Rainbow at the end of our street. A really bright one.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
out of the frying pan into the fire
This week was so busy. I wasn't expecting it, and so when I got back to work on Tuesday after the trip to Stockholm, it was all hands on deck, no time to think, go go go go go! It was crazy.
So I haven't had much time for catch up on things blog related.
Anyhow, the trip to Stockholm was very nice. Our hotel was in a trendy chi chi foo area of town called Stureplan, I can't say it was my kind of thing, very night clubby and exclusive bars with every table reserved (dammit I just want a DRINK, I'm fabulous in my own right, but I am SO not gonna play poser for you people.) and blonde women with big purses and boobs, little asses and brains, high heels and yippy little dogs with swarovski collars. God i hate that shit. Anybody who models their style after the Paris Hiltons of this world is someone I already know I don't want to talk to.
The hotel itself was nice, though our first room was so small it was kind of ridiculous. If you ever stay at the Hotel Stureplan in Stockholm, don't book a standard room, they are really small. Spend a bit more for the bigger rooms, then you're talking something nice. The room we moved to was much nicer and a good size, we slept well there, it was very comfortable.
We got there on Thursday (my birthday) and went for some drinks and a light dinner, then crashed. The next day we took a boat trip out to Drottningholm Palace, the family seat of the royal family. That was so nice, an hour boat ride through the gorgeous suburbs of Stockholm, ending up arriving at a glowing, imposing, yet oddly comfortable looking building placed right on a quiet inlet of the water.
We wandered around the grounds and the house and the outbuildings, it was a nice day, though the weather started getting blustery. What I liked about Drottningholm was the hand-painted everything there. All the 'stone' finishes were actually painted, and with my decorative painting background, I found that fascinating. The techniques and colors and the overall saturation of the different effects, it was truly great, and somehow also warmer than if it was real stone. We barely made it back to the boat before it started raining, which it did for all the rest of that day and the next. It rained so hard that it actually rained up and sideways.
Anyhow, we spent most of the rest of the time wandering around, finding cozy bars for a drink or two, and trying to stay dry but also see something. Gamle Stan (the old city) is nice and has charming alleys and little twisty streets. People watching there is great, too. I have NEVER seen so many handsome men, even if many of them are a bit overly trendy. But still, the handsome human quotient is extraordinary. Stockholm sort of kicks Oslo's ass, it's got all that history and large architecture and gorgeous views and that European Grand City thing that Oslo just never developed, it being a historically poor rural nation until not that late into the 20th century. Stockholm also has better shopping.....
Of course I had to take some time for shopping, and surprisingly I only bought two things, a pair of Arche shoes (very Euro-comfort and crashingly expensive in the US, but if you can find them on sale in Europe they are not too pricey, relatively) and a truly awesome up- and- coming-designer sleeveless coat thing that is so beautifully cut, it's a bit silly. I put it on and I feel like I'm invincible. (Both in black, of course.) I went for quality over quantity this trip.
If you want pictures of the trip, they are all posted in my Flickr page.
Got back from the trip and got thrown straight back into reality. Damn what a week I had this week!
But with a bonus. I tried on some of my clothes, you know, the ones that you save because you will fit back into them 'one day', even though they are too tight? The ones you love and can't quite get rid of? Well now they fit. I've lost enough weight that things are fitting better, I think I've gone down a pant size, and people are noticing the weight loss, so, yippee! Just gotta keep it up...8 lbs to go.
Woo!
So I haven't had much time for catch up on things blog related.
Anyhow, the trip to Stockholm was very nice. Our hotel was in a trendy chi chi foo area of town called Stureplan, I can't say it was my kind of thing, very night clubby and exclusive bars with every table reserved (dammit I just want a DRINK, I'm fabulous in my own right, but I am SO not gonna play poser for you people.) and blonde women with big purses and boobs, little asses and brains, high heels and yippy little dogs with swarovski collars. God i hate that shit. Anybody who models their style after the Paris Hiltons of this world is someone I already know I don't want to talk to.
The hotel itself was nice, though our first room was so small it was kind of ridiculous. If you ever stay at the Hotel Stureplan in Stockholm, don't book a standard room, they are really small. Spend a bit more for the bigger rooms, then you're talking something nice. The room we moved to was much nicer and a good size, we slept well there, it was very comfortable.
We got there on Thursday (my birthday) and went for some drinks and a light dinner, then crashed. The next day we took a boat trip out to Drottningholm Palace, the family seat of the royal family. That was so nice, an hour boat ride through the gorgeous suburbs of Stockholm, ending up arriving at a glowing, imposing, yet oddly comfortable looking building placed right on a quiet inlet of the water.
We wandered around the grounds and the house and the outbuildings, it was a nice day, though the weather started getting blustery. What I liked about Drottningholm was the hand-painted everything there. All the 'stone' finishes were actually painted, and with my decorative painting background, I found that fascinating. The techniques and colors and the overall saturation of the different effects, it was truly great, and somehow also warmer than if it was real stone. We barely made it back to the boat before it started raining, which it did for all the rest of that day and the next. It rained so hard that it actually rained up and sideways.
Anyhow, we spent most of the rest of the time wandering around, finding cozy bars for a drink or two, and trying to stay dry but also see something. Gamle Stan (the old city) is nice and has charming alleys and little twisty streets. People watching there is great, too. I have NEVER seen so many handsome men, even if many of them are a bit overly trendy. But still, the handsome human quotient is extraordinary. Stockholm sort of kicks Oslo's ass, it's got all that history and large architecture and gorgeous views and that European Grand City thing that Oslo just never developed, it being a historically poor rural nation until not that late into the 20th century. Stockholm also has better shopping.....
Of course I had to take some time for shopping, and surprisingly I only bought two things, a pair of Arche shoes (very Euro-comfort and crashingly expensive in the US, but if you can find them on sale in Europe they are not too pricey, relatively) and a truly awesome up- and- coming-designer sleeveless coat thing that is so beautifully cut, it's a bit silly. I put it on and I feel like I'm invincible. (Both in black, of course.) I went for quality over quantity this trip.
If you want pictures of the trip, they are all posted in my Flickr page.
Got back from the trip and got thrown straight back into reality. Damn what a week I had this week!
But with a bonus. I tried on some of my clothes, you know, the ones that you save because you will fit back into them 'one day', even though they are too tight? The ones you love and can't quite get rid of? Well now they fit. I've lost enough weight that things are fitting better, I think I've gone down a pant size, and people are noticing the weight loss, so, yippee! Just gotta keep it up...8 lbs to go.
Woo!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
That promised bullet post
- Ok, so where to begin.
- Well, first, I got really sick exactly two weeks ago.
- Like, that Wednesday night, one minute I feel fine, the next I have a horrendous stomach ache and am hurling my guts out.
- It lasted a week.
- I've never had stomach pain like that.
- It was like an alien was trying to get out.
- The doctor told me to take Tylenol and go for a walk.
- Cuz, yeah, I could totally stand up straight.
- Norwegian docs don't go for the pain meds and the fun drugs.
- However, I was impressed by the fact that this doc's office (a new one I just registered for) has an on site lab, that does lab work WHILE YOU WAIT.
- Took five minutes for a full blood and urine work up.
- Total cost for visit was $35.
- My tests were negative for any recognizable, earthly ailments.
- They don't test for aliens, though.
- Which I TOTALLY had in me.
- Also, you know when you are watching a movie set in the Victorian era or earlier and someone has a fever and the doctor and the concerned wife/sister/mom watches the sick person as they sweat and are delirious?
- And how they are so worried they will die?
- And then the sick person suddenly opens their eyes, and the doctor says, "The fever has broken. She will live."
- That was me.
- I totally FELT the fever go away.
- One minute I'm sweaty, weak, semi-delirious and exhausted, the next I'm all like, "Hey, can I have some Kool-Aid?" (That Kool-Aid tasted fucking awesome.)
- So now I totally understand those movies.
- There's an upside to stomach maladies, though.
- Ladies, you know what I'm talking about, right?
- Yep. WEIGHT LOSS.
- I lost 3 pounds.
- So a total of 9 pounds lost altogether.
- Surprisingly, that has almost been enough to get me back to a place where I feel good in my clothes again.
- Luckily I lose weight in my stomach first.
- Ass goes last.
- (Actually, ass will never go, let's face it. Ass remains; when the zombies come, they won't eat my brains, they will eat my ass.)
- I'm aiming for another 10-11 pounds and then I will be where I was when we moved to Norway.
- Cuz I had just come off the "OMFG I'm moving to NORWAY" diet and boy was I stressed and skinny.
- But people at work are asking if I have lost weight and I am getting boys checking me out, in a "hey baby" kind of way, which is kind of nice.
- (Digression). Why does my husband always insist on starting a conversation with me when I am trying to write or concentrate on something? He won't say anything all day, then, when I want to focus, BAM there he is wanting the attentions. (Digression ends.)
- Speaking of work, I've been on a bit of a high lately.
- It's been really cool, I've been the office moderator/problem solver.
- Everyone comes to me now for professional advice and help with problems whether IT, personal, HR, dealing with bureaucracy or whatever.
- I feel like I've turned a corner and people actually value my opinions and input.
- I totally love it. It feels good.
- I probably should have gone into HR or some sort of people-helping field.
- My birthday is tomorrow.
- I'm mid 40's now.
- EARLY mid-40's, but still fucking mid forties.
- I don't like that idea one little teeny bit.
- Life has gone way too fast and I am now on the downward slope, and I ain't happy about it.
- I'm going to Sweden.
- Seems a sensible thing to do on a birthday.
- Happy Birthday to me.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
bathrobe guy
Bath robe guy! Bath robe guy is back! Sans bath robe lady this time! See, what did I tell you! Wtf?
Friday, August 12, 2011
I DO have stuff to say
Just been too busy to say it.
Bullet post coming this weekend. Sorry I have been so LAME. (I plead deathly illness, btw.)
Bullet post coming this weekend. Sorry I have been so LAME. (I plead deathly illness, btw.)
Sunday, August 07, 2011
swedish tv freaks me out
What the fuck IS that? And WHY? Its not a cute bunny, its a scary staring rabbit creature!
Saturday, August 06, 2011
tiny tomato baby
Our balcony tomato plant, given me by my friend Jay, has a tiny tomato baby growing. Yeay!
Friday, August 05, 2011
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