It's a sign.

I found a pound in my coat pocket. I think this is a sign I should go to the gym tomorrow.*



* Not as random as it might sound - there's a £ deposit on a locker...

Dag 12 – I min handväska (in my purse)

Quite empty today as you can see:

Calendar, book (very good, by the way...), mittens, wallet, keys, boots card (out of my wallet for some reason), hand lotion, forsvarets hudsalva lip balm, 2 rings (don't know why!) and a moomin reflector thingy which I need to stick to my coat.

Interesting!

Dag 11 – Mina syskon (my siblings)

Well this is awkward. I've already written about her once! Shall I give her a whole other post as well or will she get bigheaded?

Well alright then.

I have one sister. She is 2 years younger than me (pretty much exactly) and I used to introduce her to people as 'Joanna without h'. Johanna is a much more common name than Joanna in Sweden and loads of people used to get it wrong. Clearly this annoyed me. I don't know if it annoyed her quite as much?

We used to play together a lot, and I think we still would if I lived in Stockholm. She's good fun - a bit too Lisa Simpson-esque for some maybe (hah! Sorry!) but I think she's just right. She knows what she believes in and she stands up for it. Nevermind that it's led to some arguments between us in the past, but that's the great thing about the people you love, you're allowed to disagree and fight and scream because you always make up, eventually.

When I was that horrible almost-teen age I was horrible to her. So please, consider this my public apology for the times I called you a bitch (I'd only just learned the word ok!), the times I slapped you and the time I told you dad was santa (ok, the santa thing might have been earlier than when I was an almost-teen, but I AM sorry for that too).

I miss you all the time Joanna.

If you want to visit her (rather brilliant!) blog you can find it here: http://blogg.joannaforsberg.se
There will also be a website there, soon. Soon. I promise.

Dag 10 – Det här hade jag på mig i dag (this is what I wore today)

Well I should have taken a photo. But... is this a fashion blog? Do I really have to do an 'outfit of the day' post? Hm. Anyway. I wore black trousers with purple pinstripes, a long purple boatneck tshirt and a black cardigan. Very classy.

Maybe I'll take a photo for the next one. Just to be cool, you understand.

Dag 09 – Min tro (my faith)

Faith is not an easy one to talk about.

I hate arguing about religion, about faith. I don't want to ever have to give a definitive answer either way. Because I'd kinda like to believe in something. And I envy those that do. Just as I envy those who really don't believe. Because at least they're sure, you know?

I'm not interested in finding out what my beliefs are. I'm not interested in proving anyone right or wrong. I think faith can be absolutely beautiful and a source of strength - but it's clearly not for everyone.

Dag 08 – Ett ögonblick (a moment)

There's music all around. Heat, dancing, small venue. People in animal costumes and people with long green coats. The crowd is singing, shrieking, dancing loudly and everyone is in tune. A panda collapses and the music stops.

From the stage water is passed into the audience in plastic pint glasses. People take a sip and pass it backwards. No one worries about spiked drinks or germs; we're all there together.

I've long since lost my friend but I've made a new friend. We barely speak all night but the connection is there.

At the end of the night I go home with a big green hand and my new friend goes home with my email address on his arm.

This is a long moment but it's one of those evenings you never forget.

Money makes the world go round.

So I've just submitted my tax return for 2009-2010. It's not easy. Well, it IS easy. But I'm not sure I understand all the questions. Neverthemind, they've never complained about my answers yet so I'm sure I'm not doing it horribly wrong...

Snuggled up.

I was just on the phone to a friend, shivering cos I'm so cold. I hung up, and remembered that I own a snuggie! I can't believe it's been cold (more or less) here since November and I've only just remembered about this wonderful source of warmth.

Fail.

Swedishness*.

At the airport coming back from Sweden we bought some sweets. I know, big surprise!

Among other things, I bought a big bag of dark salmiak. Like so:

(click for image source)

Last night I convinced Mike to try one. You know, as a nice ending to our Swedish evening of meatballs.

He did not care for them at all.

I don't think he's Swedish enough yet. But I guess there's enough time to convert him yet... failing that, more licorice for me!


* Ok, I think these sweets are actually Danish. Close enough.

Oops.

Turns out I couldn't even do half of that challenge. Hoppsan hejsan. Well, I'll just have to continue it where I left off. Day 8 on 8th Jan? We'll see...

In other news, Glee starts again on Monday.