tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83871445345359259872024-03-13T02:37:10.565+01:00Livet (Just) LagomStuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02567446456145232949noreply@blogger.comBlogger306125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-82586491832539163852012-02-08T23:16:00.003+01:002012-02-11T17:28:26.112+01:00We started a baby blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We started a baby blog to document this kid!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soren, at about 10 weeks</td></tr>
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Now that our Sweden chapter is closed, I have really enjoyed reading past posts on this blog and remembering the little routine stuff about our life in Stockholm that might have otherwise been forgotten.<br />
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So I'm doing the same with this new Baby chapter. We call him Bug. Actually, most of the time, I call him Bug Bug. I tend to say almost everything twice to him. He will end up thinking that it is his name, for sure. I should have started a blog about this cute l'il squirt 2.5 months ago, but admittedly, it has been a bit hectic around here. Who knew?!? Since I have to go back to work, I'll likely only manage a post a week, but I think even that will keep a great record of Soren's development for us to look back on when he is running circles around us.<br />
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See it <a href="http://bugslife23.blogspot.com/2012/02/first-post-this-is-our-bug.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Air-guitarin' Soren 'n Soren!</td></tr>
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</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-12982651629386586892011-12-02T21:03:00.003+01:002011-12-02T21:24:18.441+01:00Welcome, Soren!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few hours old.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Välkommen, Sören! Our little Swedish meatball!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Born at 23:39, just minutes before Thanksgiving. And he is certainly a little butterball, weighing in at a whopping 8lbs. 11 oz. (nearly 4 kilos!) How did I carry such a big baby?!? </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super Soren!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Momma's Little Turkey.</td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">He's healthy and so far happy, and Stu & I are totally in love with him. Even when he wakes us up at midnight howling, and again at 2am, and again at 4am...if my stomach were the size of a walnut, I'd be hungry too!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting his zen on with dad.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My awesome hospital bed...Soren and I spent 5 days on that thing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First trip to the pediatrician.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First family portrait with his eyes actually open.</td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Because I really liked reading birth stories while I was expecting this little gubbe, I thought I'd write about ours. It has the word "emergency" in it, but it wasn't particularly dramatic. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I started work at the Smithsonian at the beginning of November (finally! and the job is great!) Because it's a brand new job, meaning I had no leave saved up, my plan was to work until I went into labor, and I essentially did just that. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The baby was only 4 days past his due date, and I had gotten to work at 8:30 Wednesday morning, when my OB office called to tell me that they were waiting for me in Labor & Delivery at the hospital to start the induction process. I guess they had a spot open up and I was next on the list. So I turned right back around (after telling all my new co-workers "Surprise! I'm having a baby today!") and met Stu at home, grabbed all of our pre-packed hospital gear, and headed to the hospital.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Checked in and hooked up to the IV, they determined that I was nowhere near ready to start induction drugs, so they administered a topical cervical dilation hormone, and Stu and I waited about 9 hours for something to happen. I did a crossword puzzle, read a magazine, watched some HGTV. It was really slooooow. Even slower when all you can ingest is clear liquids and jello. I ate at least 5 cups of jello in that period.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But around 7:30pm, I went into active labor on my own. My water broke, which started the most painful breath-stopping contractions I could imagine, and I lasted ONE entire hour before calling for an epidural.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">That thing was worth it. Oh man. And I was truly scared of the whole needles and drugs thing before. I was wrong to fear pain relief.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">At that point, the doctor (never my own doctor, just whoever was on call. Thankfully, they were all awesome) said I was 100% effaced and 8cm dilated, and we just needed to wait a bit to start the pushing process. I was kinda blissed out on the epidural drugs, though I could still feel contractions and could still wiggle my legs. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Through this whole process, the staff was monitoring my vitals and the baby's. The fetal heart monitor showed that many times, his heart rate dropped after I had a labor contraction (it should do the opposite.) They thought maybe he was sitting on or squeezing his umbilical cord in the uterus whenever the walls shrunk in, meaning he was not getting enough oxygen during those contractions. By 10:30pm, the doctor pronounced that if it were to keep happening, we should prepare ourselves for a Caesarean. At 11:00, after a particularly big contraction and low heart rate read-out, we were told that we needed to get the baby out.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So at 11:22pm, they wheeled me into the OR (thank goodness I got that epidural...they would have had to knock me out completely had I not!) I was awake, but I didn't feel a thing. Stu was nervous, but so supportive. And at 11:39, baby Soren was born, purple, slimy and screaming his perfectly round little head off. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I know our case (fetal heart decelerations) is one of the more common reasons for emergency c-sections and maybe could have been prevented, but though it certainly wasn't the ideal delivery scenario for Stu or me, it was absolutely the ideal outcome: a healthy baby. </div><div style="text-align: center;">We stayed a total of 5 days in the hospital, and those 4 after he was born were priceless. The nursing and doctor staff were excellent and we felt so well taken care of. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Soren is just over a week old now. I'll be home with him until early February (nothing like Sweden's maternity leave policies, that is for sure!) Stu is on paternity leave for a short time, doing nearly everything except the breastfeeding. I am healing, but it is slow-going. I can't get out of bed very easily by myself. I am still on pain meds and anti-inflammatory drugs. The baby is the heaviest thing I can pick up (and with the way he is packing on the pounds, he may exceed my max weightload pretty soon!)<br />
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Soren's first Swedish cultural event will take place tomorrow, when we attempt to take him to the House of Sweden's Julmarknad in DC. I'm sure it will be a short visit as they tend to get crowded...everybody and their mother comes out for free lussekatter and lätt glögg, apparently. I love seeing the Lucia procession (they use real candles!) but I doubt if we'll last that long. You have to worry about things like germs, loud noises, and where to discreetly breastfeed as parents! So many new things with a baby!<br />
And maybe more to come. Stu and I have had some comical new parenting moments...the not-so-clean first bath, the trauma of my milk coming in, learning how to swaddle...and we've thought about starting a new blog. One to keep track of the memories we make with this little guy. We'll keep you posted.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-43840989832731338522011-10-30T15:56:00.002+01:002011-10-31T21:53:35.527+01:00Three month update. And snow?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It has been a full 3 months since my last post on this blog, meaning THREE months since we moved back to the US from Stockholm. So much has changed! And is changing!<br />
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But before any real update, happy halloween. We spent our Halloween Saturday night (when most people shoulda been dressed up and drunk) watching movies under piles of quilts, since the heat in our new building hasn't turned on yet. And we had a frickin' BLIZZARD on the East Coast in October, making it way too cold to do anything but make things in the oven and then leave it on and open for extended stretches. We checked: it was 15c degrees in Stockholm; 6c in Washington D.C.<br />
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Anyway, Stu & I spent the first nearly two months of our return in Virginia, living with family, catching up with friends, applying to jobs, eating awesome and cheap American food, and watching a whole lotta crappy morning news shows (pathetic, I know, but I didn't realize how much I missed the Today show and Good Morning America.) There was nasty DC August heat, a hurricane or two, an earthquake, a tornado, and now, a snow storm in October.<br />
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We moved back in my 7th month of pregnancy, so the slow pace of transition was a really, really good one for me. Finally got our shipment of stuff from Sweden almost a month later than planned, but all intact and with few major problems. But by late September, we still didn't want to *unpack* our Sweden boxes without knowing where at least one job would be. We'd both had a few job interviews but no real bites, and my belly kept getting bigger, which made life a little more stressful since we didn't quite feel settled yet and the range of possible scenarios when Baby arrived was sooooooo wide. Oh, and diapers are expensive.<br />
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But within literally 12 hours of each other, Stu and I both got AWESOME job offers in DC, which we both accepted embarrassingly quickly ("Really? You want to employ me? Ohmygodyesyesyes!" It was seriously like a marriage proposal for me. At 8 months pregnant, a shotgun wedding?) Within a week, we bought a car and rented and moved up to an apartment in Arlington, and basically did a complete 180 from the "back-up" plans we had put in place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dressed up and gigantic!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stu has been at his new job at a big consulting firm here in DC for the last few weeks, and so far likes it a lot. I am incredibly excited to start my new position as an art reference librarian with the Smithsonian (the job I have been working towards for years now.) However, I don't know *when* that start date will be, since I have been sitting around waiting for my federal background check to process for the last month, and I have exactly 3 weeks until my due date. Best case scenario: I start November 7, work for 2 weeks, then pop out a healthy baby boy in a quick and pain-free delivery, just in time for Thanksgiving. Buuuut, I am full-term and could literally go into labor at any time, and the government is frickin' slow. So I won't be surprised if I have this baby the day I get told I can start work, then immediately take maternity leave until late January (and the quick & pain-free delivery was probably never in the cards.)<br />
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So here we are, in our last few weeks (or days?!?) of being a family of two, still figuring out the day-to-day grind. I had to find a new doctor near our new place, which is really tough when you are on Medicaid and 34 weeks pregnant and in the DC area. And the doctor aside, finding day care in this area is damn near impossible: 10-12 month waiting lists for centers that charge $1900/month tuition for an infant. Almost a year? "Tuition" for a 3-month old?! $1900?!? Needless to say, we were completely ruined by the prospect of Sweden's system of health and child care.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The nursery in process.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And we miss a lot of aspects of our life in Stockholm, the city, our friends there, our awesome apartment. It isn't completely gone, though. I will probably never wear shoes in my house again. We still speak in Swenglish to each other, though I'd say the most oft used phrase is "Vad fan gör du?" by Stu to me, and rightly so, since pregnant women do a lot of strange things ;). We made kardemummakaka last night in an attempt to warm up our frigid apartment. We've gone to an event or two at the House of Sweden. And I have spent more money than I would like to admit at Ikea recently. <br />
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But we definitely think, especially with a little clarity from these last 3 months, that moving back to the US was the absolute best possible choice for us. And also that our time in Stockholm was so, so, so worth it. The travels and the experiences, and even the education (though I complained a whole lot about mine!), were life-changing, and I can honestly say we are in a better place in our lives than we would have been without those two years in Sweden.<br />
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So that is a little of what we have been up to since leaving Sverige. Aside from a picture or two to announce our new little Swedish meatball when he comes, I probably won't post much more here, and would rather keep it as a kind of time capsule of our lagom life in Stockholm. </div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-15199328654194467502011-07-30T14:26:00.000+02:002011-07-30T14:26:14.497+02:00Farewell, Stockholm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I cried on the way to the airport leaving Stockholm.<br />
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I hadn't gotten too upset about moving away those last few days. I recognized this before we left...don't pregnant women have crazy hormones, so shouldn't I be a total mess by default? I guess there were too many details to deal with to get too nostalgic.<br />
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But while Stu brought our insane number of bags down to the super shuttle on Wednesday morning, I did a quick sweep of our empty apartment and turned off the lights, locked up, pulled our little name tag off the front door, and slid the keys through the mail slot. And it just felt so sad. So *final.* And I started to get upset in the elevator on the way down. It felt like a big moment to close up all by myself. It didn't feel so final moving to Stockholm two years ago. Our shuttle driver probably thought I was nuts.<br />
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It is nice to be back in Virginia. It is hot (103f yesterday!!) but we're getting used to it and the time zone shift. Slowly seeing friends. And yesterday, we ran into a Walmart for some soap, and walked out with a cart overflowing, we were so blindsided by the ocean of shiny choices and cheap prices. Just a little culture shock, oh, America.<br />
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We'll be back to Stockholm for sure...we fell in love with the city and made too many friends not to visit. And maybe by some strange twist, we might live there again one day. </div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-33080899932715696622011-07-26T08:58:00.000+02:002011-07-26T08:58:33.599+02:00Swedish cheese slicers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/photofiles/list/7906/10668cheese_slicer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/photofiles/list/7906/10668cheese_slicer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We packed up our apartment for moving, the boxes have been shipped, our luggage is overflowing, and we fly back to the States tomorrow. Could this be the last blog post on Swedish soil? And I titled it "Swedish cheese slicers"?!?<br />
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Yesterday consisted of hauling the remains of remains to the second-hand shop...those random purchases we made while here, stuff that was useful but we had no space for in the luggage, stuff that wasn't very useful (yup, <a href="http://livetlagom.blogspot.com/2010/04/vad-ar-det.html">this guy was</a> brought back to his original home!) And after we lugged our stuff to the donation room, out of habit, I poked around the kitchen section of the second-hand shop, on the look out for a cheese slicer.<br />
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I don't know if these are typical in the States or not, since we had one at our house growing up (but my mom is Swedish). But they are the best tool! The family I nannyed for had a dozen in their kitchen drawers alone. I wanted to bring a few back, just in case they are tough to find, so for the last several weeks, I have been looking for a few cheap ones to slide into the checked baggage.<br />
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No luck. I can NEVER find these at second-hand shops, which must mean Swedes never donate cheese slicers. Often, you will find whole, beautiful sets of Rörstrand dishes, entire sets of silverware, or lovely Kosta Boda glassware in the city mission store, but I have never seen a simple plastic-handled cheese slicer, much less the nice wood-handled ones! Relatives pass on, and their heirs go through the household, deciding what to keep and what to donate: 'The Höganäs pottery goes to Myrorna, but let's hang on to Mormor's cheese slicers.' ?!? <br />
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Stu has coveted the Viking cheese slicer since we saw them in the tourist shops in Gamla Stan, but we never managed to buy one. Not to mention they cost more like $30. His little horns would probably bend trying to get through a hunk of Vermont White Cheddar anyway.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.swedensfinest.com/images/products/detail/304i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.swedensfinest.com/images/products/detail/304i.jpg" /></a></div><br />
So you have to buy them new. No biggie. I picked up a generic one up for a few dollars at a Öob. Nothing special. But it is the strangest phenomenon that with all the other kitchen crap you can find there, I have never spotted the elusive Swedish cheese slicer in a second-hand shop. Let's hope US Ikea has a source!<br />
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</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-49237991525179776752011-07-26T08:26:00.005+02:002011-07-26T08:30:09.403+02:002011/07/22<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mlBzhOx7HOs/Ti1xE8OHp2I/AAAAAAAAeLI/BzlKwrEHsNE/s1600/citid12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="385" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mlBzhOx7HOs/Ti1xE8OHp2I/AAAAAAAAeLI/BzlKwrEHsNE/s400/citid12.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.citid.net/#423636/Oslo" style="color: #2244bb;" target="_blank"><br />
</a></b><a href="http://www.jeksel.com/" style="color: #2244bb;" target="_blank"></a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.citid.net/#423636/Oslo" style="color: #2244bb;" target="_blank">Oslo<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></a>- Author:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Mats Ottdal /<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.jeksel.com/" style="color: #2244bb;" target="_blank">Jeksel</a></span></span></div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-39293155558096192532011-07-24T10:34:00.000+02:002011-07-24T10:34:57.899+02:00Ack! 3 days left!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Wow, how the time flies. How do we really only have 3 whole days left as Swedish residents?!? I would like to note that on July 19th or thereabouts, we received notification from the immigration office that we could legally stay in the country until August 31st. Thanks, Migrationsverke, a whole week and a half before we ship off for good. Couldn't have told us in June, when our other visas expired and we HAD to make exit plans?!?<br />
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Not that we could have really afforded to stay much longer than we are. We haven't secured jobs in the States (not for lack of trying...Stu is throwing CVs out there like candy on a parade float!) And we've been in "Goodbye" mode here, which means lots of lunches, fikas, dinners and drinks out to spend a last few hours with the lovely friends we've met here. <br />
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Our apartment is pretty bare. We had to pre-pack this weekend to figure out the last of it...we had roughly 6 suitcases worth of stuff and only 4 worth of capacity. Thankfully my giant, pregnant belly is a weeding device of it's own: can't pull it up or down over the bump? In the pile to Myrorna!<br />
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We have a few other things to donate, but we just got news in the last few days that our landlady wants to rent our awesome apartment out for at least 6 months (she had told us she would sell, and we should get rid of everything extra we have purchased.) Her renting is good news for us IF she can get someone in on August 1st, so that we don't have to pay rent on an empty apartment. And at 10.000kr (~$1,600) a month, we would very much appreciate someone having that kind of flexibility. So much so, we would leave them those extra plates and cups and lamps and all that useful stuff we accumulated while living here the last 2 years. Trust me, it is worth it!<br />
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The weather is sunny and 70-something, and we are enjoying the last of our time here. But we are also pretty excited to leave. Three days!?!?!</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-76822147688179011002011-07-19T20:25:00.000+02:002011-07-19T20:25:58.724+02:00Girl with the Dragon tattoo trailer & HarvardThe Hollywood version of the first Millenium series book looks shiny and racy:<br />
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I liked the Swedish version just fine, but I will definitely go see this one in theaters. (Which happens in December, and we will be living back in the States!)<br />
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And apparently, <a href="http://www.thelocal.se/35040/20110719/">Harvard will have a class</a> dedicated to Swedish crime fiction that will have several lectures dedicated to Stieg Larsson's work next school year!Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-20648509466688216942011-07-17T23:09:00.003+02:002011-07-20T11:29:58.029+02:00DalarnaOh my god, we have 10 days left living in Stockholm. TEN DAYS!!!!<br />
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We spent this past weekend out of Stockholm, bittersweetly trying to squeeze in friends and a little Swedish summer before we leave for good. Our excellent friends AnnaSara & Andy invited us and Melissa & Kevin to their family "estate" near Furudal, in the middle of Sweden in the region of Dalarna. I say "estate" because there are a gazillion houses and buildings on their property, and the family seem to be related in some way to all of the neighbors.<br />
What's great is that these houses are the cute little 'Faluröd' red & white cottages that you see in all pictures of idyllic Sweden, and they were all in view of a big lake.<br />
And it is Dalarna, which means the furniture in their house and in every other establishment we went into is *awesome*...I have always, always loved the traditional folk designs of the region, and just learned this weekend that it is called <a href="http://www.grannas.com/mainframe.php?page=historia&lang=eng">Kurbits</a>.<br />
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The weather didn't exactly cooperate, but despite the rain, we still managed to pick blueberries in the forest and eat smultrön (teeny, tiny, super sweet Swedish wild strawberries), make flower wreaths, we fika'd (and fika'd and fika'd) swam in the lake (well, not me. I'm a wuss.) we climbed through the pastures and forest, visited Dala horse factories, AND, to boot, I drove a Volvo through Swedish wilderness. Seriously, it doesn't really get much more Swedish than that...we just needed snaps/aquavit and more singing. It was such a great weekend.<br />
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Our camera is in and out of commission so I don't have pictures of the cute little fäbod we visited or the lakes or blueberries, but I got some great pictures at the Dala Häst factories at Färnus and Näsnus, where we watched them turn chunks of Swedish wood into cute little orange horses. I bought a green one:<br />
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</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-76646533423798547062011-07-14T10:09:00.001+02:002011-07-14T10:11:53.597+02:0025 boxes, gone!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFz2PbVoWnQ/Th6i17a0nMI/AAAAAAAABaU/UXYQkfxpkaQ/s1600/DSC09396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFz2PbVoWnQ/Th6i17a0nMI/AAAAAAAABaU/UXYQkfxpkaQ/s400/DSC09396.JPG" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">25 boxes, gone!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The guy came 2 hours earlier than we were told he would, and two of our wardrobe boxes wouldn't fit in the elevator down from our 5th floor apartment (whoops!) but they all fit on two pallets, and hopefully make it to Gothenburg today. They'll be put on a boat sometime in the next week, and we hope will make it to the DC area in early August. We hope.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now our apartment feels empty. Well, not totally...we rented it furnished, so we still have our bed, desk, dresser, dinner table, dishes, etc. We have someone coming to look at our couch this afternoon (Finally! cross your fingers! That couch was a bitch to carry in, and we don't want to be the ones to carry it out!)</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">And tomorrow, we head out for a weekend in the country with friends. Two weeks left in Sweden!!! Wow, I don't even know how to spend the last 14 days. What do you do with two weeks of vacation in Stockholm? </div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-91245075196332278352011-07-11T18:51:00.001+02:002011-07-11T18:54:54.232+02:00Unisex babies/baby clothesDid you hear about the family in Toronto that decided they wanted to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13581835">raise their kids gender-neutral</a>? I like the idea. We have a friend who has a ton of extra baby clothes that her little boy grew out of before she could even take the tags off, and she offered them all to us only "if we have a little boy." Both Stu & I thought the parameters strange, since we have no qualms with dressing a little girl up in onesies patterned with trains! Because really, at a few months old, our kid wouldn't know the difference...<br />
<br />
Though we knew we wanted to find out the sex of our little nugget before he was born, Stu & I actually thought about not telling anyone, to avoid the inevitable gendered gifts in blues-for-boys or pinks-for-girls (I like both colors, personally.) Of course our next thought was "Then we'll get all yellow and green stuff" and I don't think I could handle a wardrobe and playroom of all yellow and green. And we are excited to share our news, so we couldn't keep it to ourselves anyway.<br />
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I know gender and sex are two different things, one being socially constructed and one being biological fact, and I don't have anything deep or earth-shattering to add to the debate on kids and gender. But despite the good intentions of what the Toronto couple is working toward, I think our society makes it hard on kids not to 'fit in' to some kind of box...it is human nature to try to figure something/someone out by associating them with what is already known. Still, I like the idea of letting a kid's personality grow more naturally, and without the shaping of gender-specific toys or outfits. Like <a href="http://www.stardish.ca/2010/07/shiloh-jolie-pitt-child-pioneer-for-gender-freedom.html">Angelina & Brad's daughter</a>, who somehow has gotten labeled as a lesbian at age 4 for liking "boy" things.<br />
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If I had unlimited money, I would dress our kids in all <a href="http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/sweden-polarn-o-pyret/">Polarn O. Pyret</a>.<br />
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I'm a convert, having spent a year as a nanny for three squirmy Swedish kids with their own very distinct personalities and a penchant for getting dirty. ALL Swedish kids wear this brand (okay, SO much for my big "let kids be individuals" thing...Swedes are notoriously conformist.) But I still like their good quality and the <a href="http://www.polarnopyretusa.com/index/page/static/subpage/guide_unisex">relaxed approach to patterns and styles</a>. They do make pink dresses in flower prints, but there are far more uni-sex kid clothes in their line-up than most brands can offer.<br />
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<img alt="SIGNATURE STRIPE BODYSUIT " src="http://sc.polarnopyretusa.com/common/images/products/thumb/03_categoryview_150x150px/00_main_image/7310015706945.jpg" /><img alt="Classic Stripe Eco Body Suit " src="http://sc.polarnopyretusa.com/common/images/products/thumb/03_categoryview_150x150px/00_main_image/7310012328287.jpg" /><img alt="ECO PAJAMA ROMPER " src="http://sc.polarnopyretusa.com/common/images/products/thumb/03_categoryview_150x150px/00_main_image/7310015251841.jpg" /><img alt="Classic Stripe Wrap Bodysuit Eco " src="http://sc.polarnopyretusa.com/common/images/products/thumb/03_categoryview_150x150px/00_main_image/7310011695281.jpg" /><img alt="SIGNATURE STRIPE WRAP BODYSUIT " src="http://sc.polarnopyretusa.com/common/images/products/thumb/03_categoryview_150x150px/00_main_image/7310015709717.jpg" /><img alt="SIGNATURE STRIPE SPORTY T (CHILD) " src="http://sc.polarnopyretusa.com/common/images/products/thumb/03_categoryview_150x150px/00_main_image/7310015726745.jpg" /><br />
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Their stuff isn't budget-priced. I <a href="http://livetlagom.blogspot.com/2011/06/little-bump-after-10pm.html">bought my first pair of mamma jeans</a> from PO.P last month and felt like I should be eating cheap <a href="http://livetlagom.blogspot.com/2010/10/another-major-swedish-landmark-down.html">falukorv</a> for the next week to make up for the cost. But the jeans look good, and will last me the entire pregnancy (Well, I hope. Because if they don't, it means I gained too much weight and I can't pull them over my butt!) But I'd still buy them for my kids. Come to think of it, maybe I should be scoping out Swedish second-hand shops for used PO.P stuff before we leave! Of course, I haven't bought a thing for this kid yet, aside from the father's day gift for Stu (that I purchased before we knew we were having a boy, thinking a little girl would be just as subjected to her pappa's Eagles fever as a little boy would.)<br />
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Oh, we do think we decided on a name! We reserve the right to change it up until the day he is born (and maybe even after!) so we probably won't be sharing it anytime soon. Don't want anyone to get too attached. It is pretty darn Scandinavian, though. Poor kid...let's hope he likes his heritage later in life!Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-39118638367448771792011-07-10T17:51:00.000+02:002011-07-10T17:51:01.935+02:00Moving progress - part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We fly one way from Stockholm to the DC area on July 27, so still nearly 3 weeks until the big move. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">BUT our stuff leaves us on Wednesday. The cheapest option for overseas moving is to pack-it-yourself and send it on a boat, which we did on the way over here in 2009. We could have forked over nearly $4K to have a company pack us up and handle all the details, but I guess like pain. To be honest, in paying that labor, we would have been paying for someone else's time, and Stu and I have lots of time right now. And, bottom line, it costs almost FOUR GRAND! Our DIY option will be closer to $1500. Not quite the $700 it cost to come over, but what can you do? Thanks, crappy US dollar exchange rate!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Regardless who packs, the boat option generally takes a month for your stuff to find its way to your door on the other side, so we're sending it off a little earlier than we are sending ourselves off. We managed to get a ton of it done in the week after graduation and before our <a href="http://livetlagom.blogspot.com/2011/06/getting-ready-to-move-and-travel-plans.html">big trip to France & Italy</a>. But these last few days have been our final take-it-or-leave-it decisions on what gets put on the boat, what gets crammed in our 4 checked bags & 2 carry-ons, and what just gets tossed/donated.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vVnQuAE629c/ThnEs1-t4MI/AAAAAAAABaA/SVSfFBcnp4M/s1600/DSC09391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bo3V9jITqM8/ThnEw6hUaKI/AAAAAAAABaE/GtM1Jy6IY2w/s1600/DSC09392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bo3V9jITqM8/ThnEw6hUaKI/AAAAAAAABaE/GtM1Jy6IY2w/s320/DSC09392.JPG" width="240" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vVnQuAE629c/ThnEs1-t4MI/AAAAAAAABaA/SVSfFBcnp4M/s320/DSC09391.JPG" width="240" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hooray, moving! So far, we have 26 large boxes filled. We <a href="http://livetlagom.blogspot.com/2009/07/bye-til-september.html">came to Stockholm with 15</a>. And granted, Stu doesn't let me *do* any heavy lifting, but I still acutely feel the stress of moving and heaving boxes, what with the fact that they are TAKING OVER our apartment. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">But after Wednesday, they'll be gone. I've sold a large chunk of our other stuff on Blocket (ahem, we still need someone to buy our lovely red pull-out couch...it sleeps real comfy! Promise!) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OdClQr5xpEM/ThnEoDbqg_I/AAAAAAAABZ8/HWoqpOUHYig/s1600/DSC09390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OdClQr5xpEM/ThnEoDbqg_I/AAAAAAAABZ8/HWoqpOUHYig/s320/DSC09390.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stu, taking apart our 3 large wardrobes for a Blocket buyer. Now our bedroom is so empty. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">So Thursday, we'll have a pretty empty apartment to enjoy for a last 2 weeks. So sad. </div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-67528904392264940602011-07-09T17:59:00.001+02:002011-07-09T18:05:51.784+02:00France, briefly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u4Jn_wP_rEE/ThhaDtLLfyI/AAAAAAAABYQ/eEz5JWjUsHM/s1600/DSC08983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We spent just over one week in France, starting in Paris with Stu's competition to "green" a major international manufacturing industry. His team didn't win, but man, they really did a great job! They were competing against teams from India, China, and Malaysia among others, and blew the presentation to the panel of judges out of the water. And it was a great idea, one that needs to be implemented eventually and his team plans to protect, so hopefully, there will be life-after-competition!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Q&A session in front of the judges</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x7KcVD7ahBk/ThhZ3tsHD9I/AAAAAAAABYE/s8qHWXVqNWY/s1600/DSC08904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x7KcVD7ahBk/ThhZ3tsHD9I/AAAAAAAABYE/s8qHWXVqNWY/s320/DSC08904.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My very corporate-looking husband. Somebody give this guy a job!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We even spent a day at the Paris Air Show, the grand daddy of international air fairs. It was fun (sort of).</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SSE Team, which I was made an honorary member of.</td></tr>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dPthN2IJMKY/ThhZ773m5OI/AAAAAAAABYI/yIdCFBuWpFw/s320/DSC08939.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;">Our hotel was just blocks from the Eiffel Tower, and though he had a jam-packed schedule, I got a little sight-seeing free time in and hung out with friends.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;">.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notre Dame, check!</td></tr>
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<div style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Stu got ONE day of actual non-competition Paris time, and said his trip would be complete with A) seeing Notre Dame B) Going to the Louvre and C) eat a crepe. We got two out of the three, since we generally kept ourselves stuffed to the gills with heavy French food, we didn't have any late-nite crepe callings. BUT my friend Alex is a tour guide at the Louvre, and she gave us our own awesome tour of the museum on Friday evening, so I think B) outweighed the crepe thing altogether.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LhzK_VvgAgg/ThhaMinUiqI/AAAAAAAABYY/xJyTEbw6a-w/s1600/DSC08996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LhzK_VvgAgg/ThhaMinUiqI/AAAAAAAABYY/xJyTEbw6a-w/s320/DSC08996.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anabelle and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XWESDfgUAbU/ThhaVcaPk6I/AAAAAAAABYg/KRTVwRVfQzQ/s1600/DSC09001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XWESDfgUAbU/ThhaVcaPk6I/AAAAAAAABYg/KRTVwRVfQzQ/s320/DSC09001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The heaven that was Ble Sucré, which I had heard of the *last* time I was in town. Seriously, when in Paris, go to there. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2tSd7nhQtSg/ThhaZ1PteiI/AAAAAAAABYk/-VIXM1pyznQ/s1600/DSC09004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2tSd7nhQtSg/ThhaZ1PteiI/AAAAAAAABYk/-VIXM1pyznQ/s320/DSC09004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only picture I got with Alexandra</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_jvKBMQ8P6s/ThhaeBo0X4I/AAAAAAAABYo/3WcICYcGpx8/s1600/DSC09010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_jvKBMQ8P6s/ThhaeBo0X4I/AAAAAAAABYo/3WcICYcGpx8/s320/DSC09010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Louvre pyramid, from the inside</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">After Paris, we took the train with Anabelle down to Saintes (outside of Bordeaux) where our friends Pierre & My got married. We stayed in a nun's cell in an abbey built in 1046. </div><div style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: both; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYiDbGYUIpA/ThhaiT3DinI/AAAAAAAABYs/DrEJkamOwFU/s1600/DSC09092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYiDbGYUIpA/ThhaiT3DinI/AAAAAAAABYs/DrEJkamOwFU/s320/DSC09092.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
It started off so proper and Catholic, but after many bottles of lovely French wines and champagnes and all the gazillions of toasts that Swedes seem to do at weddings, by the end of the night (or should I say early, early morning?) it was basically utter debauchery.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D8wBUkjaiMc/ThhalGhv-8I/AAAAAAAABYw/qs8Aphpe2nA/s1600/DSC09169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D8wBUkjaiMc/ThhalGhv-8I/AAAAAAAABYw/qs8Aphpe2nA/s320/DSC09169.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The groom, the best man, some unidentified Frenchy, and Stu. Dancing?<br />
It was 3am. I was asleep.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: both; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Then we rented a car and road-tripped our way from the Languedoc through Provence to the French Riviera--from Bordeaux to Nice--over the next several days.</div><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: both; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WOu3Wg7sf4s/ThhaomeMOgI/AAAAAAAABY0/c0cjPYDfXAE/s1600/DSC09201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WOu3Wg7sf4s/ThhaomeMOgI/AAAAAAAABY0/c0cjPYDfXAE/s320/DSC09201.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French chocolate milk. It really makes you feel healthy, drinking something called "Candy 'Up"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We stopped the first night in <a href="http://www.creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/city-guides/carcassonne.php">Carcassonne</a>, the fortress city with walls built up by Celts, Romans, Goths, Franks, Visigoths, and Ostragoths over time. They call the towers 'witches hats,' done in an 1800s renovation. It is a COOL little city, and we stayed in a super charming B&B.</div><div style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QkDB7hx1T_o/Thhatf9UqwI/AAAAAAAABY4/eTc3a8Pvet0/s1600/DSC09206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QkDB7hx1T_o/Thhatf9UqwI/AAAAAAAABY4/eTc3a8Pvet0/s320/DSC09206.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of the cathedral from our bedroom window</td></tr>
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<img border="0" height="203" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0ymOOlMhPBU/Thha6ZnWqgI/AAAAAAAABZE/nu291_hwYTo/s320/DSC09228.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppWmkFfLlo8/Thha_Sa81GI/AAAAAAAABZI/ThL7zLW3UhM/s1600/DSC09232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppWmkFfLlo8/Thha_Sa81GI/AAAAAAAABZI/ThL7zLW3UhM/s320/DSC09232.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Then we drove through Provence, stopping in Nimes, where they have some of the most intact Roman ruins in the world. We *would* have gone into their amphitheater (a smaller, better version of Rome's Colloseum) but Bobby McFerrin was playing later that evening, so we skipped it. But how cool to see a concert in a 1st century Roman ruin!? Portishead and Ben Harper are making stops later this summer...</div><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CeHMdlDUZO4/ThhtWqv-1cI/AAAAAAAABZM/3fIOKKbCxsE/s1600/DSC09254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CeHMdlDUZO4/ThhtWqv-1cI/AAAAAAAABZM/3fIOKKbCxsE/s320/DSC09254.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Then we drove through the Cote D'Azure, staying one night in Antibes, in a lovely little hotel with a pool and a short walk from one of the few sandy beaches. It was super relaxing. That is, *after* we finally found the place (thanks to the wrong Google maps directions in a roadwork zone and rush-hour traffic in the blinding sun!) Starving, we ate at the closest restaurant, which also happened to display every snooty French restaurant stereotype you can think of, and our 2 small plates of pasta and one glass of wine for Stu cost a whopping $74. Antibes is beautiful, but also not cheap.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antibes, at sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our tiny stretch of sandy beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rocks of most of Antibes coast line, and a little friend</td></tr>
</tbody></table> We spent our last night in Nice, which is really, really nice! The old town is adorable, there are some lovely museums (like the awesome contemporary MAMAC, below) and we used our guide book reference for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant right on the water. They didn't speak a word of English, so after a few "Oui, oui, oui"s and not getting a menu, we proceeded to receive FIVE courses of divine all-veggie food. If you go to Nice, go to La Zucca Magica.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> And then super early, we took the train from Nice to Florence, which started the Italy leg of our final European tour...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 3, at 16 weeks along, in Stockholm. Not much of a bump.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 27, at almost 20 weeks along, in Carcassone, with full-on pregnant lady stance and all!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"> We ate too much in the land of croissants (the 3 main ingredients to all French cooking: butter, butter, and butter). And there were no vegetables anywhere! Then we spent a week in Italy, where I pigged out on pasta, pizza and gelato. Because, come on, it was Italy. I had no choice.<br />
My belly is still pretty small, but at least it *looks* like there is a baby in there, not just too many macarons. He is now the size of a banana, which doesn't make a ton of sense, since last week at the half-way point, he was the size of a cantaloupe. Isn't a melon generally bigger than a banana?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only picture of my actual belly, attempting to walk on the rocks in Antibes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">But better than being actually visibly pregnant is that I can finally feel the little guy kicking! I had a little wasabi at lunch today, and he went nuts! I don't know if that means he liked the spice or not, but it was still a nice feeling for me. Would it be considered fetal abuse to eat wasabi just because I like to feel him kick? Because I am seriously considering it.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-21655639859247315392011-07-07T19:30:00.000+02:002011-07-07T19:30:14.299+02:00Home, not homeWe're back from our big ol' contesting, mediterranean Europe touring, wedding crashing, babymoonin' vacation through France and Italy. We had a late flight out of Rome, and after a dirty, sticky hot day of dragging our butts around that too-busy city, waiting for the time to head to the airport (seriously, the last 6 hours felt like we were on Survivor), we were SO happy to be HOME. In Stockholm. To our impossibly comfortable bed, our awesome little apartment, and absolutely perfect Swedish summer weather.<br />
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But its only 'home' for a few more weeks! Then 'home' is back to the DC area, where we will be living with my mom until we figure out the next step (i.e. where jobs take us). Which is great...I love DC. And going 'home' to mamma's (meaning: the suburbs) still means we have a ton of friends really close by. But it is weird. I am going to miss my Swedish bed, and having our own lovely little place, and 74 degree sunny days, especially when its generally 94 in Virginia. And I'm going to miss a whole lot more, too many people, places, things, and ideas to list. Not so many people get to say they just picked up and popped over to live in Europe for a few years, and I feel so lucky that we got the chance and the experience. And had a great time doing it!Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-3801337093022435922011-06-20T20:03:00.000+02:002012-11-02T01:37:39.549+01:00It's a...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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boy! </div>
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All fingers & toes, all heart chambers present and functioning, an amazing little spine. Look at that thing!<br />
Our due date was pushed a little earlier. Baby & I are sporting an anterior placenta, which explains why I haven't felt any little kicks or punches. Now we just gotta figure out some mutually-agreeable boy names.<br />
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So that means we are ready for France & Italy!<br />
Back in July...</div>
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Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-82580494164758130312011-06-20T14:05:00.001+02:002011-06-20T19:54:47.471+02:00Barnmorska meetings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Today is a busy day. Well, I've basically beached on the couch all day, nursing my poor pricked finger, so maybe I should amend that statement. Today is a busy day, for Stu. My very clever husband has TWO interview with big Swedish newspapers, smooshed in between our TWO big pregnancy appointments. The interviews are because of the competition he and his very clever team are participating in two days in Paris. Cross your fingers and hold your thumbs for them...it could be a big ol' monetary prize if they win (and as consolation prize, we get to spend 4 days all-expenses-paid in Paris if they don't.)<br />
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But this post is about babies. This morning, we had our second appointment with our Swedish midwife, our barnmorska. You can read a little more about the funny Swedish <a href="http://antropologa.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/swedish-pregnancy/">translations of pregnancy terms here</a>. We had our first appointment at 10 weeks along, when we had a long chat with our very experienced midwife and about a million blood tests. I cannot handle giving blood...I am scared of needles and have very low blood pressure, and tend to get all tense then lose all feeling in my whole body. That 10-week appointment was the pits. Then a few days later, as is just my luck, they called to say they had to do several over again.<br />
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Compared to the US system, I was surprised at how late that first appt was! When I called knowing I was about 5 weeks, didn't they want to at least <i>confirm</i> the pregnancy? Or give me some don't-eat-these advice? Or prepare me for the insanity of the first trimester? Nope. But somehow, I managed to figure it out (thanks to websites like whattoexpect.com and babble.com's awesome pregnancy blogs). And somehow, I've managed to keep this little person alive. Sometimes I don't know *how* I manage that, but we heard a heartbeat this morning, so things look good.<br />
And thank god we did. The week or so leading up to our first ultrasound (when they test for the possibility of down syndrome and other genetic disorders) I was SO nervous that there would be no heartbeat, and they'd tell me I'd miscarried. It made me cry, it kept me awake. I've had the same anxiety this past week...I haven't felt all <i>that </i>pregnant for weeks now (not really showing, not feeling any movements, no obvious symptoms). So the heart monitor made me feel worlds better this morning. And it was well-timed good news, since it was after she pricked my finger, which also makes me woozy and fainty and see spots. It was also our last barnmorska appointment, since we're moving back to the US in just over a month.<br />
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And this afternoon, in about an hour, we have our almost-half-way ultrasound, which is when most couples find out whether they are expecting a boy or a girl. Oh, I'm hoping this sweet potato cooperates...I want to find out! I am probably jinxing myself just saying that. Just writing this post!<br />
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I haven't had any dreams or 'feelings' about the sex. My best friend had a dream which involved getting upset at Stu for leaving a whole bunch of baby girl clothes in our washing machine in our old DC apartment. Stu & I have been calling 'it' a girl ('cause you can't call it 'it'!) I used to think I was more of a girl-y kind of mamma, but since taking care of sweet little boys, I'm much more open. I will be happy regardless. So we'll see! In less than an hour! Woot!<br />
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</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-35370275853485604692011-06-17T14:17:00.001+02:002011-06-17T14:18:01.299+02:00Baby's first concert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We introduced our unborn child to gypsy punk on Wednesday.<br />
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I'm just hitting the 18 weeks mark now and haven't felt so much as a flutter from my belly yet, so I was SURE that going to see Gogol Bordello at Gröna Lund this week would be the Balkan beat that made this baby jump. <br />
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Nope.<br />
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But it was still a good time!<br />
It was the first time we had been to the Tivoli/amusement park on Djurgården, where the band was playing for 'free' (you had to buy tix to the park, but not the show.) It started off with a little rain, but cleared up and got quite nice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">125+ year old Gröna Lund was fun! We didn't ride any roller coasters, just walked around with friends and played a game or two. It is a great place to see a show...stora scen has a huge stage and viewing area. Between us, Stu & I have seen Gogol Bordello 5 or 6 times now, and this was the first time for me outdoors instead of a small smoky club. You could breathe! </div><br />
But no baby kicks. They say any day now, but man, if Gogol Bordello didn't get him or her excited, I'm a bit worried about this child's future personality!! </div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-8971744255393006502011-06-16T12:38:00.001+02:002011-06-16T12:38:52.883+02:00Jordgubbar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sKR9fgzNO9c/TfnWTNlxcoI/AAAAAAAABUY/pU5V6LxjfCY/s1600/DSC08804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sKR9fgzNO9c/TfnWTNlxcoI/AAAAAAAABUY/pU5V6LxjfCY/s400/DSC08804.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">First Swedish strawberries of the season! (for us, anyway).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">They call little kids (or friends when you are older) 'gumman' or 'gubban', which is little old woman or man. Jordgubbar translates to little ol' 'earthmen' or 'dirtmen', kind of. I think it's cute. </div></div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-28142242132192085942011-06-11T19:09:00.004+02:002011-06-12T09:41:50.860+02:00Getting Ready to Move and Travel Plans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So, we're project people. No sooner have we finished up school and finally don't have any deadlines overhead, and we're already on to a new project... this time, the move. Plus, we're doing a farewell European road trip through France and Italy. <br />
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</div><div>The Move. We saved all our boxes. I know my Scottish Grandmother would be proud: the plaid blood, as my mother calls it, makes it difficult to throw things away. And, boxes are useful! So thanks to our good fortune of having a storage unit in the basement, we kept them. We'll be donating a lot of clothes and such to the second-hand shop Myrorna, I think, and then deciding what we <b>really</b> need to take with us. Everything else must go.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The Trip. I feel pretty good about this one. Besides our great luck in getting to Paris, we've a friend's wedding in Bordeaux, a road trip through Carcassonne to Antibes, a little of Provence and a last night in Nice. Then we're taking a train to Florence for a few days, another wedding at a villa in Tuscany, then meeting friends from the US for a few days in Rome! Since this is our last big trip before leaving Sweden behind, plus the last vacation sans children I think it's fitting that it's a bit over the top. What do you think? It sounds fabulously bougie. I'm worried that my pants aren't tight enough.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Figuring out the details today was pretty exciting. I know the next few weeks will rush by us. Then it will be late July and we'll be gone. We're sad to leave Stockholm, but excited to return home. We have something like just 20 days of meals and dishwasher runs left in our apartment. Have to think of all the food we'll have to eat, and what dishes to box up. Finally, what the heck do we do with all this peanut butter!? Anne has amassed quite the stash. We'll have to parcel it out to worthy expats...</div></div>Stuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02567446456145232949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-74335449172849127892011-06-11T09:51:00.005+02:002011-07-19T12:05:16.444+02:00Master's degree #2 and the exhibition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We had the most excellent time with Patti & Maggie last weekend. It was like a girls' weekend (+Stu, but he fits in nicely with the girls) with lots of eating and drinking and time outside. It was so great to have them visit before we move, and celebrate a little early about being done with school.<br />
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But this week was a big one. Thursday, I woke Stu up with the sweet sounds of me wretching in the toilet...I guess the whole morning sickness thing comes back when you feel stress? Because Thursday morning was my thesis defense, which I had to survive to graduate that afternoon! Aside from the sickness and then my class mate's alarm malfunctioning and thus us beginning an hour late, it all went very well. I now have a few edits to make before turning it in to the department for grades and archiving. And, most importantly, I now have a SECOND master's degree under my belt. Woot! Now the bigger question, am I employable?!?<br />
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Well, I darn well should be as a curator, since I also finished installing the small show I put together at Moderna Museet this week! It looks really professional, IMHO. Here is a <a href="http://www.modernamuseet.se/en/Stockholm/Visitor-information/The-Study-Gallery/">little information online</a> in English (though, admittedly, with some typos. Where did my italicized titles go, or that last 's'?)<br />
I took pictures over the few days of installation, which I will post here whether you are interested or not. This blog has the secondary function, aside from communication, of 'archiving' our experience here, and I think its a project I want to remember. Regardless, it has been a lot of fun. I have felt a little insecure about some decisions, but I've still had to make them. I have done a ton of research and planning and installation, along with the *amazing* staff at the museum (I cannot get over how professional and nice they are!) It feels pretty good. And admittedly, it also felt pretty good when both the museum's director and deputy director came through and gushed about how good it looked. Almost like they were <i>surprised </i>about how good it looked<i>, </i>but regardless, I'll take the praise!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 1, a bunch of empty display cases</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 2, placing the artworks, wherever they would actually fit!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Closed for Re-hanging"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the works in their right places, display cases in their right positions.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 3, putting on the glass covers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very funny conservator cleaning the inside of a case, while making Anchorman jokes about being in a glass cage of emotion.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OvSy9KvBjx4/TfMUluUNLMI/AAAAAAAABS0/Dllx7b7uC-k/s1600/DSC08690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OvSy9KvBjx4/TfMUluUNLMI/AAAAAAAABS0/Dllx7b7uC-k/s320/DSC08690.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 3, wall texts in place! Wow, I hope people read them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o2eldQHjP_o/TfMUqee6YPI/AAAAAAAABS4/EjaHjflnnW8/s1600/DSC08691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o2eldQHjP_o/TfMUqee6YPI/AAAAAAAABS4/EjaHjflnnW8/s320/DSC08691.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And, we're done!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this wall. I love Henri Matisse. Holy wow, I got to put a Matisse in my school art show!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gxwf-S05xZ0/TfMV_nBUqjI/AAAAAAAABTs/ECPAeFIEZyc/s1600/DSC08704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gxwf-S05xZ0/TfMV_nBUqjI/AAAAAAAABTs/ECPAeFIEZyc/s320/DSC08704.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
In the middle is the TV screen showing a sound piece in conjunction with one of the books. There are also two other screens showing book films I planned (and Stu edited!), from a selection of works in the show, with the idea that visitors can better see the three-dimensional object via film than they otherwise can under glass.<br />
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And then there are lots and lots of artists' books. Each book has a corresponding 100-word text to give it some context, so I hope people read them. You may not even realize what you are looking at without them! And each also had to have a specially designed cradle for it, so the conservator and prints & drawings technician worked incredibly hard to make these in a very short time span.<br />
One of the other curators (one the museum actually pays for their work) wanted to use a few of the works I had already earmarked for exhibition, in addition to needing nearly ALL of the large display cases in storage for another show. I held on to the artworks, diplomatically, but since he had left post-it notes on so many of the best display cases, the technicians and I had to scrounge for whatever could be found. Surprisingly difficult, but it all worked out. I didn't have to cleave any of my darlings due to space issues. It just meant I could not group the books according to any particular theme; they just got placed where they fit.<br />
There is no real 'opening' event. We had talked about it quite a bit, and early on, I had been excited about it. But in the last few weeks, I'd just gotten too busy and tired to pursue an opening or to think of a curator's speech, so it opens to no fanfare this morning at 10am. If you are in Stockholm any time this summer, go see it!</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-13888689292894340572011-06-04T11:07:00.000+02:002011-06-04T11:07:31.420+02:0036 hours in Stockholm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Maggie & Patti are visiting from Ghent & Utrecht! It is utterly gorgeous in the city. They'll be here for the long holiday weekend, and we're going to fit in some of the things on the NY Times "<a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/travel/36-hours-in-stockholm.html">36 Hours in Stockholm</a>" list...I've never been to Junibacken!</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-55546995162818723032011-06-03T10:12:00.003+02:002011-06-03T14:50:29.883+02:00A little bump (after 10pm)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At 16 weeks, I'm not really showing a baby bump yet. The kid is the size of an avocado, but I just have a little extra mush in the middle (well, all over...morning sickness and thesis writing made it tough to exercise!) Kinda like I need to lay off the twinkies (or rather, the kanelbullar.) They say for your first, it could be 20 weeks before even really looking pregnant, and that just seems SO far away. I have a friend who is a few weeks ahead of us, and she's been showing since week 14. At week 18, she looks properly pregnant. And I just look like I need to step up the cardio.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But despite this, I did buy my very first pair of maternity jeans yesterday. I still fit my normal pants, but buttoning them is either A) incredibly uncomfortable or B) damn near impossible. So I bought a pair of those stretchy-waisted jeans that you just pull on and off...they are *awesome*. I may never go back to regular button-up/zipper-fly jeans again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course, I cried a little inside after buying them from the ridiculously adorable Polarn O. Pyret Mamma section here in Stockholm, then seeing they sell the exact same jeans for much less than half the price at the PO.P online shop in the States. Seriously, I paid nearly $100 for these jeans here, and they sell them to Americans for $40. Two months, people, two months and we'll be back to a country we can properly afford.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v2FwKP59v18/TeiSqr29_HI/AAAAAAAABR8/FIXBiP7Dv-Q/s1600/DSC08649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v2FwKP59v18/TeiSqr29_HI/AAAAAAAABR8/FIXBiP7Dv-Q/s400/DSC08649.JPG" width="300" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNkq0kUMfBo/TeiS005DgtI/AAAAAAAABSE/T62DzMrihj4/s1600/DSC08655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNkq0kUMfBo/TeiS005DgtI/AAAAAAAABSE/T62DzMrihj4/s320/DSC08655.JPG" width="259" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anyway, here's a bump-y picture, after a giant spaghetti dinner. Generally, my belly feels about the size of this sculpture that sits on Sveavägen, between Handelshögskolan and Statdsbiblioteket, so I emulated it on a walk last night.<br />
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And just to point out how far we've come since winter, these pictures were taken around 10:30pm. It was still totally light out, and it doesn't even fully get dark black out at all. Just kind of a chocolately darkness. I was woken up at 2am by our neighbors doing karaoke Carole King (Why?!? I woke up to some girl's terrible version of 'Natural Woman'!) and it was just beginning to get light out again. <br />
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Woot, welcome to summer in Scandinavia.<br />
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</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-9942910677520877962011-06-02T12:06:00.004+02:002011-06-03T12:34:17.292+02:00Moving!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It is decided. We fly back one-way to DC on July 26, moving back to the States officially!<br />
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I hadn't bothered to apply to a single job in Stockholm this year, so I wasn't expecting amazing job offers on my end. Stu had some great leads on jobs here, but none materialized as solid offers by our self-imposed deadline. So, with our residence visas expiring June 30th, a whole 2 weeks after Stu graduates, we figured, why drag it out? Holy crap, June 30th is in 28 days! Thankfully, we could apply for short-term extensions to finish the move (and keep health insurance!)<br />
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We have a super summer vacay planned, with a week in France (including 5 days in Paris, which are fully paid by major int'l company Stu is competing for!) then a week in Italy, with spending time with lots of friends in between. Then a few last weeks of decadent Swedish summer before the big move.<br />
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This weekend, we've got friends visiting, but starting next week, we start packing! I've already posted a ton of stuff for sale on Blocket (anybody in Stockholm looking for a pull-out couch? Some great Ikea chairs? Lamps? Coffee pot? Other random household goods? Here's a link to pictures of some of the stuff: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lagom.sverige/Collages?authkey=Gv1sRgCPz1p8bS2vSvWw&feat=directlink#">https://picasaweb.google.com/lagom.sverige/Collages?authkey=Gv1sRgCPz1p8bS2vSvWw&feat=directlink#</a>)<br />
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Uggg, another overseas move! We got so lucky coming over--it was cheap, the company was good, everything turned up on time and intact. But of course, that shipper is out of business and I don't expect it to be nearly so cheap on the way back. And to boot, I'm preggers, and we don't have jobs, and DC is hot & miserable in the summer. I hate moving.<br />
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But I am still so, so, so excited to move back. I've been pulling for this for months now. We have had such a great two years in Sweden, but it just feels like it is time.<br />
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But what will happen to the blog? </div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387144534535925987.post-20657736657315523352011-05-30T12:34:00.001+02:002011-06-03T10:17:35.525+02:00Thesis complete!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I turned in my thesis today! Not too shabby, if you ask me. I am officially done writing about the complicated yet fascinating history of artists' books.<br />
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With the <a href="http://livetlagom.blogspot.com/2011/05/preview-week-at-school.html">exhibition preview </a>out of the way, and the paper complete, the last hurdle is a thesis defense on June 9, the day I officially graduate. And that promises to be pretty lame...out of 9 people in my program this year, <strike>I am likely the ONLY one who finished the paper on time and will be doing a June defense. I don't even know if they'll make me do it?</strike> I am one of two who will defend next week. Surprising, since I finished it and I have been PREGNANT since February...it couldn't have been that tough for my young and not-with-child classmates. To be fair, though, some have decided to go for double-length theses: ours only needed to be a piddly 30 pages as it is but one-half of the final project, though we had the option to do a 60-pager, which sets you up for PhD programs later. Of course, I went for the normal requirement...PhD? No, thank you.<br />
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So, I've got the small <a href="http://www.modernamuseet.se/en/Stockholm/Visitor-information/The-Study-Gallery/">Moderna exhibition</a> opening on June 11. Stu is done with his internship/consultant work tomorrow and is done with school a week after me. And then we travel for a few weeks, first to France, then to Italy. We'll be visiting the US in late July.<br />
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We have a meeting set with our landlady on Wednesday, which is when we have to officially decide whether we are staying put in Stockholm or moving back to the States (and leaving our excellent apartment in Vasastan!) She needs to A) know we want to stay to send our info for the building's Board approval before the July holidays, or B) know we are leaving to find new renters! We are leaning one way heavily, but haven't completely made the final decision. So Wednesday, I guess we'll have to know! What a strange feeling.<br />
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At the moment, I don't quite know what to do with myself. Very little schoolwork left, but I'm not on vacation just yet...</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07536743099976117592noreply@blogger.com3