Blog

Happy Swedish mother’s day

Today is Swedish mother’s day and I got one present from my youngest son a day early when I picked him up yesterday afternoon. Mamma, I got you a present. (digs in pocket) Here! It’s mascara! I found it just sitting on a wall by the street. It’s still got some in it! I thought … Read more

Coca-Cola Revives and Sustains

I’m spending my morning looking for a list of Coke slogans on Wikipedia. No reason really, other than I got an old ad stuck in my head and started wondering if there could be any worse slogans. No big surprise. There are! Let me share a few: 1906 – The great national temperance beverage. I … Read more

We’ve got to grow it on her brow

My son, who has his bedroom adjacent to the kitchen where the radio plays, stomped out of his room very confused this morning. “What kind of song is this? Why do they keep singing ‘we’ve got to grow it on her brow?’ I don’t get it! Grow what?!” “Um, the lyrics are actually ‘we’ve got … Read more

Fake freckles

My kid does this once a month to his face and all he needs is an old Sharpie marker. I’m not paying for a special “freckle marker.” This is going too far.  

Old tech, so complicated

We had a bunch of 10 and 11-year olds over for a birthday party last weekend. My husband collects old game systems, so we hooked up the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Unfortunately, with today’s modern televisions, the Duck Hunt gun no longer works accurately. The rest of the games could be played with no … Read more

Are job ads getting dumber?

Am I too cynical or is it just impossible to take certain companies seriously when going through job application ads? Today’s example: We’re on a mission to take over the world, and we believe that the only way to succeed with that is by having the Hungriest Digital Tigers and Toughest Tech Lions available. (Well, … Read more

Modern nosy neighbors

It seems like Facebook neighborhood groups are just the modern form of the gossipy people who sit at home all day watching the street with nothing to do. Typical posts for our neighborhood are: “Does anybody know who cut down that tree?” “I saw a gray cat by the grocery store. Did someone lose a … Read more

Did you think it was spring? SUCKERS!

Spent a lovely day on Sunday, here in Stockholm, taking a walk, going to a park and even petting farm animals. Spring was in the air. I even stopped at the flower display at the grocery store and considered buying something for the balcony. Luckily, I’ve lived here long enough not to fall for it. … Read more

Job hunting made fast

If you live in Stockholm and are a passionate cyclist… NOPE. Next. This is an ideal role to gain experience in the …. So little or no pay. NOPE. Next.  If you are excited by the fast paced change in the world of finance…. NOPE! Are you someone who is comfortable working from home in … Read more

Killer Whale Karma

While watching “Blue Planet” with my son last night, we came upon a lovely part of the documentary about the migration of grey humpack whales. A mother was traveling at a slower pace in order for her newborn calf to keep up. It was very touching until… THE KILLER WHALES SHOWED UP A gang of … Read more

The modern family

As I’m sitting here typing this in my nice comfy slippers from my iPad, my husband plays games on his RetroPie from the bed, my oldest son is using Skype to play Minecraft with his friend across town, and my youngest son is in a virtual reality world. Welcome to the future. My current view … Read more

Full coverage!

Why does renting a car have to be such a procedure? If we already booked the car and filled in all of our information on the computer, why do we still have to fill it out AGAIN on paper once we get to the rental counter? Isn’t that what the computer was for? Check my … Read more

The little plane that could

As I mentioned before, my husband and I took a 4-day long anniversary trip to Italy this past weekend. With only 4 days, we wanted every minute to count, which turned out to be a problem when the Italians decided to strike at the Rome airport. Our plane was delayed 3 hours until they could … Read more

Isabella de’ Medici was not a nice person

My husband and I celebrated our 18th anniversary in the town of Bracciano, Italy over the weekend. While there, we visited the 15th century castle that towers over the town. It’s one of the most impressive castles in Italy and luckily it’s open to the public. Each room has a plaque with information, so one … Read more

Can I Photoshop us into summer?

I thought maybe if I used Photoshop, I could make winter go away and feel better. I tried this picture with my son, but I still don’t feel very summery…

Nordic gardens

There is an event taking place in March, here in Sweden, called “Nordic Gardens.” This is what I picture:

-9c

It’s -9c this morning (16f) and that’s just wrong. I’m hitting my winter breaking point. It usually happens sometime in February. You can only take so much darkness and cold. I spend my days right now wondering why people would ever settle here. Sure, maybe they showed up in the summer, and maybe they thought … Read more

Pay toilets

Someone today brought up how strange it is that many European countries have pay public toilets. This is something that’s always bothered me here in Sweden. I’ve been here 18 years and still think it should be a basic human right to use a toilet when you need it. I get the reasons behind it… … Read more