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Update on life... My birthday, big organization of our home, and vacation things...

Let's continue with where I left off. With my birthday. Or should I say... the day before my birthday.

Since earlier me, my MIL, my mom and my brother planned a HUGE clean-out off our storage. (All swedish apartments come with at least one storage in the basement.) We decided to clean out both the small one and the bigger one.

None of these storages have been cleaned out since Mr P took over this apartment from his mom. So you can imagine how full they were. The big one, that is like a room, a moderately small room. You couldn't walk into said storage, it was so packed full of stuff.

Now Mr P he is one of those people that say things like: "Let's take care of that later." "Let's put it in the storage for now, and deal with it later." Thing is... that 'later' never happens. Instead our storage just got fuller and fuller and messier and messier. And I couldn't stand it, so I arranged this huge clean-out.

That I wanted my brother there is that he has a calming effect on Mr P. Mr P has a very short temper when it comes to things like this. Not violent, but he gets very angry, annoyed, irritated and such... Usually over dumb things, or small things.

Gladly it went really fast! Mr P and my lovely brother took care of the bigger storage, and they were fast as fuck! We'd rented a small truck, so they drove that back and forth to the waste disposal site and the charity. Me and my best friend Ylletyg took care of the smaller storage, trying to be just as fast. We also bought two storage shelves that we put in the bigger storage so we could get some order to the stuff we decided to keep. Which was not much.

Meanwhile my mom and my MIL took care of Alexandra, amusing her. And made sure there was food, FIKA and coffee plus tea for us that worked. :-)

Once we were done, our storages were probably the most ordered storages in the house. :-D SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS!!!

Day after that, it was my 41st birthday. We took it very easy. Just took the last stuff to charity. Went out to eat lunch at our favorite FIKA-place. Was REALLY nice! And then we visited my MIL, she's awesome so that was also really nice!

Then we went home and just took it really easy. :-) Perfect birthday!

After that, I got REALLY inspired by our success. So I did a huge clean-out of our walk in closet as well. It's not a big walk in closet, actually quite small. Just big enough for mine and Mr P's clothes. And towels, sheets and such. Sounds big? Trust me, it's not. With all the things in there on shelves and stuff, you can only be one person in there at a time.

Add to that all the stuff that Mr P figured we could "take care of later". Yeah, there were so much stuff like that in there to, you couldn't see the floor. I rest my case. :-/ But I managed to clean that place out to! ALONE!!! AND got Mr P to clean out all his old disgusting T-shirts as well! AWESOME!!! So that place is in order to!

Day after that, I cleaned out a small closet as well. It was supposed to be a closet for coats, jackets and such. But… There were SO MUCH STUFF shoved in there that had been in there since Mr P moved in after his mother. :-/ Now we can actually use it for what it’s meant to. For coats and such. Which means…. I could organize our hatrack where you put hats, coats and such when you walk in the hallway.

Fuck yeah! Inspired much? You bet!

So today, I’ve organized and cleaned out some more! Me and Mr P has a shared desk in the living room with our two computers. It’s our nerdcorner. (See below at my current location…) There’s quite a few desk drawers in it, and they were full of just… stuff. So today I cleaned out and organized those to. :-)

Of course, we’ve done other things as well.

In between the cleanin out and organizing, we’ve been on a mini-vacation trip to Kolmården for two days. :-) It was Alexandra's wish to go there, since they have a small amusement park in the middle totally based around the swedish comic and cartoon character Bamse. Alexandra loves Bamse, she has a subscription on the comic, so it does end up in the mail now and then. And she has ALL the cartoons as well. :-) It’s a very very swedish comic, and has been around for so so many years. So I think the part of the park with Bamse was her favorite. My favorite was to see the birds of prey show they had and also the dolphin show they had. I’ve been there a few times as a kid, but it was sooooo different now. :-)

Anyhow, we had a GREAT time while there, even though our feet and legs were very tired. (I tracked how many steps we walked with the pedometer in my phone, and in two days we took about 23000 steps or more… o.O)

It did rain A LOT for some of the first day, but it wasn’t cold so with umbrellas, we had a good time still.

Rain is desperately needed all over Sweden. And well, all over Scandinavia, to be honest. We have a terrible drought right now. There’s wild forest fires in so many places here, it’s crazy. Not close to us, gladly. Mostly in the north of Sweden, past the polar circle (!). Not joking. There’s huge big forests there, and since they are so dry, well…

The king of Sweden, His Royal Highness Carl XVI Gustav was there encouraging the fireworkers the other day. They seem to have most of the fires mostly under control now, but yeah… It’s been somewhat insane.

Anyhow, between all this and a trip to Gothenburg and Universeum (which really is not built for people with a fear of heights… Poor Mr P…), I’ve kept busy. In a good way.

Mr P told me sternly that you’re supposed to relax as well during your vacation, meaning I’m too focused on organizing and cleaning out things. Well, I’m relaxing as well. Promise. :-) I did today, when Mr P took Alexandra with him to the zoo, so I had the whole place for myself for a couple of hours. Bliss!

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

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Current Music: Music of the night sung by Fred Johanson...

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I got a selfie with The Phantom Of The Opera! TRUE STORY!!! (A LOT of photos in this post!)

So I went to Gothenburg for some quality time with my best friend this weekend. And to see Phantom of the Opera with Fred Johanson playing the title role of the Phantom.

I saw Fred Johanson in the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar years and years ago, and I feel head over heels over his deep dark voice and his incredible presence in every scene he was in. My best friend, who is a serious musical buff, has since kept track of him both for me and since she likes him to. In a word, we’ve turned into a bit of fangirls over him.

Had I not been a fresh new mom, we would have gone to Stockholm to see him in Jesus Christ Superstar there, but alas… :-) Now we got our chance though, and we jumped at it! Plus it played during February and we both HATE February, so there’s that to. :-) We all need something to put a smile on our face, right?

Anyhow, to make sure we wouldn’t have to stress after we’d been to the Gothenburg Opera House were the musical played, we decided to share a room at a hotel. We both have busy lives with work and such, so we needed a lazy little weekend with our best friend. :-)

We left for Gothenburg moderately early, it just takes 1 hour to go to Gothenburg by bus or train, so we were there around… 10:30am.

Went to the hotel we were luckily our room was already available, so we dumped our sleepover bags and then we just strolled around town taking our time. We both needed a stress free day, and we took our time with everything. Went to our favorite shops and stores. I ‘happened to’ buy the three latest Elfquest graphic novels. Oops? And we had a late lunch/dinner in a lovely british themed pub before we went back to the hotel to dress up for the night.

( Travel and shopping and views of Gothenburg and it's stores with my best friend... )

The Gothenburg Opera House is quite impressive. A modern building mostly made by glass and steel, but it still works quite well and is oddly beautiful. Right by the harbor to. Easy to get to.

( Entrance of the Opera House... )

We were there in plenty time, so there was no stress getting rid of coats, do a panicked bathroom break and finding our seats. Great seats, by the way! Close but not too close to the stage. Could see everything and hear everything perfectly. Whenever I need tickets to a musical, I trust Ylletyg to get tickets, she seriously rocks at it. :-D

( Interiour decoration and well... me... )

And so… On to the musical itself. :-) Apart from the knee jerk reaction “OMG! IT WAS AMAZING! I HAD GOOSEBUMPS!” Well, I did have goosebumps for most of it, but…

Unlike Ylletyg I have not seen that many musicals (she’s a proper musical-nerd), but I HAVE read the original book by Gaston Leroux. And it’s a very goth, very harsh gritty story. From what I knew of the musical going in, it’s not… quite as harsh and gritty as the original story. The original story is really dark, really goth. I do recommend it if you have the patience for the old fashioned language used. It’s really good.

So to actually see and hear it, and with Fred Johanson to boot, it was a true experience.

( Me and best friend and the stage before the musical started... )

Let’s see… How to do this…

The good

Well, the music, obviously. *LOL* This production was made together with the Finnish National Opera Company, so there were a couple of opera singers in it. And the orchestra was quite massive as well. Not sure how big an orchestra is at a musical, but since this was played at the Gothenburg Opera House, they used the full orchestra usually used there. And you could tell. The music just consumed you. Not even joking. The combination of the skilled musicians and the singers, all the different singers, was spellbinding.

Another downright amazing thing, that impressed both me and Ylletyg, is something the Gothenburg Opera House is known for… The ease and speed in wish the stage was changed and the scenography. I mean, the set up of the stage was changed SO FAST and SO SEAMLESSLY!!! Apparently the Gothenburg Opera House is built to be able to do that, so there was many scenes with different looks and a lot of props that quickly and seamlessly was changed around. The most impressive scene to me was when The Phantom lures Christine with him to his lair the first time (during the song Phantom of the Opera, the most famous of the songs) and all these stairwells and grey brick walls moved around on the stage as if they were part of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies… WITH the actors standing on them! THAT was impressive!

Another really good thing about this musical, which both me and Ylletyg both commented on at the same time, was that it was quite harsh and gritty, goth and dark. Well, the story IS dark and goth in and off itself, but the movie isn’t that harsh and gritty. And according to Ylletyg, previous productions hasn’t been this harsh and gritty either… If that makes sense? It sure worked really really well though, and I got the feeling that the actors/singers enjoyed that to. The costumes were INCREDIBLE and while I wanted to steal most of the male costumes, Ylletyg wanted to steal all the female ones. *LOL* She said the costumes had a bit of steampunk feel to it, and I have to agree! They even redesigned The Phantom’s mask, and I have to say I really liked it! The whole scenography and costumes was really good and added to the harsh, gritty, goth, dark feel of the whole production. A great great job!

Characters / Actors

When it comes to characters and their singers/actors, I have to say a character I found dull and boring in the book and in the movie (yes, I have seen the movie to), is Raoul. Christine's love interest. He is the posterboy for the time the novel was written, but would not be popular today, if get what I mean. But the actor/singer that did him the night we watched, did something more with the character within the frames he was given. A boyish charming guy, that very clearly showed his love for Christine. Not just competing with The Phantom, you know? He somehow managed to show that he cared. More than the Raoul in the novel, to be honest. So he sure impressed me!

Raoul works together with the two new owners of the Opera, Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André. And these two were freaking HILARIOUS! Perfect comic relief without going to far with it. Have some of the best songs, to be honest. And the two actors clearly had fun with these actors. It was very obvious. The Phantom is my favorite, but these comes close to it, for sure. I think they did great!

Carlotta and Pangini were two other characters that were definitely comic reliefs. Carlotta and Pangini are the two stars of the opera in the story. And Carlotta? Is a proper diva! *LOL* The actress/singer is a trained opera-singer. And you can tell. I don’t think she had a microphone. She didn’t need one. Holy hell, what a voice! Combining that with an over the top diva character, and it was a joy to see! Also, she had the most awesome clothes off ALL the characters! High heeled victorian boots in leopard print? GIVE ME! Pangini was a bit more flat of a character, but he was funny to. Especially with Carlotta who kept bulling him around, while he just came back for more. Both of them played up an italian accent, which was very fitting both for the setting and the story.

Madame Giry and Meg are two pretty cool characters in the story to, that I really really like. We’re getting close to my favorite now. ;-) Madame Giry pretty much takes another characters role in the novel. The character that KNOWS… Knows about where the Phantom/Erik comes from. And that was a pleasant surprise. You actually found out quite a bit! That he’d built a room of mirrors for a Shah… that he’d been born with a disfigurement… that he’d been with a freakshow lead by gypsies… That he’d built trapdoors and sneaky passages all over the Opera House… So Madame Giry is quite the important character! And the actress/singer who played her did SUCH a good job! Just the right amount of creepy and know-it-all without making it annoying.

So is Meg! She’s best friend with Christine, and is a constant suporter to Christine. She’s the one that tells Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André that Chrstine can be a standin for Carlotta, and in so makes sure they can discover Chrstines amazing voice. She to knows the stories about the Phantom quite well and also gives us clues to him, just like her mother. Her actress doesn’t have that much to work with, but I think she did a great job, I really did.

Christine… Ah, Christine. The token love intressent. She’s just as interesting as in the novel, that is not that interesting at all. But I have to give it to the actress/singer. She really milked the role for all it was worth! Not only a gorgeous young woman with a miraculous voice that is manipulated by a creepy voice in the walls… But a woman with dreams and wants her own, that wants to be independent and be the new star but is to shy to take the chance in the beginning (thank you Meg!). And also how confused and desperate she is the longer the story unfolds. I think it was very well played! And that woman's voice… WOW! She to has apparently trained to be a opera singer, and you can tell! Some of them notes… Just wow...

The Phantom / Erik… Ah, what to say, really? Played by the INCREDIBLE Fred Johanson, the sole reason we even went to see this production of The Phantom. It, of course, helps that I really like the story about Erik, the man who has grown up harshly and then isolated because of his face that is disfigured and horrible to see. Not even his mother managed to look at him kindly. One of my favorite books is Phantom by Susan Kay about Erik’s life from birth to death. I can not recommend it enough if you enjoy this character. It’s absolutely incredible. How did Fred Johanson do in the role then? Incredible, as was expected. He is a very tall man, somewhere between 6,4 and 6,5 feet tall (said himself in an interview), if somewhat leaner than he used to be. Still, having an incredible knee length coat on (that I wanted to steal…), he makes for an imposing figure. He definitely did the character justice, and not only when he needed to be scary, but also in more emotional moments. And then Fred’s voice… Holy fuck, that deep dark voice… It gives me freaking goosebumps, not even joking. Fred also has an incredible presence on stage! I’ve seen him three times live now, and then there’s the Jesus Christ Superstar movie, and Fred has this ability to just OWN the stage as soon as he sets foot on it. I don’t know how he does it, but it’s incredible to see. As the Phantom at times you just hear his voice, you don’t see him, and he still just OWNS the stage! An amazing talent in all ways! He really should get more attention for his talent.

Just to prove Fred’s talent, here he sings The Music Of The Night:

( Fred Johanson singing The Music of The Night! )

The bad

So the bad… Was there anything bad? Well, yeah. And it’s mostly nitpicking, but still.

One thing that kind disappointed me was… The infamous chandelier. The one that at one point during the musical “falls down”. The Phantom is pissed off, and makes a chandelier in the auditorium fall down and kill some of the audience, and to show this during the musical, they have a chandelier go on a cable over the audience from the ceiling. The whole musical starts with it going up the ceiling. You’d expect it to be an impressive piece then, right? Since it plays such a vital role? Right? Well. The auditorium at the Gothenburg Opera House is MASSIVE. And the chandelier kinda… disappeared. It looked REALLY TINY somehow. And the design wasn’t that impressive either, so that was a bit of a let down. :-P It was still cool though when it “fell down”.

At one point in the middle the story slowed down a bit, and I didn’t really know what was going on. It was a good thing I knew the story well, just saying, or I could have been a bit lost. Also, in the beginning especially, there was just way to many people on stage and you had to really focus to keep track of where the main characters was.

Nitpicky? Yes, a little maybe. :-) I’m allowed to. ;-)

Right, so…

After the musical was over, me and Ylletyg went to get our coats. We’d decided to try to go to the stage door to see if we could see Fred Johanson there and hopefully get an autograph. So we stood there calmly waiting in line… And suddenly, right behind us one of the many doors in the Opera House opened. And Fred Johanson in full Phantom makeup literary leaned his head out the door raising an eyebrow.

I nearly peed myself. One of those things you just can’t believe is happening.

Fred seemed to know some people, one in a wheelchair, and talked happily to them. No one bothered him, or took photos. Everyone was REALLY respectful and kept their distance, so he just stood there, talking happily with a couple of people. Opening and closing the door now and then since the alarm kept going off, and making a funny joke about it every time. Me and Ylletyg had a hard time containing our excitement, I won’t lie. We debated back and forth in hushed voices if we really would dare to go over to him or not and what we’d say etc…

Then a young women came over to me giving me a hug. It took me a second, but then I saw she was one of the many teens that had graduated from ‘my school’ two years ago. She was studying music now and was just as excited as we were about the musical experience, and very happy to see me (yay!). She’d spent hours in the library with me, so she knew what a nerd and fangirl I am. When I told her I didn’t know if I should go over to Fred or not or if I dared to ask for a photo, she sternly told me I HAD to when she understood what a fan I was. The student becomes the teacher? X-D

Said and done, when there were fewer people talking to him we walked over to him, hearts beating, and told him what an incredible singer he is. I think I even told him I got goosebumps from his voice. X-D

And we also made sure to say we were amazed by the presence he has on stage, and that we’d seen him in three different musicals live now, and that at least I kept rewatching the Jesus Christ Superstar he is in. He seemed really flattered that we’d followed his career and read up on him more than just about this role and was very happy to hear we’d enjoyed his performance that much. I remember he said he’d never reflected on about having a presence or stage or not, but we assured him he seriously has.

We respectfully asked him if we could take a photo, and he said sure! Fred then asked if we wanted a joint selfie with him. At that point my poor friend who is just 4.9 feet tall (short?) piped up “But I’m so short…” Well, I’m 5.9, almost 6 feet, and Fred is between 6.4 and 6.5 feet, so I totally understand her! X-D We ended up taking a photo each with him. When it was Ylletygs turn, he even bent his knees so he’d be level with her. IT WAS SO CUTE!!!! We again thanked him so very much for the incredible evening. He just smiled and bid his farewell before disappearing behind that door again.

( Picture evidence! I DID GET A SELFIE WITH THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! I GOT TO MEET FRED JOHANSON!!! )

As we were leaving after that, we were downright floating! X-D We could not stop grinning and felt as if we were drunk, even if we hadn’t had any alcohol that day! (Well, just a little with lunch/dinner...)

Ylletyg commented that things like this only happens when it’s us two to doing stuff together, and I think she’s right! The magic of being two long time best friends? *LOL* It might be what triggers these incredible things!

So before we went back to the hotel, we felt like we needed a sturdy drink! So we found a pub that wasn’t to crowded, had a drink and a snack, discussing our evening and our incredible meeting with Fred. Then we went back to the hotel.

Once in a bed each though, we couldn’t sleep! X-D Se we ended up laying in the darkness giggling and talking for quite the long time, just like little girls, before we feel asleep!

You’d never guess we’re both 40 years old… X-D

The next day Ylletyg had to get up early since she was going on a course in Gothenburg to learn how to make hats, so I joined her for the LOVELY hotel breakfast and then she left and I just lazed around a bit in the hotel room before leaving to. A bit of shopping later and I went home.

So thus endeth my AMAZING time in Gothenburg with my best friend!

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

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: my desk, in the nerdcorner, at home
Current Music: Netflix show Frontier

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The year 2017 and journaling/blogging...

A month later and here I am again. Guess I can't stay away. :-) End of 2017. I guess a little reflection of the year is in order.

Don't know really where to start. :-) It's been a pretty good year, most of it. Apart from the autumn this year. Less good that one.

Early 2017 was good. The winter-part and the spring-part. I do work a lot, and I do enjoy it.

I feel like I started to grow into my professional role a lot this year over all. And it started this year, pretty much. I feel more confident. And I know what to do, how to do it.

One thing I do know though, and I am working on it, is that I want to do to much. I have a lot of ideas. Things I want to do at work. But there's never enough time, you know? I did get more time this year. Before I worked only 30 hours a week at the school and 10 hours at a neighboring library. This year I got 40 hours to work only in the school, so that's good. More time. But there's never enough time when you are the sole responsible for EVERYTHING at a workplace, is it? :-)

So this autumn it just got a bit to much with work, family and everything. Usually the autumn blues does not effect me. I've never suffered from it. But this year... This year it hit. Hard. Hard as fuck. Depressed friends told me I showed signs of depression, and that might be true. I had no energy for anything. And I pulled back from socializing with anyone at all, even my best friend. And I stopped logging into my chat programs. Which I used to do a lot before. I just didn't have the energy. I didn't have any energy left at all when I came home from work, and I constantly felt like I lacked there to, despite my boss and colleagues telling me otherwise. The teachers and other staff at school think I do a great job to, but at that time I couldn't take that in. So that was not a fun part of 2017.

And lets not start on the political climate in the world these days. That's a depressing state for sure. Fuck Trump. And that's all I'll say on that, or this post will be even more of a downer.

The Swedish political climate isn't to much fun either, since Sverige Demokraterna, which is the alt-right here in Sweden has far to much power. And is gaining it. And there's far to many areas in Sweden where crime is running rampant (and the school I'm working in is in one of them areas...), but trying to beat it with racism is not the answer. Racism and hate never is.

*sigh* So that was the less than good part about this post, but it's reality, so that's that.

But despite how I've felt about my job, I do like it! Even though I struggle with my hooligans, when I'm alone with them, they're so nice to talk to! It's when they come in a group, things get crazy. And the other kids/teens at the school are WONDERFUL! There's about 700 kids/teens at the school now, and the hooligans are around... 10-15 kids/teens. Soooo many refugee kids though, or children of refugees. Hence why I work my ass off to make sure they get the best possible help to make it here in Sweden. To do that, you need to know how to read...

As you can see much of my life is... work...

Then there's Alexandra, of course. The best thing in my life. :-) She grows SO FAST! It's crazy! And she's growing up to be a really good kid. :-) Spoiled, yes. Both grandma's really do love to spoil her rotten. *lol* No wonder my MIL wants to, since Alexandra is her only grandkid. :-)

She cares a lot of her friends and her cousins. She really loves them. So I hope when she starts school she'll have her friends in the same class. Fingers crossed. Her big cousin Tilda, who is 10 years old, is Alexandras big idol. She follows her like a little puppy when we're at the same spot, and she learns a lot from her.

One thing she's really gotten from Tilda is the love off horses. Alexandra started riding this year, and she has really taken to it! She's always been very shy, but not when she's at the stable. She's really outgoing there, and not afraid of the horses at all. :-D At this riding school you don't only learn how to ride on the horse, but also how to take care of the horse. The whole thing. And she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. Not at all. So that's really impressive! And she's getting really good at riding to, for her age. :-D So I'm totally happy with driving her to the stable once a week. Eventually there'll be more than once a week, I know. But I'm fine with it, since it seems to be good for her, not only physically but mentally to! And she loves it! Win-win!

Her teachers/caregivers at daycare says she is doing really well at daycare to, she's popular with the other kids. She likes to learn new things. To try new things and to explore. And to help her friends when needed. Only time she ends up cranky is when she can't run the games she does with her friends. I think that comes from her being an only child and always deciding the games herself at home.

Another bad thing is that she's inherited two bad qualities from me and Peting... My tendency to 'disappear' in my fantasies, to the point I dream while being awake and not hear or see what's going on around me. So people have to touch me or call out for me to snap me out of it. Alexandra does this to, especially when tired, morning or evening.

Another thing, that she got from Peting, is her absolutely HORRID morning-temper! Now, I don't expect anyone to be cheerful at 6am in the morning which is the time I wake her up, but my GAWD! There's some serious fights quite often when she just refuses to do anything at all, and fights and hits me to get out of it. I've been brought to tears some mornings because I've been so frustrated and this autumn and winter I've been late for work nearly every morning. :-/ Peting is like that to. Well, he is not fighting, but I do avoid going into the kitchen until he's taken a seat and started on his breakfast. Just saying.

Right, so... This last month or two, I've started doing a lot better. I even start feeling an urge to go back to the vampire-LARP, which we stopped doing as well this year. We took a break, but now I'm started to feel energy and urge to go back to that to. They've done a restart this year, so instead of vampires in the modern age, the LARP is now set in the medieval times. Medieval vampires... We'll see if I can figure something out for it. I've noticed that many of the LARPers that moved away from this city for work and education has started to move back again. It would be fun to play against them again. :-)

So as you can see, even though this year has been tougher than previous years, I'm still going out on top. At least that's how it feels like to me. :-) I do have hopes for 2018. Alexandra is starting school! So that's going to be interesting! Onward to 2018!

Books, movies, tv-shows... I'll just have to make a separate post for that! Kudos if anyone had the energy to read through all that!

I made a deal with

hexenhasel today to be better at posting, and I'll try to do that. I'm not sure I can jump back so far to catch up, so if there's any post you want me to read specificlly, link to it in a comment or just tell me whatever you want me to know. :-) I'll jump back until December 1'st, and then keep up from that.

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

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Current Location: my desk, in the nerdcorner, at home
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Birthday party and best friend talks...

So, Peting had his birthday party. It was actually a lot of fun!

Mom wasn't here, but she'll come over tomorrow. I can't wait. My little brother was here and I gave him a great big hug, because I've missed him. I've missed both my brother and mother lately, because life and especially work has been just a little bit crazy. And still is, to be fair, even if it does feel like I'm more in control now then I was before.

Anyway back to the birthday party!

Peting's relatives and mom came over, obviously, which was a lot of fun! I love my MIL, I really do. I do know she reads here at times though, and I found out later that she was worried I was mad at her about all the carb-talk, but I'm not MAD. I was IRRITATED about it, but you know. Big difference. And that comes and goes to. There was not much carb-talk today though, maybe a mention. And I did give her a grand big hug telling her I do really love and she is a great MIL. WHICH IS TRUE! And not just something I say. I've written that more than once during all the years I've written here. It's funny really how much like my mom she is, even though my mom is loud and boisterous and my MIL is more subdued. They're still very much alike in a very good way.

There was a lot of gifts for my dear Peting. He got a Yoda bobble head that Alexandra had picked out. Well, to be fair, she'd said that 'dad needs a Star Wars doll'. Said and done, we went to find one. We did, in a game-store. But she wanted to buy the big Yoda softie, which was... a bit big and also a bit more expensive... *LOL* So we went with he smaller bobble head one. :-) He got a gift card to buy something there to, and a thermometer that tells you the temperature both inside and outside at the same time. So he was very happy. Especially when he got a even bigger gift card from his aunt, so he'll be buying A LOT of games in the future, I'm sure. *LOL*

What with how stressed I'd been lately, I didn't bake that much. I made a classic swedish birthday cake with a marzipan cover and swedish farm cookies (on Peting's request), and my dear best friend made salmiak macrons as a surprise! Oh, and I'd bought chocolate chip cookies from a teen at the school I work, since his class collected money to go on a trip together. :-) So there was plenty to eat for FIKA!

Before FIKA we had lasagna that Peting had made. He's REALLY good at that, and it tasted DIVINE!

To say everyone was stuffed after that would be an understatement. *LOL* So the little birthday party was a HUGE success!

My best friend lingered though, and we had a loooong talk before she left. It felt really good. We've both felt a bit exhausted and down lately, so just to sit and talk for hours was JUST what we both needed, I think. We've known each other for so long now 25 or 26 years, I think. So we know each other inside and out by now. And we know that sometimes we have to push a little to get each other to talk. This time I needed a little pushing. And she knows just how to. She didn't leave until a bit after 8pm, way after Alexandras bedtime. But she got to stay up a little longer today since it was a special day and all.

Thank anything holy for my best friend. Seriously. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's so good at getting my head straight when I mess myself up. She claims I do the same to her, even though I don't know how. Maybe I don't have to? Safe to say we help each other out when we need to. :-)

Now it's defiantly bedtime, and I'll get to hang out with mom tomorrow. Awesomeness!

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My cool MIL and more about # metoo....

I must say I have a really cool mother in law. Well, she's not officially that yet, but she still in is in all practicallity. :-)

My LJ is unlocked and anyone who wants to can read it. So does my mother in law. As I found out today, because she wanted to give me praise for my post about the # MeToo hashtag and my reactions to it.

And she totally agreed! We're both annoyed at all the hate this movement has brought. She listens to the radio a lot and had heard about an older gentleman who didn't dare talking to women anymore, afraid they'd take that wrongly. And I see that online to! Young and old.

I mean, yeah. There's a shit-ton of asshole men. As we all know. But, to use a phrase that is almost forbidden today, not all men are assholes!!! Nor are they rapists! But the # metoo hashtag pretty much says that 'all women have had this experience', which isn't true, and that 'all men are rapists and abusers', which isn't true either!

Another friend of mine made a post on instagram, it was a screenshot from Facebook, where a protest in Stockholm was going to be held. I'm going to translate it straight up.

Comrades in arms!

WE HAVE OUR PERMISSION!

The police has just allowed us our permit for demonstration! There's nothing that can stop us now! ❤
In other words, on Sunday it will happen. 2pm on the Main Square.
The demostration march against sexual molestation, against women, trans-people, none-binary and others who can't even walk the streets, in school, to work, to the pub, to the bus, at home without their bodies being abused by cismen.
We all know it - there's a change in the air. And the chagne must happen and it's happening NOW.
We're not going to be silent any longer.
Cismen: It's time to sit down and listen.
Women, trans-people, none-binary and others: It's time to rally, to support each other, to share your story if you wish.
But above all. It's time to be seen.

(My friends instagram post, in swedish, is HERE.)

I'm not the only one who see the hate there, right? And, like my friend said, for FUCKS SAKE! STOP THE HATE! Seriously. It's not helping anyone. :-/

And I'm asked why I don't like calling myself a feminist. I prefer humanist, to be honest. Equality in all things for everyone. *sigh*

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Alexandras bad knee, our HUGE birthday party! And of course the first riding lesson...

Let’s start with Alexandra's knee, shall we?

( Adventures in swedish healthcare to find out what's wrong with kiddo's knee... )

( Me turning 40 and kiddo turning 5 means A HUGE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! )

( Work, work... and Alexandras dream coming true! )

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Vacation time... Part one: Visit from dear darling british friend!

And so, nearly all my vacation is done and over with... This last week I'll do nothing but laze around and not do shit. Well, apart from the necessary, of course. :-P

So, as you saw on my previous post, the midsummer trip and following week staying with my mom went really well! Better and more awesome than I had expected! So grateful for that! I love my mom to bits, and just to get to stay with her and be around her was bliss.

Anyway, we came home and we had just a few days and then my DEAREST

snowstormskies came over! Which was AWESOME!

She didn't stay as long as she did last year, arrived late on Sunday and left midday on Thursday. So, effectively we had three days we could do something fun and hang out. And that we did!

If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen photos of what we've been up to already. :-) (I'm very active on Instagram...)

We spent one day at Karlsborg Fortress, which is totally cool! If you want the history of the fortress either go there or check out the wiki-page I linked to there. :-D It's an incredible place. Biggest fortress in Sweden! And the short story is that it was built to protect Sweden's gold reserve, government and royal family in case Russia attacked. Historically Russia has been a very real threat to Sweden.

And the guided tour sure reflects that! It's called A Historic Adventure Tour! And an adventure it was. You get to see a movie about how life was like in the fort when it was active. And parts of the tour you get to experience loud fake bombardments and talking dolls as if russians are attacking the fort. So it was a bit hectic and.... quite exciting there for a while! I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with PTSD or any other mental illness!

Alexandra joined us to, and she might have been a bit to young. She was very frightened. The tour guide was great though, said she was a brave princess and feed her and the other kids 'gold coins', aka chocolate coins. :-) And both during and afterward we talked to Alexandra about it very clearly and properly and it seems as if she understood. She keeps saying since that loud bangs are bad. But that she's a brave princess. I couldn't agree more!

Pictures from Karlsborg: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

The day after that me and

snowstormskies decided to take a shopping and having a SPA afternoon. And that we did! I usually don't shop much, but I got inspired by

snowstormskies and do a fair bit of shopping as well. :-P Mostly useful stuff or things that have broken that I replaced. All good though! I did end up buying scented candles just like last year and the year before that. I guess that's tradition to do now when she visits. X-D

And of course that meant Alexandra got to have a calm day at home with dad, which I think she needed. :-)

So the spa was lovely and the shopping was nice and we ended up having a great dinner in the evening with Alexandra and Peting as well, so that was wonderful. :-)

Spa picture: One

Last day we got to do something together, we decided to go to Torpa Stonehouse. It's a pretty cool medieval mansion/castle that has been in the same family since it was built... and still is. No joke. :-) I took

snowstormskies there the first time she visited, and she liked it so much she wanted to go again. So we did! The tour guide was really great, and did the whole tour in english even though she was very insecure in the language. She did great though! She even assured Alexandra there'd be no loud bangs! :-)

After we'd explored the house and all it's crooks, crannies, secret passages and all that, we went to a moderately small house outside where they sold a TON of handmade stuff! Like household items, knitted things, sewn things, leather work, metal work... You name it. :-D All handmade from people around the area.

snowstormskies LOVES that sort of thing, and so do I, so that was awesome! Aaaand... we spent some money there, no surprise. X-D

We also went to a neighboring farm/mansion that was a bit younger, I think they started out there during the 1500's... There to they sold a lot of handmade stuff and things, so... we spent some more money. X-D Alexandra got a giant handmade softie snake that she fell head over heels for!

So we had a really good time, you could say!

Pictures from Torpa Stonehouse: One, Two, Three (Most are multiple images.)

Next day I helped

snowstormskies clean up the little cabin she stayed in at the camping ground here, Borås Camping. She really enjoyed that little cabin, and it was really easy to clean up as well, to make it ready for the next person renting it. :-)

After that we went to have lunch, picking up Alexandra on the way. Peting choose to fix his own, since he felt his blood sugar levels had gone through the roof lately... Diabetes is such a pain, seriously! But we had a good time still, just us three girls. :-) Then we dropped Alexandra off, hugs all around!

Then I drove

snowstormskies to the airport, waving her off. That's always the hardest part. I love, love having her here visiting! And she claims it's good for her somehow. I'm just glad she enjoys my company enough to come visit me once a year. She already plans for next year... ;-)

Saying goodbye: One

So that was the first post! Next post will deal about... adventures with my brother, our kids and Astrid Lindgrens World!

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100 questions meme: Day 72 - 80

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! )

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Work, kiddo and vampires...

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

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100 questions meme: Day 20 - 52

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! )

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100 questions meme: Day 12-19

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! )

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100 questions meme: Day 11

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends?

Not sure if this counts as a joke, but maybe it's telling how close friends me and Spicehobbit are. :-) We've read the Elfquest comics since we started hanging out and becoming friends. Which, you know... is 26 years ago. *cough* We adore that comic to this day. And there's a saying in that comic, between two of the main characters. They say that they are "Brothers in all but blood". We took that saying and made it our own. So we keep calling each other Sisters In All But Blood. :-) One day we'll have that tattooed. We have to after all these years, basically! If we haven't by the point we've been friends for 30 years, we fail! Don't you all agree?

( All the questions! )

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100 questions meme: Day 3-10

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

Anything I can get my hand on that's flat enough. :-) Most commonly though? A random sheet of paper or toilette paper. Yes, toilette paper. I do read books in there, not only guys do. :-P

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

I don't drink coffee, despite my country being one of the countries that drink the most coffee. :-) I drink tea. With just honey in it. Not sugar, that tastes disgusting. Just honey. And 95% of the time I drink it in my travel mug. :-)

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?

Not hugely, no. :-) I've been told it's quite a nice smile. If a little crocked. :-) I do smile alot, since I think that is a small way to make the world a happier place. As a librarian you smile a lot at your job as well. Not hard as a school-librarian though. Most of the kids are awesome. :-)

6: do you keep plants?

I do indeed! Even though I'm not that great at caring for them. I forget the water them at times and such. But for some reason orchids thrive here. I have NO IDEA way! But I have orchids EVERYWHERE here! And they bloom! A LOT! I also have a chili peper plant that Peting got as a birthday gift from Spicehobbit. :-) It has started to bloom and have fruit again! It's not the strongest chili peper there is, but it apparently has quite a bit of kick to it still.

7: do you name your plants?

Nope. :-) I do ~~talk~~ swear to them. X-D

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

Writing and talking. :-) If that counts? And of course... RPGs, roleplaying pen-paper style and... LARP!

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

Not so much singing/humming. I do walk around talking to myself though. Especially at work. X-D

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

When I go to bed I stretch out on my back for a bit, and then I turn on my side falling asleep. And, according to Peting, I move around a lot in the bed. I'll take his word for it. :-)

( All the questions! )

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10 things...

I totally blame

sireesanwar for this... But since I've had a blah-I-have-no-energy-and-feel-worthless kinda day today, I figured why not.

1. When you are sad or depressed, what do you do to cheer yourself up?
Movies/tv-shows, cats and/or computer. That's my go to when I'm tired or feel sad. Also hugs from my family is a perfect remedy. We talk alot me and my hubby Peting, about everything, so when I feel down I talk about it and when he feels down he talks about it. And that helps a ton to. I talk a lot with my best friend when I feel down as well, which also helps. So I guess those are what I go to.

2. When you are studying or just hanging out, do you prefer noise (music, people, whatever) or quiet?
I'm a horrible student. I just want to put that out there. How the hell I managed to get a national masters degree is bloody miracle. (Thank you Chigrima! Couldn't have done it without you!) I need a bit of background noise, since if it's to quite my tinnitus will drive me nuts. I don't notice it if I have a little bit of background noise. If that's music or the TV or whatever, it doesn't matter. But not to much or it'll end up a distraction instead.

3. Are you superstitious? If so, how much...very, or just like the "well I don't walk under a ladder" type?
I am a bit. My paternal grandmother was a quite old fashioned farmers wife. With all the superstition that comes with it... And she taught that to me and my brother. It didnt' stick with my brother, he is more hands on and have ended up a farmhand and hobby-mechanic as an adult (and is very good at it!). On me however, it stuck. Some of it did. I still make a curtsy towards the full moon for good luck. And when I grew up she and I had a special wish-tree that we hugged every time I visited and whispered our wishes to it. Black cats, throwing salts, broken mirrors, not walking under ladders, ghosts, spirits... All of it. She believed it all. Funny enough, I grew up with black cats and now live with black cats. But I guess my curtsy to the moon outweighs it... Who knows? :-) And I firmly believe that in the vast woods and wastelands and after death.... there's probably things we can't explain with science... Science can explain sooo much! But not all... That I believe. :-)

4. You're going on a road trip across whatever country you live in. Which three fictional characters would you bring along if you could?
That was a tough one. Hmm...
For survivability in the wilderness I'd bring a couple of elfs from Elfquest. Probably my favorite Strongbow and his wife Moonshade. I'd have food and clothes with them, since she is the tanner and seamstress and he is the best archer and hunter there is. Plus I'd get warmth from their wolfs.
If I'm not traveling through wilderness, I'd go on the back of Chibs Telfords bike or on Bobby Munson's bike from Son's of Anarchy. Those are my favorites from that show, and those who does have a heart and not throw violence around just because they can. They are very very capable of it, and are dangerous men, but still... I'd feel the safest with those, I think. And I doubt anyone would mess with me when traveling with them. :-)

5. Are you vegan, vegetarian, selective ("just chicken" or fish or whatever), or ALL THE MEAT YAS?
Ugh. I hate this question. Well. I eat meat, and do try to buy meat from animals that have grown up as locally as possible. It's very VERY rare that I buy meat that is not swedish.

6. Do you prefer spicy, sweet, salty, or bland food?
Depends on the food. I have a sweet tooth from doom, so I love anything sweet. But not FOOD! I like it spicy but not to much when I eat food. There should be some taste to it, but I got sensitive taste buds, so if you go all gungho with your species I'll run off. :-P
I love FIKA though, and do that often. And I am a huge lover of anything chocolate. Not the mention I drink a lot of tea, and always have honey in it...

7. Coffee, tea, or?
Tea. Always tea. I have two Contigo West Loop thermal mugs, and I have one with me at all times with tea sweetened with honey in it, whether I am at work or at home.

8. Chocolate: milk, dark, or white? Or *gasp* none?
All the chocolates all the time! :-D When baking, I do use dark nearly eclusivly, but when eating it's milk or white or both... It all depends on what KIND of chocolate we're talking. :-)

9. Are you in a Hogwarts House? If so, which one?
I even joined Pottermore for this. :-P And I got Hufflepuff. Can totally live with that. :-)

10. What are your plans this weekend?
It's Friday today, haven't done much of use today at all. Tomorrow me and family are going on a shopping-trip to buy new phones for me and hubby. Since ours are kinda giving up on us. We got them before kiddo was born, and she is turning 5 this summer so... Plan is first, groceryshopping. Then, memorycard for phone. And then, lunch at kiddo's favorite FIKA-place. And then we go for our phones! :-)

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This day I tell you...

Talk about things being a roller coaster.

Got up early, snuggled kiddo before she and hubby left for daycare and work. Then I napped a bit on the couch. Woke up, got ready to go to physical therapy. Packed up and... couldn't find my wallet...

No joke. I searched everywhere but couldn't find it. Cue panic.

So I thought to the day before where I'd been and where I could have forgotten it. Started to call around. And I called to the physical therapy place and said I couldn't make it today since I needed to find my wallet.

Post-place where I'd mailed off a package? No wallet. Store where I'd done a mini-grocery shopping? No wallet. Buss company? No wallet.

Near tears I turned continued searching the apartment. No wallet. Then I ended up in the kitchen and sees the package I'd picked up from the DHL pickup place. So I called them. THEY HAVE MY WALLET! OH MY GAWD! THE RELIEF! Told the guy I'll kiss you for this! He just laughed at me.

Struggled in clothes and got stuff that I needed to mail off today to, and went to get my wallet. And yes, he got a kiss on the cheek! :-D I keep my word, dammit!

Then I mailed off package and did a mini-grocery shopping today to. Knowing my best friend was coming over, I figured I should hurry up as much as I can. Gets text-message: "I just need to stop at big grocery store to get some lunch!" Guess what store and it's buss-stop I'm at? X-D

So that was just a bit hilarious. We had a good time together though. We had lunch and started to watch Netflix new show Frontier, since we both like Jason Momoa. :-) And man, it's GOOD! Bloody, but damn good! Totally recommend it!

( Frontier trailer... )

We did order some tea together to, which had been the original plan. Yes, more Kränku tea... No, I'm not drowning yet, but I guess I'll get there. *lol*

So that was the good part of the day.

Then

peting73 and kiddo came home. Kiddo was in a great mood, if a bit shy with best friend. She takes a seat in the couch and wants to watch TV, grabbing a softie and a doll, so I set her up.

Hubby though is in a terrible mood. I'd done almost all the laundry, with best friends help, but he had to do the the last of it and bring the clean clothes up. Not popular. And he was hungry, and his mood is HORRIBLE when he is hungry, what with being a diabetic. AND... it's end of winter/beginning of spring, and he is really not doing that great mentally then... and his work is not that great right now either.

So that was not very fun. We've known each other for more than 25 years, me and my best friend so she's more like a sister to me. It's hard to make her feel unwelcome in my home. But even she felt a bit uncomfortable, so yeah...

And then kiddo got a sudden crying tantrum or something because she didn't get a drink of milk quick enough...

I don't even know. I'm just happy I can move around without crutches indoors now, or this day would have been a total disaster. o.O

First is day sleepy, then horrible, then great, then horrible, and now I'm just sitting her having a wtf happened today feeling...

I don't even know. :-P

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Current siltation in the world... and for my friends...

I don't even know how to start this post, to be quite honest. I have such a hard time getting what I want to say into words.

Can I start with that I am quite horrified? And pissed off? Yeah, that works...

Because I am. It seems as if all them Trump-supporters haven’t ever seen a history book in their life. Because I see history repeating itself. And it scares the fuck out of me.

Little unimportant Sweden might not able to effect much of the US or world politics, but it sure as hell affects us! It effects the freaking WORLD! And the world is outraged.

But it also effects me on a more personal level. Because I have friends. Friends all over the world. In the USA to. Of various religions. Of various skin colours.

And their not safe. My friends, my wonderful friends from one of the biggest countries in the world, biggest and one of the most developed... are not safe.

I’ll repeat that.

Friends that I talk to each day nearly are not safe.

And rage and swear over it. I cry and feel hopeless. And there’s nothing I can do. I am stuck here in Sweden, safe and sound mind, but still.

Ugh.

I still have a hard time putting it into words.

So I’ll link to this blog that put it into words for me. Absolutely perfectly.

One more time...

So if you are a Trump supporter? Or think he makes sense? You can just get the flying fuck out of my life!!!

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Today is just a really bad day...

I don't know what it has been with this particular day, but it has absolutely sucked.

I woke up in a pretty good time, when Peting and kiddo got ready for daycare and all, but it didn't matter. I had grand plans, but I got nothing done. I was supposed to start up getting some shit added to Tradera, but... no.

Seems as I turn into a lazy shit when I'm on sick leave.

And my World of Warcraft is not working either! The lag I got is ridiculous. It's not even playable the way it's been acting. I've finally gotten back into the one and only game I play and that I absolutely adore... and that happens. :-/ I think it's partly my computer about to give up it's ghost. Not soon, I can do everything else on it, no problem. But no Warcraft. This makes me a sad KSena. Peting figured a solution for the time being this evening, but who knows how long that will last? Fingers crossed until summer at least. I am so getting myself a new computer as a birthday present to myself. :-P

Talking about Peting, he has been in a horrible mood today. I know it's tough on him, since has to carry a heavier workload around the house, because I plain can't. It takes time for a leg to heal. And I can't walk properly yet. It doesn't matter though, it still makes me feel so fucking guilty.

( Triggerwarning, about suicidal friend )

Kiddo was coughing really badly last night so neither of us got a good nights sleep in the household either, which does it's works to, I'm sure. Not on kiddo though, she's been all sunshine all day. Kids are weird.

And it's just been a bit much today. And I'm just done. I'm a supporting person. I am. Just, who supports me, you know?

I had a run of really good days, where I've enjoyed being on sick leave, and Peting has been in a moderately good mood, but today has just been bad.

Tomorrow mom is coming over to help us out a bit. Thank gawd. I'm almost 40 years old, but I swear I'll never be to old to need my mom. Seriously. I need my mothers hugs right now. *sigh*

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About me - the open book!

Can I just say HOLY FUCKING SHIT IN THE OCEAN?!?!?!?! o.O Now I've been part of friending memes before, many times. But I've never EVER been a part of one that has taken off like this. My flist is BURSTING! Geezes, fuck! o.O

Excuse the language, but yeah... o.O Circling the wagon -friending meme rocked my socks off!

Anyway, so part of the deal was to make a post about myself, so here goes... I'll excuse my wordiness right away.

( So we begin.. )

( Education and work…. )

( Family... )

( Fandoms... )

( Hobbies... )

And I… think that’s it. Props to you if you got through all that. Told you I was wordy! X-D

If you got any questions, I’ll be happy to answer. :-) I really am an open book.

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My busy summer! Wedding between Silvestris and Chigrima!

So... Last stop on my busy summer story... If that is even a word.

And before this event, I had started work. And dude. STRESSFUL!!! I'll get to that shortly, but important to know is that I was stressed out as hell. Don't think I've ever been this stressed out.

Anyway, so with that in mind... of course the giftcard I'd ordered from IKEA (which the brides wanted), was late. Very stressful. And I just about managed to get time off to go to the wedding. More stressful.

In other words, it didn't look like I'd end up enjoying my trip. Luckily, that was wrong. I had a LOVELY time!

The two brides are my long time friends

silvestris and

chigrima. None of them very active on LJ anymore, but it's their fault I have one! It all started here and on

silvestris's website! She's an amazing artist, and that's why they hung out online talking. :-)

And, not to forget,

chigrima and I wrote our masters thesis together.

I swear, I would never have managed to get a masters degree if it wasn't for her. And I told her as much in the speech I held.

chigrima is the most academic person I know. For serious. (Her brother and sister agreed with me on that, as it turned out, since they pointed it out in their speeches to! X-D)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. :-)

My wonderful wonderful best friend

spicehobbit was also invited. And since she lives quite close by, we borrowed mom's BIG car (a Volvo V70, they're huge) and took the ferry over to the island Gotland where

silvestris and

chigrima lives. Unfortunately that meant we had to leave Borås at 5am in the morning, so I got up at 4am... Less fun, but we managed.

There's one bigger city on Gotland only, Visby. Where the big Medieval Week is heald in beginning of August every year. Me and

spicehobbit has spent so much time there, so as soon as we got of the ferry and I saw the great stone wall of Visby, I squeed and all the stress just flowed off of me.

As soon as we found our hotel, which was really close to where we got off the ferry, me and

spicehobbit wanted to explore Visby and remember all the good times we've had. Poor

peting73 didn't have much choice but to come with. Alexandra was going in her pram, and was quite content with watching all the strange things going on around her. She was mostly pleased with the sheep shaped jersey barriers. Gotland is famous for all their sheep, so I would guess that's why they’re sheep shaped. *grin*

So Friday was spent shopping and exploring Visby and having a really good time. Alexandra was quite well behaved, even when at the restaurant we found to have dinner at. Not the best one, but hey... they had meatballs and so the kid was happy. *lol*

Next day when we'd woken up in our rooms after sleeping for 10 hours (!). Our room was HUGE by the way! One bedroom, one kitchen/seating room with a kitchenette and one small bedroom for Alexandra... So perfect for us! Such a great hotel! Almedalen Hotel, if you're interested. ;-)

So next day, Saturday... and the day for the wedding... we first made our way to the church ruin where they were getting married to see how long it would take for us to walk there. And to find the way. Then we explored some more. Gotland might be a flat island, but Visby REALLY is not. *lol* So many steep streets and narrow alleys with medieval cobblestones... You need good shoes in that city!

We found a nicer restaurant and Alexandra promptly started "flirting" with one of the waiters, who totally played back with her! Was hilarious! And so cute! He was a great guy, and got a good tip! Food was GREAT to!

Alexandra also found a softie sheep and promptly wanted it, so a sheep she got. *grins*

Then we went back to the hotel and got all snazzy looking and stuff. :-)

peting73 went the whole nine yards and even styled his beard and mustache. SO HANDSOME!!!! Me and

spicehobbit had bought our dresses from Modcloth, and they looked quite nice, if I do say so myself. :-)

Then we made our way to the church ruin again where friends and family of the brides had gathered.

We got let in, and got a little wedding program from the brother of one of the brides, one each, and then we found a seat in the church. About in the middle or so, so we could still see quite well. I lifted Alexandra up so she could stand on the bench to see better.

And when the brides walked down the isles, Alexandra got all excited. “Princess, mommy! Princesses!” X-D Yeah, so… They are now and forever Alexandra’s princesses. *lol*

The wedding ceremony was great! Short and beautiful. The brides had written their own wedding vows and walked out to my all time favorite song: Bette Midler’s The Rose. There was a lot of happy tears among the guests, let me tell you!

After the wedding we got invited to a walk through beautiful Visby and listen to the long and colourful history of the city. Well, parts of said history anyway. Until we ended up at Fenomenalen, a science center for kids of all ages. Very old. Or very young. ;-)

Before we got seated, the families had arranged for a little competition among all the stuff in the science center, before we got a chance for food. *lol* Was a lot of fun! Kids and adults working together!

The dinner and everything was served on the second floor of the science center, which was…. somewhat crowded to put it mildly. Which made sure it ended up very VERY hot up there! Us and another family with slightly older kids (like my brothers, I’d say) ended up closest to the stairs down to the toys. Apparently we were all LARPers, and all though that family was friendly and all, I just got the… to-much-feeling from the mother. She was so chipper, giggly and overly supportive of her daughters, I had to take a step back and wonder what she was on…

Apart from that, we sure had a great time! Alexandra kept it up until 9pm, which was very impressive! She’s just 3 years old, and the trip and the wedding was a huge adventure for her. She was doing great!

When the brides left it was only 11pm, so me and

spicehobbit decided to go for a drink.

astroflammante,

skarvsladden (and husband) and

tekiila who were there for the wedding to, decided to join in. So we went to a really nice little pub and nightclub in Visby, The Munkcellar. We had a GREAT time talking about

chigrima and discussing the wedding. And, of course, the good old days at the Student Union pub where I meet these awesome ladies.

After that me and

spicehobbit our back to the hotel and our rooms. Collapsed and slept so DEEPLY! And, at least me, very very happy for the beautiful brides. :-)

Sunday we had more of the great breakfast, after Alexandra woke up. She slept until about 9am, which was GREAT! Then breakfast and… you guessed it… more shopping and exploration of Visby. *lol*

Most of the shopping we did was at Kränku. A tea/coffee/and random stuff associated with the same -store. *lol* Family owned! They mix their own flavours of tea there, which is AWESOME! SO MUCH YUMMY STUFF!

We bought

peting73 some kick ass whiskey coffee! (So expensive!) And a gift for MIL since she’s taken care of our cats while we’ve been gone. A nice metal box to keep coffee in. And Kränku’s special roasted coffee. :-D

Once it was time, we gathered us all in the car (with all the packing!). Drove

spicehobbit to one ferry terminal, since she took the ferry towards Stockholm to meet up her parents there. We? We took the ferry back to Oskarshamn and then drove for four hours back here to Borås. We arrived somewhere between 11pm and midnight. Alexandra slept the whole way. Was perfect.

The whole trip went so much better than I thought. And I had SUCH a great time!

And, of course, I am RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY for

silvestris and

chigrima!!!!

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My busy summer: A visit from my british friend!

Gawd dammit, my life! I'll get to THAT little issue in a post or two, but first...

The visit of the ever awesome

snowstormskies!

I don't see it, but apparently visiting me is a lot of fun.

ruchirahni said the same thing when she visited. :-)

snowstormskies was here last year during the summer, for about 6 or 7 days. This year, she stayed for 8 days. Not counting the days she was flying. It was AMAZING!

We didn't do any HUGE or AMAZING things this trip. :-) Mostly just hung out... shopped a bit... and enjoyed talking together.

There were two 'big' things we did though!

We went to visit Läckö Castle, which is ALWAYS a gorgeous gorgeous place! My favorite castle, to be quite honest. I have a thing for the ceilings there, for some odd reason. *lol* The artwork on the ceilings are somewhat mindblowing, because... you know... it's on the ceilings. ;-) And they're from the 1600's. So impressive!

We spent the entire day there and in a tiny fishing village close by called Spiken. All in all a very very lovely day!

Another thing we did was to meet up with another TH fan that I'd found out lived close by. Like, REALLY close by! In the same city as all my relatives, basiclly. So about 1½ hours drive away from here. So we packed all of us in the car and went to see her! Since all FIKA-places were close on a Sunday we then continued to my mom's and spent the day there. A bonus was that my mom got to hang out with Alexandra and vice versa. Alexandra really loves her grandma, so win-win!

LitenSpindel / Zarlina was a lovely lovely woman! Was a bit weird to speak about TH in swedish at times, but it was also a lot of fun to know that a diehard fan is that close by. We mostly kept to english though. :-)

And my mom overfeed us as per usual. X-D

Talk about visiting people, we also visited my lovely brother!

snowstormskies claimed that my mom lived very much in the middle of nowhere. At this, I laughed. Because my brother REALLY lives in the middle of nowhere. He can't see his neighbours, for example. They're that far away. And it's only woods, fields and cows around his house, basically.

snowstromskies was very convinced. *lol*

My brother spoiled us with lovely FIKA, of course. He is great at baking, believe it or not, so it was DELICIOUS!

We also had a movienight with my best friend

spicehobbit. Or whatever to call it. Since we watched 50 Shades of Greay. AND OMG IT WAS SO HORRIBLE! Me and

spicehobbit made sure to get good and drunk while watching it to even stand it.

snowstromskies doesn't drink so she was screwed. And not in the good way. Really not.

What stood out mostly to me, apart from the creepiness and stalker stuff and all other failures... Was that the main characters (and the actors) had NO chemistry WHAT SO EVER! WTH? This is supposedly to be kinky romance... It would help (at least a little) if the main characters at least looked like they wanted each other. Now it just looked like they'd do anything to be somewhere else.

So much fail. I wouldn't have watched it if it wasn't for my awesome company, just saying.

Another thing, not a huge thing maybe, but still... We alos had a spa-day. Which was a bit complicated, since the spa at the hotel was very booked, and they were short on staff during the summer. Every time we tried to go there it was either closed, fully booked or there were some other issue.

Troublesome.

The day before she left though, we went there. No treatments, but we DEFINLTY enjoyed ourself in the spa's relaxing area. So so SOOO nice!!!

Then I drove her to the airport and there was lots of hugging and a selfie no less before she borded and was gone.

For this time. She sounds determined to come visit again next year. She's welcome to! It is really a thrill to have her here!

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