Some might say it is a coincidence, but I say it is divine intervention......
This morning, The International, The Belle, baby girl, and I went to look at a daycare for The Belle. Five minutes away, brand new (literally, they moved into the new digs yesterday), slots open for 4 kids now, and only able to take 32 kids total. SOLD! The International liked it a bunch too, so he is taking care of the paperwork to get her in asap. I cannot express how happy and relieved I am to find a preschool that everybody likes, The Belle included. We had to bribe The Belle to leave, which I am totally ok with. She loved it and is asking when she can go back. If it were up to me, I would be taking her tomorrow. Go ahead and engrave my Mother of the Year award. You try entertaining a very busy 3 year old 24/7 and then we'll talk.......
And to top it off, the sun is out!!!!!!! That just makes the day even better. I now understand why and how so many Swedes get depressed during the winter, especially this one with the crazy amounts of snow. I am pretty sure the sun has not been shining this much in at least 2 weeks. If it is beautiful like this tomorrow, I just might break out the Bermuda shorts and Rainbows. It's practically summer. Hallelujah!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Cabin Fever
So, according to The International (and every meteorologist on earth) this is the worst winter on record. Like in ever. Great timing for a transatlantic move, huh? Today, we have about 30 inches of snow on the ground and it was -20 degrees Celsius (about -4 Fahrenheit) when we got up this morning. And it is snowing more. And it snowed all weekend long. As a good Southern girl, normally I would be ecstatic at so much frozen precipitation back in the States......in my life there I taught school, and I am thinking we would be out 2 or 3 weeks with weather like this. Here? Um, life goes on. Except for me, the girl who is nervous about driving in said snow. *sigh* So here I am.....me, 2 dogs, 2 little girls......snowed in for the 3rd day in a row. If I don't get out tomorrow, I might be blogging direct from the looney bin. Do you think they have facilities in the tropics? I am thinking that would be a GREAT idea.......
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Welcome to Sverige......
Allow myself......to introduce myself........
Welcome (or should I say Välkommen?) to the wit and wisdom of the Swedish Southern Belle. A little about me, you ask? Well, here you go....
I am from a small, small town in the Bible Belt of the US of A. I would equate it to Andy Griffith's Mayberry......everybody pretty much knows everybody else, your social status for life is created and cemented in high school, and you are known best by which church you attend on Sunday (Southern Baptist, of course). I have lived there my entire life, minus a few years here and there for college and whatnot. Until 2 months ago. 2 months ago, my husband (aka, The International) and I moved our family across the ocean to the original land of 1000 lakes, Sweden. This is The International's homeland.....he's back to his roots wif his peeps so to say. Not so much for me. So hence the reasoning behind this blog....hopefully those with time to waste can read this and get an idea of the pros (and cons) of translatlantic moves and such. Oh, and did I mention we have 2 kids under the age of 3? And 2 dogs too? Oh yes, I hear you say, "what were you thinking?" I must say, there are days I ask myself the same thing. But here are some early insights about the good things Sweden has to offer.....
1. Swedish ice cream. Pretty much the bomb-diggety.....as another expat blogger I read once said, "Swedish ice sucks.....Swedish ice cream does not". True dat. I am doing my part to keep GBGlass in business during the winter. I figured it was the least I could do.
2. Supermarket Self-Scanners. But KT, I hear you say, we have those in the US. But this is different......here you have a handheld scanner (like the kind you use when you register at Target for a wedding or baby registry) so you scan your items and bag them as you go along. When you're done, you just go to the register, give back the scanner, and pay for your items. TaDa. It does suck, however, if you have 2 kids, a husband, and 2 carts full of bagged groceries and you are randomly chosen to have your items rescanned (to make sure you aren't cheating the store). That happened to us a few weeks ago......sigh. But overall, a fab system.
3. Public Transportation. It is reliable, clean, and timely. Since we only have 1 car here so far, The International takes it to work most of the time. Have you ever been confined in a 900 square foot, 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment with 2 kids and 2 dogs all day long? Not so fun. We have to get out daily for my mental health. So we are beginning to rely on public transport to get us out and about. So far......
4. Swedish pizza. I have saved the best for last. Pizzerias here are so, so delicious.......I really have no words to describe the deliciousness.....maybe smaskins. Oh, and another....kebab.....oh, how I love you!
So, enough blabbering for today, but keep posted for more witty and interesting tidbits. Yeah, right. Later bbs.
Welcome (or should I say Välkommen?) to the wit and wisdom of the Swedish Southern Belle. A little about me, you ask? Well, here you go....
I am from a small, small town in the Bible Belt of the US of A. I would equate it to Andy Griffith's Mayberry......everybody pretty much knows everybody else, your social status for life is created and cemented in high school, and you are known best by which church you attend on Sunday (Southern Baptist, of course). I have lived there my entire life, minus a few years here and there for college and whatnot. Until 2 months ago. 2 months ago, my husband (aka, The International) and I moved our family across the ocean to the original land of 1000 lakes, Sweden. This is The International's homeland.....he's back to his roots wif his peeps so to say. Not so much for me. So hence the reasoning behind this blog....hopefully those with time to waste can read this and get an idea of the pros (and cons) of translatlantic moves and such. Oh, and did I mention we have 2 kids under the age of 3? And 2 dogs too? Oh yes, I hear you say, "what were you thinking?" I must say, there are days I ask myself the same thing. But here are some early insights about the good things Sweden has to offer.....
1. Swedish ice cream. Pretty much the bomb-diggety.....as another expat blogger I read once said, "Swedish ice sucks.....Swedish ice cream does not". True dat. I am doing my part to keep GBGlass in business during the winter. I figured it was the least I could do.
2. Supermarket Self-Scanners. But KT, I hear you say, we have those in the US. But this is different......here you have a handheld scanner (like the kind you use when you register at Target for a wedding or baby registry) so you scan your items and bag them as you go along. When you're done, you just go to the register, give back the scanner, and pay for your items. TaDa. It does suck, however, if you have 2 kids, a husband, and 2 carts full of bagged groceries and you are randomly chosen to have your items rescanned (to make sure you aren't cheating the store). That happened to us a few weeks ago......sigh. But overall, a fab system.
3. Public Transportation. It is reliable, clean, and timely. Since we only have 1 car here so far, The International takes it to work most of the time. Have you ever been confined in a 900 square foot, 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment with 2 kids and 2 dogs all day long? Not so fun. We have to get out daily for my mental health. So we are beginning to rely on public transport to get us out and about. So far......
4. Swedish pizza. I have saved the best for last. Pizzerias here are so, so delicious.......I really have no words to describe the deliciousness.....maybe smaskins. Oh, and another....kebab.....oh, how I love you!
So, enough blabbering for today, but keep posted for more witty and interesting tidbits. Yeah, right. Later bbs.
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