Yearly Archive: 2004

05
Apr
2004

KARIN TABLEAUX

After having been told to come home at 5:30 for dinner and showing up half an hour late, Karin’s response when she came in the door and heard me exclaim “You’re half an hour late, young lady!”: Det gör ingenting, mamma.* Upon subsequently being told that yes, it does indeed make a difference, and if she chooses to be late again, that will be an end to playing with friends before dinner, now get over to the table and eat: Ni bara tjata på mig hela tiden!** And finally, opening the Easter card she received from Grandma Linda, flinging it...

05
Apr
2004

ONE GOOD THING…OR MORE

I have to drag that string of Christmas lights sometime and it would be my own fault if some of the bulbs are cracked or missing or won’t light up, meaning that I couldn’t leave the day with a sad/bad post. Martin’s parent-teacher conference went well and Martin is apparently aceing everything in sight, prompting me to take the teacher aback by asking her about programs to help exceptional children (!) The only thing we need to be concerned about at this point is his tendency to take things personally. He is a sensitive kid and often gets very upset...

05
Apr
2004

COMPLAINT DEPT

Once again, my husband left me with an empty gas tank this morning. argh I almost hit a car this morning on the way to work because the sun was shining from behind me and I didn’t see that he had his left-turn blinker on and thought he was going straight through the little traffic circle. 🙁 Still no reimbursement from work for those damned IKEA frames purchased over a month ago. The bill for over 5000 kronor has been paid by me, so we’re out that money completely for the moment until the finance department gets their thumb out...

05
Apr
2004

NEXT UP

Monday: Parent-Teacher conference for Martin Tuesday: Dentist appointment for Karin Wednesday: Choir Thursday: Buy and color eggs for Easter egg hunt Friday: Dinner with Anders’ family for Easter, also start of 4-day weekend, woo hoo! Saturday: Finish coloring eggs if necessary, double-40th birthday party for Mikael & Lene Sunday: AWC Easter egg hunt and picnic Monday: Collapse, muddy and exhausted

04
Apr
2004

WHAT A LAUGH LOOKS LIKE

Penelope, over at Lopie’s Journal, posted a wonderful bit about laughter the other day and I just went back and read the comments and fell in love with people all over the place. Penelope’s question was “[If your laugh was captured in a jar], What would your laugh look like?” Here are some of the answers: …bright red and twirl around in a small circle and then burst like a firecracker. …composed of precisely one hundred and three twinkly little firefly bums burning bright pink that explode all at once in one wheezy, high pitched HEE. Sometimes the firefly bum...

03
Apr
2004

WHAT? NO YEAR OF THE LIZARD?!

The wind is playing games, whizzing and buzzing the treetops. Everything rattles and whistles when you go outside. The kids and I walked through sunshine and birdsong and windful flurries to the nursery and bought a flat of pansies and ivy and 2 big bags of dirt. On the way home, we stopped at the playground with the new playground equipment where Martin showed me how quickly he can pump up to speed on the swings and Karin sold me a cinnamon bun made of brown sand and white gravel. It looked like cinnamon and sugar, minus the bun. I...

02
Apr
2004

MY SO-CALLED LIFE

Boo hoo hoo, no tapas tonight. 🙁 No delicately crunchy, perfectly cooked and straightened* shrimp scampi with pesto creme. No tender marinated sweetly fragrant artichoke hearts lovingly wrapped with prosciutto. No ooey gooey rich and creamy potato and cream souffle smothered in melted gouda cheese with mouthwatering chunks of bacon. *drool* sigh But it’s just as well, since I can’t really afford to go out to dinner AND pay a babysitter when I’m supposed to be trying to save money to go to the States this summer. I’m starting to have a hard time with saying “going home” when I...

01
Apr
2004

PAGING TIPPI HEDREN

It’s sunning outside. The sun is coming down like crazy! It’s a sunstorm!! And where am I? Am I out in the sun? NO, I am NOT out in the sun. I am sad because I am not out in the sun. I am sad. Sad I am. The sun is so out, in fact, that it has bleached the edges of the sky. It’s blue at the top and white around the bottom…like a sky left out in the…sun. Okay, that went nowhere. Made me giggle though. Words/Phrases We Should All Use More Often: gonzo, fat lip, spork (or...