This week's schedule

So, once again the blog has been less than updated... I've been so busy, as usual, that I haven't had the extra energy to blog. You might ask what I've been doing, so I though I'd give you the lowdown:

Monday - group work, preparing for a teaching lesson on Tuesday + went to Gothenburg to see Rigmor Gustafsson (Jazz) with S. Left home at 0700 to drop off H at MIL's house, and got home at 23.30...

Tuesday - All day in school, teaching eachother stuff. Tried Ashtanga Yoga and got VERY light-headed! Went to MIL to pick up H, had dinner there, went home and as soon as S got home from work, I had choir practice.

Wednesday - Left home with S at 0900 to go to Skövde and meet a contractor to see if they were interesting. Had lunch at a Thai restaurant - great food - and went home. Made a stop in Lidköping at "the porcelain city" (they used to manufacture porcelain there, now they have moved the manufacturing but kept the fabric sales) to buy some glasses and other bits and pieces. Got home, picked up H, cooked dinner, fell asleep on the couch.

Thursday - Left home at 07.15, S took his own car, to go see another contractor (Modulenthus) and hear what their offer was. Looks good, great building time and I really like the salesman - he seems honest somehow... Went to school, did a bit of studying, did the grocery shopping and went home to do some more studying. Picked up H, made dinner, fell asleep on the couch. S was at a concert in Gothenburg, so we went to bed at 22.30 - it was an early show.

Friday - Home studies, at least that is what I call it. Lots of surfing and fondling all kinds of stash to see what I HAVE to take with me so I can craft a little while we're NOT in our own house. Went to rehearse this sunday's repertoar with the pianist, got home, had something to eat (a sandwich), picked up H early so we could do some gaming before making dinner and watching Peter Pan with her. S was at a concert in Gothenburg (3rd time this week!), so I went to be alone - S wasn't home until 01.00...

Saturday - is today! So far, the only plan is to try to get some studying done, and get the bathroom cleaned, so today looks relaxing enough.
Sunday (Tomorrow) - I will be in church from 10 till 12 singing, my inlaws are coming over with lots of boxes, so we'll start packing the things we won't need until we've moved to our own house again. (We're hoping to be moving in before Christmas, so the XMas decorations will definitely be stored.)
And then it's monday and school again...

So, that was my week - there's a certain pattern in the afternoons, don't you think? ;) How was your week?

Update!

So, Hannah's birthday was a huge success - we had a dress-up party, so we had three little princesses and one fairy running around the house :) Princess theme on the dining table, balloons everywhere (not in the bathroom, thank you very much), chokolate cake with pink whipped cream and ice cream sprinkles around the candles (H did the decorating herself), hot dogs and ketchup all over the table... H got some great crafting presents, I am sooooo thankful we chose the plastic table cloth at the dining room table! The girls got so busy crafting, gluing and painting, the hours just flew by.
H loves having a tv and dvd-player in her room (yes, her father spoils her rotten), and she watched the movie she got from us (Ariel III) every evening until her aunt gave her another movie (Barbie as the island princess) which is now running EVERY EVENING. Yup, I make myself necessary elsewhere now and then, or I would go crazy I think... How on earth will I survive after Christmas Eve, when she'll be getting 5 Barbie movies?!?

My parents came to visit this sunday, part to celebrate H, part to exchange Christmas gifts and part to hear me sing. I survived the advent concert, even though I was so nervous I made up my own melody on one of the verses in the first song - but when I listen to it afterwards, the "personal" melody isn't what's bugging me, it's the fact that I sound hesitant. Note to self for future performances... My partner in crime, Erica, had a soar throat, but she still sounds great - I guess that's the difference between "just singing" and actually having a voice worth trying to make a living out of. If anyone is interested, leave me a comment and I can e-mail a sample from the concert :) It will be in Norwegian and Swedish, though!

It is snowing outside today - just like the "snow" on my blog, actually! All the Christmas decorations are up, I've wrapped and exchanged the gifts I had planned (just 2 gifts left, for my middle nephew and niece) and today I'll be taking H to the hair dresser to get her bangs fixed before friday - St. Lucia day! She's decided she wants to be a maid this year, so she won't wear the heavy crown but carry a candle instead. Very good choice, I must say!

I'll leave you to it, then shall I? I have some studying on the urinary system to do...

Bad blogger, need sp*nking...

I know I know - I've neglected my blog. But I have updated the look, see? I've been so completely swallowed by the big hairy monster called school, I almost haven't seen my own blog either... I have tried to go visiting other blogs I like to read, to be updated, but I cannot guarantee that I have commented...

So, what's happened in my life these past 4 weeks? Well, I've started actively thinking about what I eat, how much and when. When I was at my first WIL-week (see previous post) I weighed in, and not owning anything resembling scales for people myself, I had to wait until last week when I got back at WIL again before I could see if it actually had made a difference. Yes, I can slightly feel it in my pants (them being more roomy and all) but it's still fun to see the numbers on the scales! I lost a grand total of 1.5 kilos... Yay! At least it's something, I was afraid nothing would've happened - that would really have discouraged me I fear... Physicians say the best rate of losing weight is about 0.5 kilos a week, and as I average just below that, I am happy. *small happy dance* Now I take that as a positive lesson, and move forward - it's six weeks until the next time I'm on WIL, so I'm hoping this weight loss will keep on in the same rate. If so, I'll reach my goal weight before next summer. Long term goals are good for you, right?

Other than that, I have been reading and thinking and am slowly turning into an academic thinker. Finally, I'm starting to understand the special language spoken in higher education... I've also been thinking about christmas presents, so they will eventually turn up here - noone in my family knows about my blog (at least I think they don't???) so it's safe to spill the beans here ;)

We haven't completely stopped looking at new houses, we just had a very long break... Now a few interesting ones are popping up - some people desperately want to move before christmas, and most people don't want to move around christmas because they want it to be nice and settled and organized, so that means houses from the end of october are cheaper to buy here. Plus it might have something to do with the current financial situation (yep, we feel it here as well when the US are in a bad shape)... Judging by the way we've done things so far, we could be done in a week's time when/if we decide to move anyway, so christmas isn't the big issue here. Daycare, school and work are! I have no idea what the daycare situation is like in that area (other side of town), and that is a serious main priority. Driving for half an hour in the WRONG direction isn't what I plan to do for months...

Talking about christmas - I had a phone call today from our cantor, asking me if I would like to sing with a big band at a concert 2nd sunday of advent... Yes of course!!! I'd love to, even if it is right in the middle of probably some of the toughest courses in school - anatomy and physiology is next... This is a chance I just cannot turn down, I hope they go for it... I haven't had the confirmation yet (duh) that it will actually happen, but it would be so much fun - I've written it on my calendar already :)

Gotta go, it's getting late and I want to have a little quality time (read: snuggle on the couch) with hubby before bedtime!
Until next time, may the winds be always favourable and the stash plenty!

Back again!

The funeral was very... dignified! My singing went very well, got lots of praise afterwards. The church was a lot smaller than I remembered it - perhaps because I was 14 last time and the ceiling is HIGH in the "cathedral". I'm not accustomed to being able to sing so everybody can hear without using a microphone, but it was very nice. The space was perfect for concerts!

Met lots of relatives I didn't know existed, and enjoyed it immensely. They were really nice people! In particular Dad's cousin, Jimmy. He was a very enlightened man, a teacher in Norwegian and carpentry (I guess you can call it that) who'd studied philosophy. It was very interesting discussing the language and Wittgenstein with him, I only wish I could have such conversations more!

My aids against the motionsickness worked like a charm - didn't feel ill even once on the train, and on the way back I didn't even use the chewing gum, just the wrist bands and water with lemon in it.

I had quite a wait in Oslo on Saturday before my train left for Sweden, so I had a little shopping therapy... 5 hours worth of going through shops left me with a pair of brown dress pants, two longsleeved t-shirts, some fabric for ornaments and such, two pairs of really expensive pantyhose and a nail polish file. Needless to say, my feet were very sore when I got on the train! Thank you, Dad, for sponsoring me! :)

It was really good seeing Hannah again - it was her 3rd birthday yesterday! She got two princess costumes as well as lots of games, books, puzzles, coloring pencils and Cinderella on DVD. We spent Sunday playing and cleaning the house, and yesterday (after work) eating ice cream and watching Cinderella. She had a little difficulties understanding that Cinderella in the beginning didn't have the nice dress, and why was her stepsisters and -mother so mean? It's not easy being three years old...

The weekend gone by

I was at my nephew's christening this weekend - Nickolas is so gorgeous, and the only thing that makes it a bit of maintenance having him around, is that he's a "puker" - don't hold him with nice clothes on, or you might get a nice smelly milkstain somewhere... Other than that, he's all smiles!

Here is a picture of him with his mother (my sister) in all their doo-dads:

Here he is with his brother and sister at the restaurant where we had the dinner afterwards. Yes, you've guessed it, he's a result of two families meeting! :)

Of course, I suffer from motion-sickness and had to get on the train for 3 hours to get there, but it was worth it. We had such a great time, and Kristoffer (Nick's big brother) has grown to be a real charmer! He's turning 17 in february, and boy have the girls discovered him! He's got that whole charming shyness about him, and a smile that is to die for...

I've prepared for my next trainride now - I was at the pharmacy yesterday and bought some kind of wristband that is supposed to counteract the motion-sickness, and I also bought some pharmaceutical chewing gum - in case I get naucious (sp?) anyway!

I'm leaving for my grandmother's funeral on Wednesday (tomorrow!) and won't be back until Saturday. The internet connection s**ks there, so I'll blog all about it when I get back! I've decided to sing Lascia ch'io pangia by Händel in church, but with the more uplifting swedish lyrics. I am getting a little nervous though, seeing as the church is a huge one, see: www.ishavskatedralen.no and also http://www.destinasjontromso.no/english/index.html - you can see the cathedral at the top pic there. I also haven't had the chance to sing through it with my choir leader, so I'm still a bit uncertain about the middle part with lots of strange "jumps"... It's getting close now, without me being certain what I'm actually going to sing! No wonder I'm nervous...