. And they just enjoyed being together as cousins. My brotehrs kids, Tilda and Theo are 10 and 8 years old. And Alexandra is just 5 years old. But Tilda and Theo are WONDERFUL with Alexandra, really loves her! Makes sure she's OK, they don't run away from her, they help her climb around in all the fun houses, explore things, explain things to her... It's just... They are just SO GOOD with her! I LOVE seeing it!

Anyway, we finished our day with Alexandra getting a toy there. Since she's learned to use the toilette properly instead of the potty. *lol* Positive reinforsment. ;-) And I figured she'd pick a Pippi doll or an Emil doll, since those are her favorites. But no. OF COURSE she picked a softie toy... a softie horse. Pippi's horse. *SIGH!* We have so many softie-horses at this point... Not surprised though.

And then we packed up, and started our journey home. After about an hour we split up, my brotehr and his kids going one way and we the other for another hour and a half. Then we were home, and all of us collapsed in the bed after getting our bags up to the apartment.

It was a great, great, great trip though! I had SUCH a good time! And us adults decided that we have to do something together next year to, because we all had such a great time. :-D

Photos from Day Two at Astrid Lindgren's World (multiple on nearly each!): One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven

And that concludes my vacation adventures! We were supposed to go to the coast to, but the weather there was supposed to suck during the time we were there. And who wants to be at the coast and not be able to swim, eh? So no. We'll do that at another time.

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

If you remember I didn't do that good before Midsummer. And in the end, that might have been a blessing in disguise. Which sounds weird as fuck, but hear me out here.

I was still down and a bit out of it during packing in the morning, to the point I almost pissed Peting off, because he figured I could try to see something good with the trip. And I did!! I did! Meeting my huge insane extended family is GOLD! It was what kept me going, to meet them all at my aunts as she holds her annual Midsummer party the day before Midsummer Eve.

So, once we packed (which actually went surprisingly well... very surprising!), we were on our way to meet up with my aunt and her family. One of my cousins are still globetrotting, which she's done for years, but her two siblings would be there. Those three cousins are the closest to me of all my relatives. We grew up as siblings almost, since our mothers are so close.

We hung out with my aunts husband (totally awesome!) and one of my cousins until my aunt got off work. Then we just hung out, talked and helped her. Alexandra charmed everyone that saw her, as par usual, even if she was very shy at first. Also normal. Peting left early, since he had an 8 hour drive to do from my aunts to his friend further north in the country.

Which is part of what stressed me out and left me feel totally out if it. Because now we're basically dumped at my aunts. I didn't know when my mom was going to show, and I knew she just wanted us to drive her to the next party with her gentleman caller and then we'd be abandoned at her home for Midsummer Eve. Just me and Alexandra. By ourselves. During a holiday usually celebrated with family. (Unless you are a teen or of drinking age, then you just get drunk.)

Either way, it felt really depressing and stressful. My aunt hugged me lots and kept saying her sister was insane that she didn't want to hang out with me and Alexandra on Midsummer Eve when we so rarely get to go to visit her.

A bit past 8pm Alexandra was starting to whine that she was tired and wanted to leave and go to bed. She was being very good and had stayed up more than an hour past her normal bedtime, so totally understandable. I had a ton of packing, so I asked my aunt, cousin and some more relatives to help me carry my stuff to mom's car, since she'd arrived an hour or so earlier.

And then it started. How I was supposed to drive her and her gentleman caller here and there BEFORE I could go home to moms and put me and Alexandra to bed and the things there was in the fridge for us to eat, classical Midsummer food, and this and that and I just...

I lost it a bit. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I did. So mom and aunt and one of my second cousins (that I adore) saw and heard.

Everyone hugged me and helped me and all was good. I drove off, just me and Alexandra. She was sooo tired, but was doing good and even though I said she could sleep in the car, she didn't. The phone went off twice during the drive, but I couldn't answer and drive at the same time during the evening, so I figured I'd see who it was once Alexandra was in bed.

She did great, went to bed at mom's feel asleep and all, after almost an hour (!), but that was expected when not being in her own bed.

Checking my phone while unpacking the car (headphones is the shit), it was mom that had called and texted me. She was upset I was upset and all... and when I called her she said she'd cancelled her plans with her gentleman caller so she could be with me and Alexandra.

I felt bad about that, guilty that she cancelled her plans. I had her car, but some relatives drove her home. We hugged and talked and it was all good.

We ended up having a GREAT Midsummer Eve! Probably the best one I've had in a couple of years. Ever since Peting started to go visiting his friend by himself, I'd say. I kept feeling guilty about ruining mom's plans, but it faded eventually.

My aunt and her husband came over to, and we had SUCH a good time! We really really did! Mom told me she had such a great time to, and I believe her! I could tell she wasn't just saying that.

We ended up staying with mom for a whole week! :-D Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day just me and Alexandra. Peting joined us late late Midsummer Day. The day after that my brother dropped off his kids, and they stayed there as well for the rest of the week. FULL HOUSE! *LOL* It was great. :-D It really was. Alexandra had a blast the whole time. There was much giggling to be heard every night when them three kids was going to sleep. *LOL*

And I managed to relax to! Me, who am always stressing over one thing or another managed to STOP doing that and just... relax and hanging out with the kids. It was GREAT!

We took it easy at mom's, went to the public pool, cooked and baked together... It was WONDERFUL! I could see mom had a blast to being surrounded by all three of her grandkids at the same time, which is pretty rare.

So that whole trip ended up amazing, even if it had a very rocky start. :-)

On Sunday snowstormskies is coming here for her, by this point, annual visit! I think it's the fourth time she visits, unless I've lost count. *lol* We don't have any huge plans. Just to hang out, visit mom and go to Karlsborg's fortress. Going to be nice, I think! :-D

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Work is as crazy as ever. Hopefully next week it will calm down enough so I can actually breath. It’s… yeah. It’s not good this year. :-P

Have some questions instead so I won’t fall behind too much. :-) I WILL finish this one off, dammit!!!

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it?
Yes and no. In the end, I’d have to say yes. If I don’t put down things I need to remember in writing, I’ll forget them. Without fail. It’s why my calendar is so important to me. I have all the stuff I need to remember there both for work and for family-life. I just panicked a bit when I forgot it at home one day when going to work…

73: what are some of your worst habits?
According to my boss I have a tendency to act like a teenager sometimes. *LOL* In a not good way, I suppose. Like, if there’s a bit to much going on and something just gets thrown at me that I have to deal with I can go in a total ‘nope’-mood and just refuse to do it. Which is OK privately but not professionally. :-)
I also get stressed and feel absolutely horrid if I make someone disappointed for whatever reason. I have a tendency to take things upon myself thinking it’s my fault.
So those two are the main ones.

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.
Not my best friend, just a note. ;-)
A strong tough person who's been through something that is possibly a nightmare for many. One I first meet this one things were pretty bleak for them. Hiding away from the world, only going out at night, hiding from the sun… We’ve had our fights, for sure… Disagreements and such, but I think we’ve gotten better friends because of it. We got to know each other very well after just a short while. This friendship is very dear to me, and it has definitely changed me to the better, I hope.

75: tell us about your pets!
I’ve grown up with cats my whole life, and I currently have two. Two black farm cats that we picked up from a friend to Peting’s mother. They’re both pitch black with just a hint of white on their chest. Pretty yellow eyes to. :-) They are getting old now, around 12-13 years of age. Since they are indoors cats, they’ve kept healthy their whole life, and have just a bit of overweight, but nothing to be concerned about according to our vet. We do take them on checkups and shoots once a year. :-) Even though they are sisters and look just the same, they are very different personalities. Skuld is a bit standoffish, does not like to be picked up and if she wants cuddles she comes to you, thank you ever so. Verdandi we can pick and do almost anything we want with, she likes it and goes along with it. She’s more social than Skuld. The weird thing though is… when it comes to Alexandra it’s the other way around!!!! :-D Skuld searches Alexandra out, and Alexandra can do whatever she wants with her! Verdandi though does not like Alexandra and usually goes the other way and avoids Alexandra as much as possible. She can stand her for very very short amounts of time though. Verdandi has her places in the apartment that is just hers where she goes to get away from Alexandra, which we’ve taught Alexandra to respect. :-) They are our furbabies and definitely a big part of our family!

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't?
I’m at work and should probably fix up new books so they can be put in the shelfs, but fuck that. I’m working until 6pm and I’m not in the school-library, so I can’t be bothered today. :-)

77: pink or yellow lemonade?
Ehr… Both? :-P

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?
If you mean the minions from the Despicable Me movies, I like them. Not a fan, but they're alright and mildly amusing in the movie. :-)

79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?
Oh gawd, I can’t think of anything. o.O I mean, my kid does cute things all the time (when she doesn’t have her horrible morning temper…). So I could pick anything she does! Her hugs are the best!
My brothers support when I’m feeling down is also out of this world! He might be 35 years old, but he can be such a cutie sometimes it’s hilarious!
Conversations I have with Peting is the best, and he can say the most wonderful things to me sometimes. They’re not romantic. He doesn’t do romance or romantic things. But they’re still cute and great lift-me-uppers. :-D
When my mom, who is 63, tells me, who is 39, that I’m still her little girl… :-D That’s pretty cute, right?

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?
One wall is black with hints of bamboo on it. And the other three are white with birds sitting on bamboo sticks. :-) And yes, we picked them wallpapers out together me and Peting. Put them up ourselves to!


( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? I love the RHPS! I've seen it many times, but not the new version. I do want to, but I think the original will always be best. Beetlejuice is also an old favorite, as is Pulp Fiction! But I've not heard of Heathers before, so that one is new. If it's anything like the others, maybe I should check it out. :-)

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?
What kind of quesiton is that? Hmm... At my age relatives start do die off. So it's probably been at a funural or other. Clear memories are of my brother and mother when dad died. And my best friend when her grandmother died.

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point? Can't think of anything to be honest. I usually go loud and does a lot of weird things with my hands when I'm in a discussion and wants to prove my point.

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?
When people dare to be honest with me. When they trust me enough to be that. And when they dare to be close for hugs. Hugging is something I love to do. Both with family, friends... Kids and teens in school... You dare do that, you'll get one hell of a hug in return! Got like 8 hugs at work on day, that was probably the best day at work ever!

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?
Not one of those that feel a need to reenact said song, but damn... It's one HELL of a piece of music! I LOVE Queen! Would love to see Queen and Adam Lambert one day!

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?
I have no idea what this means, and I don't feel like looking it up, so I'll just ignore it. *continues*

59: what's your favorite myth?
Oh gawd... I have many, to be honest. I LOVE Norse Mythology. As in the Aesir with Odin, Thor, Frey, Freya, Loke... Etc, etc... And no, I do NOT mean the Marvel version!!!! I mean the proper mythology that has survived from the vikings to our days. THAT is my favorite mythology!!! All the stories about them gods. From the creation of the world, to Ragnarök where the world dies... I'm not going to get into it, I can be longwinded. :-P

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?
According to common belief apparently librarians are supposed to enjoy poetry.... Poetry and red wine. I enjoy neither. *shrug* I guess I'm the weird librarian.

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?
I think I bought some sextoy or another to a friend once... together with penis-shaped pasta. X-D Yes, apparently those USED to be a thing once. Can't think of any stupid thing I've gotten, but probably clothes that are to small. I hate that. :-/

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?
No, I don't. I drink a vitamin-drink every day instead. :-)

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?
I'd like to keep them organized, it's a thing from work I suppose... But since we have so many books in such different sizes, it's impossible. I've gone through my books many times and throw away a lot. Let's just say... Peting don't believe in doing that... *cough*

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?
Black, since it's in the middle of the night/early morning.

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?
I sometimes wonder what happened to the friends I had in the village / community where I grew up. I'd just like to say hey and ask what they've been up to. I think we're to different now to be friends, but still it would be nice.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?
Lots and lots of wildflowers native from Sweden. :-)

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? Depends on when during the year... If it happens during winter or summer, it doesn't bother me much. I just snuggle down with tea and something good to read or watch. February though.... That's my bad month. If it happens then, and it does. That whole month is gloomy as fuck. Then I lose energy, get snappy, and is generally not nice person with very little patience. And I usually have A LOT of patience.

68: what's winter like where you live?
Dark. X-D That about sums it up. Very dark, since we have precious little daylight hours. And cold and wet, since it either snows or rains. And it's usually quite windy to. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? X-D

69: what are your favorite board games?
If we're talking boardgames and not roleplaying games, it has to be Cluedo / Clue. I LOVE THAT GAME!!!!

70: have you ever used a ouija board?
Nope. You shouldn't play around with things like that. You just never know...


71: what's your favorite kind of tea?
I like black tea, preferably flavored with some fruit or berry. I love the tea from the swedish company Kränku that is based on Gotland. They flavor their tea themselves, and it's a DELIGHT to drink!


( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Work is really taking up all the energy I have, no joke.

And apparently I got a second job. Of sorts, anyway. I've ended up talking on the local Radio during the Panel of Culture. Where we discuss various cultural things live on the air. Can get really interesting sometimes when I don't know anything about the subject even if I do read up on it online. So it's fun, it's interesting... AND I get paid! :-D Win-win!

At work it's... well, it is what it is. It's not silent, that's for sure. The loud teens make my head SO TIRED! So it's not unusual that I yawn or zoon out a bit during the day, because MAN! And let's not even starting on the list off names I'm being called on a daily basis. Siriously. These teens claim they need to have RESPECT! Well, you act like this, you don't desrve respect dammit!

I will admit though that after refurnishing the library things have calmed down considerably. It really has. So even though it's not quite or calm as in other libraries, I'd still call that a success. :-)

A less successful thing is the mornings I keep having with Alexandra, my dear daughter of mine. She's turning five in August. So she's in this period of wanting to do everything herself, and... that doesn't always work out so great. So to say she is SLOOOOOOW in the mornings is an understatement. Now I've even started to wake her just a lil earlier to give us more time, and it STILL takes us more than half an hour sometimes.

And what with the changes to the bus traffic, this makes me late to work. Nearly every single day. I am just SO FRUSTRATED with her right now! Especially her socks. OMG! She can poke around and pull around with them for SO LONG, it makes me want to tear hairs out of my scalp!

So there's that... :-P

I'd slacked a bit on the LARP front lately, even though I have picked it up again after being away for so long what with my broken leg. I do follow one of my LARP-friends on Tumblr though (he is doing AMAZING cosplay!), and I get notifications for his posts on my phone. Got one of them one day and lo and behold. It's a piece of art. A portrait of three vampire ladies. That I know very well, because it's three characters a friend of mine played/plays and I've been LARPing with her since 2001... Two of her previous characters and the current one.

And that piece of art is AMAZING! It's drawn/painted by another young LARP friend of mine, and I knew she was good... Now I know she's very VERY good! And I feel tempted to ask her to draw my current character to, because holy hell! She's amazing!


Originally posted HERE!

Can see why I want her to do my character to, don't you? :-D So tempted... You have to go check out the rest of her stuff! She is REALLY REALLY GOOD! I even signed up to be her patreon! (I wonder if she knows that nickname is me...)

I'm glad I've gotten my creative juices flowing with the LARP again though. It IS a beloved hobby of mine, and I won't stop any time soon. :-) On Saturday night it's my turn again, which will be awesome! But the best part for a working mom though is... I get TWO SLEEP IN'S!!! Oh, bliss... I can't wait. :-D

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Catching up a bit with all these questions here. :-) Let's see how it goes... And if anyone has the stamina to read all of them through. X-D

( Question 20 - 30 )

( Question 31-40 )

( Question 41 - 52 )

( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

I saw and meet Tokio Hotel in Stockholm!!!!

Oh my world... Where to even start? X-D

OK. Let's see if we can do this.

I worked Wednesday as usual (including stopping a fight in the library... again... wtf?). Since it hadn't been very fun to take Alexandra to daycare with achy leg and heavy bags, I decided that I'd go by cab the rest of the day. Which I did. From daycare and to work. And during my work-day I ordered a cab to come pick me up to and take me to the train station. Which went very well. :-)

And after a little wait, the train came and I went to Stockholm. Only had to change train once, so not much to tell about the trip itself. I bought first class tickets though, because that means more leg-room and a more calm relaxing setting. :-)

So I had a good trip to Stockholm. Calm, nice and relaxing. And when I got there, I found a cab to take me to the hotel. No issues there either.

And the hotel was absolutely lovely. LOVELY, I tell you! And the bed….. SO SOFT! Bliss!

Anyway, the day of the concert I took the chance to have a lovely sleep in, because I’m a mom and that is rare. Then I had a great hotel breakfast, thank you ever so. Really yummy.

I didn’t want to walk around to much, since I wanted to save my broken achy leg for the concert, but I wanted to buy a gift for Alexandra and one for Peting to, for letting me do this. Well, you get what I mean. ;-)

So I walked up the street next to the hotel, but there was no shops really there. Walking back to the hotel, I asked them about it, and they said if I took the bus to the shopping area right next to the Ericsson Globe, I’d get my fill. So I did. :-)

And bought a crafting kit for Alexandra (which we tried today) and a bobble head Darth Vader for [Bad username or unknown identity: ”peting73”], because he is a SUCKER for anything Star Wars. :-) He is probably the biggest Star Wars nerd I know. :-D

That done, I took the bus back to the hotel and my room. Taking a nap and resting my leg on a bunch of pillows to make sure it got a proper rest in preparation of the concert. :-) Was good I did!

I’d located where the venue was before my nap, and it took about… 5-10 mins to walk there… with my limp, so it was very close to the hotel. :-) I got there around 5pm. I got a VIP Humanoid ticket, and had gotten the information that we’d be let in at 5:30pm. That didn’t happen…

Rumours went around that the boys had been late with the previous VIP people, which in turn made everything late… :-P

So we had to wait nearly an extra hour. Them Tokio Hotel boys are notorious for being late, aren’t they?

Anyway, so we got let in by a guy with a Humanoid sign over his head, and the only ones by the stage are those that had paid more money for a better VIP ticket. Meaning I got VERY close to the stage! YAY!

And then more waiting. We had to wait for 1½ hour there! Standing at about the same spot! o.O Can you IMAGINE how my leg was doing at that point?!?!? I couldn’t feel my toes, put it that way…

But all that was forgotten when the concert started! :-D It was GREAT! Yeah, there were a lot of songs from the Dream Machine album, obviously. And I don’t like that album very much. BUT! There were A LOT of songs from Kings of Suburbia as well, and that just so happens to be my favorite album of theirs! :-D And the Dream Machine songs were far better live, to be honest.

It really was a great concert. The mood in the audience was awesome. Singing along and dancing. Bill did a great job of keeping the mood up in the audience, ‘dancing’ around on the stage and engaging with the audience. So did Tom and Georg, when they were down from that tower-thing they were on.

Gustav was obviously stuck behind his drums, and they were a bit to the right side of the stage. I wouldn’t say he was hidden behind speakers, but it was a bit odd a placement. *shrug* I get what they were trying to do. Change it up on stage. And it did work. I just missed having Gustav in the center… But I’m biased. He IS my favorite after all. :-) And I managed to get a few good shots of him, so there’s that! Especially during the drum-solo he and Tom had, which was AWESOME! So glad I managed to film some of that. It was incredible. And the drumming he did in the beginning. Drummers I tell you… *sigh*

Anyway, after the concert was over, the guy with the Humanoid sign showed up again. We asked how long we had, and he said 15 mins. So I hurried like hell to buy a tour-tshirt for me and a tour-crewneck for [Bad username or unknown identity: ”omgwtfskittles”], since she’d asked me to. Then hurried back just in time.

I figured we’d have to wait somewhere since the Tokio Hotel boys were probably sweaty as hell from the show and needed a drink and yeah… You know? And I was right. We were lead out and to a corner in the stairs, where we had to wait. Gladly I could sit down in the stairs there, because hooo boy… My leg HURT at this point.

And again, waiting… Then we were ushered to another spot, to wait some more. This time right outside a pair of doors. And according to those that had been at the pre show M&G it had been there you got to meet them. I found a folded table to lean on to get some weight off my legs, which helped, and then we waited again.

Eventually we got let into a room, that I think was used as a bar even if it wasn’t right then. There were a little stage there with four chairs and in front of that chairs in rows for us to sit on. We got told our dos and don’ts. We could ask the TH boys anything we wanted, it was up to them if they wanted answer. Just be respectful. (Makes sense.) We were NOT allowed to take photos or film them during the Q&A. I get that. It would be hella annoying for the boys otherwise, I can imagine.

So the questions started to be fired off. I can’t remember all. Some of the fans there were taking notes. One asked about the nakedness and possible vag in one of their new videos, which Bill just said they wanted a lot of naked skin that video. Another asked Gustav how it was to be a father and touring. He answered that it was tough to be away from his little one and to miss her progress and development. Bless him. I totally get you, Gustav.

I got to ask a question to! :-D I asked how they felt about having fans that are so much older then them. Sometimes twice their age. Since I can be quite self conscious about that myself. :-P Bill answered that, and said they loved all their fans (obviously), and that it didn’t matter what age they are. And he said that that is the awesome thing about music. That it connects people regardless of age. Then he asked how old I was to ask such a question. So I said 40 years old. And Bill said that I can’t be 40 years old, since I certainly don’t look it! And the other three agreed with him. Well, I said it was true I am 40 years old and thanked him very much and pretty much died of happiness right there. *LOL*

After that it was time for photographs. So everyone had to stand in line and put their things away in one end of the big room, which we did. Quite a few of the girls went nuts and started fixing with their makeup and what not. I checked mine and made sure I didn’t have lipstick on my teeth, but that was all. After a concert where you sing and dance, you can’t help but be a bit of a mess. ;-)

Then a looooong line formed. Dude. The patience and professionalism of the Tokio Hotel boys is amazing. They looked just as happy with each and every fan that came up to them. And this was not the first VIP M&G thing they’d done. And not the last. After a long concert. Wow.

Eventually though it was mine turn. My goal was to get a hug from Gustav. He’s the drummer and my favorite. I wanted to tell him so, since I know for a fact he doesn’t have a huge amount of fans among the band-fans. First you were getting a selfie and then you got lined up with the boys for a professional photo. It was very quick, since they boys know what they’re doing.

My turn I walked up to them, heart beating. (They’re really real!) Gustav was closest and came over to show where to stand. So I told him. Said he’d been my favorite of the band for years (so very true) and that I thought he was amazing. (Wanted to say more, but nerves and time-restraint!) He gave me one of them WONDERFUL smiles and said thank you very much! It sounded sincere. Before me most girls had wanted selfies with just the twins, so the G’s had to step aside a lot. Or just Bill. And for the professional photo, they wanted to have the twins in the middle to hold on to them. Me? I asked if Gustav and Georg would mind being in the middle and in the selfie with me? Sure! they both said. And Gustav gave me half a hug leading me to the mark on the floor. (DEAD, guys! SO DEAD!!!) Then at first Georg and Gustav didn’t know who would take the selfie (Tom usually does when it’s the whole band or just him and Bill.) After a moment though, Georg took my phone and snapped a selfie with me standing in the middle of my favorite boys! (My heart was probably somewhere on the moon by that point.) Then the twins stepped in to and the professional photo was taken. Me in the middle with Georg on one side and Gustav on the other, hand somewhere near my back as far as I could feel. (Did I mention very dead?) And then the twins on each side of them. After that they thanked me for coming to the concert and I left to the next in line could go.

It was all very fast, but man oh man… GOAL REACHED! It was an awkward half hug, but I HAD GUSTAV SCHÄFARS ARM AROUND ME! That boy got MUSCLE, yo!

My leg was an achey mess as I limped over and got the gift that was included in the Humanoid VIP package. A Dream Machine poster with all them boys signature on. And a scarf that said ‘HIGH AS FUCK’ on it. Apparently that’s something Bill said at some point. I’m a bad fan. I’m not sure when, why or how. It’s a nice quality scarf though! Will be great for winter!

I hung out a bit afterwards, outside the doors, with some other fans. Among other a sweet girl that had kept me company in the line before the concert. It was nice to geek out and squee together with others that would understand, you know? So that was awesome.

Eventually though I came to the conclusion I needed to return to the hotel or I wouldn’t be able to walk at all… And I’d gotten very tired after all that.

So I limped, even slower, back to the hotel. And thanked my lucky stars it was that close. *lol*

And even though I’d taken pain meds and was tired, I was to wired to fall asleep right away. I think I spent an hour or two sitting on Twitter and Instagram, just posting photos and short clips from the concert. Just to wind down. :-) After that though, I was able to fall asleep.

Next day I had a lovely morning, just taking it easy in the hotel having breakfast and packing. Didn’t stress even a little bit. :-) I’d ordered a cab in plenty of time, so when I’d gotten to Stockholm Central Station I still had to wait nearly an hour for the train. Which was nice, actually. I like being on train stations.

So yeah, that was my trip to Stockholm and seeing Tokio Hotel live and meeting them. :-D

Here’s the selfie with Georg and Gustav:

( Happy me with G's! )

And here’s the professional photo that was taken:

( Happy me with ALL Tokio Hotel boys! )

I actually think I look sorta nice in them! The boys look perfect as always, but no surprise there!

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

12: what's your favorite planet?

I can't say I really have a favorite one, so I guess... Earth? Reading up on space and such things have never really been my thing. Nor hugely interesting to me.

13: what's something that made you smile today?

My daughter. :-) She'll have a sleepover at daycare with all her friends tonight and she even woke up excited. Anytime she is excited and happy about something, it makes me smile to. Perks off parenthood? ;-)

I have to say as well that even though it's somewhat chaotic at work, both among the students AND staff right now, it always amaze me and makes me happy the dedication the teachers and staff show not just for this school, but for the community it is in. Which is needed because it is a very socially troubled area. We have gang-members as young as 12-13 at this school.

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

It would be split in two! X-D My best friend is a costuming nerd. She loves historic clothes and clothes from movies, musicals and such. And she is really really good at sewing clothes to! So her half would be filled with such things and her computer. My half would probably be computer, comics and books. :-) And in the middle we would have a HUGE TV and entertainment center, so we could watch movies and such. :-D

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

I googled "weird space fact" to see what that would give me. And it got me lists! That listed weird space facts. :-D Perfect!

One fact I saw on these lists was this: "We know more about space than we do about the deep in our oceans." Really? One has to wonder then what lurks in the deep then... ;-)

16: what's your favorite pasta dish?

Hard to say. I really do love pasta. Especially spaghetti! When I was pregnant I had the weirdest craving for spaghetti. I could not get enough of it. So what I did was, I made this kebab-sauce that I had found a recipe for years ago. It's really yummy and perfect on salads and such. Anyway, I made a batch of that sauce to keep in the fridge so I wouldn't run out. And then I poured some of that over my spaghettis and also added some mild chili-sauce. And ate. And ate and ate. I could eat a plate of this several times a day!

I don't have a craving fot this anymore, but I do still enjoy it sometimes. Maybe with some meatballs or sausages/hotdogs...

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

Purple. Purple, purple, purple... I have ordered the colour now, so it should arrive any day. But I've wanted to do this for YEARS! I also love colouring my hair a fiery red. :-) But for now, PURPLE!

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

Not so much friends as I guess the question means, but this story has gone down in history in my family, which includes my best friend. :-)

I was 18-19 years old or something like that. And I was at another friends house having a pre-party. AKA we were sitting around drinking alcohol to get drunk before we were to take the bus and go to a club dancing. Now usually I stuck to one kind of alcohol at a time, but since we were both short of cash, we'd begged our parents for alcohol and pretty much taken what we could. So there was cider, wine, beer, snaps, hard liquor that we mixed with sodas... You name it. And also rosé wine. This will be important.

So we were having a good laugh and drinking and all that. I don't know why, but I drank a lot that night. And ended up extremely drunk. Anyhow, we'd dressed up nicely. Me in my pinstriped suit and my big overcoat (it was winter), and then we went to the bus. Now, it takes about 30 mins by buss to get to the neighboring city where the club was. And as soon as the bus started driving, I started to feel sick. And it just got worse. So after 15 mins I threw up. All over myself. Remember that rosé wine? I'd apparently liked it, because what came out was pink.

I was really gone by then, but from what I remember I was just afraid my dad would be pissed at me. My friend took good care of me, she wasn't quite as drunk, and once the bus stopped she helped me off and took me to a bench. Then she went to a phone-booth and called my parents. (This was before mobile-phones, people.)

My parents? They found this HILARIOUS!!!! And just to fuck with me, my dad was the one picking me up. He was laughing during the whole drive. And once we'd dropped my friend off we went home to hours. I was told to turn off the light outside the garage. I couldn't find the button. I thought there was three of them, when in reality it was just one. That was how drunk I was.

I swear my dad was giggling at that point. It was in January I think, so very cold. Still they helped strip OUTSIDE THE DOOR! On the front porch! Good thing we lived in the middle of nowhere... And that suit and the overcoat? Couldn't wash them normally, drycleaners only. Fun. :-P

My room was on the second floor, so my HIGHLY amused parents had to help me up the stairs. Dad pushed my ass and mom held my hands. Then they took a seat on a chair each in my room and watched me get ready for bed, having a giggle while doing so. Then they patted me, told me I'd feel like shit in the morning and left me to sleep.

Gladly I'd never really had much of a hangover, so I didn't feel like total shit in the morning after, BUT!!! My mother has NEVER let me forget this! Neither has my best friend! Every time they see a bottle of rosé wine they ask me if I want some. I have only had a glas ONCE since. And that, I think, was last year. This story has been a running joke on me for years. :-) How I was so drunk I saw everything times three. And how my parents teased me MERCILESSLY about it.

And you know what? I'm totally cool with it. :-D I can laugh at it myself. Oh, and I've never been as drunk since. I've learned how much I can take and when it's time to stop after that. And being old, I don't go out drinking as much anymore either. :-)

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

Well... Duh! *points to LJ* This is basically the only journal I keep. I used to keep a handwritten one to, and I pretty much wrote the same in that one. Daily things that I experienced and wanted to get down in writing. Just like here. I've not written in it in years though.

( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

OK. So I'm going to try and write this post that I've been trying to write for days. No joke. I didn't know how to start or how to word this, so bare with me. I have a lot of feelings.

I've been following Tokio Hotel since 2009. That's when I discovered them and fell headfirst into the fandom. Since then they've grown and changed A LOT. As they should! The boys in this band were SO YOUNG when they started out, and you're not the same person now that you were when you were 15, 16 and 17 years old. 12 years ago. So of course that would be reflected in their music!

And this, that they were so young starting out and you can really hear in their music how they grow up, test things and develop... that's what I think is so cool with this band! And I LOVE how far they've come musiclly and how they've developed further into electronic music. It's really their own sound, and I do think that's cool! Even if I sure liked the more rock music they did as young as well. For sure!

But. And here's a mayor but... This new album? Really a step back for them in my eyes. (Or ears?) I was so so excited when their new album was going to be released! Dream Machine! Sounded great! And they were releasing their tour before their album, which was odd maybe, but I bought both a regular ticket and a VIP one, because hell... I've been following them for 8 years at this point! (Oh gawd....) I pre-ordered the album to, and had only heard the two songs they'd released with music-videos on their website and YouTube channel. And those two songs gave me red flags already... I didn't like them much. :-/ Something New didn't really go anywhere... It just went on and on and I waited for a refrain or something, but nothing. A bit odd a piece of music. What If was better, and I loved the music-video for that one! But none of them got even close to the music-videos and songs that were released for Kings Of Suburbia, the album they released before Dream Machine.

And the problem with the song What If is something that goes through the entire album for me. I can't really hear when one song ends and the next begins! The only upbeat song on the album that is moderatly catchy is What If. The other songs is very low key, there's no other upbeat song. This is not an album that makes you happy or smile one second and then get all the feels the next, like Kings of Suburbia does.

Yes, I will compare this with Kings of Suburbia, because both of these albums have a very modern electronic feel to them which makes them very similar in that regard to me.

And I want to stress one thing. I DO NOT MIND THAT THEY'VE GONE MORE ELECTRONIC!!! I know a lot of fans dislike the direction the band has taken their music, but I don't at all. It's just this album that irks me.

There's just no upbeat song on this album, no happy song or playful song. Nothing like that at all. The whole album is just like a great big downer. And I have to wonder why? Why are the songs so similar to each other? Why is everything so sad and blue?

Let's not forget that it's 10 songs on this album. If you look at their previous albums, I do believe this is the shortest one. Why? It's well produced, they clearly show they know what the hell they do in a studio and with various music-instruments. But still. Why the blue mood? Why fewer songs? And why go on a tour with an album with fewer songs than any of their previous albums?

I just can't get my head around it.

One thing is for sure though, my heart plummeted when I listened to this album the first time. I was so, so, so disappointed. Unlike when I listened to Kings of Suburbia the first time and I giggled and danced in my seat, loving near to every song on that album. (Still do.) Both just as electronic, but oh so very different. And not in a good way.

Seriously, Tokio Hotel? What are you doing? And why? :-/

I don't know... This post is all over the place. I just wanted to somehow try to get my feelings down in writing. I'm seriously nervous about going to the concert in Stockholm now. Of course I'm nervous about meeting them to, but mostly I'm nervous that I won't enjoy their show or how the music sounds like live. :-/

One thing's for sure. This is the LAST TIME I buy one of their albums blind. Or a concert ticket blind. I'll listen to the music first, one way or another. I do not want to feel this disappointed again.

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.