Lizardek

03
Mar
2012

BITS OF TID

FBAR: forms for the past 6 years have been completed, printed, ready to copy & mail in…what a load off my mind! Double Dog Dare: Swedish Citizenship application has been mailed in! I’ve heard everything for turnaround time from 2 weeks to 8 months…here’s hoping for shorter, since I need my passport back by May. Family: off on their ski vacation; so I have the house to myself until Thursday night! Game: The whole family is addicted to Draw Something. Do you have it on your iPhone or iPad? It’s like Pictionary in your pocket! Barky: losing it. The amount...

26
Feb
2012

THE BOOK OF MARTIN & KARIN

One of the perfect present projects that I did for this past Christmas involved going through hundreds of digital photos on the many, many DVDs we have. I was collecting the best photos of Martin and Karin through the years to produce a photo book that would be printed and bound for the 2 grandmothers. The problem was that my kids are so darn cute it was nearly impossible to edit down the giant folder full of photos I ended up with. And that wasn’t even counting baby photos, which I didn’t include at all. The photos ranged from about...

23
Feb
2012

EVERY LINE IS THE PERFECT LENGTH IF YOU DON’T MEASURE IT*

Did you see the moon smiling at us tonight as it rose tonight? I wonder what it saw that made it so happy? The sky was so clear and black and spangled with stars and that cheshire-moon grinning down. If he’da had fingers, he’da snapped ’em! The other day at work, one of the product marketing managers came over to ask me what the correct measurement term in English was to use for a length that was longer than feet but not into miles. “Yards,” I said, “Football fields are measured in yards, and that’s a long distance,” but then...

18
Feb
2012

SNIPPETS, GAMES, PAPERWORK & DOGS

Loads of laundry so far today: 5 and counting Piles of paperwork I have waded through so far today: 42 and counting. Seriously! The paperwork! Holy deforestation, batman: SO MUCH PAPER. When I think of all the paper I have received, used, wasted, saved in my life, not even including how much paper is in ALL THE BOOKS I’ve read, borrowed, bought, loaned, given away) my head hurts. The amount of BANK STATEMENTS alone is discombobulating. We keep binders full of “important papers” that go back, in many cases, around 10 years, often more. They include bank accounts, fund statements,...

15
Feb
2012

OVERFLOWING

Some weeks are just so FULL, you know? Full of getting up, and getting going, and getting others going, and working. Full of obligations and reminder notes and to-do lists and appointments and errands. Full of compliments, and pleasant surprises and phone calls from friends, and feelings of accomplishment. Full of horrible mistakes and freezing weather and, thankfully, FIXING the horrible mistakes. Full of teeth brushing and bedtime stories and back scratches and laundry (really full of laundry) and throwing meals together, and driving Karin to and from practice. Yesterday I had my salary “discussion” with my boss. She made...

13
Feb
2012

SUCKITY SUCK SUCK

I’m buried in tax reports, bank account statements, Google results for “how to fill out these $#%! forms” and confusion. My regular tax return is due June 15th and will take me about 10 minutes to complete. The other forms, going back SIX years, are due June 30th (OF 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011), and they may very well take me the rest of my life to figure out. The information that they require is intrusive, outrageous, complicated and very likely unconstitutional. I cannot afford to pay a tax...

11
Feb
2012

JUST TO SAY

berchshill commented today that I wasn’t online much this week and she was right. Between Anders’ second week away, dog-sitting, work, researching US expat tax information, getting the kids fed and to bed on time, and driving Karin to practice and tournaments all week, I just haven’t had the ork. Tonight the dog went home (though he obviously didn’t want to, which was rather gratifying!), Anders CAME home, our 2 favorites went to 2nd-chance in Melodifestivalen and I am ready for bed. May your Sunday be sunny & bright! Best of ALL Birthday Wishes to Elizabeth!

06
Feb
2012

THE STORY OF THE FROG LAMP

Once upon a time, during the years I lived in Chicago, my parents became completely obsessed with antiquing. They went to auctions and collected things and bought some really beautiful stuff. And because there are approximately a million antique dealers and architectural salvage companies, and flea markets and 2nd hand stores in and around Chicago, when they came to visit me, I went with them, too. And caught the bug. However, since I had champagne tastes on a beer budget (like how I throw around those alcohol references as if I know what I’m talking about?) I never bought much....

30
Jan
2012

STANDING FIRM

When I came home, Karin climbed all over me and demanded to make muffins. “Muffins?” I said. “We don’t need no stinkin’ muffins.” “Yes, we do,” she insisted, OVER AND OVER AND OVER, like 12.5 year olds do, and god help me when she’s an actual teenager. She had SMS’d her father and asked if she could make muffins and of course he said yes because he is ON HIS WAY TO CHINA. I fobbed her off with the first we have to get the laundry in and then I have to get dinner ready and then you have to...

26
Jan
2012

FAST, THEN SLOW, THEN PIE!

If the days made a noise as they flew by, what would it be? Mine zing with a high-pitched ziiiiii. I finally finished re-reading The Clan of the Cave Bear books again, along with the latest one which Martin got me for Christmas. I think the first 3 books are really good, but man, do they go downhill after that. The 4th book is titled The Plains of Passage but should be called The Sex of Sex Sex Sex and the fifth one is basically repetition and filler, and the last one made me want to smack both of the...

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