xmas hols!

The joy of the christmas holidays! Getting up at 7 am and sleepwalking in to uni to work on my assignments: anthropometry x 2 (one oral presentation and one report), a nutrition patient information leaflet, Cell Science (an essay on dna replication and transcription, and some joyous revision for the numeracy exam in January. Just to mention some of the things that will keep me busy over the three week "holiday". To sum up my first semester at uni I have to say that it has been hugely challenging but fun! And although there are days when I feel I'm in over my head, I am learning so many new things and have a much greater understanding of the human body now. Incredibly interesting and I was craving a challenge...

Winter Wonderland

I am, however, looking forward to going to Sweden for christmas, above is a photo taken by my dad a couple of days ago. Bring on the snow fight, snowman creating, sleigh-riding rammy! Also can't wait to chillax with family and stuffing delicious food down my gob:)

niiiiicee

Coffe- check
Crisps- check
Veggie sausage rolls - check
Organic dark chocolate - check
Extra plate, mug and bowl- check
Tidy room- check
Clear some space on the floor- check

Bring on the sister invasion;)

thought I heard a strange noise

Tottenham court rd 7.55 am. About 12 riders on horseback each holding on to another two horses. It's not what I expected to see...

london is getting ready for xmas

lovely time of year to be in Londinium! As I was leaving uni today adther a mammoth day I walked a different route, down lovely charlotte st, to get the bus. It was already dark and it was a nice walk. I stood and waited for a few minutes for a bus at oxford st before it became apparent that there were no buses running. I decided to walk up to oxford circus and check out the new 'circus' and the reson behind the lack of buses became painfully clear; there was some sort of christmas concert going on (could they have been lighting the xmas lights?) and the tubestation was closed. Bugger. So I trotted down to tottenham ct rd and I wans't the only one either. Getting on the tube was a nightmare but I got on it in the end and made my way home to revise for my in class essay tomorrow morning.

tgif

I quite like fridays because I get to go to the beautiful Regent street campus

there's something so peaceful about sitting in a dead quiet library as it gets dark outside.



Now, back to work!

getting on...

interesting thing happened yesterday. I was in the large lecture theater for the working in bioscience module. A rather 'bling' looking bird sat down next to me and we chatted about this and that (you know the usual what course are you in, where do you live, blah blah...) turns out she's moved here to study Biomedical sciences because her husband is going to uni in london and they are lucky enough to have a flat of their own in golder's green. Very lucky indeed.

So, she then turns to me and says ' you seem a lot older than the rest of us'

'Yeah I'm ancient' I said upon which she asked my my age and I answered.

'oh that's not too bad' she said as if to say 'well done for making it that far' or 'you look a lot older'.

Wait it gets worse.

Later on she asked my why Ive decided to go to university now. (as if to say what on earth has prompted you to get educated just before you die of old age)

I found this hysterical for several reasons. Firstly because I'm certainly not the oldest person there, nowhere near. Also because in my mind, and this is something I strongly believe, 18 is too young to go to uni! And i might add if my american friend is reading it is certainly too young to get married.

Now I'm not one for slagging off people on my blog so this is just an anecdote from my amazing London life. An observation if you may.

Oh and that's another thing I love about London; you can meet an individual one day and then never see them again. If you are lucky...;)

First lecture

So, the challenge has begun, I had my first lecture yesterday and although they're easing us in to it fairly gently I'm still excited about this huge mountain I'm about to climb. Yesterday we had working in Bioscience, a great way to start off the week and this morning we had a long lecture in Health and Nutrition. It was such good fun and so interesting! A lot of it was familiar but there was also some new things as we got an overview of what is to come. It will be followed by Working in Bioscience tutorial and an English Screening, which starts now.

Bring it on!

so, London

a pic taken with my new phone outside uni:)

so it's London again and although I haven't even been here a week I find myself falling into place in this giant jigsaw puzzle. It really is such an amazing puzzle to be a part of, so big and scary, yet friendly.

In spite of a 'minor' hickup with my paperwork I'm settling in to uni ok and
teaching starts on monday. I get a free choice module next semester and had to pick either 'dilemmas in bioscience'- the easier choice and certanly more interesting, mostly debate- based or 'drugs an therapeutics', a far more difficult module but may be more practical in the future. Which one do you think I chose?

Your Place at the University of Westminster

BSc Honours Human Nutrition - Full-time

..."you have been given an unconditional offer of a place on the above course"

this just about sums up my week

click on the link to hear the Lily Allen song which is my tune of the week.
After a hard week of hard decisions and working like a lunatic for Way out West I just had to sneak off on my dinner (about 11 pm) break to check out Lily live on stage. This song came on and I'd never heard it before but it made me go "oh yeah!" to myself. People must have wondered if I was lost, drunk or both, apron still on, veggieburger in hand, big smile on face. I may just have been the best way to summarize a less than perfect but fun at times week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ITZBBV8Syg

Sarah;jag ville ha den som en ruta så som du brukar göra, hur gör man!?!?!?!?!

To a very special birthday boy!

Happy Birthday Flynn, little darling on the "wrong" side of the world.

Miss you and think about you every day when I bike to work.

Have a fantastic 5th Birthday!

my life at the moment.

this month has been a hard, but fun one. I've had 5 days off work the whole month and that's counting tomorrow and it's been 10 of non stop work and that includes 14 hrs on Friday and 13 on Saturday. It's definitely been a case of work, eat, train, gym and then do it all over again, but don't get me wrong, I do enjoy it! In fact the last couple of days I haven't even had the time or energy to go to the gym and I feel sluggish for it (could have something to do with my food choices as well arhum... the downside to working in a café surrounded by yummy stuff).

SO if you were wondering why I haven't been blogging, there's your answer.

I'm thinking a trip to IKEA is in order tomorrow and of course a couple of trips to the gym;) but first of all; SLEEP

Last night in bed, whilst trying to relax and go to sleep, my mind and soul was transported to Sandy Bay. I go there quite often in my head and I could feel the warmth of the sun and hear the waves as I sunk down into the warm sand and there was total relaxation and bliss.

Busy Days and a Visitor

My oldest nephew came to visit, almost a week ago now, but I've been flat out working and training and not had time to put the pictures on the blog, or anything else for that matter. Haven't even had time to give him a ring him to thank him for a lovely couple of days and to tell him that I hope that he comes back soon! We spent a whole day at Universeum, an interactive museum and had a great time! " monster" och "råttan"

cool australian jellyfish in a fish tank.

I really have been busy this week! Working every day and sometimes long hours. It's a good thing I enjoy my job, I just think it's a shame it has to end in september... So I'm making hay while the sun is shining, trying to clock up hours and money. Harland has been the house hero, doing everything at home, I haven't lifted a finger in ages, it's great!;) Thank you darling! The coming week looks to be fairly busy one as well, they've offered me two days off but I just need one so I can go to IKEA and pick up some things and maybe chill out for a bit as well... I have however made a plan this week which incorporates meals, work and training so nothing is left to chance! ;)

eagerly awaiting...

Our bed arrives today! I've emptied the room that can actually now called a bedroom whereas before it was more of a dumping ground. I'll be at training when it gets delivered, an extra forward session today in preparation of a very important game on saturday, against Malmö-Trelleborg.

Pictures to follow! of the bed and probably the game as well... need to get more active with the camera when there's rugby going on.

and the winner is....

me!

I have a person in my life that makes me feel like I've won the lottery every day.

Especially so when I come home from rugby training and he's cooked a lovely dinner.

And got me this

sweetheart

My youngest niece got a heart from me (the long way around but never mind) and this morning she turned up and with a piece of string and said mum now we need a hammer and nail. She wanted it hung up outside the front door so all the neighbours could see it. bless. but here's the cutest part. Mummy, i think aunty emma gave me this heart because I'm her sweetheart.

Too right!

She's clued on that one.

I hope the other three realize it too.

birthday boy

My little sunshine-boy is one today! Amazing little Mio Mattis who surely must be the happiest little kiddo there ever was. A calm, smiling ball of sunshine and joy he is, and quite the opposite in both personality and size to big sister Lo, aka miss monkey whirlwind zoom zoom.

Both me and Harland have, time and time again established that little boy truly is a ...

dude

bugger.

Right. I want to start uni. Become a nutritionist. That's why we're here, because it's free in Sweden. And I'm attached to Gothenburg now, I want to stay. Don't want to move to Umeå, it's off the (rugby)map. Not really an option. There are other options.
1) Go back to the UK.
2) Massey Uni in Auckland.

To qualify here in Sweden there is a course I need to do and I also need to improve my grades or exam results (högskoleprovet). So I went to see a guidance counsellor today. Signs outside were promising "we'll help you reach your goal", "the right education can lead the way to your dream job" e.t.c. Sounded optimistic but in actual fact there is really nothing they can do for anybody at the moment because of financial cutbacks. The course I need to do is full and there will be no half-term entries or distance learning options like normal because of the cutbacks.

The focus in this country at the moment lies on getting young people to go straight from college to uni and adult students like me (bloody hell I'm an adult) are left to suffer. I find this ridiculous! Not a lot of 18 year-olds know what they want to do with their life and should be given the time they need to figure this out rather than starting a degree and then giving up half way through. Surely that's not the sensible option in a country where education is free?

On the plus-side, there was another degree which is new and looks interesting. Health promoting something something.

22.36

Harland and Anders are off on their epic bike ride.

I'll be thinking of them.

And sending them happy thoughts.

In bed.

Sleeping.

night night.

Go boys, GO!

There he goes...

He's off! First day at work and he's been received with open arms at S.A.T.S gym in Frölunda. Finally! After all the wait and hard work my darling has put in to get there he is now at the starting point of his new career. I'm so excited for him!

You!

If you want to get fit, drop in and see Harland S, he'll sort you!

;)

Scarface

Another silly injury from rugby training, playing grab and hold I collided with one of my team mates and her eyebrow was gashed open: A bit of deja vu, a similar thing happened in London a few years ago, except I was intact then, not as lucky last night as I stood up and said "don't worry I have a hard head" to coach who replied "yeah, but you're still bleeding though"
Off to the A&E we went and after waiting for a few hours as they had forgotten me (how they could miss the very upset girl with blood on her face I do not know) and then at 11 pm I got my five beautiful stitches. Not impressed. Hate needles and stitches. The doctor thought I was a big baby and threatened me to stitch up my mouth. Fair enough...

hard day at the office....

we couldn't not go to the beach today... 25 degrees, clear blue sky and no work. It was also a nice relaxing thing to do the day after a hard weekend of rugby. This particular beach, Näset, is only a 20 min bike ride from home and it was lovely and warm there today. Perfect timing with the weather, it's meant to be cooling down tmrw and I'm working (well, it's my second day of training at the café). We actually ended up spending about five hours at the beach and were joined by my mate Michy, her boyfriend William and our rugby coach Mike.

It was a balmy 15 degrees in the water

must have been a good weekend...

just showing off a few of my bruises from this weekend. What a weekend... We lost away to Lund yesterday by one point. We did not play well but we were never going to be allowed to win anyway, referee was on their side from the start... Today was a challenge, but we all like one of those, don't we. I honestly could not picture myself playing 80 min of rugby when I woke up this morning. But I did it for my team. It's such a nice feeling being part of a team after my Scotland experience. These Gothenburg girls are a good bunch and I feel like we've been through hell together this weekend, and come out the other side stronger as a team. It has to be mentioned as well that our opposition today was my old team and a few familiar faces, but there was no doubt where my heart was today.

Do you know what? I would do it all again tomorrow if I had to.

working class hero

I survived my first day back at work after about 8 months holiday! In fact, I quite enjoyed it, getting stuck in and trying to learn my may around the café, all the prices and the menu. It'll take a while but I'll get there. Having a day off tomorrow, (ah the joys of part time work) time for training and getting stuck in to my other job. I'm booking sports halls for the twelve week sports academy I'm managing this autumn. I've already organised with the rugby club to book the facilities through them in order to keep prices down.

Training tonight was fab, even though we're missing a few key players in the back line that got injured playing for Sweden, it was flowing nicely and everybody seemed to be in a good mood. Excited and also apprehensive about the weekend and double-banger (game in Lund on Saturday and home game against Malmö on Sunday) ouch.

Sweden are going to the world cup!

Here's a clip from you tube with a suitable song from the other day when Sweden beat Spain and qualified for the World Cup in England next year!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6sv5rS0Hp0

I get goosebumps again and can't help but dream of maybe putting on that jersey one day...

Rugby girls

I thought I'd keep you posted on what's going on in the Women's European Championship being played in Stockholm at the moment. Most importantly, to me anyway, Sweden beat Italy by two points (a try in the last second, oh the drama, oh goosebumps!).

Yesterdays results

Scotland-Russia: 84-0
Holland-Belgium: 100-0

Italy-Sweden :14-16
Spain-Germany: 74-0

Want to dig deeper?

Highlights from a lovely weekend

Just a few pictures from this weekend, of our first official visitors, my sister Sarah and her partner Anders plus the two young ones Lo and Mattis.

Lo on the swings with my house in the backgound

We spent a lot of time at the playground which Lo obviously approves of;)
Something we could both enjoy was the "swing" below. I enjoyed the challenge in going all the way around, it was a fight against gravity but we managed 13 consecutive spins without stopping. Lo helped by pulling faces and going "oouuuhh"

Our Taco Fiesta on Friday night had to be moved in to the hallway even though our kitchen actually is quite spacious... I absolutely love mexican! I don't bother with veggie mince like quorn instead I do a mushroom-kidneybean-sweetcorn-whatever else is avalable chili with copious amounts of cumin and people always love it. As a bonus I also coked some soy protein strips in taco seasoning.

And pudding: Apple pie made by Sarah's neighbour with grated chocolate and cream. Oh and Strawberries as you can see on the young mademoiselle's faces.

Me Sarah and Mattis had a picnic in the park on Saturday after a pretty pathetic attempt at shopping for clothes in a second hand store.

Mattis below with rocket in his mouth which he just let sit there for ages. It was hilarious and made us laugh so much... ha ha... I guess you had to be there...

There was also a massive half-marathon going on in Gothenburg so getting around was a bit tricky but I must say I wasn't at all envious of the runners. They all looked ruddy knackered! Even the ones that had just started.... hmmm... Think I'll just stick to rugby...

That Sunday Feeling

It's funny isn't it, today has been a typical Sunday. But isn't every day a Sunday when you're unemployed? Had a sleep in this morning. Lingered in bed for ages got up and started making plans for the day, they went out the window and I ended up getting dressed quickly and flew out the door to get the tram at 11.30. Met Michy, a rugby friend and Skåne exile, at Järntorget which is in my favorite part of town. After a quick detour to the flea market where I purchased a much needed cheese slicer, Michy whisked me off to a cosy little café for some delish mint tea and lunch.

My sister and her family came around in the afternoon to pick up their belongings before heading back down south. It's been so nice having them here and I hope they come back very soon!

The afternoon was made complete by a quick session at the gym, interval training 4 minutes at between 11.5-13 km/h and 2 minutes walking rest x4. Was virtually kicked out the door at the end though as they close at 6 on a Sunday. What a joke. I was hoping to be able to start a new routine with sauna on Sundays but no such luck today.

like a whirlwind...

...she blew in and out, my darling little niece like she always does.

We've got an afternoon of peace and quiet, it's funny how quickly you get used to the noise and liveliness of children... I look forward to having them here again tomorrow and hopefully many more times in the future.

Mattis is no longer scared of me and of being left alone so he's been a joy to be around, cheeky little boy!

This is the sort of thing we get up to

For those of you who, for whatever reason don't read my Swedish blog, which i started as a part of my job hunting, I've practically been called to an interview for a company called faceways where I might get a job in sales. I always believed that as long as I can get to an interview I can talk anybody in to hiring me but that might be put to the test....

10 days in Västra Frölunda...

...from our balcony

push play

Life has been sort of paused lately with the move and everything that comes with it.

But now it's time to push play and go for it again and that includes the blog!

We've been very busy at times but since I last wrote we've both had time to celebrate our birthdays as well as congratulate others on theirs and the birthday season is now officialy over.

Things have slowed down in the last couple of days but all my energy has gone in to perfecting my C.V and an application letter for a job with Sweden Sport Academy, a part time job which I'm hoping to get even though the odds are against me. I would be working with young people, encouraging them to get active, something I would enjoy so much and I think it would be a first step towards where I want to go in the future. I will also be applying for jobs in shops, cafes, the airport etc.

Harland is still waiting for SATS (the gym) to get their act together and contact him. It's looking promising though that he'll get a job there.

We've obviously started rugby training as well and personally I feel like I've hit the jackpot. Gothenburg Ladies are a great bunch, friendly and fun but there are also some really sharp players in the squad and we play fast, good running rugby and the aim is to win the Swedish Championship again this year. I will give everything and for the first time I'm not the only one in the team.

Yes, it is starting to feel like home...

And nothing says "home" like blueberry pie

St George's Day

And St Georges cross is swaying in the wind on a particular street in Sweden. Partly because it's :) Da's B-day which was started off, accordining to tradition, with a song and breakfast in bed. This is birthday number two out of five in the birthday season and next up is me . Is it daft that I still get excited by my birthday? I just love it. A day that belongs to mememememe. It's mine. It's all about me. Moi. One day I might grow out of it but I hope it's not anytime soon...

In other news we seem to be all set to be moving on Monday. We've been packed and ready to go for what seems like for ever and it's all happening next week. Haven't worked out the details yet but that will all get worked out after Saturday.

We also have visitors coming this weekend from England, two of dad's cousins and they're in for a good weekend!

Was going to finish off with a picture of the Birthday Boy (if you can call him that on his 64th) but I think you'll find this a lot more plesant.

A what-d'ya-call-it

(Can't remember the name in either language)

from our walk in the national reserve the other day

The birthday season...

...is upon us and was kicked off with a fourth birthday, the most important one of all....

The birthday bundle. It doesn't feel like four years ago I was woken up at some rude hour in the morning (8.17) by a text letting me know my sister had gone in to labour. I still remember meeting her for the first time this lovely little one. (mind you it was over 12 years ago I held Hampus for the first time and that feels like a minute ago)

The balloons, and the cake in all its green marzipan glory

Off to the cinema where we enjoyed vast amounts of popcorn, cheese doodles, sweets....
and then we partied the night away

A family easter

Easter is a big deal here in Sweden, a family holiday with lots of odd traditions like putting feathers in your garden and eating copious amounts of eggs.

Easter sunday was a family affair for us, a large chunk of the family went on an excursion to east Skane, a beautiful part of the world, where dad's friend Mark hosts an art exibition (another easter tradition in this area)

Most of us went in the car.

But some chose another method of transport.

I think they did 100 km that day.

crazy

Mark and his Swedish wife Lena live in an amazing house in the village of Wollsjo with its very own windmill. Unfortunately not for much longer as they have bought a lovely little cottage by the river, it's very nice but I will miss Wells House, especially around easter when local art fills the barn and mill.


We went for a walk around Wollsjo, to have a look at Mark and Lenas new house. It was a lovely day, but still a bit cold in the wind.

Picnic by the old pump house

The bundle

When we got back the rest of the family joined us and there was play in the garden followed by a wicked greek feed enjoyed by all!

There is a real feeling of spring in the air since about a week back and we've been making the most of it, getting out in the garden, building, digging, planting....

What was an overgrown flowerbed was turned in to a cottage garden. Picture it with strawberries fruiting and lots of herbs growing. Lovely!

Must run I'm going in to Malmo for some shopping and coffe with my oldest friend (in the sense that I've known her longest not and age thing.)