last day before New York...
... and I must say I spent it well...

I got up at 6.20 am to get the kids ready for their las day at the camp at the Pacific Science Center and I didn't go to bed again after they were out the door at 7.20 am ~ which, trust me, is a great feat.
I had breakfast, showered and got dressed ('cause that's what you do in the morning)
at 10 am Katrine picked me up and we went into Seattle. on the way to the city we stopped by the Troll under the bridge which was really cool and then we went into the city.
after a quick stop at Starbucks we went on the Monorail to the center of Seattle where we did what girls do - walk around, talking and shopping. at one point we decided that we wanted to see Mamma Mia! and I loved the first part of it. we were singing along to the songs and talking while watching ~ so much fun :D
but all fun things must come to an end and we were told - very harshly I might add - to shut up since we were disturbing a grumpy man on the row infront of us. the movie was still good but he kind of put a damper on things ~ were we still allowed to laugh?
after the movie we walked around some more and (naturally) trash-talked the grumpy man.
as much as I didn't want it to end we decided that it was time to head home. and once Katrine drove up outside my house I got all sad and weepy. the reason for this is simple - she's done working next week and I might not see her again until I get home to Sweden (she lives in Kopenhagen, which is nice and close). because she is one of my best friends here in Seattle and one of the funniest people I know I'm kind of scared that the rest of my time here will suck. which totally stinks :(
I miss you guys like crazy (just so you know) and now it will be even worse since the person I felt most connected to is leaving. being an au-pair sure sucks sometimes.
while we were sitting in the car outside my house talking, the kids who were playing outside were looking at us seemingly thinking "what the h-ll are they doing?!?"
once I was out and Katrine was on her way home Bridget and I ran through the sprinkler on the front lawn. my jeans got wet but since it cheered me up it was totally worth it :)

I packed my stuff for New York and Canada....
.... and now I'm sitting here since I promised one of you a blog-update before NY...

I got my first parking ticket. and I was stuck on the floor for 20 min.

sounds confusing? it's not.

last Thursday I decided to take the kids to the Children's Museum in Everett which I did and we had a blast. on the way out from the parkinglot I spot a pay-thingy (not sure what they're called - it's a metal box where you pay for parking - also I'm in pain right now and that's distracting me) and I'm thinking to myself "shit I didn't see that before, hope they didn't catch me" after I get out of Everett and on the I-5 I see something yellow on my windshield and yet again I go "shit, looks like they caught me after all".

the next half hour was a very nervous one, I can promise you that. when we finally reach McDonalds (K&B were craving desert) I look at the dreaded yellow envelope and realize that it could have been so much worse.

but that doesn't keep me from being annoyed...

just now I was stuck on the floor. like a bug on it's back. I could not move or get up.

last night around 7 pm my back started to ache. in the area of my shoulder blade. no biggie, maybe I had spent to much time with my jigsaw puzzle which happes at time. when I got home from Maria's house at 00.10 am it still hurt and I was starting to wonder what the heck was going on back there.

this morning nothing had changed and I realized that the right side of my upper body including my arm is, almost, completely useless since it hurts like *piiiip* every time I use or move it in a weird angle. typing on my computer is fine but that's pretty much the extent of what doesn't hurt.

I tried one of the oldest tricks in the book: lying down on my back, legs on a chair in 90°. it felt ok but no major pain reliever, so I decide to get up. only now I'm stuck. I can't move because of the pain. so I lay there on the floor trying to find a way up that wont hurt. and this takes me twenty minutes. twenty very frustrating painful minutes.

my host parents told me to take painkillers and any sane person would do that. but I'm not one of those people.

the way I see it is that if something hurts when you move it's better to feel the pain since it's your body's way of telling you that something is wrong and that you should take it easy. if you take painkillers you wont feel pain (duh) but you might end up doing something to make it worse.

sounds insane I know but remember my back really really aches and I have yet to find a position that feels confortable, maybe I'll take the kids on a field trip tomorrow to someone who can help me fix my back...

Jag antar din utmaning Sara (och skriver på svenska)
Here goes:

Vad gjorde du för 10 år sedan?

Kan inte svära i domstol under ed men trór att det var så här: För 10 år sen hade jag sommarlov och såg framemot en ridläger vecka, en Greklands semester, sovmorgon, cykelturer till Vaxsjön och andra roliga sommar saker. Dock fasade jag för 3 veckor i sommarstugan utan varmvatten och med utedass mitt i skogen (inte roligt om man är mörkrädd med livlig fantasi)

Vilka 5 saker finns på din att-göra-lista?

1. Planera sommaren för mig och kidsen ~ måste hitta roliga aktiviteter att göra utomhus (och inomhus om det berömda Seattle vädret kommer tillbaka)
2. Kolla upp vilka datum jag är hemma så jag vet när jag kan hitta på roligheter med Maria och Maria. La Push and Forks here we come :)
3. Leta efter och anmäla mig till roliga/intressanta kurser.
4. Spara ihop så jag har råd att läsa kurserna ~ 500 $ från mina host parents kommer man inte långt på.
5. Tvinga mig igenom de första kapitelna i the Host eftersom resten av boken ska vara bra.

Ställen du bott på?

Malmö ~ Dalslandsatan och ? (var för liten för att komma ihåg)

Höör ~ Lodjursstigen

Akureiry ~ Helgamagastraeti (sommar boende räknas)

Botell ~ 2711 202nd St SE (min nuvarande adress)

5 saker du skulle göra om du var billionär?

1. Köpa den (för mig) perfekta hästen.

2. Resa till platser jag nu bara kan drömma om ~ London, Alcatraz, Nya Zeeland ~

3. Shoe shopping in New York

4. Spara till framtida utgifter så som studielån (om jag någonsin går tillbaka till skolan), boende etc.

5. Donera en rejäl bit av det till mina favorit organisationer: WWF, Fair Trade, Rädda Barnen.

Saras utmaning är antagen och avklarad, och här är mina listor. Hur ser dina listor ut?

I just came home after watching Sex and the City. it's 12.50 am. and I want to cry. because of a stupid movie.
why did the movie have this big inpact on me you might wonder....
even if the movie wasn't the greatest (not saying it wasn't good) it left me feeling alone. as long as I was swept up in SatC it was fine but in the car on my way home I started thinking (and that is as we all know never good) and thinking about the movie made me think about the core of SatC. the girls. their frindships. and it made me miss my friends at home. alot. alot alot.
I've never been away for a longer period like this and I miss normal everyday stuff. talking on msn. going to Lund and have lunch. going for walks. knowing that you have people just a phone call away if life feels like shit and you need to talk.
I miss that. and even if I have great friends here it's not the same. not nearly the same.
I normally deal with it by not thinking about it. I do stuff with the kids. watch GREEK. go shopping at the mall. and if everything else fails I go to Barnes & Noble.
but after watching the movie it was right in front of me and I can't ignore it tonight (I will do my best to supress these emotions in the morning). I want to go home right now and hang out with you guys. I won't even have to talk, I'll just sit and listen to your discussions and pretend I understand what you talking about.

and I'll be happy and not feel as alone and detached as I feel here.
I swear.

today has been a day that started out on the shitty side.
grouchy kids in the morning made me feel like the worst au pair ever, like I don't know what I'm doing here and that I'm not doing anything right.
when it was lunch time I was still annoyed from yesterday when I had to eat rice for dinner (again). I'm so sick of it! I want potaoes! I love potatoes! gimme gimme gimme (potatoes)!
all we eat is rice rice rice. I hate rice! it's always the same. potatoes are good. they come in different types and shapes. wonderful German yellow ones. mashed ones. big ones in the oven. chopped up ones in the oven. new potatoes. potatoes with the special chicken sauce my dad makes. potatoes and salmon with the special salmon sauce. potatoes with the brown sauce my grandmother makes. chopped up oven potatoes with tsatziki outside on the patio in the summer. I love potatoes!
anyway. I did some laundry and M called to say she was taking the kids home. boy did that make me feel useful. not. I can't even drive the kids home today. what am I here for?
but then they came home and I helped B pack for her camp. that girl can pack. she's staying over one night and packed three t-shirts, three long sleeved shirts, three pairs of pants, two pairs of socks and two pairs of underwear. for two days and one night. I would probably have done the same a few years ago, but I've learned not to pack too much these last years when I've been living out of my backpack.
while we were packing M had made tea for us and B went into the kitchen and forbade me to enter. turns out she was setting the table for tea time. so sweet. she had put our tea cups on a tray and put some chocolate chip cookies on a plate on the tray and while we were having tea time she taught me the correct way to drink tea. apparently I've been doing it wrong all these years. if only I'd known.
after tea time with B I didn't feel like such a shitty au pair and K just came in here to show me that he dressed up Teddy in a t-shirt, K's underwear, B's watch and a bracelet to top it of.

if only the weather could get better and I could get some potatoes (I need them and I want them) everything would be ok.