I've always thought that each moment of life is a precious gift not to be squandered. Every minute we choose to spend doing one thing is a minute lost to an infinite number of other possibilities. Sure, sitting in front of the tv can seem like a relaxing way to spend an evening (and it is now and then) but what about all the other things we could have been doing with that time? Reading somthing that may change our lives, getting in touch with our minds and bodies through yoga (or whatever does it for you), creating something which could possibly have a butterfly effect and change the world, making love, talking with a good friend, singing in the shower. There are so many places I want to go, people I want to know better, skills I want to obtain, things I want to see, experiences I want to have... there is no way that I'll be able to cram it all into one life! There exists, however, a short list. If I can accomplish all of the things on my list, I'll be a contented woman when I close my eyes for the last time and draw my last breath. None of them are big or particularly special, but all of them are important to me.
Here's my list :)
~Stay with the same man until I die and be happy doing so!
~Be a mother
~Write at least one novel (and hopefully get it published)
~Get a PhD in English Literature
~Become a certified Yoga instructor
~Have a significant positive effect on the life of at least one person outside my family
~ Learn how to play the piano well and acaustic guitar enough to sing by the campfire
~ Contribute to protecting this awesome planet we all live on
~ Knit a sweater that I love
That's it. Wish me luck!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Volvolicious!
So Peter and I are thinking about getting a new car! It is a caper green volvo v70 drivE which is officially classified as a green car but is big enough for our two pups and hopefully some kidlets :). We got to borrow a similar one over the weekend and had a total blast driving around the country side testing out the car and exploring. The gas milage is fantastic, so we could puddle around without thinking about the cost. What a drage it will be to go back to our trusty old Subaru after this! Hopefully we will be adding a volvolicious addition to our family in June some time :).
Friday, March 19, 2010
Happy 30th Baby!
My hubby, Peter Norlindh, actually turned 30 a few weeks ago!
We have an awesome party with family up from Stockholm, friends in for the evening, good food, good music, dancing, pressies, the works. Peter got a Wii (I figure you should give your husband something fun when he turns 30), tickets to a halarious comedy show from his sister Kajsa, a pipe and some tobacco from Cicci and Matte, Mario Cart (wii game) from Anders and Karina, an extra Wii control from Jani Mo, games and fun Wii extras from Malin, money from his mum, a Wii game from his aunty.. all in all it was a good haul and we had a wonderful time.
I can't believe we're so grown up. Notice the centre picture.. that is my 30 year old husband smoking a pipe. Wow. But life is good. It says a lot when everyone shows up to celebrate the commencement of you. What's the point of going through life if you're not going to laugh and spend time with the people you love? Thank you to everyone who joined in the celebration. We love you all!
We have an awesome party with family up from Stockholm, friends in for the evening, good food, good music, dancing, pressies, the works. Peter got a Wii (I figure you should give your husband something fun when he turns 30), tickets to a halarious comedy show from his sister Kajsa, a pipe and some tobacco from Cicci and Matte, Mario Cart (wii game) from Anders and Karina, an extra Wii control from Jani Mo, games and fun Wii extras from Malin, money from his mum, a Wii game from his aunty.. all in all it was a good haul and we had a wonderful time.I can't believe we're so grown up. Notice the centre picture.. that is my 30 year old husband smoking a pipe
A Year at a Glance
I recently had a look at my blog and noticed that I hadn't written an entry since 2008! So here it goes.. a year (and a bit) at a glance!
Hagrid dun grew up!!
Hagrid dun grew up!!
Gabby Got older in body though not in spirit :)
My mum came for Christmas :)
We spent happy times with family and friends including...
- Cicci's 40th birthday 80's party
- Hagrid's first birthday hike
- A summer visit from Kajsa, Fredde and the boys
- Roman was christned
- A visit with everyone to Uppsala to celebrate Boel.
- And of course, random fun times with friends :)
We also bought a house and Peter turned 30, but I have already reached my picture limit for this post so I guess they'll be getting their own blog entries :)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Life's Monemtum and Possibility!
Google Me!
If anyone actually reads this they will laugh at my impetus for coming back to my blog and getting myself re-kicked into gear with it! Peter googled me today while he was waiting for a simulation to simulate. He called me to inform me that my Lifelets blog was looking very negative in the Google search! The funny thing is that one of the primary reasons I've haven't blogged much lately is that I've been too busy and happy to have any extra time for it.
Who would have thought that my personal blog would affect my Google results... the image the world gets of me at first glance? I guess it makes sense. It's pretty cool that I'm unique enough to fill several pages of Google search results actually!
A Puppy!
At any rate.. there are LOTS of exceedingly happy lifelets surrounding me at the moment! A puppy for one! Peter and I are excitedly awaiting our labradoodle puppy! He or she will be born in less than two weeks and we'll be picking him/ her up at the end of July. Our summer vacation this year will focus around collecting Hagrid, Emma, or Lola from Denmark near Han's farm. To the right is a picture of the puppy's fantastic mother, Maddy. I LOVE the way this dog smiles. I swear there is a twinkle in her eye. Kimberly, the breeder says that she is one of the happiest, most loving, calmest dogs she has ever had. I hope we get a mini-maddy!
I was giving a phone interview for a senior Ruby on Rails developer for 42 Friends the other day. At the end of the interview the conversation (very unprofessionally on my part) strayed into the realm of dogs and kids. What can I say.. I love them both! Reuven, the really fun guy I was interviewing, said that he really just didn't "get" dogs. Since he said I gave him the best explanation of dogs he'd ever heard, I'll repeat it here.
Gabby loves life so simply and completely that it's impossible to be with her and NOT love life yourself. Running through a field, wading in a creek while we're out on a hike, rolling in the grass: all these activities make her glow with pleasure and me glow with love! A dog can really remind you to be happy, draw your attention to the simple pleasures in life, and make it VERY clear that you do not need money, a fancy car, or designer shoes to be happy. Just get down on the ground and roll in the grass!
Try it sometime.. when no one is watching. Wait until the sun is shining and the wind is blowing a little. As you lay yourself out on the grass, the warm, wet smell of earth will waft up to your nose and the individual blades will tickle and tantalize your skin. Roll around for a minute.. side to side, down a hill.. it doesn't matter! Then simply stop. Breath out, and look up at the sky.
Tell me you're not peaceful after that!
I'm really hoping that this new puppy will be for Peter what Gabby has been for me. She has hands down, made my life better. Peter has NEVER had a puppy before! I will definitely keep you all update on puppy status!
Sunlit Writing
The other lifelet that is sparkling for me right now is my work (which I should be doing at this very instant). I've started working as the manager of Growing Gifts, a fantastic plant gifting application on Facebook. I manage the community of users and designers, help to develop the application, choose and manage all the content for the application and do user support. The part that I like the most is the community and content management :) Check the app out here:http://apps.facebook.com/growing/?link_source=side_nav
ps.. while you're there, please take a minute to RAVE about the app on the discussion board. We've recently done some major updates (yes.. they ARE improvements) and our user base has been kicking and screaming. It's kind of funny since everything we added was by specific request of the users themselves! I guess people just don't like change.
I've also started doing some freelance writing! It's a lot of fun. My old friend Karen Veiera from UF has started a science writing company in the States and she's passing articles on all sorts of things my way. I love doing the research and writing articles in terms that any Joe from the street could understand. In fact, I'm scaring myself into being a veggie head and exercising more (both of which are probably very good things!).
The most exciting thing career wise that is going on for me is that I have officially started my own business! It tumbled into being simply because I needed a way to pay my taxes in Sweden while working for 42 Friends (Growing Gifts) and Karen. After I started writing a bit more though, I realized that I really love it and am quite well qualified for the job. I'm going to slowly develop the writing portion of my "business," hopefully expanding to take on more clients and projects. Ideally I'd love to focus my writing on semi-scientific subjects such as conservation.
I've decided to call my company Sunlit Writing for several reasons. Firstly in honor of the book I've been working on for ages, Sunlit Dust. The idea behind Sunlit Dust (very briefly) is that there are lots of things that affect our lives, responses and personalities which we never even notice. They are there, floating in and out of our beings and lungs, like dust in the air. Every once in a while when we take a minute to stop and look a round, a ray of sun will suddenly illuminate all the dust in the air around us. Suddenly we understand.
This ties in with my writing in several ways, fortifying my decision to go with Sun Lit Writing. I'm hoping that my writing will stand out from the mass as the sun lit dust stands out from the rest! I'm also hoping that my writing will the the catalyst which illuminates the ideas I'm presenting.
Lastly, I would really like to develop myself as a soft science writer focusing on health, lifestyle, and family as they relate to the environment. The only way to stop the destruction of our planet is for all of these subjects to unite and become a lifestyle. The more I think and read about and come into contact with different life issues such as protecting yourself against disease late in life, designing your dream house, being a happy person, planting a garden, almost anything really, they are all connected by a thin green thread. To protect yourself from disease walk more and eat fresh locally grown fruits and veggies. As I day dream about the house that will one day be the home of my family I can't help but consider whether living in the country really is the most green option. When I think about the things that make me happy I realize that walking more, breathing clean air, and living in a socially oriented way really DO make me happy. Shopping, spending large chunks of time in the car, and having access to all the latest forms of technology really DON'T make me happy. Planting a garden reduces stress, which makes me happier and healthier AND helps promote growing green things, which is fantastic for the environment. This long explanation of the focus of my "freelance writing business" was simply to high light that I'd rather use sunlight than oil. I want to keep it simple and natural. For me, sun light is both those things. I feel like the name Sunlit Writing lines up very nicely with my soul and goals!
Here's a list of the projects I currently have on the go with Sunlit Writing:
Growing Gifts- making people happy, green growing things
Medical/ Health Articles- I'm writing several a week
Two Girls and a Changing World- A book I'm helping a friend to write which highlights the many social and political issues we face in the modern world through the story of two friends.
A Sunlit Life- The health, family, lifestyle blog focusing on environmental issues that I am planning to start writing this month.
Sunlit Dust- My book! My book!
Whatever freelance writing projects and can get!
If anyone actually reads this they will laugh at my impetus for coming back to my blog and getting myself re-kicked into gear with it! Peter googled me today while he was waiting for a simulation to simulate. He called me to inform me that my Lifelets blog was looking very negative in the Google search! The funny thing is that one of the primary reasons I've haven't blogged much lately is that I've been too busy and happy to have any extra time for it.
Who would have thought that my personal blog would affect my Google results... the image the world gets of me at first glance? I guess it makes sense. It's pretty cool that I'm unique enough to fill several pages of Google search results actually!
A Puppy!
At any rate.. there are LOTS of exceedingly happy lifelets surrounding me at the moment! A puppy for one! Peter and I are excitedly awaiting our labradoodle puppy! He or she will be born in less than two weeks and we'll be picking him/ her up at the end of July. Our summer vacation this year will focus around collecting Hagrid, Emma, or Lola from Denmark near Han's farm. To the right is a picture of the puppy's fantastic mother, Maddy. I LOVE the way this dog smiles. I swear there is a twinkle in her eye. Kimberly, the breeder says that she is one of the happiest, most loving, calmest dogs she has ever had. I hope we get a mini-maddy!
I was giving a phone interview for a senior Ruby on Rails developer for 42 Friends the other day. At the end of the interview the conversation (very unprofessionally on my part) strayed into the realm of dogs and kids. What can I say.. I love them both! Reuven, the really fun guy I was interviewing, said that he really just didn't "get" dogs. Since he said I gave him the best explanation of dogs he'd ever heard, I'll repeat it here.
Gabby loves life so simply and completely that it's impossible to be with her and NOT love life yourself. Running through a field, wading in a creek while we're out on a hike, rolling in the grass: all these activities make her glow with pleasure and me glow with love! A dog can really remind you to be happy, draw your attention to the simple pleasures in life, and make it VERY clear that you do not need money, a fancy car, or designer shoes to be happy. Just get down on the ground and roll in the grass!
Try it sometime.. when no one is watching. Wait until the sun is shining and the wind is blowing a little. As you lay yourself out on the grass, the warm, wet smell of earth will waft up to your nose and the individual blades will tickle and tantalize your skin. Roll around for a minute.. side to side, down a hill.. it doesn't matter! Then simply stop. Breath out, and look up at the sky.
Tell me you're not peaceful after that!
I'm really hoping that this new puppy will be for Peter what Gabby has been for me. She has hands down, made my life better. Peter has NEVER had a puppy before! I will definitely keep you all update on puppy status!
Sunlit Writing
The other lifelet that is sparkling for me right now is my work (which I should be doing at this very instant). I've started working as the manager of Growing Gifts, a fantastic plant gifting application on Facebook. I manage the community of users and designers, help to develop the application, choose and manage all the content for the application and do user support. The part that I like the most is the community and content management :) Check the app out here:http://apps.facebook.com/growing/?link_source=side_nav
ps.. while you're there, please take a minute to RAVE about the app on the discussion board. We've recently done some major updates (yes.. they ARE improvements) and our user base has been kicking and screaming. It's kind of funny since everything we added was by specific request of the users themselves! I guess people just don't like change.
I've also started doing some freelance writing! It's a lot of fun. My old friend Karen Veiera from UF has started a science writing company in the States and she's passing articles on all sorts of things my way. I love doing the research and writing articles in terms that any Joe from the street could understand. In fact, I'm scaring myself into being a veggie head and exercising more (both of which are probably very good things!).
The most exciting thing career wise that is going on for me is that I have officially started my own business! It tumbled into being simply because I needed a way to pay my taxes in Sweden while working for 42 Friends (Growing Gifts) and Karen. After I started writing a bit more though, I realized that I really love it and am quite well qualified for the job. I'm going to slowly develop the writing portion of my "business," hopefully expanding to take on more clients and projects. Ideally I'd love to focus my writing on semi-scientific subjects such as conservation.
I've decided to call my company Sunlit Writing for several reasons. Firstly in honor of the book I've been working on for ages, Sunlit Dust. The idea behind Sunlit Dust (very briefly) is that there are lots of things that affect our lives, responses and personalities which we never even notice. They are there, floating in and out of our beings and lungs, like dust in the air. Every once in a while when we take a minute to stop and look a round, a ray of sun will suddenly illuminate all the dust in the air around us. Suddenly we understand.
This ties in with my writing in several ways, fortifying my decision to go with Sun Lit Writing. I'm hoping that my writing will stand out from the mass as the sun lit dust stands out from the rest! I'm also hoping that my writing will the the catalyst which illuminates the ideas I'm presenting.
Lastly, I would really like to develop myself as a soft science writer focusing on health, lifestyle, and family as they relate to the environment. The only way to stop the destruction of our planet is for all of these subjects to unite and become a lifestyle. The more I think and read about and come into contact with different life issues such as protecting yourself against disease late in life, designing your dream house, being a happy person, planting a garden, almost anything really, they are all connected by a thin green thread. To protect yourself from disease walk more and eat fresh locally grown fruits and veggies. As I day dream about the house that will one day be the home of my family I can't help but consider whether living in the country really is the most green option. When I think about the things that make me happy I realize that walking more, breathing clean air, and living in a socially oriented way really DO make me happy. Shopping, spending large chunks of time in the car, and having access to all the latest forms of technology really DON'T make me happy. Planting a garden reduces stress, which makes me happier and healthier AND helps promote growing green things, which is fantastic for the environment. This long explanation of the focus of my "freelance writing business" was simply to high light that I'd rather use sunlight than oil. I want to keep it simple and natural. For me, sun light is both those things. I feel like the name Sunlit Writing lines up very nicely with my soul and goals!
Here's a list of the projects I currently have on the go with Sunlit Writing:
Growing Gifts- making people happy, green growing things
Medical/ Health Articles- I'm writing several a week
Two Girls and a Changing World- A book I'm helping a friend to write which highlights the many social and political issues we face in the modern world through the story of two friends.
A Sunlit Life- The health, family, lifestyle blog focusing on environmental issues that I am planning to start writing this month.
Sunlit Dust- My book! My book!
Whatever freelance writing projects and can get!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Range of Emotions
I'm constantly amazed by the wide range that emotions can cover over a very short time. 2008 has not treated me very kindly thus far. Two really horrible events took place around new year and I was feeling low. Very low. Now however it is only a few months later and I'm magically feeling ok. The sun was warming everything yesterday and water was running down the hill in front of our house like a stream. Peter, Gabs and I went for a long walk and smelled spring in the air. I felt good!
In the car on the way home from town, Peter asked me what we were doing last year for Easter.
I remember perfectly. Sarah and Mika were up for the weekend from Lynköping with Chloe. The Chloester was so freaking cute. I think she was only 9 weeks old and she was tiny! I think it was the first time that Sar and Mika had come up to see us in Övik. I had made a fantastic Easter tree and was feeling very springy. The spring was a bit earlier last year. Kosty came over and cooked a yummy ham with mustard sauce and made the best carrot rice ever and we all drank lots of wine. I had been so worried about someone spilling red wine on our spiffy new sofa. Then, guess what, it was totally me. Yep, all over the cream coloured cushins. I was suprized and delighted to discover that it washed out with nothing more than a damp wash cloth though! Since then there have been allsorts of things gummed into the sofa and they always come out with a damp wash cloth :)
Anyway, it was a great weekend. This year we're heading down to Stockholm to visit with Peter's family. I'm really looking forward to it. Last summer when the girls were with us I could speak a bit of Swedish, but now I can speak a lot more. I think this time I'll actually be able to participate somewhat fully in the conversation! It will be really nice to see everyone. We haven't seen Lotta properly since she started college! And Cissi has graduated and started a new job!
Peter and I had a fantastic weekend away a few weeks ago. We drove up to Umeå, a little university town an hour and a half north of us. On the Friday we went for a super long walk along the river the runs through the middle of town. The air was crisp, no hint of spring yet, and the stars were bright. The edge of the path was scattered with ice sculptures that the Umeå University art students had made. They were really cool. First I made the mistake of sitting on the ice throne. My butt got totally soaked but it was fun anyway. We were being goofy and listening to the acoustics that our voices made when we stuck our heads insdie the indented windows of an ice chaple when suddenly we saw the shadow of a person on the other side. We walked around to explain and the girl (who had been gaping at the ice sculpture and wondering what in the world we were doing) gave a hearty chuckle. It was a great night.
I've found a new barn for Gus which will be a lot less work and hence, more fun! It's really close to our house, 3 km maybe and they've got fantastic trails and a great ring. I'm planning to move him at the end of the summer.
Ok.. that's all my rambeling thoughts for the time being.. but I'll be back!
In the car on the way home from town, Peter asked me what we were doing last year for Easter.
I remember perfectly. Sarah and Mika were up for the weekend from Lynköping with Chloe. The Chloester was so freaking cute. I think she was only 9 weeks old and she was tiny! I think it was the first time that Sar and Mika had come up to see us in Övik. I had made a fantastic Easter tree and was feeling very springy. The spring was a bit earlier last year. Kosty came over and cooked a yummy ham with mustard sauce and made the best carrot rice ever and we all drank lots of wine. I had been so worried about someone spilling red wine on our spiffy new sofa. Then, guess what, it was totally me. Yep, all over the cream coloured cushins. I was suprized and delighted to discover that it washed out with nothing more than a damp wash cloth though! Since then there have been allsorts of things gummed into the sofa and they always come out with a damp wash cloth :)Anyway, it was a great weekend. This year we're heading down to Stockholm to visit with Peter's family. I'm really looking forward to it. Last summer when the girls were with us I could speak a bit of Swedish, but now I can speak a lot more. I think this time I'll actually be able to participate somewhat fully in the conversation! It will be really nice to see everyone. We haven't seen Lotta properly since she started college! And Cissi has graduated and started a new job!
Peter and I had a fantastic weekend away a few weeks ago. We drove up to Umeå, a little university town an hour and a half north of us. On the Friday we went for a super long walk along the river the runs through the middle of town. The air was crisp, no hint of spring yet, and the stars were bright. The edge of the path was scattered with ice sculptures that the Umeå University art students had made. They were really cool. First I made the mistake of sitting on the ice throne. My butt got totally soaked but it was fun anyway. We were being goofy and listening to the acoustics that our voices made when we stuck our heads insdie the indented windows of an ice chaple when suddenly we saw the shadow of a person on the other side. We walked around to explain and the girl (who had been gaping at the ice sculpture and wondering what in the world we were doing) gave a hearty chuckle. It was a great night.
I've found a new barn for Gus which will be a lot less work and hence, more fun! It's really close to our house, 3 km maybe and they've got fantastic trails and a great ring. I'm planning to move him at the end of the summer.
Ok.. that's all my rambeling thoughts for the time being.. but I'll be back!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Painting My Life Christmas Colours
This morning I finally got around to cleaning... well... sort of. At least I got the living room tidied and vacuumed ... It is so much more cozy and Christmassy now :) I also had an email from a friend of mine who always makes me smile and inspires me. I got to thinking what a contentented and settled person she has become over the last few years... and I wanted to be the same. As I look at this slightly fuzzy picture, I realize that all I have to do is take one day at a time and slowly paint the life I want. I used to knit pretty regularly, but I have gotten out of the habit. I am going to start again.. I'm, just going to start enjoying my life.. starting right now. Peter has just gotten home from the grocery store and we're going to make french toast. There are christmas carols playing.. and Peter and Gabby are howling excruciatingly together at the front door in greeting. Then I am going to finish cleaning and go see Guster and maybe read or knit a bit tonight. I have a friend coming over to bake.. and that should be really fun. So... wish me luck.. I'm off to paint my life in Christmas colours!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
