Month: February 2014

Wanderlust

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I am walking back from the daycare. Picking Roxie up early. The walk back is silent, just Roxie’s laugh before she falls asleep In the pram. It gives me time to think of all the places I am passing.

I really like living here. Here, in this small provincial town where I grew up ages ago. It’s safe to me. It’s full of memories. And it’s full of people I love. And full of people I know.

A walk through town will give lots of hellos. Perhaps from some of the librarians at the library that I have known all my life. And who now know my kids. A trip to a cafe will maybe offer smalltalk from people who have gone to my classes in the gym. Or a girl in a shop will be the little sister of somebody I once knew.

It could send some people far away or suffocate them, but I like it.

Truth, with the familiarity of small town life also comes the gossips and rumors, and that does suck, but I like the feeling of everything being connected. Of seeing familiar faces everywhere. Of having known Roxie’s childminder since I was a little girl, and myself being somebody other people remember. A friendly face from somewhere.

I enjoyed living in London and Vancouver too. Mostly because they are awesome cities, but also because of the anonymity. Of going out and being whoever I wanted to be – without anybody knowing my parents or stuff I had done earlier In my life. But that part is not something I miss a whole lot.

Alan and I did have a talk the other day. Of that great tourism position in the London and New York office of Visit Denmark, or what happens when Alan becomes a football star (we know its happening one day!) and is sold off to somewhere cool – Vancouver preferably. What then? Or will or wanderlust take us somewhere else before that?

I can’t imagine it at all. But my lust for traveling is also close to nonexistent. I want to go to Gothenburg to visit my friend. And to London for our family there. But apart from that I would rather just stay here. I really don’t want to be on a beach in Greece or shopping in Barcelona. Totally weird, but true.

It’s almost non-accepted today, in our globalized cheap airfare-ticket world to NOT want to jet off to Thailand, Dubai or Los Angeles. But it’s the truth and now I have said it. I will just stay here, save on energy, be happy.

Cause that’s what I am. Right here on the grey and almost springlike day.

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Home.

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Rain

Published on by skandimama2 Comments

February is more than halfway done, and I realize that this blog has been forgotten for longer than I wanted.

There are many reasons for that, one of them is that the girls have been off this week, and we have taken turns staying home, making time for lots of play dates and fun.

The other reason is a serious one; that Alan’s grandfather has been waiting for surgery, and is now still recovering from it. It has been tough for Alan being so far away from his family. We all wish we could be there with them for this.

So even though we have had a very nice time with the girls and enjoyed their winter vacation, and even though we have tried to keep busy sorting the house and cleaning up toys, the mood is muted in a way. Now we are just waiting for some good news.

It’s raining in Hjørring and our hearts are cloudy.

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Taking stock, part 1

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I saw on the lovely Pip´s  blog, Meet Me At Mikes, a great list of how to define things – just as they are right now, and I thought I would give it a go! So Thanks again for awesome inspiration, Pip!

This is me taking stock of today, Monday week 7 of 2014:

Making : The world go round, I feel. And then some illlustrations on my laptop.
Cooking : Good things with eggs from our backgarden chickens.
Drinking : Baileys cream tea, it still tastes as wonderfull as it did when I first tried it 15 years ago.
Reading: “Black Swan Green” by David Mitchell. It´s good. And then “Lets Pretend This Never Happened”. Again, because it´s always good to go back to something you know you love.
Wanting: To send off the script for the childrens book I finished last year. I am scared of letting it out there.
Looking: At my beautiful girls.
Playing: With Duplo and Lego.
Deciding: Whether or not I let Jolina go to the swimming pool with kindergarten on Wednesday. Or whether I go with her.
Wishing: For a cosy summer.
Enjoying: Looking at my man reading with no shirt on – right now!
Waiting: For boring bureaucratic stuff to go through.
Liking: That the snow is almost gone.
Wondering: Whether I can get my drawing skills back if I practice some more.
Loving: That our house is a safe place, where we all feel good. Also the mice (!!!!)
Pondering: If I ever get a proper grown-up-job..
Considering: If we could move into the Swedish woods.
Watching: Brooklyn 99, because I love Andy Samberg.
Hoping: That my mums cell counts stay on the good side of healthy.
Marvelling: When Alan says I am pretty.
Needing: For Alan to say that more.
Smelling: Like Dior Pure Poison. Takes me 10 years back to have that in my bathroom cupboard again.
Wearing: Grey, grey, grey. It´s all I need.
Following: Dos Family. Or more like stalking..
Noticing: That my girls are growing up.
Knowing: That my hair is definitely turning grey.
Thinking: About a wedding.
Feeling: Like I want it to happen.
Admiring: My mum. People who don’t yell at their kids.
Sorting: Tax-papers. Soon..
Buying: Almost nothing. Yay #YOEF!
Getting: Excited about this semester in university.
Bookmarking:Things in my memory. Forever.
Disliking: That the day is only 24 hours long.
Opening: That icecream from the freezer.
Giggling: At Andy Samberg and Jenny Lawson.
Feeling: Way too much.
Snacking: Way too much.
Coveting: Real authors.
Wishing: That I could be one.
Helping: My mum cut her hair.
Hearing: Icona Pop – I love it.

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……………..

– And here is your own list – if you fancy making one too…

Making :
Cooking :
Drinking :
Reading:
Wanting:
Looking:
Playing:
Deciding:
Wishing:
Enjoying:
Waiting:
Liking:
Wondering:
Loving:
Pondering:
Considering:
Watching:
Hoping:
Marvelling:
Needing:
Smelling:
Wearing:
Following:
Noticing:
Knowing:
Thinking:
Feeling:
Admiring:
Sorting:
Buying:
Getting:
Bookmarking:
Disliking:
Opening:
Giggling:
Feeling:
Snacking:
Coveting:
Wishing:
Helping:
Hearing:

Dreaming of a very unrealistic theme wedding

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I think, I saw this on pinterest, and since then I have not been able to forget it. I mean, how gorgeous is this!

I have always loved Anne of Greengables, and maybe – just maybe fancied Gilbert a Little bit..

Now I cant stop dreaming about a Canadian Anne of Greengables themed wedding. Red hair and all.

– Am I the only one who finds that awfully romantic?

See all the amazing pictures here.

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Pots and greenery for spring

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In December Jolina and I had a really cosy day where we painted on porcelain. It was mostly for some Christmas gifts, but I also made some Little pots for plants.

They have not been put to use before today, but as I was out groceryshopping I saw some nice little plants. I know nothing about botanics, so I just hope they won´t die too soon. Please stay green till spring comes.

– And no, I was not very original when drawing- a cute cat and a sleeping cloud, that was how far I went that day.. But I still like the motives, cute is always cute in my book.

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A little bit about music..

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Just read a post from one of my favourite Danish bloggers, The Jules who rules, and she wrote something about music and a book, that touched me quite a bit. The book is Eleanor & Park, and I am instantly going to order it from the library to read. But Jules also wrote about playlists, how music is something that brings us back to certain times in our lives.

I feel the same way. Music has been ever so important in my life, and now I feel unfortunately that it is quite far away from my everyday. I have simply turned into the grumpy old man, who wants the radio turned off, because he cannot focus when the kids are playing, his other half trying to tell him something important, or he just needs to think. I need silence. Too much noise turns into simply – noise. Boring, but the thruth.

Music is something I mostly put on when I am alone, to celebrate that me-time, to give me energy when I am being creative, baking, cleaing, or to set the mood to whatever I am going to do. Unfortunately I do not listen to enough music with the girls or Alan, because somebody always needs for me to listen at some point, and then I can´t enjoy the music at the same time. But it´s a shame, because it can be really great to dance around the whole family. Mental note : I want to do that more!

I also miss singing and playing, but hopefully that will come back too, as we have borrowed a piano from my aunt. She does not really play it anymore, so I now have the chance again.

– And now I have just started thinking about music, how it takes me down all the memory lanes in my mind.

Danish pop-group Rocazino is some of the first I can remember. Watching their music videos with my dad on Beta Max – yep, that´s how cool he was.

Beatles at my dads place, both on lp and on his guitar.

Janis Ian while crafting with my mum on sundays.

Leonard Cohen at my dads. He even made me mixed tapes, so I could listen to it at my mum´s. I still love his voice and lyrics.

Madonna at my older cousin´s, late 80´s, a whole new world of empowerment and POP opened up. (Also, I wanted to be just like my cousin. She was the coolest.)

The Police and Sting when I was around 11-12. God I was so in loooove with the punk-version of Sting, not the tantra one. And none of my peers knew who they were. I was such a music nerd.

Britpop in every way for my early teens. In my room. At the youthclub. Hoping I would someday meet somebody I could speak English to. Hey, look what happened!!

Tori Amos, from when I was 13. She was my hero. I sang and sang her songs all day and all night. Wishing I could be her.

In my late teens a special friend introduced me to the Swedish band Kent, and they were my soundtrack to moving away from home. Starting my own life with mismatched cups and all the wrong boyfriends in the world.

Cheesy 90s stuff and Britney to take me through the endless partying of my 20s.

Robyn, New Order, Interpol, Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon from the summer I met Alan.

The list goes on, and it stays in my heart. I love music, and I cannot wait to pass it on to the next generation.

– What is the playlist to your life?

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Roll on 2014

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Suddenly it´s February.  How on earth did that happen?!

The house is quiet now. The last bunch of guests have left, the girls are sleeping, and it´s grownup-time, with books and digital media. We are really trying hard with the books now. We both want to read more. Serious stuff. Not just about Disney princesses or Totte and Lotte taking a bath. So we are working on that, along with leaving our gadgets alone.

But I also wanted to write a bit about how it is going with my #YOEF-pledge. I just know you are super exited to hear about that.. The spoiler for this is that I will sound estremely smug and selfrightious, but I am happy with it, so please just allow me to be.

First of all I have read great and inspiring stuff from Fellow bloggers, specifically this one was interesting, and it made me all the more up for quitting my unhealthy shopping habit. And so far January has been fine. It has been a great relief to simply know, that I do not need to spend hours browsing Asos, H&M, Sportsdirect or the like for bargains online in the evenings. And going out physichally has been even better. There is no need to look in shops anymore, where I before would spend ages in the cheap sections, just to see what I could find for 7 Pounds. There is plenty of that already in my wardrobe. I have worked in fashion and lived in London where highstreetshopping was my favourite weekend-activity, so to my advantage I am not out of clothes yet. I still have stuff to choose from in the mornings.

I do wish for some things. Like the perfect pair of short black boots with the perfect heel. But I am unsure they exist, so I will wait until they present themselves to me, and then I will figure out if I really cannot live without them. Material things suddenly feel much less important.

– I have shopped though, I have not been a saint. I got a pair of spring boots for Jolina, and with the amount of glitter and flashing lights they have, they do make me feel quite horrible for the sweatshopworker making them, but I cannot make boots myself, and I could not argue (rookie-mistake) with a 4-yearold who really really wanted them. Not yet. But hopefully one day, she can be part of making better choices too.

And then I got a secondhand jumper for Roxie. It had firetrucks on it, and looked well-used, so it appealed to the smug, pink-glitter-hating, retro-loving person that I am.

You know what – It feels goood. I never knew it could feel this good not to shop. But I just feel so relaxed, because I don´t have to search for all the stuff we don´t need or even want that much. Stuff that makes me feel good for such a short time only. Stuff that reminds me of all the excess we already have.

Instead there is this feeling growing inside me, that the better I feel about myself, the more I will love what I already have. If I feel good about myself and body, I won´t need to find the perfect dress to flatter it. Feeling good, I can wear whatever already is available in my full drawers and shelves of stuff.

– But what about materialism, new stuff, the kick from doing a good deal, finding something pretty, holding something that will now belong to you..? It is still there, but on a different level. Finding the used jumper for Roxie gave me  that feeling. And making stuff myself does it too. Seeing things and being inspired to change stuff and not just buy new.

I fixed some old blouses and bits of material into dresses for the girls, and that felt awesome. It felt even better when they actually wanted to wear them, since that was not guaranteed, haha.

So I am not worried at all about this year. I am looking forward to it, and I am sure it will be life(style)changing. Money and time saved already. And not an unhappy person because I haven´t been out searching for – and finding the perfect black boots. Maybe even happier without them.

…………………………………………..

Stay tuned for the NeXT chapter in the story of how I turn the family completely organic, move into a shed in the woods – without wifi, buy a goat, ONLY travel by bicycle, and never ever shave my armpits again.

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