Back to the normal grind

After 3 glorious months together, including a rather tenuous adjustment period where we had to learn to deal with each other on a daily basis, my husband resumes his normal schedule today of 8 weeks away, 2 or 3 weeks home depending on scheduling needs.

I can’t really complain because it does provide a nice life.  I’m just going to say it’s nice to be together.  And that I really hope our little daddy’s girl doesn’t take it too hard.

Time and Time Again

Can someone please tell me where does a year go?

We are rapidly approaching my daughter’s first birthday and I amazed by so many things.  First of which is where does the time go?  I mean, I feel like she was born yesterday!  (Insert witty remark here.)  And yet here I have this little human being who insists on brushing her teeth herself, pokes repeatedly at her bowl with a spoon in an attempt to use her utensils, and was very excited to communicate to me that she can moo like a cow upon seeing the picture.  I am blown away daily at how fast she developes and how she is able to communicate little things very clearly to me alongside her non-sensical babble.  She is the sweetest little thing in the world.  Well, at least in my world.

Maybe part of it is seeing just how much a tiny helpless baby can develop over a short period of time.  Maybe the time just flies and I just never wanted to hold on to it like I do now.  Maybe I finally have a gauge in my life that makes me aware of just how much time is passing by.  I don’t know.  But I do know this:  that little saying “Life is short” means just a little bit more to me.

If you’re ever in the area…

If you ever happen to be around the area of Falkenberg/ Morup/ Varberg/ Tvaakar, Sweden, consider staying at Rodlix!  OK, these towns are agreeably on the list of completely random places to be in the world, but whether you’re just passing through or touring the area, Rodlix is a clean, comfortable, safe, quiet family place to stay.  The owners are wonderful, open, friendly and very helpful.  They converted an old barn into a hostel, but there are also plenty of camping places and a few cabins for rent.  We stayed in the hostel, and while we had to stay in bunkbeds there was plenty of room to move about inside the room.  The kitchen was well stocked with just about every dish or cooking utensil you might need, they had plenty of toilets and showers and everything was clean, clean, CLEAN!!  There was even a washer and dryer if you needed to do a quick load of wash!

Outside there were plenty of tables and chairs to relax in.  There were all kinds of animals to visit: pigs, sheep, goats horses, chickens and guinea pigs.  There was the cutest play house stocked with dishes and tea sets and a climbing gym beside it for the kids.  There are several clean beaches within 10 minutes drive time in the area, and tiny harbor that’s close by for a nice short walk.  Quite honestly, I didn’t want to leave it was so relaxing!

Forest Shopping

We are currently in Sweden spending a little time with my husband on his work trip while he stays in one spot.  The baby and I have gone here and there, exploring the Swedish coast and countryside.  Of course we’ve done a little shopping as well.  Who doesn’t while on sudo- vacation?  The other day we returned to the hostel from one of said shopping excursions when the owner walked up to me and asked, “Have you been to the big shop in the forest yet”?

Somehow an image of the Keebler elves selling things out of trees flashed into my mind.  “I’m sorry, a shop in the forest”, I asked.

“Yes”, she replied.  “It’s a very big shop in the middle of the forest, and you can buy everything very cheap.  There are big buses that take people there from both Sweden and Denmark.  It is very crazy.”

Needing suggestions for something to do that day I quickly got directions and got in the car to go.  It was only 40 minutes away.

We drove through some beautiful countryside.  There seems to be a lot of that here in Sweden.  Blue sky with white fluffy clouds looking down on bright green rolling hills dotted with barn red buildings (buildings = homes, barns and other outhouses) here and there with a smattering of yellow homes being the second choice of color.  (My husband always comments the houses look like they’re made in IKEA.)  We passed by beautiful lakes dotted with trees, horse stables and a few tiny villages.  We made our way into more and more trees until we were in fact driving through an actual forest.  You can’t drive fast at all here in Sweden so the pace of the trip made it all that much more peaceful and appealing.  And then we came to a clearing, where in the middle of nowhere was this:

Unfortunately this does not paint the whole picture.  This was surrounded by huge parking lots, and I mean a HUGE amount of parking that was mostly full.  There was even space in the back for camper vans to camp overnight.  The next layer in the circle were various other little shops, a car museum, and fast food restaurants.  Not one or two, several restaurants.  This place was so packed there were two different buildings housing toilets and three places the size of a 3 car garage housing shopping carts.  While there were no elves the scene was definitely reminiscent of some kind of carnival.  There were people picnicking everywhere.  There were kiddie rides.  There were people taking pictures with their shopping bags.  There were whole families spending the day together and walking out with carts full of their purchases.  Let me just say this again; it’s in the middle of NOWHERE.

I followed the line of people in.  This place was Costco and Walmart combined!  (A nightmare in retrospect.)  And it was crazier than I had expected.  People were everywhere, running into each other trying to get to the next interesting item.  I browsed everything from DVD’s to toasters, clothing to tents.  I passed by stacks of shampoo taller than myself.  (OK, so I’m short and that doesn’t say much, but these piles of stuff were massive.)  I spent an hour going through the store.  What did I have in my basket at the end of an hour?

Socks.  I had socks for my husband, my daughter and myself.  Who looks at stuff for an hour and only picks up socks?  So I did what every normal person would do, I put my basket down on a lower shelf in the bedding aisle as I pretended to be interested in some sheets, and then walked away and out of the store.  I don’t think a flashing neon sign could have pointed out that I didn’t need anything more effectively, but at least I can say that I have been to the big shop in the forest.

Smiles

Be creative.  Be creative.  Be creative!!

I received pictures of us from when we were visiting Brandenburg today.  We all look a little rough from the camping, (RV camping really isn’t so hard though.) and being on the road for a while, but still, they were such a nice surprise!  First time I met Andy’s best friend’s parents, and I am instantly family!!  Long story short, it helped remind me to do what I love.

Restaurant Bitch

Yesterday I went shopping with my 7 month old and then treated myself to a nice lunch in a nice restaurant.  Being that I am a full time mom who’s husband is away working most of the time, I almost never get to sit down and have my food prepared, brought to me, and cleaned up for me.  In other words, I don’t get out much anymore.

So I went into a restaurant.  You know, the kind with tables cloths and decent napkins.  As I sat down and ordered my sparkeling water I glanced over at the table next to me, who I noticed was giving me some seriously INTENSE stink eye!

Let me start by saying that I have worked in restaurants for years and know that some kids are difficult to take out.  I have seen the three foot radius of debris a child can leave behind and have cleaned up flung Cheerios that seemed to breed on their own.  I know that for some diners, having to hear a screaming child that isn’t their own can be disturbing, especially when you’ve paid to go out and enjoy a meal.  But no one deserves some haughty bitch looking down their nose in disgust as you walk into a restaurant with a perfectly behaved child.

And that’s how it went.  My kid laughed and giggled and was a little angel that charmed everyone but the frosty bitch next to me.  I enjoyed a great meal and the kid loved every minute of the restaurant experience.  As if it wasn’t enough, the unfriendly woman next to me threw me yet another look as she left, and all I could think was, “Man!  It must be hard work to be so miserable”!

I Am Connected, Therefore I am

Once upon a time, back in the dark ages, everyone didn’t walk around with their own personal phone.  They used this dinosaur of an invention called a pay phone.  No, no- PAY PHONE.  Not: pay as you go cellular phone.  You paid 10, then 25, and then 35 cents and stood in a little booth to make a call.  I know grasshoppah, the times have changed.

I was one of the few that held out getting a cell phone.  I simply didn’t want to be that accessible.  I thought I was really cool when I finally got one, text messaging and all that, you know, because I had bought the thing with the intention of using it for emergencies only.  It didn’t take long for the emergency to become where everyone was meeting for cocktails.

I started chatting online, because clearly, I was not connected enough through my cell phone.   I started to keep in touch with Myspace, uploading pictures, creating profiles and picking music.  That morphed into Facebook, which I spend more time fooling aimlessly around on than I care to admit to.  And now I have made the jump to Twitter, for some God forsaken reason, because I don’t screw around on the computer enough it seems.

Don’t get me wrong here.  I love the internet and all of the ways I am able to keep in contact with friends and family.  It has provided me with a quick and easy way to stay connected while I live overseas.  I would have lost many of the people on my friends list without these platforms.  The problem, I’m finding, is that I fuck around online way too much.  Instead of doing that Pilates or Yoga I check my Facebook.  Instead of writing and being somewhat productive I browse the celebrity tabloids or try and understand why Twitter is cool.  (I’m am so far unimpressed with Twitter.)  Instead of going to IKEA or studying my German I double check my email and see who is available to chat.

OK, you’re right.  Who really needs to go to IKEA?  But the point being is that I have found 50 ways to avoid all those little tasks I really should be taking care of, and the beauty of it is that it’s all disguised as communication!

Ich Liebe Es

I have great ideas sometimes that never make it beyond my moronic muttering to myself around the house, causing bouts of hysterical laughter and entertaining a little girl who doesn’t know that talking to yourself is kinda weird.  So I talk to myself.  Alot sometimes.  Big deal. Most that know me know I’m a little off kilter.  However, today I’m going to make plunge and announce this:

I LOVE MCDONALD’S!

Now let’s take a deep breath and not freak out here.  I started bouncing this idea off my mom last night who replied “Eeeewww”!  Yes, I will admit there are far better burgers out there.  Yes, I have felt sick after some of the grease-and-salt-disguised-as-food meals.   Just last month I was one of the people who poo-pooed Micky D’s.  But listen: after 4 years of expat life McDonald’s is the one place I can go and have a burger and fries and know what I’m getting.  It will always taste the same no matter where on earth you are.  McDonald’s does not let you down.  Not to mention they will always have the cleanest bathrooms around the world, WITH TOILET PAPER, but that’s a different discussion entirely.

So I got past the burgers and started looking at McDonald’s as a whole.  First of all, how do they get their food to taste the same world wide?  The consistency is pretty amazing, and it’s consistency that continues to sell a product.  Second, McDonald’s is EVERYWHERE!  Kids worldwide clamor for a chance at a Happy Meal or an ice cream cone.  Whether it’s the branding aimed at the very young or simply the free toy, I have watched families sit down and enjoy a bit of the American fast food phenomena over, and over, and over again.  I mean, it’s like worldwide marketing domination!

Muuuaaaahhhh, haaa haaa haaaaa!

McDonald’s also sponsors sporting events and encourages and educates about healthy, active living.  The Ronald McDonald charities do some great  work and offer scholarships worldwide.  The more I think about McDonald’s the more impressed I get with the company as a whole.  OK, so there was the whole “Super Size Me” thing that grossed us all out.  But that’s kinda what I’m saying here; there’s much more to McDonald’s than meets the burger.

Spring Is In The Air

Ahhhh yes, spring is in the air. The trees are blooming and new leaves are rapidly appearing on the once bare branches; tulips and daffodils can be seen everywhere in beautiful splashes of yellow, white, pink and red; my car is covered with a fine dust of the plentiful pollen in the air; and those busy little bees tried to move into my window frame.

I love the spring with it’s crisp honest scent of renewal and “Hell, Yeah!  We’ve made it through another winter!”  But let’s face it.  I’m too old to be getting random roommates.

So, I went downstairs to the nice man from Kazakhstan who takes care of little household stuff, and in my broken German explained that the vespas were in my fenster, but no matter what I said, and I’m pretty sure I was using the right words (I think), no matter how hard I try and loose the accent I always manage to sound like John Wayne speaking German, minus the deep voice of course.  The nice man who takes care of little household stuff responded back to me with his Kazakhstani accent leaving me completely stumped for what he was trying to say.  We had a major failure to communicate.  I finally waved him upstairs, showed him the problem, and called my husband, who is currently working in Portugal, to translate the problem.  This whole boring story sums up to my bees being taken care of before they ran me out of the house, and finding out that my husband gets to sit on the beach and get paid to do it for 2 days due to a lack of supplies.

Now, does that seem fair to you?

Damn bees.

Who has the time?

Oh My God!

Am I writing?  I am!  I really am!  Yet I feel that I don’t have much to say these days.  I have been completely consumed by the new mommy role I play that I have let things I used to think were really important fall by the wayside.  Like my toes haven’t been painted in God knows how long, although in all fairness I have only recently been able to comfortably reach them again.  I need a hair cut.  I desperately need to go out and buy something other than these grubby jeans I keep wearing, and I really should think about some kind of extreme dry skin therapy for my hands.  Don’t get me wrong though.  I don’t look hideous.  I am still clean, presentable and fairly well, although very casually, put together.  My house is clean.  My laundry is done.  My kid looks great all the time.  It’s just those little things I used to enjoy so much, that extra polish and care I suppose, is gone.

Needless to say, along with the extra polish my writing has suffered as well.   I mean, how many times can I realistically write about the baby talk I hold each day?  Who really wants to read about how cute I think my kid is, how she peed and crapped all over the place during PEKIP the other day, and how I’ve gotten her to enjoy talking a bath?  Other moms I am sure can relate.

So today, after nap time, I am going out for a little retail therapy.  I refuse to let myself slide into the “unkempt” catagory.  I need a little polish.  But I will admit it is harder for me to fit in a little time for me than I thought it would be.