Monthly Archive: January 2009

29
Jan
2009

UNDER FIVES

This seems to be one of those dreaded dry periods where making up memes in lieu of actual journal posts is about as scintillating as it gets. In the face of minimal inspiration, no motivation, and a blank slate of interesting anecdotes and memories, I’ll roll with the small stuff that I can squeeze out. Hey! It’s better than bullet points and to-do lists, right? 4 things I regret That we never bought a video camera when our kids were small; losing all the German I learned in high school; not getting the job with Hallmark at my first interview...

28
Jan
2009

LISTENING FOR YOUR VOICE

I was in a ridiculously good mood this evening, and indeed, for most of the day, despite a beginning-to-be-crushing list of projects at work, and a meeting that droned on for longer than I would have liked. Why the good mood? I have no idea. Feeling better will do that to you after a week and a half of physical misery, I suppose. I can breathe, I can sleep without drugs, I feel as though my brain is limbering up again, and I shall restart my head-cold-interrupted walking schedule tomorrow. Some things that have been on my to-do list for...

26
Jan
2009

GUIDE TO ACTION

It’s 11 o’clock and I wasn’t going to write, and I read through my blogs and got up from the chair and then I came back and sat down to write something, because HEY! I miss you guys when I don’t write. I can breathe today without the intervention of pharmaceuticals: HALLELUJAH. I’m still not what you would call HEALTHY, but at least I feel like I’m on the mend. We had an excellent guest speaker at the AWC meeting tonight; she’s a coaching and training expert in personal efficiency and helps people learn how to be more organized, and...

25
Jan
2009

UNHHH

I am considerably in awe of, quite dismayed by, and frankly, a bit threatened by the human body’s ability to manufacture mucus. If only I could harness this power in some much less disgusting way! I’d make a fortune! When sick, your whole world narrows down to the physical sensations that tend to consume all conscious thought. Things hurt that don’t usually hurt, calling your otherwise oblivious attention to them. You didn’t even know you HAD muscles there, much less that they could ache so much. Suddenly every square millimeter of space occupied by your sinuses becomes of utmost importance:...

22
Jan
2009

I HAB A CODE ID BY DOSE

Karin was sick over the weekend, running a fever, complaining of a sore throat and being generally draggy. She stayed home from school Monday, with my chaperonage to make sure that she didn’t play games all day as sick kids who stay home from work DO NOT GET TO HAVE FUN. She was allowed to watch TV and DVDs and otherwise she could lie on the sofa and sleep or lie in her bed and sleep or lie in OUR bed and sleep. I worked the entire day, while she slept and watched and moaned about how boring it was...

18
Jan
2009

THE MORE WE WRITE THE LESS WE DIE*

I read Post Secret via my RSS feed every Sunday. Sometimes I can’t relate to some of the secrets that are posted, but most of the time I am touched, moved, amused or saddened by the things that people confess to. This one, posted today, struck me cold and silent for a moment. Isn’t this SO TRUE? I can’t grasp it either. I can’t fathom the fact that I won’t live forever. Can you? We talked about it a bit at book group on Thursday night, though the central focus was, of course, on books, and the central anguish in...

16
Jan
2009

THEY’LL THANK ME FOR IT SOME DAY

Conversation in the car: Karin: Mom, EVERYONE has a Wii except for us. Liz: What, EVERYONE? EVERY SINGLE ONE? Really? That’s so sad! Karin: It’s true. Liz: Awww, you poor thing, and here you’ve only JUST gotten Playstation 2. Karin: *sighs* Liz: Too bad you have such sucky parents that only buy the old stuff and the used stuff and the hand-me-down stuff. Karin: Yeah. Liz: Hey! Wrong answer!! Karin: *giggles madly* Poor Karin. It’s true, though. We are really cheap when it comes to the toys and gadgets our kids have. It’s not that we don’t buy them things,...

14
Jan
2009

BITS OF TID

I hate the beginning-of-the-year-no-money-after-the-holidays feeling. Would give up a body part for a long massage. Preferably my neck. Have power-walked for 20 minutes 2 days in a row at WORK…on the treadmill in the stinky boy’s gym in the basement. Otherwise all power-walking has been on my own new christmas-present-treadmill or outside and I have only missed 2 days so far since Christmas. Go me! Those of you with kids: what’s their bedtime on school nights vs weekend nights? And how old are they? If they’re older than 9 or 11, what time did they go to bed when they...

12
Jan
2009

THE MOMENT IS HELD UNTIL SOMEONE SEES IT, THEN IT IS THEIRS*

The digital camera has made a photographer of many people who may have thought they never had the talent to shoot beautiful images. It’s usually easy to use, light to carry, and you can take as many photos as you like. The addition of Photoshop has also almost certainly revolutionized photography, giving photographers and artists alike the chance to make the fine adjustments that provide the difference between a good photograph and a great one. I know, for my part, using a camera is primarily meant to document: things the children are doing, happenings and events like birthdays and holidays,...

11
Jan
2009

A YEAR IN THE LIFE, ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF

I moved to Sweden twelve years ago today. In total I’ve lived 18 years of my life abroad, all of it in Europe. Strangely enough, however, I don’t feel European. But, nor do I feel totally American. I seem to be sitting somewhere on the great expat divide, neither fish nor fowl. Maybe that is how global citizens should feel. It would be nice, I think, to be considered a citizen of Earth, rather than having to adhere to one particular nationality or country. Twelve years! The first year was so strange, like a little mini adventure. We were newly...

January 2009
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