Life in the Land of the Ice and Snow
Infiltrating Sweden one cinnamon bun at a time
If I haven’t mentioned it before, my husband sings in 2 synth bands – Art Fact and Sine City. He has a concert for each coming up soon, plus a record album coming out for Sine City. Yes, I said RECORD ALBUM. If you can dust off your player from the attic, you can buy … Read more
My husband tried to mess up my Spotify recommendations today by playing numerous songs from the band Europe (“The Final Countdown”). This means war. I hope the husband enjoys “Wham Rap.”
…or duet, in my kids’ case. Today we are sending our kids on their first flight alone to visit their grandparents. Luckily, it’s only a 30 minute flight and they are experienced enough with trips that I think they will do fine. They are 7 and 10. I was around 19 the first time I … Read more
This week, I speak for the entire country of Sweden. Sweden’s Twitter account has a new leader every week. On their website, it states: Every week, someone in Sweden is @Sweden: sole ruler of the world’s most democratic Twitter account. For seven days, he or she recommends things to do and places to see, sharing … Read more
Hello Twitter. If you are here because you’ve read some of my tweets, you might like my book. It’s my first book of collected short stories mostly focusing on my experiences as a Texan in Sweden. If you buy it, wild boars won’t eat your face while you sleep, so that’s one good reason. Buy … Read more
Took the kids out for some Frisbee this past weekend on the big field by our building. We got a few strange looks from people going by as the temperature was -2c and the field is covered in about a foot of snow. Honestly, it was no different than playing frisbee at the beach, except … Read more
My 7 year old was very disappointed with his school lunch: “Ugh! They had fish sticks at school today, and you know what was in them?! DEAD FISH!”
It’s here. One of the greatest days of the year! Some call it Fat Tuesday, Shove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday…. but here in Sweden, it’s SEMMELDAGEN! The day we are allowed to eat these heavenly treats without guilt. (Yes, we’ve been eating them since January, but WITH guilt….. today is without.) I hope to write again … Read more
A few summers ago as we were relaxing at a Swedish “beach,” a man came around wearing a white backpack with black spots and a hose attached. He was “THE COFFEE COW.” His special backpack was full of coffee and he would fill you up right there on the beach for a low price. My … Read more
My son is going to a party at his school this evening. No, it’s not a Valentine’s party. Because this is Friday the 13th, it’s a HORRORtine’s party! What a great idea! I remember Valentine’s Day in school back in Texas. You had to worry that you wouldn’t get a Valentine. If there actually was … Read more
C’mon. I can’t be the only one who thought that when they saw the headline.
Pizza Seasoning time running out! This important message was in my inbox this morning. I’m so glad they warned me. It’s a good thing I have email so I can keep on top of the latest news. And it’s a good thing I have a blog so I can share these important messages with you.
“förnämliga” That is the word I had to translate the other day (I work part-time translating documents from Swedish to English). As you see, it can have vastly different meanings. I suppose I was supposed to see which one fit in the sentence, though none of them really did. Here’s my sentence: There are ______ … Read more
Many people in Texas are often surprised when we visit at how seriously our kids take the commercials. When we’ve been there, they’ve told me things like, “Mamma! You should buy this cereal because they said on t.v. that it’s really good for you!” or “Mamma, you have to take us to Chuck … Read more
My grandmother is turning 90 in a few days so I was online looking for birthday ideas. I found a cake topper for sale that said, 90th Birthday Wedding Anniversary Ok, 90th Birthday. I get that. 90th Wedding anniversary? Maybe if you were a child bride? That’s a pretty tough one to pull off.
I’ve spent the morning looking up food trucks in our area, the Taco Truck being the one I’m the most interested in. Then a while ago I found a company that uses the name Taco though it’s a design company and has nothing to do with Tacos. That’s when I realized that you can improve anything … Read more
My husband was in a mall near our neighborhood this past weekend. Here is the picture they have to show what a great experience it is to shop in their mall. I’m really looking forward to more work by this artist. People depressed in a restaurant…. people miserable at the movies…..
Sometimes I wonder which is harder…. docking the space shuttle or hooking a bracelet with only one hand. After 15 minutes this morning of balancing my arm plus short nails, I’ll say the bracelet. (found this handy picture online later. Good idea. They should try tape with the space shuttle too)
Though I generally feel that America is ahead of Sweden when it comes to ridiculous items in vending machines, I do have to admit that Sweden wins this round – a hot dog vending machine.
People think Swedes walk a lot and use subways to be nice to the environment, but I think we know the real reason.