Weigh-in Wednesday: Week 5 of 5

Hello there from cold again Uppsala. We had a lovely week last week, temps as high as 26. And now we're back to 9 this morning.

I've broken the 73 barrier, hovering dangerously at 72.8. Feels good but would have felt even better if I'd have refused some yummy food and alcohol this past weekend. It's that initial taste of something forbidden that usually drives me into a downward spiral. I need to program myself so that when I do indulge in a bite, it doesn't lead to the whole damn slice, or 3. Workin' on it. Also managed to get in a walk, with another planned for tomorrow morning.

Hubby's away in Madrid this week so evening walks are outta the question.

Could be some big changes coming our way soon...I'll keep y'all posted.

So it's officially the last week of the extra weeks but I'm voting to keep going. We're planning to head to Montenegro in the middle of August (fingers crossed) so that gives me another...let's count...10 weeks or so to lose another 3 kilos and keep it off. I've made the decision not to send the little man to another school over the summer, which means I'll be freakn' busy for at least 8 weeks keeping him entertained while trying to work. I'm gonna buy a summer pass at the local swimming pool for the two of us, planning to go every morning, coming back around lunchtime. That'll be a constant reminder as I'll be sporting a swimsuit all summer long.

Then I can sit him in front of the tube guilt-free while I tend to business for a little while. Plus, I'm gonna recruit hubby to take him to the park every odd day for an hour.

I think it should all work out fine so long as we get a routine going. Little man, like most other children, thrive on routines. He likes to know what's coming next, as do I.

These days I've been really missing our family. Likely because I have no idea when we'll see any of them next. I come from a rather large family. Dad has 15 brothers and sisters. Every summer there's a wedding, reunion or some big family event and for the past four years, we've missed almost everything. I really want our son to grow up knowing and looking forward to these celebrations so it's killing me that a close cousin is getting married in August and we likely won't be making it. We can't do it all. Maybe someday...

Lots of love to all of you!

Over the Rainbow

Took the little man to a birthday party for a classmate on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the party was held at a local 4H Club set on a farm, complete with pony rides for the kiddies. His entire class was there, which was really nice. Got to chat with a few parents while the little man discovered pigs, cows and other barnyard animals.

The only problem I had was that I couldn't figure out for the life of me who the Mom was. I wanted to compliment whoever she was on her choice for the party location. Was it the short brunette welcoming everyone or the tall blonde coralling the kiddies for the pony rides? I finally gave up and, blushing a wee bit, asked a fellow Mom, "Which one is Teddy's Mom?". She pointed her out, "Over there by the barn." And then she pointed her out again, "Over there by the pony."

"Well which one is she?"

"Both," she stated rather matter-of-factly.

"Oh!" Sorry, wasn't that good at hiding my shock.

"Yes, we have a few rainbow families here."

The other one has two kids with a third one on the way. See, she goes to another Scandinavian country to get artificially inseminated each time. She's a single Mom and gay.

Though Swedes might not be the friendliest of folk, they sure are accepting and tolerant. Little man has been going to this school for almost a year and this is the first time I hear about this. It's a non-issue so why would I have been actively told about this? And I certainly never would have guessed either.

This sort of brings up the whole How-to-explain-this-stuff to the almost 4-year old. But he's never asked. Not sure that he's at that stage yet...the stage of thinking to ask or understanding the response. Any advice for when that day comes? I guess it would be pretty easy:
Teddy has two Mommies. You have a Mommy and a Daddy. Every family is different.

Just another day in Sweden.

No English Speakers Allowed

Been feeling a little like the high school geek these days. And since I wasn't a "loser" in high school, this is a foreign emotion. You'd never find me skulking in a corner, holding up a wall or dissapearing into a background. Nope, not me. Not ever. I'm usually the one in the center of the room, shouting into a virtual megaphone, "Hey everybody, Look at ME!" I'm loud, high energy and bordering on obnoxious.

Now, I attract the attention but am just as quickly dismissed because to paraphrase Chris Tucker in that movie with Jackie Chan, they don't understand the words that are comin' outta my mouth. Well, they do but because the words are in English, Mr. Fredericksson turns down his hearing aid to stop Russell's annoying voice from slaughtering his ear drums (have you seen the animated Pixar movie UP!?)

It was all well and good when I was that funny Canadian guest that showed up once a year. But my free pass has long expired and unless I wake up tomorrow speaking fluent Swedish, I'm screwed.

And my biggest obstacle isn't the neighbours, the general public, my co-workers or "friends". The role of The Gatekeeper flashing the Access Denied sign is my almost 4-year old son.

Hubby and I left work early today to partake in the Parents Coffee at the little man's school today. We sat our large butts on those little chairs as he proceeded to put on a show-and-tell of all his favourite school activities. We ooo'd and awww'd and asked him questions about the puzzles, pictures and books, surrounded by other parents engaging in the same activities with their children. We nibbled on homemade, by the kids, bread and sipped instant coffee while lovingly doting on our pride and joy.

And when Mommy decided to comment on the butterfly, "Det är en jette fint fjaril!", she got "the hand".
"Mommy, you speak English."
"Men Mama kan prata svenska också..."
Attempt #2 thwarted: "No, you don't speak Swedish. You speak English."
Uh...sorry?
I let it go.
A friendly, no, a stern reminder from my son that even though I might know how to say a few things in Swedish, I'm clearly not cool enough to enter the clubhouse. Not sure that I'll ever be. And I really don't think I'm ok with that. Why can't Alicia Silverstone and her BFF give me the (RIP) Brittany Murphy make-over? This pounding on the door thing sucks.

Weigh-in Wednesday (on Thurs.): Week 4 of 5

Oh God. I really need to step up my game. Still at 73.1 and desperately hoping to crack that ugly 3 and high tail it into 2 territory this week.

Did I tell you about my new love affair with apples? Yup, I allow myself an apple a day, I guess to keep the doctor away. Let's forget the 5 M&Ms I just inhaled, they don't count. Nothing to see here...So, Fiji apples from Australia! They're uber expensive (as far as apples go) and they're wrapped in some kind of non-enviro friendly styrofoam netting...but damn, they're tasty. And another apple splurge...some kind of Israeli apple...delish.

Exercise is still my enemy. It doesn't help that instead of power-walking last night, Neighbour Friend and I decided to hit the newest grocery store in town...I know Hy...I promised you 6 walks. Let's make tomorrow morning #1,shall we?

Been a little stressed lately:
- Trying to figure out if/when/where vacation in Montenegro will happen this summer.
- Trying to figure out what to do with the little man/work when he's off daycare for 6 weeks this summer.
- Trying to figure out why it is I'm putting my foot in my mouth lately.
- Trying to figure out...bills...
- Trying to figure out what our future holds in the midst of too much hard work and not enough play and if it's even worth it anymore...
And really, REALLY missing our family back home lately, especially not knowing when we'll be seeing any of them again.

So...a little on the sad side these days. But besides those 5 M&Ms, I gotta say, been doing good with the food. Have been following Michelle's advice and forcing myself to eat breakfast, which I think has helped immensely.

Lots of love to all of you, Jenn

Welcome to the Neighbourhood!

Spring, or better yet, Summer, has arrived in Uppsala. Yesterday, it must have been 25 and I have the sunburn to prove it. No, I didn't venture out in a bikini (not THAT brave yet with 10 more pounds to go) but I was wearing a tank top and am still wearing it judging by the burn lines.

A few doors down from our townhouse, there's an opening and the neighbours have set up a pseudo-park with a swing set, trampoline and sand box. Little man loves it!

We've been spending a lot of time there with the neighbourhood kids and it's made me realize just how important it is for both of us to have some friends outside of school and work.

The neighbours have been rather kind and welcoming of us English-speakers. Regardless of the fact that everyone here speaks English, I'm feeling more like the "odd one out" than when I lived in Montenegro, where English-speakers were few and far between.

My desperation is growing to learn the language but the kids are my best teachers because I'm forced to speak to them in Swedish. Little Man's having none of it though, "Mama, you speak English!" Guess he likes keeping his special little club all to himself...ha!

Oh, I think I promised y'all some Moscow pics eh? Next post. Hubby finally finished them all up and we've proudly posted them to Facebook. Now to select a few to share with you.

Hope the weather is warming up wherever you are!

Weigh-in Wednesday (on Thurs.): Week 3 of 5

Two weeks? Is that all I have left? 73.1! I'm creeping closer ladies! Been pretty strict about the eating habits as of late though only one powerwalk this week...but an effective one. I told neighbour friend that she should really stop lying to me. These are NOT powerwalks. They are powerHIKES. You wouldn't believe the inclines she has us tackling. Crazy woman! She's cruisin' on up and I'm ready to pass out with each painful step. As I can't seem to get it together without her, the plan is for a YouTube video on the off nights from now on.

Time is ticking and I have 4 more kilos to go, that's 8 lbs or so.

Or maybe I'll just give this little blog weekly the finger and make an appointment for lypo...ha!

Nah,  I'm not a quitter. At least that's what the lady who owns the apartment I want to rent this summer told me. I.cannot.stop.haggling. Which is weird because I'm not cheap in any other area of my life. But there's something about driving a stranger to give me a deal (actually in most cases it's driving a stranger to not rip me off). Though I did promise to bring her Swedish salmon if this all works out.

Summer is coming and my bikini is calling from its hibernation in the black hole that is my closet. The bikinis on the H&M models on bus stop billboards around town are also screaming. Why do these girls always have no boobs?

I hear Den is doing really great these past couple of weeks. She lost 2 of something but not sure if that's metric, imperial or what, so share Den!

Mothers Day or whatever it was

Mother's Day has come and gone. I spent the day talking to the Moms on Skype, getting groceries and making meals. See, it wasn't Mother's Day here in Sweden so apparently we'll wait for that one for: breakfast in bed, presents, a meal out, a hand drawn card from the little man. Wait, I did get flowers, the day after. Apparently they took a detour through North America on their way from Planet Idiot. Seriously though, I had mother's day in Moscow. I stayed at a luxury hotel, never had to make a meal and got treated like a queen. It was the best Mother's Day EVER and it lasted 5 days!

Speaking of Mothers. I find myself turning into mine with each passing day. I used to laugh at my Mom and her vanity full of facial creams. From Avon to Clinique, Estee Lauder, some jungle tonic, cow manure, dead sea extract..you name it, she had it. And swore by it.

"What are you using on your face?" she'd ask.
I'd laugh.
I think, at the time, 10 years ago, I had the same bottle of yellow Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion for at least the past 2 years. And it was half full.
I'm not laughing anymore.
I see the "fine lines". I have dreams of Botox. I went through one container of L'Oreal in two months and rushed out for a new one. "Make way fresh-face 20 somethings, the wrinkles are coming and I need to send them a one-way ticket back and STAT."
My mother used to say (and still does), "You need to take care of your skin Jennifer. You have your father's skin and that's NOT a good thing." Hubby jokes that I'll end up looking like one of those shrunken head dolls in 10 years.
F-word.
Now I'm a face cream machine. I'm always slathering something on my face and nearly veering off the road everytime I get stuck behind that bus with the ad promoting restilyn (sp?) at the local spa. Even though it's in Swedish, I'm desperately trying to read what it says. Cuz I'm hoping it says something like: "Get rid of those unsightly wrinkles forever with just one payment of $9.99."
Sigh.
Next will be the gray hair...cue designer shampoos to line the bathtub ledge.