Unruly pets

Yesterday Stan thought he could fly when he took off from on top of the new loft bed...

Today I was just cleaning up a bit in the living room. Sarah is in her room playing with her friends, and I walked in there to drop off some stuff she left in the living room. On my way out, I happened to glance out the hall window. What do I see out there? Well, BOB the dog, standing by the front door wanting in!!!

He must have slunk out when the kids came over, a half hour ago. Lucky for us, he is such a comfort creature, so he must have thought it was too hot and sticky out there in the sweltering heat, so he decided inside was better. He could have been roaming the streets by now!!!

Bed Building Weekend

On Friday Ken (and even Sarah) helped me put the sides (ladder sides) together, and then attach the long sides. Then I spent all Saturday putting all the other pieces together and then finally I stained it. At 8 PM I was finally done!

On Sunday I still had to do a second layer of stain on the safety rails and then install those. And then there were the drapes, the rope lights and just stuff in general. A big project!

But now it is all one. And I have turned into a dinosaur. An OldenSore... :-)

Sarah is very happy, and she slept her first night in it last night. I was a bit worried she would wake up in the middle of night and forget where she was and fall out or something, but everything went well.

But we have a new rule: NO PETS in the new bed! Stan was up there (before the safety rails were put on, and he got the bright idea to jump down all by himself. He screamed like crazy when he hit the hard stone floor (what the heck was he thinking, he can barely jump up and down from our bed????).

First we thought for sure he must have broken all his legs, but it looks like he is just a little sore, he walks and jumps like normal, no limping or apparent pain. He is one lucky dog!

Sarah actually helped quiet a lot getting a bunch of screws in. She was a great helper!

Lots of pieces

Almost put together

Done! Stained! Drapery up!

Cozy "clubhouse" underneath...

...with rope lights to up the cozy factor

Rollercoaster kid

As a contrast to yesterday's grumpiness Sarah could not wait to get to school today.

On Fridays they do something called centers (compared to a little every day during Kindergarten).

I think they are in smaller groups and do different centers throughout the day, as in art, computers, reading and one called housekeeping (to learn things like how money works when you shop and things like that).

At least that is what I have figured from what she told me from Kindergarten. Apparently centers day is FUN!

Oh, and it does not hurt that Friday also is PIZZA day. So smiles all the way today!

Bed-o-rama

Idag kommer sängen och med det en hel del jobb! Fyra stora tunga kartonger ska förvandlas till en stor loft-säng! Maken har förvarnats att han ska jobba ikväll, så att jag kan betsa hela dagen imorgon.

Först ska ju sängen monteras ihop, sedan sandas lite, och sedan ska ett lager med något jox som förbereder ytan. Sängen är gjord av gran, som är ett ganska mjukt trä, och för att betsningen ska bli jämn och fin så måste man preppa ytan.

Efter preppen kommer första lagret med bets, sedan ska man använda fin stålull för att slipa lite och sedan ett lager bets till...

Som tur är har vi fått tag på en ny sorts bets som har lacken redan inbyggd så att säga. Annars hade det blivit två lager till, med lack...

Så sängen är nog inte klar att sovas i förens på söndag. Ken vill ta hundarna till hundstranden i helgen, men jag tror jag står över och låter dem åka, så kan jag få lite lugn och ro med mitt pyssel...

Ha en bra helg!

Sigh

Surgery today... not. I got my period last night, so no go on the surgery, rescheduled in two weeks. Sucky timing! I just wanted it done with...

Oh well, I have a ton of stuff to do. I have to empty out Sarah's room so we can assemble the new bed tomorrow night. She will be without bed for a night or two, since it has to be stained on Saturday with 6-8 hours of drying in between. But on Sunday she will get to try it out! We are all very excited (or at least Sarah and I).

Sarah did not want to go to school today. She woke up kind of grumpy. She thinks school is boring, but I know she really thrive on that environment when she is there. I sweet talked her and had a slow start morning, and she actually left the house skipping, so that is good.

I don't know where to start cleaning and doing stuff around here... Kitchen? Bathroom?? Living room??? It all needs a haul over. And I am not in the mood. I just need to get going, once I start, it won't be that bad, kind of fun actually. Just like with Sarah and school. Hey, perhaps we are not so different, ha ha!?!

Handyma...woman!

Nobody else around here seem to understand my need to get the kitchen hardware installed NOW. So this is what I am doing right now...

So far so good...

Busy

I am going to be super busy for a couple of days. A client of mine decided it was a great idea to hire a cheap translator, saving a few bucks... Turns out the end client was not happy with the result, and now they are paying me and another translator to revise the botched translation before their deadline, costing them way more than it would have to just hire a "normal" translator from the beginning! See, it doesn't always pay to go the cheap route. I have a feeling they won't do that again...

I got the FedEx tracking number for the bed yesterday, it will arrive on Friday, so hopefully we can get it put together over the weekend!

Have a great day!

Beach Day

As you can see in the pictures below, we had a nice relaxing day at the beach! Not a rain drop in sight despite ominous reports! I parked myself mainly in the hammock outside, rocking gently in the breeze, taking in the relaxing and oh so beautiful vistas. I think this is how I envision the perfect beach paradise!

I also made a little movie clip so you can see how the house looks like on the inside. Our friends have the house on the market right now, they have only used it as a rental house, but I kind of wish it will be difficult to sell, so we can enjoy more days like this in a near future... :-)

My view in the hammock

Sarah and Ken trying to catch some fish

1st Day of 1st Grade

She is a big girl now! We dropped her off at school an followed her to her new classroom, but she was not too happy to be caught by the camera, this was the best I could do:

Wearing her uniform, backpack ready, it is school time!

I could not get her to wear her new fancy sneakers this morning, she had to wear her old once. It looks like I will have to buy a pair of the exact same model, but a size bigger... She is just not picky with food, she is too with foot wear!

I think it will be great for all of us to get back into a routine... It will be a long first day, they go until 3:05 PM. My little First Grader!

More house updates on the way...

Since Ken works a lot he just does not have time to do stuff around the house, so we have recently gotten a handyman that can help us out with smaller things needed done that I can't handle by myself.

One thing that needs doing is putting all the new hardware on the kitchen cabinets. So Ken asked if there is anything else I could think of needed done, so the guy can do that at the same time. I quickly thought of the largest sliding glass door, leading to the patio. It needs new rollers so it can run smoothly, it has started to jam up here recently.

Then I also suggested new faucets in the bathrooms... We ended up talking extensively about the bathrooms, which need more extensive stuff done, the toilets that we replaced being the first step... Sooo... it now looks like we are going to get new faucets, new sinks and granite counter tops in both bathrooms! I am so excited!

The handyman would do everything but the granite, but since it would make sense to replace the counter before putting in new sinks, well, we will see what we can find. There is a granite and marble place just down the road where you can pick out your own slab and they install it at a pretty reasonable price. So exciting! Hopefully it won't take too long before this happen... And hopefully a fully fenced backyard before Christmas! I just can't wait!!!

Tomorrow it is beach house day, despite the chances it will most likely rain on and off. We figured it would be fun just being down there, it is a fabulous house after all. And I really don't mind swimming and walking on the beach in the rain, it is still very HOT outside, over 35 C every day. Plus, Ken has gotten all kinds of goodies for us to snack on, so it will be nice just having a picnic if nothing else.

Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

Trevlig lunchmatiné

Laddat och klart i min DVD-spelare: Män som hatar kvinnor.

Hoppas den är lika bra som boken!

Och ikväll blir det kålpudding med kokt potatis, brunsås och lingonsylt!
Bra dag, va?

Tip

If you love getting "attacked" by little dogs, and having little cold and wet noses all over you, I have a great tip:

Make sure you pet and scratch a female dog that is in heat really good, then go into your house where there are at least two small dogs with cold, wet noses. They will SNIFF and SNIFF and go crazy trying to inhale as much as possible of that smell from you.

***Disclaimer*** Excessive dog sniffing can cause bouts of uncontrolled laughing!

In other news: we went to Sarah's school's open house last night, and she got to meet her new teacher, see her new desk and familiarize herself with the new surroundings. On Monday it is back to business for schools here. It looks like at least two kids from her old class are in her new class, so that will help a little I think.

Unless the weather does not cooperate this weekend, we are going to try and borrow our friend's beach house on Casey key, you know that fabulous place with the hammock between the palm trees, right on the beach?! If the weather is not looking good, we will wait until next weekend, which is most likely.

I have a lot of stuff to do around the house anyway, so either way is OK with me. Plus, I know Sarah really want to go and see a movie this weekend too.

Back from shopping

Sarah and I had a great day out shopping!

We started out by going by a new Dollar Tree store that just opened close to where we live. As you might have guessed by the name, everything in the store is just $1. They have a lot of crap, but Sarah's eyes really sparkled when I told her she could pick out one thing in the store she wanted, ANY thing! Wow, what a deal, she thought. We ended up with a whoppy cushion, one of those things you put air in and then when someone sits down on it it will sound like they farted. Just up Sarah's alley! And a table bowling set slunk into our basket as well.

Then we went next door for Sarah's back-to-school haircut. 1½ inches (almost 4 cm) off, cleaning up a bit after all those pool hours that wreak havoc on the hair.

Despite the weary look, she liked her haircut a lot.

After the haircut we decided to have brunch at Friendly's, Sarah's favorite. They were not serving lunch yet, so we ended up getting breakfast. But a big American breakfast is just as filling as lunch, so no problem there! We played some table bowling while we waited for our food.

That were some BIG breakfasts! Sarah, who is such a picky eater, happily dug into her french toast sticks, (som fattiga riddare (eller är det rika riddare?!)) and bacon...

And she finished almost all of it! That made for a happy mommy!

AND she asked for dessert, and she finished that entire big thing! Holy moly! Sarah said she was very impressed she could eat it all. Her body must have found some extra storage down there to put it all!

We got everything we had planned, two pair of new jeans, a pair of dark denim and one pair of regular denim. Goodbye size 6, hello size 10... sigh. The storage ottomans were great, just perfect size for Sarah's room. Comfy to sit on, and you can store all kinds of things in them, even dogs!!!

Mobile again

Yay! Last night we finally picked up Ken's car, now with a new convertible top (or at least half a new one. That means I have my car back and can actually go somewhere. Is it not funny that all of a sudden when you have no means of driving, you feel like you just have to go somewhere?!

The neighbor had a hand, mouth and foot disease scare (höstblåsor in Swedish), so they are not allowed to play with anyone until they know if they got it or not, even though I told them Sarah already had it and is unlikely to catch it again. So she is a bit grumpy...

My plan for today is getting Sarah a haircut, going to get some new jeans (I have gained 25 lbs in two years thanks to a successful surgery (my doctors are very happy, me not so much). This means my size 6 jeans no longer fit, and my favorite jeans brand are having a sale (Old Navy, always fit me perfectly). So good time to stock up, only $19.99 a pair!!!

Then it will most likely be a stop at Target, they are having a great sale on cute little storage ottomans, perfect for Sarah's room when we get the bed, she can use them to sit on and store toys inside!

Speaking on the new bed, I have been promised we will have it before the end of the month, this is their busiest time of the year with all the college kids ordering loft beds. I am ready, got the stain and all the stuff needed to put it together.

All I will have to get is fabric to make the drapes around the bottom. Sarah has ordered red, and the once they had at IKEA was not in my taste, so I will try Hancock Fabrics, I got a 40 % coupon that is valid this upcoming weekend on any one item, so that would be perfect! Sarah wanted a red bed, but will get red drapes instead, so we are both happy.

So after I get Sarah in the shower to wash her hair for the haircut, we can take off.

Tomorrow our friend J who is an electrician is coming by at 8 AM to install outdoor lights, looking forward to see how that comes out, especially with the new motion detection lights that we are going to install.

Have a great day!

Tired Monday

Yesterday I was pretty tired. Lots of travelling, and then BAM, home and lots of work!

When I get really tired I have a tendency to mix in Swedish in my English, just a word here and there, not enough to really be that noticeable. But I guess I must have been really tired last night, Ken said I was slurring my words and he was concerned I had a stroke or something!!! THEN you know you are tired, when your husband seriously think you might have had a stroke!!!

I understand his fear, since I have had several blood clots and you never know, but I thought it was kind of funny. I think when I get tired I just get lazy and just don't put any effort into speaking clearly... But I sharpened up a bit, so he wouldn't send me to the hospital or anything! Can't be easy to live with a REAL "sicko" like me, ha ha!!!

Mini vacation - good and bad

Yesterday we spent most of the day driving. Weird you can get so tired from just mostly sitting still!

We did have a great time in Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, but the trip did not exactly start out very good...

On Wednesday, the day before we left, Bob had snuck out in the garage when I was doing laundry. This might not be such big deal you might think. Well, he was out there for about 1 hour before we noticed what was going on. And we keep our trash in the garage. Yup, Bob had spread the contents of the trash bag all over the garage floor, and eaten as much crap as he could see and smell in the dark out there.

He was very happy when we finally figured out where he was and let him back in the house. But the next morning not so much. Just after 4 AM I was waken by him vomiting, and this went on for hours. I took him for walks and he scarfed down grass like if he was a starving cow. This is not exactly a rare occurrence in our family. Bob does this a LOT. So I knew the drill, he would eventually cycle though it in about 12 hours.

So he did. But that was some loooong hours of caring for him. And then he had to be dropped off with Stan at the kennel, but at that time he had kept water down and had slept for hours, so he was good to go. But I sure was tired from being up so early...

So now we were ready to leave, having fun, right?! Well, not until my gynecologist called to let me know that he had some bad news. Back in 1997 I had a cancer scare and subsequent surgery on my cervix, followed by close follow ups every 6 months or so. Now the cancer cells seemed to be back, and he scheduled me for another laser surgery on August 27th. At least this type of surgery does not hurt that much (compared to other stuff I have done at least). He feels confident we found it super early and this will be it. I sure hope so too! Skin cancer, colon cancer and this - the cancer scares seem to be raining down around me - what gives??!

So not exactly great news to start a vacation with!

But off we went and after an uneventful ride through the Everglades via Alligator Alley we arrived at the Vacation Village in the Weston area of Fort Lauderdale. Awesome condo! We once again had a huge jacuzzi in the master bedroom, and I had brought some spa products to use in there, and it was heavenly!

Sarah having fun in the jacuzzi, the whole family could easily fit in there!

Friday we pretty much just hung out at the lovely pool and relaxed, to Sarah's great joy. On Saturday we visited the Lion Country Safari, which was not bad. We got a little scare when three huge rhinos boxed our car in (this is a drive through zoo). Especially since there were signs everywhere saying "Do not stop close to the rhinos; severe vehicle damage can occur!". But it was all good. Here are some pictures:

The rhinos got a little too close...

Beautiful animal!

The zebras came pretty close too...

In fact, I could have touch one if I wanted!

So what is so special about this guy? Well, if you look close, you can see the humongous balls he got hanging in the back. It was painful just seeing him walking around with those things almost hitting the ground...

Giraffe

After checking out the walking part of the zoo Sarah really enjoyed cooling off on a very hot day at the zoo's splash park!

On Saturday we had dinner at the Bonefish Grill with Ken's dad and his girlfriend; it is almost 3 years since we got together with them, they live in the Miami area, so this was a special treat!

From left, S, R, me with Sarah (did NOT want to be in the pic!) and Ken

On Sunday it was time to check out and head up to Jupiter, a little more than an hour north of Fort Lauderdale, to see Ken's grandfather. He was actually in the hospital after being a bit sick last week, so we saw him there. I am not sure if he knew we were there or not. He had been up all night and was sleeping pretty hard, plus he has late stage dementia, not really remembering anything but the good old days...

Ken had a really hard time saying goodbye, his grandfather is well over 100 and this was most likely the last time Ken would ever see his grandfather again, since we are so far apart, and his condition seem to deteriorate each month... Ken was very choked up and had a difficult time, he really love his grandfather a lot...

On the way home we decided to take Alligator Alley (that is the nick name for the highway going across the Everglades to the west coast of Florida). We got home around 7:30 PM, so it was a long day on the road.

Sarah was so upbeat in the car all the way home (could be due to all the sugar she consumed, ha ha), and she kept us entertained. This was one of the songs she sang, and as you can see, she got very mad when she realized I was filming her. She will be sooo mad if she sees the clip on here :-)!

And this morning we picked up the dogs from the kennel, and they sure were happy to see us! Now they are happily sleeping, blissfully unaware they are going to get a bath here very soon...

Quick update

I have just been busy cleaning and working, trying to get a bunch of stuff done before we leave tomorrow. I love coming home to a clean house with nothing that needs to be done, so relaxing!

Sarah has been very difficult the last few weeks. It is like she is going through a phase or something. She is very shiny, she talks back, and she is just nasty in general.

I guess it is just part of growing up, but it sure is very frustrating and stressful. I hope things change for the better when school starts back and we get onto our routines again. Not that she wants to go back to school, now she says she hates school of a sudden. She is just very moody. Sigh.

Hopefully a few days away with lots of fun will be good for all of us! We just turned Ken's convertible in to the garage today, it needs to have part of the convertible top replaced, and hopefully it will be done by Monday. A big thunder storm is just rolling in, I am going to go and watch some TV with my cranky daughter now, take care and see you on Monday!

Monday

Have a few things to do this week. On Thursday we are leaving for another mini vacation, this time 4 days in Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach on Florida's east coast.

The goal is to combine some fun and relaxation with visiting with Ken's family a bit. The resort we are staying at seems very promising, and I was able to squeeze a free upgrade out of them, so we will be staying in a large condo, with full kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, patio and even our own jacuzzi, much like that place we stayed at in June.

We still don't know if we will be able to see Ken's grandfather on Sunday, depends on how he is. He is going on 102, so he has all the right not to feel up for a visit! :-)

On Friday we are looking forward to mostly just relaxing by the pool, or perhaps going to the beach (but I don't like the beaches on the east coast of Florida too much), and then on Saturday we are visiting Lion Country Safari all day, topped off with dinner with Ken's dad and his girlfriend.

Sunday is as I mentioned still up in the air, but the plan is to see Ken's grandfather in the morning and then head home around lunch time. From West Palm Beach it is about a 4½ hour drive to home, and to the hotel we are staying at in Fort Lauderdale it is a 3½ hour drive from our house, so lots of driving!

We had a great visit at IKEA, and among other things I got some hardware for our kitchen cabinets. As of now they have no handles or knobs, and I thought it would be an easy and fairly inexpensive way to update the kitchen a bit. I spent yesterday scrubbing the cabinets to get all that greasy film off that builds up over the years, and today I am polishing them with a protective oil, so they look their best before attaching any new hardware. The IKEA handles I choose match our appliances perfectly, here is a picture of the handles:

Not that into eating...

Sarah is really not into food. Not at all. Lately I have not been able to get her to eat or drink anything for breakfast, despite my best efforts. It comes and goes, sometimes she loves to eat, but right now: not so much.

Instead of breakfast I wait a few hours and try to squeeze in a "snack," aka late breakfast... Today she at least accepted a drinkable yogurt...

Lunch and dinner is not an easy task. "I am just not up for eating" is her new thing. She doesn't eat pasta, rice, potatoes, vegetables or most fruit. See the predicament here?

But thankfully she still loves her Green Juice, aka Bolthouse Green Goodness. This green, disgusting "soup" she can drink, it is her favorite juice! Even though she knows it has kelp, broccoli and other things in it she would never even look at on their own. It is my miracle food, just look at this ingredients list:

Apple Juice from concentrate (apple juice concentrate, water), Pineapple Juice from concentrate (pineapple juice concentrate, water), Mango Puree from concentrate (mango puree concentrate, water), Banana Puree, Kiwi Juice, Natural Flavor, Spirulina, Open Cell Chlorella, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Lime Juice, Zinc Sulfate, Broccoli, Brewed Green Tea, Spinach, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Blue-Green Algae, Echinacea Purpurea Extract, Odorless Garlic, Tamarind Puree, Dragon Fruit Juice, Lemon Bioflavonoids, Jerusalem Artichoke and Nova Scotia Dulce.

Since the only grains she gets are from pancakes, bread, granola bars and rice pudding, I try to make these as healthy as possible with little sugar and whole grains. She eats a few fruits and berries, but likes unsweetened apple sauce the best, they make them with flavors like blueberry and peach, with no added sugar.

Sigh. Her doctor is not worried, she seems very healthy, and I will just have to take the doctor's reassurance that she WILL grow out of this soon. Sure hope so!

On the few occasions she enjoys her food, she really enjoys it. Like the other night, when I was making her pancakes (yes, she eats pancakes for dinner), she couldn't hardly wait to eat, and when her plate of whole grain pancakes, turkey sausage and real maple syrup was finally done she exclaimed with exuberance: "Lets feast!"

Sure wish she was that excited about all her food...

In an hours we are going to IKEA. Too bad I can't get her to try some Swedish meatballs, it is a food full of such good childhood memories for me!

Friday, yes!

Last night Sarah got to stay up late (she fell asleep just after 9 PM). She made a cozy "nest" for her and the dogs on the couch, and we all watched Wild Russia on the Discovery Channel.

Sarah and Stan all comfy

Bob got a spot too, but he doesn't want any blankets

Both "kids" fell asleep, so cute!

And this was my view from the same couch...

Still having trouble with joint pain mostly in my hands, very irritating.

This morning I had a guy here to give me an estimate for a backyard fence. I have been wanting it since we moved in, but there has always been more important things to fix. But now the fence WILL happen! The price was much lower than I thought, so it looks very feasible. I have pleaded with the husband that this is all I want for our anniversary or even Christmas this year. I usually get something for the house, something a bit more expensive, it has kind of become a bit of a tradition. So I am keeping my fingers crossed...

I have a long list of things to get at IKEA this weekend, really looking forward to it. I ordered Sarah's new loft bed the other day, so it should be here around August 20th or so I think. I got all the stuff ready to stain it and put it together, I am really excited about that. Sarah really wanted a red bed, but I got her to agree on a normal wood stain and instead adding red drapes around the bottom, to create a little play area under the bed. I also got her rope light that will go around the "ceiling" under the bed, so she has light under there. Hopefully it will all come out great and be ready before school starts, kind of a start of the school year present for her, to get her excited.

Ken's firm was audited today. They came armed with lots of papers and questions, but he had an answer for everything (he is after all a certified auditor himself), so they gave up after a few hours and left. Since I am an employee of Ken's company, I am now except for future audits according to Florida law, which means my company cannot get audited either... I am very glad to be married to a CPA, Certified Public Accountant. It sure comes in handy sometimes...

Oh, and Ken has agreed to buy a property on Gotland in the future. We were thinking an apartment in Visby which we can rent out to college students during the school semesters, and then rent out to tourists (at a hefty premium) during the summer weeks, with possibility to "book" the weeks we want to stay there ourselves. There is a big demand for rental apartments for students, so should be easy to rent out. Very exciting!

Where did all those years go?

I just can't believe she is starting 1st grade on August 24th! Time sure fly!!!

Taken in June with my cell phone

Grrr

I had to cancel a juicy job this morning; my wrists are not cooperating, I can't even turn my right hand, which of course makes it very difficult to type!

Sometimes I just want to take this lupus by the neck and ....

Sucks!

Magic Trick

Sarah thinks I know magic. I can change a red traffic light to green, just by saying my magic words. She is pretty impressed by this and think I am really cool...

Hopefully she won't discover that I am just reading the traffic pattern anytime soon; I like to be the cool, magic mom! :-)

Not much excitment here

We had a slow weekend, we went and saw a movie (Alien sin the attic) and pretty much just hung around the house.

Sarah stayed home from camp today so she could play with her friend; this is the last week of camp, with a very anticipated field trip to the Lowry Park Zoo on Wednesday. After that Sarah will have two weeks off before starting 1st Grade on August 24th. Just enough time off to get bored enough so she will be excited to go back to school, is the plan...

We will be going to Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beach August 13-16, but other than that we are just planning on enjoying the last day of "freedom" before the new school year starts.

We were looking at outdoor lights yesterday at Lowe's (giant home improvement store), and instead we came home with yet another new toilet. We figured we want to make sure we can get the same model as the other one, and it was on sale... So now the big box is sitting in the living room, hopefully to be installed here soon.

I ended up getting the outdoor lights online, so whenever they arrive we will have one of Ken's client's install them, he is an electrician.

We are replacing the sconces on the sides of the garage door, and we wanted to get something that will go on automatically when it gets dark, and turn off when morning comes. But we also wanted motion detection, so whenever someone is moving around in the front of the house, the lights will get brighter. We also got two new porch lights, one for the front of the house and one for the back, both with motion detection but no dusk to dawn feature. Should be perfect!

Now I am going to watch the Swedish movie "Maria Larssons Eviga Ögonblick"...