Day 14: What Was I Wearing Today?

Very similar topic to Day 10 and I was wearing the same hat today as it's still so bl***y cold!

Day 13: This Week

Monday: Laundry
Tuesday: Dinner with Malin (tbc)
Wednesday: Dinner and show through Peter's work (if he gets well, he has a fever and some stomach bug right now, however doesn't seem to be the dreaded winter vomiting disease)
Thursday: No plans
Friday: Going to the country house for the weekend (tbc)

And we relight the first candle every day :)



Via Anna's iPhone

Day 12: In My Handbag

My handbag is full of the usual boring stuff - purse, phone, chewing gum, business cards, coupons for very shops, tissues, lip balm, etc. - but I won't show you any photo evidence. Instead I want to show you a very clever accessory that I always carry in my handbag: a handbag hanger! Works anywhere there is a table or counter. Mine is a freebie with Peter's company's logo on it but you can buy them from various places. The one below even has a mirror on, another must-carry for many women!

Images borrowed from the Internet

Day 11: My Brother

always played loud Music
toy Automobile collector
likes Routine
Tall
Impatient
forever Naive

Lussekatter (Saffron buns)

Via Anna's iPhone

Royal Visit

By the King of the Forest. My parents have a moose chilling in their garden.



Via Anna's iPhone

Show & Tell: What I Have Collected Over the Years...

...but stopped collecting years ago. I'm sure I have some saved in my parents' attic though, hope so at least as it would be fun to show Belly Dancer and her/his siblings in the future.

First out is Garbage Pail Kids trading cards. Do you remember them?! Apparently they still exist! They were a parody on the Garbage Patch Kids dolls - I really wanted a doll but my mum thought it was a hype and also that they were expensive. My friend Maria had one and I was soooo jealous! I don't care now of course but I was pretty mad at my mum back then!



Second, so-called luktisar, i.e. smell stickers, or scratch-and-sniff as they are also called. Weren't they fun! I think we traded these too. Speaking of things that smell, I also had quite a lot of smell rubbers too. They weren't great erasers really but I guess that wasn't the point of them!



Third and last, manicklar - I have no clue what they're called in English. These were little figures - letters, numbers or objects such as bicycles - in various colours that you were supposed to link up in long chains, the longer the better of course.



This was Musikanta's final theme. It looks like Erica will take over the relay stick for the final stretch of this Show & Tell year.

Images borrowed from the Internet today

Day 10: What I'm Wearing Today

Or was wearing rather, as now I'm comfortably resting on the sofa TGIFing.

My favourite hat, a gift from Peter's parents from two winters ago, that is perfect for today's cold weather (-8'C this evening).



Via Anna's iPhone

Must Have Toy!

Peter says he won't build one of these for our unborn child! Can you believe him?! ;)

Day 9: My Beliefs/Faith

Big topic about which pages and pages could be written. But the hour is late and bullets will have to do.

• * Yes, I believe
• * But I'm probably more of an agnostic than a true believer
• * I'm too much of a rational thinker to believe 100%
• * I really hope there is something or someone out there though
• * I think it helps people to think that there is or there may be something
• * And even if there isn't, or we will never know, that may be the point of it; that it gives people strength
• * My beliefs are personal though and I don't believe in a lot of the dogma
• * If there is a God, there's probably just one; s/he just have different names (God, Allah, etc.)
• * Saying that may not qualify me as a Christian, but Christianity is still what I feel the closest too, but partly for cultural reasons
• * I will raise our child with the help of many of the values that stem from (the positive side of) religion (and culture) and instill those values in him/her

Knotmail

Just read about a new and innovative way to send packages - Knotmail uses the services of travellers and is thus greener and cheaper than normal postal and delivery services! It works like this: someone who is travelling to the same destination takes your parcel with him/her. And any time you travel yourself, you can sign up as temporary delivery guy!

Only for Sweden (it seems) right now, but still! An excellent idea! When I googled I saw that someone had written "what do you do at the airport when they ask if you packed your bags yourself and if anyone has asked you to take anything for them", but I'm sure they have thought of that already.

Day 8: A Moment

Drinking hot chocolate and admiring our new Advent lights (I figured its modern design justifies putting it up four days early).



Via Anna's iPhone

Day 7: My Best Friend

Had one of my best friends, Maria, and her significant other Daniel, over for dinner tonight. Very good timing considering today's theme.

Day 6: My Day

07:25: Alarm went off, complained (as per usual) about why we didn't go to bed earlier the night before...
07:35: Got up, made breakfast
07:40: Went back to bed to eat breakfast in bed while checking emails on my iPhone and reading Sunday's paper

08:10-09:00: Showered and made myself beautiful
09:00: Walked to work (15-minute walk normally but with a growing belly it now takes almost 20 minutes), stopped by Ica to buy lunch

09:30-16:45: Started working, swore a lot over super slow email (we're transferring to Outlook 2007 and there are lot of teething problems...)

17:00: Left work and jumped on the 69 bus to town
17:20: Met up with Peter and his friends for a quick bite to eat
18:00: Meeting with Harry Potter & friends

Now: Winding down at home

Day 5: Love Is...

...your significant other getting up with you to make you breakfast while you get ready because he knows you're in a rush (and treating you to breakfast in bed every morning for months while you battle morning sickness).

...friends lending and/or giving you bags and bags of baby clothes, crib, baby travel bed, BabyBjörn carriers, toys, etc...

...getting a big hug from a friend's 2½ year-old who's been talking about you all day since she heard you were stopping by.

And that's just in one day!

Nathi Natti Nighty Night

Belly Dancer wants, no, needs, one of these! Right?

Day 4: What I Ate Today

10:00: Bread with cheese and messmör (not on the same piece), tea and juice

12:00: American pancakes with fruit salad and maple syrup, coffee



15:30: Burger and alco-free sparkling wine at Tures

Tonight: Leftover pancakes

Today's snack: Sweets of course, it's Saturday!

Via Anna's iPhone

Show & Tell: A Meeting I Will Never Forget

Musikanta's third theme is a tricky one. I can't think of a single meeting or moment that I will never forget. I wish I could tell you about when I met the Pope (and yelled at him how crazy the catholic church and its dogma is) or went backstage at a Michael Jackson concert but sadly there are no such features in my repertoire. Instead several meetings sprung to mind. Sometimes I don't recall exactly how the meeting went or what happened at the meeting but I remember the feeling, if that makes sense.

• * The high-level and/or famous people I have met through work, such as Crown Princess Victoria and new Labour leader Ed Miliband
  
• * First time I met Peter, or the first set of meetings really
  
• * All the times I have met friends again after a long, long time (especially friends abroad) and it feels like we just met yesterday
  
• * Meeting my aupair family for the first time
  
• * Seeing my family and friends again after a year away (as an aupair)
  
• * The last time I saw my grandmother before she passed away
  
• * When I first met new colleagues and became acqainted with a new workplace, either at the interview or my first working day, or both
  
• * The first time I met my inlaws
  
• * A meeting that hasn't happened yet but I'm sure I will never forget is when we meet Belly Dancer for the first time!
  
• * Wouldn't it be cool if we remembered the first meeting with our parents?
  
  

Reunion with old friends at James & Jill's wedding last summer - Céline, James and Karl to the right and I think you recognise the other two :)

Day 3: My Parents

Words that come into mind when I think of my parents during the first 18 years of my life.

Elisabet
political Engagement
Love
an Inspiration for my ambitions
Stricter than dad
children's Art projects on the kitchen table
bread and bun Baking
the family's Educational budget-keeper
pre-school Teacher

Lars-Gunnar
Love
restless so always in Action
Referred back to mum if I questioned a curfew
not as Social as mum

budding Gardener
Unknowledgeable about technical gadgets
Not a tie person
afternoon Naps due to shift work
takes care of his Automobile like it was a child or a pet
Reluctant football practice/match driver

The Pregnancy Diaries 1

My most recent visit with the midwife was yesterday (with less than eight weeks left I have started going at two-week intervals and towards the end it will be every week) and here's a little status report, if you're interested :)

Mother
- I'm smack in the middle on the belly growth curve (I aim for Swedish lagom), right now 31 cm if that says anything??
- Okay iron levels but need to continue taking supplements, which I've been doing since week 8
- Blood pressure 105/60, which is low and hence good
- Weight 71 kg, which means I've now gained 11-12 kg during this pregnancy. I have never ever weighed more than 70 kg so it was a bit scary* when I first saw this number glaring at me on the scale but I have got used to it now :)

Baby
- Average heart rate 150 (at previous visit it has varied between 140 and 150)
- And most exciting, the baby's head is now down. I think s/he turned around properly a few days ago because in the last few days I can really feel him/her under my ribs (and I know now that's her/his little butt or back).

I'm been keeping a diary since the start of the pregnancy, well, it was a bit of a slow start so I've only written regularly since week 20 or so, i.e half-way through the pregnancy. Some highlights:

8 May - Started thinking "hmm, I should have got my period by now..." I made this entry after the fact obviously.

9 May - Really started thinking "what if I'm pregnant?!". Talked to Peter and we decided to buy a pregnancy test the next day.

10 May - Bought a pregnancy test after work. Can't believe I waited all day because I could just think of one thing, but I wanted to take the test with Peter. Was really thinking "it can't be" but hoping so much it would be so!

The test was positive! Was really, really surprised, couldn't believe it was true even if part of me had known since realising my period was late (which it never is otherwise), and felt so happy and excited (and scared) I was shaking! Peter reacted just right - hugged and kissed me and said "congratulations". It felt like he took it more natural than me (but later he's told me that he probably didn't really comprehend how huge it was and is.)

22 May - Mum's birthday - called and gave her the best (?) birthday present ever :) (Would have told her in person if it wasn't for Peter's sister's wedding the same day.)

1 June - First visit to the midwife at week 8+1

End of May/early June - Morning sickness started (can't remember exact date)

13-15 June - Experienced first hand that morning sickness and migraine is not a great combination!

12 July - First ultrasound scan at week 14+0 (but we thought at the time that I was at 13+2). Wonderful to see that it's actually something in there. The baby was so cute and we took a very good and clear picture home with us. The risk of chromosomal abnormalities was 1/20,000, which is the lowest possible risk - hope it's correct! - and everything else looked normal too! (As I have a brother with a mental disability, not due to a chromosomal abnormality though, I have been a bit extra worried but I try not to think about it too much.)

30 July - Felt the baby inside me for the first time, little butterflies or flutters (week 16+4)

3-10 August - I felt the baby kicking for the first time (and then it doesn't stop :) (week 17-18)

18 August - Second ultrasound. All was well! The doctor went over the whole baby - limbs, spine, head including the brain and the face, and all internal organs (kidneys, liver, heart, etc.). We could see the heart beat and she zoomed in on the heart to see that the chambers and valves were healthy and intact. It's so cool that it's possible to see that much detail! The pictures turned out so-so as our little one first moved around too much and then fell asleep!

We also found out that my placenta is positioned at the back of the uterus and the baby in front. This can apparently vary from woman to woman and from pregnancy to pregnancy, as it depends on where the egg attaches itself after conception. Women with the placenta towards the back usually feel the baby earlier and more during pregnancy. Me likey! I had no clue of these variations before I was pregnant!

The due date was adjusted from 14 to 9 January.

20 August - Both Peter and I could actually see the baby kick, i.e. on the outside of my belly (week 19+4).

21 August - Peter felt the baby kick for the first time - he has always been "too late" before :)

22 August - The feeling of having a constant companion is getting stronger and stronger. I never sleep alone. My little friend.

23 August - Threw up** before breakfast, I really thought morning sickness would be long gone by now at week 20+0. My morning sickness had got a little bit better during August but was still very much a fact. Weighed in at 64.5 kg. First signs of pregnancy related nose problems in the form of very light nosebleed. Apologies for the details!

That was the first 20 weeks! Next 12-13 weeks coming soon!


* Though it was even scarier when I weighed in at 66.6 kg for almost a whole week a while back; the devil inside me? ;)
** I've been able to manage my morning sickness pretty well by having Peter bring me breakfast in bed for months on end. That way I have "only" vomited twice a week or three times at most.

Day 2: My First Love

In 1st-3rd grade I used to play "house" with a boy from school (H.) but we didn't just play house, we also played how to make babies that lived in the house! We kept our clothes on but my friend J. has told me she played the same game with H. and that they got butt naked! I think I was too prudish for that, despite Per, Ida & Minimum :)

But H. wasn't my first love. My first love was S. who went to school with me in 4th-6th grade. As customary at that age (you know, fråga chansen), we were sort of on and off and S. had other girlfriends in addition to me over the years, including my friend Malin, but he was the first person I kissed (not just a peck on the cheek...) and I remember several slow dances (tryckare) with him class parties.

But my first real love was J. who was in my class in 7th-9th grade. I was so desperately in love with him but nothing ever happened between us despite us hanging out in the same groups and being really good friends for a couple of years. I got my "revenge" though, as years later, in our late teens and early 20s, it was J. who was interested and me who was like no way! :)

J. - If you happen to read this, don't worry, you're a nice guy but you just didn't have "that"

Day 1: Introduction

Förortsmorsan as well as Västmanländskan (and many others) have jumped on a blog theme that's been circulating for a while and I thought I too would make an attempt.

The 30 Day List
Day 1 - Introduce myself
Day 2 - My first love
Day 3 - My parents
Day 4 - This is what I ate today
Day 5 - What is love?
Day 6 - My day
Day 7 - My best friend
Day 8 - A moment
Day 9 - My beliefs/faith
Day 10 - This is what I'm wearing today
Day 11 - My brother and sisters
Day 12 - In my handbag
Day 13 - This week
Day 14 - What was I wearing today?
Day 15 - My dreams
Day 16 - My first kiss
Day 17 - My favourite memory
Day 18 - My favourite birthday
Day 19 - I regret...
Day 20 - This month
Day 21 - Another moment
Day 22 - This upsets me
Day 23 - This makes me feel better
Day 24 - This makes me cry
Day 25 - A first
Day 26 - My fears
Day 27 - My favourite place
Day 28 - I miss...
Day 29 - My ambitions
Day 30 - A last moment

For Day 1 I have been inspired by Västmanländskan's way to tackle the first theme - she has used the words of her existing presentation and the title of her blog as a guide and I will do the same!

Born and bred in Södertälje...
Lived there until age 19 and then on and off when between countries or jobs. I used to describe Södertälje in these words: "sort of a suburb of Stockholm but still a separate town in many ways, especially since it's located on the commuter train line rather than the tube network". I wanted it to have its own identity I guess. Many factors still made it a suburb though; for example, the close proximity to Stockholm meant it lacked (and lacks) some of the shops other towns of the same size (~80,000) would have, as people went to Stockholm to shop anyway. Södertälje is probably most known for its high share of immigrants (though half of these are Finns) and it being home to two major industries, Scania and Astra Zeneca (which also explains some of the immigrant community, at least those arriving in the 60s and 70s).

Living with Peter and our soon-to-be-born daughter or son
I met the love of my life at the end of 2005 and on 20 December this year we will celebrate our fifth anniversary. We live in a one bedroom flat in the centre of Stockholm but are currently looking desperately* for a bigger flat, as from January 2011 we will no longer be dinks** but will welcome a new member into our little family! It's a really happy and exiting time!

...in Stockholm after stints abroad in Pittsburgh, London, Oxford and Brussels.
An aupair year in the US was the start of my years abroad. It was only a question of time (two years to be exact) before I was on my way again; once you have been bitten by the travel bug... I ended up staying four years in England - two in London and two in Oxford - and then spent six months in Belgium before returning home in 2003. At that time I didn't think I would stay in Sweden very long but here I am, seven years later... I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to leave immediately if I had the chance to go abroad again so any prospective employers reading this, I'm all yours (Peter doesn't mind being a stay-at-home-dad)!

Political scientist with a bias for European studies and international relations.
Luckily I have an international job, which somewhat satisfy the foreign gene***. Don't want to write too much about my job here but suffice to say my academic profile fits perfectly and I also get to keep the link with the UK alive. My previous job in the private sector working as a consultant with EU funding was also very right.

Blogging about everything from global politics to random ego-stuff.
If you don't want to read about climate change, gender equality or the EU, you don't need to look elsewhere because I also write about shoes (I'm a shoeoholic), travel and now recently, pregnancy and names of the baby :)

And what about the name, Anna, Fair and True?!
It was actually a friend of mine, Amy, who came up with it. I think it fits well. I like to thing I'm fair as a fairy ;) but most of all I try to be myself and write what I feel and think. I'm also very much driven by what is fair and just in general.


* Not really, we're pretty relaxed as a baby doesn't need that much space but it would be nice with something bigger within a year or so
** Double Income No Kids
*** And I've "made" Peter travel much more than he'd have probably done otherwise

Retro

My mum has saved some of my (and my brother's) baby clothes, especially garments she* knitted or sewed herself. Now they've been washed and are ready to go in the drawer** I've cleared for the little one.

What do you think?! Belly Dancer will be pretty cool (albeit colourful), won't s/he?!

The knitted collection (though I think the outfit in the left bottom corner was really or more worn by Winnie the Pooh below)


Apron dresses, perhaps not as unisex as the knits


This is actually my mum's old clothes from when she was a baby!

Belly Dancer will need a blanket, a teddy and a 70s winter overall/footmuff too

* Some my aunt may have knitted
** So far just one drawer, as I have a hard time giving up scarce wardrobe space! :)

An October Weekend in Copenhagen

I remembered that I haven't blogged about my weekend in Copenhagen with my mum! So here goes!

We stayed at Guldsmeden Carlton Hotel. Guldsmeden is a small chain of designer hotels with a sustainable and fair trade concept. Carlton is the cheapest of their three hotels in Copenhagen but it was good enough for us! The organic breakfast was delicious!

Our first day, Saturday, was spent shopping (as the shops are closed on Sundays in Denmark), and on our way we passed one (the?) of Copenhagen's most famous landmark, Tivoli


Pink Ribbon breast cancer awareness event in the City Hall Square


The Royal Café where we had Danish smørrebrød, "smushi". I really liked the interior!


Yummy!


Sunday our feet were still tired from all the walking (and shopping, or window-shopping really as we only bought one thing, a dress from Sand for me) the day before so we hopped on a tourist bus. One of the first sites we passed was Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, the Museum of ancient and modern art, founded by the famous brewer.


Not all of Copenhagen is glamorous


Cute allotments, including a small "mosque" (though some American tourists on the bus exclaimed "look at how small those houses are!" and probably thought poor Danes live there permanently)


View of the Royal Palace, Amalienborg on an overcast morning


Christiania, freetown and self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood. We just passed by this time but next time I want to go in.


The spiral church tower of the Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke), in the Christianshavn district.


City Hall


National Gallery of Denmark where we visited the domestic gallery (not the Bob Dylan exhibition though)


My mum posing in Nyhavn, with its colourful 17th century houses


Yours truly posing from another spot in Nyhavn :)


Mermaids, boats and restaurants


Beautiful old door


Kongens nytorv, the King's New Square (new as in 17th century), with a statue of Christian V, the Royal Danish Theatre, the famous shopping centre Magasin, among other things


Our third day, Monday, was another sunny day and we walked around the city until we had to head to the airport after lunch. On our walk we stumbled upon the Swedish Embassy.


Mum down by the waterfront by Amalienborg






The Opera House


Mixed waterfront pictures, including the marina near the Little Mermaid, St Alban's Anglican Church and the Gefion Fountain


The Little Mermaid had travelled to the world exhibition in Shanghai. We knew about it already so we were taken by surprise and disappointment.


While waiting for the hop on-hop off bus to take us back to the hotel we got to witness a model photo shoot


Finishing off with a beautiful water view!

Emma's Christmas Pressies

Join Emma's Christmas present exchange! Let her know before Friday!

My gift from last year

Sick Excuses

Since I'm home from work today (with a proper excuse I reassure you), I thought of an article I read a couple of days ago about stupid and weird excuses people have used to justify sick leave to their employer. The list comes from the American career site Career Builder.

1. My mum was attacked by a chicken
2. Finger stuck in a bowling ball
3. Hair transplant that went wrong
4. The employee fell asleep at the desk at work and hit his head so badly he inflicted a neck injury
5. A cow had broken into the employee's home and she had to wait for the insurance people to come
6. Foot stuck in the rubbish shoot
7. One employee called from a bar at 5 o'clock in the afternoon and said he was going to be sick the following day
8. Another employee said he had to mow the lawn in order to avoid being sued by the local Home Owner's Association
9. A woman burnt her mouth on pumpkin pie during Thanksgiving
10. I was out with my boat on Lake Erie, ran out of petrol and had to be towed by the Coast Guards to the Canadian side

Some of these may well be true but Career Builder advises people to leave some of the details out and go for boring instead of imaginatory excuses for the instances when they are in fact lying. And nstead of telling your employer your mum was attacked by a chicken, perhaps just say you have an urgent family matter to take care of. Career Builder also says that even if you want to take a day off simply because you're tired and need one day to regain some strength, most employers will understand and accept that, provided it doesn't happen too often (I wonder if that is really true though in this economic climate..).

Show & Tell: Up and Down

Friday theme as a Sunday theme this week (and I never got around to doing last week's theme...). Musikanta calls the shots this month and her second theme is Up and Down. This week has been a bit up and down in many ways. I have a stubborn cold, which won't go away and have now added to the repertoire with a chesty cough, probably because I didn't rest as I should have done last week but I was feeling well enough to go to work and we had so many things in the evenings anyway (concert - laundry - antenatal class - breathing class) that I could just as well go to work too (but tomorrow I probably do need to stay home and go to the doctor if I'm not feeling better). The week was also a bit up and down in terms of emotions. Friday was my grandmother's (who passed away a couple of weeks ago) funeral, a sad occasion of course, and Saturday we celebrated my brother's 30th birthday with the same group of extended family, naturally a much happier time.

But enough about that illness and sorrow! I thought I'd illustrate this week's theme with pictures from Peter's flying lesson a few weeks ago. Sorry for the number of photos but I took a lot from my backseat location and had difficulties picking the best ones :) I recommend you to look out for the ones of the centre of Stockholm (including for example the Royal Palace and Gröna Lund) and of our home (click on the photos for bigger versions)!

After 20 minutes of theory, the instructor gave a more practical demonstration of the plane

Peter takes his seat - a bit nervous but happy!

Lots of instruments to run through!

Time to take off!


And lift-off!


First views are of Bromma airport and not terribly exciting


Better views


Peter does well keeping us in the air and horizontal


Centre of Stockholm with the Royal Palace to the right of the wing and lots of other recognisable landmarks!


Lidingö, I think


About midway through the 45 min-1 hour we were airborne, the instructor demonstrated how engine failure doesn't mean you automatically and immediately crash, by setting the plane in neutral/idling (tomgång)


Vaxholm and Waxholm Castle


Close-up of the castle


Somewhere in the Stockholm archipelago


More archipelago shots


Illustrates the size of the ferries that go to Finland and the Baltic countries pretty well


Someone has made a heart in their field!


Back to town; view over most of the centre of Stockholm


Close-up of the Globe Arena and the Kaknäs Tower (or Cookie Nose Tower in Swenglish) front left. I like this picture as it has an industrial look to it.


Our neck of the woods! We live in the left area of the picture below the buildings with the white tops


To the left of the previous picture; Gärdet with the Kaknäs Tower, the harbour and Hjorthagen


Close-up of our neighbourhood - look to the left of the tower building (Svea torn apartments) and you will see long buildings with the red roofs; we live just behind them in the buildings with black roofs. You can also see Stockholm Stadium in this picture in front of the tower (with two small towers on the left side of the stadium).


Centre of town with Gröna Lund amusement park towards the top right-hand corner


More city centre views


Close-up of the City Hall and Slussen (and several cranes)


Back at Bromma airport


The instructor takes care of the landing; that's not something they let you do at the first lesson